Good evening!
In case you missed it, the preview of the 2021 Pets of Balloon Juice Calendar A was this morning.
Please check the links in the sidebar to see which calendar and which month(s) your pets are in.
Here’s a preview of the 2021 Pets of Balloon Juice Calendar B. Please check for your pets and make sure that all your pets are there, that the names are right, that we have the right name with the right pet, etc.
If you asked for a heart or a rainbow for a pet who is no longer with us, please check for that, too. We are using all hearts and instead of hearts and rainbows, so I hope that isn’t too much of a disappointment for anyone.
Click on each image and then use Ctrl+ to enlarge so you can read everything. Then hit the back arrow to go back to the post.
YOU DEFINITELY WANT TO CHECK BEFORE YOU BUY, BECAUSE ONCE YOU HAVE PLACED THE ORDER, WE CAN’T FIX ANY ISSUES YOU FIND LATER. Well, we can fix them, but then you’d have to buy another calendar in order to get the fixed version.
These are really low-resolution for posting on the blog, but the calendar itself is very high resolution.
Cover: (another gorgeous cover photo is by Stephanie L)
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:
eddie blake
all good!
Lapassionara
These are wonderful, as were the photos for calendar A that I saw this morning. Thank you, Watergirl! You rock!
BruceFromOhio
Ready to order in 3 .. 2 ..
WaterGirl
@Lapassionara: Don’t forget Beth! She’s the one who gets to do the actual design.
WaterGirl
@BruceFromOhio: I knew that had to be you before I saw your name. :-)
People have tonight to let us know about any changes.
In the morning, Beth will make any changes and then upload the calendars to Cafe Press and make them order-able.
Not to pat ourselves on the back, but okay, I will anyway…I’m pretty pleased that we set Dec 1 for our deadline, and we’re pretty damn close.
WaterGirl
@Lapassionara: No pets for you?
WaterGirl
@BruceFromOhio: The calendars are $25 each, but if you buy Calendar A and Calendar B as a set, that is $45.
Black_onion
This looks great
I didn’t mention it at the time, but it was the loss of Chloe that paved the way for me to ‘rescue’ Grace in February from this very website that I lurk at daily. She’s still happy, healthy and enjoying the extra human time at home due to covid. I’ll submit her next year, perhaps.
Ruckus
I think I commented in Betty’s post about Badger about buying both calendars and giving one to a friend, as they have had cats since I’ve known them, which is over 45 yrs. They have always had 2 cats, the two they have now are getting pretty geezer, they really are not looking forward to this pair’s last days, they talked about getting more but don’t know if they would be around to see them through. That’s not something I’ve had to think about, yet. But probably should because I expect to find another pet when I retire in a few months.
Benw
Shelby and Hudson look great! Thanks WG and Beth! You rock to the tip top
BruceFromOhio
@WaterGirl: you are doing a wonderful thing, thank you so much! The pages look splendid, and I know they are going to be greatly appreciated.
Lapassionara
@WaterGirl: I wish! Again, thank you!
Tim in SF
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but what’s with the harshly aliased text overlaying the images?
rikyrah
Awe????
WaterGirl
@Tim in SF:
I don’t understand what you mean by that. Can you explain?
zhena gogolia
@Black_onion: Chloe is gorgeous.
WaterGirl
@Tim in SF: Did you see this line up top in the post?
BruceFromOhio
@WaterGirl: awesome, I got a list of animal lovers who have been very good girls and boys this year.
debbie
Bet it was fun to do the layouts.
RoonieRoo
3 thing:
1) All my babies are there and good.
2) Looking at both the calendars I am so impressed with the pet grouping choices in the months. Someone has a great eye for balance and pattern.
3) I love how many brown tabbies the jackles have.
WaterGirl
@Black_onion: No guarantees, but if you send me a photo of Grace, IF she would fit in one of the themes for a month and IF there’s room in that month, we could maybe sneak Grace in this year. :-)
WaterGirl
@debbie: @RoonieRoo:
That would be Beth! So talented.
HinTN
WaterGirl – You’ve got all my guys names right. In August, you could put a heart by Abby and, this is very late-breaking news, Lightning. Thanks for all your work to make this happen. I’m in for one from Column A and one from Column B.
Miss Bianca
All good here. Wow! These are going to be nice! Thank you!!
emrys
All good. Many thanks for all the work.
JanieM
These are so wonderful….Every month makes me smile, but “Oops” in April made me laugh out loud.
frosty
I love the two cover photos!
ETA in honor of the new administration, next year’s cover should have Cats and Dogs Living Together LOL.
Dan B
Impressive layout! A graphic designer friend was impressed, even intrigued by the layout. The number of pets must be close to 450. Oh my!
Thanks for raising money for the shelter.
WaterGirl
@HinTN: You hadn’t said you wanted hearts but we guessed that you might want them for your guys who had gone over the rainbow bridge. We got the heart by Abby with Lincoln in February, but we missed the heart for Abby in August.
I am so sorry to hear about Lightning, such a beautiful boy. I was always happy every time I saw his photo. (I assumed a boy, anyway.)
Odie Hugh Manatee
Looks good to me! Quite the lot of pets we all have here… ?
HinTN
@Ruckus: We have had a wonderful life with this troika of big dogs since the early naughts. We got a chocolate and black brother and sister pair in 2003 and then they added the blonde when he showed up at the bottom of the driveway in 2008. We had Black Brown and Beige for several good years, but big labs are notorious for being relatively short lived. This past Saturday the last of the troika, the blonde, came to that place in life where we knew it was time and he went across the Rainbow Bridge.
I say all that because the void in our lives is compounded by the knowledge that we don’t have 12 (or so) years for another run like that. Enjoy your opportunity to let that companion choose you!
WaterGirl
@HinTN: Two hearts added, new August up top.
HinTN
@WaterGirl: Yes, he was a great guy. Thanks
raven
@HinTN: AIn’t that the truth. My wife is only 62 so maybe but me, fat chance.
HinTN
@WaterGirl: Thanks. Beautiful work!
WaterGirl
@frosty: The cover photos are amazing. Same photographer, of course.
WaterGirl
@Dan B: Beth will be happy to hear that! (As am I, but she gets the credit.)
About 350 photos, and lots of photos with 2 or more pets.
Now you see why we went with 2 calendars this year. The pictures would have been so small… we wouldn’t have been able to see anybody!
beth
@debbie: so much fun! as was getting to work with watergirl again this year.
WaterGirl
@HinTN: There are surely some grown-up labs out there that would love to love you guys.
WaterGirl
@JanieM: Oops is perfect.
beth
@Dan B: thanks, dan! i always say my graphic designer super power is fitting 10lbs of text/images/charts into a 5lb publication that you’ll still want to read.
i look forward to this project every year. having watergirl keep me on a deadline has only made the experience that much more fun and meaningful.
WaterGirl
I’m closing the computer for the night, but will check back first thing in the morning.
WaterGirl
@BruceFromOhio: Excellent! In time for Christmas. :-)
Ruckus
@HinTN:
Sorry about all this.
And yes I am thinking, at least the possibility as I’m only 3 yrs younger than my buddy, and while I could have a lot more years, one never knows, especially with the health issues I’ve had. But then having pets over the years has been a great part of life, even the ornery bastard, a cranky old fart (and yes I get the significance of that bit) who was as loyal as he was ornery and cranky. Retirement is around the corner, and I am far more than ready for it.
HinTN
@beth:
You done good. Thanks for that great work.
Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA)
@JanieM: That’s my girl! She got her name because I went to the county shelter looking to adopt a dog, but ended up with a kitten. Oops.
Watergirl and Beth, my guys look great. Thank you for all you’ve done — I can’t wait to order!
Nicole
@WaterGirl: They both look great! You and Beth are amazing.
Did JSF ever explain his issue with the lack of bull terriers in May in the A calendar? Because I wanted to ask him what mine is, chopped liver? (Maybe pit bull terriers don’t count? ;) )
catclub
@JanieM: yeah
Tim in SF
@WaterGirl:
Wikipedia explains aliasing and anti-aliasing:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliasing
Every bit of text I see that is overlaid on images is harshly aliased. Note that this is not a resolution issue, as the images of the animals are decently rendered. At no point should one see “steps” on letters. Look at the cover image for the calendar – you can really see it aliasing on “the pets of” and on “calendar” since that font has so many angles. The cats behind the letters are razor sharp, so it’s definitely not a resolution issue.
JanieM
@Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA): Great story, and thanks to you and everyone else who shared their pet pics.
BruceFromOhio
@beth: the pages look great, well done! And many thanks!!
artem1s
love all the tuxedo kitties in January! great job!
Faithful Lurker
Water Girl and Beth, the calendars look great. We’re in our space and looking good. Thanks for your hard work. Diva and me.
sab
@WaterGirl: No thanks to any of us except you and beth.
sab
beth:
There is a cat in October above Finn and beside Isis who doesn’t have a name.
Lyrebird
@Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA): And the name is perfect! So many adorable pets here, but Oops stole the show for me!
beth
@sab: good catch! we’ll fix first thing tomorrow.
Kristine
Oops was aptly named.
cain
@Black_onion:
Chloe looks bad ass, she’s very attractive and interesting to look at.
CaseyL
@Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA): It’s not just her name – it’s her expression in the photo. Perfect!
Both calendars are wonderful. I am consistently gobsmacked by the love and care that goes into making them: love for our critters, love for the project, and love for the rescue organizations the proceeds go to.
Thanks so much, WaterGirl and Beth!
sab
My husband reads the front page but never the comments. Much to my surprise he is super excited to have our cats on the calendar.
sab
Would it work to have a once a month post where we comment on that month’s pet pics? I love so many of these pictures. And I love the choices made for who was in a particular month.
grandmaBear
Our three are present and accounted for. Thanks!
Butch
Don’t see any of my guys. I guess my photos didn’t make it?
manyakitty
These look lovely. Also got quite the unexpected but cleansing ugly cry when I saw my dearly missed Schrodinger. Ordering.
THANK YOU WATER GIRL AND BETH. much love to all
WaterGirl
@sab: Name added and October image updated up top. thanks.
WaterGirl
@sab: What a nice surprise!
WaterGirl
@sab: That’s a great idea! I will plan to do that, so if I forget, please remind me.
WaterGirl
@Butch: Your guys are in Calendar A. Click the link to that up top or in the sidebar.
WaterGirl
We plan to upload the calendar to Cafe Press around 11am, so if you haven’t done so already, please check your pets in the calendars and let us know if there are any changes needed.
There is a Calendar section in the sidebar. The spreadsheets tell you whether your guys are in Calendar A or Calendar B, and what month they are in. The bottom two link take you to the threads with the calendar images so you can check those.
Thank you!
Butch
@WaterGirl: How did I overlook that? I just figured I would try again next year….I will be ordering several!
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
All good!
WaterGirl
@Butch: We would never leave you out! (Not on purpose, anyway.)
Sis
This looks wonderful! Thank you so much!!! I can’t wait to order!!!
Joseph S
The entire calendar is amazing, great work. The photos and arrangement of Aristotle and our new boy Socrates are perfect.
Many thanks to you and Beth for an extraordinary effort.
Aleta
Thank you ?WaterGirl and ?Beth.
@Joseph S: Beautiful pups. (Sorry for your loss.) Looks like you found another wonderful dog.