Rosie

Cue the lights! Ready the red carpet! It’s the Cat Academy Awards!

Biggest night of the year on ye olde social calendar. As you know, Tabs was an award-winning cat actor, among his many other talents. He starred in dozens of blockbusters and successful arthouse films, winning five Cat Academy Awards and eight Golden Kitty Globes, among many other accolades, over the course of his illustrious career.

If he were still here, no doubt he would have been walking the red carpet in Hollywood tonight.

He used to say that it was enough just to be nominated, but I tell you what, he was furrociously competitive. No matter how calm and cool he seemed, he still wanted to win.

He worked hard on his craft. He considered himself a cat method actor.

Sometimes he would remain in character for weeks and months after filming a movie.

Good luck to all the nominees tonight! I wish everyone could win.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Aloha nui loa, Mom and Dad! Today is my mother-in-law and father-in-law’s fiftieth anniversary!

5-0.

They met while working together at an Avis Rent-a-car in Waikiki. She was born and raised there on the island of Oahu, a 20-something young woman who loved to sing and surf. At the time, she was washing rental cars on Kalākaua Avenue to pay the rent. He was a California boy from the mainland who moved to Oahu from Reno, Nevada, where he was working as a keno writer when he hit a small jackpot on a keno ticket one night after work. The winnings were just enough to pay for two one-way tickets to Hawaii for him and a buddy. This was the 1960s, and when the money ran out, his buddy returned home, but my father-in-law still wanted to stay in Hawaii. Problem was, he needed a job, so he got one at the same Avis Rent-a-car in Waikiki.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

As you know, Tabs was a lover, not a fighter. He was such a romantic, and he loved anniversaries. We met when he was a few years old (we were never completely sure of his age), and we celebrated 13 wonderful years of together.

He was the cat love of my life…

Rosie

Rosie and I met when she was about 10, we think. She was a foster cat, and she was looking for a new career/forever home when she and I met. She doesn’t really discuss her former life, but I believe she’s also a romantic…

When you look at her, you can just tell.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

So…someone was feeling feisty on her walk this morning. Yup, Rosie was in full-on MMA mode. She was quite the grumble bunny after our neighbor spotted us walking on the hill. He called out, “Is that Rosie?” and she let out a low growl. I guess she was in the middle of doing her science calculations and didn’t want to be interrupted.

Tabs used to get a little feisty on his walks too, but not because he was busy doing complex math. It was usually when he spotted a trespasser like Harris on company property. That was a surefire way to irritate him.

The nerve of some cats. They just don’t respect boundaries.

Rosie

I tried to tell Rosie that the heart charm on her yellow collar was upside down this morning, but she “shushed” me immediately. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Over the years, when Tabs was actually home on an Easter and not out galivanting around the world at some exotic locale for a kitty modeling shoot, he hosted Easter egg hunts at home for the local kittens and children. Yup, despite his diva nature, he was all heart.

Wait — I take that back. He got a little touchy one year when the Easter Bunny tried to show him up. (You know how Tabs loved to hog the spotlight.)

It was the year Ryan Gosling dressed up as the Easter Bunny and performed skits and played songs on an accordion. Because Tabs was a consummate professional, he didn’t let on that he was jealous, but I could tell. There was something about his eyes and the way his whiskers moved… He was bothered.

Rosie says, “Hoppy Easter.”

Rosie was all business on her Easter egg hunt today. She used a grid and programmed some software to systematically plot out which areas of the circle would have the highest statistical chance of containing eggs.

It worked really well.

Now she’s thinking about turning it into an app for cats and children, because that’s where she sees dollar signs, and she’s currently learning Python to make this dream come true.

Yeah, she’s not the type of scientist who just sits somewhere and casually ponders. She’s definitely a go-getter. She borrowed one of Connor’s programming books and plans to have a prototype ready to test soon. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Great horned owl, Tabs was a such a birder! He would sit for hours in his window nook watching the birds on the hill outside, cacking and chirping to himself. He was definitely all about the birds.

I’m sure I mentioned this before, but he actually managed to catch birds while on his leash — not once, but at least two times, and it was always a shock for me. He would just leap or dart into a shrub or up a tree and fly through the air, capturing his prey. I always tried to stop him, but sometimes I couldn’t move fast enough. He was that good at being a birder.

He just loved birds…

Rosie

Rosie likes birds too, but not entirely in the same way. I think she’s interested in them…but it’s perhaps out of scientific curiosity. As a scientist torbie, she appreciates their facility for flight. The physics is fascinating, after all.

In fact, she’s so intrigued by it that she upgraded her new spring collar this week to include a yellow and pink robin.

She’s quite proud of it. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Tabs used to say, “Meow,” in this case meaning, “It’s a spring thing.”

He used to treat the vernal equinox like a holiday. The office closed, potlucks, picnics, sleeping in (later than usual). It was grand. When the clocks sprung forward, Tabs sprang into action with party planning.

The kitty modeling business also got extra busy.

And, as you know, Tabs was a firm believer in striking while the feline fashion iron is hot.

Springtime Rosie

Rosie, while not a professional kitty supermodel, has also upped her personal springtime rigmarole with a borderline Tabs-caliber floral ensemble. She wore it on her walk today and during her tree climbing workout.

I’m telling you, it was something else. Tabs would have been proud. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

All of the cats I’ve assisted, no matter what their original origin, were, or are, part Irish. We do St. Patrick’s Day big in this house.

It’s all because of El Hub. He’s part Irish, so the cats are Irish. If we had a fish or a parrot or a dog, they would be part Irish too.

Tabs fully embraced this part of his identity. You know he loved any holiday involving merriment, rainbows, gold and copious amounts of corned beef and cabbage. Plus, he loved how he looked in green, so that may have been part of it. Each and every one of his St. Patrick’s Day outfits matched his eyes.

I think for a while there he even meowed with an Irish accent.

Rosie

When we took Rosie out this morning, I told her we were looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so of course she took out her Periodic Table and looked up the atomic mass of gold.

I told her we were also looking for four-leaf clovers, and then she went into the statistical probabilities of us finding one…

Odds were not good.

I do love how the green in this collar plays off the orange in her fur. I think the combo is particularly fetching.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

That little lion sure could work the camera angles, couldn’t he? Tabs was always a consummate kitty modeling professional, even when you thought he was just chilling. He could simultaneously look completely relaxed while striking the most epic kitty modeling poses. It was something to behold.

He did some of his best work in spring too. When the flowers started blooming, his colorful collars came out, which made his photographer’s job easy.

Rosie

Rosie may not have Tabs’ modeling aspirations, but she still loves a good photoshoot.

As far as kitty modeling goes, it’s more of a hobby for her…a way to unwind after a tough day in the lab.

I gotta say, she’s still getting good though. She’s sure working those lynx ear tips somethin’ fierce! ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen