OBG #20 ~ The End

THE END

OBG #19

Oldies but Goodies would not be complete without sharing some family photos.  It's well documented that Maggy and Zoey are not friends and do not get along.  Well, they don't get along so well with any of our three grandchildren either.  Once in awhile, we're able to capture a "real" photo, other times they are "photoshopped" for fun!  Our third grandchild, JuneyBug, arrived in December 2009 and when his parents returned to work three-months later, he came to spend his days with us.  In January, 2011 he began to go to day care, but still spends Mondays and Fridays at the Zoolatry home.  Here, a little retrospective of our times together, often reluctantly shared by Maggy and Zoey ~ because sometimes, try as they might to avoid contact,  they simply cannot hold back their "cat curiosity".

The three photos below have to be my "all time favorites"!  Having set JuneyBugs infant-seat briefly on the table, in preparation for going out ~ Maggy jumped up alongside him to "check things out".  These happen to be "real photos".  I think we'll title them Curious and Curiouser.

Oldies But Goodies ends tomorrow ~ stop by for our final post.

OBG #18

Oldies But Goodies is winding down (it will officially end on July 31) ...

traditionally, Fridays at Zoolatry are "Friends Friday".

Today, to all our friends ~ a thank you for sharing this time with us,
help yourself to a little love!

Join us on Saturday
for some family fun!

OBG #17

Thankful Thursday

We are always thankful for good friends to play with,

to share special times with.

(Well, most of the time we're thankful ... then there are those other times ... )

Tomorrow:
Someone found a little extra love to share.
Come by for some ...

OBG #16

Tomorrow: Thankful Thursday

Zoey is "thankful for a friend to play with"...

however, the friend is not quite sure about that ... 

OBG #15

Over our years of blogging, and doing photo-art, many friends

have made "special picture requests".  These pictures are a creative challenge,

yet great fun to do.  (And we can always do them for you!)

Here is a collection showing some

"famous" friends ~ and their alter-egos.  Enjoy!

FROM THE TOP: Bhu, Clooney, Brandy,

Romeo, Goma, Busby and Kirzon.

FROM THE TOP: Scout, Zoey, Mabel,

Ginger Jasper and Zoey, Jesse,

Milo and Alfie, and Willow
Tomorrow: for Wordy Wednesday,
Zoey says "water, water everywhere,
is there a drop for me?"

OBG #14

Way back in 2007-2008, we had a special blog ~

NFL ~ the National Feline League.

Kitty (and woofie) friends choose their favorite teams.  We kicked off with fun,

and played ball right through to the play-offs, and the Super Bowl.

Some team members are no longer active bloggers.  Some have
gone through the "goal posts" to the Hall of Fame. 
Each and every one are winners.
Here, collages of the individual posts that ran throughout the season.

Tomorrow ~ Famous Furs!

OBG #13

Can anything be sweeter than a kitty pile?

The only thing sweeter is ~ a pile of kitties.

We remember some, but not all, of the kitty names in these

old 2008 and 2009 photos.  So, rather than offend some,

none are being named.

Tomorrow: it's Monday Night Football, or it's the

Monday Morning Quarterback Club... or, wait a minute,

it's the NFL, National Feline League from 2007/2008.

C'mon and play!

OBG #12

Weekends are time for fun!

Zoey had fun on her trip to the Zoo!

(in these old 2008 photos)

We hope you have a fun weekend, whatever you do!

Stop by tomorrow and see our

"piles of kitties" and "kitty piles"

OLDIES BUT GOODIES ~ Extra Edition

Found these "old", 2007 pictures in our files this morning.

Thought we'd post as an add-on for today's Oldies But Goodies regular post.

Seems appropriate ~ for all our friends and furriends

who are truly suffering in this massive heat wave!

We hope you can get off the "hot roof" and

onto the "cold one" real soon!  Be careful outdoors and take care!

Stay inside over the weekend ~ and that means all our furry friends, too!

OBG #11

The kitties and woofies we've known over our blogging years

wear many hats.  Some are conductors, some are painters, some

musicians and some gardeners.  Whatever hat they may wear,

all are PRICELESS!

OBG #10

Today's post is titled Anytime Anywhere Photos.

This is because we firmly believe that anyone who has a cat,

or anyone who has multiple cats,

could take similar photos anytime anywhere in any home.
WARNING: the last photo is explicit in nature and
not intended for sensitive viewers.  Scroll down with caution.
Originally posted to Zoolatry in 2008.
This post is subtitled:
The Night Before vs The Morning After

OBG #9

If nothing else, our resident comedian Zoey can

be very wordy ~ here's a few chosen from our archives,

with comments also from Maggy.

(1) You know how in many markets, they've moved the "candy" away from the

check-out area, to discourage those little hands and voices from screaming

"I want, I want" ~ Maggy says they need to do the same thing with the toys!

(2) Can someone loan me their BedHead please?

(3) I know I wrote that sometimes I cannot think of anything to say,

but that is not the truth.

 (4) History is important.  We can learn important things from the study of history.

(5) Don't foget your ducky. 

(6) Never mind Maggy (up above), she does not know whereof she speaks.

Your guess is as good as mine as to

which sister is offered for sale.

Tomorrow ~ Anywhere Anytime Photos
subtitled The Night Before and The Morning After 

OBG #8

We love sharing the fun of birthday parties.

Here, just a few from our archives.  Enjoy!

Parker ~ Perfectly Parker, of course ~ is ready to party-hard

now that the media has arrived!
So, scroll down to join all the party animals ...

Tomorrow ~ Getting Wordy With Zoey 

OBG #7

One of the most enjoyable things about "pet blogging" is the chance to

make wonderful friends ~ to share special times and special events together.

To kick off Week #2 of Oldies But Goodies, here is a "calendar" of times shared.

It's also fun to do Oldies But Goodies as more often than not, many of these

pictures have never been posted on Zoolatry.  Normally when we do

photoshop-art for other bloggers, it is for posting to their own blogs, so

perhaps you'll seem some "old" and perhaps some "new" as you scroll

through a year with us.

_________________________________

BELOW: We start the New Year with Maggy and Zoey.

Valentine Love shared by Socks and Momo.

St. Patty's Day hic-cups by Zoolatry.

 BELOW: Camille Suzanne is ready for Easter.

Coco is due any day, perhaps in time for Mother's Day.

The Kattenpraat Kitties celebrate Father's Day.

 BELOW: Bangs 'n booms for the 4th of July with Phantom and Thunder.

Let's Play Ball ~ Kick-off time with the Kewl Kitty Krew.

Meow Like A Pirate says Ginger Jasper.

BELOW: Halloween is a super fun time for one and all, and for Dory.

Turkey time ~ any day now ~ with Maggy and Zoey.

Christmas.  A wonderful time with many, many furriends.

Tomorrow ~ it's Birthday Time for many friends.

OBG #6

A younger Zoey, sleeping in an old Coca Cola crate.

Originally posted May 2007.

We hope you can join us throughout this week as we stroll through
a calendar of memories ~ special events, birthdays and gotcha days,
and much, much more!

OBG #5

Silly Saturday

Of course, Zoey is the natural choice for today.

What-cha doin' Zo? 

Well, I suppose you got this special bed for the little grand

who should arrive any day now,
(Note: November 2009 photo; little grand arrived a month later)
but you know what ~ it's purr-fect for me!

OBG #4

Today our posting would normally be for Friends Friday.

So we figured, why not show "friends" who are oldies-but-goodies for this Friday.

Here, Calle, Halle and Sukki note the arrival of their dinner guests Maggy and Zoey.

PS ... lest you think this is "photoshop" work, note that

all five kitties are reflected in the glass tabletop ... go figure ...

OBG #3

Most every Thursday we can count on Alfie, from The Cat's Meow

to be showing his wonderful garden photos, as he's a regular with Jonesie's

Society of Feline Gardeners.

Some Thursdays Alfie might encounter a little difficulty getting

out to his garden if his

bro-fur Milo has anything to say about it.

OBG #2

On the farm with friends Eric and Flynn (2008).
________________
By the way, if you saw yesterdays post, you know that we did not know who
we had pictured.  Eric and Flynn were the first to suggest that it
might be Cliff and Olivia.  Several other bloggers followed with the
same thought ~ so we wrote them to ask... "is that the two of you?"
Well ~ they wrote back and the answer is "YES".
Yesterdays photos were Cliff and Olivia and you can
visit them by clicking on their names on our sidebar.

OBG #1

These "old" portraits are from 2009, and are personal favorites.

Unfortunately, back then we were often sloppy about "naming" our photoshop

pictures.  So who these wonderful furs are is a memory lost long ago.

Unless someone out there can name them for us!

TIME FOR ~ OLDIES BUT GOODIES

While Maggy and Zoey and the Zoolatry Human (Ann) take a little summertime break,

we invite you to visit and enjoy "oldies but goodies".
____________

In the days ahead you may see photos of Maggy.

Some days you'll see our resident comedian, Zoey.

And many days, you'll see our "Friends".
____________

With over 1800 posts to this blog, and thousands

of pictures of us, and of you ~ there are many to choose from!

We hope our friends and visitors, whether old or new,

will enjoy this walk down memory lane.
____________

Even though we won't be posting new pictures for awhile,

we're still ready, willing and able to make pictures for all of you.

Whether it's a new banner, a birthday picture, something for gotcha day,

a special event, or a sidebar tag ~ even a complete blog makeover,

feel free to email us.  And if you'd like a glimpse of just a few from

ZOOLATRY FOR YOU, click on that page above,
or just CLICK HERE.

EASY LIKE SUNDAY

Winken, Blinken ~

and any minute now, Nod will appear.

PHOTO HUNT: NEAR

The son and granddaughter of the ZH are very NEAR the water now.

Any minute ~ Super Big Splash!

I'd better get far away as I am too NEAR and will get wet!

We watched from along the Indian River near Cocoa Village;

not wanting to venture closer and get caught in huge traffic jams.

A perfect launch.  Very overcast, very hot, very humid.

Saw little except the "light" ... smoke plume's

obscured by cloud cover.  Big booms! 

ATLANTIS ~ STS 135

Today marks the final shuttle launch of the U.S. Space Mission Program.

Weather permitting, Atlantis will lift off at 11:26 a.m., ET.

The end of an era.

Below, our photos of an Atlantis launch from June, 2007.

And following, Zoey's thoughts on shuttle launches...

Lastly, our own thoughts and memories revisited about our years on the Space Coast

and enjoying this amazing period in our history.

____________________________________________________

During our nearly 20-years of living on The Space Coast, we've had the amazing experience of viewing dozens of shuttle launches up close and personal.  For us, this was not a once-in-a-lifetime event, but a thrill lived many times over, and often shared with family and friends.  We've viewed launches from the VIP site on the Banana River, from the press viewing stands at KSC, from the beach, from the riverfronts and from our own front yard.  If one is honored to be at the VIP site, as we were on many occasions, you travel by NASA bus to the site, several hours prior to launch.  We have waited there in the cold chill of a January night.  We have waited there in the hot and humid July mid-day sun.  You watch the countdown clock.  There is always a hold at 9:00 minutes and counting.  Are all systems go?  The countdown clock begins again.  At 3:00 minutes and counting, you'll hear the voices from Mission Control: Go, Go, Go.  Your heart beats fast.  You want to hear only "go", you never want to hear the word "scrub".  Because all it takes is one "scrub" and back to the bus, to return yet another night or day.  But return you do, always. For whether it is a nighttime launch, or day ~ whether against the rising sun over the ocean, or against the reflection of a setting sun from the west, each and every launch is spectacular.  The engines fire.  The smoke rises.  The earth shakes beneath your feet.  You cover your ears against the sound blasts.  Then, lift off.  The smoke plume curls up through the sky.  Farther and farther it travels, faster and faster it goes.  You watch for the separation of the rocket boosters, which fall away and land in the ocean.  Safe.  Another safe launch.  An awesome spectacle, an amazing feat by humankind.   We have cheered with a large crowd of young Japanese women when the first female astronaut from Japan rode off into space.  On one bus ride back to the center (at 4:00 am, no less), we shared passing bottles of vodka from Russian visitors who had just viewed the first shuttle launch of a Russian cosmonaut joining with our astronauts.  We have met people from all over the world, as they come from far and near to experience this.  Some had a personal interest in special payloads that were on board the shuttles.  I remember two in particular: a young man, a musician, had designed and created a very special guitar -- it would travel on board the shuttle that day, to be played by an astronaut once in space.  Could we, as humans, make music in zero gravity?  If in future times we were to live in outer space, we would want to have music as part of our lives -- would it be?  Could it be?  Sadly, I never learned the results of that experiment.  Another I recall, was an elementary school teacher from Alabama. Her class one year mailed a Teddy Bear to another class of students in another part of the world.  They in turn mailed Teddy on... and on... and on.  For many years, through many classes of students, Teddy had traveled the world.  Yes, the same Teddy... greeting hundreds and hundreds of students over the years.  Now this teacher was retiring, and today Teddy would travel out-of-this-world.  His final journey, likely watched and cheered on by thousands of students worldwide who remembered Teddy.  Being a part of this over many years has been rewarding.  Our space program has brought so much to our everyday lives in the fields of medicine, and technology, and food production, and automotive safety.  Many payloads were scientific experiments, many were just to learn "can we make music" or let's honor Teddy.  But the list of developments that improve much that we come in contact with each day is endless, and yet few are even aware that all these advancements are a direct result of space exploration and the shuttle program.  What President Kennedy envisioned many decades ago, came to pass.  Now the shuttle program is winding down. It is a sad time for those of us who have watched and been inspired by the years of achievement. It is a sad time for the thousands who were part of the NASA, KSC and the contractor workforce as they face an uncertain future. It is a sad time as we pause and remember Challenger and Columbia and the brave souls lost on those flights. 

To all those who have been a part of space history, we thank you.  

Atlantis and her crew, Godspeed.

THE LAST LAUNCH

_________________________________________________________

The last shuttle launch is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, July 8 at 11:26 a.m.

Weather permitting.

As I write our weather is terrible, with worse expected tomorrow.

Very hot. Very humid.

Thunderstorms with our usual lightning explosion rolling in right now.

_________________________________________________________

We have a special post planned for tomorrow, and will post

if even the launch is scrubbed.

It is the end of an era.

Stop by tomorrow if you have time, scroll down for our

regular Thursday posting.

THREE FOR THURSDAY

It's always difficult to get photographs of our Maggy.  She tends to look away

(if not run away!) the moment she sees the camera.  And if not that, will often

bow her head.  The advantage to that is I have many photos of the beautiful white star

that tops her pretty head.  Maggy ~ Starshine!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

TOOFS AND TOZE