Friday, March 29, 2024
cat photographscookiedaily photokellykitty thingslucymimi

Kitty Things: A Pretty Window, and Some Memories

stained glass cat window
A pretty cat window at a shop I used to visit.

I knew I’d like this shop when I parked outside and saw this window from the outside, then when I talked to the owner and saw it from the inside with the sun shining though I liked the window and the shop even more. A big old brick home with wood plank floors and slightly off-square doorways, it was filled with craft and art and Americana and candles and more. Lots of cat things, and farm animals. I took away a ton of ideas from the place, and I sold a few things there as well, maintaining a display of greeting cards, a few block prints in shabby chic frames and a few block printed textiles too. The owner of Gingerbread Junction retired and the store closed, and what a temptation it was not to take it over and fill it with my stuff… But a cat in the window, real or stained glass, is always a sign of a good shop and a nice person.

Another memory, the forget-me-nots in my back yard began to bloom, finally, see them on Today.

. . . . . . .

What other photos have I shared on this date?

From the Archives: April 23, 2007, Cookie, Kelly and Lucy
tortoiseshell cat
Cookie Looks at Me

You may recognize the photo above from my Animal Sympathy Cards—it’s Cookie giving me a very serious look. It’s funny that all this time I’d thought, especially knowing the rest of this series of photos (there is always a series of photos) that I’d taken this photo out in the back yard, specifically with Cookie on the deck and me in my garden below, but that’s not so—she was right here on the shelf on my desk with the red brick porch pillar behind her and the morning sun on her face. Probably her expression is telling me that I am intolerably dull and we really need to go out into the yard. Sometimes Cookie thought she ran the show.

As I gather all my years of digital photos into one place I’ve been spending probably too much time looking through them, but I’ve been enjoying what I’ve found. I am surprised there are days when I have no photos of cats, and days back in this era when I have no photos at all. Then there are days like this where I have several series of photos of different cats at different times of the day. At this point in 2007, I hated this camera, and I don’t use “hate” loosely—it took way too long to focus to photograph cats well, all the photos were a little too red no matter how I adjusted it, I couldn’t control the contrast and lots of little details in each photo that I won’t go into; I can even look at a few and distinctly remember moments of frustration. Still, I took plenty of photos, and I’m glad I have them.

Below, Kelly enjoys a morning roll on the bed. This was always her habit after breakfast, to sit in the sun at the top of the stairs (there’s one of her there, but it’s badly exposed, darn), then hop over into my bedroom roll around on the bed while talking and bathing herself. I tried to catch her in mid-roll, but here I managed to catch and hold her attention for just a moment so I could see those big green eyes. When Kelly was happy, I was happy, but I know she can’t figure out what I’m laughing at.

tortoiseshell cat
Kelly on the Bed

And then later in the day, Lucy settled on the bed. This is my favorite photo of the series, just Lucy perfectly curled in all that white on the bed. I remember thinking, though, that even though she was cute, something was wrong. Lucy followed me all over, and when she wasn’t with me she was with one of the other cats, especially Namir, who she adored, but she was never alone. Here she was alone on the bed, and not as responsive to her pets and compliments or invitations to play as usual. I’d talked to my veterinarian a few times about vague symptoms I’d noticed since her spay, and on April 25 she was diagnosed with FIP. But she was still my kitten, and I love to see photos of her.

black cat on bed
Lucy on the bed.

. . . . . . .

From the Archives: Good Morning From Our Garden, 2013
Black cat in garden
Mimi stops to smell the forget-me-nots.

Mimi stops to smell the forget-me-nots as we saunter out for our morning sojourn into the garden.

While I often do a little bit—or a lot of—actual work in the garden on nice mornings, I was on a mission today, and Mimi was a great help. Now that the forget-me-nots are blooming I have been transplanting them into pots to bloom in the front of the house, and also looking for a few colorful flowers to cut and put in vases around the front porch.

Mimi said those forget-me-nots were too short, and besides they smelled like that tabby tomcat who’s been visiting. Seeing who’s around the neighborhood these days, she’s glad she’s spayed and happily living indoors.

Mimi and I have come to some terms with our visits outdoors. Most of the time she is cautious, and I wonder how she lived so much of her life outdoors before she came to me. She stays near me, giving a running commentary, poking her nose on things, running around here and there and staring in the direction of any noise, then coming back to me and giving a good solid rub on the shins, her sable fur toasty warm from the morning sun and a good purr.

Later today I decided to give my eyes and hands a break and visit the deck and because I wanted to think something over I might not have taken Mimi, knowing I’d be distracted, but I did let her hop out the door ahead of me, her little pink plaid collar with the bell jingling happily. She could very well take off down the steps or leap through the deck railing and be gone in seconds. Last week she wandered through a break in the fence to the neighbor’s yard and would not come back, and seemed frightened of me following her, and after that we’ve used a leash though I need a good harness rather than a collar. But today she stayed with me, smelling her way around the deck and checking in with me, walking around on the railing and having several good scratches on the wood then checking in with me, sitting on the steps then checking in with me. She did not want to go in when I did, but she did not argue when I picked her up and hugged her warm tiny self and kissed her and took her inside. We’ll see how this goes. Neither of us likes the leash.

You can see one of the little bouquets from this morning on my daily photo blog, “Today”.


Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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.


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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

2 thoughts on “Kitty Things: A Pretty Window, and Some Memories

  • bluemoonalone

    Pretty cat window..There is a shop not too far from here with a cat in the window..a sweet loving real cat..I am sad to say the shop is closing..I shall miss visiting that sweet kitty..I love it when I find shop cats..They make the whole atmosphere seem warm and welcoming..

    Reply

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