Daily Photo: Kids!

April 4, 2019April 4, 2019 Bernadette

No, Mimi isn’t yelling. That would be soooo not Mimi. Instead, she gives Mariposa a big, fat yawn. A few seconds before, while I was grabbing my camera, Mimi had hopped up on the windowsill, and Mariposa was thrilled, reaching down and touching Mimi with those big white mittens, all over Mimi’s head. Mimi is a patient mom, even with others’ kittens. Mariposa did not persist and instead just draped herself over the edge and looked cuter than her usual. Mimi has seen it all already.

From Facebook and Instagram

A sunny morning post-breakfast toilette, whiskers complete, white mittens and ruff floof.

It’s The Four Housecats of the Apocalypse. You have been out all day. (They were sleeping, I know because everyone was yawning when I came in the door.)

Mimi and me, enjoying the back yard.

Photos from years past.

What We Did Last Week, 2018

A basket full of black cats! Now that’s an Easter basket I’ll go for! Happy Easter if you observe, and even though baskets aren’t a part of Passover we can still wish a chag Pesach to those of you who observe Passover, especially if you have cats. Giuseppe and Jelly Bean are the kitties filling the yellow basket to overflowing. I shared this photo last Friday, March 29.

Before I catch up on the photos I posted last week, I’m looking forward to posting regularly here on The Creative Cat once again. All theme, site and server issues are resolved and I’m happy to be back to it.

Also, these photos were first shared on Instagram, which I have grown to love for sharing photos of what the kids are doing during the day, but I have to kick the habit. I love any creative outlet, and the ability to share my photos as well as art and stories easily on Instagram is very exciting for me. Holding my phone and looking down at it caused me to pinch a nerve in my neck and caused muscle and tendon strains in my arm—first my right arm, then I switched to my left to hold the phone but that arm strained on me too.

Sleepy sunworshippers, Mimi, Hamlet and Jelly Bean.

About 15 years ago, after I’d been working on a personal computer for about 15 years, and on a computer of any sort since 1978, I had strained my right arm and pinched a nerve in my neck using the mouse with my right hand, always properly, but enough was apparently enough, so I’ve been using my left hand since then. I’ve always been subject to repetitive strain injuries, tendonitis and joint issues like this and not just my hands and arms, but also from simply sitting in a chair that’s a little off-kilter, or wearing shoes that don’t work well with my feet. I recently replaced my bicycle because it had me leaning too far forward and putting too much pressure on my hands and back.

I’m not surprised, it was really just a matter of time until it became a problem. I could tell from when I first began using my smartphone that looking downward at that angle was a really bad idea for my neck. It’s one of the reasons I decided not to start texting, even if I held the phone up in front of my face. Last week, each day, I was taking frequent ibuprofen and holding hot compresses on my neck, and trying to lie flat to make the pain go away. Much as I love it, it’s not worth the time I spent trying to relax the muscles and ease the pain, and I’ve missed several of the posts I had planned for the last two weeks, and now I have to get caught up making stuff!

Mimi's sunny nap was a little chilly on the marble windowsill, but the blanket made it better. — Mimi’s sunny nap was a little chilly on the marble windowsill, but the blanket made it better.

One good thing is that I’ve never had any repetitive strain issues with petting cats no matter how many or how long I pet them!

Celebrating a very sunny day with a boop on Basil's nose. — Celebrating a very sunny day with a boop on Basil’s nose.

And Mimi and I will have more time to be outdoors! We had a surprise snow last weekend and the cover was still good by Monday. “Only one thing will get Mimi to walk in snow these days–the neighbor’s cat is in her yard! She did puff herself up and have a few words, and he wisely slunk off. You can see in Mimi’s shadow she is standing with one front paw raised, guarding her temple. The thing that kept her and kittens safe outdoors years ago, she still haz it. She is toasty inside on a warm windowsill now.”

As a last note, I have a love-hate relationship with my smartphone. I love the convenience, but I really hate the photos it takes, I just don’t feel they are representative of my style or abilities, but that immediacy is hard to pass up. I actually have quite a few I’ve taken recently with my DSLR that I haven’t had the chance to share. Now I do.

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pastel sketch of two cats by window — The Sunny Upstairs Window, pastel © B.E. Kazmarski

Mimi and Mewsette enjoy the morning sunshine in front of the sunniest window in the house. Read more and purchase.

Copyright

All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.