A lady visits. On artists and cats

I've had a lodger for a while, a secret one... It's a lady, ladybird, actually!

Assuming she might be both thirsty and hungry, I treated the lady with some water first. Then I added a single tiny crystal of sugar into the water. I think she liked it.
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Reading about Evelyn and William De Morgan I came across a few names I simply had to check out. Frederic Walker was one of them. This idyllist painter and illustrator died of tuberculosis when he was only 35. Here is an article about him and his art. His connections with other artists of his times reveal a fondness of the domestic furry creatures: "Walker was friendly with a number of influential Victorian painters, including Millais who painted Walker's beloved cat Eel-eye in his work 'Flood.' ".
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Something for a change: I discovered that Arabic oud and Swedish nyckelharpa can sound good together, click here to listen.
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This poem comes from the net. I wish I knew who wrote it... It may be from a blog I discovered and then lost today... Can anybody help me find it?

• PHENOMENAL CAT

  A long, long time ago,
  In the land of idiot boys,
  There lived a cat, a phenomenal cat,
  Who loved to wallow all day.

  No one bothered him
  As he sat content in his tree.
  He just lived to eat: it kept him fat,
  And that's how he wanted to stay.

  Though he was big and fat,
  All the world was good to him,
  And he pointed out on the map
  All the places he had been...

  Fum, fum, diddle-um da
  La la la la, la-la la la

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This memorable anecdote about two famous historical figures I am going to 'borrow' from the blog I encountered recently! 'First Known When Lost' is the blog title and I may want to follow it.

The anecdote arises out of a visit made by Johnson to the new villa of David Garrick (1717-1779) at Hampton Court.  Garrick started out as a student of Johnson's in Lichfield.  The two then became friends, and they left Lichfield together for London in 1737.  Garrick eventually became the most celebrated actor in England, and made a fortune. 

"Soon after Garrick's purchase at Hampton Court he was showing Dr. Johnson the grounds, the house, Shakespeare's temple, etc.; and concluded by asking him, 'Well, Doctor, how do you like all this?'  'Why, it is pleasant enough,' growled the Doctor, 'for the present; but all these things, David, make death very terrible.'"

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And I just cannot resist sharing this poem:



Musings of a Failed Taxidermist is the source of the above page.  Good stuff!