Welcome the Wonder of the Season

This time of year brings observations and celebrations is traditions all over the world. This season with its fading light and growing cold gives us a time to slow down and ponder, remember the year with all its highs and lows, joy and sadness, beauty and grotesque, and think the thoughts we may have pushed aside or not had time to stop for in the flush of spring, the fullness of summer and the flame of autumn. The stars are always there even in the day, but in this season decorate the sky above us and give us a reason to think of wondrous things.

We’d all like to wish you a Merry Christmas if you are celebrating, and if not we wish you the joy of love from kitties especially as well as other pets, friends and family, and peace in your heart and home, and in this world.

I thank Mr. Sunshine for being the model for this design, and for four little black kittens who inspired it! Your memories are definitely a blessing.

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For the 10 years I’ve been using this image for my holiday greeting here I’ve listed, in that space above the title of this design, greetings from me and all the cats in the house. The last time I shared it was 2022; 2023 we lost Giuseppe just before Christmas, 2024 we were offline. But when I pulled up the 2022 version to update it and saw the list of 12 cats, more than half of whom are no longer with us but it just seems like last year they were all here, I stopped. I couldn’t edit the list, pick out the ones who are gone and leave the rest, I couldn’t think of another way to phrase it, so I just left the whole thing out this year. I’m sure no one would recognize that but me, but every day I encounter these moments when my household of felines was so big and varied and wonderful to live with. I don’t want to erase that and replace it with something. I want to preserve the memory and maybe change to something new. That’s a lot of what I’ve been pondering at this time too.

On a very productive note, I had big plans for posts and images for this holiday season but I’ve gotten totally involved in not only some pretty deep ponderances but also some pretty deep reorganization and work in my studios and elsewhere around my home and decided, since I don’t usually have the time for this but now I do, to just go with it, going through boxes of things piece by piece, reorganizing shelves inch by inch, planning out projects with all the materials I have on hand. Wow, what a difference in my workspaces! and finding some things I’d forgotten I had! ideas I’ve been putting off! And in the process making some plans for the near future and next year with new products, old products, vendor events and displays. Also new art and images and new things to offer for sale on my websites. This sort of thing is actually fun when you’re in the mood for it, and later next year when I’m not in the mood for it and don’t have time for it I’ll be glad for the time spent and being able to just move forward with my plans, including some new and larger vendor events as well as some upgrades to e-commerce.

I’ll miss my friend Mary who went to all the vendor events to help with my display. She and I also messaged just about daily sharing cute things about our cats and sharing our losses, work, weather, and there’s that hole in my day and my conversations with friends. I always told her about new ideas because she would understand how they fit into what I do, and she was often my first customer for those things! She also always had me do custom gifts for her cousins who were nature and wildlife people but not cat people, and I was more than glad to return the favor of doing something for her. Her cousins have been in town, we met and worked on her house and car, and things are pretty much all finished but the memorial we’ll host for her some time early next year.

My posts will be sparse through the end of the year, but I’ll still have things to share in the meantime, and even if I don’t message or visit your site of comment on social media I visit around when I can, and I’m thinking of all of you.

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Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals

Fine Art • Photography • Gifts • Greeting Cards • Books • Commissioned Portraits & Artwork

Treat yourself or a loved one to a custom commissioned portrait. Enjoy my video, then click the link for more information.

Read more and order.

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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.

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© 2009-2025 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Weekly schedule of features:

Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life

Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters

Tuesday: Rescue Stories

Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork

Thursday: New Merchandise

Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy

Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats

And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

 

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