From the Archives: A Few Independence Day Memories
Stanley is a little sleepy but we wanted to send you wishes for a nice Independence Day, even if you’re not American! We hope everyone manages to get through the official and unofficial fireworks displays, keeps out of grills and doesn’t eat too much of anything they aren’t supposed to.
I am thankful to the people who risked their lives and fought the Revolution and on this day declared our independence from the influences of Great Britain and Europe declaring that in this new land we would do things a little differently, and that about 100 years ago my grandparents, all four of them, found a way to get to this country and make new and better lives for themselves so that on a quiet morning in July 2006 I could sit on the deck of my house and take photos of my cat in peace and freedom.
You’ve seen photos similar to this one, and indeed I took a number of photos of Stanley that morning intending to do something with them some day. I took this one intentionally so the flag would be part of the photo but Stanley wasn’t sitting any taller than this no matter how I tried to cajole him to pose sitting up with the flag behind him—he was about 24 years old. I also used a distance shot from this on Memorial Day, below, where you can read a little more about that photo.
And you may have also seen the sketch, “Stanley With Geraniums”, which was one of the pieces of artwork I’d planned on creating from the photos I’d taken that day. This was the featured artwork and desktop calendar for July 2013.
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Celebrating Independence Day With Cookie
And a few years later, 2009 to be exact, I had a different table on that corner of the deck, and Cookie was supervising me.
Above is how I typically spend my Independence Day—not that I don’t enjoy picnics and fireworks and all the usual celebratory things, but it’s all about independence, right? So I and my cats do as we please, and for me that usually entails working on a creative project (even if it’s technically work), listening to music or a recorded story or something engrossing on the radio, and spending time with my cats, who also enjoy as much independence as they want every day of the year.
I am “technically” working today as well, on a number of creative projects, but today I am inside and Mimi is watching over me.
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And of course the holiday wouldn’t be complete without an address from the cross-border lovers…they’ve been celebrating all weekend.
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Bonne Fêtes Nationales, 2013
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Happy Independence Day to all our American cats, and have a nice day to everyone else!
Browse some rescued cats and kittens!
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