Periwinkle excitedly paced back and forth in front of the Teleportation Tunnel. Any minute now she expected to see her handsome boyfriend, Stinky. Sure enough, the Tunnel started to rumble and he popped out. She took his paw, gave him a quick whisker kiss, and guided him back into the Tunnel, saying "We have a long way to go so we have to head right out." Knowing how well she plans things, Stinky followed without question.
In a flash, they landed at their destination. Nothing looked familiar to Stinky so he asked where they were. Periwinkle explained that they were in Amsterdam and were about to visit the Cat Cabinet cat museum. Stinky said, "I remember how much fun we had in the other cat museums we visited so let's go!" Having done her research, Periwinkle described the Cat Cabinet to Stinky. "The Cat Cabinet was founded in 1990 by Bob Meijer, a Dutch businessman, in memory of his beloved cat, John Pierpont Morgan (named after the American banker J.P. Morgan). It is situated in a beautiful 17th-century townhouse along the Herengracht Canal, one of Amsterdam's most picturesque and historic areas. The story goes that J.P. Morgan (the cat) was given presents for his birthdays including painted portraits, bronze sculptures, and even a book of limericks!
Paw in paw, they entered the museum. Stinky couldn't resist climbing on the window sill in the sculpture room. Periwinkle rolled her eyes but didn't say anything because she knew he was safe there since it wasn't very high.
The tabbies enjoyed seeing the various types of art.
Of course, Stinky couldn't resist running to the top of the stairs.
There were posters everywhere. Stinky spotted a space kitty one and pointed it out to Periwinkle.
They strolled through the garden where they saw many more posters.
Periwinkle continued "The museum's collection includes paintings, sculptures, posters, and various objects from different periods, all featuring cats. Notable artists such as Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, Henriette Ronner-Knip, and more have works displayed here." Stinky was impurressed by her knowledge of the museum.
They both gasped when they saw the ginger Tabby. "I'm glad my brofurs Cooper Murphy and Raleigh don't look like that," said Stinky. Periwinkle said she was glad their pal Teddy didn't either.
"Can you tell me more about the cat, JP Morgan?" asked Stinky. Perwinkle knew he would ask and had more background on JP Morgan (the cat).
"The Cat Cabinet was inspired by a cat named John Pierpont Morgan, named after the famous American banker J.P. Morgan. Bob Meijer, the founder of the Cat Cabinet, was deeply attached to his cat, J.P. Morgan. After the cat passed away, Meijer decided to create a museum in his memory. Every five years Morgan received a special present. On his fifth birthday Ansel Sandberg painted his portrait. On his tenth birthday it was a bronze sculpture, for which Morgan himself modeled. Unfortunately, this sculpture was stolen already before the opening of the Cat Cabinet. For the celebrations of his fifteenth birthday his friends and admirers compiled a book of fifty limericks, all dedicated to Morgan: “A Cocky Cat from Toulouse and Other Cat Nonsense”.
For that same birthday, Aart Clerkx made a portrait of Morgan so that he could easily replace George Washington on the American dollar bill. A set of these dollar bills was printed from the bank of Pierpont Morgan for the occasion. The text “In God We Trust” was especially replaced for Morgan with the text “We Trust No Dog” which made them both giggle.
"It would be fun to have green papers with OUR photos on them" said Stinky.
As they walked they saw other interesting items like a cat pinball machine...
and some slippers that they both agreed their Moms would probably break something if they tried to walk in them...
They spotted two of the resident cats napping and decided to join them for a bit...
After their nap they went to the gift shop where they both purchased Howling Cat posters for their Moms.
It was time for them to return to Periwinkle's house so they re-entered the Teleportation Tunnel and, in a blink of an eye, were back at her house. Stinky visited her fursibs and her Mom and then took his poster and headed home. Before he left, they took this photo to remind you that today is Hug Your Cat Day!
Here's a video that shows more about the Cat Cabinet (some of it is a bit out of focus)
Over the years, we have all had our photos with Mom for Hug Your Cat Day. This is Reesie's first year celebrating this fun day. She doesn't look too sure about what's going on!! We didn't use any filters but did add a frame with Pizap.
We are THANKFUL that, as far as we know, all our friends are safe and healthy! We're THANKFUL for hugs from Mom. We're THANKFUL that the SpaceX crewed launch went so well on Saturday. It's great to see the USA back in the manned space race. We're also THANKFUL that Mom got up early and got us this cool badge on Teddy's Tuesday Teaser!
Noelle and Raz are really into Hug Your Cat Day! Sorry the photo is a bit blurry but we thought it was PURRFECT for today!
Today is also Monday Sparks! Even though McGuffy's reader is taking a break, we are continuing our Monday Sparks posts! From the original Sparks posts:
Welcome to Sparks. Many years ago, it was my intent to post an inspirational thought each Monday. It would be my weekly meditation, and perhaps feed other people's spirit as well. Life got busy, and this fell by the wayside. Now, I feel a strong need to bring this feature back. The negative energy in the world has become thick and oppressive. Social media has become a part of this dark, negative storm. There is an obvious universal need for more positive energy and peace. And, we can all be part of this affirmative change. I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world!
I hope you will join us. Please link up a positive quote, thought, poem, or verse. The badge and code can be found in my sidebar.Add the badge to your post to invite others. The more, the merrier. I welcome your thoughts. Peace.
Since Photo Hunters stopped the weekly memes, we've had a hard time coming up with new and fun topics. Today we turned to the Cat Blogosphere Calendar for inspiration and found that it is National Hugging Day!
We used SuperPhoto Stylized effect and added the Thin Paintbrush frame to our photo of Raz and Mom for Hug Your Cat Day!!
