Linda Mohr's Blog

Bloggerversary Giveaway

lindamohr — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:03:04 +0000

This week marks the four-year bloggerversary for Catnip Connection launched on January 20, 2008. I want to thank you for reading Catnip Connection and for sharing comments. I am also grateful to Tatianna’s Team of Meowleaders, Chatty Cats and Feisty Felines who promoted Catnip Connection and Tatianna this past year.

My bloggerversary drawing is for a complimentary copy of Tatianna—Tales and Teachings of My Feline Friend. All you need to do to enter the random drawing is comment why you want to win a copy. Please leave the comment on this blog posting by January 31, 2012 or leave a comment on Tatianna’s Facebook page. The book winner will be announced the first week in February. The autographed book will be mailed to you (or whoever you would like to receive the book) shortly thereafter.

Happy Purrs!

December Morn in Missouri

lindamohr — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:30:34 +0000

December Morn in Missouri

A purrfect winter day for exploring! The record-setting warm December weather was incredible. I could follow the kitties around the farm during their outings without a coat! Rosebud loves to climb trees and put on a show!

Warm Purrs!

A Helping Paw

lindamohr — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:00:19 +0000

A Helping Paw

When I arrived at the family farm I covered the dining room table with unwrapped gifts, paper, ribbon, and package decorations. Within minutes, the resident kitties came to investigate this exciting change of events. As you can see, Bootsie was my Christmas helper. His mom, Rose supervised to make sure we got the ribbon just right. What fun we had!!

Warm Purrs!

New Year’s Day Prayer

lindamohr — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:49:56 +0000

A Prayer for the New Year

A happy New Year! Grant that I

May bring no tear to any eye.

When this New Year in time shall end

Let it be said I’ve played the friend,

Have lived and loved and labored here,

And made of it a happy year.

~~By Edgar A. Guest, a stanza from A Prayer for the New Year

ABCs of Gratitude

lindamohr — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:11:47 +0000

Evening Sunset

Last year I wrote my ABCs of Gratitude and am pleased to report, I’ve made it an annual ritual. I credit Ingrid King for suggesting this activity. According to Ingrid, “Gratitude is a wonderful way to raise your vibration and shift your energy. The vibration of gratitude is a powerful force. It can shift your mood and your thoughts from a place of scarcity to a place of abundance”.

One of my students shared her list last year and I look forward to connecting with her this year. It’s a simple exercise that can engage children or students. What a unique way to spend time on Thanksgiving. Grab a sheet of paper and label it A through Z. Fill in with your blessings for the past year. I found it fun and eye-opening! Here’s my 2011 list.

A for Academic Dean Interim Appointment…unexpected
B for Bootsie Photo…second in Purrfect Days Calendar contest
C for Country Walks…food for my soul
D for Desserts…need I say more
E for Essay…published in Thin Threads–Women & Friendship book
F for Family Time…cherished sister, two brothers and sister-in-law
G for God’s Grace…at work in my life
H for Home…my South Florida personal paradise
I for Interviews…with Mary Jones radio and Liz Eastwood blog
J for Joe…romantic stay at Chalet Suzanne on Valentine’s weekend
K for Kitties in Missouri…beloved Rose, Rosebud, Tigger, Angus & Bootsie
L for Lake Helen Book Festival…meeting my readers
M for Mother’s Spirit…watching over me
N for Nature…seeing beauty in Iowa ice storm and fall foliage
O for Online Teaching…learning from diverse students worldwide
P for Photography Course…New York Institute of Photography
Q for Quiet Moments…with Lexie Lee, Chauncey and Gracie
R for Red Library Cat Room…a dream room come true
S for Sacha…who guides, inspires and centers me
T for Tatianna chapter…featured in cat anthology, The Amazing Life of Cats
U for Understanding…there’s more to life than what I see
V for Visits…to family farm for six weeks
W for Writers Workshop…teaching at N. Palm Beach Library
X for Xmas…in Midwest with siblings
Y for Yoga…love how it makes me feel
Z for Zebra Shoes…and all my shoes!!

So there you have it. Now what are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Cat

lindamohr — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:43:54 +0000

Some people carve pumpkins. Others paint and decorate with glitter. My pumpkin is dressed like a black cat. The wooden head and paws are stuck into the pumpkin and I quickly have a “Boo Cat” keeping watch on the patio.

Warm Purrs!

Lexie Lee’s Meowlogue

lindamohr — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:32:55 +0000

Lexie Lee

No naps for me today. I decided to get my paws on the keyboard. I have had thousands of naps since you last heard from me. Mom Linda kept promising that tomorrow she’d help me. But tomorrow never came. Well, I am a competent cat and I can handle this today. She is busy getting fall decorations out of storage—all that black cat stuff that she loves. What I like most is upsetting the Halloween tree. But I am getting ahead of myself.

If there’s one word that describes my life (and Mom Linda’s), it is change. The chaos all started when those two mysterious furry creatures invaded my space last fall. We have had quite a time learning to live together, eat together, and sleep together. Now don’t worry, I am still in charge around here. But I let Princess Grace and Chauncey be the center of attention occasionally.

Then earlier this summer Mom Linda found out her full-time job of twenty years was going away. I don’t really understand where it went. She says that has happened to lots of people lately. Now she is home lots more and I love, love, love that change. She disappears two mornings a week to teach a class at the university. But she leaves all of us extra food. I am so glad she still gets to teach part-time. She loves her students so much. Her other classes are taught on the computer and I can snuggle up right next to the warm machine. She tells me I am her little helper. She has lots of other support. Princess Grace sleeps under the desk chair, and Chauncey prefers the window ledge. She loves having everybody in the same room.

Being so close to Mom Linda, she tells me all her secrets. She says that our life is an adventure. New challenges bring new growth. Now I really don’t agree with that last part. Frankly I have had to fight Princess Grace and Chauncey for my food. I know I’ve even lost weight because of them. My veterinarian can verify that if necessary! Mom Linda tells me that she has not quite figured out what she is going to do with her free time. I think it may have something to do with pictures. She’s always walking around with a little silver contraption in her hand that makes a funny noise. She went to the family farm in Missouri for over a month this summer. She came back with lots of pictures of where she likes to walk and visit. Chauncey and Princess Grace’s sister, three brothers and Mom Rose are all back there, too. I think she even entered one of their pictures in a contest. Now if she’d entered me, well she might have a shot at winning!

Mom Linda tells me she will keep on writing and I am glad to hear that. After all, I am her Muse and I won’t let her down. She was all excited earlier this summer when one of her stories was published in something called Thin Threads—Women and Friendship book. It was not about cats, but I’ll forgive her this time. I am lobbying to be the star in the next story. All for now. Mom Linda just pulled into the driveway. I better post this pronto and get back to napping.

Five Paws Up!

Cats and Window Screens

lindamohr — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:17:42 +0000

Cats and window screens present a potential summer hazard. We welcome opening up the house and letting refreshing breezes in. But as we do so, it is important to check the condition of each screen. I learned why after a house renovation. My cat Lexie Lee was in the dining room on a window sill that runs around ten windows. I was in the kitchen and suddenly a loud noise followed by meows interrupted a quiet evening. I ran into the dining room, and Lexie Lee had fallen onto the floor with a window screen on top of her. Nothing like this had ever happened before! I quickly closed the wide open window. Lexie Lee was startled, but otherwise fine.

Then I headed outside with the screen and properly set it into the window track. I checked the remaining nine windows in that area followed by other windows the next day. Everything was secure, except for the one screen that had fallen out. I think when the new windows and screens were installed, one of them was not locked into place properly. When Lexie Lee pushed against the screen as she traveled along the sill, it gave way. I was just thankful that Lexie Lee tumbled inside the house rather than outside.

Cats also like to climb screens or scratch screens. I have noticed that movement on the outside causes my cats on the inside to bat at the screen. My one-year-olds, Chauncey and Gracie delight in hanging from screens and getting their claws caught. Tears and holes result creating another problem. Screens should be repaired to keep the insects out and to keep the cats from tearing the holes bigger. Sometimes I use small pieces of tape or clear nail polish for quick fixes. You can also pick up a screen repair kit at your local home improvement store.

But sometimes the screen is beyond repair. Earlier this week I was in Ace Hardware getting a picture glass cut. (No, I broke it, not the cats!) While waiting, I noticed the screen display including pet screening that withstands mischievous cats. The cost is $1.00 an inch compared to $0.40 for regular screens. But the pet screen could well be worth the investment for my piece of mind and my cats’ safety. A few more feline climbing adventures in my household will probably send me back to the store, this time for cat proof screening!

What has been your experience with cats, windows and screens?

Happy Purrs!

Happy 4th of July

lindamohr — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 21:53:33 +0000

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore.
— John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776 (referring to the day before, when the resolution for independence was passed)

In 1781, the legislature of Massachusetts became the first to officially designate the Fourth of July as a holiday commemorating the birth of independence; in 1783 — the year the Revolutionary War formally ended — the governor of North Carolina followed suit.

Nathaniel Thurber, my great-great-great-great grandfather, fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was born in 1761 in Providence, Rhode Island. He enlisted in 1776 and served at intervals until 1779, serving eleven months in all. He assisted in the establishment of American independence at the Burning of Bristol. He also served in Massachusetts. He married Polly Shores after the war and died at age 85.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Birthday

lindamohr — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:00:28 +0000

Happy Birthday Brother Chauncey

Creature Comforts

Too Much Birthday Tuna for Grace

Today, June 13 is Chauncey and Grace’s birthday. How fast my two little kittens have grown up! Their birthday request–extra can(s) of tuna and egg! They have brought me incredible joy. I can’t wait to see what is in store for year two.

This time last year I headed to the Missouri family farm to care for Rose’s litter of six. We send birthday greetings to the rest of the brothers and sister–Boots, Tigger, Angus, and Rosebud. We miss you and Mom Rose.

Hope everyone gets special treats today!

Warm Purrs!