Welcome to BBHQ home of Basil and The B Team! We share Feline Enrichment tips, hacks and ideas, Cat Wellness, Adventure Stories for all ages, Book Reviews, Blog Hops, Crafting with Cats, Colouring with Cats, Pet Peeves, Product Reviews, Fashion with Felines, Brain Training with Cats and so much more. So drop by often to catch up on all the fun and remember; the world is way better with cats! Purrs from your hosts, Wing Commander Basil & The B Team
Well, after a forecast of Snowmaggedon hitting BBHQ on Caturday evening, we are very delighted to inform mew, that Snowmageddon was, in fact, nothing more than a brief sprinkling of the white stuff, which lasted about as long as a Sunday Lunch at BBHQ, in other words, gone in a flash.
However, it did begin to rain on Sunday, and Cat Dad had to go to work at midnight to stop the water from flooding the business again, as the runoff from the hills quickly built up and was creeping its way, rather fastidiously and resolutely, towards the building.
And even though we have custom flood defences installed, there is still no guarantee that water won't get into the building. So thank cod for Cat Dad, the water pump and Nanny's front garden being the recipient of said water. (The lawn is much lower than the house, so there is no risk to Nanny's house at all.)
Today, Monday, a lot of the local villages are flooded, so it's pretty much a cluster fluff of a start to the New Year for a lot of peeps. And there was snowmageddon, but just not here, which, given the lack of snow ploughs, gritting lorries and the like in the U.K., we feel so sorry for the communities affected.
The P.A. reckons we're now headed back into a modern version of The Middle Ages... but that's a story for another day.
And now we're sharing this... if mew've ever wondered, which we doubt mew have, but if mew ever have wondered what the P.A. keeps her pens in on her desk at BBHQ, here it is:
Guess which pin is her favourite? That won't be hard! MOL
And then guess which is her second favourite? We'll give mew a clue, it's yellow! MOL
Also, mew maybe wondering - we doubt it very much again - what kind of pens are in said pen pot? The P.A. loves fountain pens, aka ink pens, they are her absolutely favourite thing to write with. And each one has a different coloured ink; blue, black, green, purple, pink, and turquoise, so there mew have some totally useless info about pins, pens, pen pots and coloured ink. Mew're welcome! MOL
Anyhoo, let's look at today's headlines.
First up in the news
Fudge and Melvyn's Hotspot
It was really cold and damp on Monday so Melvyn didn't want to model and decided to spend his day in varying locals in front of the woodburner. Fudge popped in and out, sometimes getting right in front and stealing the best of the warms!
That's so Fudge! MOL
Next up in the news
Smooch Tries To Redeem Last Week's Catnip Failure
Mew may remember last week when we tried Jessie's Catnip, the extra strong one, and Smooch, the fluffing lightweight, couldn't take the pace and ended up zonked out on the Shroom.
Well, he said, and I quote, "Dude, I was off my game, still recovering from all the festive pawties, but now that's out of the way, I'm ready to take the challenge again!!!"
So I laced a catnip cushion with Jessie's Extra Strong Catnip and tossed it to him, which he quickly grasped between his paws and refused to let go.
Several minutes later, the cushion was slobbered all over and wet with drool, and then Smooch said. "Dude, I need to go and lie down for a bit!"
Yep, No Redemption Here!
Even Fudge couldn't believe it! MOL
In other news...
What Was Parsley Looking At?
On Caturday, Cat Dad and the P.A. had to deal with a fallen branch off the deodar (pine/cedar) tree along the back fence. The heavy branch snapped off early on Thursday morning, just as Cat Dad was headed off to work.
Anyhoo, the chainsaw came out on Caturday afternoon, and Smooch, who spends a lot of his time outdoors when the P.A. is home, said, "Fluff this for a game of soldiers; it's too cold for me to snoopervise!" Then he turned to Parsley and added. "Dude, mew're in charge. I'm going for a snooze!"
So Parsley was the only one outside while the tree was safely cut up into logs and stored, and in the photo, he's watching Cat Dad head towards the tree, chainsaw in hand.
Luckily, it didn't cause any damage and was pretty straightforward to remove from where it had landed over the top of the fence and partly in a conifer.
Finally this week
Melvyn's Modelling The Top Bandana Pick
Last week, the winning vote was for Zero Fox Given, so here's Melvyn doing what he does best! MOL
He had the purrfect amount of catitude today and even said, "Meowmy, it should say Zero Fluffs Given!" MOL
The P.A. replied. "Melvyn, leave that with me, I can make that happen!"
So watch this space for Melvyn's design request.
There were no distractions on the catwalk this week, except for Were-Dee-Go aka W.D.G., the invisible monster who usually lives behind the sofa in the sitting room. However, in recent weeks, he's actually made it into the kitchen, and today, he had a new spot. Watch the video to find out where W.D.G. is this week! MOL
Check out Melvyn's videos on your preferred social media channel:
Thank mew so furry much to everypawdy who sent us a Catmas card by snail mail or email; we absolutely loved every single one. They have been dotted around the kitchen and sitting room at BBHQ, where we can see them in all their epic festiveness and enjoy the Catmas vibes.
We took them down today, Monday 6th, ready for them to go into the BBHQ Catmas Card Archive, but before we did, they were placed on the kitchen island so we could video them for mew to see.
We hope our snail mail Catmas card made it safely to all recipients, although we do know the ones that went to Canada are probably lost forever due to the postal strike.
That's us done for today. Amber will beback on Fridaywith another meowvellous book, and if mew missed any other posts, here are the links:
Woooo Hooooo! Finally, it's here, and WE MADE IT!!!! MOL
Here's to a truly terrific, pawsitively pawesome, epically epic 2025!
On Friday's Festive Photo Fails, the P.A. mentioned that Cat Dad bought her two prints for Catmas, and we asked which cat mew thought would be on the cat-themed art?
But nopawdy got it right because, as mew can see below, it's a supurr cute black house panther; therefore, it's Parsley! MOL
Just look at these; honestly, the P.A. looked like the cat who'd got the cream when she opened them!
She said, and I quote verbatim, "Fluff me, these are EPICALLY EPIC!" And then she added, "Best fluffing present ever!"
We've been following the artist on TikTok for quite a while and loved the colour palette and style of the artwork, but there weren't any cats, and mew know what we say at BBHQ: The Wurld is Way Better with Cats! MOL
Anyhoo, then by some total freak of fluff, on the TikTok feed in mid-December popped up the picture on the left called A Cat in Moonlight - yep, that is a furbulous title for sure. And then fluff me as if by magic, a second one appeared. The one on the right is another in The Cats in Moonlight series. Well, mew can't just have one on its own, so both were quickly dispatched to BBHQ and are now sitting on the kitchen sideboard until the P.A. takes them for framing.
Mew can't catch your breath at how pawesome they are in real life, the colours/tones, the light, the shadows, the depth, the details, just everything is so sublime, a recipe for art purrfection in our humble opinion, and the P.A. is hoping more will follow. Paws crossed! MOL
If mew want to see other artwork, click the link below.
(FYI, this is not a paid or sponsored or affiliate link.)
Anyhoo, after waxing lyrical for the last minute, let's look at this week's top headlines at BBHQ.
First up in the news
Where's Pandora?
Pandora went into stealth mode with a supurr obfuscation spell. However, she missed a bit.
Can mew see it?
We'll give mew a moment....
No?
OK, look at the base of the yew tree on the left, just above the back edge of the millwheel.
Yep, that's her epically fluffy tail arcing most gracefully, we must add, out of the tree.
Please don't ask what she was doing; we don't know, but apparently, the invisible monster who lives at the back of the sofa aka Were-Dee-Go or W.D.G. (if mew watch Melyn's modelling videos, sometimes W.D.G. is about! MOL), anyhoo so W.D.G. has been moving silently and invisibly around BBHQ, so maybe Pandora, and we can only surmise had moved into the astral or invisibility realm so she could... what?
a. see him in all his monsterly glory
b. was hoping by being invisible, W.D.G. wouldn't see her?
c. it had nothing to do with W.D.G.?
d. she just wanted to operate in stealth?
Or if mew have any idea's do let us know in the comments!
Next up in the news
Parsley, Pandora & Fudge Are Plotting
Don't ask me what these three heathens were doing or plotting, as I have no idea. The only thing I can hope for is that it doesn't involve tanks, any weapons, a new mission or my secret catnip stash being discovered! MOL
In other news...
Smooch Is Sleeping It Off
If mew're wondering why Smooch is flat out on the shroom in catnap land, we can answer this!
And it has something to do with our EXTRA EXTRA segment below!
Yep, he got a little bit effervescent with the extra strong catnip and crashed! MOL
I have two words; fluffing lightweight! MOL
Finally this week
Melvyn's Modelling The Top Bandana Pick
Melvyn's modelling the final pick for December, and mew chose Jingle All The Way to start the New Year!
Sadly, after the video was created in TikTok, the usual witty text commentary vanished during the posting phase, so apologies for that, but Melvyn is still looking supurr epically cute, and he's really looking forward to 2025, as he is sure that a modelling agency will finally sign him up!
Check out Melvyn's videos on your preferred social media channel:
Tell us your top pick for next week in the comments!
EXTRA EXTRA!!!
Jessie's Extra Strong Catnip
Oh my cod, a couple of weeks ago, the pawesome peeps at Jessie's Catnip**sent us a bag of the green stuff to try, and as we're Mewton-Clawson's most furmative authority on catnip, it was an offer we couldn't refuse.
Well, mew know we are catnip connoisseurs at BBHQ, so trying this was a must, as we love a bit of extra strong catnip.
And it lived up to ALL expectations and exceeded some, too. Mew've already seen Smooch, who's still in his catnip coma reverie after an early morning binge session.
Parsley, Melvyn and Fudge all experienced the epic hallucinogenic properties, with a full-on manifestation of a unicorn; yep, it's true; take a look at the evidence below. If that's not a unicorn manifestation, then I'm not Wing Commander Basil! MOL
JESSIE'S CATNIP, SO GOOD IT MAKES MEW SEE UNICORNS!!! MOL
Fluff me, I couldn't believe it either, but there's no denying that anything which makes mew see unicorns has to be purretty epic.
Fudge even made a New Year's wish in the unicorn's ear, "Please, can we get a repeat order of Jessie's Extra Stong Catnip!?"
And there mew have it, if mew looking for unicorns, just ask Jessie!
And if mew're looking for some fabulously fur-tastic, whisker tingling, supurr strong catnip, just ask Jessie!
Jessie has mew covered.
And on that note, furry many thanks to Jessie for making our New Year's Eve Pawty so much fun. Thank mew, mew are EPIC!
**Disclosure ~ Even though we were given this item free of charge for a review, our review is completely honest and reflects our own experience with the product.
That's us done for today. Amber will beback on Fridaywith another meowvellous book to kick off the 2025 book review season, and if mew missed any other posts, here are the links:
Sadly, due to unforeseen time constraints, Chapter Eight is not quite finished, so many apologies for that, and we'll resume the adventure next Thursday.
Once again, New Year's Blessings to mew all, and remember to always...
Wing Commander Basil & The B Team
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