Showing posts sorted by date for query brain training. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query brain training. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Wednesday, 19 March 2025

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ~ Smooch's Post Lunch Clean Up, Fudge's Making A Plan For The Garden, Pandora's Joining In Tongue-Out-Tuesday, and Melvyn's Wearing This Weeks Top Pick Bandana

Midweek News Banner ©BionicBasil® Spring 2025

 Epic Greetings Furiends

Welcome to the BBHQ midweek news round-up!

Happy Wednesday from BBHQ. The weather has not been too bad, with a few sunny spells, although it is still cold at night. We did get a picture of a lovely clear blue sky yesterday, so if mew've been blanketed with clouds and are missing the sky, we've got mew covered! MOL

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Blue Skies All The Way

Majestical for sure. We can't wait for the trees to pop, not literally. Obviously, we're talking about the leaves opening and their exquisite little canopies fluttering in the breeze; oh, Spring, do hurry, hurry, hurry!  

A few weeks ago - 26th Feb - we shared a photo of one of the new hyacinths which had just started to emerge. Well, things are really hotting up, as just look at this one.

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® The Hyacinth's Are Growing

As we said previously, they are a selection of mystic purples, and this one looks like it's going to be a magical colour for sure when it blooms. We did think they'd be a bit further along by now, but then it has been very cold at night, so they're probably just on a slow emergence at the moment. But we'll keep mew posted, as we can't wait for the reveal! 

Look at this!

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® The P.A. Made A Cute Crystal Suncatcher for The Garden

The P.A. hasn't been in the BBHQ Craft Room for months as it's too fluffing cold. Anyhoo, the other day after she'd left the door open for a couple of hours and the sun had warmed everything up. She ventured in and decided to make a little quartz crystal suncatcher for the garden.

It turned out so cute and is now hanging from the deodara (pine tree), radiating happy vibes.

And now, let's look at this week's top headlines.

Spring Divider 2025 ©BionicBasil®

First up in the news this week...

Smooch's Post Lunch Clean Up


The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Smooch's Post Lunch Clean Up

After lunch on Sunday, Smooch insisted on going into the garden, and several minutes later, we saw him sitting there, having a bath! MOL

Spring Divider 2025 ©BionicBasil®

Next up in the news...

Fudge's Making A Plan For The Garden


The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Fudge's Making A Plan For The Garden

Fudge was in the garden the other day checking out the various borders, and this one on the path is bugging him tremendously.

The lavender has got a bit leggy and rather woody in recent years and is probably past its best.

He's thinking that we should do a bit of a redesign... but we'll keep mew posted as the P.A. isn't too keen on the idea; as she says, it still flowers really nicely, so who cares! MOL

Spring Divider 2025 ©BionicBasil®

In other news...

Pandora's Joining In Tongue-Out-Tuesday


The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Pandora's Joining In Tongue-Out-Tuesday

Well, Pandora was feeling rather cheeky yesterday and decided to join in the Tongue-Out-Tuesday vibe! 

We call her The Phantom Raspberry Blower (if mew know, mew know!)!!! MOL 

Spring Divider 2025 ©BionicBasil®

And finally, this week

Melvyn's Modelling The Top Bandana Pick

Last week, mew obviously all voted for The St. Paddy's Day bandana, so here's the little dude sharing all the luck of the Irish! MOL

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® Melvyn Modelling The St. Paddy's Day Bandana

Doesn't he look epic?

Oh, and W.D.G. still hasn't arrived back at BBHQ; he's decided to extend his vacation a little longer!

As Melvyn's modelled this bandana before, mew can watch his previous catwalk strut on your preferred social media channel:

Which one should he model next?


Here's the March Bandana Selection, and as we're headed full steam into Spring, we chose some colourful and bright bandanas for this month. Plus, it's St Paddy's Day, too, and how could we not have one for that epic day! MOL

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up ©BionicBasil® March 2025 Bandana Collection

The March Collection:

1. Spring Vibes

2. Pretty Garden

3.  Colourful Owls

4. St Paddy's Day

There's only one left for March, but worry not; we'll be sharing the brand-new collection for April next week!

Spring Divider 2025 ©BionicBasil®

That's us done for today. 

Amber will be back on Friday with another pawesome book, and if mew missed any other posts, here are the links:

 Melvyn's Selfie


Check out the latest episodes of The Purrminator, as tomorrow we'll be back with Chapter Eighteen in Melvyn's epically epic supurr exciting origin story:











Hoping mew have a furbulous day, and remember to always...

Stay Fluffy Banner ©BionicBasil® Spring 2025

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team 













Spring Divider 2025 ©BionicBasil® Bunting
Don't furget to subscribe and never miss another post! 
Spring Divider 2025 ©BionicBasil® Bunting
Graphics created with paid license www.canva.com  

Monday, 17 March 2025

**ST PATRICK'S DAY 2025** Brain Training with Cats #93 with your Epic host ~ Professor Basil P.H.D. **PLUS** An Epic Throwback To May 2010

Brain Training with Professor Basil  @BionicBasil® St Patrick's Day Banner

Happy Monday guys

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!


Welcome to another furbulous Brain Training sesh on the blog today, and as it's St Patrick's Day, mew know where I'm going with this! MOL

And this week I'm sharing a throwback from May 2010, and I chose a really green photo! MOL

Brain Training with Professor Basil #93 @BionicBasil® Basil's Epic Throwback - May 2010

Mew know that cat perch I'm on was absolutely epic, it was furry sad day when it finally decided to take itself to the bonfire and go to cat perch heaven!

St Patrick's Lucky Clover Divider ©BionicBasil®  2025

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

Here's the answer key to last time's sudoku #59
The answer key to last time's sudoku #59 @BionicBasil

St Patrick's Lucky Clover Divider ©BionicBasil®  2025

Are mew ready for this week's puzzle?

Brain Training with Professor Basil #93 Sudoku Puzzle #60  @BionicBasil® Downloadable Puzzle Fur Purrsonal Use Only
Just click right-click to save and/or print the puzzle. 

The answer key will be on the next B.T.W.C. post, which I'm thinking will probably be for Easter.

St Patrick's Lucky Clover Divider ©BionicBasil®  2025

Here's this week's wordsearch.

Brain Training with Professor Basil #93 St Patrick's Day #93 @BionicBasil® Downloadable Puzzle Fur Purrsonal Use Only

Just click right-click to save and/or print the wordsearch.

St Patrick's Lucky Clover Divider ©BionicBasil®  2025

And finally here's this week's jigsaw puzzle.

Brain Training with Professor Basil #93 @BionicBasil® Puzzle


It took me 8 mins 56 secs...  How did mew do?

St Patrick's Lucky Clover Divider ©BionicBasil®  2025

I hope mew enjoy today's puzzles and The B Team will be back on Wednesday with the Midweek News Round-up, so join us for all the gossip! Until then...

Keep calm, and puzzle on

and be...
Epically Lucky  @BionicBasil® St Patrick's Day Banner


Professor Basil 









St Patrick's Lucky Clover Divider ©BionicBasil®  2025
Jigsaw Puzzle www.jigsawplanet.com  Sudoku & word-search created with paid licence www.crosscompiler.com
Other graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com & www.befunky.com

Friday, 28 February 2025

**FRIDAY FICTION FIX** Book Reviews with Amber at The Mewton-Clawson Library #311 featuring **Iron Flame** by Rebecca Yarros **PLUS** Friendly Fill-Ins + Photo Fails Blog Hop **Starring Smooch**

Book Reviews with Amber Valentine's Banner ©BionicBasil®, Amber the ginger and white cat, owns her own library

Hello furbulous library guests 

and 

Welcome to the Mewton-Clawson Library at BBHQ 

Well, mew could have dipped me in cream, rolled me in catnip and I couldn't have been any more surprised than I was on Monday!

If mew're wondering what's been happening at the Mewton-Clawson Library, click here to catch up on all the events.

Anyhoo, there I was minding my business in my private reading room with three of the library mice, namely Snitch, Chedds and Nibbles, as we were, well, they were cataloguing some new acquisitions under my expert guidance.

When, all of a sudden, the door burst open and Oswald stood there with his tiny paw about to hit the mobile panic alarm signalling a CODE RED!

Amber's Book Reviews #311 ©BionicBasil® Amber's Thinking About Melvyn's Dilemma

"WHAT THE FLUFF!?" I yelled.

"Miss Amber, come quick!" Oswald squeaked in panic.

Being told to move quickly at my age is one HUGE joke, as I got up off my rather comfy sofa with built in heating at a glacial pace and then proceeded to ground level via my supurr handy portable steps on wheels, and yes they do have a safety braking system, so no fear of accidentally rolling away.

"What is it Oswald?"

"There's some crazy old mummified cat insisting that Melvyn is theirs and it wants to know where he is right now!" he gasped. "Then it stumbled off into the stacks."

Oh for fluffs sake, I knew exactly who IT was. It was PRUDENCE, although my description is much better; she's older than me, has no teeth and looks more like a hundred-year-old moth-eaten taxidermy specimen than a real live cat.

"Where is she?"

"In the main library and she's got Melvyn cornered down the W aisle," Oswald squeaked. "And he's terrified!"

Sighing loudly, I knew this was going to get ugly, not for me, because ugly and Amber are two words that would never go together, like EVER!

I straightened up, marched into my library, and stomped noisily all the way to the 'W' stack just briefly stopping by my desk on the way past, and I found Melvyn cowering next to:

 Weapons of Mass Destruction by I. Shudnothavecreatedthat 

With crusty dustbag Prudence looming over him, in a most threatening and intimidating manner.

And while normally, Melvyn is more than capable of taking care of himself these days after extensive B Team training and the like. However, since his Valentine's run-in with Prudence, Melvyn has not been himself, and seeing her in this threatening manner really, truly, honestly just flipped something in my furry brain.

I hissed and growled most menacingly. "Step away from my library employee, mew old moth-eaten fur sack."

Her head snapped up, milky white eyes locking with mine, and she hissed. "He's mine now, and mew should be the one to step away!"

OH MY COD! 

She didn't really just talk to me like that, in my own library? Oh yes she did!

Well, that switch just flipped onto MAXIMUM.

"Prudence," I snarled stepping forward, and then I revealed my lovely Uzi, fully licensed of course, and I pointed that muther fluffer right at her. "BACK AWAY FROM MELVYN."

She gasped in shock. "Mew can't point that at me!"

I grinned. "Say what?"

"Mew can't point that at me!"

"I can, and I am! My library, my rules, now turn around and fluff right off before mew have more holes in mew than Swiss cheese!" I growled. "Oh and your library card is REVOKED, purrmanently."

  Prudence stumbled backwards, and I reached Melvyn, putting a paw on his shoulder and whispered. "Get up dude, it's all going to be okay!"

Tootles, Flora, Ardvaar and Lumie, who'd been keeping watch from the top of the bookshelf, abseiled down and landed silently on the shelf next to Melvyn.

"Library mice, take Melvyn to my private reading room, now."

I kept my Uzi pointed at Prudence as I stalked forward. "MOVE IT CRUSTY!" I instructed.

She spat at me and shuffled towards the door. As she stepped outside into the courtyard, she turned and growled. "This isn't over, that cat is mine!"

"Prudence, I'm only going to tell mew this once; if mew ever step one paw on BBHQ property ever, ever again," I paused for dramatic effect. "Mew'll wish mew hadn't, now get the fluff out of the gates!"

And that was my Monday. Needless to say, anonymous hate mail has been arriving every hour since.

So now I have one hissed off cat, who's got a thing for Melvyn, and Cod knows what's going to happen next??? 

Anyhoo, I hope your week was better than mine! 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. I can’t ___________________ since ___________________.
2. ________________________ since ____________________.
3. _________ was my first ever job.
4. _________ is my best advice for _________.

Here are the P.A.'s answers:

1. I can’t eat shop-bought bread since I read the ingredients list and one of them was liquid sponge. Yes, you read that correctly, liquid sponge, it's supposed to make the bread fluffier and lighter - NICE! This element baffled me somewhat, as I've never heard of sponge being liquid, what will they come up with next? LOL

2. Ever since I was a teeny tiny toddler, I've loved cats. My paternal grandfather and I used to spend a lot of time together on the farm, and he fed about twenty ferals, and I loved them. There was a big ginger one, he was so cute, I can't remember his name, maybe he didn't have one, but he used to sit on the bails of straw and watch me pootle around the yard in my little red wellies and dungarees trailing after Grampa. Or perhaps big ginge was contemplating taking me down, like a predatory cat on the savannah? 

3. Valeting cars was my first ever job at fourteen; the pay was lousy, and the work was lousy, but I can clean cars with the best of them. Back in the day, when the new registration came out on August first, I used to be surrounded by about fifty to sixty brand new cars all covered in the post factory wax, that needed T-Cutting off the vehicle before they were polished and prepped for delivery, it would take me all of July to get them ready. And while that may not sound bad, there were no power tools to assist me back then so it was pure elbow grease, grit and determination.

4. Just do it, is my best advice for writing. When writing any B Team adventure, I know the beginning and the end, though the ending may change slightly due to what unfolds along the way, and all the stuff in the middle just evolves and reveals itself chapter by chapter until it's done. I think my method of writing is labelled 'panster writing', as I just wing it. But then, that's what The B Team does best! LOL

Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

As it's the last Friday of the month, we're also joining in the furbulous...


Do stop by the meowvellous Mudpie's blog at www.mochasmysteriesmeows.com to join in.

Pet Photo Fails  ©BionicBasil® Smooch's Big Roll Over

Today's fail comes courtesy of Smooch's Big Roll Over in the garden in September 2022!

Please don't ask me what on fluff he was doing, although I do suspect catnip was playing a big part! MOL

Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

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

Amber's Book Review Divider ©BionicBasil®

Amber's Book Reviews #311 ©BionicBasil® Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy

Iron Flame



Empyrean Book Two


by 

Rebecca Yarros

 Here's a little snippet of the book blurb:      

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity." Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College-Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. 

Amber's Book Review Mice Divider ©BionicBasil®
Today, as it's Fiction on Friday, it's my NON-CAT book choice of the month.

And mew may remember back in November I reviewed Fourth Wing by Recca Yarros, and I must admit I was so smitten with it, so much so, that I got my own fluffing dragon, yep it's true. His name is Maximus Inferno the Sixth, but I just call him M.I.6. for short.

We make a great team! MOL

Amber's Book Reviews #297 ©BionicBasil® Amber the Lightning Wielder from The Fourth Wing by Rebecaa Yarros

If mew want to see the epically epic video of my dragon riding and lightning wielding skills, I've got the proof! MOL

Check it out on your favourite social media channel:




Hold onto your dragon reins, folks, because Iron Flame is a wild ride through fire and fury! The second installment of the Empyrean series picks up where the heart-stopping first book left off, and if mew thought Violet Sorrengail had it tough during her first year at Basgiath War College, just wait until mew see what this year has in store for her! Rebecca Yarros has a knack for crafting characters that feel as real as the flames they face. We dive back into Violet's world, where survival is a brutal game, and our heroine's determination is put to the test in the most agonizing ways imaginable. With a new vice commandant whose sole mission seems to be breaking Violet's spirit (with a side of betrayal for good measure), the stakes couldn’t be higher. The story brilliantly captures Violet's evolution. She might start out feeling like the underdog, but her combination of wit and steely resolve is what truly shines. With each grueling challenge she faces, mew can't help but cheer for this fierce dragon rider who’s determined to turn the tables and make her own rules. Plus, the tension with Xaden Riorson keeps the romance alive, giving readers just enough swoon-worthy moments to balance out the devastation of war. The world-building is absolutely stellar; mew can practically feel the heat of dragon fire licking at your heels as mew turn those pages. The secrets lurking at Basgiath War College add layers of intrigue that promise even more explosive discoveries as the series progresses. Book Two is a fast-paced, heart-pounding, roller coaster adventure filled with loyalty, betrayal, and the kind of courage that comes with knowing mew have nothing left to lose.

If mew loved the first installment, this sequel will leave mew despurrate for the next chapter in Violet’s journey. Just make sure mew have some time set aside—as once mew crack open this book, mew won’t want to put it down until mew’ve devoured every last word! So, saddle up and get ready for an unfurgettable flight!

An epically gripping read that will have mew furiously flipping pages to find out how she’s going to outsmart her captors.

A Totally Top Paw Read! Really Top Paw!

I finished the third book in the series back in late January, and after that, I was very happy to learn that there are two more books in the series. This purrleased me greatly, as when I got to the end of Onyx Storm, I thought, there's no fluffing way that can be it, there has to be MORE! MOL

Paperback:  639 pages
Audio:  28 hours 16 mins
Amber's Book Review Library Mice Divider ©BionicBasil®
My Ratings Scale

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

Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

Rating of:

Iron Flame


Overall Enjoyment
Amber's Book Reviews 5 Paw Rating ©BionicBasil®
Amber's Book Review Divider ©BionicBasil®

Other Fun Blog Hops to Join in Today



Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

I'm off to read next week's books and pick the best, as mew know the drill, so many books, so little time! 

Don't forget, if mew are looking for great books with cats, check out the Book Review page, just click the link here or at the top of the page, as that's the place to visit to get your feline fiction fix. 

Until next time...

Keep calm and read more books

Amber 


Amber's Book Reviews Pink Review ©BionicBasil®





Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

Follow us at @BionicBasil® on Instacat

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

Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®
 graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com