It is a beautiful day.

Do you ever think, "It's a beautiful day" when it is raining?

Do you think it during a snow storm?

Or only when the sky is clear and the temperature is 73 degrees and sunny?

It was hot today where we live - felt like one hundred degrees outside - and very humid. Not a comfortable day outside at all, so, we kept our focus on gratitude and the electricity we have that makes our air conditioning run.

If we reframe our definition of a beautiful day, maybe we would start to view each day differently.

Starting today, Pasqua and I affirm, it is a beautiful day every day. 😺

Here's to a week of beautiful days ahead for each of you.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

A Sunday well spent brings a week of content. - Proverb.

Our Stories Matter

Happy Sunday, Readers,

Last week, I shared Pixie's story in honour of her passing. 😿 Which got me thinking about our individual stories - and how they matter.

Like Pixie, I had a rough start, too - the runt of a litter born in the parking lot of a shopping mall and abandoned by my cat-mother.

Me as a kitten.

When you share your story, what do you start with? Do you start with your rough beginning, or do you begin your story with a memory of courageous perseverance in the face of adversity? We all have a story to share and maybe we all can inspire others with our resilience.

You may remember how Pasqua came in to our life. We don't know much about his back story, or why he was dropped off at the cat sanctuary that October. We do know that they named him Chip because he was found during their Halloween Chip or Treat event.

Pasqua as a kitten.

Maybe if I allowed Pasqua to write today's blog he would start out at Thanksgiving 2018, and his first night in his new home here with us. How he knew it was supposed to be temporary and it was just a foster situation, so he squeezed his way into our hearts so that he would never leave.

We all have our own experience and impression of the world. If we stick with starting our story at the bad times, our focus of the bad times grows. The bad times are important, but even more important is how we rise above them, that's what makes us who we are at the core.

We don't have to start our story with the bad times. Instead, we could start at the good times, start with the blessings. Maybe, if we focus on the good, we will see the good grow.

Give people a space to be heard, listen to their story.

Share your story.

It matters.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

🧡Sharing your story is heart work. It's not easy work, but it might be the most important thing you’ll ever do. - Jennifer Williamson.🧡

In memory of Pixie

Remember ma sponsored a kitty at Tabby's Place after Stray Cat passed away?

We are sad to report that she has passed away. Tabby's wrote a beautiful blog in her honor if you want to read it:
https://www.tabbysplace.org/uncategorized/free-as-pixie/

Her start in life was a rough one. She was shot with a pellet gun which caused her hind legs paralysis. She persevered in the face of adversity. She was joyful, playful, and beautiful. She lived for a few years at the sanctuary, and was adopted last spring. She only had five years on this planet, and she touched so many people and cats - we all have learned from her courage, and strength.

Pixie inspires me to be nicer to everyone. Humans do not think I am the friendliest cat. Maybe it has to do with my start in life. My mamma's friend found me as a tiny kitten in the parking lot of a mall. Thank God she found me, because it was scary there.

I think our start in life has a huge impact on who we become and how we see the world. It is believed that the personality of a cat is based on the specific breed and the manner in which they are raised.

Now, mamma raised me spoiled and loved, yet most humans who meet me call me a scaredy-cat because I am timid and shy. Other humans just call me mean. I assure you, I am not mean - I am friendly, affectionate, and vocal to mamma only. Perhaps, my reserved behaviour is because I was introduced to the world with loud noises, lots of feet, and many automobiles. Something to think about.

Each time we lose a loved one, we honour their memory by emulating their best attributes. We honour Pixie today, and send up love, purrs, and cuddles to all of you.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

You don't have to have a great start in life to have a great attitude towards the future! 

July

July is here, and there was a special moon - did you know about the Buck Moon?

We always look forward to looking out our windows, we like that every day and night. 😼Do you?

We hope this month brings you great peace and joy.

That is what we do - hope - hope hope hope. Have an optimistic state of mind with the expectation of positive outcomes, what else can we do other than hope and pray for all of the humans in the world?

We are hopeful and prayerful for each of you.

Happy July, Readers.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in. -Theodore Roosevelt.