A HALLOWEEN HAUNTING

 A HALLOWEEN HAUNTING

This should have been the 18th year* to publish our traditional Halloween Haunting poem, 
as it first appeared here in 2007.  

It has been visualized with the different beloved pets that filled our lives

over the years ~ Maggie, Zoey, Dougie Dog ~ and the words changed slightly as

we moved from the South to return North.

What has not changed is our wish for one and all, humans big and little,

along with their pets to share a fun holiday together!

To those who are home, handing out treats ~ secure your pets safely,

peek out before opening doors.

To those who venture forth ~ keep them close.  If with little ones, keep a

watchful eye all 'round, return home safe and sound.

... boo ... meow ... and happy halloween from "Boolatry"

*a opinion note below on why this is actually the

17th edition of our poem 

A personal opinion:  For the first time in many years, on October 31, 2024 we chose to break with our own tradition and did not publish our annual Halloween Haunting poem.  At that time we were a mere four days away from a presidential election here in the US ... at the time, JUNE wrote on this blog, just because she could: "I can be 'catty' about this ... I think orange is just fine for the pumpkin at my front door.  It is not fine for the leader of my country!"

And yet here we are.

Politics and policies and left and right, issues, democracy: important, absolutely.  Be educated, be informed: important, absolutely.  Underlying all of this is character, and morals and decency.  Absent these, the rest does not matter.  The choice was clear on that day in 2024.  This country made the wrong choice.

And yet here we are.  

Haunted.  Not by ghosts.  By the real life monsters who are tearing apart this country, day by day by day. 

JUNE: INFLUENCER

So who ever said polka dots and stripes don't go together?

I wear stripes on my tail and polka dots on my tum

and I am a fashion influencer.

 

AWWW

AWWW

on

MONDAY

AWWW EVERYDAY

 

BOBBLEHEADS

Yes, we still love football.
Yes, we still love our Ravens.
We are NOT fair weather fans.
We support our team, rain or shine, on and off the field, 

bobbleheads or not, win or lose.

Pre-season we were 3-0.

So far for the real season we are 1-5 and last place in our division.

This after two years of playing well, playing great and

almost "getting there" ... you know where ...

and this could have been, might have been ... THE YEAR!

Not now, though ... sometimes it just doesn't work out the way

you want it to, but even when it doesn't,

you still cheer your team on ...

(just like in politics ...

we're still cheering for Our Team,

the Good Guys, supporting democracy,

fairness and justice for all.)

Today, a home game

vs the Chicago Bears.

GO RAVENS

CATURDAY ART ~ THE PUMPKIN PATCH

After sorting through all my many Meow-O-Ween costumes yesterday,
I think I'm going to be "the great punkin".  
We're visiting a local farm, all decorated with beautiful autumn flowers and foods and
favorite things ... mine Mommy made me pose next to their "great punkin" 
and then we'll go over to the Pumpkin Patch so I can pick out my very own ~ a little one though, 

to carve with a happy face and set outside my door!

Before I go to the Pumpkin Patch though, 

I'm going to join lots of friends over at

Athena and Marie's

CATURDAY ART BLOG HOP

CHOOSING MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME

A fun day ~ you here in blog world call these "flashbacks" ~ 

for me it was kinda sorta the same thing!  

With Meow-O-Ween night just a week away, mine Mommy
got my box of costumes out of the closet 

and I spent the afternoon trying to choose which one I'd wear!

  

I don't get to go outside, but I can wander the hallways in our building

 ~ ohmycat ~
there are 17-floors with lots of doors to paw at on each floor!  

Can you imagine how many
treats I can get to fill up my goodie bag!

These are kinda sorta my favorite costumes.
Which one do you think I should choose for this year?  
Help me decide ... thank you!

THANKFUL THURSDAY, KINDA SORTA

It is common knowledge that I am not a lap cat.  Even when getting brushies, I only sit alongside mine Mommy and depart the very second brushing ends.  I am not friendly or welcoming to any who enter our apartment.  No one touches me, no one.  If there is a reason for my stand-off-ish-ness, I am not even sure what it is, it is buried deep in my kitten memory.  I arrived here at 6-months, during the pandemic, and so was not socialized for a very long time.  And mine Mommy told me that reading through papers that came with me, she is fairly sure I was a "runt" (whatever that is) and was likely neglected, treated poorly and bounced among many different peoples, none who cared much for me in those early months.  Those humans may not have liked me and so I learned early on not to like them too much either!  It's kinda sorta hard to get over that, even when you finally get to be with a loving and kind "mine Mommy" ...

All this is kinda sorta a prelude to something new around here ... often at night she reads a book before bedtime.  I get some brushies and then wait in my chair until it's time for bed.  But last night, she decided to watch something silly (it's always silly or stupid on TV, she says) so I decided "why not?"  Maybe, this time, one time ... I would sit with her.  It was a little chilly ... her sweater looked warm and soft (and it was).  So I jumped up into the chair.  She was so surprised.  No. I didn't suddenly become a lap cat.  But I did sit alongside her.  I think she liked it.  I think she was thankful I sat with her.  And that sweater was warm and soft.  And I was thankful.  And it was kinda sorta nice.

I don't want to ruin my reputation.  But I'm kinda sorta thinking about doing it again.  Sometime.  Meow.

Allowing mine Mommy to add a purrsonal note:  I am thankful for all who took time to comment on my post yesterday.  I realize that we are a "pet blogging community", however, I strongly believe that it is incumbent upon each of us to step out of our comfort zone at this time, speak loud and clear against what is taking place in our country.  Two men argued in our elevator as I rode the 16 floors to my lobby the other day, and one finally asked the other: "did you vote?" and the reply was "no".  The loud response: "expletive-ing shut up!"  For any and all without the courage to speak up, stand up, scream and shout, you may as well dig a deep hole and crawl in as the day will come, and soon, when they come for you and yours.  And BTW, that $200 million ballroom - 50,000 square foot, magically overnight became a $300 million project about 90,000 square foot: told you so!  Remember: sir, you can do whatever you want to do ... and he does.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY: DEPLORABLE

It is not YOUR house.

It is the People's house.

We are your landlords.

You are renting it short term.

You've broken the terms of your lease

and will be evicted, one way or another.

We did not give you permission to destroy it.

In other, late breaking and still unfolding news: trump is suing himself and his own administration/government for $230 million dollars, which of course, should he win, he says ... will be "donated to charity".  This pair of lawsuits are for damages he personally suffered as a private citizen when the government indicted him for his crimes against the people of this nation and the government.  A push me pull me twist and turn complex puzzle to be closely watched: for the lawyers who once defended him as a private citizen now serve at the highest levels within the DOJ and would likely be the very lawyers to determine and judge the validity of these lawsuits should they move up through the court system. In September of 2016, Hillary Clinton was maligned for calling trump supporters a "basket of deplorables".  Perhaps in hindsight, she was not referring to his voters and followers.  Perhaps she was prophetic in seeing nearly a decade ahead to a time when our country would have a White House staffed by deplorables ... a Cabinet run by deplorables ... and a Congress of deplorables ... all tottering and mimicking and doing the bidding of the biggest deplorable one of them all.  No need to name him.

TRICK or TREAT?

THAT'S NOT MY NANNER!

 

TOCK-TOBER-ING for DERBY

Tock-Tober-Ing for Derby, the Sassy Cat

with a little bit of discretion.

Visit DERBY here today.

 

SUNDAY SMACKDOWN

 Coming in for a landing.

Nose up.

Tail down.

Softly.

Smack.

NO KINGS!

 

THANKFUL THURSDAY

 ~ sometimes I forget ~ then I remember ~

CAP NAPPING

 THE CAT

WILL SPEND

ON AVERAGE

12 HOURS

OR 

16 HOURS

OR

UP TO 18 HOURS

EACH DAY

CAT NAPPING.

DID YOU JUST YAWN?

BAD NEWS FOR KITTY CATS

I was having some happy-cat-box play.  

See ... isn't this the kinda sorta thing we kitties love to do?

When I heard mine Mommy say ... "enjoy it while you can, Juney girl ... listen to this!  
A business story from this mornings Washington Post ... and she read it to me ... "

# # #

Cardboard boxes power the consumer economy. 

They not only bring joy in the form of online shopping purchases, 

they are literally how retailers move goods. 

When cardboard box production slows, 

it could be a sign that people are expected to buy less in coming months. 

And cardboard box production is down.

[from: 6 Recession Warning Signs To Watch/Washington Post/10.14.25]

# # #

Oh no, what's a kitty to do?

OUR MORNING ROUTINE

It's still dark outside, the days are getting longer.  And cooler.  
I'm under the table, looking up at mine Mommy while she sips on her coffee, her second cup.  
I've already finished my breakfast and had some fresh water.  
Now I just wait for her to finish ~ it's a quiet time for us.  

She reads a little news on her phone, I think she thinks about the day ahead, sometimes she talks, er, meows to me.  

She says she thinks most people probably have a morning routine.  

I know I do, and the next part of my routine will be when she gets up from the table ~ 

when our quiet time is over, the city lights will begin to turn off, the sun will begin to rise up over the harbor, 

I will hear the birds begin to squawk as they fly off the church domes where they have slept during the night ~ 

I'll see those things she calls "cars" begin to park on that rooftop garage

 so all those people can go to work in the big tall buildings around us ~ 

once again, the world wakes up and starts all over.  

Mine Mommy gets up from the table to wash by breakfast bowl and her coffee cup, and me?  

Well, it is time to get out from under the table, curl up in my polka dot chair and have that morning nap.  

That is our morning routine.

HAPPY DAY TO ALL OUR CANADIAN FRIENDS

as they celebrate THANKSGIVING

"we are thankful you are our friends"

This morning, at 5:00 a.m Eastern time, it was a privilege to listen to

Jorgen Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee announce the

2025 Nobel Peace Price Winner. 

MARIA CORINA MACHADO

VENEZUELA

As every aspect of democracy is under threat and attack in our own country,
every day, I would encourage everyone to listen to Mr. Frydnes' words,
foretelling in detail the future we will have if there are not those
among us, many and many more, who will stand up, come forth and
fight with courage no matter how difficult it may be, no matter how dangerous
it may be, no matter how long it takes.

He was speaking to each and every one of us ...
was anyone listening?

A BOOLATRY BOO

 

A CHAIR, A MOUSIE, MR.DYSON & JUNE

This is the story of how June spends spends her time,

at least on this one occasion ~ together with a chair, briefly joined by a mousie, 

all while Mr. Dyson does his weekly roundabout in our studio.

At first when Mr. D came out of the closet to do his thing, I'd go into the closet.

Now that I'm kinda sorta more used to him, I hang around and watch,

from a distance mind you.  This time mine Mommy moved the chairs away from

the table, so I just scooted under one, and for awhile did a little rolypoly

there, some pole dancing 'n' all until that got boring.

I gave her my best "hey look I'm bored look" ... and then ...

... she tossed mousie my way.  We played for a bit, but he was not in the mood

and honestly, neither was I.  A toss of a few treats would've been better.

So.  I gave her yet another

"hey look I'm REALLY bored look"

before noticing she wasn't even around anymore.

Maybe she vacuuming the hallway for all I know!

I guess Mr. D had a bigger job to do today than he usually does.

So I yawned a bit.

Then I fell asleep.

And that's the end of the story.

Unless she asks me to walk on the tabletops and use my tail like a swiffer-duster!

After all it is cleaning day.

But you know, cleaning day would've taken half the time,

maybe a quarter of the time,

if she had not been stopping to take all these pictures!

Right?

It's also my Gotcha Day. 

I know this. Mine Mommy knows this.

And it's best I nap a lot, rest ahead of time and purr-pare for whatever

surprises and good things she has planned for this special day!

Right?

WHERE HAVE ALL MY BLANKIES GONE?

The nights are a little longer.  Darker.  Cooler.
The mornings have a little chill.
Yet my blankie basket is sans blankies ...
Where have all my blankies gone?

This afternoon, a home game.

RAVENS vs Houston TEXANS

We are 1/3, they are 1/3.

Not too great, meow.

But I am not a fair weather fan.  

We RAVENS flock together ... GO TEAM!