Manly Monday: Welcome to SPRING!

Vidock: Oh, Neigh everyone.... I didn't realizhe I wazh going to go firsht today. I am very buzhy you shee... Everyhorse knows that true manliness lies in getting your hay from the very shentre of the shtack......

Happy SHPRING!!!!

Tommy: I continue to be a shining example to Little Fernant who is growing larger by the minute...

By the way, here is a pic of me when I was the age Fernant is now!

Bibi-Chan: In case you were wondering, YES, there was another HOUBIBI episode last week! Behold:

I don't why #1 gets so het up. After all, my Tommy would protect me if I was in any danger! But somehow, she finds in-bag surfing to be a safer pastime for me...

Sigh...

Have a great week everyone!

Snuggles on Sunday!

Tama-Chan: As part of our determination to enjoy every minute to the full, we have been snuggling even more enthusiastically than usual. I have been spending some time with Tommy:

And also with #1:

That Bibi of mine is always close either to Tommy or to #1. Yesterday, he decided that #1 needed a major going over:

And he of course snuggles under the covers with her:

Sei-Chan , needless to say, has been spending time with Tommy too!

In answer so some questions on yesterday's post, #1 lived in Chicago from mid-1999 until the end of 2002. She had a lovely flat in the Lincoln Park area and thinks that Chicago is one of the world's greatest cities! She was back there for a few days in early November last year, and took this photo from the balcony of the friends she stayed with:

SEIturday Once More!

Sei-Chan: What a week it has been! So much worry about what has been going on in Japan, fuelled by the shameless international media for whom the more catastrophic the better. There is a well-measured riposte to all that here.

The brave people of Tohoku are finding comfort and smiles wherever they can, and so we consider it our duty to delight in every moment. As you know, I took an early fancy to our new "Ess" and continue to enjoy it enormously.

But the question is this: do you think it makes my bum look big?

Yesterday, we showed you the delights of our Kitchen Bird TV Channel. Believe it or not, we do even better on the Study Channel because, aside from the numerous birdies who come to the feeder, we also get this...

This little guy lives under the roof tiles and occasionally comes out to get his share of sunflower seeds! He kept Bibi-Chan and me quite transfixed yesterday!

So much so that it tired us right out:

#1 noticed that today's theme for Photo Hunt is "License Plate." We don't usually play Photo Hunt but we just couldn't resist this one. You see, when she lived in Chicago, #1 had the following license plate:

IKKYU was of course her very first cat, who lived with her at the time, and 3 is read "san" in Japanese, making a plate that read "IKKYU-SAN" or Mr. Ikkyu!

Too bad there are no vanity plates in France...

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Family and Friends on Friday!

Vidock: Neigh Everyone! Here in our little corner of rural France, we are still feeling the cold a bit but at least most of the mud has dried!

Today, I would like to introduce my sisters to you. I have two sisters who live on the farm with me. My big sister is called Telly and she is two years older than me:

She has been living a pretty laid-back life so far, hanging out and playing with our half-sister Toune. But I hear rumours that things will soon be changing and she will be going to school!

We also have a younger sister, Altesse, who was born last year. She is still just a baby and cute as a button!

Sorry she's a bit out of focus. It's hard to get her to stand still!

Tom: Today, I want to tell you about one of my nieces. I may have mentioned her on this blog before but she is so cute that we can't get enough of.... EMILY!

Emily is pocket-sized and #1 has threatened more than once to go and kidnap her....

The Chans make up a little family group of their own as they are all related. Sadly, we have little news anymore of Bibi's siblings except that we hear that Fuku-Chan is becoming a great champion! Go FUKU! This is what he looked like when he wasjust a baby:

But the Chans have friends, lots of feathered friends in fact! Here is a "delicious" sampling of the Kitchen Bird TV channel:

In this picture, we have a brambling, three European goldfinches (with the spotty tails) and three siskins.

They also want to tell you about a blog featuring FOUR Abyssinian cats who get up to some pretty wild stuff. Go and see them at FOUR ABYSSINIAN CATS!

And our overview of family and friends would not be complete without our latest "Framily" member, Fernant the Terror!

Thankful Thursday

Thei-Chan: It is easy to think that when such horrors happens as what Japan has been going through, it is hard to find much to be thankful for. But the human spirit is resilient and we are seeing great kindness for which to be very thankful. When we first mentioned the Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support organisation, they had received a little over $1,000 in donations. As of this writing, the total was over $140,000! It makes us feel very warm and fuzzy.

Today is grey and a little rainy, and Tama-Chan and I are having a quiet day, feeling very thankful for all that we have.

The boys are recovering from all that smooching... They too are very thankful!

UPDATE: It is coming up to 6pm here in France and the Japan Animal Rescue Chip-In button is up to $165,000!!!!

PS: Our friend SPARKLE is running a COMMENTHATON today in aid of a major fundraising drive for Japan by World Vets. Please stop by and leave a comment!

Three Word Wednesday: KISS ME QUICK!!!

Brought to you with love by the boys of The Poupounette,

Tommy, Bibi-Chan and Vidock!

Tama-Chan Tuesday: Photo Shoot!

Tama-Chan: A couple of days ago, #1 and I had a photo shoot out in the cat run and, as she is rather pleased with the results, we decided to feature them on today's post.

Behold the green-eyed girl!

I'm watching you closely!!!

There's definitely something over there!!!

Photo shoots are exhausting. I definitely needed a rest after that one!