Close Up On My Lovely Eyes And Face #SundaySelfie

A close-up selfie...

Mum's late brother, who passed away in July 2022, would have been 54 today. 

I will be looking after Mum today as she remembers him. 

Lots of purrs and hugs to her and Granny 💚💚💚

This photo below was taken in the mid 1980s. 
 

Happy Birthday in Heaven, Uncle John 💚💜

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We are joining The Cat On My Head for Sunday Selfies.

Very Close-Up #SundaySelfie

Look into my eyes...

It's a sad day for us here as Mum remembers her brother. It's been two years since he passed and Mum says the grief is still so raw that it feels like only yesterday. 

So we're sharing some photos in his memory. 

This is Mum and my uncle John in the early 1970s. Mum likes the photo but hates the way she looks. John was a happy smiley baby as you can see.

Happy siblings in the early 70s

John when he moved to Sweden, early 2000s

Mum and John musical ambitions 1985/86

John iair-guitaring and headbanging during the 90s in a rock club.

In our hearts always

Mum finds it difficult to write these days that's why our blog posts now contain very little text. It pains her because she wanted to write a lot more about her beloved brother but says she can't. 

He was a talented guitarist, musician and songwriter. He did it because he loved it and always said he wasn't interested in becoming famous. 

So here's a couple of music excerpts of John playing guitar we'd love to share. The volume is quite low though so you may have to adjust it a little. 

Have a listen if guitar solos are your thing and you'd love to hear it, but not too loud as it might blow your ears off!

We're joining The Cat On My Head for Sunday Selfies.

Time For Some TV #CaturdayArt

This is where Mum sits to watch TV but I usually claim this seat for myself when I come downstairs. It looks like I'm watching TV too but I'm actually just staring into space as I prepare for my nap. Mum couldn't resist taking this pic, though.

Cartoonizer DLX

Polyart

Pointilism

Original

Here is the Jigsaw Puzzle 

  99CaturdayArt 020923

Caturday Art Blog Hop

Happy 53rd Birthday in Heaven to Mum's brother, John 

We love and miss you, John 💜xx

John was a James Bond fan. He loved Bond movies and had the entire collection on DVD. He also loved the soundtracks and probably collected all those too. This is his and Mum's favourite Bond theme. It's from Casino Royale - "You Know My Name" by the late, great Chris Cornell (also taken too soon in his early 50s like John). Rest In Peace to both xx

Mum shared this reel on her Instagram yesterday in memory of Uncle John.

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Shop at Teemill for ethical clothing and accessories 

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Washing Paws and Remembering #CaturdayArt

Here I am licking my paws. Mum was there, she snapped a photo and turned it into art using BeFunky.

Polyart artsy effect

Gouache artsy effect

PenArt artsy effect

Original

💚💜💚💜💚💜

One year ago today we lost my uncle, Mum's brother John. 

Rest In Peace, beautiful soul xxxx 

John with his cat Molly (together in Heaven now)

John with the family cat Suzy in the 1980s (together in Heaven now)

Remembering Suzy Sunday Selfies

Today we are remembering Mum's cat Suzy, who sadly crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 29th June 1998 at the age of 13 years. Mum wrote about her in The Cat Years: How My Cat Soulmates Saved Me and Suzy even got to be a star in Mum's novel The Snowflake Pendant. 

Sweet Suzy was born sometime in May 1985. Mum had lost her previous kitty, Cas (another tuxedo kitty) a few months previously. She just went out and never returned. Mum and her brother John were devastated. Mum decided that she didn't want another cat because she was heartbroken. However, a few months later John was passing a pet shop and went in and spotted this adorable little black and white kitten sitting there looking lost and lonely amongst her loud and boisterous siblings. He told Mum that he'd picked her because she was different. It was meant to be!

John bought Suzy and brought her home (things were different then - Mum would never buy a cat now since there are so many homeless pets in shelters).

Suzy doing what cats do

Mum fell in love with adorable little tiny Suzy and her big round baby blue eyes. Looking back, Mum says Suzy was far too young to be sold by the greedy pet shop owner. Suzy was so little, squeaky and helpless as you can see. But she was a lucky kitty as she received so much love and care from my mum and Uncle John.

Pretty tuxie 

You can see below how small Suzy was on the picure of her sitting on Uncle John's lap.

A collage Mum made a while back

Suzy was Mum's other soulmate cat. The little black and white cutie with beautiful green eyes and tender nature helped Mum through the ups and downs of late teens and through her 20s. Uncle John was her daddy really, since he was the one who bought her. She was there for him too throughout his rather troubled life. But they had some fun times too. Suzy could be funny as you can see below. Suzy loved her family so much.

Funny Suzy

Mum loved Suzy like her baby and took the most care of her. Granny looked after her too and Suzy loved my late granddad (who I never met because he died the year before Mum adopted me).

Mum and Suzy in the mid 90s

Mum is teary-eyed as she writes this post. She misses Suzy still, but next month will be the one year anniversary of her brother John's death. He was one month short of his 52nd birthday. He was taken too soon and it's been a shock for us all as he died suddenly in his sleep from heart failure. 

My late Uncle John with Suzy in the mid 90s - together in Heaven now

The Sunday Selfies Blog Hop is hosted by The Cat On My Head

We Are All Exhausted #CaturdayArt

My art today was created with BeFunky using the Oil Painting DLX effect.

 

And here is the original photo.

As you may know if you are regular reader and follower, it's been an exhausting and traumatic two months since my uncle John passed away in Sweden. It took a while for him to be sent back home (repatriated) to the UK.  Then we had to wait for the coroner to give the go ahead for the funeral. 

Well, on Monday 19th September, Uncle John got buried, the same day as the Queen. My mum left me at home for a few hours to go to the funeral with Granny and some of our relatives. I could see how stressed and worried she was before she left and that she was trying to hide it from me. I gave her long loving looks to calm her and she hugged and kissed me many times before she left. I knew that it would be a dreadfullly painful day for my Mum and Granny. I sat at home thinking of them both and sending purrs of love and comfort. 

As the chapel and cemetery are local, they arrived home in about two hours, both looking very drained and tired. But I could see that in some ways there was relief that they finally got to say goodbye. So yes, we are all 3 of us drained and exhausted from the tragedy of John's passing. I hear Mum saying life will never be the same again. Granny cries and keeps kissing her dear son's photo. I can only purr to heal my dear family xx

💚

Some Poly Art for Caturday Art

I quite like the autumnal colours in this week's Caturday Art photo. Mum used the Poly Art artsy filter in BeFunky.

My mum and granny are still grieving for Uncle John. It's been a month now and the funeral still hasn't been allowed to take place.

Uncle John lived in Sweden so he had to be repratiated back to England. It took almost 3 weeks after he passed away to get him here. He is now awaiting yet another post mortem due to the fact that no cause of death has been stated yet from Sweden. I don't know all the ins and outs as I am a cat, but I heard Mum talking with Granny and with people on the phone. 

So, there you have it. It could take another 3 weeks for the burial to take place. For Mum and Gran, the torture is unbearable as they long to lay him to rest.

Thank you for your continuing support xx

Watercolour, Cassatt and Sketch #CaturdayArt

My art today was made by Mum with LunaPic using 3 different art filters. Watercolour, Cassatt and Sketch.

Mum is still grieving her brother John. His body was flown back to England from Sweden yesterday and she is planning his funeral with the help of other family members.

I am helping by being at her side, purring, kissing and healing.

Rest in Peace, Uncle John

Digital Watercolour #CaturdayArt

 

Thank you for your comments and messages of support. Mum has read them all and they made her cry. I purred to make her feel better and I also let her give me lots of hugs. If it wasn't so stupidly hot I would be snuggled up against her all night to give her more comfort. 

We can't have a funeral for Uncle John yet because he has to be brought over to England from Sweden but we heard they are flying him over next Wednesday.

Of course, Mum and Granny are heartbroken.