Watermark

Carnival of the Cats #145 | New Year's Edition

APPY

EW     EAR !

 

Welcome to this 145th Carnival of the Cats, as the year turns to 02007 !

   

Critter New Year Resolutions

Before making any new promises, let's take another look at last year's resolutions ( with more current photos), shall we?

  Henry promised:

• I will quit eating catshit
• I will try to be less cute, so that the other critters get equal attention
• I won't try to climb on Sharon's head

Still does the first; judge for yourself on the second; minor improvement on the third.

 

  Lucy vowed:

• I will be less neurotic, so that I don't have to be so brave
• I will remember that I am not the boss of the cats
• I will keep playing tug-a-war, which I just discovered, with Henry

Actually, some progress on the first! Not so much on the other two, though.

 

  Boo swore:

• I will risk coming downstairs when we have company
• I will stop playing with cat turds on the staircase
• I will spend more time on the lap, and less on the shoulder

That second one is hopeless, I fear. But she is less shy!

 

  Spike said:

• I will, for another year, not bite anyone
• I will be less of a bully
• I will be kinder to my teddy bear

Wow. Spike has not bitten anyone! Spike has mellowed! (We'll just forget about teddy for the moment...)

  Squirrel(s) sort of committed:

• I will share more with my siblings and cousins
• I will not chew the ottoman
• I will stop teasing the neighborhood dogs

Ah, well. It was silly to think I had any influence over them, anyway. Although I have enjoyed watching a pair of them . . . um . . . act like it's spring, in the lilac tree, today.

And what about the human?

Well you should ask.

My New Year Resolution in January 2005 was to quit smoking:

I did great. For 1 1/2 years. Then, in the fall, I began smoking with a neighbor, and quickly got up to four cigarettes a day. Sometimes three, occasionally five.

Now it's been almost two weeks without a smoke; the neighbor is out of town. I'm going nuts. I swear my mind is muddier without nicotine.

Really.

A Gratitude Post

Wulfgar! has announced the winners of this year's Montana Weblog Awards, and Watermark is tied with Raven's Nest as the Most Creative Montana Blog. This is company I am proud to be in. I'm also well pleased with Wulfgar!'s observation that it's pretty obvious that Mike, Sharon and a certain Sam from a certain creek have a very broad readership.

I'll post the complete list of winners below the cut -- where you should go, for some enriching discoveries -- but first, a few thank-you's:

• to Wulfgar!, for taking on what must be both a fun and an exasperating task, honchoing this now annual event
• to all of you who took the time and interest to check out Montana's offerings
• and to all who voted for Watermark

I also want to thank those folks, from all over the place, who have given thought and time to commenting in the Introduce Yourself! post. So far, we have:

• John B. | Blog Meridian
• belledame222 | Fetch me my axe
• Cheryl | Journey of Cross and Quill
• Mary Scriver | Prairie Mary
• John Baker | John Baker's Blog
• DrMeglet | randomness revovled around me
• Megan | Flaming Renaissance
• Cathy | The Quiet One
• Laura | Moments, Musings
• Jacquie | wild ink
• meika | meika loofs samorzewski
• pam | MarillaAnne
• Endment | Endment
• Leesa | Peace of My Mind
• Chia
• Theresa Quintanilla | QViews
• Pearl | Humanyms
• Michael | Stick Poet Super Hero
• Bitteroot | Bitteroot and Bergamot
• Anne | Ample Sanity
• Crafty Green Poet
• Lori Witzel | chatoyance

This thread is even more fun and thought provoking than I had anticipated. Even if you don't feel like participating, I bet you'll find the comments, and the commenters' sites, of interest -- check them out -- and, of course, check out . . .

 

PeeWee|Bibs: Cutest Cat Ever

Photo by Sue Pinkerton | Click to embiggen

This last Friday Cat Blogging post of the year is dedicated to Bibs, AKA PeeWee, and her human -- my cousin Sue, who takes the wonderful photos that have brightened my cat blogging posts this year. Let's review [all photos by Sue Pinkerton ~ click to go to posts]:

       

       

Thank you, Sue and Bibs, for most of the sugar on this blog.

Not enough cuteness for you?

Good grief! Well, try:

Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Weekend Dog Blogging
LisaViolet's Tummy Tuesday
Kitty Movie Monday at YouTube

And don't forget -- this Sunday's New Year's Eve  Carnival of the Cats will be here at Watermark. Get those entries in, by 5:00 p.m. Sunday, Mountain Time.

Blog Carnival has a submittal form, and that is my strong preference for entries. The form makes things much easier on carnival hosts. However, a little caveat -- I have discovered that, if you use CoComment, you need to turn off the automatic mode before trying to submit your entry. CoComment and the Blog Carnival submittal form appear to be incompatible, at least on a Mac.

Or, you can send your catblogging URL to submissions (at) carnivalofthecats.com.

See you on Sunday!

Snapshot Poem: the week between solstice & new year's 02006

they say our days grow longer, our nights
more brief, but i don't notice. i act as
humans do, tying up loose ends, filing
important human papers, cleaning signs
of life from tables and floors, speaking
in cliches. sleet sweeps through our dim
streets, keeping us at home, or cautiously
walking, driving, steep-stepping along icy
untrustworthy paths to go spend more of
money that is increasingly scarce, if that
is possible to be. increasingly scarce.

the world grows harder, colder, more
slippery. even the dogs can't keep their
footing. my body clenches to an iron bar,
sure to fall and shatter, when one booted foot
steps outside. under that innocent snow --
sheer treachery, bruising duplicity. never
enough. never enough warning, support,
cushioning. never enough evidence to
coax belief, to elicit the faith my grand-
parents felt every day, with each sure
and certain step. tomorrow, they say, sun.

 

The ballot for this year's Montana Weblog Awards closes at midnight tonight. Mountain Time, of course. Git along thar!

Winter White

This lovely winter scene is by Catnapping, another Montana blogger. A perfect holiday greeting, posted here with her permission.

May we continue to be blessed with beauty and generosity, and may peace come to, and from, us all.

Have you been a good little human this year?

Want to earn some more good-human points, before it's too late? You could go feed some squirrels . . . OR . . . you could go cast your votes for the 2006 Montana Weblog Awards.

... all votes must be registered as comments to [A Chicken Is Not Pillage] website, or to the email address [email protected] ... The voting will remain open until Wednesday, December 27th.  The results will be announced before the new year.  You do not need to be a blogger to vote.  You do not need to be a Montanan to vote.  So, just vote.

Watermark is nominated in the Culture categories of Most Creative and Best Written. I think I might have a shot at Most Creative, but I do believe there are better written Montana blogs out there, and there are lots of categories to vote in.

So, if you think Watermark qualifies, and you feel like giving me a little holiday lift -- go vote for Watermark. If you would like to see just how good Montana Bloggers are, go check out the nominations and pick your winners. The competition is tough, fun, and enlightening.

You can't lose.

Unless, of course, you annoy Squirrel Santa Claws.

 

Goddess Daughter's Solstice Cat

Photo by Mariah B

Isn't he lovely? Well-loved, too. The kind of cat that can be tossed about and dressed in hats. As long as he gets attention, he's happy. Look at that smile!

I bet you can find lots more holiday smiles in the places listed below, but before you go there -- this Sunday's Christmas Eve Carnival of the Cats will be at IMAO, and the Sunday after that -- New Year's Eve -- will be here at Watermark. Mark those calendars!

Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Weekend Dog Blogging 
LisaViolet's Tummy Tuesday
Kitty Movie Monday at YouTube

This Year; Next Year

ProBlogger is doing another group writing project -- this one includes prizes (one in particular) that would solve the cash-free holiday dilemma. So, I'm writing for luck.

The assignment is to write a post that looks back or looks forward -- a turn of the season post. Bloggers (and diarists) have a definite advantage: we have something to look back at. What I see, when I look back, is that 2006 has been a project year for me.

In January I participated in the Brainstorms Daypix project, and began The Artist's Way. In March, I did the 30-Day-Photo Challenge, and in April, NaPoWriMo (National Poem Writing Month.) In May, Poetry Thursday started, and I began to (sporadically) participate in UTATA's Thursday Walk. In July, and into August, I took a blogging vacation, posting less frequently, and using old posts instead of writing new ones.

In September, Brainstorms did another Daypix project. In November, I went completely overboard, doing both NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post-a-Day Month) and now I'm doing the post-a-day project Holidailies.

Throughout the year, I continued with weekly Friday Cat Blogging and Wednesday Snapshot Poems, and this is not my first contribution to a ProBlogger Group Writing Project.

Why do I do this?

Well, I don't have a day-job, so I have the time, and appreciate the structure and community that these projects provide. As a non-pro blogger, without a specific niche, these group projects bring more eyes to my site -- and once in a rare while, a pair of eyes likes what it sees, and keeps coming back. Of course, this is mutual; I often add to my Bloglines as a result of these activities. Also, I'm approaching three years blogging, and fresh inspiration is useful.

And why do I not do the dozens of other blog memes and projects in which one can participate?

Sometimes because I already feel overextended, but often because they call for talents or skills with which I am not generously supplied. Some are designed specifically for amateurs, and I welcome those. Others demand some level of experience to do them even half-way well, and I tend to sidestep those, or offer something only rarely, when I feel particularly inspired.

Let me be clear, and in being so, offer you some advice: I do not do these to increase my hit count. I know, now, that sometimes that is a natural consequence of involvement in these memes, but that is not why I do them, and it is not how I choose which ones to do. I do those that set off some little spark inside me (even if the spark is just Wow, I'd really like to be able to give Davi an iPod for Solstice.)

I actually like cats, and other critters, too. I read and write poems, even when not encouraged to do so. I like taking snapshots. I like to write. I like to read what others write, when they care and do it well. I like to look at images, especially images made by people I know. I'm interested in a lot of things, and so I read and write about a lot of things.

What do you like?

Blog about it.

I will, in year 02007.

 

Oh, almost forgot -- come meet Watermark's readers and Introduce Yourself!

 

Winter Solstice

It was dark and cold and Grandmother said let's make a picnic, we'll hang the beaded sun on the ceiling, have lunch from a willow basket. She laid out great-grandmother's quilt, orange and yellow and blue, a homespun lawn on the carpet, and I in my nightgown and she in her lavender dress, ate tuna and crackers and chocolate off delicate china plates.