Dezi’s T’was The Night Before Christmas

Mommy, Mommy!!! It’s almost Christmas!!! Tell us da night befur story. Purrlease???

 Dezi lays on arm of chair

     The night before Christmas story? Well, okay sweety. Girls come sit down. (Dezi jumps to the arm of the chair and cuddles next to mommy. Raena jumps into mommys lap and lays down).

 Raena lap selfie

     T’was the night before Christmas, when all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Hmmpht They don’t have Raena in their house. Dat’s not da right story, mommy.

     It’s not? Well darlin’, why don’t you tell us the night before Christmas story?

 Dezi and Raena look into a box full of goodies

(Dezi clears her throat and tells the tail tale.)

T’was the night before Christmas, and all through the house

Raena was stirring and running about

Our stockings were hung on the hutch way up high

So we couldn’t reach them in the middle of the night.

 

Dezi checks out the new electric blanket

Our new ‘lectric blanky was calling our names,

Come snuggle, Dezi, Raena, mommy needs you both the same.

We jumped on the bed, for our friends we then prayed,

Including strays and ferals, homes for them, we bade.

 

 

When all of a sudden Raena jumped with kittenish joy,

Zoomies through the house, Was she looking for a toy?

Up the tree, down the tree, she chortled some more

Back to bed, mommy hollered, which she promptly ignored.

 

Raena carries a Christmas toy from Cat and Lisa

Me couldn’t take it, me had to go see

Just what had she found that was causing such glee?

Down the steps and through the house me zoomed

Me ran in and out of every room.

 

 

Where is Raena? Where did she go?

Me chortled and chirped, but she mewed not a word.

Mommy called to me in that sweet loving sleepy voice,

Dezi, come back to bed, and stop making so much noise.

 

 

What? It wasn’t me that was clamoring about,

That was Raena…Before, not now.

Now she’s snuggled by mommy asleep,

Back to bed me goes, our nightly secrets to keep.

 

 

Morning will come soon enough my love,

Mommy said quietly, as she pulled me close for a hug.

Goodnight dear friends, sweet dreams to you all;

Back under the blanky me now must crawl.

 

 

So? What’d ya’ think mommy?

 

 

     Well sweety, I think it’s purrfect. I think you’re purrfect. And Raena, I think you’re purrfect too. Why don’t you girls wrap this up. We have lots to do before tomorrow.

 Raena sits in a box of Christmas gifts

          I’s wanna wish everypawdy a Merry Christmas.

 

Raena, we all wish our furiends a Merry and Blest Christmas. And we thank all our Angels who have sent us gifts. We’ll be openin’ them tomorrow, but we’ve fur sure been checkin’ out all da boxes. And we thank all of you fur da pawsum Christmas cards. We’ve really enjoyed getting and lookin’ at ‘em all. Gotta go, mommy has fotos to edit, and visits galore. 

 Dezi and Raena's Purple Christmas card

Till da next time……………………………….Be Blest!!!

 

 

Dezi: Vibrant Blue 

Raena: Navy Blue 

Mommy A: Black

 

 

 

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Deztinee, RaenaBelle and Mommy Audra

Blest Sunday: A Note From Mommy

Hello everyone, mommy Audra here today. Can you believe Christmas is just a week away? For anyone who reads our blog regularly, you know that I don’t write posts often. I live for my girls, and they have so much to say. And when we started this journey into technology and social media, my “fears” of the all seeing intrusive internet, led me to speak through them. I quickly learned about Facebook pages and the girls’ personalities came to life. I knew we, especially Lexi, had a story to tell I just didn’t know if anyone was interested. Through the years I’d sent her story to cat publications, only to be disappointed by their lack of interest. Somehow, through the magic of the internet, we connected with people. Lexi touched peoples hearts, the way she had touched mine. When she introduced her sister Dezi to everyone, their story took on a life of its’ own. And out of that, DezizWorld was born. To keep this post from going on for days, I’m just hitting the highlights.

 Lexi lays in mommys lap and gets some loving

We garnered followers who quickly became friends. I remember the first person I ever spoke directly to in something other than the girls’ voice in a comment. We began to look forward to seeing and reading about our friends lives. And of course we always love seeing photos. Who could ever tire of seeing pictures of beautiful cats? And they’re all beautiful, aren’t they?.  

Lexi and Dezi lay on scratchers

I remember our first Christmas in social media. The kindness and generosity of those “strangers” now friends. Yet still, people we would probably never actually meet. I didn’t understand how people could be so loving?. For the first time in the girls’ lives, they actually had a Christmas with presents under the tree. And not the repurposed ones I’d dug out of the bottom of the toy box. They were so adorable. They almost didn’t know what to play with first. 

And then, Lexi got sick. Again, it was you, our friends who reached out. It was you, our friends who helped and you, our friends who were there for us, when she died. In some ways, this year has flown by; and in others, it has been the longest and hardest year of my life. For those of you who don’t know, for the last 25 years, I had lost a cat every 5 years. It felt like a curse. When Dezi turned 6, we celebrated like never before. I took a deep breath for the first time in years. It was always the younger cat that left me. I never even thought there’d come a day when Lexi would be the one to go. I really mean that. I know how unrealistic that sounds, but it’s just the way it was. Anyways, you were all there for Dezi and me, and for that, we can’t say thank you enough. I’m still trying to pick up the pieces.

 Dezi lays on shower bench

But life goes on. Soon Raena would join our family, and hopefully your hearts. You’ve all welcomed her, and for that I’m grateful. As some of you have noticed and emailed us about, Dezi’s personality has changed. When we started all this, we determined to always be truthful, good, bad or otherwise; and you can continue to expect the same. Dezi faced the same loss as me when Lexi died, and it did affect her personality. At least I can reason it all out, Dezi doesn’t truly understand everything that happened. With the addition of Raena and Dezi becoming the “big sister”, her personality has continued to shift. These are all things to be expected. I imagine she will continue to evolve as Raena continues to learn and grow. Dezi’s still that sweet beautiful kitty girl you’ve all come to know and love, she’s just trying to find her way in our new dynamics. Those of you who read our blog regularly will be here to see how it all plays out. We imagine our blog will continue to evolve as the girls’ personalities take shape.

 Raena sleepy selfie on mommys lap

We do hope you will continue to follow us in the coming years. I know today is Blest Sunday, and we’ve had a multitude of material blessings this week and want to say Thank you very much. But I wanted to take today to thank you all for the biggest blessing in our lives, You. Yes, it’s been a rough year for us, but we have been blest every day to be a part of this community. We pray for all of you daily. We share your joyful times and your sad times. Many of you have felt the pain of loss this year, and will be missing one or more of you family/furry family members this Christmas. I’m not here to offer you advice on how to cope as I’m still reeling myself. But I do want to remind you, to take a minute and give thanks; we are all Blest. As long as we’re all here for each other, we’re never alone.

We would also like to thank you all for your kind words and Christmas wishes and cards. Some of you may have already received our card, and some of you may have gotten it more than once. I apologize if you receive(d)  multiple emails from us, this old belles’ memory isn’t what it used to be. lol  The girls and I want to thank you all for everything. And we wish you all a very Merry and Blest Christmas.

 Dezi in a blue Christmas frame with orange balls.

Dezi & Raena: Don’t furget Sunday Selfies with the Kitties Blue mommy.

 

Till the next time………………………………………Be Blest!!!

Love,

Mommy Audra   

Service Cats: Raena Calls For Help

Meowllo everypawdy, we hope you all had a good weekend. It’s December and Christmas will be here befur you know it. Ifin you missed our Gift Guide, you can see it here. We know you’ll find something for everyone on your list there. And don’t worry, there’s purrlenty of time to get it befur Christmas. (wink) Today is also Service Cat Monday, and we know you’ve all stopped by fur a Service Cat posty. As with all our educational posts the following will be written in human English. Ifin you’ve missed any of the posts in this series, purrlease click on the links at the bottom of this post. We’re kinda not sure what to post today. As a lot of you know, mommy fell da other day and we wrote ‘bout it last Service Cat Monday. Everypawdy cheered as Raena’s furst respawnse was to run fur da fone. Mommy and me are very purroud of her as well. But we also got a few questions via comments and email ‘bout trainin’ kitty to dial 911/call fur help. So, here’s our quandry. We’ve already written dat post and we’ve linked to it in every Service Cat Monday post since. 

 Dezi puckering mouth and holding head up for a kiss

We’ve re-read that post and are quite satisfied that we covered 911 training sufficiently and trying to re-word it wouldn’t do any good. So, ifin you missed that post or would like a refresher, please click here to read it. Our question to those of you who asked the question is, Did you want a training post or did you want a story about Raena’s phone training? We call them “stories” not because they aren’t factual, but because they don’t really explain how to train. They are for entertainment purposes only. And entertaining they can be. They can also be frustrating, as training is all about repetition. Anyways, assuming, (and we all know what that word means) that you wanted a story, then sit back and enjoy.

 Raena learning to dial the phone.

First me has to tell you that we have cordless phones and each handset has a speakerphone option and all calls sent to voicemail are screened through the handsets. So for all intents and purposes, the handset is the phone to us. Now me told you all that Raena was quite the little helper from her first day, so mommy began to introduce her to the phone right away. She wasn’t nearly big enough to push the buttons, but she could learn to be interested in it. Mommy lets most calls go to voicemail initially, so we can get used to unknown and known voices coming out of the handset. So ifin you’re calling us, don’t hang up, leave a message. Or at least start to, ya’ never know when mommy might be reinforcing our training. Anyways, Raena loved the phone almost as much as me did.

 Raena learning to dial the phone.

She would bite the phone, whacky paw the phone and lay on it when it rang. When somebody called she would sit and cock her head one way and then the other. All good signs and mommy reinforced her interest with lots of love and cuddles. All of which Raena ate up. You all know she’s a little love bug, right? The day finally came when she was big enough to actually push the buttons down, so mommy began training. She had programed the emergency call to go to her cell phone which didn’t get a signal at our house. So mommy was pretty comfortable that Raena wouldn’t be calling anybody by “mistake” or getting us in trouble with the law. Remember, it’s a Crime to call 911 ifin you don’t have a real emergency. Well, training went on as usual, till this one afternoon when mommy fell. Falling for mommy is normal, the bad ones like the other day, aren’t.

 Raena learning to dial the phone.

Anyways, mommy fell. Yep, there she sat on the floor all sprawled out, looking for something to grab onto to pull herself up when she heard a strange ringing. She looked around and there me was, sitting by her as always. But where was Raena? Nothing scares Raena, so we knew she wasn’t hiding out. Mommy kept hearing this strange muffled ringing sound coming from the living room. Mommy looked around once more and then called for Raena. Raena came running down the hall from the living room with the phone hanging from her mouth. Hmmmmm  Now it all made sense. Raena had pushed the emergency pre programmed number and for some reason, we actually had cell service and the cell phone was ringing. The thing is, mommy and Raena weren’t at that part of her training yet. Mommy hadn’t actually trained Raena to make the full call.

 Raena learning to dial the phone.

Anyways, the little stinker laid the phone at mommys feet, just outta reach, and began to meow at the top of her lungs. The ringing had stopped now as the voicemail mommy never set up hadn’t answered and the phone disconnected the call.
What? No sense in setting up a voicemail if you don’t have service and rarely give the number out. Thankfully Raena hadn’t reached the “somebody answers” part of her training, so once mommy called her, she believed the “exercise” to be over. Yes, mommy in the floor is another training technique mommy uses. It’s got to kind of sort of look real right? Anyhow, mommy knew then that Raena was going to be too smart for her own good and she was going to have to figure out something new to do with the phone. Raena made her first official training call to 911 later that evening, and we’ve never looked back.

 Dezi lap selfie

Our emergency pre programmed number is once again set to 911, so that’s why mommy was certain to stop Raena from making the call the other day. And that’s the first time Raena’s gone for the phone since officially ending her phone training. But remember, training is ongoing. Raena has now learned the difference between the “normal” daily falls and a “serious might need help” fall. So there ya’ have it. A day in the life of a Service Cat in Training.

 Dezi on the Liberty tree and Raena on the small perch at the front door.

This will be our last Service Cat Monday post for the year 2016. With the holidays upon us and so many things going on, we thought we’d let everybody including mommy rest. We have our annual nursing home visit coming up and festival of lights, where mommy takes us around to see the lights peeps put up. Needless to say, it’s a busy time of year. So we’ll be writing more Service Cat posts in the New Year, but for now, we want everyone to enjoy the season.

Till da next time……………………………Be Blest!!!

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

Deztinee and RaenaBelle

Service Cats   

What to Look For     Training Foundations     Train Kitty to Massage

Smelling Disease     Do You Need One     Who Bears the Cost 

Housing Laws and Exceptions     Accommodations and Common Sense

When the Handler Dies     Proper Training Methods Pt. 1 & Pt. 2

Easiest Task to Train     Getting Kitty Ready for an Outing 

Discipline: Stop Countersurfing Kitty     Internal Disputes 

Calling Emergency Help     Just What Is Kitty Capable Of 

Shad: Original Service Cat     Harness or Vest Leash or Stroller

Dezi, the Wheelchair and the Chest     Round and Round We Go

Tumble and Fall Response    

Blest Sunday: Dezi and Raena’s Top 10 Purrfect Gifts Guide for 2016

Hey, are ya’ll there? Actually, are ya’ here? It’s RaenaBelle, and we’ve got a real treat for all of you today. We’re going to post the Purrfect Gift Guide for 2016. Yep, that’s right. Ifin you were here Furiday, you know that sis Dezi and me had different ideas ‘bout what to call our guide. Well, we meowed about it yesfurday and came up with what we think is the purrfect name for our guide. Now, we’re not saying the other guides, especially those posted by our furiends aren’t great; we’re just saying there are some peeps and anipals that can’t afford items on those guide lists. Like us. So, we put our heads together and came up with gifts we think everybody and furry would like. Okay, so maybe there are a couple things that some of our furry feral furiends might not appreciate, but there’ll for sure be some things on our list that even they will like. You might have noticed that for the most part, I’s been writin’ in human English. Well that’s because we want all our furiends and followers to be able to read our guide. Right sissy?

 Raena's selfie

       That’s right Raena. We have put together the purrfect gift guide for peeps and anipals alike and we want everyone to choose at least a few things from our list. We know the posty looks long, but it’s a lot of fotos. Purrlease stay till the end, because we have a real surprise for all of you. So Raena, are you ready with your first gift? 

I is sissy, sure enough. I’s want to start the list with a freebie but goodie.

Raena lap selfie

1. A Big, Gigantic hold on with both arms, hands and paws HUGGY. No air hugs allowed. Only the real thing. You can hold on as long as you want. The longer the better, right?. Left hugRight hug

I’s know, we have a few furiends who be a little on the feral side and won’t really like this one, but wait, there’ll be something for ya’ll too.

 Dezi puckering mouth and holding head up for a kiss

 Kissy kiss mommy?!!

 

 

2. Pucker up and KISS the one(s) you love. Send a kiss 

       Mommy kisses us all the time, and we love it. Again, No Air Kissing allowed. Well unless you’d get your face scratched off. In that case, we’re all for Blowing those anipals or peeps a kiss.

 Raena in lap

 Kiss me mommy!!!

 

 

Oh sissy, I’s do love a big mommy kiss. That’s a great gift for our guide. And, another freebie. That brings me to the third gift on our list. And, even our more feral furiends will like this one.  

3. Say I Love You from your heart.

Look into the eyes or face of your anipal or peep and tell them how much you love and appreciate them. Us kitties will probably respond with a loving slow blink, doggies with a body shaking tail wag and peeps might actually say it back to you. And by the way, this is another freebie. It won’t cost you a cent.

 

Raena lap selfie

 I’s luvs you too mommy.

 

 Dezi and mommy hugging

 Me luvs you too mommy.

 

 

       Oh Raena, that’s a great one. Me so loves it when mommy tells us she loves us. That goes well with mes next item on our gift guide.

4. Call, Email or Text your loved ones and let them know you’re thinking about them.

       Say it even ifin ya’ get their voicemail. Sometimes a message from a furiend, can really make your day. Of course you could also send a snail mail card, but most of the time, we don’t even have money for a stamp, so calling, emailing or texting works better for us. Some of you travel and leave your anipals behind. We know your voice, and find it comforting, so calling up and telling us you love us lets us feel close to you.

 Raena learning to dial the phone.

 Meowllo? I’s just called to say…

 

 

Oh sissy, at less than .50 cents or free that’s another great idea. I’s couldn’t imagine mommy leaving us behind, but I’s would sure love to hear her voice ifin she wasn’t with us. Mines next item is a biggy.

5. Clean Up. That’s right, help somebody by cleaning their house. Anipals, put your toys away in the toy box.

You know, there are housekeeping tasks that be really hard on mommy, and we’re having a lot of trouble finding a helper, so she would really appreciate somebody helping her out. And guess what? It’s another Freebie!!!

 dw-dezi-with-vacsm

 Let me help you mommy.

 

 

       That’s a good one Raena. Me has another pawsum idea for our list.

6. Volunteer. Pick a day/days and head over to your local animal shelter and help clean cages, socialize kitties, walk dogs, or better yet, foster and/or adopt.

 

Mommy A waking Raena after her spay surgery

Oooooooooooooh sis Dezi, that’s a pawtastic gift. Anytime you can give to those less fortunate is a true gift of love. They could even volunteer at a spay/neuter clinic like mommy. Peeps could also take photos and share anipals on social media to help them find their furever homes. 

       Yep Raena. And they could even go through their toy boxes and donate any unused or gently used toys, beds, blankys, scratchers, outgrown collars/harnesses or food to the anipals in the shelter. Another freebie that takes advantage of your time and things you have around your house already.

Speaking of volunteering and time, I’s have another great gift idea sissy.

7. Visit a hospital or nursing home.

 

Raena in stroller looking out the back

The holidays are really hard on a lot of peeps and anipals, and sometimes those in nursing homes get forgotten. Just a few minutes of your time can bring a smile to their faces and really make their days. Ifin any of you furries are calm in nature, the holidays is the one time of year when the rules get a little lax and even though you’re not a certified therapy anipal, you might still be able to visit. Purrlease check with the nursing home before you visit to find out the rules/policies. 

Dezi visiting while in the stroller
Visitin’ da pharnacy

       You’re right Raena, that is a good one. You and mommy will be heading to the nursing home before long. They’re going to love you. So far we’ve got a lot of great gifts in our line up. But maybe, you want something tangible to put under the tree, right? So here’s the next item for your gift giving pleasure.

 

 

8. Write it down and Wrap it up. Grab a post it, old bill envelope, old receipt, or any piece of scrap paper, and write a little note telling the recipient to redeem it for a HUG, KISS, or Whatever. Get Creative and then wrap it in whatever you can find.

       Gentlemen listen up, mommy says whatever you do, don’t wrap your note in a small ring box or “the blue box”. Ladies get too excited with expectation. Even the most loving woman can become a total stranger when she doesn’t find a/”that” ring inside. MOL  As for wrapping paper, mommy’s used old calendar pages (picture side of course), newspapers, brown paper grocery bags, old manilla envelopes, and that packing paper that comes in chewy boxes makes great wrapping paper. And a box in a box in a box can add fun to your hand written gift.

 Hug Note Kiss Note

That’s a great idea for peeps Dezi. I’s have one now for the furries.

9. Filled and Tied Old Sock. Filling: Newspaper, Packing Paper, Garden Grown fresh dried Catnip, Foil, Parchment Paper, Another Old Sock. Paper Items will make a fun crinkle toy, while Material Items will make a fun bite toy.

       Good one Raena. Peeps might even check their pets toy boxes for old balls, toys and squeakers that we don’t play with anymore and stuff them down inside that sock. The possibilities are endless. Just use your imagination. And mommy says every sock drawer has a mismatched sock left over from the washer eating it’s pair. Hmmmmm Me didn’t know we had to feed the washer too. No wonder we don’t have any green papers. MOL  Me has another item that’s a favorite for lots of kitties.

 Dezi and Raena laying on the Liberty Cat Tree

 Oh Dezi this guide thing is so much fun.

You’re right Raena. Me’s glad we did it.

 

 

10. MILK JUG RING.

Oh sissy, that’s the cool piece of plastic that locks the lid on the bottle of milk, juice, vitamins and jugs of water.

 

       Yep Raena, and they can be wrapped up and put under the tree or even hung on the tree for decoration.

 

 Raena biting light on Christmas tree

 Hmmm What’s this? This blonky doesn’t taste very good,

but it sure looks like fun.

 

 

Decorations? Speaking of trees sissy, I’s love our tree. The lights are so cool. They blink off and on, off and on. I’s loved them so much, I even tried to eat a few.

 

 

       Me knows. Mommy says ifin you can’t behave she’ll have to take the tree down. So purrlease sissy, leave the tree alone. Let’s just watch the pretty lights flash.

 

 

I’s’ll try sissy, I’s promise. Anyways, we hope ya’ll liked our Top Ten Gift ideas. We know you’ll find at least one thing for everybody/furry on your list. Now…

 

 

       Everybody come in real close. We wanna give you all our gifts to you.

(Dezi, Raena and mommy A gather together and grasp arms and pull each furiend and furry/furless furiend in for a Huge Hug and a Big Kiss. They then look into each friends eyes/face and…)

We Love you soooooooooooo much. We are soooooooooooo grateful to have you in our lives. We want to say Thank You for being You. You mean so much to us that we can’t truly express it in human words.

(Dezi and Raena each slow blink and purr to each furiend. While mommy A takes each by the hand and in true Southern Belle fashion, offers a curtsey in honor of their greatness and furiendship.)

 Dezi, Raena and mommy together giving everyone a hug and kiss

I’s been learning so much about Christmas, and all the things that go with it. You’ll have to stay tuned for our letters to Santa. They’ll be coming up later this week. In the meantime, we’re joining the Kitties Blue for Sunday Selfies. And…

 

 

Till the next time………………………………….Be Blest!!!

Raena: Navy Blue 

Dezi: Vibrant Blue

 

 

Luvs and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

RaenaBelle and Deztinee