A Sad Good-Bye

What a long day it has been. My cat, Chloe, has been in failing health for a few weeks. I have never been able to take her to the vet. You see, she's a feral cat who came into my life 10 1/2 years ago on a cold December day. She was on the porch and my mother opened the door. In she walked as if she knew she belonged here. Never mind we had two other cats who hissed at her. She ignored them and became part of the family. She was Mom's cat from that moment on. That is until nine months later when my mother became paralyzed from a fall and landed in a nursing home. Then Chloe tolerated me. She allowed me to feed her, but she ignored me most of the time. She and the other two cats became friends. If they could do it, why couldn't I? Well, it took about 8 years, but Chloe finally decided that it was acceptable for her to jump on me and have me pet her. As a matter of fact, she liked it!

Today Chloe informed me that it was time; time to say good-bye. This morning we made Chloe's one and only trip to the vet. I wrapped her up in a towel and held her tightly as my cousin drove me to the animal hospital. She seemed calm, not trying to wiggle free. She was a very good girl. I had often wondered what would happen if I really had to get her to the vet. Today the feral Chloe was just plain Chloe; my cat. As she drifted away, I told her how glad I was that she finally won my heart and I hers. Good-bye, Chloe. Thanks for the special moments. I'll cherish them along with the memories of those feline family menbers who have gone before you: Smoke, Amber, Lucas and Abby.

May God lead you to where you should be.
Di

Hello. Yes, it's been a while. Not much. How 'bout you?

I don't think anyone has ever read this blog. I've not told anyone about it and, if anyone has accidentally come across it, one look at the post dates would most likely make them click NEXT BLOG. That's entirely my fault. I have cards to post and things to say, but I just don't get around to doing anything about it. I am occasionally creative, honestly, but I am not motivated to let people know about it. I'm making a mid-year's resolution to rectify that. Perhaps mid-year is a good time to begin. We'll see.

I have had lots of health issues for years now. I have been tired and out of breath, not living the life I expected to be living. There are going to be some changes made. I am planning to have bariatric surgery in the fall. I am in the process of taking care of all the insurance requirements needed for it to be a reality. I've watched a seminar on the computer and attended one in person. I've met with the surgeon and the dietician. I'm on a medically supervised weight loss program that will last for 3 months. I've had my head examined by a shrink. I've paid my registration money. I still need to schedule an appointment with my cardiologist for cardiac clearance. I need to have the nerves in my stomach tested to see if they are working properly. I need to attend at least one class lead by the dietician. I need to wait patiently.

My surgery will be at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. I chose that site because of the great reputation of the surgeon and the program. Dr. Ben-Meir is awesome. His qualifications are impeccable. I'm fortunate to have found him. Everyone I've met at St. Vincent's so far has been kind and encouraging.

I've chosen to have the gastric sleeve surgery. The stomach is an organ about the size of a football. Mine will be pared down to the size of a skinny banana. I'll have to drastically modify my eating habits, of course, and will need to concentrate on hydration and protein consumption.

Right now I am finding out things about myself. Like...I have no problems eating carbs, but protein is another story. I will have to find new sources of protein to add some variety in my diet. I need to try new foods. Unfortunately, I am picky. Very picky. And I tend to graze, too. I have to learn to eat my meal in its entirety in one sitting. I need to plan ahead and, as you know from this blog, that is not my strong suit.

Well, that is all I have to say for now. I'm not going to post any card pictures this time. I should post my "before" picture, but I'm not brave enough yet.

Hopefully, it won't be 2014 when I post again. I am going to try to keep this resolution. With God all things are possible. Of that I am certain.

May God show you where you need to be.
Di

I'll Try Again

This is such a sad blog. I haven't told anyone about it because that would mean posting something more than once a year or so. I am going to try again. I will try to see if I can post something weakly...oops!...I mean weekly. This counts as a post, so I'm off and running. That reminds me of a post I saw on Pinterest@. It said, "Does Not Run With Scissors!" and on the next line, "those last two words were totally unnecessary." That's me and my kind of humor. Even though I don't run, I do jump. I jump from one subject to another as my blog will most likely show. Confused? (Wasn't that what was asked at the end of each episode of Soap? Strange sitcom.) Just keep checking back to this blog and the confusion will be __________. You can fill in the blank. That is if I ever tell you about this blog.

May God bring you where you need to be.
Di

With Cards to Make Before I Sleep

All of a sudden, I'm in urgent need of cards, all kinds of cards. I need birthday cards, get well cards, sympathy cards and a 50th Anniversary card. You might ask, "Don't you have a stash of cards handy that you can sign, address and mail?" Of course I do, but they're not just right for the persons who need this batch of cards. That's a problem of mine. I tend to gloss over the cards in my DONE collection in favor of creating new cards that will match the person(s) who will be receiving them. And you wonder why it takes me so long to produce creative cards. It takes time and effort to come up with the perfect idea. I like it when I need birthday cards and I get a good idea and the recipients are both males (or have some other commonality) and will never get together to compare them! That's serendipity. Three of the birthday cards and three of the sympathy cards have the promise of  being serendipitous if I can get my creative juices flowing. That's three birds with one stone, so to speak, times two! So, wish me well. I am off to the occasionally creative room which I call my craft room. It's messy, but creative minds are rarely tidy. I hope they're talking about the room and not the brain. Oh, well. It fits me in both categories, I fear.

Do I Remember How to Do This?

It's been a loooong while since I've posted anything on my blog as you can plainly see. I won't go into details, but I am trying to make some good changes in my life. One of them is to write here occasionally and even post a creative card or two to share with you. But, don't hold me to it. Remember, I do have a disorder. What a shameless plug.

kitty

Well, it's been quite some time since my last post. One can hardly call this thing a blog. It's more like a random act of creativity...my trademark. Well I have made quite a few cards these past few months. I've posted most on splitcoaststampers, but have yet to share them here. Today I'm here to share a story.

It all started when my friend called me with the news that she had rescued this tiny, malnourished kitten who had decided that the middle of the road was a good place for a nap. Being the kindhearted soul that she is, my friend scooped up the creature and headed to her veterinary facility. There, the vet took care of the fleas which were so bad that they caused flea anemia and checked her out for feline leukemia. Being negative for that hurdle, the vet began proceedings to feed and medicate this poor little gal. Oh, yes. That was found out, too. Well, she who will be named later stayed at that facility for the next 7 days. In the meantime, my friend called me to ask whether I would be interested in adopting this little girl. I emphatically said that one cat was enough for me for now. I just as emphatically called her back to say OK. I guess I'm a sucker pushover for a sob story. I wanted to be part of a happy ending. When the kitty was ready to be released, my friend and another friend came to bring me the new addition to my family.

My family is 1. Me and 2. Chloe the Feral Cat (whom I can't get to the vet because she can't be caught to be put in a carrier.) That's another story.

Back to kitty. My friends stayed for an hour or two while I bonded with my new charge. All was going smoothly. They left and I continued to bond. A cousin came to visit and introduce herself to kitty no name. We had a nice visit and kitty became more animated and even volleyed a wrapped candy (I had no cat toys) around for a bit. My cousin left and I began normal life, checking out sites on the computer and letting kitty do whatever. Well, "whatever" turned weird quickly. I heard a long, low growl from the living room and immediately assumed that Chloe had decided to introduce herself to kitty. I must admit that I immediately began to yell for Chloe to stop whatever she was doing and rushed in to help kitty. No Chloe. Just kitty...writhing under a chair, attached to the carpet by her claws. I went to unattach her and found my hands covered in... well, poop! I took kitty to the bathroom and got her cleaned and noticed drool, so I wiped that up as well. Kitty pretty much did not want anything to do with me when she calmed down so I left her while I cleaned up. Not an hour later she repeated her performance in the kitchen, this time acting as though she was the pinball in a pinball machine. Unfortunately, Chloe was hiding from her nearby and bolted "outa" there not to be seen again for about 18 hours as it turned out. I quickly cleaned her and put her in the cat carrier. Long story short, (I know- too late for that) kitty had seizures all throughout the night. It was painful to hear and watch. By morning, she had lost the use of her back legs.

All night I knew what I would be doing when 9 a.m. rolled around. I knew the best thing for kitty would be to end her suffering, so I called my vet to make arrangements to do so.

This would be the third cat I brought in to the vet for that purpose. The other two being Lucas and Abby who had developed tumors that demanded I end their suffering as well. That's the down side of having pets. Losing them is so painful. Even kitty, whom I knew for about 21 hours, had my heart.

 I cried as the assistant filled out the paperwork. "Does she have a name?" I was asked. It was only then that I named her Amazing Grace.

Looooong Night

Well, tonight has been a loooong night. I haven't slept yet and it's 6:11 a.m. I am not tired at all, so I have been on my computer checking out the news, obits and my favorite (SplitcoastStampers) site. I should be doing something productive with my time, but I figure that I would otherwise be sleeping and that's not very productive, so I'm OK with what I'm doing. I have many nights of staying up late. SInce I'm retired, I don't really have to get up at a certain time, and I've always been a night owl anyway. I tend to take naps during the day and don't feel tired at night. I really should work on getting into a regular routine. Maybe one of these days.
I do have a responsibility these days, however. I have to go to my aunt's house to feed all the stray cats that come to visit. She's in a nursing home and her daughter is incapacitated at the moment, so the responsibility falls on me to get the job done. When I arrive, there are usually cats waiting patiently for food. Unfortunately, all but one or two of them run away and hide when I get out of the car. Matti is the old "Tom" who has hissed at me for being so slow in feeding him. He always has a growly look on his face. Then there's Six Dinner Sid who probably lives in the area and just comes to visit and grab a bite. He usually escorts me from place to place as I fill containere with both dry and canned food and water. Most of the cats and kittens are black, white, gray, brown, or combinations of these colors. But there's one little guy who's a strawberry blondie. He's one I'd like to get to know, but, alas, he's skittish and bounds away at the slightest movement. My cousin caught three of the kittens a while back and is raising them at her home, but his elusive fella is not to be captured. Too bad.
I didn't make any cards today, but I did some Halloween cards yesterday. They're not anything special, so I'm not posting them. Halloween's not my favorite holiday. I make cards for the little guys in my life and for some gals at SCS, but that's it.
I must decide what I am going to do this morning. I think I might go grocery shopping early before the crowds gather. That would be a wise move. I should get some treats for the cats and for my aunt and cousin as well. I should NOT go to a craft store. I don't need a thing. I just spent some money at a Stampin' UP party. I can always find something I need want. Perhaps today will be one of the occasional days in which I'm creative. One can only hope.

Blessings to you from me,
Di