Mudpie Therapy

Mommy here.

Dad came home from rehab on February 4th, but over the past week has been showing signs of decline again, so back to the hospital we went. After running a lot of tests the doctors think they know what's going on, but still aren't 100% sure yet. 

Yesterday afternoon I met with a case worker at the hospital and told her about everything that's been going on for nearly 3 months now. Since I'm an only child she asked what I had for a support system. I told her we had extended family, some close friends and neighbors, but that first and foremost my beloved cat was my support system, and it's 100% true. When I'm home I just want to stay curled up with her and not move.

If it wasn't for this precious, perfect angel, I don't think I would still be standing at this point. Mudpie shouldn't have to carry so much on her little shoulders either, but as I tell her every day, we'll get through this nightmare together.

As we reach the end of February, the month of love, I hope Mudpie knows how much I worship the ground her paws walk on. I think she does.

AI Art #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

My friend CK took one of my photo fails from Friday and turned it into AI art. Isn't it pawsome??? Mommy especially loves the pretty purple roses. 

 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 (all answered by Mommy this week) for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. An item discontinued that I want brought back is Pro Plan's lamb flavored treats. They were Mudpie's favorites. I noticed yesterday at PetSmart that Pro Plan now has lamb flavored dry food, but I don't want to spend nearly $20 for a 3 pound bag if I don't know for sure. Why don't pet food companies offer sample sizes???

2. I would sleep in until noon every day if I could.

3. It’s almost time for ???, and I can’t wait. The holidays are always what I look forward to most, and now with mom gone, will likely never feel quite the same ever again.

4. The '80s were the good old days. The years when I was a carefree little girl, not to mention the fact that the world seemed more normal. 

#PetPhotoFails

Meows from Mudpie!

Thank you for joining us for this month's edition of the Pet Photo Fails Blog Hop! And thank you all SO much for the love and support you've shown since my grandma's passing. We miss her SO much.

Many times on our blooper posts we get sweet comments from you guys saying that I'm just so gosh darned cute that my photo fails aren't nearly as bad as we think they are. Which is true. But I don't think even my over-the-top adorableness can salvage these...

Those are my bloopers...let's see yours! 

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Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones by Heather Weidner - Blog Tour with Character Guest Post and Giveaway

When a beat-up suitcase full of bones washes up by the pier, the residents of the quaint resort town of Mermaid Bay are whipped into a hurricane-sized frenzy over the gruesome find in the middle of their Christmas in July festivities. The holly-jolly mood retreats like the tide, with everyone wondering who was in the suitcase.

Christmas shoppe owner, Jade Hicks, wades into the fracas when voodoo dolls and mysterious notes and posters about impending doom start popping up all over town, threatening to destroy the economy of a community that lives and dies by tourist dollars. Then tensions crest when the prickly bookstore owner is found strangled to death with a string of holiday lights.

Jade and her French bulldog Chloe, have to solve the crime before anyone else gets hurt, and her business and the festival are forever tainted. 

Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones is the first in the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries cozy series.

Character Guest Post by Neville the Devil Cat

Hi, y’all, I’m Neville. I’m a black and white tuxedo cat who’s in charge of security at ‘Tis the Season, a Christmas store in the beach town of Mermaid Bay, Virginia. I moved in with the current owner’s grandmother, and I’ve been at the store ever since. There are about three hundred Christmas trees in the store, and it’s my job to keep the vermin and the riff raff out. It’s a 24 x 7 gig. And I have to be vigilant.

The current owner is Jade Hicks, and she’s been great for the store. She works all the time to come up with events and promotions to keep people shopping. I like Jade. Her only flaw is hanging out with that chubby white French Bulldog named Chloe. She thinks she owns the place. I had to set her straight on day one. She’s loud, obnoxious, and she tears through the store like it’s a racetrack. Some creatures have no couth. And she slobbers, snores, and steals snacks. Some days, I’m not sure why I put up with her. She even calls me Neville the Devil Cat every chance she gets. I’ll show her. I’m the Mouser in Chief.

Summer (besides Christmas) is our favorite season. Thousands of tourist flock to the tiny town and visit the store. All was going well until Jade and Chloe found a beat-up suitcase full of bones washed up by Suggs’s pier, and the residents of my quaint little town were whipped into a hurricane-sized frenzy over the gruesome find in the middle of our Christmas in July festivities. The holly jolly mood retreated like the tide with everyone wondering who was in the suitcase, and the town’s gossip grapevine revved up into overdrive.

I thought that the bag of bones was the worst that could happen during our Christmas in July festivities. Boy, was I wrong. A fracas broke out when voodoo dolls and mysterious notes and posters about impending doom start popping up all over town, threatening to destroy our tourism trade. Every business in a beach community lives and dies by tourist dollars.

Then something really horrible happened. Jade found her friend, the town’s prickly bookstore owner, strangled to death with a string of holiday lights behind the hotdog shack. I had to help Jade solve the mystery before anyone else got hurt and our town’s reputation was ruined.

Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones is the first in the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries cozy series. Jade and the gang will also appear in Twinkle Twinkle Au Revoir (2024) and A Tisket A Tasket, Not Another Casket (2025).

About the Author: 

Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries.

Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Sisters in Crime – Chessie, Guppies, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.

Author Links:

Website and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidnerAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_mystery_writer/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121854.Heather_Weidner

Amazon Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQ

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/HeatherBWeidner/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-weidner-0064b233?trk=hp-identity-name

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-weidner-d6430278-c5c9-4b10-b911-340828fc7003

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heather_weidner_author

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyBjyB0zz-M1DaM-rU1bXGA?view_as=subscriber

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If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away

Joyce LaGrow Lapierre

8/11/35-2/17/23

Early yesterday morning I lost the most important person in my life, my best friend, my confidant, my mom.

We were so connected, so much alike, that we could finish each other's sentences. With one look we knew what the other was thinking. People even said we sounded the same on the phone.

We shared an intense passion for cats, Christmas, and collecting. We would go shopping and pick out the exact same things. Over the past year mom wasn't able to shop with me anymore, but it was always so much fun to bring home my latest "finds" for her to enjoy.

There hasn't been a single day in my 45 years that we didn't talk, either in person or on the phone. I shared everything with her, good and bad. Already at least 10 things have happened that made me think, "wait till I tell mom that..." and then it hits me that I can't, and I won't be able to ever again. That's a fact I can't even wrap my head around yet. Just as hard is thinking of things I forgot to tell her, or put off telling her over the past couple weeks until she felt better.

I love you mom, and I already miss you so much I can hardly stand it. Many people have told me that you're in a better place, that you're no longer in pain, and that may be true, but it doesn't stop me from aching to have you back here with me.

I'll be sure to give Mudpie a hundred extra kisses for you each day, because I know you adored her just as much as she adored you. I don't think I would be able to get through this without her.

You've been reunited with our beloved cats at the Rainbow Bridge, and that brings me the most comfort of all.

No Regrets #FelineFriday

Mommy here.

This Mutts cartoon warms my heart and brings a lump to my throat. When I saw it on Facebook earlier this week I loved it so much that I printed it out to use as a bookmark.

I can say without a moment's hesitation, this is one regret I've never had with any of my cats. They have all gotten as many kisses as than they can handle.

It's a wonder Mudpie doesn't have bald spots from the number of kisses she gets each day. 

Feline Friday is simple to join. All you have to do is:

Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (They may be silly or cute).