Remembering Callie

A week ago Friday it became clear that something was wrong with our beloved Callie.  We were on our way out to our annual trek to Stokoe Farms, but Phil took time to call the vet and make an appointment for Saturday morning, to which he and Sarah kindly took Callie.  I was thinking she had a urinary tract infection; she'd get some pills and we'd be on our way.  Unfortunately, that was not to be.  Blood work revealed nothing, but an x-ray showed a large tumor on her intestine.  I hadn't realized she wasn't eating much - how I missed her three pound weight loss and emaciated body, I don't know.  But the tumor explained everything.  Phil and Sarah brought her home, knowing they couldn't make a decision about treatment without talking to me, since Callie had essentially become my cat.  The decision was made to put her down since the vet gave little hope of being able to remove the tumor. 

Last weekend I cried more than I have in a long time.  I cried until I thought my heart would break, then cried some more.  Callie had been my constant companion since my husband got sick five years ago.  She let me cry into her fur, snuggled with me during the night, head-butted me to let me know she cared, and listened as only a cat can do. 

So passed the weekend.  Despite seeing the suffering in her eyes, she tried to act as if not much was wrong.  Somehow she managed to jump the three feet onto the bed and wanted to be petted.  She even found the strength to jump from the toilet onto the vanity, and just hours before her death, took a long drink from the running faucet, something she did just about every morning.  On Monday afternoon, Phil, Sarah, and I took Callie to the vet for the final time.  She was a fighter to the end, requiring two doses of tranquilizer before the vet could give her the final injection that ended her life. 

We will miss Callie, yet we have fond memories of her.  The way she climbed my drapes when we first got her (she ruined them!), how she climbed the Christmas tree, making her paw bleed profusely after having her claws removed, eating turkey grease from the roasting pan and becoming terribly ill.  And these all happened in the first six months we had her!  She was a Calico through and through, having the fiesty personality they are famous for.  She mellowed throughout the 11 years of her life, except when it came to defending her buddy Klaus from our dog.  Thank you, Callie, for filling our lives with laughter and love.

September Gardens and More

A.W.O.L.  That's how I feel.  From Sunday the 4th through the following Saturday, I was very sick with a terrible stomach bug.  I'll spare you the details, but if I tell you I lost six pounds, you'll have some idea how bad it was.  Since I left my bed, I've been weak and lacking in energy, but just today, I finally felt good enough to get outside in the beautiful sunshine and warmth and do some gardening. 

I planted some zinnias this year in my front garden.  I love these flowers! 

While Phil and I were outside, a bunch of small, black birds started swirling around in the sky.  A number of them landed on the nearby cell tower.  Can you see them, lined up on the top?  In the second photo, you can see some flying.

The trees in our backyard aren't very colorful in the fall.  Here you can barely see a bit of color that signifies autumn is here:

As I was heading back inside, I glanced down at the edge of the garage door track and spotted this very effective spider web.  (If bugs trapped in webs bother you, scroll quickly!)

This picture of Callie came out over-exposed and I did quite a bit of tweaking to get it acceptable, but she was awake, which is unusual for her, so that's why I'm sharing it.

I will be back soon with more pictures from our Amish country vacation, as well as some crocheting projects I've been working on.

I'm Still Here!

Truly, I am!  Our van died, and we had to find a new vehicle in a hurry.  This week, we've had doctor's appointments.  Oh, and last Saturday, I made one of two curtain panels for Grace and Anthony's apartment.  (That's another post, though.)  So unfortunately, all I have to share with you are some pictures of Callie doing what I want to spend more time doing!

Blogger seems to be having some issues tonight.  At least I hope that's what the problem is.  Let me know if my background is loading for you, please?  Thanks!

This and That

Yes, I am still here.  Yes, I am still working on the infamous wedding sampler.  I'll have another good stitching session tonight while we watch Lost.  (We are secretly glad this is the last season!)

I have been doing a lot of what Callie is doing in this picture.  Over two weeks ago, I came down with a nasty cold, and I can't quite get over it.  I am so very tired, to the point that I can hardly drag myself out of bed, get dressed (and all that goes with that), shuffle downstairs, do a few chores, make dinner, and collapse.  This has to get better!

The bridal shower invitations that I mentioned in my last post are on the stamping table.  I am doing about 28 of them.  The die cuts (Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels One) are finished - I discovered that I can cut three layers of thin cardstock at the same time with my Cuttlebug, and as an added bonus, they come out dry embossed!  There are two sizes, so 56 in all.  In order to stamp the words "Bridal Shower!" on the smaller of the die cuts, I made a template for positioning my StampaLiner (I don't even know if these are still available!), which worked very well.  Similarly, I made a positioning template for my scroll stamp.  Today, I hope to get a little monkey stamped on the inside - Grace loves monkeys, almost as much as she loves Anthony, and I thought it would be a cute addition to the otherwise formal invitation, something personal.  Then Sarah will help me assemble the invitations.  They need to be mailed by Saturday.

I do apologize for the lack of pictures.  I should put my camera somewhere that I can remember to take it downstairs with me.  You know how it is . . .

By the way, if you are not familiar with Pandora Internet Radio, you should be!  It allows you to create a custom radio station, playing music that you like.  I have created several stations, one that plays Christian music, and another that plays classical.  If you don't like a selection, you let them know.  There are brief commercials every ten or so songs, but they are unobtrusive.  The TV is on a lot less in the late evening, and I am filling my thoughts with the things of the Lord before I go to bed.  What a great way to go to sleep!

Callie

Her Royal Highness, Callie.

What to Do On a Very Cold Day

Two Quick Pics

I'm fighting a headache tonight, so I'll share two quick pictures.  The first is the flooring in the basement rooms:

This second one is her royal highness, Callie Caper, doing one of the things she does best.

I can't make the bed most days because she's snoozing away and I don't have the heart to kick her off!

Callie

Callie made it her business to "guard" the Christmas tree.  I think she was just waiting for us to leave so she could begin batting ornaments off the tree!

Callie's Tired

Does it seem to anyone else that all this cat does is sleep? Oh, to be a cat!

Here she fell asleep on the floor. Poor kitty!

She's not the only one who's tired . . .

Callie

Don't you wish you could sleep like this? She sure looks comfortable.

Callie At Play

A couple of nights ago, Callie decided to "help" me with my crocheting.  I was able to shoot this video of her . . . Enjoy!

More About Callie

Ever since I moved this kitchen bar stool/chair upstairs - I have Phil sit in it when I give him his injections - Callie has taken a liking to the space underneath. No one is certain why she likes it, but she spends a lot of time there, seeming to prefer it to the bed. In fact, the other day, I found her asleep, with her head on the fan platform (where her paw is on the picture directly below.) Yes, the fan was running.

Maybe she feels safe from the dog under there. But then, the dog rarely enters the master bedroom. And Callie's always been a little strange. Go figure.

Cute Callie

Who can resist taking pictures of their feline friends?

This is one of Callie's favorite places - the master bathroom sink. She loves to drink from the faucet, which we allow only once a day (unless she's sneaky and convinces one of us to give her a second drink.) She also has her own cup of water to drink from. She refused to look at the camera. I surmise she was plotting how she was going to trick me into giving her a drink . . .
Of course, all that activity wears a cat out. Poor baby.

New "Baby" & More!

As of Saturday afternoon, I am a new mom! Here's a picture of my baby:I was at Sam's Club, and thought I'd check the cameras, conveniently located near the entrance. Since their website had said the camera was only available by mail order, I wasn't hopeful that they'd have it in the store, but there it was!

I made the big mistake of installing the software that came with the camera, which is why this post isn't being written until now. Not only did it take over the computer, but it took me nearly an hour to get pictures from the camera to the computer. Only then did I think to see if Picasa would recognize the camera, which it wouldn't, so I checked the help files and found out that if I uninstalled the Kodak software, Picasa would indeed recognize the camera.

Remember the decorative boxes I mentioned here? Here are some pictures of them.
The top:

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One of my stops on Saturday was A.C. Moore. I wanted to get another 5" spring embroidery hoop, as I get tired of moving the same one from one WIP to another. Turns out they plan to rearrange the embroidery aisle (I asked) and a bunch of things were on clearance, including the embroidery hoops, of which I got several at 99 cents each. They also had variegated DMC floss for 17 cents, so I picked up 7 skeins, as well as the two packages of Aida cloth - one is 14 count (the seafoam green) and the other 16 count. These were $1.84 each. I've always wanted to try the green color, so this was a great find.

It's been so very hot, in the 90's. Once again, I am thankful for our central air. One more really hot day, then 87 on Tuesday. After that, the temps will return to the upper 70's and low 80's, and we'll finally be able to open the windows again.

So many things I need to do, but despite feeling better emotionally, I'm still not being very productive. Gotta work on that. Sewing, dyeing cross stitch fabric, washing the kitchen window (have to get the ladder out to do that), planting flowers, planning meals, doing laundry . . . I'd much rather curl up with Callie.