The Colors of Our Lives

The photo above was taken with my husband and daughter on the day of my daughter's bridal shower. As you can see I'm wearing a black shirt with a sheer black and white jacket. I'm honestly not a big fan of a lot of color in my wardrobe, for a few reasons. The first reason is that I find wearing dark colors more slenderizing, and I'm always conscious of my frustratingly less than a svelte figure. Second, I find dark colors more complimentary to my fair complexion. The third reason is that dark colors seem to be the "de rigueur" uniform for most New Yorkers, and I'm no exception.  I'd be the first to admit that things in the city can get very grimy -- all I have to do is clean my outside window sills to see that -- and wearing dark colors work best for preventing big dry cleaning bills.

While I prefer black and other dark colors I do admit that a few other colors are my favorite, and searching through my photo files I saw a few trends.

The first trend I noticed is that I don't take too many photos of myself!  I'm usually the one too busy taking photos and unless it is a special occasion or a vacation trip, I hardly get in a photo.  The other trend I noticed is that the colors red and blue seem to be my favorite colors to wear if I'm not wearing black.  Just for fun, I snuck in two vintage photos of myself in the collage above--can you spot them?

Even though I prefer black there is another way I incorporate color into my wardrobe. I just wrap a pretty multicolored scarf around my neck! I have quite a variety in all colors and kinds of fabric.  As I was going through my collection of scarves to display them on my bed for this photo someone else thought this was the most marvelous idea...

It was my cat, Bo, who jumped up right into the middle of them purring kind contently and ready to play with the fringes on some of the scarves. When his nails came out he was quickly asked to leave (smile).

Mosaic Monday ~ My Cat Bo!

please click to enlarge

I'm taking part in Mary of The Little Red House blog's "Mosaic Monday." Please check Mary's blog today for links to other blogs participating in this event. Thank you, Mary, for hosting this event and also teaching us how to make beautiful mosaics! I used the Google Picasa program to make my mosaic, using my photo files stored on Picasa. I like the program very much! I paid a nominal fee for extra storage, as I exceeded it's free usage, but I'm happy with the program's ease of storage, editing, and ability to mail whole albums to family and friends.

My mosaic today is of my adopted cat "Bo." He is eleven years old and I've had him for five years, after adopting him from one of my daughter's friends who had developed an allergy issue. He's one of the sweetest and most lovable cats that I've ever had the pleasure of welcoming into my life. His breed is a RagaMuffin, which are classically large and heavy cats.

Their personality is described as such:

"RagaMuffins are known for their stunning appearance and tender disposition. They are often likened to the soft loyalty of lapdogs. These cats appear to crave human attention and are often found in laps when their owners are otherwise distracted with television or books."

That description fits Bo to a tee, as I can not sit in a chair without him jumping up to sit on my lap and purr. His next favorite position is to lay on his back next to me to have his tummy rubbed, and his third favorite position is curled up sleeping, which he does for quite a bit of the day because of his senior age.

One of his unusual features is that he has one blue eye and one green eye, which you can see in some of the photos. His fur has to be brushed every day, and he does shed quite a bit, but those are minor chores in return for all the love he gives us.

If you are looking for a mild mannered and loving cat to be your friend, a RagaMuffin is an excellent choice!


"I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul."
- Jean Cocteau

Relaxation

I hope you find your "sunny spot" today!

Farewell Pepper

This is our little Pepper, my daughter's faithful friend of almost 17 years. He had to be put down today due to a terminal illness, and our hearts are heavy with the loss of one of the best cats we have ever known and loved.


He was our little bright eyes, thin smart and agile, always a gentleman in his manners, very cool and elegant, always attentive and alert.


His favorite activity was watching the birds and trying to catch errant leaves as they flew by the window in autumn. He would lay for hours purring in the sun of the windowsill, his fur warm and glistening in the light.


He loved to sleep and could find a comfy spot anywhere -- on our beds, on a chair, in a shoebox box in the closet, on top of the couch, or in the circular top of his cat stand.

Sleep well Pepper. We will always remember you! You made our lives better by sharing your life with us.

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France

Every home needs a cat

This is Bo -- my darling adopted cat of three years doing what he does best.......sleeping! He slept through all the Christmas revelry going on at my house, and even the bag of treats presented to him from his stocking did not rouse him from his beauty rest.

As Mark Twain once wrote:

A home without a cat, and a well-fed, well-petted and properly revered cat, may be a perfect home, perhaps; but how can it prove its title?"

Bo is a "RagamMuffin" breed. They are very big and very lovable!

To see a most exquisite painting of cats on rocks go to the NYC based Italian Ester Curini's web site "Sassogatto"

Two of Ester's painted rock cats: