Secret Santa Underway

Just a quick note….

Everyone who expressed interest in anipal Secret Santa and sent along an address should have received a message today (Friday) including the name and address of your “Santee.” We used random.org to generate a random number list to sort us all to assign Santas. It was lots of fun!

If you didn’t get a message, let me know ASAP so I can send the info to you again.

If something has changed and you aren’t able to participate, I would like to know that soon too. It’s no big deal, things happen, and we have a backup strategy, so you won’t be letting anyone down if you need to bow out for any reason at all.

We are really happy that so many pals decided to join in this year! The nip pillow I received from Secret Santa last year is still my favorite toy.

For the first-time Santas…… The idea is to buy or make a present for the pet and send it for Christmas. Nothing too extravagant, but something that lets the pal know that we care. It would be great if the present could arrive by Christmas. You can remain secret, but we didn’t take a pledge or anything, so if you want to reveal your identity, that’s up to you.

I hope everybody has a good time getting ready for Christmas.

My investments

Back in the summer I surveyed a few pet related stocks for the Anipal Times and started investing. My human gave me control of 300 of her dollars to invest in stock. This has not been the greatest few months to be a stock investor, but I have been pretty happy with my experience so far, in spite of all the scary talk on the news.

I use a Web trading service that charges $4.95 per trade and doesn’t have a minimum to get started. Robin sent a check for $300, and once the check cleared, we started trading (I need her to type in the symbols for the stocks and the numbers). I’ve made five trades, for a total of $24.75 in trading costs, and as I write on 20 November, we have $295.90 in our account. We had some setbacks, but we are more-or-less even in spite of those losses.

First, I let Robin sway me to buy stock in yoga products and a U.S. car manufacturer, neither of which went very well. We sold yoga but kept the cars for emotional reasons. Hers! The only place a car has ever taken me is the VET!

I then chose an organic food company and PetSmart. My five shares in Hain Celestial (HAIN on the stock ticker) are up almost 23 percent since the beginning of August. PetSmart (PETM on the ticker) has increased in value by 20 percent since August 23. PetSmart also paid a dividend on 11 November. We have one share and got 11 cents in dividend!

I’m trying to talk Robin into giving me a little more of her money to invest, but she tells me the world has to deal with its grease problem before I can have more dollars. I say it’s a simple fix. I’ll send Reggie and Petunia to lick it up. They both love grease!

Getting ready for Secret Santa!

It’s about time my human let me work on my blog. I hope you all hadn’t thought I forgot you! I’ve been living well in the art room and enjoying a visit from @Edgardakitty. All of us enjoy having Edgar around. Karma was particularly enthusiastic to learn where Edgar had been Trick or Treating and she knocked him over. He was a little shaken, but he forgave her almost right away.

Halloween, of course, brings thoughts of Christmas to mind (no, we didn’t forget about Thanksgiving!) and we got to thinking about how much we enjoyed Anipal Secret Santa last year. We got going a little late in the season last year, however, so we decided to get going on organizing Secret Santas for those who would like to participate this year.

I’ve been announcing on Twitter and getting good response.

I’ll list the participants here on this post, updating the list and the date, and will keep the addresses secure and only share them with your personal Secret Santa. From now on, when I want to talk to the group, I’ll add to this post and use #SecretSanta hashtag on Twitter.
I’ll be updating the list until November 24 and will send out Secret Santa assignments on November 25.

That gives Santas about a month to make or select a suitable gift that isn’t too extravagant for the pet and get it to the doorstep on or before Christmas!

I would like pals who sign up to participate to let me know if they are willing to post gifts anywhere (so far we have participants in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States) or if they would like a “Sant-ee” in their own country. I’ll do the best I can to match you up appropriately. Several of us found that ordering from a pet shop in the recipient’s country works really well to keep shipping costs manageable.

Remember, November 24 is the last day to sign up for Secret Santa!

Here’s the list of participants as of 0:00 November 25:

1. Boomiethecat
2. Katieboocat
3. Indykitty
4. Rumblepurr
5. ThePixelMoon
6. Cheriswan
7. Frankiemeow
8. LiluLuWhoT
9. SimoneleChat
10. WallaseKatt
11. Isagold
12. PetietheCat
13. PepperPom
14. Tipsy_Kat
15. CheshireK
16. NutmegTorby
17. DaneRay
18. HollieCatRocks
19. Prudence (@tildatoo)
20. Cathy Keisha
21. MariodaCat
22. BorisKitty
23. NulaTheCat
24. Pumpkinpuddy
25. TinyPearlCat
26. MizzBassie
27. Meow_Girls (Tipp
28. Meow_Girls (Penny)
29. primitivedog (Terujishi)
30. SeattleP
31. DashKitten
32. JennyRosePetal
33. Toki_Poki
34. EuripedesTheCat
35. Spookyshorty
36. Hemmingwayscat
37. Bdgrlaw
38. Skeeterthetabby
39. AnnieSparkles2
40. SnowyWestie
41. Smokey8
42. kittykitty_kkat
43. MaggieTKat
44. NikePurrfectCat
45. OllyTed

We Went to Bark World Expo, Sort of….

Flat Nutmeg and Flat Me went along with Robin to Bark World Expo 2011 last weekend. Robin was really glad the flat pets went along with her because it helped some pals and their moms to recognize Robin. She met Romeo the Cat‘s mom over snackies at Hotel Indigo becasue Flat Me was along for the ride on Robin’s computer case.

She went to workshops about using Hootsuite and making appropriate legal plans for us if something happens to her.  (Did she set up a trust for us yet? NO. Get hopping! Geez.)

She really liked the keynote addresses by the founder of Dogster and Catster, Victoria Stilwell and Jelena Woehr of Yahoo! You can read my articles in the Anipal Times for an overview of the Expo and a special focus on Victoria Stilwell’s talk. If you don’t know about her, she’s on TV in 50 countries to promote positive reinforcement training for companion animals.

Most of all the sessions at Bark World, Robin enjoyed the keynote about making pitches and the opportunity we had to make some pitches the next day. She met with some companies that sponsor bloggers, and we hope we’ll have the opportunity to work with some of them to tell you about the cool things that social entrepreneurs are doing for pets.

We are very glad that our Robin had fun hanging out with pals and their moms (mostly, although some doggie dads were there too). So many pals she met, like @EdnaAtNutro @AutmntheDoxie, @BigBoyBosco, @PepperPom, @BunnyJeanCook @Niqqi @CosmoHavanese and so many, many more nice doggies and people. No cats were in attendance, except we flat cats, of course. Don’t we look nice in the picture with Edna’s Panky (next to me) and Cheri?

We have the extra special pleasure of sharing a room with @tildatoo‘s mom. She is so nice! Prudence was the featured dog on Dogster right after Bark World, too!

Our Support for Okey’s Promise

Hi, guys!  Sorry I didn’t get to tell everybody right away how things turned out with our auction. (Our DSL was out for several days, for one thing!) Artists and supporters showed AMAZING support for Okey’s Promise and BZTAT’s passion to get people thinking more deeply about the connection between humans and animals with her artwork.

We raised $435 to pledge for the project! Hurray! Hurray! and THANK YOU.

Now I need to tell you about a twist in the project’s fundraising plan. Kickstarter.com only funds a project if it makes the goal. BZTAT had established an ambitious funding goal for the kick-off of Okey’s Promise and didn’t quite make it. OUR support for Okey’s Promise is strong and we’re TOTALLY behind the project. We don’t need Kickstarter to make our donation. BZTAT set up a page to raise funds on ChipIn!

MaggieTKat’s mom has already made our donation for $435 on ChipIn!. We are so grateful to everyone for participating in the auction and especially for BZTAT’s commitment to keep both animals and kids safe.

Art Auction for Okey’s Promise: Day SIX

MaggieTKat’s mom is an amazing quilter with a passion for animals. She also has a passion for raising awareness about the connection between animal abuse and domestic abuse. She made this Christmas quilt to celebrate the joys of our lives with humans and to support BZTAT’s Okey’s Promise Project.

This quilted wall hanging starts with a Laurel Burch panel to which Wanda added the holly and stars, quilting and an amazing amount of sparkly BEADS.

Parker and Maggie supervised the piecing and quilting. Parker especially likes to help with beading.

You can read all about the making of the quilt on Kruse Kats.

Maggie and Parker told me, “Our quilt features a center panel celebrating holidays and designed by Laurel Burch Artworks. We helped mom with this quilt, and we are really proud of each piece of fur on it. Mom appliquéd holly leaves and stars in the borders. The entire quilt surface is heavily quilted with clear, cotton, rayon, and metallic threads using free motion techniques. Hand beading was added to the surface design to highlight the bright primary and secondary colors. Our quilt is 30” x 32”, the perfect size for a choice spot for the holidays. Picture the quilt hanging in the entrance hallway greeting your guests, or maybe casually tossed on a table for all to admire.

The quilt has a sleeve for hanging and comes in its own protective cotton case.

Bidding opens at $25. Please post your bid as a comment and competing bids should be made in multiples of $5 or $10. Ready????

GO!

P.S. If you do not want to participate in the auction but want to contribute to the anipals’ pledge for Okey’s Promise, please contact me at cheshirekitten@sbcglobal.net. Or you can pledge directly on Okey’s Kickstarter.com page.

Another Surprise Auction Item for Okey’s Promise!!!

@TuesdayTheDog connected with @BZTAT and the mission of Okey’s Promise when they met at #nipclub the other night. She just sent me this great bracelet from her store RainFlowerStudio on Art Fire to add to the auction for Okey’s Promise!

Bidding opens on this beaded bracelet at $5! The auction will be open from now until 2 pm CDT, only TWO HOURS to bid on the bracelet from Rain Flower Studio and help Okey’s Promise reach the goal. Just leave a comment with your bid and we’ll contact the winner with instructions for fulfilling the bid.

Ready? Set!

GO

Surprise auction item for Okey’s Promise!!!

Ruthi ( @flicka47) a lover of animals, BZTAT and our art auctions just offered us a lovely BZTAT print! This surprise auction will give us two hours to bid, bid, bid and see how much extra money we can raise for Okey’s Promise!!!

This print of “A little house with freedom” is 1o.8×16,” but we aren’t sure what sort of paper. To see the description of the print, check out BZTAT’s page on imagekind to see the specs for “A little house with freedom.”

Opening bid is $10. Place your bids in multiples of 5, please, and work fast! You have only TWO HOURS to win the bid for this lovely print and help BZTAT fund her important public art message to raise awareness of the connection between animal abuse and domestic abuse.

Bids close on “A little house with freedom” at noon CDT.

Art Auction for Okey’s Promise: Day FIVE

Next up in the auction to support Okey’s Promise is a lovely 8 x 10″ signed, framed inkjet print of a Boho Pets digital painting “Smokey.” Cokie the Cat and his human are behind Boho Pets, and they are excited about Okey’s Promise. We all want to help launch BZTAT’s public art project calling attention to the connection between abuse of animals and humans. Please help us help Okey’s Promise by participating in our auction.

The minimum bid for the print is $25. To place a bid, please leave a comment including the amount of your bid. You will need to follow the auction during the day if you want to respond to subsequent bids. The highest bid placed in the comments at 8:59 pm CDT, September 24, wins the auction.

I will contact the winning bidder to find out shipping location and to provide information on how to fulfill the bid because Maggie’s mom is having surgery this weekend.

Have fun with the auction and remember that anyone can pledge support for Okey’s Promise directly by visiting her Kickstarter page. You may also contact me to contribute to our donation to the project without buying art. We want to help BZTAT launch this project, and we want to help everyone who wants to offer support to find a way that works!

Art Auction for Okey’s Promise: Day FOUR

Anipals know the beauty of the Pasikas scarves, and I’m happy to introduce this amazing painting on silk to my friends and followers as well. Kathleen Stalker lives in the United Kingdom in a coastal town where she paints on silk. She, like the rest of the artists participating in the auction, are supporting the work of BZTAT to call attention to the link between abuse of animals and abuse of humans.

Our efforts this weekend and last are to support Okey’s Promise, BZTAT’s public art project. She is raising funds to make large, public artworks in six cities.

“My designs are original and drawn freehand,” Kathleen said. “Its an Art Deco type which I don’t do very often as they can be disasters!! This was just peachy!!”

Pasikas also said the scarf is long and can be used as a shawl for evening wear.

The minimum bid for the scarf is $25. To place a bid, please leave a comment including the amount of your bid. You will need to follow the auction during the day if you want to respond to subsequent bids. The highest bid placed in the comments at 8:59 pm CDT September 23, wins the auction.

I will contact the winning bidder to find out shipping location and to provide information on how to fulfill the bid because Maggie’s mom is having surgery this weekend.

Have fun with the auction and remember that anyone can pledge support for Okey’s Promise directly by visiting her Kickstarter page. You may also contact me to contribute to our donation to the project without buying art. We want to help BZTAT launch this project, and we want to help everyone who wants to offer support to find a way that works!