#caturday

Happy Caturday from Marcel

/ Tracy Abell

This slightly menacing photo was actually taken in December of 2022 and I’m using it because both Marcel and his brother Loki are napping right now and I don’t want to risk waking them for a Caturday photo shoot. I’m drafting my new manuscript and it’s hard to write when Loki is draped over my right shoulder, which is what he’ll demand upon waking. Years ago, Zebu gifted me a sling for holding/carrying a feline but neither one likes it. They prefer the undivided attention that comes with me holding them in my arms.

So, I’m doing a drive-by posting and then going back to work on my project while the little terrorists are asleep.

*whisper-shouts* Happy Caturday!

 

Update: Just as I was about to hit PUBLISH, Loki sauntered into my writing room. Crying for attention.

Caturday revisions

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

As I revise my middle-grade manuscript today, I’ve been visited by both cats. Marcel came up on the table next to my laptop, sniffing around, wondering why I wasn’t reading on the couch where he could nap in my lap.

Still, his presence was much less of an annoyance than his brother Loki’s many visits throughout the day when he’s either cried to be fed some more or demanded I pet him (some more), and nipped at my hand when I stopped.

I haven’t been around the blogging community as much as I’d like this month because I’ve been working hard to make this manuscript shine and after hours on the computer, my eyes need a rest. I hope to catch up with everyone after sending off my revisions. In the meanwhile, I’ll have to settle for the company of my two feline friends and their tag-team visits.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. Happy #Caturday!

Pondering and plotting

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

After talking (in very general terms) with a friend/critique partner today about my work-in-progress, I had an epiphany. I realized it was possible to slightly expand the primary setting for my story in a way that will allow me to more deeply explore some elements/themes I’d like to include. And yes, I realize that last sentence is pretty cryptic, but until I have a complete first draft I always err on the side of “keep your mouth shut, Tracy.”

But now I’ve now got a whole bunch of questions I must answer before implementing that change in the setting. As in, I need to know the how and why behind the expansion of the setting. Does the property I want to add belong to the protagonist’s family or a neighbor? Is that property already in good shape or is it in need of restoration? Would money change hands or could it be a barter system?

I’m very excited about this new idea. I’m also feeling bombarded by the many possibilities bouncing around my brain. Overwhelm alert!

Here, in solidarity on this #Caturday, is Marcel looking equally overwhelmed (although I’m pretty sure he’s not drafting a novel and is merely plotting how to move that heavy brick currently sitting on top of the kibble bin  ). May the two of us settle down and find clarity in the not-too-distant future. Well, one of us, at least.

Caturday at the condo

/ Tracy Abell

Over the past week, the entire household moved room to room, following the sun. The Costco Box Condo is typically a prime late-morning location, but ever since I put the bed on the upper level, Marcel (in white) won’t go up there because he has an aversion to all non-human beds. This means Brother Loki is free to lounge in the penthouse or on the second floor. He’s happy most anywhere he can nap.

In this image, though, it feels as if Marcel is silently admonishing me for ruining his perch. Know what? I’ve just decided I will remove that little bed.

Well done, Marcel.

#Caturday memories

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Last year, I took a series of photos of Loki and Marcel so I could make a birthday card for our neighbor who takes care of them while we’re away. I went back to them now in search of a #Caturday image, and couldn’t resist this one of them half-heartedly struggling to be free of Zippy’s grip:

Or this image of weary resignation:

Or this photo of the brothers looking off in the distance, as if hoping help was on the way:

Ah, memories.

#Caturday with Loki

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

It’s a banner day on this #Caturday!
For once, it’s Loki rather than  his brother Marcel taking center stage.

It’s a challenge to get a good photo of a black cat, but yesterday Zippy did a fine job capturing the double-boxed cat (with his crappy phone-camera, no less!)

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Happy #Caturday

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Marcel and Loki are indoor cats, but we allow them supervised time on the deck. The only rule is they must stay where we can see them and aren’t allowed around the corner where the bird feeder and bath sit next to the patio. Loki always immediately cruises down the deck and around the corner where he flops down and begins rolling around. Unfortunately, his outdoor time is nearly nonexistent because he still hasn’t made the connection between that behavior and getting put back inside.

Marcel, however, abides by the rules. Here he is this morning, strolling the deck railing, as Zippy and I stretched after our run.

I missed a great photo opportunity of him sniffing at the budding maple leaves, but did capture this tender moment between Marcel and Zippy.

Marcel is intensely interested in odors — ALL odors — and was fascinated by the post-run aromas coming off Zippy. Glad someone appreciates them because . . . WHEW. 🙂

#Caturday truths

/ Tracy Abell

You can observe a lot by just watching. ~ Yogi Berra

October 9, 2021

Marcel takes Yogi’s sage insight to heart, watching out the window as his brother Loki naps beside him, oblivious to the birds on the awning.

It’s a cat’s life

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Marcel lives the life I crave: sitting in a southern-exposure window, basking in the sunshine as clouds float past in the blue-blue sky.

November 19, 2021

This photo’s from November, but today followed the same script: Marcel sprawled along the sill, eyes closed as he soaked up the solar rays. Hey, if it ain’t broke there’s no need to fix it.

#Caturday message from our sponsor

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Tracy is taking this day to do whatever in the hell she wants. Sit in a patch of sunshine. Read a book. Rub my head or that of my brother Loki. Pet that frequently over-amped dog she calls Emma Jean-Jean. Have a snack or nap. Take another leisurely bootless walk. Create or not create. The decisions belong to Tracy.

October 9, 2021

I trust this isn’t a problem for any of you, right?

All right, I’m late for my own nap so I’ll wish you a good day. Be well.

#Caturday gift

/ Tracy Abell / 10 Comments

Tomorrow is our neighbor’s birthday and because B is the kind soul who cares for Loki and Marcel when we’re out camping, I wanted a photo of them for a card. It’s tough getting good photos of a black and a white cat (at the same time) because Loki tends to fade into the shadows. After several unsuccessful photo shoots of them napping on the bed and lounging in their box-condo, I asked Zippy to hold them.

October 9, 2021

It was a full minute of squirming, shedding, feline shenanigans, but I was able to capture this shot. I’m especially pleased Marcel’s looking directly at the camera because B has high hopes that one of these times when she’s cat-sitting, she’ll finally get Marcel to happy-drool. He’s been holding out on her.

Our dear neighbor takes her cat whisperer duties very seriously.

#Caturday

/ Tracy Abell

Creepy is better than just plain scary because you can’t look away from creepy – you want to know the truth! ~ Ransom Riggs

September 13, 2021

The truth? Marcel is an exceedingly sweet cat with a penchant for creepy and just because it looks as if he’d eat a corpse, I really don’t believe he’d follow through.

#Caturday editorial assistant

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

I was working on revisions in bed this morning when Marcel decided to check out the happenings. In true feline form, he chose to curl up on the very document I’d just set next to me.

As gently as possible, I removed it from beneath his vast bulk. Not to be dissuaded from his mission of chaos, Marcel began noisily licking the plastic bag containing my highlighters and post-its. I was less gentle in that removal.

A few minutes later, I relocated to the patio. Marcel is an indoor-only cat.

P.S. While they didn’t directly obscure my materials, a couple hummingbirds got into multiple dust-ups as I worked outside, distracting me with their darting aggression.

It’s pretty obvious that I deserve a medal for getting any work done today.

Pondering

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

I feel a bit like this today as I work to fully realize one of the main characters in my work-in-progress:

Marcel. February 5, 2020

I know who the character is and what he’s about. And yet, two drafts in, he’s still a bit of a mystery. Most of his petals have unfurled, displaying his basic essence, but others remain closed to me. But just as this geranium flower eventually bloomed in full, so shall my character. And like Marcel, I’ll be there. Ready and waiting to absorb all that’s revealed.

#Caturday at the movies

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Marcel thinks that if he blocks the screen with his considerable bulk, I will focus on him instead of Netflix or Hulu. And maybe that ploy did work a couple months ago when this photo was taken, when I was feeling more tender-hearted and giving.

Marcel doing his best to make me even more visually impaired than usual.

Tonight is a different story. He has been warned.

#Caturday: big foot edition

/ Tracy Abell

Marcel and I are spending the day in bed where I’m thoroughly engrossed in reading Erin Entrada Kelly’s excellent WE DREAM OF SPACE. Well, “thoroughly” is a bit of a stretch. I tend to get distracted each time Marcel starts waving around his ginormous back feet.

February 27, 2021

Still and all, a happy #Caturday (as indicated by the curled toes).

#Caturday from days of yore

/ Tracy Abell

June 20, 2019

Here’s Marcel watching a scrub jay through the window screen, flowers blooming in the background. A photographic reminder for me on this January day that no season is forever. Soft spring air is in my future.

#Caturday napping

/ Tracy Abell

December 26, 2020

I was just in the basement, tending to the worm bin, when I heard a sound I assumed came from the dog and/or cats upstairs. Nope. It was Marcel, shifting position in his sun-soaked napping place.

Glad someone’s getting use out of the treadmill.

#Caturday with Marcel

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

Here’s another installment of Marcel and the ever-blooming geranium.

February 5, 2020

This photo is from February, but could’ve been taken today or yesterday. The familiar serenity of the image evokes peace and contentment.

Wishing a good #Caturday to all the feline-lovers out there.