Monday 27 February 2023

Time To Give Those Little Grey Cells a Workout on Brain Training with Professor Basil P.H.D. #60 Today's Throwback ~ Me Up The Tree In The Courtyard

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Happy Monday guys

Greetings pawesome pals, my throwback Thursday pic today is me in the garden and up the tree in the courtyard from June 2012!  

OH MY, HOW TIME FLIES! MOL

Brain Training with Professor Basil ©BionicBasil® Basil Throwback June 2012

Mew know I remember that day quite vividly, the P.A. wanted to go out, and she was trying to get me to come inside which resulted in a wild chase around the garden and a mad dash up the tree, and here's the resulting picture. Mew can see I've got my really naughty face on! MOL

In the end, she resorted to bribery and got the treat tin, which was obviously my kryptonite back in the day, and I got caught. Though over subsequent years I did learn to resist the lure of the tin being shaken much to the P.A.'s chagrin, but then we do have to keep our hoomans on their toes, complacency is no good for anypawdy.


It's time to get those little grey cells wurking.

Here's the answer key to last week's puzzle.  How did mew do? 

Answe rkey Suduko Puzzle #28 @BionicBasil®  Brain Training with Cats

Are mew ready fur this week's puzzle?

Basil's Easy Sudoku Puzzle #29 Brain Training with Cats ©BionicBasil®
Just right-click to save the puzzle to your 'puter or print it off. 

The answer key will be on next week's post.


And here's this week's jigsaw puzzle. 

Brain Training with Professor Basil ©BionicBasil® Basil Throwback June 2012 - Puzzle


It took me 12 mins 52 secs...  How did you do?

If mew saw our puzzle yesterday, we definitely beat that time! MOL 


We'll be back on Wednesday with the BBHQ Midweek News, and if mew missed Amber's latest book review, here's the link.

Keep Calm

and


Puzzle On


Epic purrs

Professor Basil 







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Sunday 26 February 2023

A Five in One Selfie on The Sunday Selfies & Caturday Art Blog Hops with Amber, Smooch, Parsley, Fudge and Melvyn

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Furbulous Sunday greetings furiends

Welcome to another BBHQ selfie selection, and today we've got a five for one with Amber, Smooch, Parsley, Fudge and Melvyn. Sadly Pandora was elsewhere, on some secret mission no doubt.

A Five in One Selfie ©BionicBasil® Sunday Selfies Blog Hop with Amber, Smooch, Parsley, Fudge and Melvyn

We found this pic when we were deep diving into the photo roll, it's from last summer and we thought we'd love to share it again! 


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We're also joining in Athena's Fabulous Art Hop so do stop by and show off your pawesome arty-farty skills.

https://www.athenacatgoddess.com/

A Five in One Selfie ©BionicBasil® Caturday Art Blog Hop with Amber, Smooch, Parsley, Fudge and Melvyn.jpg

The effect was created with the ios Prisma App, and we used the effect:- Arturo, a new effect we haven't seen before, and we know this is going to make a really hard puzzle, sorry! 

Did Eric and Flynn use this effect recently? We've seen something very similar in the last week or so on somepawdy's epic blog.

We also turned this fab arty-farty picture into a puzzle, so do stop by the puzzle page and take the Puzzle Challenge, see if mew can beat our time of 19 mins 39 secs - yes it was hard. 

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We are off to snoopervise lunch as Smooch is already waiting by the oven, ready for the roast to go in. He knows it's Sunday and that means some yummy delicacies are on offer imminently! MOL

We're also working on the new graphics for next month, as we've decided to switch things up every month, though we're sure mew will have noticed. So look out for our new blog header on Wednesday and other new graphics popping up throughout March.

On that note, we hope mew've got some tasty noms for your Sunday lunch and we'll be back tomorrow with another Brain Training post and brand new puzzle, and if mew missed Amber's latest review, click here and to catch up on the Midweek News, click here

In the meantime...

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Wing Commander Basil & The B Team








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Don't forget to join in the pawesome Sunday Selfies Blog Hop with

 Angel Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy and Sawyer ~ visit them at their pawesome blog:







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Don't furget to subscribe to our blog and never miss another post. 

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Friday 24 February 2023

Love To Read Books with Cats? Book Reviews with Amber at The Mewton-Clawson Library #231 featuring **Tricks and Trials** by Morgan Vale PLUS Friendly Fill-Ins + Photo Fails Blog Hop

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Hello furbulous library guests 

and 

Welcome to the Mewton-Clawson Library at BBHQ 

Thank mew for joining me in the stacks today, and mew just caught me going to the kitty kitchen for some extra snacks.

And yes, I do eat between meals! In fact, I love a bit of fresh tuna and mew know that cat food we did a review on a couple of weeks ago, it was called Fuzzball, mew can check it out here. I really, really love their tinned food.

Amber's Book Reviews #231 ©BionicBasil® Amber off to the kitty kitchen for snacks

So that's where I'm off, to get a little platter of shredded chicken as I need the energy for my next catnap! MOL


Part of The Mewton-Clawson Library ©BionicBasil®
Amber's Book Review Library Mice Divider ©BionicBasil®
Today the P.A. is also joining in Friday Fill-ins Blog Hop with the pawesome 15 & Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs.
1. An item discontinued that I want brought back is ______________________.
2. I would ____________________every day if I could.
3. It’s almost time for _________, and I can’t wait.
4. _________ were the good old days.

The P.A.'s answers are...

1. An item discontinued that I want brought back is my old Urban Rebounder aka mini trampoline. It was amazing, it had the perfect bounce/tension for jogging on, and I was gutted when after nearly 17 years it finally bit the dust. I bought a new one after much research by Maximus Pro - supposedly one of the best - it was horrid and impossible to jog on as it was so soft, so I gave that to my mum and she loves it. I then bought one which has bungees instead of springs, which was touted as a hard bounce. It's not, and while I can jog on it, it's not a patch on the Urban Rebounder circa 2004! LOL 

2. I would go swimming every day if I could. I did want to put one of those swim spas in the garden, but with energy prices right now and the next £500.00 (approx) price hike coming in April, that will sadly remain wishful thinking for eternity! Apparently, wholesale energy prices have fallen 75%, but unfortunately, those hefty reductions are not being passed on to consumers.

3. It’s almost time for Spring, and I can’t wait. I really don't like the cold weather anymore, even though this winter hasn't been so bad. We've had a few weeks of freezing temperatures but in all honesty, the winters were way worse when I was younger, and we had hotter summers in the 70s, 80s and 90s. It does make me laugh that in the last couple of years, the fear culture that has been spawned off the back of the covid situation, a weather headline just last week was 'Terrifying Winds will Batter Britain'. Now just for argument's sake, we've always had storms, some of which result in a lot of damage. But my point is the narrative being used to describe events which are of a normal, cyclical occurrence is beyond comprehension for someone of a reasonable, sensible and rational mind. Why attach such an insurmountable amount of fear to a weather forecast?

4. The 1980s and 1990s were the good old days. I liked it much better back then. It was a lot less complicated.

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Today, as it's the last Friyay of the month, we're also joining in the furrbulous...


So do drop by the marvellous Mudpie's blog at www.mochasmysteriesmeows.com to join in.

Mew know how Melvyn does his modelling on our Midweek News Round-Up? Well, sometimes all doesn't go as planned, especially when trying to get a good snapshot of him wearing the bandana! MOL 

Friday Fluffers at BBHQ ©BionicBasil® Melvyn's Modelling Fail

He gets rather excited, and a lot of rolling ensues, though we must say on this week's catwalk run, he did it in the first take, check him out on TikTok.

Some weeks, if Fudge is loitering it can take half a dozen runs to get the final sashay down the catwalk, as Melvyn doesn't have the best attention span! MOL

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Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!

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This week's top book pick is...

Amber's Book Reviews #231 What Are We Reading This Week ©BionicBasil® Tricks and Trials by Morgan Vale
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy

Tricks and Trials 


  Charmed and Dangerous Series book 4

by 

Morgan Vale

       Here's a little snippet of the book blurb:      

When the Sheriff confronts earth witch Kat Sullivan with a strange letter, it’s just another day in Haven. Until she finds out her partner-in-solving-crime, Chance Wilder, is missing. He’s no stranger to bending the law and has more than a few secrets up his sleeve, but are they bad enough for someone to take him out…permanently?

Kat’s stuck with only a handful of leads and a human police department that doesn’t even know the half of it. In the background, a secret organization is hunting down people of unusual supernatural heritage. People like Chance.

Amber's Book Review Mice Divider ©BionicBasil®

This is book 4 in the Charmed and Dangerous series. And as I'm writing this I've just realised that I should be doing book three today - OOPS! MOL 

Actually, I lost my book list, I keep a list of all the books I'm reviewing and tick them off each week, but this week the library mice have tidied my desk and said list is on the missing list. I do suspect it's now been shredded and is currently being used as a mouse nest.

Anyhoo, I'll review book three next week and then we'll be back on track.

If mew missed the two previous book reviews here are the links:



So what did I think to book four in this action-packed, paranormal series? Well, Kat's werewolf buddy Chance is missing without a trace, strange things are apaw and the sheriff is so stumped he's asked for the heroine's help.

Albus the cat is front and centre throughout, it's nice to see his character develop, and he has just the right amount of snark, which endears him greatly to me; a cat after my own heart! MOL

The story is well-paced, and the ancillary characters are getting a bit more depth. The plot dots about a little, and there were a couple of scenes that really didn't make sense; Spoiler Alert: Kat and Albus get split up after a near-miss mudslide, and as she's trying to get to his location she stumbles upon a door in the ground and decides to go and investigate. Yes, down a pitch-black hole in the ground, on her own, with no weapons, and no cat. I won't go any further but it just seemed a little stupid and unnecessary. As for the other one, if mew read it, mew will know.

Overall book four is a good, solid read. It's a nice continuation in the series with enough hooks to keep mew turning the pages, plus there's a dash of honour and a little romance if that's your thing.

I did notice that the author left quite a lot of unanswered questions hanging in the ether as it concluded, my only guess is she wants us to keep reading the series to find out if those questions are answered or resolved. And I'll let you in due course as there are five books to read so far. 

I did get this included with my Kindle Unlimited programme, so if mew subscribe why not try it!

Paperback:  188 pages
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My Ratings Scale

Amber's Book Review Paw Ratings Scale Pink ©BionicBasil®

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Ratings of:

Tricks and Trials

Overall Enjoyment

Amber's Book Reviews 4 Paw Rating ©BionicBasil®

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Other Fun Blog Hops to Join in Today


          Brian's Home   Catblogosphere    Feline Friday   Nature Friday    Flashback Friday   Friendship Friday          

Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

Do let me know if mew read it, and what mew thought!

It's time fur me to say BFN or bye-fur-now as mew know the drill, so many books, so little time and I'll be back next week with another specially paw-picked book just for mew, and don't furget that all my previous reviews can be found on my Book Review page.

Until next time...

Keep calm and read more books

Amber 


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& @BionicBasil® on Instacat

Don't furget to subscribe and never miss another review! 

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Wednesday 22 February 2023

Welcome to The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ~ Smooch Ambushing Pandora on the Millwheel, Parsley's Stink Eye in The Fitness Room and Melvyn's Wearing This Weeks Top Pick Bandana

The Midweek News Round Up Valentine's Banner ©BionicBasil®

Epic Wednesday Greetings Furiends

Welcome to the BBHQ midweek news round-up!

How's your week going? 

Last week we mentioned we may plant some seeds if it got a bit warmer, and it has remained relatively nice, so yesterday we got the sweet peas in a little pot of water to enliven them before sowing them, and we also sorted out the peppers too. In previous years, we have also sowed the pepper seeds too late, as apparently they need five months to crop, so we're well ahead of the game this year.

And we don't know about mew, but there are no tomatoes in the shops right now, so we may even start some of those early next month. We grow them every year, and this year we've got a new spot to try when it's warm enough outside to grow them on, so we'll let mew know how that's going later in the season.

This year the beans are going back in the raised beds in the courtyard, as it gets really hot there, and we may try the courgettes there too.

Are mew growing anything this year?

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First up in the news 

Smooch Ambushing Pandora on the Millwheel


The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Smooch Ambushing Pandora on the Millwheel

Pandora was minding her own business as Smooch - see the action shot above - jumped up to ambush her. She wasn't bothered and promptly vacated the millwheel at top speed, and if mew're wonder how fast Pandora is, check out her video here on TikTok.

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Next up in the news

Parsley's Stink Eye in The Fitness Room


The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil®Parsley's Stink Eye in The Fitness room.JPG

We don't know what Parsley's boggle was here! 

The P.A. had been cleaning in the fitness room, and he wandered in, sat down and gave her the stink eye, purrhaps it was because he thought she should be working out instead of tidying up! MOL

Valentine's Divider ©BionicBasil® 2023

And finally this week

Melvyn's Modelling The Top Bandana Pick


The winner this week is the White Hearts with Red Glitter Ribbon!

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Melvyn Modelling This Weeks Top Pick Bandana - White Hearts with Glitter Ribbon

We've got three funky beats to this weeks catwalk run.

Check out Melvyn's videos on:




Which one is your favourite this week? 


Which one should he model next?


Here's the February selection.

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® The New Bandana Selection for February, cat bandanas for valentines day, cute selection of valentines design bandanas

The options from the top left to right, and bottom left to right:

1. Red heart with red tassels

2. Multi-coloured hearts with lilac fringing

3. Red hearts with red fringing

4. White hearts with glitter ribbon

 Melvyn will model the final #3 choice on next week's post, and we'll be revealing the March top picks.

Valentine's Divider ©BionicBasil® 2023

EXTRA, EXTRA!


Check out this week's top videos:

Valentine's Divider ©BionicBasil® 2023

That's us done for today. Amber will be back on Friday with another fab book just for mew and if mew missed any other posts, here are the links:

The BBHQ Best Cat Blogs of 2023

Fudge's Freckly Sunday Selfie

Valentine's Crafting with Cats - The Love Shroom Double Decker Bed

In the meantime


Epic purrs

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team 













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