Wow! What an Honour!!

To our great surprise and honour, we were given the Beautiful Blogger award by Jacqueline's Cat House ... Tiny and I are both very touched because we haven't been at this blogging thing too long so we aren't always sure we are doing it quite right. This nice award does make our paws warm and our hearts go 'flip, flip, flip' (like the wings of a butterfly!).

The rules are very simple: we are to list 7 things about us then offer the award to 7 beautiful bloggers. Here goes:

1. Tiny was originally given the name 'Jezinka' because she had to have a 'J' name and being that my husband is Czech, he chose Jezinka because a 'jezinka', in Czech fairy tales, is a fairy that has green eyes and lives in the woods. A jezinka, if she loves you, will protect you and be loyal to you, however, if she doesn't like you, well...watch out!! Tiny is truly a good jezinka to her Mom.
2. Lautrec was given the name Lautrec (even though his birth and paper name is 'Emmanuel') because he just didn't seem like an 'Emmanuel' to his Mom and Dad so they searched for a name that would suit him. Because Lautrec is slightly cross-eyed (in French: 'il louche', or if saying it to him directly: 'tu louche') ...Mom and Dad would say to him 'tu louche' which sounds sorta like Toulouse and since Mom is fond of the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec it was decided that Emmanuel would be called Lautrec because being reminded that he is cross-eyed is not very nice, but to be named after a wonderful painter is!!
3. Purely by chance, a word that sounds similar to Lautrec in Czech is 'lotr' (pronounced: LOW-ter) which is someone who is mischievous...and there are often times when Lautrec is a real Lotr!
4. Tiny was born in France to a Abysinnian father (Tiny's son resembled him almost perfectly!) and a Balinese mother of which Tiny got nothing if not just a couple of extra stripes. Tiny's mother had big, blue eyes and long hair and looked like Balinese cats do.
5. Tiny has spent a total of 12 (Mom thinks) nights up trees...the longest time up a tree was when she was stuck 25 meters up a tree over a marsh (read: inaccessible by ladder or any other normal method) for 8 nights in the cold month of October. Because she refused to come down of her own accord, Mom and Dad had to ask a tree 'surgeon' friend to climb the tree and get her. When he reached her, she wanted to go higher, but thankfully, he grabbed her. She did not want to come down peacefully, so Mom told the man to drop her. Tiny fell the 25 meters with paws out and prepared and her tail 'guiding' her...when she hit the ground, she bounced and ran a couple of meters. She had not one scratch! But she was very happy to be back on the ground again and to have some food!! Since then, she has pretty much stayed away from tall trees.
6. Lautrec still recognises his first beanMom and beanDad every time he sees them and will willingly go to them and give them love. Isn't that sweet?!
7. Lautrec and Tiny both have a pretty good vocabulary and in 3 languages...they know:

• 'Manger' French for 'to eat' and will perk up immediately if this word is spoken;
• 'Chicken' no explanation necessary!;
• 'tady' which means 'here' (as in 'come here' or 'look here') in Czech;
• 'mouche' which means the insect 'fly' in French;
• 'Dolu' which means 'down' (as in 'get down!') in Czech;
• 'promenade' which, of course, means 'walk' in French;
• 'dehors', again, in French for outside;
• 'Kocicky' (pronounced: Ko-Cheech-ky) which, in Czech is the plural endearing form of cat;
• 'Good'...they do know this word and react positively to it, but I think most of our cats and dogs do!!

NOW!! Our turn to give this award to 7 beautiful bloggers:

1) Gone to the Snow Dogs

2) Four Crazy Cats

3) Life with Lucy

4) The Life and Times of Remington

5) Sammy and Andy's Meowsville

6) Lucy's Cat Lounge

7) The Poupounette

Everyone have a wonderful week and may flowers line all your paths and birds sing for you from morning until night..and may there be lots of chicken in your dishes and treats ready at hand and toys to keep you happy and busy!!