Envisioning Unity...

The doodles and I read more on the theme of 'unity' before going to bed. Here's what Gussy Gus selected:

"Unification of the whole of mankind is the hall-mark of the stage which human society is now approaching. Unity of family, of tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and fully established. World unity is the goal towards which a harassed humanity is striving. Nation-building has come to an end. The anarchy inherent in state sovereignty is moving towards a climax. A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental principle of its life.

"The well-being of mankind, its peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established."

"So powerful is the light of unity, that it can illuminate the whole earth. The one true God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words... This goal excelleth every other goal, and this aspiration is the monarch of all aspirations."

"He Who is your Lord, the All-Merciful, cherisheth in His heart the desire of beholding the entire human race as one soul and one body. Haste ye to win your share of God's good grace and mercy in this Day that eclipseth all other created days."

I know you may think that the doodle cats do not understand these concepts but I noticed that they nodded their little heads in agreement when I was reading to them. Seeing that it was quite late we did not discuss our readings and went straight to bed time with a little help from Andrea!

Yes, here comes sleep.

Doodles wish all a happy Thursday...stand United in Love!

Ciao!

Augustus was smiling

and Ollie was wondering why? Isn't he the one who tells the jokes in this family?

I am sure the two of them will discuss this soon enough.

Just as I expected...
This gave me a chance to tell them about the upcoming United Nations Day Celebration, and UNITY being the ultimate goal of humanity in this global civilization. So we reviewed the following quotes-

“The world is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”

“Let not a man glory in that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind.”

“Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.”

“Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply … all mankind may become the upholders of one order, and the inhabitants of one city…. Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will.”

“Beware lest the desires of the flesh and of a corrupt inclination provoke divisions among you. Be ye as the fingers of one hand, the members of one body.”

“All the saplings of the world have appeared from one Tree, and all the drops from one Ocean, and all beings owe their existence to one Being.”

“That one indeed is a man who today dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race.”

(Baha'u'llah)

The little boys could not agree more, they really could not understand how it could be any other way. More proud and in love with them I could not be.

Wishing all oneness all round and heaps of cat kisses...

Ciao!

Praying for their Safety Every Single Moment...

We live in a BIG city, however, our cat dudes are not City Cats and do not take to the indoors. This means daily stress for the cat parents and has made us very prayerful indeed. Just this past Sunday Augustus babe did not return home at his usual hour. We expect the boys to wonder back into the condo around 11 or noon.

We searched all over.

Broken hearted we tried to accept that he may have been lost or stolen, and Ollie tried to soothe his nerves with some cat snuff.

Hours later, Augustus wonders back meow meowing looking all exhausted and ragged. He ran up to his bedroom and was sacked.

Ollie kept a close eye on his big brother.

I too stuck around and snapped a few pictures and asked myself if I wanted to do this blog anymore. Oh well, a stressful Sunday afternoon came to a happy end.
I came across this prayer...

O God! Thou knowest that the people are encircled with pain and calamities and are environed with hardships and trouble. Every trial doth attack man and every dire adversity doth assail him like unto the assault of a serpent. There is no shelter and asylum for him except under the wing of Thy protection, preservation, guard and custody.
O Thou the Merciful One! O my Lord! Make Thy protection my armory, Thy preservation my shield, humbleness before the door of Thy Oneness my guard, and Thy custody and defense my fortress and my abode. Preserve me from the suggestions of myself and desire, and guard me from every sickness, trial, difficulty and ordeal.
Verily, Thou art the Protector, the Guardian, the Preserver, the Sufficer, and verily, Thou art the Merciful of the Most Merciful!
Now if I could only teach the dudes to say this prayer...

Wishing all a safe and beautiful day embellished with cat kisses,

Ciao!

They close their eyes

and listen to Crossing the Border. I am astonished, as always, with their precious cat musical ears and with alfredo rodriguez whom I heard play live just this past Wednesday night. O My! Simply Divine!

May yours be a musical Friday followed by muchas cat kisses!

Ciao!

Rain and Soft Fur Do Not Mix...

Rain has found its way to Southern CA, and as always, its arrival is a mixed blessing- we need the rain but we like it to come incrementally. Cat boys actually do like rain, oh the smell, oh, who spilled all this water, and other such feelings of astonishment... but raindrops do not agree with their fine fur. This is Tuesday night in the courtyard...
Augustus indicating that he is going to go out regardless...

and Ollie checking out the scenery from a more protected corner.

Both returned rather early, a couple of hours later, demanding and meowing for the rain to stop. I reminded them that they could always pray (since we have been missing our daily routine). I shared with them this Native American saying, seeing that Ollie thinks he is an American Indian sometimes (Chief Puffy Pants)

"Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way."
~ Native American saying

but he was very quick and shared with me this...

"But really, when you come right down to it, there are only four basic prayers. Gimme! Thanks! Oops! and Wow!”
from ~Rabbi Gellman, The New York Times

Sometimes Ollie thinks that he is a child of Israel (but he really is not).

Wishing all clear skies and every other good thing, and a good serving of cat nuzzles...

Ciao!

Sacked...

Weekends usually end up like this because the cat boys send hours playing outdoors,







and we cannot be any happier because this is the only time we get to relax without worries.

A very late Monday post just so Augustus and Ollie could send you little cat kisses for a happy Tuesday.

Ciao!

Beta Trianguli Australis

set off on its grand journey at about the same time that Sylvester (aka my sweatheart) was born. We celebrated this special day with a cozy dinner at The Athenaeum, which is the faculty club at Caltech. The 'Ath', as they call it, is a beautiful building with a lot of history of scientific if not general significance, and that could be the topic of another blog day.
Today I only have a few snapshots of yesterday evening.
I pass by these gardens everyday, or try to at least, always hoping that one Jacarunda tree has decided to present a few flowers (out of its normal season) or that the Lincoln roses have produced new buds and flowers. These roses are truly flowers fit for heavens, their color, forms and scent are all out of this world. Ahhh!


This is a shot of our two water glasses after dinner table was cleared, well almost cleared. I was trying to see what my iphone camera could do in the semi dark dining room. The interior of this dining hall must be seen; it has beautiful ceilings with paintings, fabric covered walls, woodwork, artwork, and many other adornments.

The picture of Caltech's Triumvirate hangs in this dining hall. The people in that photo, all grand scientists, are from left to right, Noyes, Millikan, and Hale, aka Larry, Moe and Curly! (tee hee)

Back at home, the cat boys had bought some flowers for Dada; however, Ollie found the roses tasty and the rose water was delicious too.





As you might expect the vase tipped over and Ollie ate one of the roses. The vase is now safely in the sink. August was no where to be found as he has some enemies to fight last night.

Wishing all, all things celestial and beautiful...and cat kisses too!

Ciao!