Aby-a-Day – 6 Augusti: This Tessie is PHOTOSHOPPED (Photoshop Friday)

As you saw on Wednesday, Tessie died on Sunday, two days before her 18th birthday. She has had a few health problems in recent years…in 2011-12 she had a prolapsed rectum, in the summer of 2015 (when Björn came to visit me, in fact), she had a health scare and she was hospitalised at Angell for a week and almost died. Then in 2018, her eyesight declined as well as her blood pressure. Oct 2018 was the first real sign of decline: going blind, with arthritis and a sway back. More arthritis in 2019 and a urinary tract infection earlier this year.

So, on Monday, I mad the above post in the Facebook group “This Cat is PHOTOSHOPPED,” because Mondays are themed “In Meöwmorium.”

Helen Yang, a group admin, put Tessie in a few ‘shops she routinely makes for cats who have died. These include Tessie in the “It’s time to go” meme…

…Tessie at the end of the Rainbow Bridge…

…And Tessie in Cat Heaven, which I especially love because Tessie loved her boxes.

Boxes were a popular theme; Robin Adams put Tessie in Box Heaven…

…and next to a giant teddy bear in a box.

But my favourite is this one, by Angela Pulzone. I suspect it’s Procreate, not Photoshop…but I just love it. It has an…I don’t know, an energy about it that I really like.

Aby-a-Day – 4 Augusti: Wordless Wednesday (In memory of of Tessie: 3 August 2003 – 1 August 2021)

Aby-a-Day – 6 Maj: Cat Scanner app (Thursday Things)

Yesterday in one of my Facebook cat groups, someone posted about an app, Cat Scanner, that claims to identify what breed your cat is from a photograph. So of course I had to try it out.

It worked great with the Abyssinians.

It even identified Angel correctly.

And it got Markis pretty well, too.

I was disappointed with how it did with Tessie. I was expecting perhaps a Burmilla…but I guess at least it could tell she’s a tortie?

And then…there was Izaak. Complete and utter fail. I was expecting a Singapura to be a fairly easy ID…at worst, maybe a Burmese or Aby…but a Bengal!? Seriously? Well, you know I clicked that “Am I right?” link to tell them they weren’t. And the explanation was…the app only really works with FIFe-recognised breeds.

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Um….what!? Singas have been recognised in FIFe since 2014…SEVEN YEARS!

Which, naturally, I felt the need to tell them. Haven’t gotten a response yet, but I can’t wait to see what they say.

Aby-a-Day – 5 April: Thanks for the memories (Monday Memory)

Facebook gave me some wonderful memories this morning. The first was the time a shirty MBTA conductor made me miss my stop to meet Meg for a cat show.

The second was of Tessie, happy with a box. Facebook can be evil…but it’s good for something, at least.

Aby-a-Day – 11 Februari: King Kong (Thursday Things)

A few months ago, Dashiell started over grooming himself. We think Lorelai being in heat may be stressing him out on some level, although their interactions are fairly normal and they play chasing games along with Izaak and Alfred every day.

He started in on his belly. I tried giving him Amitriptyline (which I had on hand for Angel in case she has urinary issues), but the process of catching him and getting the pill down his throat once a day seemed to only cause him more stress, which seemed to defeat the purpose. Same with spraying his belly with Bitter Apple, plus I ended up getting the stuff on me, too (FWIW, it really does taste vile).

I also tried the ThunderShirt, but he just over groomed parts of his body the shirt didn’t cover, like his arms.

After careful observation, I determined his over grooming wasn’t likely caused by internal belly pain (when Tessie over groomed her belly, it turned out she was constipated and she was trying to make it feel better), especially after he started in on his arms. Out of ideas, I asked on my new Facebook Aby/Somali group, and several people suggested I try Zylkene, which is given as a powder in food. Dash’s licking lessened after a week or so, but it didn’t stop completely.

Zylkene takes a few months to really take effect, according to other Aby owners who have used it, so I added the cone of shame, which he tolerates quite well. He isn’t able to reach the places he was over grooming, but he can wash the bits he needs to. I put his cone on upside-down, like a cape; Dr. Natalie at South Boston Animal Hospital suggested that for Tessie, so the cone would bother her less and to avoid whisker fatigue. He’s been wearing the cone for a few days now, and I think we’re finally getting some results!

Aby-a-Day – 10 Januari: The second day at the Swedish CFA show (Swedish Cat Show Sunday)

The second day of that Swedish CFA show was as much fun as the first, both for us and for Jacoby.

We had a lot of judges come over from the US. At this point, I had only been in Sweden for six months, so it was fun to see some familiar faces and hear some familiar accents.

This judge, Albert Kurkowski, was one of the few non-American, non-CFA judges; he was from Poland, and he was a guest judge from the World Cat Federation.

I really enjoyed watching him handle Jake.

There was a really pretty little Burmilla girl who was frequently benched next to us during judging.

She reminded me a bit of Tessie.

This judge, Inga Balciuniene, was also a WCF guest judge from Latvia.

Pam DeLaBar is a CFA judge who lives in Finland. I actually hadn’t ever seen her at a show in the States. It’s nice having another ex-pat in the cat fancy.

And our friend Russell Webb was there, too. He was always Jake’s lucky charm.

Jake was Second Best cat in Premiership in Russell’s ring.

As we did Saturday, when Jake got a little antsy we went outside to play in the snow. This time, I didn’t bother with the harness and leash. I figured, how far is he going to get in that deep snow.

Famous last words.

He started making off towards a little house. He went pretty far really quickly, too! I was surprised how hard he was to catch.

I finally caught him, though.

The cats we have now are awesome, and a lot of fun to show…but I still miss going to shows with Jake.

Happy 17th birthday, Tessie!

Today is Tessie’s 17th birthday! Can you believe it? Apart from her eyesight, which seems to be failing, she’s very healthy and happy back in Boston. I miss her, but she’s with her BFF Kylie. Happy birthday, Tessie!

Aby-a-Day – 10 Juli 2020: A hot day in July (Friday Flashback)

Today this memory came up in my memories on Facebook. I wasn’t even on Facebook in 2005, but okay. But it reminded me of that apartment I had in Somerville. It wasn’t the best, but I loved it.

It was SO hot in that apartment in summer, though. The middle room was the coolest, because I had a window air conditioner…but it was still hot.

Tessie turned two a month and a half after we got Kylie. Kylie loved her and copied everything she did.

And here they are now, last week. They are still BFFs and have been for fifteen years. Tessie will be 17 next month. I do miss them, but they are so happy where they are.

Aby-a-Day – 20 Juni 2020: Happy Gotcha Day! (Special Saturday)

Two years ago today, I travelled to Stockholm to collect our little Izaak.

His harness was almost too big for him, even adjusted to the smallest size..

He was so tiny…

Zak and Lorelai bonded over leftovers. This is the day after he arrived.

Two days after that, he had his first outside adventure.

He quickly discovered his favourite, IKEA mice. This was his fifth day with us.

The day after that…

…we had our first trip to the vet…

…our first visit to DjurMagazinet…

…and our first walk home. Little Zak did a LOT in his first week with us!

But it isn’t just Zak’s Gotcha Day. Fifteen years ago today, we answered a Craigslist ad and brought Kylie home from Quincy. We had to stop at Petco on the way home to buy a carrier!

This is her and Tessie today, back in Boston. I can’t believe she is 15! And, in a month and a half, Tessie will be 17!

But wait, there’s more! 29 years ago, today, I got Harri, my very first Siamese. We were on our way to an SCA event, and we picked him up on the way.

He camped with us for his first several days with us before we got him home. That’s probably why he was such a good traveller.

He was 14 years old when we got Kylie…but he was very fond of her. Seems that 20 June is a good day to get a kitten!

Aby-a-Day – 5 Juni 2020: Has it been four years already? (Friday Flashback)

As you probably remember, four years ago this month, Jacoby, Angel and I moved to Sweden.

The movers came on 31 May. Angel was remarkably chill.

The movers coming in and packing everything up didn’t faze her one bit.

Jake, of course, was very helpful.

Tessie wanted to keep the scratching posts.

But mostly, the Abys just napped whilst the movers worked.

I was quite impressed watching the movers watching the movers wrap up the big cat tree.

A week and a half later, it was our turn to go.

We travelled to Sweden on IcelandAir, which requires all animals to travel in a designated animal area in the cargo hold due to Iceland’s quarantine laws. I was lucky enough to see Angel and Jake’s carrier transferring to our plane during the layover.

We arrived in Sweden just fine.

And we made it home to our apartment in Skövde. And here we are, four years later, living our happily ever after.

Well…except we no longer have Jake…but still.

Aby-a-Day – 12 Maj 2020: Behind the scenes of a classic (Cartoon Tuesday)

I know you’ve all seen my version of Tessie, Kylie, Angel and Jacoby as the main characters of Frozen. I wish I had the Photoshop file with all the layers…but somehow, all the PSD files of my cartoons after number 80 have disappeared.

When I got the idea, it started as Kylie being Elsa and Jake being Kristoff…and it just took off from there.

Elsa (Kylie) and Anna (Angel) went through a few test sketch ideas, but Jake’s Kristoff and Tessie’s Sven were pretty much set from the beginning.

This sketch is where I finalised Angel’s Anna pose.

Not wanting to waste paper, I would do pencil sketches and final inks on the same page. This is one of those.

I worked on getting Kylie’s arms just exactly right. A LOT.

I also drew Kylie separate from her clothing (Jake and Angel were always drawn with their outfits on). I wanted to be sure her body looked right under the translucent costume layer.

When I was inking Jake’s face, I did a few trials before settling on his final face. In some ways, it’s way easier to draw on the iPad than it was to draw on paper!

Happy birthday, Kylie!

Today is Kylie’s 15th birthday! She and Tessie are both healthy and happy back in Boston.

Aby-a-Day – 3 Mars 2020: Catatonic 2 (Cartoon Tuesday)

You may remember, six years ago, I made this wonderful cartoon with Jacoby, Angel, Kylie and Tessie as Kristoff, Anna, Elsa and Sven the reindeer from Frozen.

Well, of course, Frozen 2 came out last November, which made me revisit my original cartoon. Of course, Kylie and Tessie still live in Boston, and Dashiell can take Jake’s place as Kristoff…but it occurred to me that I now have the perfect cat to play Olaf! Izaak! Of course, Olaf should be a Singapura! I started with a sketch and then a rough ink on my iPad in ProCreate.

Then I did a clean ink outline.

Switching to the laptop and Photoshop, I did a flat colour layer.

On a separate layer, I added the whiskers and eyeshine.

Then I switched to the background. I took a generic Frozen 2 background (there are plenty of wallpapers available online) and painted over it, the same way I created the background of the Zakdalorian.

Then I added a swirl of windblown leaves, to give it the feel of the film.

Then I painted the ticking and Zak’s other markings with my fur brushes.

Finally, I gave Zakolaf a little shadow, to ground him in the scene. I wish this was a little brighter, but that’s just the way this scene is; it’s not as bright as the snow scenes, because it’s autumn. Can’t do much about that.

Oh, and don’t worry…I have characters for Lorelai and Alfred to play. Stay tuned…

Happy Sweet Sixteen, Tessie!

I can’t believe it, but Tessie is sixteen years old today! She is still very healthy and happy, although she has got a bit of arthritis. I miss her so much…but I know she is happy with Kylie back in Boston. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TESSIE!

Aby-a-Day: June’s over? Julying! (Fashion Friday Flashback)

Four years ago, I posted about how Canadian-born Jacoby tended to get a little confused about what to wear the first few days of July.

To prove this point, I dressed him up in an Uncle Sam hat along with a maple leaf bandanna and Team Canada sweater.

He was such a legend at posing with outfits on.

And his eyes…so expressive!

And then…someone came and photobombed our little modelling session. Jake knew it immediately.

“Tessie’s right behind me, ruining my photo, isn’t she..?”

“Tessie, do you mind? I’m kinda doing a thing here.”

“Right. Let’s get back to the posing.” I’m just sorry I never found a Sweden jersey for him to pose in.

Aby-a-Day – 28 May: Reliving history (Cartoon Tuesday)

The 2019 Stanley Cup Finals started yesterday, and they are quite exciting. The Boston Bruins are in them, of course, and if they win they will be the THIRD Boston team to win a championship in a year…and they’re already up one game. They face the St. Louis Blues, who haven’t been in the finals for 49 years. And even more interesting, in 1970, the team the Blues faced was…the Bruins!

Ray Lussier took a now-iconic photograph of Bobby Orr celebrating scoring the winning goal against the Blues in 1970. This image is such a part of Boston’s culture that there is a statue commemorating that moment in front of the Garden, and it has been reproduced on T-shirts for 49 years.

My ex found me an unofficial playoff shirt (the kind that can only be found in Boston) with the Bruins Bear recreating Orr’s flight (modeled by Tessie), and it kind of inspired me.

Using a photo of the moment, I did a sketch of Jacoby as Bobby Orr.

I did a first ink, but I didn’t like the pen I used; it was too thick and clunky. So, using that ink as a reference, I made a second inking.

That inking turned out so much better! I’ll colour it in and finish it for next week…the day after Game 4.

Aby-a-Day – 20 Januari: Catching up with Tessie and Kylie

When I moved from Boston to Skövde, only Jacoby and Angel came with me. Kylie was always my ex’s cat, and Tessie, who was, in part, a 40th birthday present from my mom, helped raise Kylie and taught her how to cat. As much as I love Tessie, leaving her with Kylie was the best decision.

Clearly, you can see that was the right decision. They are bestest best friends.

Tessie is now 15 (and almost a half) years old.

To look at her, you would never guess she was that old!

I mean, here she is five years ago…she must have a little kitty portrait in her attic!

She still loves boxes.

And warm laundry.

I can’t believe she’s 15.

Kylie turned 13 last April.

She, like Tessie, does not look as old as she is, and is quite healthy.

She is still the only cat of ours who was born in Boston (well, Quincy). Tessie was born in Oregon, Angel in California, and Jacoby in New Brunswick. Only Kylie is a native New Englander.

(Not gonna lie…I do miss that view…)

Kylie is still as pretty as ever, too.

Right from the start, Kylie and Tessie were besties.

Thirteen years later, nothing has changed.

Aby-a-Day – 11 Januari: 12 years ago this week…(Friday Flashback)

12 years ago this week, on 7 January 2007, I posted about Gun-Hee’s first visit to Petco.

He was quite impressed with the mice.

The birds…not so much.

Those were always more Tessie’s thing.

And Jacoby’s, too.

I’m just glad that nobody tried to buy him for $3.99, though!

Aby-a-Day – 19 October: Come on kitties now…Everykitty get together (Flashback Photoshop Friday)

This morning, Facebook greeted me with a reminder of a post I made four years ago. I was challenged to post five photos of my cats, and I decided to post five group photos. Getting a photo of all the cats in the house together at the same time is harder than some might think. So, because of the reminder that Facebook sent me, I decided to post all the “family photos” I have been able to capture over the years.

The oldest is this, of Sigrid, Harri, and Patrick cuddled together on my sofa. This was taken in autumn 1997. It looks cuddly, but actually Sigrid and Tricky were sleeping there, and Harri decided to squeeze in between them. Still cute, though.

This is after I’d moved to Boston. Harri and Patrick had been joined by Tessie and Kylie. This is the first photo of all of them together.

This is my favourite photo of this group. I even used it as a Christmas card.

…And this would be the outtake of that photo…

This was Christmas 2006. Harri had died in August and we had just adopted Gun-Hee.

This photo is less posed, but more my favourite. Love Kylie’s arm!

Another photo of Gun-Hee with Patrick, Kylie and Tessie, this time all gathered on our bed.

This is another shot from that session, “arted up” in Photoshop.

One evening, all the cats lined up on the back of the sofa.

I had this shot…but Gun-Hee moved his head.

Thanks to Photoshop, I was able to replace Gun-Hee’s head and make this into a usable image.

This is another “art” composite photo. All of them were on the tree together, but this is multiple shots combined so each cat looks good.

Food and the kitchen is a great way to get everyone together. Here we have (anticlockwise) Jacoby, Angel, Tessie and Kylie.

However, they did have other motivations to gather together.

After we moved to Sweden, the kitchen was more a gathering point than ever. Here we have Alfred, Jake, Angel, Logan and Pyret.

And then, suddenly…our five cats became Jake, Freddy, Lorelai, Angel and Izaak.

A collection that was also easier to gather in the kitchen.

But they also gathered spontaneously on our bed! No Photoshop required.

Happy 15th Birthday, Tessie!

It’s hard to believe that Tessie turns 15 years old today! She is still doing well in Boston.

She’s slowing down a little and she can’t jump the way she used to. She also has a little limp, which may be arthritis. And the brown spot on her right eye (which she has had for at least 10 years) is getting bigger. Apart from all that, she is very healthy and active!

Happy birthday, Tessie-bell!