And Yet Another New Beastie....

My friend Mel is the best. In a lot of ways, but what I am thinking of today is in connection with horses. She is really, really good with them. And with people.

She knows I have been kind of nervous, and she knows I want to learn to ride. Today she mentioned that Rommy was kind of sore as she had been jumping a lot this week. And she was grumpy. Great, I thought. Just what I want, which must have showed on my poor face, because Mel said, well, she thought maybe Rommy needed a day off, and did I want a nice ride on D'Exotica, aka Tess.

True love. I didn't get any really nice pictures of her, but here she is wondering what Mel is DOING with the clippers..



I like riding English best, as opposed to Western. (how can I be a haunted gothic lady, riding the moors endlessly thu the night, dressed in black and lace, with high black leather boots, and my dark hair steaming out behind me, in a Western saddle, I ask you??? Can't be done.)



Rommy isn't so good with an English Saddle, it slips around on her, and you kind of feel, at least I do, like you are about to fall off at any moment. And she has been kind of a brat lately.

D'Exotica was lovely to ride. She knows what she is meant to be doing, and does it, leaving me free to think about riding. I can't think "Thumbs up, elbows in, heels down, hands in line, shorten the reins, move your hips, back straight, use your knees, post, bring her head in, sit back, and oh, relax" when I am trying not to fall off and the horse is not at all interested in doing what I want.

So Mel is leasing me D'Exotica aka Tess for at least the next month or two. I can work on my riding, which certainly needs work, and learn to relax, and communicate with the horse. Then we will see. Lady May needs some work with a better rider than I, and I need the confidence.

I love being with horses, and the horse people I have met. I know enough about riding now, to know how good it can be, and what it might feel like to do it well. Like dance, or music, or spooky words.

I know it's a great workout, and I may get fit doing it. (if only people would stop bring Goodies to the stable!)

Love and New Horses,
Lorraine

PS...This just in, a picture of our friend Jen showing Tess last summer...Thanks Mel!

Great Covers, Bengals In Need and Bubbles...

How is everyone this day after Christmas? I know Val is sick, poor dear, and many of us are DONE with chocolate. We are doing FOG tonight. Creepy, dark, spooky fog filled with Things...And it is 40 degrees. Let's get some perspective on that. It was -17 last week, so we are 57 degrees warmer.

That's like the difference between 50 and 107. Wacky place to live, I tell you. Who ever did hear of 40 in December here? No one, of course, is bothering with coats.

Nadine who found the scared Bengal at a rescue group adoption drive in a pet shop in AZ has hooked Janet and myself up with the rescue people who have him. All we know so far is he is very scared, was abandoned in a home foreclosure, not yet neutered (PEOPLE!!!) and may be an F3, we are waiting to hear back from them. At least he is safe now, and we will find him his home.

Oh yes. We will.

I got to hear the new cd by The Endless today, Somniloquy (a really cool word meaning "Talking in your sleep") and it's lovely, as their cd's always are, but what blew me away was the cover of After The Gold Rush.

One of my pet peeves with people covering songs, is when they re-do the original. Hello? It was already done, and done well, if you care enough to cover it, that way. Make it your own. DO something with the song that is your very own version of it, your interpretation. No one needs to hear the same version again, and it will not be as good. Just because the original went here, here and here, does not mean yours needs to.

Go play in a cover band. (and I am not dissing that, at all, work is work)

But if you want to make some art, make it your own song. Show the world your dream. And that's what they have done with After the Gold Rush. It's perfect. Wonderful. And it makes me happy. May cover it. (Wait. Belay that.) Adriana, way to go. Surely music to dream by. Listen to it Fiends, I am not wrong on this.

(Adriana is a Fiend here sometimes, not Adriandalen, or Adri, but Adriana)

And finally, kind of a fun picture, with a story with it.

When Boss re-modeled the bathroom, he put in the biggest tub-spa ever, complete with jets. When he took his first bath, he popped in some bubbles, and turned on the jets and buried himself, and later, told me the story and warned me.

Silly Boss, over reacts, exaggerates, these writers, I thought, as I went for my first bath, complete with bubbles and jets.

Ye Fods!

And it isn't all that easy to turn them OFF. I screamed for him and said something like "Help help!", and he, at the door, said, "You are in the bath, I am not coming in" and I replied, "No Worries, I am buried and decent!"

When AFP and the Danger Ensemble came for a couple days, Amanda and Tora decided to try out the spa.

(as anyone who has ever shared a dressing room, van or tour bus with a band or theatrical group knows, you get close to your people, and ooh-la-la is the farthest thing from your mind, it simply ceases to matter. I know my Fiends understand this. 'Nuff said.)

Well, Neil warned Amanda, and she warned Tora about exactly WHAT could happen bubble-wise, but Tora, (being a girl after my own heart) decided to heck with it, let's just see what will happen.....



(Photo by Kat Cornwell, another of the merry band)

Love and Bubbles,
Lorraine

Magic All Over The Night.....

First of all, Beez, or anyone else who is feeling a little sad, or not quite where they want to be, or missing someone, or just overwhelmed with everything, try this, if you can do it in front of a fire, so much the better, but I suspect anywhere will work. Mim says, sometimes you just got to.......It will make you happy.



It's Kylie's first Xmas ever. Her I do miss, but seeing photos like this make me so happy. She belongs in the Treehouse. Obviously.



As anyone who lives with Cats knows, the Tree is there for them. It's something you have to accept. If it is big enough, they will climb it. Tie it to the wall. If the presents are wrapped, they will, like children, spend hours trying to get into them. Deal. That's why Fod gave us Duct Tappe. Don't use tinsel. Your house will be tinseled, and as we have all learned the hard way, pulling it out of them is way no fun. From either end. Make sure, whatever you make, that there is enough for them too.And remember, ornaments are THERE to be batted off and chased around.



So, is Mim like the Spirit of Anti-Xmas? What's up with the evil look????



Nathilie, I don't know WHAT it is you sent me, but Venus seems to think it is REALLY worth going after!



That is not a third Bengal, but a Tasmanian Devil Sally sent me. She sent me a Spider too, but he kind of went the same place Marjories Cat ornament. (see previous paragraph) fortunately, they were way not interested in the funky tea she sent.



Thank you, Fiends!

I hope what ever you are doing tonight, or tomorrow, that it is special to you. I hope you find a little bit of magic, make someone happy, take some time for yourselves and eat something just a little bit bad for you while watching movies only you would ever want to see.

I hope you take a moment to think about how good things are, and take a moment and think about how you could make it better for someone, or something. I hope something makes you laugh, and that your heart has a moment where it is so happy and cuddly that you do just like Mim did in the first picture.

I hope at Midnight your animals talk to you, and I if you have cats, I hope they tell you a secret. If they do, listen.

I hope if you are out at 3am that you see the Northern Lights. And you remember what your cat told you.

Most importantly, I hope you know that you are loved. Each of you, and that includes you, My Lurker Fiends. This is one of the most special places going, and it would not be without you. And I love you all right well. And Thank you again, for making my life better in so many ways.



Love and Hope,
Lorraine

Mostly Starring Selena Kylie!

Cat has taken some time away from her 100's of mailing tubes and prints to send us some pictures of Selena Kylie in her new home, with her new friend Batman, but first, I thought you might like some Merry Holiday wishes from Hera and Brjann....



THAT is my kind of Holiday Kitty!

When I accidentally adopted the Kitty known now as Selena Kylie, I knew she had to go home with me. She knew she had to go home with me. For the life of me tho, I had no idea why. Sure didn't NEED another kitty, not with all these Bengals running around, but there was something really special about Kylie.



When Cat came a few weeks later I found out what it was. She fell in love. Totally and completely. We went back and forth for a few weeks, her not wanting to take my Kitty, and me not sure I wanted her to go, but knowing she would be. In the end, of course, she did.



It was funny, as I think Kylie knew too. When Cat came back a few weeks later, she stayed at the Spooky House, and from that moment, Kylie sure wasn't about me. She knew she was going to LA to live in the Treehouse and help with the merch. She was ready.



We worried a bit about how Crusty Old Batman, the Kitty who came from an LA shelter and hid for months before coming out, and even at that point had contact only on his terms. Worried needlessly. Batman was besotted. Totally and instantly. As Cat put it "He walks around with little cartoon hearts popping in and out all around him" He is like a kitten again, playing for hours with her, following her around, letting her eat from his bowl, and sleeping with her n the bed at night.



Sometimes, you can get so happy knowing you have done something so right and perfect. I feel pretty much like I just played a part in something that needed to happen, was meant to happen. Had to happen. Batman has the life Cat always wanted for him. Kylie is loving the Treehouse and sunshine. And my friend Cat now has two friends who talk to her constantly while helping as much as they can.



On another note, Dr Score has been helping me with Magic (if you missed that, Le Leopard finally got his name on the Solstice) We have been looking into his past, trying to figure out what went wrong, that he is so hurt today, and hopefully, how we can help him.

This photo of him as a kitten, sadly, does a long way to explaining a lot of things...



Love and Happy Cats,
Lorraine

Spooky Haus, Part 2....

And now for Part 2. I believe we were going upstairs tonight, yes? Follow Freaky Venus...



Up to the top...That's a Kelli Bickman painting she did for me. She calls it "Quiche-cat" I love her work.



To the right, at the top, we have the Bathe. I didn't choose the wallpaper, it was here, but I was pretty tired of re-modeling by the time we got to it, and it wasn't all that bad, so it stayed. At some point tho....



Isn't this the Strangest chair ever? I got it because there surely aren't two in the world. The bath tub is lovely, but useless for bathing. The drain is about halfway up, so it is very shallow, and I do have a hot tub. I may take the plants out and make a pool for Mim, as she loves the water, perhaps with little fishies even.



Here's Venus on the vanity, which is somehow fitting....



There are two bedrooms here in the Spooky Haus, the first, the Forest Room. And we have the added bonus of King Lear and Queen Mab on the bed!



You can see the room has become a little more Bengal oriented lately. They love to climb and sit ont he tree, I may get them another. I'd love one of the TREE cat trees, it would go nicely in the Forest Room, I think...



I call the second Bedroom the Cuddly Bedroom....



It's a cozy place, and makes me happy. It's very much a refuge. Mim sleeps by the heating grate, and Venus with me. The cuddly books are up there too, with the non-fiction in the Romance Room. Nice balance.



No cat tree, but seems like they make do, yes?



And now back downstairs. That's the cover of Maurice and I under the window, a Michael Zulli, always loved that picture, she is so haunted, her and her alligator. And an Underworld poster, signed even. Those two movies have to be two of the best movies EVER.



And now, perhaps we will go outside, so you can see the big picture.




Ooookkkk....Or not. Really, it is much nicer in the spring, truly!!!!!!!

I hope you have enjoyed the Spooky Haus Tour, thank you for coming, and please, come back again soon!

Love and Cozy,
Lorraine