Happy Birthday, Loretta! #MewsicMovesMe

This coming Sunday the 14th will be the Queen of Country Music Loretta Lynn's 87th birthday. You may have heard on the news that a huge birthday party/concert took place last week in Nashville in her honor. Today the spotlight is on her in our Mewsic Moves Me post.

Loretta was always playing in my house growing up as she was my parents' favorite singer. So many memories are tied to her music. One of my prized possessions is the paperback copy of Coal Miner's Daughter that mom was given when she was in the hospital after having a c-section when I was born. She gave it to me to include in my Conway collection. The first time my parents left me in the care of a babysitter was to go see the Coal Miner's Daughter movie when it hit the theater, and I've probably seen it at least a dozen times myself. I saw her in concert only once in the early 80s but I was very young and I'm sad to say I don't really remember anything about it.

Of course I have to start my Loretta post with one of her duets with Conway - their cover of Freddie Hart's Easy Lovin'. I chose this video because the chemistry between them just jumps off the screen and shows why everyone thought they were a couple in real life. The way he looks at Loretta when he sings the line "upon your pretty shoulders there's a pair of angel wings" makes me weak in the knees. (The fact that mom never took notice of Conway until I came along has always had me convinced that I was adopted.)

One of my family's favorite stories took place right after my parents got married in the early 70s. My mom came out of the bathroom and saw that Loretta was on TV. She yelled out, "Loretta Lynn!" and Dad, asleep in his chair as usual, got up and made a beeline for the front door. Mom asked where he was going to which he replied, "To let her in!" Needless to say they started laughing so hard they never did get to see Loretta!

A few of my other Loretta favorites -

I have an old VHS tape of the entire show this performance with her son came from. I never erased it because I loved the song so much...

I hope you enjoyed our Loretta selections this week. She's extra special to me not only because she's such an important part of Conway's story, but also because she plays such an important part in my own personal history.

She's a true national treasure.

Sun Kissed #SundaySelfie

We're joining our friends at The Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Caturday Art

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our weekly answers for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

Mudpie's answers:

1. The highlight of my week is the weekend when Mommy can stay home with me.

2. Only 263 more days until Christmas.

Mommy's answers:

3. I believe I was born to love cats. Some things are just ingrained in our DNA.

4. Age is just a number. That's what they say, but I don't know...

Flashback Friday: Truffles & Grumpy Cat

Meows from Mudpie!

It's been quite awhile since Angel Truffles made an appearance on our blog so I asked Mommy to re-post the meme she created 5 years ago this week in celebration of Grumpy Cat's birthday. It's hard to believe the one and only Tardar Sauce turned 7 years old yesterday!

I think GC would like this, don't you?

Book Review: Cat Chase the Moon by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Joe Grey and his partner, Dulcie, are frantic when Courtney, their pretty teen-kitten goes missing. Aided by their two- and four-legged friends, they hit the streets of Molina Point in search of their calico girl. Has Joe Grey and Dulcie’s only daughter been lured away by someone and stolen? Is she lying somewhere hurt, or worse?

Courtney has no idea that everyone is desperately looking for her. Locked in an upstairs apartment above the local antiques shop, she’s enjoying her first solo adventure. When she first met Ulrich Seaver, the shop’s owner, Courtney was frightened. But the human has coddled and pampered her, winning her trust. Sheltered by her parents, her brothers, and her kind human companions, the innocent Courtney is unaware of how deceptive strangers can be. She doesn’t know that Ulrich is hiding a dangerous secret that could threaten her and everyone in this charming California coastal village.

With his focus on finding Courtney, Joe Grey has neglected his detective work with the Molina Point Police Department. Before his daughter disappeared, Joe found a viciously beaten woman lying near the beach. Now the police investigation has stalled, and the clever feline worries his human colleagues may have missed a vital clue. Joe is also concerned about a family of newcomers whose domestic battles are disturbing the town’s tranquility. Loud and abrasive, the Luthers’ angry arguing, shouting, and swearing in the early hours of the night have neighbors on edge and the cops on alert. One of the couple’s late-night shouting matches masked the sounds of a burglary, and now a criminal is on the loose.

Though the crimes are as crisscrossed as the strands of a ball of yarn, Joe Grey’s cat senses tell him they may somehow be linked. It’s up to the fleet-footed feline and his crime-solving coterie to untangle the mysteries before it’s too late.

The very first Joe Grey mystery was published over 20 years ago in 1996. I have every book in my collection, and while I haven't read the entire series yet, I have read several and through the years have enjoyed watching Joe and Dulcie solve crimes together and ultimately fall in love. In the last book Cat Shining Bright their litter of three extra special kittens, buff colored boys Striker and Buffin and calico Courtney, are born, and with them comes a whole new world of adventure for the felines of Molena Point.

For anyone new to the series, these cats have the ability to talk and many people in town share their secret. One human who is blissfully unaware is the police chief Max, but the cats still use their talent to be a snitch for the Molena Point Police Department via anonymous phone calls. In Cat Chase the Moon everything is put on the back burner when Joe and Dulcie's only little girl Courtney is catnapped by an antique shop owner with big plans for the beautiful calico. As a crime spree overtakes Molena Point there seems to be a link to the missing Courtney, making this a case that hits a little too close to home for our feline friends. I confess more than a few tears were shed at the end.

The Joe Grey series has been going strong for two decades for a reason...it's one of the most remarkable, unique collections of cat novels on the market. Each cat has a unique personality that will capture reader's imaginations, and now that Joe and Dulcie are parents there's an added layer to their relationship through the interactions with the kittens. I appreciate how we know the culprits earlier on in the book than most mysteries, subsequently allowing more time to be spent on the motive and capture. All too often loose ends are left untied until the final three pages.

Whether you've spent the last 2 decades following Joe and Dulcie's adventures or you're new to the dynamic duo, Cat Chase the Moon will leave you purring.

This post contains affiliate links.

Mudpie's Wild Saturday Night

Anyone who follows us on Facebook will have already seen this, but it makes us giggle so we wanted to share it here too...

Come on now, who hasn't woken up with a lampshade on their head at least once in their lives??? 

MOL!!!

It Started with a Rose #MewsicMovesMe

The theme of this week's Mewsic Moves Me blog hop is "April showers bring May flowers" (songs about spring, rain, and flowers). For this theme there can only be one featured song because it's so extra special to me - The Rose, written by Amanda McBroom and originally recorded by Bette Midler -  the song that started my Conway obsession 30+ years ago.

Conway released his version of The Rose in January 1983. I would've only been 5 at the time so my best guess is I heard it for the first time a few years later when I really got into country radio. Even at that young age I remember thinking his voice was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. I guess you could say he captured my heart that day and has had it ever since.

A live performance of The Rose from a 1992 concert...

Can you pinpoint the exact moment you became a fan of your favorite artist or band?