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If you’ll cook up a liking for me
My Valentine
I’ll waiter round for you
I collect vintage valentines and all stuff feline. So here you go! This is an anthropomorphic valentine, circa 1930s. The diecut valentine stands 4 1/2″ tall and folds in four places. The manufacturer is unknown.
Look at that face!
Whimsical, fun and lots of detail
Blessings!
Linda
I cannot be in this breathtaking scene and be unhappy. Omni Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC
In 2010, I created my first ABCs of Gratitude list. I look forward to this project every November. The simple yet thought-provoking exercise is a unique way to reflect on the year. I label a sheet of paper A through Z and fill in with blessings.
According to Ingrid King 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. Wayne Dyer believed that if you get to a place of gratitude you will experience peace. Be in a state of gratitude for everything because there is something to learn in everything. Be grateful even for the pain because there are lessons to be learned.
In keeping with my annual Thanksgiving month tradition, my 2019 blessings are listed below. I always compare my list to prior years. Some years have more peaks, and other years have more valleys. But, I always find 26 blessings.
My ABCs of Gratitude for 2019
Auction…Midwest country the best
Biltmore Estate…tea and 63 Christmas trees
Elegance
Crossnore…sponsor 7 children at Crossnore School & Children’s Home
DAR…school committee state award
Exercise…Parkinson’s meds
Friends…long leisurely lunch visits
Grove Park Inn…stay in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Room
Heaven Sent Anthology…Rose and the Six Kittens
Interview…Davis Phinney Parkinson’s Ambassador
July… Missouri Vacation
Kice…summer visit with my 7th & 8th grade teacher
Teacher and Student
Love…of family, friends and Joe
Micanopy…historic Florida “antiques” town
Nine-Years-Old…birthday siblings
Chauncey
Grace
Okun MD…movement disorder specialist
Pink Boxing Gloves…KitKat is my name
Wanna Fight?
Quiet Time…read, reflect, rest
Rock Steady Boxing…trainer Shanda
Sixty-Nine…birthday party at Teapots & Treasures
Specialty–Orange Cake
Tent House…Termites Gone
University of FL…movement disorder center of excellence
Victoria Vacation…sister Donna
The Two Sisters
Writing…profiling creative people with Parkinson’s
Artist Michele Keir-Rhode Island
X-Ray…Dr. Cohn
Yoga Class…balance benefit
Zone Out…when being creative
What are you thankful for today and for this year?
Blessings!
Linda
Vigilant Duo
Whatever is hiding behind the cement step does not have a chance! Boots and Rosebud are quite patient. I see determination in Boot’s eyes. What attracted me to this shot is the contrast of textures–soft cat fur, stiff whiskers, a cracked step, sprawling plants and algae. The cats exhibit stillness, yet there is a feeling that at any moment there will be pouncing action.
The soft subdued colors of the algae growth allows the vividness of the cats’ coloring to stand out.
Blessings!
Linda
Photo Credit: Linda A. Mohr
This photo first appeared in Linda Mohr’s 2019 cat calendar.
L to R, cousin Eloise, Linda, Mother, childhood friend Mary
A memory from the archives
Ten years ago in June I was honored to be interviewed by Ingrid King, founder of Conscious Cat. Since that time, she has written five fabulous cat books.
One of the questions she asked was:
Linda, “Tatianna” is your first book. How did you become a writer?
When I was in high school, I entered an essay contest sponsored by Rural Electric Area Cooperative. Winning writers won an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. I still have the essay and a photo album full of memories! In my mid-twenties, I worked on a college text on the psychology of clothing, but the publisher decided against it. I taught microwave cooking classes in Palm Beach County, and I have unpublished chapters of a microwave cookbook. I wrote Bobbin’ Along sewing column for a local newspaper during that decade as well.
So I have dabbled in writing for a long time. My mother recalls me announcing when I was younger that someday I would write a book. Decades later, Tatianna was placed in my life to finally help me accomplish that goal. The best part is that my mother sat next to me at my book signings!
If you would like to read the whole interview, please visit here
Bountiful Blessings!
Missouri Cotton Candy Sunset
If you only say one prayer in a day, make it ‘Thank You’—Rumi
In 2010, I created my first ABCs of Gratitude list. I now look forward to this project every November. The simple yet thought-provoking exercise is a unique way to reflect on the year. Grab a sheet of paper and label it A through Z. Fill in with your blessings. If you get stuck on a letter, a dictionary is permitted!
Wayne Dyer believed that if you get to a place of gratitude you will experience peace. Be in a state of gratitude for everything because there is something to learn in everything. Be grateful even for the pain because there are lessons to be learned from it. According to Ingrid King 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.
In keeping with my annual Thanksgiving month tradition, my 2018 ABCs of Gratitude list is listed below. I find it interesting to compare my list to prior years. Looking back, some years had more ups, and other years had more downs. But in the end, I always found 26 blessings. This year is no different. Most of my days have ended with awe inspiring sunsets such as the one taken from my brother’s backyard deck in the country.
Angels on Duty Anthology…Angel by My Side poem
Angels on Duty
Board Director…DAR Seminole Chapter
Creative Genius Anthology…My Parkinson’s Muse essay
Creative Genius
Dineen…stress buster housekeeper
eBay Seller Plus…1000+ reviews
Fennelly State Poet Laureate…workshop leader
God…providing healing and hope for Judy
Highland Park Anthology…Power Struggle poem
Highland Park Anthology
Invigorate…Dr. Sarah King Parkinson’s exercises
Joe…my love, my rock, my partner
Kitties’ 8th Birthday…Grace, Chauncey, Rosebud, Tigger, Boots, Angus
6 Kitties, 4 weeks old
All Grown Up! Rosebud, Angus, Boots & Tigger
Grace & Chauncey
Lake Yellowstone Hotel…mountains and lake room view
Peacefulness–What a View!
Marsha at Perry Consulting…PD website diva
Nieto…compassionate doctor
Okun…internationally known movement disorder specialist
Parkinson’s My Way…website and blog launch
Quietude…meditative nature walks
Lane to Family House
Reunion…50 year high school class ‘68
School Teacher Mrs. Kice…special visit
June Kice. my 7th & 8th Grade Teacher
Ten Year Anniversary…member Daughters of the American Revolution
Uncles (great) Carl and Rupert…honor sacrifice 100 year WW
Honoring Rupert’s Place of Death, Naix, France
Vinnie Ream Award Finalist…Voice Within poetry collection
Wood Stairs…Nic’s skillful renovation
X-rays…caring Active Health Center
Yellowstone National Park…trip with Joe for memory bank
Yellowstone Canyon
Zeal for Exercise…keeping Parkinson’s at bay
Blessings!
Linda
In September following Hurricane Irma’s knock out punch at my house, I sat in the dark dripping with perspiration and wrote a poem. Later I discovered “Electricity” was one of the categories in the Highland Park Poetry Challenge.
I am pleased to receive an Honorable Mention Award for my Adult Non-Resident entry Power Struggle. The poem is displayed at Highland Park Poetry through the end of April for National Poetry Month. Then it will be archived. You will find the poem as you stroll through a few pages of electricity poems.
The poem is also included in 2018 Poetry Challenge publication available at my Author Page on Amazon
A special thanks to Jennifer Dotson for all she is doing at Highland Park Poetry to promote and share poetry.
Blessings!
Emerald Eyes
This pose of Grace is featured in my annual cat calendar for February 2018.
No Vacancy
Each year I create a cat photo calendar from my favorite annual shots of the cats at my home or at the farm. Here is from left to right, Rosebud, Angus, Boots and Tigger. As you can see, all love to be in this favorite bed at the same time–especially in January.
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O Christmas Tree 2017
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the book Tatianna—Tales and Teachings of My Feline Friend during this Christmas season, here is an excerpt about my cat tree. Tatianna slept under a ten-foot live Scotch pine tree every year for sixteen Christmases.
Six Cat Heads Started Collection 1982
“During Christmas 2000, the live pine tree showcased exclusively more than two hundred cat ornaments—a collection that had evolved over Tatianna’s lifetime. The Christmas cat ornament collection innocently started in 1982 while I attended a veterinary convention in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. I was shopping in a Christmas store and simply wanted to purchase a souvenir. Little did I know that the purchase of six porcelain cat heads, representing white, black, gray, calico, Siamese, and orange marmalade cats, would grow into a massive collection!
Cuter than Cute!
Unpacking and hanging the myriad of cat ornaments were rituals in and of themselves. The cat ornaments were wooden, metal, paper, hand quilted, glass, ceramic, plastic, resin, knitted, stainless steel, silver plated, hand painted, or felt. They were whimsical, angelic, simple, detailed, comical, or musical. Some had movable parts and jointed legs and arms. Collector ornaments included fragile Christopher Radko heirlooms, Garfield, Kliban, Gorham silver plate, Bradford Exchange, and Hallmark. Two exquisite Radko ornaments showcased two cats sleeping in blue snowflake mittens and a cat sleeping on beautiful packages. There were assorted cat colors represented, including gray, orange marmalade, white, black, tiger striped, tabby, and calico. The baubles depicted the cats in stockings, in trees, in garland, in holly, in wreaths, on skates, on pillows, in gifts, in trunks, in mailboxes, in carriages, in boxes, in boots, in baskets, in airplanes, with umbrellas, on picture frames, and on hymnals. They personified cats in dresses, in hats, with handbags, and holding parasols. They were baking, fishing, shopping, or snoozing. Cats wrapped themselves around candy canes or were decorated in lights and garland. Others peeked out of a Victorian shoe or popped out of a cat-in-the-box. Mice, fish, or red bells dangled from many ornaments.
Santa Kitty
I acquired the eclectic ornaments from friends, family, and my world travels. Some ornaments brought back tearful memories of Noelle and Taittinger. One reminded me of the year Noelle knocked over a seven-foot live tree while climbing to the top, and the tree had to be wired to a curtain rod for the rest of the season. Baby Taittinger especially liked to crawl under the tabletop tree decorated in peach and white and snooze for hours. Other ornaments reminded me of Ken. One in particular was a Hallmark ornament with a black cat and white cat playing peek-a-boo in a red plastic basket with a movable lid. A second white cat dangled on a string under the basket. If I pulled the string one way, the black cat’s head popped out of the basket, and if I pulled again, the first white cat’s head was visible. It was an amusing ornament and always made me laugh—just like Ken did. Another treasured ornament from Ken was two gray cats dressed as a bride and a groom.
A Sentimental Favorite
I especially prized the Hallmark Keepsake Collection, because my mother gave one of them to me annually since 1985. The Hallmark cat ornaments were lighthearted and mischievous—just like Tatianna. One series of ornaments was called Mischievous Kitten and another The Cat Nap. My Hallmark collection spanned fifteen years and the cats in it were up to a variety of antics, including hanging on a bird cage, laying over a fish bowl, wearing antlers, making cookies, sleeping in a knitting basket, climbing a Christmas tree, dangling from a stocking, and catching a bee on a poinsettia.
Love Those Faces!
The ornaments from all over the world reminded me of my special travels. Some ornaments came from Macy’s in New York; Harrods in London; the Black Forest in Germany; Paris; Rome; Savannah; San Francisco; as well as Frankenmuth, Michigan, a German-style village that boasts the world’s largest Christmas store.
Besides all of the cat ornaments, the tree included a wooden beaded cat garland, beanbag-style gray cats that mischievously climbed up into the top of the tree, a cat tree topper, and a cat tree skirt. An orange marmalade beanbag cat adorned in a red Santa hat was sleeping on a branch two feet from the top of the tree. Old-fashioned bubble lights and red bows completed the whimsical tree. It was indeed a tree with a lot of personality, not unlike Tatianna.” (End of excerpt)
Since that era, the cat tree has evolved to a smaller tree. I have had a joyful time in 2017 decorating a four-foot pre-lit tree with a selection of some of my favorite cat ornaments. But these are hard decisions as all the cats want out of the storage boxes! I also have a new eBay customer/friend who is starting her first Christmas cat tree and I am so pleased many of the ornaments have a new home where they will be displayed and cherished for years to come.
Blessings!
Linda Mohr's Blog 