it takes an Angel

Mom has been s.l.o.w.l.y re-uploading and replacing many of the photos in my Photo Book so they'll show at the new larger size and selecting other photos to add since we can have 200 photos now. Some of you have commented on the newly-uploaded photos, but since the email notification about photo comments hasn't worked for over a month now, I didn't always see them right away. But I've seen all the new comments and want to say THANK YOU! I'm still a good girl.

Then early this morning an Angel visited a photo. She must have dumped a load of magic angel dust while she was making a comment... and she fixed the email problem! We got an email about Marrakech's comment and received another email about a comment after that.

SAY! I think it's working again! Oh! We just got two more emails!

I'm a good girl but Marrakech works magic!

Being Lola means having wonderful friends.

can you guess who?

This isn't hard. Guess who was the first to congratulate me for being a Daily Diary Pick today.



Have you guessed yet? Now be a good girl or boy and don't cheat! Don't look ahead at the answer until you make your guess.



You've guessed now, haven't you?



That's right, one of our newest angels, Hazel Lucy, was the first to send me a pawmail of congratulations!

I don't know how she does it! A throng of angels has surrounded her since she arrived here on Wednesday, all waiting to meet the incomparable and awesome Miss Hazel Lucy, Tiny Gumdrop. Over at the "new angel orientation" classroom, they're still waiting for her to start her lessons, but she can't get through the crowd to get there.

She doesn't need any lessons on being an angel anyway, because we all know she always was an angel, long before she arrived here at the Bridge.

I saw her sneak off more than once to be with Buddie, though! Shhhh... don't let anyone know I told you that. I'm a good girl, I don't tell secrets.


Now can you guess what other angel is one of my new best friends here? My goodness, we're so much alike in some ways that it feels like we're sisters! She arrived here on Wednesday, too, almost at the same time as Hazel Lucy.

It's the lovely Marrakech. Shhhh... don't tell anyone she didn't take the flying lessons, but she's already been zooming around with me. She just put on her wings and off we went. I'm a good girl so it was okay for her to fly with me. She's already doing loop-de-loops and making all the boys' wings flutter with admiration and excitement. (Don't worry, Mommy Carol... Misha is keeping an eye on those boys to make sure they are perfect gentlemen around his Marrakech.)

Mommies Julie and Carol, don't worry about your beautiful girls. Your hands took care of them for so long and so well and so lovingly, and your arms caressed them so gently with love for all those years. You were their angels on earth.

But your arms lovingly let them go when their earthly bodies were too weak and too tired to go on. Don't worry, they're still in the loving arms of angels.

Being Lola means doing my best to sprinkle angel dust on all the mommies and daddies who are missing their sweet angels


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Thank you for the comments and congratulations in my diary!

Thank you for pawmails:
Hazel Lucy
BUDDIE..ALWAYS LOVED
Chef Rooster

Thank you for gifts, rosettes and stars:
Tate Cottontail
BUDDIE..ALWAYS LOVED
Kaci Sunshine and Miss Mittens (Gentle Angel)
Rocky Ann Forever
Sullivan

Happy Birthday Petfinder (on my Gotcha Day)!

Today is Adopt the Internet Day in honor of Petfinder's 15th birthday!

Today is the anniversary of my Gotcha Day, too. I was adopted on March 15, 2009 because Mom and Dad saw me on Petfinder. Here are my Petfinder photos:

Lola 1


Lola 2


Lola 3



Being Lola means being happy Petfinder helped me find my home.


p.s. I was on Petfinder twice. The first time was in 2006. Mom has only a poor-quality printed copy of my Petfinder page from 2006. Below is one of the photos from the Petfinder page in 2006, showing me with a sable Burmese who was one of several others also left homeless when our breeder/owner died.

Lola and sable Burmese on Petfinder in 2006

* * * * * * * * *

Thank you for the gifts and messages. To save your zealies, you can just leave a comment in my diary.

Thank you for the pawmail:
Chef Rooster and Clowder

Thank you for the gifts:
Misha Angel
Nala Sue [Angel]
Scooter O'Shenanigan
Riley and Skippy Skipster
Nikolai - Dreamboat #24
DA TABBIES O TROUT TOWNE
Calvin ~ Knead On
Kally Kat (please purr for Kally Kat - she's having surgery on St. Patrick's Day)
Family of: Sterling Mithril, Ceylon, Natalie, Jasper, Sasha ~ and kitten angels Weeble, Moonshadow, Nova, Virgo and Luna
Family of: Xena Princess Warrior, Queen Tallulah Angel in Pink, Zeke, Kandi and Princess Tu Two
River and Simone
Keisha
Family of: Penelope O'Dysseus, Minuette O'Hara and Bliss (In Loving Memory) - Penny, Minnie & Bliss
Family of: Ringo - HERE TO STAY!, Webster - HERE TO STAY! and Dusty McPuppycat *DLM*

make it a "Lola kind of day"

It's my one-year anniversary at the Bridge, so I get to join the choir now! I didn't even know about that until Calvin let that secret out. It's a good thing there are no try-outs because I'm a good girl, but I don't have a good loud voice. I can't wait to join, though! Dude (of Trout Towne) says we're going to practice the song "Kung Fu"!

THANK YOU, friends, for the sweet messages in my pawmail and in the gifts on my page. You're the goodest friends a girl could have! I won't forget you or your kindness, either.

I want my Mom to make this an especially good day at my house. No tears! Instead, do something Lola-inspired! Mom, put those Sky Climbers that were delivered days ago(!) up on the wall, so Ashlynne and Beepers can get to that high ledge if they want to. I want to see what they do!

Friends, make sure your moms and dads make it a good day today and every day -- a Lola kind of day, lived to the fullest! That's what being Lola means!


(Being Lola also means that neither Mom nor I will be perturbed that it took an hour and a lot of dinking around before Mom finally figured out that my diary entry absolutely will not publish with a link to those "Sky Climbers" from Drs. Foster and Smith. We kept getting a blank page when we tried to submit my diary entry, until Mom finally removed the link to see if that was the problem -- it was! I'll let Scooter write to HQ about that. I have to get to choir practice and Mom has to put up those Sky Climbers!)


Thanks for the pawmails:
Dude and Da Tabbies O Trout Towne
Chef Rooster and clowder
Pigeon

Thanks for gifts and sweet messages with them:
Catsy Angel Princess - Angel Star
Sky - Heart
Hooch and family - Heart
Rufus - Candle
The family of Ko, Taz, Jacob, Flinders, Susie, Boots, Orvis, Marvel Ann, Joey and Gomez - Power of the Paw
Cap'n Bobcat Needin' Purrs - Rainbow
The family of Louis LeBeau, Ethan, Simon, KC, Teesha, Monroe and Kirby Doodle - Rainbow
The family of Chai Latte, Little Bit, Sugar Bear, Misty and Eve - Rainbow
The family of Tutti, Junior Fluffkins, Tethys Fluffkins, Jake, Samantha, Buddy-Adopted and Rosie-Adoptable - Rainbow
Sally Maria - Diamond
Da Tabbies O Trout Towne - Angel Star
Nala Sue (Angel) - Heart
Nikolai Dreamboat #24 - Rainbow
The family of Teebo, Callie and Rose - Rainbow
The family of Garp, Hilda, Elvin and Hetty Miep Wainthropp - Rainbow
Tilly - Rainbow
Shadow (and family) - Heart
Tasha - Rainbow
Hazel Lucy - Heart
Weezer (20 years of memories) - Heart
The family of Keisha, Sylvester and Merlin - Rainbow
Scooter, Nikko (and mom) - Rainbow
The family of Xena Princess Warrior, Queen Tallulah Angel in Pink, Zeka, Kandi and Tu Two - Heart
The family of Alexander, Ra, Utu, Foxey-In Loving Memory, Blackie-In Loving Memory, Marmalade, Smokey, Molly-Our Sweet Angel and Schooby - Rainbow
The family of Ava Corrine (Guardian Angel), Andy, Arli, Lilah Alexis 4 ever young, Gracie-Adopted!, Minka Little Miss May 2011 and Purrsia - Diamond
The family of Bliss (In Loving Memory, Penelope and Minuette - Hero Ribbon
Sofie and family - Pink Ribbon
Rascal and The Carolina Crew - Angel Star
Patrick (Angel) - Candle
The family of Mea - Angel, Mikki, Miko, Milo, Mimu and Maui - Rainbow
The family of Dusty the PuppyCat *DLM* and (our Dogster friends) Webster-HERE TO STAY! and Ringo-HERE TO STAY! - Angel Star
Athena, Aragorn and Apollo - Rainbow
The family of Misha (In Loving Memory), Marrakech, Samsara, Colette Sidonie-Samantha, Cappuccino and B.A. (and mom) - Heart

box of memories

A while back, Mom put my paw print and two of my favorite toys into a shadow box to hang on the wall. Most of my other things were passed on to Ashlynne and Beepers or given away, but a few other special things were stored away because the shadow box isn't big enough to display them all. Mom put them away, in a box in the closet Ashlynne loves to climb in . . .
just like I did.


My pretty pink heart towel from Sky and her mom was stored away in that box, but Mom wanted to display it somehow, too. Finally, it occurred to her to use it as the background for the shadow box. Now the shadow box is really pretty, too!

Here's the new "Lola" box.

Being Lola means memories in their hearts forever, though, not in a box.

Cool!

THANK YOU to the friends who let me know my photo is on the Catster home page, directing everyone to the 6th Annual World's Coolest Contest.

Thank you Sasha, for the cupcake,
Toni for the candy corn rosette,
and Marrakech for the pawmail.

It was quite an honor to win Best in Show and "Captivated" in the contest last year, and I'm honored to point the way to this year's contest.

My family has been voting again this year. So far, we've been able to keep up, casting our vote for each cat entry. We've seen some great 5-paw photos along the way! It's sure nice that the photos are larger this year.

Being Lola means wishing GOOD LUCK to everyone in the contest this year.

gotcha!

Today's the anniversary of my "gotcha day" with my last Mom and Dad. One year ago today, a little after 1 p.m., I first set paw in their house. Nothing was the same after that!

Mom was looking through my photos from that first day and reading the first entries in my Catster diary. She can be a big cry baby sometimes, just like Calvin's Mawmee, but today she's doing her best to keep a happy face, remembering how happy all of us were last year when they adopted me, and remembering what a good girl I was that day and every day I was with them. She won't forget the happiness, the smiles and the outright laughter I brought not just to them but to many of their neighbors and friends. Did you know I'm practically a legend in the neighborhood? No one can forget the dinner party when I walked along the top of the dining room wall while they ate!

Mom uploaded to Flickr most of the photos she took of me last March 15th, if you want to see the slideshow of my "gotcha day" photos. You can see how long my claws were that day and how brown the fur on the tops of my paws was because the nastiness in my mouth stained my fur when I groomed. Mom noticed how much I was drooling in those photos, too. I noticed that Mom took some blurry photos. ;)

Although we didn't get to celebrate this first anniversary of my gotcha day together, I'm celebrating up here with Scooter and SooLing. Since Mom and Dad didn't know my birthdate, my gotcha day is the date they're celebrating in remembrance of me.

Being Lola means wishing you celebrate some good memories today!

Paw prints on your hearts

Good for you, Mom and Dad! Beepers and Ashlynne made impressions on your hearts, so you chose Valentine's Day to make impressions of their paws.

I know Ashlynne's paw print didn't turn out the best -- even with 3 tries -- but it's sweet you have both their paw prints together. That little dot from one of Beepers' claws that's too long is even cute! Yes, Mom. Order the softer clay and make individual sets of paw prints, too. Don't put it off, either. Remember Lola Lesson #1?

With the PetSmart gift certificate I won, I want you to get Ashlynne the tunnel like Mercy's family got. You know she'd love it and Beepers would, too. I saw him in the Caboodle box and I was glad you finally put it out for them to use. You shouldn't keep any of my things locked away, okay? I wanted you to share your home and your hearts with them and I want you to share anything I had, too. I'm a good girl. Good girls share.

Happy Valentine's Day! Scootie, SooLing and I are happy you have Beepers and Ashlynne to share Valentine's Day with this year. We know you still love us, and we love you, too!

your good girl,
Lola

with a little help from my friends

I was always a busy girl and a good girl, and I still am, even though I'm an angel now.

After I came to the Bridge, I got busy trying to find the right cats for Mom and Dad. With a little help from some friends, it didn't take me long to guide them to two cats who needed a good retirement home. Mom and Dad knew they were meant to adopt those two cats, but it took a while for them to be ready for it. Then it took a while longer to get the details worked out.

On Saturday, January 9, my angel sisters and I were kept busy watching as Mom and Dad flew to Cleveland to meet the cats I chose. Everything went great.

It must have been on Scootie's watch Sunday morning that all the power went out at the Cleveland airport. I didn't do it -- I'm still a good girl. The airport was completely shut down, all day, and Mom and Dad were supposed to be flying home in the afternoon with Beepers and Ashlynne.

Luckily, they had more help from a friend. The mom of PJ, Callie Jean, Velvet and Katrina, drove them over 100 miles from Cleveland to Toledo so the retired Burmese show cats Beepers and Ashlynne and Mom and Dad could get a plane from Toledo to Chicago, then back home. We ALL were on watch as they flew home Sunday night and everything went great then, too.

Beepers and Ashlynne are settling into their new home now. Mom hopes to start Catster pages for them today while they are napping. They're just settling down for a nap together now, in the baby buggy that SooLing, then Scooter, and then I used before them. Whenever Beepers and Ashlynne are awake, Mom and Dad are concentrating on making them feel at home and feel loved, and there hasn't been much time for computers.

If you're a friend on Mom's Facebook page, she added a few photos there yesterday, if you wish to see them before their Catster pages are completed.

I only sent thanks to about half of those who sent gifts and congratulations for the World's Coolest Contest, but I still have that on my "good girl" list to complete. An unfortunate incident a couple weeks ago kept Mom from being able to help me complete sending those thank you's after I just got started, but as soon as Mom gets the pages for Beepers and Ashlynne completed, I hope I can get back to sending thank you's.

squished!

A small clowder is gathering 'round me, awaiting the opening of our Cloud 9. I could get squished if I weren't so good about jumping out of the way.

There's a whole lot of Siamese here: Simon, Samson, Sissy and Sassy, Suzuki (Suzi), SooLing, and Scooter! They are loud!!

There's an orange tabby who looks a little bit like Calvin. His name is Rusty. And a cute, mostly-black kitty with a white spot on his chin, named Milky!

We think Cloud 9 over our house will be open soon. We can't wait to see our family!


Happy Holidays to all my Catster friends -- and my two official Dogster pals, too. (That Webster sure is one smart doggie, just like Scooter said. He made all 3 of us Catster kitties -- Scooter, SooLing and me -- official friends with him and his doggie brother!)