Hellooooooooo!!!! We are so pleased to introduce our gracious selves to you....We are Mabel, Minnie, and Merle, and we come to you via Merrie Olde England! We have quite an interesting background, only PART of which we will share!

I, Mabel, am....I know you won't believe this...the mother of Minnie and Merle. I know I do not look my age....my secret: While other cats lapped cream, I used it on my complexion instead!!

I was born in humble surroundings, in a blacksmithy's shop in a small English village. I had several siblings who were quite content to remain rural, but I know I was destined for more...I yearned to see the Queen!!! One day, a drummer (you Yanks call them Traveling Salesmen) came to our hamlet, accompanied by his dashing assistant, a striped tomcat named Puss n' Boots. Puss and I formed an alliance, and when he and his drummer left town, I was perched in the wagon with them. I never looked back after that.

When we arrived in London Town, and there Puss did indeed take me to see the Queen! Vicki, as she asked me to call her, took me right up on her ample lap. Price Albert, too, was just charmed. In time, Puss and I produced two beauteous daughters, Minnie and Merle, and although the bloom did eventually wear off the relationship between Puss and myself, he remained a good friend and supportive father.

As my girls grew into young cathood, it became evident that they shared my wanderlust and sense of adventure. Minnie, my eldest had taken to strolling around the Thames waterfront and there she met a ship captain who invited her on his voyage to the New World. She accepted, with the proviso that she be allowed to bring along her family. While dear Puss elected to remain British to the bone, Merle and I leapt at the chance for a new life.

The voyage in itself was uneventful, but our good captain began looking quite peaked and developed a hacking cough. The ship's doctor ruled his condition a lung malady and ordered him to hie to the salubrious climate of the Texas Hill Country. So, instead of our dreams of New York, we found ourselves living in the small town of sheep farmers, herdsmen, and cowboys! My dears....our disappointment was intense. We could have stayed in my own wee Yorkshire village!

Our attitudes soon changed, however, when Minnie was introduced to a young bon vivant named Peter...being half-Scottish (you'll read about him in an upcoming story), he is President of the local chapter of the DFBE...Displaced Felines of the British Empire. He in turn introduced Minnie to his American family who reside at that charming little shop called Creations, and soon the three of us were part and parcel of that merry band of Victorian Parlous Cats! We are right at home, and are delighted to bring a bit of Old World Graciousness to this disparate group. We are also hopeful that hearing our cultured English accent will curb the Texas Twang of Kathy and Julie.