Snow storm hits DC Area – Merry Christmas!

Well it all started Friday evening 18th, around 7pm it finished 24 hours later.   We have a bend with a little curve in front of our house and this year it has proved to be really interesting.  Friday night at 12 mn, people could not make it up the hill at all, unless you really 4 wheel drive and even then it was ify..Some poor guy left his car in our driveway and put a note in our mailbox.

On Saturday morning we woke to 12 inches of snow and more coming.  Our neighbor bought a snow blower a year ago  when had hardly anything, and his wife really read him the riot act.  Well, all I can say is thank goodness for that snow blower.  Terry did his driveway, he did the neighbors across the way (they are gone, they are in the process of selling the house, and Terry uses their drive to rotate his cars and truck) then we heard the snow blower even louder we looked out front and there he was doing our driveway.  My darling husband Paul turned 63 last month, and he had sciatica really bad last January (my neighbor’s wife had to drive me around) so I was glad to see Terry do that (we are getting them a gift card, they do so much to help since I can’t drive due to blindness in one eye).   All Paul had to do was a little.   We don’t use our front stairs when it snows, we just go in and out the garage.

I have some pictures of DC  (that were on the Washington Post- just click them)in the snow, when Paul down loads his I will post them.   He will be off from Wednesday on.  An even though they gave leave to Fed workers today, he has to go in since he is a doc at the VA.

Stitching News – I’m working on Houtman’s 9-11.  I have on page so far done.  I’m stitching on 40 ct cream, with part HDF silks and DMC.  My new project for 2010 is LD Bienvenue for my nieces baby.  (actually she is my cousin’s child).  Anyway Caleb Monroe was born at home on Nov 17th.  He is name after David’s grandfather (Caleb) and Jaime grandfather (Monroe- my uncle).  My aunt is the only one left of that generation and she is the first great grandma.  She and my other cousin are living (I think tonight maybe tomorrow with all flight delays due the snow) to go to Florida to spend Christmas with Caleb.  I’m going to be stitching Bievneue with all blues in 824, 823, 820 range of DMC on 40 ct cream.

We will be here for Christmas with the  cats, and the kittens who are getting so big.  We just had the Mama cat fixed – she did great for a feral girl.  She is still living in her cage in the basement, but after the new year, Im gong to get her use to a collar and leech, and bring her up and tie her to something secure but so it will let her move and be around people but not get into places that we won’t be able to get her out of.   We had entanglement at the beginning of December she took a chunk out of my arm and right thumb and I couldn’t stitch for good while.  I was on antibiotics for two weeks, but its all better.  It was my fault I should just let her stay where she was (she came in on her on from the screened porch (when I had her out to air, the temps were near 60 that day) Next up is her first baby Rory (a beauty – and  yes Paul got a picture of him yesterday which I will be posting soon.  He just turned 6 mos, but they say its better to let them be done at 7 mos for boys.  His big day is Jan 25th, I hope he doesn’t hate me, he is such a lover.

Merry Christmas y’all from Virginia.

Lucy – The Kodak Moment

Lucy is just too much, every time I turn there she is in another pose.. I wish I could get her eyes to come out more, they are amber.  All the kittens just brighten one’s day as we mourn the loss of Frankie.

DC Sniper execution

We have been bombarded remembrances (as we anyone could forget), the reign of terror by the DC sniper (Muhammad and Malvo) from Oct 2 to Oct 2 through the 19th 2002.  I knew one of the victims, Linda Franklin.  She was a fellow cat lover.  She was shot loading bags into her car at Seven Corners Shopping Center a place that was part of my childhood.

With Governor Kaine, not granting clemency (Muhammad) will be executed tonight. Some of the family members of the victims are going.  I really can’t see what peace this will bring to the families  or why some feel that it is “grace from god”.  Mainly because the deaths will not be the same, he will quietly but put to sleep just like euthanizing your pet, their loved one was shot down.  The two are different, but maybe I’m not seeing the full picture.   But when someone is taken by way of a shooting, I feel it is the same as when someone is taken by way of a collision, or by cancer or any other life threatening illness that takes a love one away at early age.   I lost both my parents at a young age, and I miss them every day but nothing will bring them back.

When all this first started in Oct 2002, and it started to hit a little close to home I really hoped they would hurry up and catch the person our persons that were terrorizing our area.  Once caught, I wanted him to get the death penalty, but now Im not so sure.  Really in my mind the one thing accomplished by the killing by lethal injection tonight will be VA Tax dollars won’t be paying for his keep anymore and that’s about it.

So my hope is that families of the victims, the family of Muhammad, and Muhammad gain remorseful peace when all is done.

You can read more about the case here

Sad Weekend – a time to say goodbye

On Friday evening we took our dear Franky to be euthanized, he was 16 years old.   We had been nursing him along with his renal failure and a mass on his left Salivary Gland.  What we have been doing is draining his neck  which would take some of the pressure off which helped to swallow and to breath easier.   Well this past week I noticed that it was getting more swollen and he was having more difficulty, and so I had been fighting with myself all week to either put Frank through it again or too just let him rest in peace.

Euthanizing a pet is difficult decision and one that I dread (just as I’m sure all of you have as well).  I began to feel that it should had been done when his neck swelled up again within a week after the first draining, rather than to keep putting him through any more needles.  (After being a blood donor cat he had seen his fair share of needles).  But difficulty at the time was the fact that he was so alert, eating and getting up and down so well.  It’s a fine line that decides when they are truly incapacitated vs or on a downhill spiral that is never going to get better.  But Frankie made the decision for me, he was having difficulty now drinking and he as drooling more.  I tried squirting water down his throat but he put up such a fight.  So by the time my DH got home for work, I told him what the situation was and that I thought it was best we take him to the Animal Emergency Clinic.   He asked if I had called our vet (who is a home vet – she comes to my house) and I said yes but she could not come, not even on Saturday,  she said she could come by Monday.   That really disappointed me since we have been using her for 10 years and that she knew Frankie’s situation so well.   Frankie was the reason I looked into using a home vet, because he hates riding in the car.

So on we went to Fredericksburg Emergency Animal Hospital, with a uncounselable Frankie and my heart very heavy.  I called them when we left so they were ready for me when I got there.  But Frankie still had some fight in him,  he gave them a struggle to get the IV catheter in place.  So the vet asked if he gave him some Valium first, in order to give him the “Pink Juice Cocktail” we said no problem.  We had to this for another cat we had euthanized who was in severe renal failure and some fight left against “all hospital” staff.

Frankie went peacefully with us holding him and at his side.  They prepared him for us to take home.   I had made arrangements for Frankie to be cremated, which is what we did today we took him back down to Fredericksburg to the funeral home to take care of his cremation which will be done this week  and then we can have his remains.  We have all our cats cremated, so when we go our ashes will be mixed with theirs and scattered.  So goodbye to Frankie, but he will always live in our hearts as we remember all the love he gave us and the “head butts”

Jean, Living in Virginia

PS: I called the Home Vet Saturday morning; since she said she could come Monday, so basically we had an appt,  that she didn’t need to come Monday that we had Frankie euthanized at the Fredericksburg Emergency Clinic Friday Night.  When you call her you always get her machine, but it leaves one with the feeling that Frankie nor patronage meant much, we never got a phone call back.

Planning

While I was doing some stitching planning, Edward and Lucy thought they would help.

And as you can see Lucy even wants to help with the editing.  BTW my computer monitor is straight, I guess it’s my slanting camera.

I have put a hold on the designing it was just becoming a real problem with the kittens, so perhaps that will have to wait until they are a little older.  So I have gone back to some other projects that I have had in the works.   I have just ordered linen for Jan Houtman’s 9-11 and Papillion Creations Eightsome Reel, from my favorite online shop ehandcrafts.com.  I am determined to get these done, I can’t begin to tell how many versions and times I have started these.

I also have been getting pulled towards Examplar Dames “And They Sinned” for some reason it really draws me all of a sudden.  So the over one itch is really starting in big time.

Doing some designing with the help of a friend

Well here we are the end of October and I have been doing some designing.     I can’t completely share what it is or will be but you can see a little bit here

As you can see I’m getting alot of help from the adorable Lucy.  She’s something let me tell you..

A friend called me this past week to tell me she found someone who would take all the kittens.  I emailed her back telling her we have decided to keep them.    I have become mom to group, now with total of 14 cats (but as I mentioned we have 6 older cats, and two not doing well just staying comfortable – they are 16).

We also received some news that our son is in the process of getting his paperwork together to go to Iraq as contractor.  I have to say that I’m not overjoyed about this project.. but I will accept it.

This week Paul is off to get some household things done, and we are going to be seeing some family and friends, that we were suppose to see last year when the retina issue began.  So now we will be finally celebrating our 35 wedding anniversary with our friends.   We are going to old town Fredericksburg, to a lovely French restaurant.

Jean

Update on Tranquility

Tranquility Sampler as of 10-4

Here is my update as promised on the SVW Tranquility Sampler, I’m on row 16 which is right in the middle.  So in total with this row, I have 3 rows to go.  I’m still tossing around ideas of what to do next.

Also I took this picture of one of the kittens, lounging on the back of my chair.

Adorable.. It’s a beautiful day in Virginia in the 70’s, but the kittens are sleeping they have had big day exploring.

Hello and Welcome

I bet alot of you thought I left the planet,  but no I’m still around.  As I mentioned in a post earlier in the summer, I have been involved in rescuing a mother cat and her beau.   She had one kitten in June, and believe it or not got pregnant again while lactating, in which she produced 6 babies.  Here are some pictures of them..  they are now 8 weeks old

Babies on afgan

Gray and Black Cat

Gray Cat

Ishi

Tabby Cat girl

So as you can see some are missing, she had a black and white one, really adorable it was adopted last week.    An then there is Ishi (meaning strong willed in Japanese).  I noticed he was slower than the others and he seemed have problems walking and getting around, and his elbows and forearms were swollen down to his feet.   So I called my vet, she came by (I have a home vet, who practices traditional and chinese herbs).  She was stumped.  When Annie the mom, brought her babies to me they were 3 weeks old, an  Ishi seemed to have a bite or some sort of puncture in his right back leg, but we don’t know by or with what?  Dr. Nicholson tried to drain the arms, which brought things down a little.  The other weird thing is that he didn’t have a temp.  I couldn’t just put him down, he was so alert and was trying so hard. (The vet tech said that if I had said to euthanize him, she was going to take him – she has 14 already).  So Dr. Nicholson started him on Clindimycin and some herbs for his immune system, then she was going to check with her vet group.  In a few days she rang to check on Ishi, but to let me know that it was concluded by the group that it was strep that was in his joints and so she switched antibiotics to Amoxicillin (which I must say he takes like a trooper).

Ishi is shorter by about 2 inches from his brothers and sister, his eyes are just begining to switch to green, whereas the others have switched.  But he is gaining weight and inches, and walking and scooting around like the rest of them.  He has another week to go on his Amoxicillin

So let me introduce you to Ishi..

Ishi

I will keep you posted, but he’s getting there, but my vet thinks he is just going to be smaller than the others.  Annie (the mom) is a lean but a large muscular built brown tabby, who is feral and has escaped to my basement.      I was trying to round her up to get spayed yesterday and the porch door where they live came open and she was off.   (slide right out of my towel).  We are scheduled for the end of October to try again and to have her get her shots.  My feeling is to just let her go out after she has her spay and shots.

Beau, the male she arrived with and I don’t have picture of him yet, is white with orange tabby in spots.  I had him neutered in July, but when he is in he still tries to spray (but now its urine), I just can’t have that so he is living on the porch.  They say that after they (Adult Males) have been neutered for 4 – 5 months they will stop doing that.  So we are waiting to see.  We keep bringing him in and watching him, but if he continues to spray he will be an outside cat that I will feed outside.

Rory, the kitten that Annie had in June, is now 4-5 months old and a beauty at black and white with long hair.  He is skiddish to some degree like his mother.  We bring him in to let him (1 ) get use to the house, and (2) to see how he behaves,  he does use the box and loves to play with kittens, and he is becoming more approachable with us.  So we might keep inside after he is neutered in December.   I also need to get a picture he is a beauty.

Annie as I said is still in the basement, has not come up.  If she comes up we can shut the basement door then open the porch door and direct her out there.  Im going to get a soft cat carrier so she can use to it, then maybe scooping her up to get spayed won’t be as much of an ordeal.

An on top of this crew, I have 6 others ranging from ages 9-16.  So we could keep the kittens to replace the geriatric group. One of the oldest Frank, is having an immune issue in his neck.  When it swells (which it is doing again) the vet drains it and he seems less irritable.  Right now he is driving us nuts at night (I really  think he has sundowners like human geriatric) because he gets vocal and restless at night (it doesn’t help that he is part Siamese).  My vet is coming Tuesday to drain and perhaps put him back on clindimycin,  and also perhaps give me something to help him sleep at night.  He does better when the neck is drained (at least he did the last time).  But we are all becoming as irritable as him with his howling at night.  Poor Guy.

I have been doing other things like still weeding through two estates of books and other things; and researching some genealogy; and of course stitching.  It just seems like my stitching has come to big halt.  But I’m almost finished with another row on the Tranquility Sampler and I will post a picture sometime this weekend.

Jean, Living in Virginia