marcel

My knight in white satin

/ Tracy Abell

I was just getting ready for bed when I realized:
(1) I’d neglected to blog today and
(2) it’s National Cat Day.

So, here’s Marcel from two years ago:

I can’t imagine life without the lovable drooler.

#Caturday story

/ Tracy Abell

(The curtain opens to a calm scene. Woman reads in bed with Loki (black cat) on lap and Marcel (white cat) against her leg.)

Loki’s tail begins to whip Marcel in the head, which Marcel can ignore for only so long.

Marcel: CHOMP!

Loki: YEOW!

Woman: Come on, you two. Really?

The male muse: an unaccountably rare thing

/ Tracy Abell

The male muse is an unaccountably rare thing in art.
Where does that leave female artists looking for inspiration?
~ Kate Christensen

Well, I’m a female artist currently working in close proximity to my male muse who is apparently lost in thoughts inspired by his whiteboard-muse. Inspiration comes in many forms.

Gotta respect the process.

Learning from the master

/ Tracy Abell

But if you really want to learn about life, get a cat.
The way I think people should relate to animals is with a cat.
Because the world is his.
~  James Cromwell

Marcel looking past me on March 4, 2016

As I create this post, I’m perched on the edge of my chair so as to not interrupt Marcel’s nap. I briefly left the room and returned to find him curled up on the seat. The world truly does belong to him.

A room with a furry view

/ Tracy Abell

Yesterday I moved my writing desk from the living room into my weight room / standing desk room / ginormous whiteboard room. The animals are all a bit confused by the change, and are taking turns hanging out with me. Zoey and Emma were just underneath the desk where Zoey quivered in fright because of thunder while Emma slept on my feet.

This is Marcel from earlier in the day. Right after this photo was taken, he noticed his tail and started chasing it. Confession: I have yet to look away from a cat chasing his tail. I’m dialed into those feline hijinks for the duration, and will watch as long as the cat continues to act the fool.

The change in venue feels good for my writerly brain and psyche, but so far, the animal distractions are more than I bargained for.

 

Good thing there’s no such thing as climate change

/ Tracy Abell

In the last ten months, every house in our neighborhood got a new roof following a hailstorm last summer. In fact, roofers were working on a neighbor’s house minutes ago when the sky turned dark and another hailstorm blew in.


As Marcel watched, hail drifted up against the sliding glass door within minutes.

Here’s a view out the front window.

I’m very worried this storm just ruined all the new roofs. Again. I hope I’m wrong because otherwise there’s a whole lotta shingles headed for the landfill and a whole lotta hammering in our futures.

Twofer Tuesday: lounge lizards

/ Tracy Abell

marcel-and-loki

Marcel up top, watching me closely while Loki, down below, does his best impression of a narcoleptic. A much better photographer than me would be able to balance the harsh sunlight with the white fur and black fur. Makes me long for the days in the darkroom when I could dodge and burn the image. But because I should be working on my writing project rather than messing with this, I’ll let it go.

Apologies for the glare. (HA! I made a pun.)

 

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Synchronized sunbathing

/ Tracy Abell

marcel-and-zoey-in-sun

Marcel and Zoey soaking up the sun together.

Zippy took this with his phone so quality isn’t great, and I’m wishing I’d adjusted Zoey’s tail to match Marcel’s (and maybe also Zoey’s rear left leg), but other than that, it’s a perfect photographic representation of their friendship.

 

 

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Hello, Monday

/ Tracy Abell

Took a cue from Marcel, and spent the day reading and revising in our patch of sunshine.

marcel-in-sun

Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.
~  Walt Whitman

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