valentine's link love

snowdrops in my back garden yesterday

* Have you seen LadyBloggers yet? Check it out. It's a network for.... you've guessed it... lady bloggers! And I'm going to be contributing semi-regularly (time permitting).
* Some beautiful pictures of love over on Sarah Von's yes and yes blog.
* A video of me and some gentle sun salutations (a nice alternative for people like myself who have back and shoulder problems and find chaturanga and astangasana to much of a challenge) over on Emma's Joy of Yoga. The video was taken in my old house/studio in London. Sometimes I miss it.
* The Victorian love story of Robert Browing and Elizabeth Barrett over on The Virtual Victorian.
* Greenspell, who I will be interviewing soon, has some fun hints for an eco-friendly Valentine's Day. Love the eath too people :)
* And finally, not very romantic this one, The Misantropic Yogini ponders body odour over at Damn Good Yoga. What do you think?

on cats & tatts

I read an article this morning about Mickey, a hairless Sphynx cat in Russia who was anethetised for three hours to have an ornamental tattoo inked on his back and chest.

My initial reaction, as yours might be, was WTF! Seriously?

Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of bodyart. I have several tattoos and am about to begin sitting for a new backpiece. However, I have made a conscious choice about all of my tattoos, a lot of thought went into each of them and they each mean something important to me. There are many theories as to why some of us human beans decide to get tattooed, none of which I think can be applied to cats.

A cat is incapable of making this sort of decision. But then, my cats had no choice when it came to them being neutered. Is this really any different? Whilst there is a reason for neutering a domestic moggie, a part of that reason is so that living with the cat is easier for the human. Is it hypocritical as the caretaker of neutered cats for me to take umbrage at somebody tattoing their cat? I can justify my cats being neutered but I cannot justify this. Then there is the argument of whether or not we should interbreed cats to have characteristics that are not really conducive to the cats survival - in this case having no fur.

Is anethetising a cat for a procedure that is purely aesthetic morally right? Is it Ok to be somewhat hypocritical sometimes?

On the other hand, on a person that would be a beautiful tattoo......

I'd be interested to know what you think, dear readers.

Friday Link Love

I am prone to melancholia. After years of thinking I had to be joyful all the time I am starting to come to terms with the fact that a little bit of melancholy teamed with a sarcastic poke in the eye and a big dollop of realism is OK. In fact it's what keeps me grounded. Times of joy in my life are important but like the times of tragedy they pass and life continues in its endless pile of laundry and cat litterboxes that need cleaning. I continue to work on finding balance.

You, dear readers, keep me on my toes as do the blogs I read. So I decided, on this cold winter morning on the fens to share the love (very difficult to pick just five, but please consider yourselves all equally loved!)

1. Fiona Robyn - a published author so always an inspiration, but also a realist as can be seen in this post.
2. Eco-Yogini - her attitude to yoga, saving the earth and life in general is just right - we could do with more of her in the world. Passion without fundamentalism. Awesome.
3. Green Ink - seems to always post something that echoes my thoughts at that moment. Plus she originates from my favourite place in the world :)
4. Rand(om) Bites - next time I'm in Sydney I am so meeting up with this girl for a beer! :D
5. Strictly Writing - inspiration and cynicism mixed in with procrastination. What more can a girl want!

(and a special mention to Just Wafflin' - I love this woman and her funny, passionate very British posts!)