Friends and Cats

My friend Ellen has a cat, an Abyssinian named True Religion. Awhile back she sent me a photo of True and one of his pals (I think the other cat is his brother, Blue, although it's a little hard to tell). As soon as I saw the jumble of legs, I knew this had to be a painting someday.

So here it is, a pastel version of True in his state of blissful body heat on the cat tree.

This painting is one of those featured in my new book, "Abyssinian and Somali Cats In Art".

And speaking of cats, my friend Chris came over this evening to help me bury Kenya. We laid him to rest under a rock in the back yard, near a sunny spot where he and Pepper always liked to sit.

It's a true friend who will drive on icy roads to stand out in the cold, digging a hole in the frozen ground. AND dump the wheelbarrow full of manure that's been sitting in the barn for a couple of days. AND buy you pizza and hot chocolate.

It is never easy to lose a kitty, but if one chooses to look, something good can come of every situation. In this case I didn't have to look very far. Lucky me!