Gallery No. 2: Cats (Californian)

In the spirit of Christmas, I wanted to give my readers a small gift--my second gallery! 'Tis the season, they do say. In case you were not aware, I am writing from San Diego, California right now, as I have returned to the place of my birth to spend the holidays with family. I'm currently staying at my aunt & uncle's place, along with their FIVE CATS: Maurice, Moo Shu, Buddy, Sofie and Chloe (listed in the order from cat I like the best to cat I like the least).

I wanted to share some pictures of these felines that have been my closest friends the past five days. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

First, a mini-gallery to Maurice, the 23 pound gorgeous orange tabby.



You can gain an idea of how large Maurice is by comparing his head to Devin's.



Look at this model.


Maurice likes to go outside for brief moments so he can eat as much grass as possible. He usually throws it up in the next few minutes, but doesn't he look radiant in the sunshine?



Maurice and I surfing the web together.


Maurice is simply beautiful, like a tamed tiger that sleeps in your bed and lets you pet his belly, yet still doesn't respond to his name.

Moving on to my next favorite cat: Moo Shu.

Moo Shu is the oldest cat in the house, the king cat that reigns supreme. He's a slightly cross-eyed, ancient Siamese cat whose meows are so loud they can wake you up at night. The past 3 nights, in fact. In his old age, he has gained the wisdom to actually open up the cabinet drawer where his treats are stored and then paw at the treats until you give him one. He is aging with both dignity and sass.



Moo Shu is Devin's cat of choice in this house.


BUDDY! Buddy used to be the heaviest cat in the house, but has now slimmed down to a lithe 19 pounds. Buddy doesn't like to leave the couch very much and is maybe the sweetest cat in the house. He's ready to give his love, if you're ready to receive it.



Devin and Buddy. I should also mention that Buddy also has the most sensitive stomach in the house and often throws up indoors. A piece of gossip: Buddy also loses it if he gets his paws on catnip.


This little bag of fur is Sofie. Sofie is a rescue cat that used to be bald and now she has the softest, most beautiful fur. She's kinda prissy and has very short legs.


Here's Sofie watching Maurice eat.


And here's the final cat of the bunch: Chloe. I don't have many pictures of Chloe because she is my least favorite. There's nothing really wrong with her; she just doesn't have the model-esque looks of Maurice, the wisdom of Moo Shu or the sweetness of Buddy. She also pees on everything in the house. When I asked my Uncle Mike which cat he'd get rid of, if he absolutely had to, he replied without missing a beat "Chloe." But rest assured, Chloe is very loved and is a happy cat.


Here's Chloe on a box, because CATS LOVE BOXES.


See? They all clamored to sit on this box.


Guess who won?



:)



A very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the crew at Samantha Clark Cuts it Out!

I thank you all for your love, online and off. In the new year, I hope you will all buy more of my artwork.

NEW DEVELOPMENT

December 9th, 2009, was a very important date for me. It marked the one-year anniversary of my first letter to Great Grains. Who knew so much could happen in a year? It was a year of new friendship (me, Kim, Collies), a year of marketing (my Canadian Great Grains shipping program has at least 9 non-active participants), and ultimately, a year of disappointment (no Great Grains for me or Canada).

In case you haven't been following my year-long quest with Post Cereal, I've been involved in a letter writing campaign with Post to convince them to begin shipping my favorite cereal, Great Grains, to Canada. Or at least to me. I've sent 4 letters, each with helpful ideas and urgings to begin a Canadian Great Grains shipping program (see my original post earlier in my blog for actual letters). While I have yet to receive a single box of cereal, I haven't deemed it a total failure, as I've made some friends along the way.

I recently wrote to Great Grains again to wish them a happy Halloween, receive a status update, etc. It had been a few months since my last letter so we had a lot to catch up on. See my letter below:

I expected a nice, formal response from Collies as usual, but man, just when I thought I really knew Collies, my world was rocked by scandal.

Honestly, this was the last thing I expected to read. A new owner?! That really throws a kink into my plans. Part of me thinks that Collies, Kim & Co. are most likely pretty happy to be rid of me. Except they're not.

I'm currently waiting back to hear if Collies wishes to pursue our correspondence. I'm also gearing myself up to begin back at step one in a new letter writing campaign for the new owners in 2010. I think this new campaign needs to be more aggressive--which is why I'm inviting YOU, dear readers, the most intelligent people I know, to join me in my campaign. I promise if we are successful, I will share my boxes of Great Grains to everyone who has contributed (except for people in the USA; you guys have unlimited access and should really be helping to ship them to Canada).

Send me copies of your letters, your t-shirt designs, protest pics, fan-art, etc. I will proudly post them (please see my first piece of fan-art from a reader who's got it going on--the picture at the top is courtesy of the lovely Leslie U.). Got any ideas for a better campaign? I'd love to hear them.

As well, anyone care to elaborate on whether Collies is a man or woman? In my head, I picture a 30-something woman but apparently it may be a man's name. Collies in my head is also a little bit exasperated, maybe a bit of a stern taskmaster, but in a still-secretly-rooting-for-me kinda way. It's like a zen thing, you know?