The Look of Sound

The art of Born of Sound

Holiday Wishes

I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to all of you who read, comment or lurk here at this little spot of the blog-o-sphere. I appreciate all of you who read my (and Gomez's) ramblings. 

I am taking a short break to freshen the linens here. When I return in January, this blog will have had a make-over.

May all of you be blessed with the Joy and Happiness that this Holiday Season brings. 
See You Soon!
{{be sure to check out my other blog, Embracing the Elements, for a special holiday greeting!}} 

Cat Tales ~ Meowie Wowie!

That's not Mes! That's Mes young doppelganger who's in charge of Quality Control. And Mommy in back trimming the Bud

Over the summer, Mommy would harvest Catnip grown in her Youngest's garden. This was some pretty AwEsOmE stuff! Me named it Meowie Wowie! Mommy took a cutting from the last batch she got before the snow flew and cloned it. Meowzahs!

This clone is now growing on the kitchen window sill. Mommy said that she will clone more when the parent gets big enough to take cuttings. Mommy is then going to plant the clones once they are big enough in the Fairy Grove at Whyspering Woodes. Mommy said that Me can become a 'NIP Grower. And Me isn't even limited on how many plants Me can grow! Meowzahs!

Mommy said that she has found Catnip growing wild in many of the Nature Parks around the area. Me can't help but wonder if that explains why there are so many large wild cats seen in the area. Does Catnip affect Mountain Lions, Bobcats, and Lynx? Something for Me to delve into.....

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

The Diatomist

Weird Wednesday ~ Santa (In)Sanity

1) He spoke at a very young age.

According to Benjamin Britten's 1948 St. Nicholas Cantata, when the baby who would become Saint Nicholas, who would be the primary inspiration for Santa Claus, exited his mother's womb in 270 A.D., he immediately yelled "GOD BE GLORIFIED." Which, while certainly amazing, must have also been kind of unnerving for those in the delivery room.

2) His best-known gifts were given to keep girls from becoming prostitutes.

St. Nicholas was certainly extremely giving to those less fortunate, especially children — he had a habit of secretly leaving gold coins in people's shoes, because he never wanted to be thanked. But it may surprise you to learn what his three biggest presents were. A poor man had three daughters that he couldn't marry off, so he was going to sell them into prostitution (like you do). The night before the first girl came of age, Nicholas tossed a bag of gold through the man's window into the house. Boom! The first daughter had a dowry and could be married off. The same thing happened with the second daughter. When the third daughter came of age, the man waited up to see his benefactor, but Nicholas threw the third bag of gold down the chimney instead.

3) His reindeer were born of a terrifying, immortal warhorse.

We all know Santa's sleigh is pulled by eight flying reindeer (and that's a pretty insane aspect of Santa, if you stop and think about it). But these reindeer come from the Germanic conflation of Odin of the Norse gods with the historical St. Nicholas, encouraged by early Christians trying to convert the heathens. The winter solstice was a magic time for the Germanic peoples called Yule, in which Odin led "The Wild Hunt": Kids would leave out food for Odin's flying, eight-legged horse Sleipnir, and Odin would put candy and treats in place of the food. 

4) He was a staunch opponent of cannibalism.

One of the many miracle stories that St. Nicholas has accumulated is the time when a supremely fucked up butcher lured three little kids into his shop, killed them, and then tried to sell their meat as ham. St. Nicholas, who happened to be wandering by, immediately saw that was not ham, and resurrected the three children, who probably became vegetarians. According to some versions of the legend, the boys were also pickled, so that's fun.

5) Before he set up shop in the North Pole, he worked out of Spain.

According to the legends of Belgium and the Netherlands, St. Nicholas — generally referred to as Sinterklaas — comes from Spain by, uh, steam boat to give gifts to children. This is the version of Santa that first started keeping a list of children who've been naughty or nice. 

6) He's been a shill for Coca-Cola all along.

The only reason Santa wears red and white because the Coca-Cola company tells him to. Prior to 1931, Santa dressed in any color he linked — blue, green, brown, mauve, whatever. In 1931, though, Coca-Cola issued a massive ad campaign that featured Santa in Coke's red and white colors, and the damn thing was so prevalent that it effectively locked Santa's fashion down from that point on.

7) He was bigger than Jesus.

During a famine in 311-312 CE, a ship full of wheat docked in the port of Myra, headed for the Emperor in Constantinople. St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, asked if the sailors wouldn't mind giving him some wheat for the poor, but the sailors refused, because the Emperor had been promised a certain weight of wheat so they couldn't give any away. Nicholas told them whatever they gave him, the sailors would suffer no losses. And indeed, when they arrived in Constantinople, the weight was somehow the same — even though Nicholas took enough wheat to feed the entire city for two full years. 

8) His job used to be performed by a goat.

Before the whole St. Nicholas/Odin/Santa Claus myth made its way over, the Scandinavian countries of the world were already dealing with a magical being called the Yule Goat, who spent its time wandering around making sure families had completed their Yule celebration preparations, and demanding gifts. Eventually, thanks to the legends of winter gift-givers around Europe, the Yule Goat started bringing presents in the 19th century.

9) He doesn't just like milk and cookies.

Things other countries leave out for Santa (or his non-union equivalent), according to Wikipedia:

in Britain and Australia, he is sometimes given sherry or beer, and mince pies instead. In Sweden and Norway, children leave rice porridge. In Ireland it is popular to give him Guinness or milk, along with Christmas pudding or mince pies.

10) He may have castrated his reindeer.

The names of Santa's reindeer are all male. But male reindeer shed their antlers in the winter, and Santa's reindeer are never pictured antler-less when they're making their Christmas rounds. So either they're actually female reindeer with male names and Santa has some gender issues, or — or — they are male reindeer who have been castrated, which prevents them from losing their antlers, and Santa has some other deeply concerning issues.

11) His bones leak miracle juice.

St. Nicholas died in 343 A.D., and was buried in Myra, where he had been bishop. This didn't stop him from helping people, though: Legend has that a clear, watery liquid would seep out of his bones, and it had miraculous powers. Bone juice! 

Click Here to Read the Article!

Cat Tales ~ The Scoop on "Bud"

As many of you faithful readers know, Me loves Me 'Nip! 

Me loves to eat it, roll in it, and huff the plant's fragrant aroma. 

Catnip is known by many names - Catmint, Catnip, Cat's Heals All, Cat's Wort to list just a few. There are over 250 species of catnip plant which is in the mint family. But only good ol' fashioned Catnip, Nepeta Cataria, appeals to Cats. And yes, Catnip is a relative of the cannabis plant. But Kittys should never have cannabis! 

It is the oil, Nepetalactone, that causes odd behavior in Kittys. Or rather sniffing the aroma of the oil that causes Kittys to act funny, strange or mean. In fact, a Kitty can smell 1 part Nepetalactone to a billion parts air! Meowzahs! It is thought by mens of science that the aroma of the oil Nepetalactone mimics cat pheromones. Eating catnip actually allows Us Kittys to release more aroma from the leaves. And Wes get Our greens that way too. 

Catnip Love is hereditary. If a Cat doesn't come from a family of Catnip Lovers then He can't learn to like it. 

But always remember moderation when partaking of any 'green' recreational bud.

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

Punks and Roses

The art of Fran Liscio

Simple Joy of Life

Nothing like a good roll in the leaves 

and then a sun puddle to bask in

Weird Wednesday ~ A House of Spores

Phil Ross is an artist whose work has consisted of  real mushroom side-tables and chairs. He would grow the fungi in a mold so that the growth would form a specific shape.

Ross built a small teahouse from Reishi mushroom bricks. He boiled the bricks which made up the teahouse to make a tea for the museum visitors to drink. It was after that process that Ross realized that he may have discovered the building material of the future. The boiled bricks were so strong that they broke Ross's woodworking tools. The fungi bricks could withstand extreme temperatures, bullets and is totally sustainable as well as compost-able.

The bricks are grown in organic matter like sawdust or agricultural waste. The tiny mushroom grows as it consumes the nutrients in the organic matter and soon fine threads of mycelium form a solid block of cells. Placed two living fungal blocks together and they will fuse together in a matter of hours. Cure the material to stop the growth and create an almost indestructible building block.

Click Here to Read More!

Cat Tales ~ Cat's Best Friends

Since Mommy is busy taking care of Daddy, Mommy has ask Me to take care of the blog for her. 

Blogging is so easy now with her new swipey screen 'puter. Me loves it! Just don't tell Mommy Me has been looking at Catnip sites! Of course, it is merely for research purposes....
Anymews....on to today's topic. Cat's Best Friends.

Me read an article that said Cats are the World's most popular pet. (Of Course! Me thought that was obvious!) The article also said that although Cats took to living with Humans as far back as 9,000 years ago, Cats have remained fairly wild. We Cats still retain many of the same traits that are possessed by our wild cousins. While Dog have evolved into a tail-wagging, slobbering mess that is highly dependent on Humans for their survival. 
Cats learned Humans could give a lot for just a little in return (a warm bed in the winter, food scraps, and a cuddle when so needed in exchange for rodent catching - considered a sport by many.)
Now Who tamed Who?

Click Here to read more!

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

The Faces of Trees

The art of Elido Turco

Cat Tales ~ Book Recommendation

Since Daddy has been home, Me and Daddy have been watching a lot of tv. We try to watch a lot of educational shows like - Family Feud, Price is Right, Jeopardy. But one of Our fav shows is Big Bang Theory. Me likes Penny. Me would lay on her lap any day! Meowzahs!

Me & Daddy watch the morning news shows too. A few days ago Me saw a story about a Cat named Yoda. The book, Yoda: the story of a Cat and His Kittens, tells the tale of a rescue cat adopted by the purrfectly lovely Beth Stern and how the kittens she fosters helped save his life. 

Me knew how special Us Kittys really are! The vet doc has said that Daddy is healing quite rapidly. Daddy's already starting to put weight on his leg and Daddy plans on being able to walk with a cane in a very short time.

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

Mor-Bee-d Art

The art of Aganetha Dyck 

{{thanx Debra! for the tip. I used a play on words for the title 'cause these are just a tad mor-beed!}}

I'd Rather See the Vet!

Hubby is doing much, much better. thank you to everyone for your thoughts and well wishes! They are greatly appreciated! ♥

Hubby fell in the driveway, landed hard on an uneven edge of concrete and broke his femur close to his hip. 

I am grateful to the rapid response of the EMTs.

I am grateful for the wonderful, compassionate care given in the Emergency Room.

I am ever so grateful for the fabulous orthopedic surgeon who performed the surgery.

I am grateful for the care given by the caring, compassionate nurses.

I won't mention the nurses who acted like they were being put-out because they had to see to the needs of a patient. (SHAME ON YOU!)

I won't mention the over-zealous insurance rep who was a royal pain in the tush for the duration of the hospital stay and who (IMO) badgered the patient when the patient wasn't even in the right frame of mind to make a decision.. (SHAME ON YOU!)

"If a person is in the medical profession to make a lot of money, then they are in the wrong line of work! A person should pursue a medical career because they want to help people." 

(a paraphrased quote I recently heard on tv)

Cat Tales ~ Daddy Update

Daddy is home and resting. Me has Mes warm lap back. Daddy said that Mes purring is helping with the healing. Me always knew Me was special!

This is what Daddy's leg looks like now. Looks to Me as if Daddy is now Bionic! He really will need that Super Heroes cape! Maybe Mommy will make Me one.....

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

3-B Art

The Art of Tomas Libertiny

and a host of Bees

Cat Tales ~ OH NOs!

Daddy & Me
Me is his Sidekick

Daddy got hurt yesterday. Mommy said he is at the vet doctor place. He has to stay there for a little while. Mommy is very sad and Me and the other Kittys don't like seeing her like that. Me tried to offer her a bit O'Nip but Mommy said she didn't feel like it. Please send warm healing thoughts to make Daddy better. Me misses his warm lap.

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

Gardens Under Glass

The Art of Paul Stankard