Dona Nobis Pacem #Blog4Peace #BlogBlast4Peace

 

I am at peace when I walk in the woods, though I know the world is not a peaceful place.

I am at peace knowing I'm in the twilight of my life, 18 cat years = 88 human years.

I am at peace today, walking for peace, feeling the love, wanting to dream.

I am at peace, imagining a world where we all walk in peace and transform the world.

In 2006, Mimi Lenox began the Peace Globe Movement project and I've missed participating for a few years, but this year more than ever, I wanted to be part of walking for peace because our actions matter.

If you would like to learn more, click on the following link!

http://blog4peace.com/

And just cuz it's so cute and makes me happurry every time I watch it, here's the Reel this picture of me walking is from!

You Like My Strut?

Mewsings from Coco and her Entourage!

November of 2018? Is that really our last post to Coco's blog? Did we really disappear? Lose our Mojo? Or did life get in the way of doing something we love? Well, a little of each of those things, but not in a bad way...

I retired from a 48 year career in the veterinary healthcare profession and moved back to the Pacific Northwest to be close to family and all the PNW things I missed while on the east coast.

Coco and her two bodyguards and I made a road trip across the USA in our new-to-us Subaru and stopped to visit friends along the way! The cats are seasoned travelers, and adapted to their accommodations easily as I took along all their familiar things-blanket, pet safe heating pads, burrow beds and litter box they used at home.

We had a fabulous stay in Nederland CO at The Boulder Creek Lodge and Coco was treated by the staff like the Celebrikitty she is, and we even got in a little hiking while we were there...the cats first 'Adventure Cat' adventure!

And before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Coco strolled the town and found there are pawparazzi here, too! Yay! 

We have settled into our new home, complete with a catio, and while Coco hasn't ventured out in a kayak yet, her bodyguards have! 

We look forward to getting out and attending some pet fundraising events and dining out Al Fresco again, but for now, we are mostly being homebodies and enjoying life in Southern Oregon! Stay tuned for regular updates and mews!

Dona Nobis Pacem #Blog4Peace 2018...Words are Powerful

Today, November 4th 2018 is the 12th year of the BlogPeace project, started by Mimi Lenox and something that has grown into a world-wide phenomenon. This years theme is Words are Powerful. 

Words of Love, Words of Hate, Words of Thanks, Words of Peace...

I think the cats  are doing their best to bring a grateful peace into my life, and I get a lot of happiness in helping others and so I know there is Love in the World, but wonder if Peace is just a Dream... 

Bloggers all around the world are doing the same today...a collective project, making their Peace Globes. Individuals who want peace while the governments all around the world seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. Humans not only screaming hate but acting out on that hate..

I have become very cynical about trying to elect officials that have the common man's interest at heart...they seem so distanced from what is reality. But in the words of Emily Dickinson, which I used when composing this years Peace Globe, hope is...

Hope is the thing with feathers  
That perches in the soul,  
And sings the tune without the words,  
And never stops at all,  
   
And sweetest in the gale is heard;          
And sore must be the storm  
That could abash the little bird  
That kept so many warm.  

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,  
And on the strangest sea;         
Yet, never, in extremity,  
It asked a crumb of me.

At the heart of this project is hope and when people from 6 continents and 214 countries & territories also work for peace, how could we not post our Peace Globe today?!

Some of our hopes for the day...

purr loudly...

don't hiss at each other...

breath deeply (especially of catnip)...

and love just as deeply...

(remember kneading = love)

Saturday Caturday, #BlogPaws 2018 Conference Part 2

I was going to try and get a blog post written every day of the 2018 #BlogPaws Conference, but that was too lofty a goal for me! The photo above is one of my favorites of Coco because she "Does Deserve It"!

She seems to enjoy riding up and down on the elevator and being admired by all who enter and it gives me a moment to tell people about her and share her business cards! During this conference, we have just passed 1400 followers on IG and gained a few new followers on FB and Twitter, too!

The venue for this years conference was fabulous, with lots of nice comfortable places to sit and visit with friends or catch up with social media, and the on-site restaurant was really good, too! Of course, as it has been in the past, BlogPaws feeds us so well that dining out was only done before the conference started and on the free night they give us to get together with friends! And as always, there was the famous BlogPaws Cheescake! 

All the educational sessions and meal ares were also pet-friendly and most of the pets were well-behaved and so relaxed they even napped!

And once again, this BlogPaws Conference was part of the Zero Waste Initiative with Only Natural Pet! We did our part, but it would have been nice to have marked recycling containers closer to our hotel rooms so we didn't have to carry recyclables down to the floor where the exhibits were located.

The hotel had recycling containers but they weren't labeled and I have a feeling I put the wrong thing in the wrong slot at times. And then I wasn't sure if recyclables put in the hotel cans would be weighed for the Zero Waste total. 

This years conference had a large and well-set up exhibition/vendor area with lots of room to stop and chat at the booths without blocking aisles and many booths had fun interactive photo ops for people and pets!

The experiential areas were nice and something different, too,  but I failed to take any photos of them! There was a Kitchen (grab a pet snack), office (charge up your phones), library (check out books written by BlogPawsians)...all gave attendees a chance to relax and sit and talk with friends, as well as speakers! I hope they do that again next year!

Coco and I had fun schmoozing with the vendors, some who had met her before, but a few that had not and were just amazed by her savoir faire and her wardrobe! She didn't actually get to wear all of the 19 outfits I brought along, but we did manage to get in 3-4 costume changes a day, much to the delight of her fans! And only Coco can look elegant when sleeping!

And to round out this 2nd BlogPaws 2018 blog post, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the BlogPaws Swag that each attendee gets! This years BlogPaws T-Shirt was done by the folks at Teddy the Dog and it's oh-so-cute, even if it's not a cat (though they said they will be coming out with a cat line soon!).

Well, it's now time for my dinner, so I'm going to stop here, get Coco dressed (she has napped all day today so I know she was tired!) and head down to dinner at the hotel restaurant. I promise to get to  BlogPaws 2018 Conference Part 3 tomorrow! 

Blogging Again! #BlogPaws 2018!

After an almost one year hiatus (that's a fancy word for only microblogging), what gets Coco's Personal Assistant (me) energized to write again? It's going to a BlogPaws conference!

This is #BlogPaws 10th Anniversary Pet Blogger & Social Media Conference and it's the 9th one I have attended. I say it's the most fun you can have while learning and being here with the animal advocate attendees is so energizing! 

Friendships forged online are strengthened by meeting in person, and attending this conference has been part of my vacation plans every year! This year, Coco and I flew to Kansas City MO and we had a smooth, uneventful flight!

From the nice Uber driver who lugged my two 48# suitcases (one for me and one for Coco!) into the terminal, to the Southwest Airline counter person who helped roll them to the counter while I pushed Coco along in her Pink Catillac, to the SW employee who delivered my laptop to me (I had left it on the plane!) before I had even left the arrival area!

This was Coco's first trip in her new A Pet With Paws Madison carrier (#apetwithpaws) and it was purrfect! It's a nice size, so very stylish and so versatile with the PetTrek rolling cart that meshes seamlessly with the carrier!

 It's a great product, and I even have a matching purse! 

At every #BlogPaws Conference, Coco has a reputation to uphold as "The World's Most Fashionable Feline" and this year her wardrobe is even more stellar! So much to choose from, it was hard to pick just the "Three Costume Changes" each day I had planned...

So her suitcase was filled with 19 costumes, along with coordinating hats and leashes, and yes, wigs!

While I was arranging the room, Coco took a cat nap and then we rolled out to meet up with friends who have arrived at the #SheratonCrownCenter a day early like we did...

For dinner, a friend and I (and Coco) ate in the hotel restaurant/gastropub and I had a fantastic avocado bacon burger and onion rings and a 'flight' of local microbrews!  

Then we went up to our room and I put together the micro swag bags I bring for friends at every BlogPaws conference.

I am afraid of oversleeping and am so hyped for the upcoming trips, and I had not slept the night before our trip, but stayed up packing like I usually do when I'm heading west. So last night, I was happy to have a great night of sleep without waking up once (same for Coco) and this is the dawn I woke up to on Wednesday morning! We have a great view from our room on the 26th floor!

And while you may wonder why I am posting this next photo of Coco's 'powder room' but at the BlogPaws Conference last year, some inconsiderate attendees failed to clean up after their pets and BlogPaws had to pay $3000 in cleaning and damage fees! 

When I travel with Coco, I bring clean up supplies--dustpan, mini sweeper, gallon ziploc bags to dispose of used litter to keep odors down. I even bring cleaning rags and spray to clean up the bathroom floor or any 'accidents'. That is just the responsible thing to do!!

So, it's mid-morning Wednesday now and time to go down and register and pick up the reknowned BlogPaws Swag Bag, so watch for our next post and photos!

#BlogPaws Chat!!!

OhMyCod! You have to Be There or Be Square!! Tonight from 8:30pm to 9:30pm EST, anyone who RSVP's and is actively Tweeting has a chance to win a trip to the 2018 BlogPaws Conference in Kansas City, MO!

We haven't blogged or participated in a #BlogPawsChat in eons, but you can be Sure as We Purr, that Coco & her Purrsonal Assistant will be trying to keep up with the Tweets at this Chat, that's Furr Sure!