Me being interviewed by a national news reporter a few years ago. http://ping.fm/idNVq

Want to see me draw a quick sketch? Here you go..

I did this quick sketch on a little program online, nothing fancy, didn't take the time to make it look totally polished, but you get the idea. It's me drawing in almost real time. Sometimes it will seem like I stopped but it's just me erasing or blending a color or two.

Here's a video of me being interviewed by a national news reporter in a fancy Florida penthouse for a promo piece a few years ago:

Mom & Dad's Kittens are the Cutest Ever

Pansy looking for something to play with.

Smoke looking like a deer in headlights.

This is Felix, Master of the Basket


Recently I was at my parents' house for the weekend, and got aquainted with the most adorable kittens..Felix, Pansy and Smoke. I thought mom and dad were crazy at first to keep all three of them (born from a stray they took in, they named Nike) but now I support their decision, as they are just so fun. Little balls of fur who play, charge down the hall at 100mph and come by to take a nap on your lap at will. Awww.

I think mom and dad need a farm out in the country, near me somewhere. I live in the sub-suburbs out where life is quaint and slow, with Amish all around. This would be great to get the whole family out here to be in the country air, away from the city and with more room to move. The kittens are doing great, and love the cat tree I got mom and dad's older cat, Cinny. Cinny, on the other hand, isn't sure what to think of these little guys. He likes them at a distance. He's older, more dignified and used to being the center of attention. He's doing pretty well considering kittens play all around him. He gets annoyed but then joins in the fun after awhile. I guess if you can't beat 'em, join 'em :)

Cinny the Prince

The New Harry Potter Movie is Almost Here

Trailer




I'm a big Harry Potter fan and am looking forward to the release of this movie. Having read all the books, I know what happens, but it will still be great to see it come to life onscreen.

Latest Published Articles by Carolyn McFann http://ping.fm/1nXxC

Farewell to the King of Pop

Today was Michael Jackson's memorial service in Los Angeles. I watched it on TV and was moved. It was a beautiful service, fitting for the King of Pop. He would've been so proud of his family and friends for doing such a lovely job to put it all together.

It's so sad, to lose such a talented person with a gift that was evident from the very start. I was a little girl when the Jackson Five came into the public spotlight. And they were everywhere, on tv, on lunchboxes, on the radio and more. It was great music and my parents and I liked it all. As time went on, I grew up watching and hearing about MJ and his songs, scandals and families. To me, he was a sensitive and misunderstood person who was so naiive that people took advantage of him. He was his gift, there was no separation. Being born with a profound talent is a lifelong responsibility to use it well and to nurture it. And that he did. There was nobody who was a better showman than Michael Jackson. Everything he did came naturally to him, and he was a perfectionist. Being one myself, I can relate with the perfectionistic personality, and how hard it is to live up to it. He worked hard, very hard, and showed the world the best performances possible. I have total respect for him, and will choose to remember him for the good things he did. Those who focus on the negative are just cruel. This was a man who gave the world so much and wasn't given enough credit for all the good things he did.

Now that MJ is gone, he'll never know how much the world loves him. He would've loved it. I am one of many fans, but not a fanatic, just a regular fan. I cried watching his little daughter making a statement at the end of the service. Those kids are just so young to have to undergo such a loss. They will be well cared for with the Jackson family, who seem so warm and caring. I hope Debbie Rowe slips away and leaves them alone. Those kids don't need the hassle of a court fight over them after losing the only parent they've ever known. She wouldn't even send them birthday cards. My heart goes out to the whole family. You've been through so much with this and may you heal in peace. Rest in peace, Michael Jackson.

Articles by Carolyn McFann on Associated Content
http://ping.fm/yWcVT

Rest in peace, stars

Today not one but two major stars died, both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. I'm not surprised about Farrah who had been gravely ill but Michael Jackson's death was a shock. Both of them were way too young, it's so sad. Recently Ed McMahon died too, all of them were total fixures on tv as I was growing up. May they all rest in peace.

It just goes to prove how fragile life really is and how we can't take even one day for granted. It appears cliche but it isn't, we must value the time we have on this earth since we never truly know how much we or our family members have. It's all about living life to the fullest, in whatever way works for us. For me it was travelling a lot in my twenties and thirties, now it's working hard and enjoying my pets, friends and family. Life has more meaning now than ever. It's scary to see people we all grew up with die, still we go on. Life sure does throw us curve-balls. I feel for the families of Farrah and Michael, who have to grieve in the public eye. Especially Ryan O'Neal and son Redmond. They suffered as Farrah fought for her life and now this. This is a sad day for not only the entertainment world but all who grew up seeing these familiar faces on tv. We all grieve.

Check out our latest items at Two Purring Cats Clothing & Gifts: http://ping.fm/I3WTw
http://ping.fm/pkz7E

Carolyn McFann | Create Your Badge

Springtime in Northeast Ohio

Beau loves the new place. Here he waits for sun to hit a prism ball so he can chase the resulting rainbows.


Here he springs into action, pouncing on everything.



He's done chasing things (sunbeams went away) so he's catching up on some tv. Here he's watching Martha Stewart.

It's a gorgeous spring morning here in Ohio. Sparrows are chirping in the trees outside my place, they do this every day, as my cats watch with interest. The temperatures are so comfortable, not too hot or cold. Nothing beats northern Ohio in the warm months. I don't miss Florida at all, not one bit. Between high humidity, bugs and a large criminal population, where I was living was truly Hell on earth. How great it is not to need to deal with hurricanes anymore, as well. The cats, too, love the new, cooler climate. They are so much happier in every way. My parents come over frequently and give them lots of love, too, which they really like.

Today I go to a store that I used to go to weekly when I lived in Solon. It's been years since I lived in Ohio so it feels so good to get back to somewhat of the same routine, one I've craved for a long time. Marc's is a true Cleveland area institution, a store full of deep markdown items, all quality and most top name brand. These folks find closeout items that are worthy of buying, and offer them at amazing low prices. They even have a full grocery store along with other stuff, it's a wonderful place. After paying top dollar for everything in Florida (and not having easy access to good quality discount places) I am grateful to be back to what I know and love.

I think I'll go downstairs for a latte, it's addictive living above a really great coffee house. After a glorious morning of coffee and shopping I'll be paying bills and deep in computer code learning/writing purgatory so I'm enjoying myself to the fullest until then. An Amish buggy just went by my windows. They do that all the time, it's such a wonderful sound hearing horse hoofbeats go by.

I don't miss the city craziness at all. It's nice to live away from fast paced city but have easy access to it if needed. Computer and cable access make living further out possible for me now. Working hard isn't a chore but fun, why I work so incredibly hard all the time to draw and create. Taking time out for other stuff just recharges my energy, giving me momentum to do more. This is my calling in life, and nothing else makes me happier. Life is good.



Fluffy fell asleep watching sparrows here in my office.



Beau is King of the convection oven.

We're Back in Ohio and Loving Every Minute of It

It's been over a week now that I've been living in beautiful, glorious Ohio again. I'm in the sub-suburbs where the air is fresh and nature is all around, but am 40 minutes from my parents and all the great shopping places, and only 15 minutes from my hometown of Chagrin Falls. I live in a small but elegant village called Burton, which is full of life and nice people. It's a total contrast to Pinellas County, Florida where I was living before. Gone are the unpleasant people, humidity, urban mayhem and oppressive heat. Living in the tropics is now fully out of my system. I need hills, low humidity and to be with friends and family. The cats love it up here, too. They smile and purr like I've never seen. It's bizarre to see animals react so clearly to a different environment like this. They actually smile now. Being long-haired, they both are surely glad to be away from Florida's humidity. It was so thick, even with air conditioning. Ohio is a wonderful place to live, even in the snow-belt. I'll take snow over Floridian heat and bugs any day.



View from the truck as I drove through the mountains of Virginia




My second cousin Marcia and third cousin Holly

I visited my lovely relatives as I drove north, and stayed two days with them. We had a great time and it was hard to leave.

Once in Ohio, a crew of really great Amish guys unloaded my truck for me. I'd give them a plug here online but they frown on that, so I can't (but would if I could). They were amazing, as were the amazing movers I had in Florida who packed up the truck for me. If you're in Florida and live in the Tampa Bay area, use Christos & Christos Movers at:

http://www.christosmoving.com/

These guys are the most reliable, trustworthy movers I've ever had. After many lousy movers who damaged and/or stole stuff/tried to upcharge me and other nasty things, it was a huge pleasure and relief to have such professional, quick and friendly movers. Seriously, these guys are beyond five stars.

So now I'm here with my two cats back home, living in what I consider true paradise. There is a coffee house next door, and on the other side, a really cool diner that has festivals and activities that draw people from all over weekly. How good it feels to be in a safe place that has so much to offer.


Active maple sugar producing log cabin in Burton, OH



Beau (& Fluffy, not in pic) most definitely approve.

Being Single is Awesome

Here is my article published this morning on CNN regarding singlehood and how great it is. I love being single, here's why:

Reading about how so many women get a bad attitude about being single, it just amazes me. For years I dated actively, never being single for long. It was fun to date at first but got more and more tedious so I just lost interest in it and stopped a few years ago. Nobody needs to feel sorry for me, not at all. Why? Because my life is better now than it ever was in the past.

For years I played the dating game, but now my energy is put into my career, and I've learned to really have fun with it. The passion of my younger years is back into my life, as I can fully concentrate on meeting the needs that just weren't met when I was a wife or girlfriend. I have the satisfaction of my business growing, respect from my peers for not just ending up in another relationship nighbmare. I truly think being single is totally underrated.

In my twenties, I knew older women in their forties and fifties who loved being single and thought they were just giving up. It wasn't true, they were professionals with full careers and happy lives. In time, I too learned that being single is a glorious sense of freedom, giving me the time and energy to put all that energy formerly used for dating into myself, my friends and work. It is beyond satisfying, allowing me to travel and socialize freely with no romantic stress.

Single ladies who think that life is over without a man, change your attitude and look at the positives in life as a single. You can eat breakfast for dinner, in your underwear in front of cartoons without ridicule or scorn. You don't have to cook dinner for anyone, nor do you need to account for where you went, or what you're doing to anyone. It's a wonderful feeling to have time alone, with no apologies. The beauty part is, if you decide later that you want to date, you still can.

Men have asked me out in the last few years but I haven't taken them up on their offers. I don't hate men, but I just consider my freedom a precious gift and don't want to give it away to anyone. For me, being single not only works but helps me to really know myself better and enjoy life. It may not be for everyone, but the trick is not to be miserable about it.

Life is what you make it. You can either make it the way you want or you can wait for Mr.Right to come along and save you from your sadness. I got wiser as I aged and at 45 I'm happier now than I was when with a significant other in my younger years. Give singlehood a try, without judgment. You may just like it.

Moving Day isn't far Away

I'm busy packing, sorting and organizing, in preparation for my move back to Ohio from Florida. It's about an 18 hour drive, and I'll be driving a rented truck with two cats along for the ride. I'm both excited and horrified at the same time. I like adventure but not when I'm bringing along all my stuff. I've always been a passenger when in moving trucks long distance, not the driver. So, it's a new experience and I'm going to make it fun by not pushing myself too hard.

In a packing frenzy over the weekend, I inadvertently packed the coffee scoop/measure. When I went to make coffee, it occured to me that it was located in the bottom sealed box of a six foot stack of boxes. Forget that. I used a tablespoon instead and made coffee so strong it was like a cup of Brazilian espresso, thick and potent. The only way I can drink stuff like that is with a ton of sugar. I prefer my coffee black, and am getting better at portioning the coffee so I don't go nuts on a sugar/caffeine high.

It will be a wonderful day when I can pull out of the parking lot of this miserable condo complex to a beautiful new place far, far away from the urban sprawl of where I am now. How wonderful it will be to be home for Thanksgiving, and to be in horse country in Ohio, where it's more affordable to ride at quality horse farms than it is down here, where most farms are overpriced and shabby (unless you spend really big bucks to go to a superior one). Up north, superior ones are not as pricey, since hay is farmed up there. Here in Florida, they have to import hay from the north, making it more expensive.

After much travelling and globe-trotting, I am glad to settle in a more quiet atmosphere. It's quaint, in an elegant atmosphere and my building is historical. No taking my life in my hands to cross the street here. Where I am now is at the third most dangerous traffic intersection in Pinellas County (at the end of our street, in walking distance from this place). I hired a cab to take me across the street to Starbucks, to avoid getting creamed by cars, the other day. It was worth it, loooove Starbucks. I plan to visit many along the route from here to home when I do the move. Life is always better with a venti Caramel Macchiato in your hand.

Rainbow over Starbucks



A good song I found on You Tube from years back, "Respect" by Erasure

The Crazy Mess with CafePress

Find my CP store at http://www.cafepress.com/twopurringcats
and the main store at:
http://www.zazzle.com/twopurringcats*

By now, CafePress shopkeepers have been made aware of a nasty revision to our commission amounts if we offer our products on the CP Marketplace. Whenever you search on CafePress' search engine, it brings up results on their marketplace. The new rule makes it so us shopkeepers would only earn 10, yes I said TEN percent commission for our Marketplace sales. Knowing that my work is worth much more than that, I am opting OUT of the Marketplace but keeping my store since I have loyal customers who know where my store is on the internet. Items sold directly from the store itself don't have that 10% rule. If it ever does, then forget CP completely. Big shop owners like myself are opting out in droves to get away from the new "rules", leaving only those who are new and don't know how to price or those who are profoundly desperate to settle for meager chump change as earnings.

From now on, if you want to access products at my CafePress store then you must type in my URL directly, do not search on CafePress for it (use Google or other engines search term, "Two Purring Cats Studio" ). This allows me to keep my normal commissions, and not bother with the Marketplace at all. My store URL is:

http://www.cafepress.com/twopurringcats

To repeat, you can reach my store, either at the above address or search for it on Google (or other search engines except for CafePress). The store goes on as usual, you just won't find it searchable on the CafePress website itself.

As for my feelings on this whole CafePress terms of service/commission rates, well, I'm thoroughly disgusted and know better than to devalue my work like that. Having worked in Accounting departments when younger, I understand business budgeting somewhat but come on, this is ridiculous.

You can always find me at Zazzle, my main site, at:

http://www.zazzle.com/twopurringcats*

Check my store out there, it's been reworked and I've maintained my ProSeller status so I'm happy with it.












Here's some old but good songs that sum up many shopkeepers' feelings @ CafePress:

We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister



I Can't Go for That by Darryl Hall & John Oates

Susan Boyle is the Definition of "Talent"

The world has rightfully fallen for a talented singer from a Scotland village named Susan Boyle. Nearly everyone snickered in the "Britain's Got Talent" audience and made fun of her as she stood on stage and said she wanted to be a famous singer, but she made them eat crow really fast when she began to sing! This proves to the world to never judge a book by its cover, because talent comes in all packages. I hope Susan Boyle continues to be the superstar she is, and gets everything she wants out of life. Thank you Susan for showing the world that us over-forties have talent too, and yours blows away all the youngsters and everyone else! I hope you don't change and become "Hollywoodized", that you stay the way you are and enjoy the limelight for the rest of your life. Bravo.

An Excellent Explanation of the Credit Crisis

Not sure what the credit crisis is all about? Here it is, explained in plain language that is easy for us non-MBA's to understand by Jonathan Jarvis:

Part 1



Part 2

Preparing for the big move

Preparations are underway for my big move back to Ohio from Florida. It's a big job but worth it in the end. I could stay where I'm at but Florida is too hot and I miss my family. My new place is big and historic, in the outer suburbs of Cleveland near my hometown of Chagrin Falls. It's close enough to the city to be accessible to everything but far enough away to have fresh air and Amish neighbors. Amish cooking is the best, and I am looking forward to having breakfast in local restaurants every day. Such a difference from the urban sprawl of Largo, Florida. This part of Florida is great for those who love the city. I like it but only now and then, not all the time. It will be a relief to be among higher quality people than my current place, which is an unpleasant and less than safe condo complex. It's back to safety and refined living for me instead of humidity and scary people. If you're thinking of moving to Florida, interview your potential neighbors to make sure they aren't troubled people. It's a melting pot of good and bad down here.

I've rented a truck to drive up north, and will visit relatives in different states on my way up. I usually rent hotels when driving long distance but have been invited to visit so I'm going to enjoy this trip and take my time as I travel. With two cats traveling along, they will benefit from animal-loving family too. It's going to be fun. I'll get my usual Starbucks coffee for the road in a thermos, stop at the Florida produce store along the highway on my way out of state and load up on Florida products then hit the road.

Lucky for me, my business is not affected by the move in the least. And my friends are still accessible by email and chat, so it will be wonderful to live in my new home in horse country, away from the rat race somewhat. Down in Florida, it is expensive to ride but where I come from, boarding is cheaper and in my opinion riding stable facilities are nicer (you get more for your money). I'd done portraits at a riding stable in South Tampa where the rent was $1000 per month, the horses were old and overpriced and the owners were rude to anyone who didn't make large amounts of money. The nice ladies I did horse portraits for were buying horses way past their prime for $20,000 and up! Wow, it was eye opening. I came down to Florida thinking this would be a great place to ride, but see that it is the opposite, unless you have big bucks for the higher quality stables in Ocala or other places than South Tampa. Live and learn.

So, the movers come fairly soon, and will pack my truck for me, then off I go. It's been a long time since I've lived up north, and it's hard to believe that I actually miss the snow and variable northern weather! I'll have to buy a winter coat since my Florida-weight coats and jackets aren't good enough for the snow belt of Ohio, where I'll be. But it's ok, I can safely say that I have the wanderlust of wanting to live in Florida fully out of my system now. It's possible in the future I may live in a warm climate again but not this far south. Virginia is a gorgeous place, and a strong possibility later on, but for now it's back to Ohio's maple syrup producing countryside, true Midwestern life with nature all around. It's exciting, and I'm looking forward to it.

Some of our Available Mousepads, Posters & More

Here's a few of our items available on the Two Purring Cats Studio's Cafe Press site. Scroll through our different designs here.
The direct link to the store is: http://www.cafepress.com/twopurringcats

The Bumblebee Tuna Commercial and More

Bumble Bee Tuna Commercial




When I grew up in the sixties and seventies, they had commercials with this same Bumblebee Tuna jingle. Now, they brought it back with some guy singing and playing a guitar. He looks like a throwback to the hippie years, possibly a Bobby Sherman lookalike. Whenever I see this commercial I wonder. I was too young to know much about sixties pop stars so I don't know. Still, this is an amusing commercial, whoever he is. Sort of creepy and funny at the same time.


Here's another commercial that if you listen to it, you'll probably have the song stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

FreeCreditReport.com

A cool creature: the Mantis Shrimp

I've drawn this interesting crustacean many times, they are fascinating but look, don't touch. These guys pack a punch. Literally.