goodbye Emily
Folks who have been reading this LJ for years will have seen many pictures of Emily, who is the cat I had the longest, and she was my baby. I'm sad to report that she died last Thursday morning.
(Seen above: a very familiar view.)
What I didn't relate back in the summer when I posted about Morgan's passing is that during that same week, Emily was deathly ill with kidney failure. The good news at the time was that while Morgan also suddenly went downhill so quickly that I had to put her to sleep, Emily rallied, even though in the course of various tests we discovered that she had only one functioning kidney (and who knew how long that had been the case); it had gotten a severe infection, but it cleared up with treatment (better than a tumor, though, which was the initial fear). So even as I lost Morgan, I still had Emily, although I had to give her fluids twice a day from then onward.
I guess the upshot was that the kidney infection probably put such a severe strain on the remaining kidney that it didn't last that much longer. Last week she became ill again and went downhill really rapidly, despite our attempting the same treatments as had worked in the summer. I had already decided Wed. night that I was taking her to the vet in the morning, but when I woke up, she was gone. I had at least gotten one last good night with her to say goodbye.
I miss her terribly. She was just the best cat, as everyone who ever met her will agree. I don't really have any regrets. I am grateful for the time I had with her, and every day gave her whatever attention she demanded (which was often a lot), because you never know.
It's very weird in my house right now. I haven't lived without a cat in the house since like 1990. I will not wait long to get new cats. (I had already sort of been looking for a friend for Emily, although I'm glad I didn't get one, so I could focus on her at the end.) But Emily will always be irreplaceable.
(Seen above: a very familiar view.)
What I didn't relate back in the summer when I posted about Morgan's passing is that during that same week, Emily was deathly ill with kidney failure. The good news at the time was that while Morgan also suddenly went downhill so quickly that I had to put her to sleep, Emily rallied, even though in the course of various tests we discovered that she had only one functioning kidney (and who knew how long that had been the case); it had gotten a severe infection, but it cleared up with treatment (better than a tumor, though, which was the initial fear). So even as I lost Morgan, I still had Emily, although I had to give her fluids twice a day from then onward.
I guess the upshot was that the kidney infection probably put such a severe strain on the remaining kidney that it didn't last that much longer. Last week she became ill again and went downhill really rapidly, despite our attempting the same treatments as had worked in the summer. I had already decided Wed. night that I was taking her to the vet in the morning, but when I woke up, she was gone. I had at least gotten one last good night with her to say goodbye.
I miss her terribly. She was just the best cat, as everyone who ever met her will agree. I don't really have any regrets. I am grateful for the time I had with her, and every day gave her whatever attention she demanded (which was often a lot), because you never know.
It's very weird in my house right now. I haven't lived without a cat in the house since like 1990. I will not wait long to get new cats. (I had already sort of been looking for a friend for Emily, although I'm glad I didn't get one, so I could focus on her at the end.) But Emily will always be irreplaceable.
goodbye Morgan
For folks who still read LJ, and who remember entries over the years that featured Morgan, my Small Emergency Backup Cat. She lived to the ripe old age of 20, which is pretty remarkable given that she spent the last like 5 years blowing snot everywhere and the last year getting daily fluid injections.
Morgan started out life as a barn kitten in Morgantown, West Virginia. She came to me when she was 9, and she instantly became the dominant cat in our house. She always charmed everyone and was never shy about demanding attention -- breaking all the rules for what calico cats are supposed to be like. Over the past year, because of the fluids, I boarded her whenever I went out of town, and she had all of the staff at the vet/kennel wrapped around her paw. She would become "desk kitty" whenever she was there, not caring the least about big dogs who'd come in, or anything, so long as she was getting scritched. She was a total sweetheart right up to the end.
I'll miss her. (I don't think Emily will.)
Sleepy Hollow, on the record
Yeah, the pilot was kind of exposition-heavy and overstuffed.
BUT I AM SO THERE. You cannot stop me. This is exactly the kind of ridiculousness I expected and wanted.
Behind the cut, spoilery thoughts and my live exchange with
telepresence while watching...
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Conclusion: love the main characters, totally on board with the silliness. DON'T TANK, SHOW.
BUT I AM SO THERE. You cannot stop me. This is exactly the kind of ridiculousness I expected and wanted.
Behind the cut, spoilery thoughts and my live exchange with
telepresence while watching...( Collapse )
Conclusion: love the main characters, totally on board with the silliness. DON'T TANK, SHOW.
What I'm reading... (Friday)
I am taking a page from Katie and Cofax, and am going to start doing "what I'm reading" entries... which I understand should be a Wed. thing, and I'll get on track with that soon. But to start...
Finished relatively recently...
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo, and Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks by Richard G. Fernicola.
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Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy by Melissa Milgrom.
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What I'm reading now...
Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Musem, by Richard Fortey.
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Arizona: A History, Revised Edition, by Thomas E. Sheridan.
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Tony Hillerman's series of mystery novels set on the Navajo Reservation.
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Finished relatively recently...
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo, and Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks by Richard G. Fernicola.
( Collapse )
Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy by Melissa Milgrom.
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What I'm reading now...
Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Musem, by Richard Fortey.
( Collapse )
Arizona: A History, Revised Edition, by Thomas E. Sheridan.
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Tony Hillerman's series of mystery novels set on the Navajo Reservation.
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Southwest Trip, Part Four - Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, Petrified Forest
(Previously: the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.)
K. and I drove back east and then north, heading for our last few stops: Monument Valley, and then later, Mesa Verde. Instead of just driving through Monument Valley (as I'd originally intended), we decided to stay the night there, in order to -- what else? -- see the sunset.
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Fantastic trip. Very glad to have seen all of it, and very impressed with what a huge variety there turned out to be in the landscape and geology. And someday, there are parts that I'd like to go back and do, or things we didn't get to that I'd still like to see.
But I think I will arrange to do that in, oh... earlier spring, later fall, winter perhaps. NOT SUMMER.
(The end.)
K. and I drove back east and then north, heading for our last few stops: Monument Valley, and then later, Mesa Verde. Instead of just driving through Monument Valley (as I'd originally intended), we decided to stay the night there, in order to -- what else? -- see the sunset.
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Fantastic trip. Very glad to have seen all of it, and very impressed with what a huge variety there turned out to be in the landscape and geology. And someday, there are parts that I'd like to go back and do, or things we didn't get to that I'd still like to see.
But I think I will arrange to do that in, oh... earlier spring, later fall, winter perhaps. NOT SUMMER.
(The end.)
Southwest Trip, Part Three - the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
(Previously: The North Rim and Antelope Canyon.)
Because of the long day (with stops at Antelope Canyon, the abortive attempt to see Horseshoe Bend, lunch, etc.), we ended up driving into the eastern edge of the South Rim as sunset was happening.
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Next! Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, and Petrified Forest!
Because of the long day (with stops at Antelope Canyon, the abortive attempt to see Horseshoe Bend, lunch, etc.), we ended up driving into the eastern edge of the South Rim as sunset was happening.
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Next! Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, and Petrified Forest!
Southwest Trip, Part Two - the North Rim and Antelope Canyon
(Previously: Death Valley and Zion National Park)
Our next objective, after Zion, was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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Next! The South Rim!
Our next objective, after Zion, was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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Next! The South Rim!
Southwest Trip, Part One - Death Valley and Zion National Park
So, in early June, I went on a big trip to the Southwest with a bunch of fangirls, and it was awesome. And hot. IT WAS SO HOT. (Though not as hot as it would be a few weeks later in that area, after we'd returned home.)
It was particularly hot, since three of us decided to start in Death Valley.
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Next! The North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and Antelope Canyon.
It was particularly hot, since three of us decided to start in Death Valley.
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Next! The North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and Antelope Canyon.
Prescient comics (sort of)
Back in the mid to late 80s, this is one of the Bloom County strips that I photocopied and had on my dorm room door. I came across it the other day, and it seemed to beg to be posted, given recent news.