Joss Frank - Freelance Illustrator. More illustrations on my site: www.jossfrank.com

As I have been doing several times in the last few weeks, The Mother Kitty fell asleep during a movie and had a curious dream: Attack of the 50-Foot Kitty!

Visit Melissa's Kitties' blog: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com.

I have my own lucky kitties.

I looked up Midsummer Night in the dictionary and on Wikipedia because all I knew about it was Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, which I've never read or seen.

I found that worldwide celebrations mark the summer solstice on Midsummer Day--sometime between June 21 and 24, depending on the culture. Traditionally, it was believed that witches and other supernatural beings took over the night before--Midsummer Eve--causing widespread mischief.

While all that was going on around the world, The Mother Kitty enjoyed a quiet moment during her evening walk.

Here is her Midsummer Night.

Visit Melissa's Kitties' blog: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com.

Hi everyone,

I meant to post this a few days ago. Better late than never!

2020 continues to be a crazy year for all of us. But I found that these turbulent, uncertain times are a reminder to be grateful for every little thing.

Enjoy your friends and families, near and far, as we await brighter days ahead. (We did just pass the Winter Solstice, so they really will arrive.)

Remember – now more than ever – we must continue to wear our masks, stay socially distant, and wash our hands. Stay safe and healthy!

Here's to a fresh start in 2021, full of fun, joy, peace, togetherness, and Kitties! See you soon.

See my blog for this and other full posts: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com.

I don't know who will surrender first during this staring contest. Experts give The Mother Kitty (reigning champ) the edge with her years of experience, but don't count Lily out. She is the new prodigy in this area. Place your bets.

Visit Melissa's Kitties' blog: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com.

Although it's summer now, Tyrone is still talking about the Winter Olympics. After watching hours of the events on television, he'd run outside to practice his favorite sport in the backyard. I think he's almost ready to qualify.

I didn't quite do these hands justice, as I can't really draw anything well aside from The Kitties. Thanks to Johnny Depp for having simple tattoos in just the right places for this week's Illustration Friday challenge!

Visit the Melissa's Kitties blog: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com.

Of all The Kitties, Simon needs his eye glasses most.

Felis Margarita is the latin name for sand cat, but I think it's a beautiful name. So this is what I imagine a Felis Margarita to look like!

Even when on the most important of missions, all kitties remember to take time out to look good.

When Lily Cat and I first met, she looked at me just like this. Wouldn't you have taken her home too?

The Kitties will get out of this eventually.

Pencil Portrait. Ninja is from Cat Rescue and has been an amazing pet. He demands his walks ( using a cat harness ) daily at the same time, He loves jewelry, and is constantly borrowing it from me and returning it at his own discression.

B.J. loves to sit in the sun. Rather than tan like most, he fades. How do you like the new look? (He seems unfazed.)

In Ohio, our backyard was a Winter Wonderland. Here, The Mother Kitty braves the wind and checks things out. (I have a feeling she won't be out for long!)

Happy New Year, everyone!

Visit Melissa's Kitties' blog: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com.

This was in an email I got from Robin Bullock about upcoming concerts. We have seen him twice in concert, once with Sue Richards, another time with another guitarist. Sue plays the harp.

I looked up The Wedding Day 🐱😻painting. It’s strange, that one site lists the artist as Peter Ogden, another as Louis Wain. 🐱😺Both of those artists painted cats.

Sometimes when you sit in the backyard, you can hear The Kitties whispering through the trees.

Everyone but Norman picked out his/her own hat for this week's topic. Ashes took the liberty to create one specifically for him. We'll see what he thinks of it when he wakes up from his nap (or if he'll even notice). Comet just finished watching Buster Keaton's ultimate collection on DVD and is a little obsessed. Gordon chose one of Johnny Depp's old knit caps (and is doing his best impression!) And Simon spent all afternoon knitting his own special concoction. They are just about to hit the town!

Visit the Melissa's Kitties blog: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com.

Our green-eyed kitties are watching...

The Mother Kitty always has the right of way.

When Ashes first moved in, it took a while for Comet to warm up to the idea of having another housemate. A few surprise gestures later, though, we realized he was cool with it.

In her day, The Mother Kitty loved climbing the tree outside of our garage. Climbing down never concerned her...until she was already up there. Don't worry, Dad always came to her rescue.

As I mentioned last month on my blog, Johnny's Angels--Depp Fans for Charity, a fan-run website that offers Johnny's fans a meaningful way to honor his charitable efforts, is running a holiday fundraiser benefiting Children's Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition. Johnny's Angels offered supporters the amazing opportunity to send a Christmas postcard to Johnny himself! Due December 15, who knew I'd obsess down to the wire over this little postcard?!

Well, I guess that's not surprising. I hope he likes it!

Here it is--minus my private little note to Johnny, of course. What do you think?

Although the postcard submission deadline has passed, the Johnny's Angels holiday fundraiser continues through December 31. Supporting this wonderful cause will make these kids holiday season extra special! Read more about it and donate today at this site: www.johnnysangels.org/currentfundraiser.htm.

The children and their families will thank you! Happy holidays, everyone!

Some of Ry-oh-ki's haircuts are an acquired taste.

Last weekend, I saw The Amazing Spider-Man. Since then, Simon has been practicing his moves in the yard.

These are words to live by.

It all began with these two.

Lily only plays when she's ready. She's rarely in a hurry.

For the last couple of months, my calendar has been full of travels and visitors.

My spare time has gone toward an online course, Blogging Your Way, and the resulting laundry list of things to do to improve my blog. While on a break from that, I've been watching the movies of TCM's October Star of the Month Fredric March.

Side note: We've come to the conclusion that Fredric March is one of those actors that makes a movie better just because he's in it. While we still have a few movies to watch and they've all been good so far, we still like and recommend our old favorites The Best Years of our Lives, Inherit the Wind, Nothing Sacred, A Star is Born, and Hombre.

Lily has been equally occupied. Two weeks ago, she went on her first field trip out of the apartment while it was getting its annual pesticide treatment. She stayed in a friend's apartment for a day and didn't speak to me until she got back home.

The following week, I was off to a three-day meeting for work and came home to find my Dad visiting for the weekend. We were happy to attend The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Though I'm not sure the sanity I was seeking has returned.

This week, I'm fighting allergies while Lily is frustrated by the nightly shadows she finds on the wall. We're both exhausted by Project Runway's season-long drama and crushed by its finale.

Now, I'm finding it hard to stare at the computer as long as I have been, and Lily--as always--is annoyed that I'm sitting at the computer for any length of time.

In short, we are spent. Shhh....

Visit Melissa's Kitties' blog: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com.

The kitties are gettin' down to some funky music by the master. Visit my original blog post to hear the song: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com/2018/11/music.html

There is a kernel of truth to Dad's and my theory that Simon plays for the Boston Celtics under the alias, Rajon Rondo. In a recent playoff game against Philadelphia, the Celtics led 92 to 91 with 3.4 seconds to go. Reconvening after a time out, Paul Pierce threw the ball in to Rajon, who then outran his guard, Evan Turner, by making a u-turn and wide circle into the back-court until time ran out.

That is a classic Simon move.

Ryo-oh-ki and his new friend bonded over their matching tails.

I struggled with this Illustration Friday topic because I didn't want to dress the Kitties in suits of armor or promote any cat fights. In the end, it didn't matter because none of them got past playing with the chain mail.

freelance illustrator...more avail on my website: www.jossfrank.com

Stylised cat design drawn with Inkscape Open-Source graphics editor.

Lily greets me at the door nearly every single day whenever I get home from anything. She's done this since her arrival in November 2009. When I opened the door a few weeks ago, though, my apartment building's recent renovations gave her quite a shock! While Lily is definitely a creature of habit, the building managers can rest assured that she has adapted to the hallway's fresh new look. To mark her approval, she gave the new carpet a good kneading. Phew!

In other news, I need a vacation and am off to California to start one tomorrow! I'll be back September 16 and will resume with Johnny Kitties as soon as I get over my jet lag. Until then, keep lonely Lily in your thoughts and have a happy first half of September!

Norman just ate. (Mini still marvels at the capacity of his belly.)

Comet goes to great lengths to avoid visiting the vet's office. Today, he's hoping "Artificial Comet" will do the trick. He spent all day tearing up my orange duvet cover and stole some of dad's socks to do it. I think the paper ears may give it away, though.

Visit Melissa's Kitties' blog: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com.

Sheila Cooke, Cat Drawings, Tamworth, NSW, Australia

There was no talking The Kitties out of this one. I can't really blame them. It was the first thought for all of us. We really tried to think of something else, but all we heard were crickets. Besides, Gordon was already headed for the tree. Of course, Norman volunteered for the other role because--you know--he's crazy. (Don't ask me where he got the costume.) Comet is still hiding under the bed.

Visit the Melissa's Kitties blog: melissaconnolly.blogspot.com.

This weekend, my friend Anastasia is seeing Hugh Jackman in "The Boy from OZ" in Australia, where the show has gone on an arena summer tour. After a fantastic year-long run on Broadway two years ago, Hugh won a Tony Award for his brilliant performance as Peter Allen. I saw the show three times, and I made and gave Hugh this card because he brightened up my summer! How thrilling that he now has the chance to bring it home!

Congratulations Hugh!!! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, and most wonderful, and yet again, wonderful....

Note: See the previous image for the front of the card.

Most kitties don't like water.

I've been watching the new show on ABC called "Once Upon a Time" about Snow White and other fairy tale characters who are under a spell cast by The Evil Queen. She's trapped everyone in a "normal" town where they all have forgotten who they really are and lost their happy endings.

Since the show started, The Kitties have been testing out all the mirrors to decide who is the fairest of them all. The jury is still out.

On sunny days, Tyrone spends most of his time in the garage chasing his own shadow. I'm not sure who's winning here.

For me, the highlight of 2012 so far is the warm reunion with Lily Cat on January 1 after my 10-day visit home for the holidays. Earlier in the week, she agreed with me on this. But now, in Lily's eyes, I think her introduction to the laser pointer that my sister Julie got her for Christmas has pushed this happy moment out of first place.

This weekend, my friend Anastasia is seeing Hugh Jackman in "The Boy from OZ" in Australia, where the show has gone on an arena summer tour. After a fantastic year-long run on Broadway two years ago, Hugh won a Tony Award for his brilliant performance as Peter Allen. I saw the show three times, and I made and gave Hugh this card because he brightened up my summer! How thrilling that he now has the chance to bring it home!

Congratulations Hugh!!! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, and most wonderful, and yet again, wonderful....

Note: See the next image for the inside of the card.