The answer

Some of the kitties have guessed right - it is the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, China. It is the western region of the Gobi Desert. "Taklamakan" means once you enter, you would not be able to get out. The hint in the picture comes from the camels (not ugly horses, Fin! Hehehe!) - the Bactrian camels have two humps as opposed to the African camels which only have one. That points to Asia rather than Africa.

The picture was taken near a small oasis at the foot of the southern slope of the Tienshan Mountains. These camels belong to the few families who live in the oasis. They very generously invited us in for goat milk tea and some (very hard and dry) bread. The bread, once baked, was meant to last for days. There is a huge Bronze age camp site 'nearby' (actually well over an hour of slow bumpy drive in a 4 WD along a dried up river bed and mountain 'track').

The closest city is the fabled Silk Road town of Hami.....


Ten years ago, nomads were still riding along the dusty roads of the town where very colourful carts were set up, selling anything from handcrafted daggers to fur-lined vests and hats. Now the place has turned into tree-lined avenues of shops, apartment blocks and public buildings - a typical Chinese city. SS mourns the passing of a era.

Within the present city, only small remnants of the past can be seen, such as the Mausoleum of the Muslim rulers of the past.....


Just a short distance outside the city, nature claims its own. The desert pf Lop Nor reigns supreme...


The ruined city of Loulan is 100km ahead.

This is the base of a ruin in the desert from the Han Dysnasty (~200BC-200AD). A bronze age burial was found nearby, complete with a beautifully preserved mummy, textiles and implements.

The temperature was over 50C (122F) at the time. SS, what were you doing out there? Did you want to turn into a dried up mummy too?

Guess where I am

I decide to visit some of the places that my SS went to in the course of her work. Where do you think I am?

Happy Chinese New Year

Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year.
So here it is to efurrycat and his/her family:
Have a Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year!

Sweltering Saturday

The day started off well enough. Here I was napping in the morning sun at 6am.....

By 9.30am the temperature has gone up to 86F. I retreated into the house for a rest.

At 2.30pm the thermometer hit 105F and rising, time to go into the cooler interior.

On days like this, the only thing a kitty can do is to lick ice water and munch on cooled ham bits. Definitely far too hot for snuggling of any sort!

Maybe the kitties in the northern hemisphere could send some of their chilly wind over and we would all be happy.

My Sisfurs

Some time ago I was tagged by Diamond about what I got out of blogging. My SS has been rather slow in helping me to respond. Now I am going to do just the first part of it. Others will follow.

When I first started blogging, I didn't know there was a whole world of kitty bloggers out there and I just talked to myself for many months before I met Momo, a doggie who shares my name. Then, Karl introduced me to the CB where I received a very warm welcome from extremely friendly and caring kitties. From there I met some great kitties and furries, some of whom have become my sisfurs.

I am a very lucky kitty - despite being a single kitty in the house and have no biological siblings I now have two sets of sisfurs coming from all parts of the world.

First, they are my kitty and doggie sisfurs - Sassy, Asta and Momo

click on the picture to biggify

Then, there are my sisters-in floof, the NFC gang which consists of Fin, Miss Kitty both from the US and Siena from Germany...

Please visit them - they maintain great blogs and are very entertaining.

Thankyou ++++ to my all my sisfurs for adopting me and giving me such love and support. I really enjoy your companionship on our adventures and travels.

The next installment will be of my special friends. Stay tuned!!!

Stop press

Yay for the recent CCSI show - The Momomo Caper.

Ms Samantha Black, the Chief Repurrrorter gives this Episode a A+ for excellent writing, great directing, wonderful casting and an exciting story! She gives it a House of the (Mostly) Black Cats 5 Tail Salute!!


You can see her excellently written review in:

http://jcfloresinc.blogspot.com/2009/01/review-of-episode-4-in-ccsi-series.html?showComment=1232321580000#c1660404047890741339


I would also like to announce that I have become a member of the Floof and Fur group and have posted my introductory post. Please visit us floofies there.

Snow Kitty

Since my SS is bizzy with her work, I teleported over to take lessons from my sissy Asta on snow sports. These are pictures that she took of me on the slopes.....




Not bad for a kitty who has never seen snow, eh?

Hiding places

A kitty has to have her purrsonal space. While many of my hideouts are secret and known only to me, here are some of the ones I allow to be seen...

Under SS's car


Under the dining chair


My favourite - in the foliage

To Daisy

I am not mentioning any contests but just to say to Daisy that you are the best and I have enjoyed being your furriend and reading your blog! Thanks to Skeezix for making the graphic.

My favourite places

Here are some of my favourite spots to chill out...

Up on top of the roof

On gran's rocking chair


Curling up on the Turkish prayer mat

Just love any new boxes, even if it is too small for me


Soaking up the sun in the garden


Up in the jacaranda tree

What are some of yours?

Friday Fun for the Sisters-in-Floof

The SIFs decided to teleport over to join Siena for a frolic in the snow....

l. to r. Moi, Siena, Fin, Miss Kitty

Put on your winter coat and snow boots and join us for some fun !!!

Wordless Wednesday

Tippy Toosday

There is visitor - another tuxi girlkitty. Unlike my last tuxi visitor who has not returned since, this one is a well groomed and well fed kitty who does not touch my food. She only comes for short visits and runs away very quickly whenever SS approaches her. We nicknamed her "Tippy" - after the white spot at the tip of her tail.

Bedtime rituals

I am a kitty of regular habits and as such I have my bedtime rituals:

First, I would get on the bed and act cute...


Then it's time for chin scratching and arm cuddling....


Followed by finger sucking.....



Then it's off to Zzzzzz with my toys and SS's old dressing gown (aka my security blanket)

Oh, there is not enough room for you on the bed, SS? There is a basket at the end of the bed, a little small but it's quite cosy there too, you know.

When a furriend comes....

Dr Tweety teleported over to have a New Year Drink with me. Perfect day at the sunny back porch....


I think we overdid it just a bit.....


Happy New Year efurrybuddy!!!
Come and join us for a drink and some nip or just a snooze on the lawn!!!

Happy New Year to all

A Happy New Year to all!!!
Thankyou for being my furriends!!!!