A few words from me…the Island Cats Mom…
2019 is coming to a close…and with the end of the year comes our blogoversary. Our blog began in December 2007…which means we’ve been blogging for about 12 years now. I know…it’s quite an accomplishment. Many blogs never last that long.
Ernie “helping” me with the blog
So much has happened over the last 12 years…with this past year bringing the biggest changes of all for us. First, we moved to a new house. One on the water…which has always been our dream. Then shortly thereafter…the change we weren’t expecting. We lost Wally. And life hasn’t been the same since.
I admit…blogging hasn’t been quite as enjoyable for me this past year. Our blog is a light-hearted one and I’ve always striven to keep our posts upbeat. But when you lose one of your inspirations, it’s a bit of a struggle to continue to keep things going. But continue we did because I know Ernie and Zoey still have much to share…as do I. One thing I will always cherish is the 12 years of memories documented by the blog through the cats’ photos and stories.
A few years ago, we started a blogoversary tradition of doing a commentathon to benefit a worthy animal shelter, rescue group or animal cause. And we’re continuing that tradition this year. For every comment left on this blog post through January 3, 2020, we will donate 50 cents to the Winn Foundation, an organization that is dedicated to the health and welfare of cats. It has become one of my favorites because of the research they do to help improve the lives of cats.
I’m grateful for all the love and support we have had from our readers and friends these past 12 years, especially this last year. The cat blogging community is a special one and we are happy to be a part of it. Thank you for visiting us and letting us entertain you and put a smile on your face. But most of all we want to thank you for your friendship and the love you’ve shown us. We ♥ you, too.
63 Responses to “That Was The Year That Was”
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What a wonderful post. Brought tears to my eyes talking about Wally. We sure do miss him but Ernie and Zoey have done a great job filling in. We sure wish all of you a really Happy New Year.
Oh, how we all miss Wally, too. He was part of every day for many and we love hearing from his good friend, Ernie who reminds us of sweet Wally moments. And what a great cause you have chosen…hope this comment helps, too.
First, happy blogoversary! Twelve years is a long time; kudos to you.
Second, I absolutely understand about unwelcome changes and the struggle to keep things going. After I lost Annie back in February 2011, the “oomph” went out of me regarding the Fuzzy Tales blog, and of course I let it peter out and die. So you’re doing a fantastic “job” of keeping “The Island Cats” going, and keeping it positive and upbeat too.
I wish you all a very, very happy new year, and hope that 2020 will be a wonderful one for you and your family, that it will be filled with Light and Love and hope and joy.
Purrs and hugs from Derry and me
Congrats on the milestone… I sympathize with you… i knew how hard losing thompson would be on me, but I hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be on Theo and Diego-san. I think Theo is still trying to find where Thompson is hiding. I’m sure the same is true especially for ernie…
Happy Blogovesary dear friends, we totally love your blog. We sure miss that special Wally and we know all about those unexpected losses. Hugs and love from all of us.
Happy Blogoversary!
We are impressed at your longevity, and are so glad that we found you!
See you in 2020.
Happy Blogoversary! We sure miss Wally but are glad that Ernie and Zoey are still blogging.
The Florida Furkids and Mom Sharon
Happy Blogoversary. I really enjoy reading your blogs and look forward to many more. Here’s hoping that 2020 will bring you many good things. I really miss my furrend Wally.
WOW….wonderful post. I too had tears as I read through it – losing a “mainstay” in the family like Wally (and like Sammy) is something that definitely leaves a permanent mark. Heart and soul. But blogging just keeps us moving along and our friends help us through and before you know it, we are living with the change. We love your blog – always have – it’s uplifting, fun, SINCERE, kind, supportive and every other superlative in the book! Don’t stop. We love your new home on the water and the way Ernie and Zoey are continuing the fun outlook on life that you ALL have. Thanks too for being our friend – we don’t think we’d still be blogging if not for FRIENDS………..
Love, Pam and Teddy too (with Angel Sammy smiling)
I am sorry you lost sweet Wally in 2019. How kind of you to continue with a comment-a-thon for an excellent charity.
Happy Blogiversary – 12 years is quite impressive! We are so happy you plan to keep on going. I know exactly what you mean about the changes and how tough your loss of Wally has been. In fact, this post is making me cry! Our loss of Sam this year brought yet another change to our blog that has been so difficult. I often question keeping things going; but in the end I feel like losing the blog would be just yet another loss that would hurt, and leave me feeling lost.
I hope the new year brings more happy things than sad for everyone, and we too are so grateful for the friends we’ve made. In the end, I think that’s exactly what keeps a lot of us going. ♥
What a beautiful and touching post. We adore you and are so glad you are continuing to make us smile. 12 years, what an accomplishment! And thank you for the commentathons, it is such a wonderful thing to do. I am so sorry for the loss of your dear Wally, hugs.
I miss Wally too but I would miss Zoey and Ernie if they retired. I hope to s=keep seem]ing them for a long long time.
I don’t have a kitty right now as I am away from home too much, so your blog is very welcome. Love the kitties and really miss sweet Wally as everyone does.
Keep up the good work, and enjoy life on your island. Here’s wishing you all a happy, peaceful New Year.
Hey Ernie…I 1000% understand what you dictated to Mom.
After Angel Madi passed, I was at loose ends and floundering like a fish out of water.;wondering whatever can I do w/o her. She was 1 million% the soul and inspiration of our Blog. She enjoyed posing and I enjoyed writing. I knew I had to keep on just so the Diva Angel would not come back to dole out demerits by jumping on my bladder in the we hours of the morning.
What helped me the most was to keep talking about her. She will always be a part of this blog some how. Many hugs to you all. Thank the lady with the yellow hair for caring on.
Happy 12th blogaversary.
Hugs Cecilia
Happy Blogversary and hope you keep it coming. Yes we remember Wally. You don’t have to blog everyday you know! Just when you feel like it! Happy New Year now as I may not be on the net then.
What an inspiration your blog is, always has been, and always will be. There’s a handsome orange angel purring down at you all today, and every day. Sending you all many, many purrs!
Congratulations on 12 years! It has seemed a little emptier here without Wally, though it’s always nice to see Ernie and Zoey.
Congratulations on 12 years of blogging. I understand so well about how to keep going when you lose a beloved family member. When Eric died I had no heart to continue blogging, but knew if I stopped I would lose contact with all the wonderful friends I had made.
Flynn still had his adventures so we continued about 3 times a week. When he left to join Eric I knew I wanted to keep the blog going for my own memories and anyone else who wanted to read them. I was amazed at how many people do come each week to see my memories of my precious boys.
Wally will always be loved and missed, and always an Island Cat.
It’s hard to blog when you’ve lost a family member so precious. I’m glad you’re still at it though and you’ve been blogging a very long time.
Have a purrfect day and week. My best to your peeps. ♥
We all miss Wally, too, but love seeing Ernie and Zoey and very much enjoy your blog.
Congratulations on your 12 years. It’s a wonderful idea for helping a charity. I understand how hard it is to continue posting when you lose a furbaby. I hope 2020 is a good year for you and the kitties.
Sue this is an incredibly special post! First, Happy Happy Blogoversary, 12 years is nothing to sneeze at and yep that is a huge accomplishment especially because you blog a lot! I am happy you are keeping things going even though we miss Wally terribly. While both of my boys are here (knock on wood), with Dakota’s health issues this past year and the fact that he will be 13 in February (old for a woofie), it has been extremely hard for me to do ANYTHING on his blog. That, in turn has greatly affected Cody’s because we have always tried to keep our blog rather light hearted as well. (We created our blog with the intent of NOT being “heavy”)……and if I am not in the right frame of mind to blog…well, Cody’s is taking a hit too. It’s all good though. I blog when and how I want to……not looking for anything…I simply returned to the reason why I began blogging in the first place. Just for fun. The rest? Nope, not interested. Sending (((hugs)) after an incredibly rough year for you (even with the blessing of your new dream home)………Wally is greatly missed by all! Here’s to a much kinder 2020!
I’m glad you kept it up. I rarely comment, but I always look! We lost both our furbabies, within two days of each other in July (unrelated issues). That was very hard on us, and I cannot imagine having a blog and continuing it after that happened. Because our house was so quiet (first time in 25 years with no cats), I was very depressed. Reading these blogs about cats and watching videos really helped me heal enough to be able to adopt two more. Thank you for all you do and congratulation on your Blogoversary – it touches others in ways you can’t imagine!
Happy Blogoversary! We miss reading about Wally, but we still enjoy reading about Ernie and Zoey. We hope you get a lot of comments for your commentathon.
You started to blog in 2007 and we did in 2008, and yes, there have been so many changes over the years. So many people have stopped blogging ad so many beloved friends have left us. You lost Wally this year ad we lost Beebs. They were both such a big part of our blogs and its true that it’s not quite the same but, as you so rightly point out, the many memories stored in our blogs are such a rich reflection of the past years. We are happy that you are still blogging and wish you many more years! Happy Blogoversary
Purrs,
Tama and Genji (and #1)
Happy Blogoversary! Thanks for sharing your kitties with us. Wally is missed.
What a lovely post and happy Blogoversary! We miss Wally too but glad you will keep blogging!
Happy Blogoversary! Twelve years is a pawsome accomplishment. Our mom bean understands the difficulty when a beloved member of the family like Wally leaves us. She has been helping us less and less with the blog posts, so we is happy your mom is still hanging in there. Purrs to all.
Wishing you all a furry fun and happy 2020!
Con-cat-ulations on your longevity, and here’s one for the commentathon for Winn Feline! It is difficult, especially that first year of blogging after a loss, to look back to what was happening a year ago when often things were fine. We enjoy reading Ernie’s and Zoey’s posts too, since we’re a bunch a housepanthers and formerly feral kitties!
Happy Blogoversary! Twelve years is certainly an accomplishment to be proud of. Even though Ernie isn’t on earth anymore, he is in your heart and can inspire you from there. Happy New Year, friends!
12 years is an amazing achievement and we wish you many more. No one who reads your blog will ever forget precious Wally.
I appreciate you bringing a smile to my face every time you blog something.
I don’t comment much … but I do read whenever possible!
(and I was going to comment this even before you mentioned the comment-a-thon! so that’s just the sprinkles on top!)
Happy Blogoversary – and many more ! We miss Wally too, but still want to follow the adventures of Ernie & Zoey. And maybe Wally is working on sending a new cat your way. Purrs for the New Year.
Happy Blogoversary! We’re glad you’re here.
Happy Blogoversary! You’ve been one of our go-to blogs since we’ve started blogging and found you guys.TW has even gotten to meet the Blond Haired Lady.
Happy Blogoversary! We understand about having a tuff year too – hoping for more happiness and less sadness in 2020.
Happy Blogoversary. Derby started way back in 2005, long before I showed up. Mum probably would have stopped except I wouldn’t let her stop blogging. I need to show myself to my fans.
Congratulations! Twelve years is a tremendous accomplishment.
I am sorry that I did not discover this 12 years ago. Always wonderful stories, and love the pictures of the outdoors of the new home.
We love the Winn Foundation here! Happy blogoversary. We still miss Wally too. My blog has been around since the beginning of 2003 – even before my mother was born! It’s way different than what it started out to be.
We detect a tiredness. It may be sadness, it may be from years of blogging. Sometimes we feel the same way for weeks. But we always find we want to post again.
We hope that will be the same for you.
Happy Blogovesary, 12 years blogging is amazing ! We still miss Wally too. We love your blog, and we’re glad you decided to keep blogging. Purrs and hugs from all of us.
Congrats on 12 blogyears! We’re right behind you, even though I’ve only had a paw in it for a couple. Dad knows what you’re saying firsthand like so many others. When he lost his dear old Orbit he couldn’t even think about continuing. It took a couple of years and then I came along, but he still thinks of his old bud all the time. He’d wanted to do a five year post this past month, but he still can’t bring himself to look at Orbit’s pictures (of which there are so, so many) without his heart getting sad. Anyway, Congratulations, and Happy New Year!
Anniversaries can be a mixed blessing. A cause for celebration and reaching out to friends made all through those years, but it’s also a sad time since we miss those very friends who made us smile. Ernie and Zoey and mom, we wish you all the best in the New Year! – Tomx, Bridget and housekeeper/mom Julie
Hope you have a joyful New Year. Today Ariel passed away….Dec31,2019
Twelve years is quite a milestone! We miss Wally, too, and understand blogging hasn’t been as enjoyable. We hope looking back at blog posts with him makes you smile.
You are very kind to do commentathon for the animal shelter. We wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy New Year xo
Wow, 12 years! What a wonderful milestone to reach. Yours is one of the first cat blogs I started following when I started blogging. I’m glad to have found your blog and gotten to know your wonderful kitties. Looking forward to more to come in 2020. Happy New Year, friends!
We are so glad we have known you all since we started blogging. We miss Wally too. Wishing you all a very Happy Mew Year
Happy 12th Bloggieversary Ernie an Zoey an Miss Sue!!! You are doin grate….wee will nevurr furget darlin Wally!!! Purromise!
Iss 15 yeerss fore LadyMew bloggin with all THE ‘Angel’ catss an mee now….
Happy Mew Yeer deer frendss!
**purrsss** BellaDharma an Love LadyMew
Pee S: Wee gotted yore nice card an say ‘Thanx!’
Pee S S: Wee gotted HACKED Deecemburr 22nd an just gotted back onlien today….sorry wee missed so much…..
Happy 12th..always nice to see what you’re up to.
Concatulations on your 12 years of blogging adventure and we’re so glad we known you all for quiet some time now 🙂 Angel Wally lives on in our heart too and in our thoughts Ernie and Zoey are still ‘the three musketeers’. Soft Pawkisses as this mustn’t have been easy to write <3
Twelve years is a wonderful accomplishment. Mom says she won’t make it that long. It is such a wonderful way to preserve all the memories of our fur children, however. We too were totally saddened by Wally getting his wings. He will always be remembered and missed. Wishing you many, many more years of blogging. XOCK, angel Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy and Sawyer
Congratulations on your blogoversary! Thank you for sharing your and your fur babies lives with everyone. I always look forward to seeing an email that you and Ernie and Zoey have a new blog post. I miss Wally too. Wednesday’s are not the same without “Everyone wants t know- what’s that Wally doing?” Guaranteed smile to start the day.
My 22 year old sweet Tropical Island Cat Zipper cross the rainbow bridge on December 9. He had an aggressive eye cancer for 4 weeks. It’s hard to lose our beloved fur babies.
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou 2020 to you and Ernie and Zoey 🙂
Happy blogoversary, dear friends. Indeed, 12 years is a long time to be blogging, and we are so grateful for you and your friendship. Thank you for sharing your lives with all of us. We miss Wally very much, too, but we agree that Ernie and Zoey and you still have lots to say. And we are confident that Wally agrees from the Bridge. Big hugs and love to you all.
I always enjoy your blog. Thank you for sharing your piece of paradise with us all.
Your blog is always fun and though we miss coming around as often as we would like, we do love seeing and reading all about things at The Island Cats!
Concats on blogging for as long as you have.
Hugs and love!
Pipo & Petcretary Ingrid
And wags and wiggles from Dalton & Benji
Congrats on the huge milestone and I understand the ups and downs of blogging so long. The Winn foundation is a wonderful organization. May 2020 bring the winds of positive change
Happy Blogoversary
Congratulations on the anniversary! So nice of you to donate.
Happy Blogoversary I am happy I found your blog!
Wally was a real muse and his loss is felt by us all.
I struggled for inspiration after I lost Dash but I know you have two special cats supervising your home right now and we always enjoy seeing them.
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