CatSynth

For today’s Photo Hunt theme of Upper, we dug back into the archives for this photo of Luna on the upper ledge at CatSynth HQ:

Fortunately, she doesn’t walk up there too often (at least not when I’m around to witness it.)

We have embarked on a major clean-up of the upper level of CatSynth HQ. Compared to previous cleaning projects, this may be most extensive and ruthless in several years. Here, Luna sits in her favorite upper-level perch as various bits of detritus pile up before meeting the final destiny.

I was able to get a lot done last weekend (and Luna was of course on hand to supervise), but there is still a long way to go. This is as much a project of renewal as it is cleaning. Making way for the new…

The Saturday Photo Hunt is up. This week’s theme is UPPER.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted tomorrow by the Florida Furrkids.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

We have another exceptionally cute Instagram of Luna this week:

This is another instance of our morning ritual where I put on my shoes – indicating that I am probably about to leave – and Luna comes running over and rolls around on the rug. She clearly wants me to stay and play with her, but the best I can do is promise to come back later. This leads to a roundabout entry in this week’s Photo Hunt, where the theme is Promise.

The Saturday Photo Hunt is up, with the theme of Promise.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Nikita and Elvira.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

I took this Instagram of Luna napping on her beanbag chair in the studio area the other day. What could be more peaceful than a cat curled up in a favorite spot for a nap.

The image also brought to mind this week’s Photo Hunt theme of Haven at multiple levels. CatSynth HQ is itself a haven that protects us from the outside world. But within the overall expanse, the studio area provides another level of enclosure or refuge. And sinking into her beanbag chair, Luna finds a haven within a haven.

The theme also brings to mind the town of New Haven, Connecticut, where I attended Yale many years ago. I don’t have any photos of my own from that time, though I did do a Fun with Highways post about the town back in 2007.

The Saturday Photo Hunt is up. This week’s theme is Haven.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up on Sunday at iInfidel.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

It’s a new year, and Luna is ready to play.

She always seems particularly eager for attention when I am about to leave home, which point she launches into a rather effective guilt trip. But this week she has been getting quite a bit of extra attention, between the New Years vacation and my feeling under the weather the last few days. It has actually been a good time to catch up on cats and electronic music.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted tomorrow by Nikita and Elvira at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

And the Friday Ark is postponed until next week…

It’s time for our traditional end-of-the-year image. It is always a challenge to decide what to include, but we thinks this captures a few of the significant elements. 2012 was a crazy and at times and a bit nerve-wracking, but it full of richness and opportunity. I except more of the same in 2013. It’s going to be a busy and challenging year ahead, but I hope to be able to continue to keep this site going and maintain the friendships I have made here.

Weekend Cat Blogging is coming to an end as a public event with today’s edition, so we are going back to the first time Luna participated, back in August 2006.

Luna is much younger here, a skinny adolescent. This was also our first post to receive comments. It is sad to see Weekend Cat Blogging end officially, as it has been an important part of rhythm and structure of CatSynth, and a major way we met many of our regular friends. But times change. We will keep in touch with everyone though individual blogs as well as Facebook and Twitter. And we will continue to have our own “Weekend Cat Blogging” posts featuring Luna, and our annual wild-cats post near Earth Day.

Weekend Cat Blogging #394 is hosted by Jules and Vincent at Judi’s Mind Over Matter.

The Carnival of the Cats will be continuing into new year, and this week’s edition will be hosted at the Tuxedo Gang Hideout.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator

We at CatSynth are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #392. To participate, please add you link to the list below, or leave us a comment, and we will add you to the big round-up.

Long-time participants of Weekend Cat Blogging have undoubtedly noticed that participation has dropped off. So WCB will cease to be a hosted event as of the end of the year. It’s a bit sad, having participated since the early days of this blog. But we will continue to have posts titled “Weekend Cat Blogging” here as a showcase for Luna’s adventures and other non-musical stories about cats.

But for today, let’s continue with the round-up.

Our friends at Animal Shelter Volunteer present two of the cats at PAWS waiting to be adopted into their forever homes. First up is Roamer, who is the December “Cat of the Month” at PAWS. Follow his link to find out what that honor entails. And then we have Oscar taking it easy.

At Mind of Mog, we learn that Ritzi is a fractious cat, though she certainly doesn’t look that way in her photo. In the blogging-geekery department, they have also updated to WordPress 3.5, something we at CatSynth haven’t yet attempted to do.

It is sometimes hard to express thoughts in words in the wake of a tragedy like the one in Newtown, Connecticut, this past Friday. Sometimes, sharing our thoughts and sympathies and hopes through pictures is all we can do. That it was Beau Beau and Angie have done with this beautiful picture of love and light and bokeh.

The sunrise, too, can be beautiful, as we can see in the picture of Georgia in the morning sun. Visit our friends at Mickey’s Musings for more great sunrise and feline photography.

We at CatSynth are happy to be hosting Carnival of the Cats #456, a weekly round-up of cat-related blog articles submitted by authors.  If you want to participate, leave a comment below or follow this link for more info.

First up, we present the cute white kitten Levon and his crystal bowl antics, courtesy of Lost in the Cheese Aisle.  It is, after all, Bowl Game season is it not?

Our friends Nikita and Elvira and their dad Keeril resume their Seen and Heard series from their new home in Houston.  Their first entry features “Grumpy Goats”, but there are other critters as well when Keeril visits the Southeast Transit Center. (As fellow transit geeks, we like the location.)

A bittersweet entry from StrangeRanger, as they remember Ivy this holiday season.  “It’s our companions who make the holiday very, very special.  Even if they are no longer with us.”

Things are settling down into a more quiet rhythm here at CatSynth after New York and the recent shows back here in San Francisco. Here Luna basks in the sun near a pile of books.

And here is Luna licking her chops.

And she has plenty of reason to do so, especially after a yummy dinner of fish-cakes that we shared last weekend.

We will be hosting the Carnival of the Cats tomorrow. We are looking forward to a good turnout from those who blog about cats occasionally or all the time. You can send your links to carnivalofthecats(at)gmail.com or submit using the sometimes handy carnival submission form.

Weekend Cat Blogging is hosted this week by the late Meowza.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator