Sometimes, it's like herding cats.

Happy Tuesday, my friends. I hope January is treating you well, and, if you are on the West Coast of the U.S., that you and your loved ones are safe. Because I am living in the strange oasis that is Mid-Michigan (there's no snow, folks. In Mid-Michigan. In January.), I can turn my attention to the first world problem of organizing my thoughts and my space. Not necessarily in that order.

And sometimes, organizing thoughts and spaces is like herding cats. But, when we hit that magical moment of getting all of our cats in our basket, that shining moment of satisfaction is tremendous.

I wish you an organized basket of cats today. And many more days to come.

Are you ready to put the happy into the holidays?

 

I'm not. There, I've confessed. I feel so much better. Despite all the fun ahead, I'm a bit of a grumpy cat this end of November, and afraid that any holiday spirit that might come my way won't arrive until December 26th.

Maybe.

 Anyone else feel like they're going to be a late bloomer with the upcoming holidays?

Marking the passing of our FatBoy.

 This week is a tough one Chez Munder. We are once again marking the passing of our FatBoy Kitty. Anyone who has loved and lost a furry member of their family knows where we are emotionally. But, good friends have stepped in to help us remember the better days. [[big hugs]] to everyone who's walked in our shoes, and especially to K. for sending us this pointed reminder:

The vache of groundhogs.

 

I may not have a Fatboy Kitty to cuddle anymore, but his buddy, the groundhog, still comes to visit. My surrogate kitty.

One of those days...

 

Yeah, I'll just be hanging in my happy place for bit. Deep breaths and when all else fails, remember to be kind. 

Deadlines and dreaming cats.

 Who doesn't love an @bklibancats? I'm taking a quick posting break from my *almost* finished, due to submit by Friday, story in progress to share a little dreaming cat nap. That'll be me, once I hit send on this story. Who wants to cheer me on?

This week's #OntheKindle

 Yep. I'm taking a break from my writing, decluttering, and massive avoidance of all the hard work making up both those projects for a reading break. Helped along by this book gifted me by a dear friend:

It doesn't get any more perfect than that. Receiving this was a definite high point to my week and I appreciate Amazon's ability to let us gift books to each other. Do you know someone have a tough week? Gift them an ebook and watch them smile.

What are you reading this week?

Nothing like a Kliban Cat to cleanse the palate

 It's a kind of crazy Thursday and I thought I'd take a quick break from the pre-order/holiday frenzy/release day fun to stop and take a Kliban pause. Because nothing makes me smile like a Kliban kitty, and I hope the same is true for you.

Guess who came to dinner?

 

This is our neighborhood's traveling kitty, and he's always very interested in our flowerbeds around the back porch. I snapped this picture right before he pounced on a mousie snack and trotted off with his prize.

It's Rocktober, baby!!

Or, as we call it here at Chez Munder, my favorite month of the year! Some people love summer and equate the late Fall with a winding down period. Others love January and the start of the new year, I feel that same rush of new possibility and opportunity every October 1st. And it's here!!

But, I can't have to much fun just yet. I'm finishing up a final, Q3 project that is pushing my Q4 off for about another ten days. It's all right. I can wait. (barely!)  Then I'll take a few days of down time before jumping in! Because, just like the wonderful B. Kliban shows us, sometimes you have to ignore all the little things going on around you and rest when and where you can.

Are you rocking into the new month?

One of those weeks!

 It has been one of those weeks, my friends. And, looks to be turning into one of those months. This card a friend sent me seems to sum it all up! Can I watch cat videos for an entire month? Wait... don't answer that. :) Hope your September is going well, with or without cat videos.

Mourning our FatBoy Kitty

 Hard as it is to believe, it's been a year since we lost our Fatboy Kitty. This picture makes me smile whenever I see it, and I needed that today.

When's the last time you took a day off?

Not just an, oh, I'm behind/I can only do my minimally viable plan, but an actual day of doing nothing. For those of us here at Chez Munder, apparently far, far too long ago!  We took yesterday off in to celebrate (more on that in a bit), and spent the day napping. Wow. did that feel weird. The weirdness told us it had been a while and a check of the calendar confirmed. Here's a visual if you need one:

Art by the always awesome B. Kliban

Naps. A wonderful thing.

But, celebrations! Yes! I'm excited to have both a novella and a short story coming soon. Which means, urgh. I'd best get to the coming soon page revamp, fixing those links in the sidebar, cleaning up those darn tags and categories, and doing something with that mailing list. Am I celebrating the need for more work? 

No! It's the rewrite and repub of two old favorites. The Scenic Route and Business Before Pleasure. Dates, blurbs, and covers are coming and I'll post as soon as I can, but I wanted to take a minute to do the happy dance before I dive into the next project. Also, hopefully, coming soon. ;)

So, today my friends, I want you to stop and think: when is the last time you had a day off?

The one spot!

Hey there, friends. Did you ever have one of those days where you go to the *one spot* an item has been kept for probably 20 years (or, at least as long as you have lived where you live). 

The *one spot* that every time you go and look for the item, it's there. The *one spot* you are confident you will never move this item from. 

Have you  ever gone to your *one spot* and the item you need is not there?

How do you feel in that moment?

That's me this afternoon. So I am pulling out my guaranteed-to-make-me-smile mug for my afternoon coffee. And brooding. Because, if that one item is not in my one spot, where the heck is it?

 

What made you smile today?

 Sometimes, it’s the simplest of things that helps us smile. Today, it’s my color-changing kitty night light. What made you smile today?

What's on tap for your weekend?

Love the way there's a Kliban cat for every occassion. We are gearing up for a hot and sweaty gardening type of weekend. How about you?

 

Everything's better with OwlKitty

 This made me laugh today. 

One of them Tuesdays.

 Definitely a hug the Fat Kitty Pillow kind of day. How about you?

Missing my FatBoy

 My lack of meaningful interaction with my yarn basket hasn't been due to being blind. It's simply been too hard to even think about touching it since my FatBoy kitty passed on. He was always so eager to help. But, I'm giving it a try this new year. Do you have a favorite pet that helps you with your craftwork?