Say Thanks to the Cats in Your Life at Thanksgiving!

I can't imagine life without cats... for all my life, it brought most joy to me watching little kittens grow and play... and later become great personalities that were more reliable friends to me than most humans. A purring cat in my lap helps me relax when stressed out... the worried expression in a cat's face can dry my tears... they keep me warm in bed... and even all those cat-slaloms in the morning, stepping over more cats than I thought I own with my eyes still sleepy, or their consequently lying on whatever I would like to use (including the computer keyboard), or their tearing up the toilet paper once again, all this can make me smile... and sometimes even lough out loud...

Thanksgiving is a time of being grateful for whatever we appreciate in our lives... and with no doubts I would like to say thanks to all the cats that have lightened up my life in the past, in the present, and hopefully in the future...

If you want to pay tribute to the special cats in your life, as well, you can make your own post to the Thanksgiving Gallery at AlleyCatAllies and donate to protect the lives of cats.

But of course, you're also welcome to check out my Gifts for CatLovers (like you and me ;-) by clicking the image below!

Bring Halloween back to Lahaina

Halloween in Lahaina always was a big event with 30,000 residents and visitors wearing their best costumes every year (lots of photos at Lahainahalloween.com).

Front Street, the famous Lahaina Street that runs along the ocean, is no longer closed to vehicles. The Halloween Costume Contest used to be held in Banyan Tree Park, which is located in the heart of Lahaina. BUT, this year the booths and costume events will not be held. All costume contests will be held inside of the various restaurants and bars in the area.

Kama'aina:

Should the streets be closed in Lahaina?
You can make the difference! Is it a safety issue? They just had a meeting about it today with Lahaina Town Merchants...
The MPD has the right to shut down the road.
Show your support.
If you are concerned please speak up at the Lahaina Civic Center Monday October 26th!
It's dangerous with that many people coming to Lahaina trying to walk those narrow sidewalks with open traffic! There is no way they can hold that kind of foot traffic...Maui Police Town Hall Meeting Lahaina

And if you're interested in a Halloween t-shirt Hawaiian style, why don't you check mine out ;-)

October 16 is National Feral Cat Day

Every year, on October 16th, caring individuals reach out to others with the message that feral cats are healthy and happy outdoors and that Trap-Neuter-Return improves cats' lives.

Learn more about National Feral Cat Day and how you can help at Alley Cat Allies

Make a donation to Alley Cat Allies in honor of feral cats to help make an even greater impact this year

This is my cat Mousy.
You like the outdoors..? So does she.
Help Feral Cats live healthy, happy lives in their outdoor homes, too, by clicking one of the above links!
(And by the way, you can also click Mousy to check out my cat-stuff at Zazzle ;-)

September 21 is International Day of Peace

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. (Albert Einstein)

Help make this world a more peaceful place!

Spread the news...

by sending people a real (paper) greeting card for just $2.79 at Greeting Card Universe

Show your attitude!

Shop for various items (like t-shirts, mugs and a lot more) showing peace-designs at my zazzle-shop (see box below) where everything is customizable:



Or check out another peace design on even more items, like watches, jewelry, USB drives and much more (see slide below) at ArtsNow

The Concept of War is outdated. (The Dalai Lama)

My favorite music style? Slack Key!

In case you never heard about it: Slack Key is a Hawaiian kind of guitar picking which also includes a special way of tuning the strings. Having played in a band myself in the past, I really love this uplifting, as well as relaxing music... and I was very lucky to experience two more Slack Key concerts on my last trip around the beautiful islands of Hawai'i...

The first was a concert of my favorite group, Hapa, at Casanova's in Makawao on Maui, after I had already seen them live at the Maui MACC in 2006. The second was one of Doug & Sandy McMaster's Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar & Ukulele concerts at the Community Center in beautiful Hanalei on Kauai. Their mixture of music and story-telling is a quite soothing experience (not only for a rainy afternoon in rainbowland ;-)

Visit their website http://www.mcmasterslackkey.com/ where you can not only learn more about that kind of music, but also how to play it... or to listen and buy their awarded CDs and more...

And don't forget to check out my designs at zazzle for merchandising Doug & Sandy (no, they didn't ask me to - it's just because I'm a fan :-)

Nice design for all those girls in ballet class :-)

Need a gift for a young woman or girl that is a classical ballet enthusiast? A t-shirt..? A ballet shoe for walking on mundane grounds ;-) or a mug to keep the coffee hot during rehearsals..? Maybe you want to check them all out...

Created a design for (my fellow ;-) Leo's

Leo is supposed to be generous, warmhearted, creative, enthusiastic, broad-minded, expansive, faithful and loving - but on the dark side, as well, pompous, patronizing, bossy, interfering, dogmatic and intolerant.
Well, given the fact that I'm a Leo myself ;-) I can confirm that this isn't correct for everyone - though there might be some truth, as well...

My Leo design contains all elements that this sun sign is connected with: