You might say I've gone cucku (hee hee - howdy over there at corporate!) -but I never thought I would be this excited about seeing my cat drink from the toilet bowl!
Not only did the precious munchkin (ok, he is hefty at 15.7 lbs...but still my little baby) drink on his own, he has finally gone potty and is eating his dry food without me putting it into his mouth.
Am I ever so glad to not have to shove bits of food in a cat's mouth!
Still a little dribble of drool now and then, but he is probably, in the last day, up to about 80% of his old self. Even took a little wrestle with the wee Ollie!
Snuggie is slowly, ever so slowly coming along with Ollie and Ollie has a bit of a cold, but it is not keeping him down.
I may get mom's video camera and video a little bit of him for those of you seeking a virtual kitten.
Ok, gotta get some school work done while the little wild one is sleeping!
Dad - Being his typical silly self...
We miss you dad!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Ollie Ollie all come to Kia Rio
Well, I've gone and done it.
Meet Ollie...
Yes, he is little, about 3 1/2 months I am guessing...
He arrived on October 18, 2008. It has been a riot here ever since. I am positive I felt Tashi walk across the top of my pillow last night, while little Ollie was sleeping to my side. I am taking that as his approval of the little guy.
Ollie seems to be channeling some of Tashi, as he appears to share the fascination with water and loves to drink from the bathtub faucet.
Apparently Ollie, while healthy himself, arrived with a micro friend.
Here is the first sign of trouble on the horizon... these two have not been that close to each other for an extended period in nearly 1.5 years
Jaz has an upper respiratory infection and it is not mild, unfortunately. He started drooling excessively, like a steady stream of it. I immediately called the vet. They thought it could be sign of an abcessed tooth. Well, his teeth were fine.
He has drooled for days and had no appetite or has not been drinking. He has had two subcutaneous fluid injections to keep him hydrated. I am having to hand feed him because he cannot smell his food. If a cat can't smell, it won't eat. Not eating is bad, according to the vet and my vet like friend, Maria (of cross country fame).
So, to entice him to eat I had to find the smelliest thing I could. Tuna and sardines. I hate fish and the smell. Nonetheless, there I was, with microwaved fish (to enhance the smell - notice the lack of use of aroma...) picking up the oily slimy bits of it and forcing into his drool covered mouth. Yup, I love my boy. He is starting to eat a little on his own, and has gone pee pee a couple of times. If he isn't drinking fluids by Tuesday afternoon, the vet wants to give him more sub q fluids. I love these vet bills...and the drool puddles when he actually gets up from a resting position.
My poor baby.
Snuggie was out of it for about 12 hours but does not seem to be catching it...
It is highly contagious. I am needing to keep little Ollie away from them, and yet manage to entertain him as he does not have another feline playmate at the moment...The feeding and comforting Jaz has to be done when Ollie is napping or he mews very loudly and insistently at being left all alone.
Jaz had pretty much a blaise reaction to him, with a wee bit of hissing and such, but not much at all.
Snuggie???
Well, as predicted, he is slow to warm up, always has been. It is day 8 and the hissing is much less, but there is no level of bonding just yet. Ollie is not a pushover and will hiss back.
Here are some more shots of the gang during sick week...
Just to keep things, umm, fun, my pc has been whacked out. Frequently not connecting to the network, freezing up and then giving me a greyish black blank screen with a lone white line flashing in the upper left. Had I used Cucku to back up my files??? No. Had I used my external back up drive to do so since the move, no...
Well, my niece's husband is a geek and he helped me get back into operations. I have not done any of last week's homework.
Oh.... I have 2 trees I need to plant, pronto... more on that later.
Okay - almost forgot. WHY Ollie??
I struggled with a name. I played free association with some such as Rumi. Here, the default interpretation would be "roomie" and a whole different connotation. I did not want to be labelled as loco by the hood, by standing outside yelling "Rumi" and them hearing "roomie." Just not good.
Ollie has nothing to do with the North of notoriety.
Little guy has an amazing sense of smell. I was remarking, to myself, what a keen olfactory sense he had and whalla, Ollie it was.
I still miss my Tashi every day and choke up just thinking about him. He is a one and only. Ollie is his own cat and will hopefully be Snuggie's playmate (Snuggie willing...) and will certainly be lovey with Jaz. He stole my heart already.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
'nuf said...
Tuesday, Oct 28
Sunshine and patchy clouds
Low: 28 °F
High: 54 °F
Wednesday, Oct 29
Sunshine and patchy clouds
Low: 29 °F
High: 46 °F
Thursday, Oct 30
Plenty of sunshine
Low: 36 °F
High: 53 °F
Friday, Oct 31
Partly sunny
Low: 35 °F
High: 59 °F
Saturday, Nov 1
Rain
Low: 26 °F
High: 56 °F
Sunday, Nov 2
Colder with clouds and sun
Low: 24 °F
High: 43 °F
Monday, Nov 3
Mostly sunny
Low: 24 °F
High: 43 °F
Tuesday, Nov 4
Sunny
Low: 25 °F
High: 44 °F
ok, maybe one thing else...
BBBbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !
Nov 2, 3 and 4 are particluarly attractive...
Sunshine and patchy clouds
Low: 28 °F
High: 54 °F
Wednesday, Oct 29
Sunshine and patchy clouds
Low: 29 °F
High: 46 °F
Thursday, Oct 30
Plenty of sunshine
Low: 36 °F
High: 53 °F
Friday, Oct 31
Partly sunny
Low: 35 °F
High: 59 °F
Saturday, Nov 1
Rain
Low: 26 °F
High: 56 °F
Sunday, Nov 2
Colder with clouds and sun
Low: 24 °F
High: 43 °F
Monday, Nov 3
Mostly sunny
Low: 24 °F
High: 43 °F
Tuesday, Nov 4
Sunny
Low: 25 °F
High: 44 °F
ok, maybe one thing else...
BBBbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !
Nov 2, 3 and 4 are particluarly attractive...
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
His absence is deafening
I cannot stand it.
I've been parted from more than one cat in my life, and Tashi's takes the cake for totality of impact.
I cannot fathom what mom must be going through, having lost dad.
The grass on his grave is now mostly like the rest of the yard. It is marked with a stone from the yard, but I plan to change that, but have not made a decision on how I want it to be. I don't want some tombstone type thing, but I do want to mark it as special.
Mom has suggested planting cat nip on it...
I don't know, but will decide over the winter how I want to honor the gifts he gave us.
I intended to report on what I am calling Beetle Mania, but Tashi is so everpresent that he is often on my mind. I studiously avoid looking at the top right corner of the blog because I melt into a pool of tears each time I see him there.
I know in the coming months he will recede as the dominant thought, and then become a warm and happy memory that I had the gift of knowing him at all.
I am considering putting up a 72" welded wire fence and gate in hopes it will deter them from the road. The welded wire is fairly soft to discourage climbing, and the openings are 2" x 4" which is too small for a cat to get through. I have read that it is a very common fence type for pets. I will have to address the gaps around the gate...
It is too late to save Tashi from the road, and it may not really work for Snuggie or Jaz, but if I don't at least make a well educated attempt, I will be in really bad shape if another loss is incurred before I move on to a more remote property.
Well, the Beetle Mania post will just have to wait...
I've been parted from more than one cat in my life, and Tashi's takes the cake for totality of impact.
I cannot fathom what mom must be going through, having lost dad.
The grass on his grave is now mostly like the rest of the yard. It is marked with a stone from the yard, but I plan to change that, but have not made a decision on how I want it to be. I don't want some tombstone type thing, but I do want to mark it as special.
Mom has suggested planting cat nip on it...
I don't know, but will decide over the winter how I want to honor the gifts he gave us.
I intended to report on what I am calling Beetle Mania, but Tashi is so everpresent that he is often on my mind. I studiously avoid looking at the top right corner of the blog because I melt into a pool of tears each time I see him there.
I know in the coming months he will recede as the dominant thought, and then become a warm and happy memory that I had the gift of knowing him at all.
I am considering putting up a 72" welded wire fence and gate in hopes it will deter them from the road. The welded wire is fairly soft to discourage climbing, and the openings are 2" x 4" which is too small for a cat to get through. I have read that it is a very common fence type for pets. I will have to address the gaps around the gate...
It is too late to save Tashi from the road, and it may not really work for Snuggie or Jaz, but if I don't at least make a well educated attempt, I will be in really bad shape if another loss is incurred before I move on to a more remote property.
Well, the Beetle Mania post will just have to wait...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
One Hundred Percent American, by Ralph Linton
I don't know how I failed to come across this during the last 30 years, but I have just been acquainted with it and, of course, just love it. I have actually read several different versions in which language has been changed, references slightly modified and bits added and deleted. My guess is that it was ultimately printed in a number of places and perhaps over the years he modified it... at any rate, it is a First Class piece...
***********************
Our solid American citizen awakens in a bed built on a pattern that originated in the Near East but that was modified in Northern Europe before it was transmitted to America. He throws back covers made from cotton, domesticated in India, or linen, domesticated in the Near East, or silk, the use of which was discovered in China. All of these materials have been spun and woven by processes invented in the Near East. He slips into his moccasins, invented by the Indians of the Eastern woodlands, and goes to the bathroom, whose fixtures are a mixture of European and American inventions, both of recent date. He takes off his pajamas, a garment invented in India, and washes with soap, invented by the ancient Gauls. He then shaves - a masochistic rite that seems to have been derived from either Sumer or ancient Egypt.
Returning to the bedroom, he removes his clothes from a chair of southern European type and proceeds to dress. He puts on garments whose form originally derived from the skin clothing of the nomads of the Asiatic steppes, puts on shoes made from skins tanned by a process invented in ancient Egypt and cut to a pattern derived from the classical civilizations of the Mediterranean, and ties around his neck a strip of bright colored cloth that is a vestigial survival of the shoulder shawls worn by 17th century Croatians. Before going out for breakfast, he glances through a window, made of glass invented in Egypt, and, if it is raining, puts on overshoes made of rubber discovered by the Central American Indians and takes an umbrella, invented in Southeastern Asia. Upon his head he puts a hat made of felt, a material invented in the Asiatic steppes.
On his way to breakfast, he stops to buy a paper, paying for it with coins, an ancient Lydian invention. At the restaurant, a whole new series of borrowed elements confronts him. His plate is made from pottery, invented in China. His knife is steel, an alloy first made in southern India; his fork, a medieval Italian invention; and his spoon, a derivative of a Roman original. He begins his breakfast with an orange, from the eastern Mediterranean, a cantaloupe from Persia, or perhaps a piece of African watermelon. With this he has coffee, an Abyssinian plant, with cream and sugar. Both the domestication of cows and the idea of milking them originated in the Near East, while sugar was first made in India. After his fruit and first coffee, he goes for waffles, cakes made by a Scandinavian technique from wheat domesticated in Asia Minor. Over these he pours maple syrup, invented by the Indians of the Eastern woodlands. As a side dish, he may have the egg of a species of bird domesticated in Indochina, or the thin strips of the flesh of an animal domesticated in eastern Asia that have been salted by a process developed in Northern Europe.
When our friend has finished eating, he settles back to smoke, an American Indian habit, consuming a plant domesticated in Brazil in either a pipe, derived from the Indians of Virginia, or a cigarette, derived from Mexico. If he is hardy enough, he may even attempt a cigar, transmitted to us from the Antilles by way of Spain. While smoking, he reads the news of the day, imprinted in characters invented by the ancient Semites upon a material invented in Germany. As he absorbs the accounts of foreign troubles, he will, if he is a good, conservative citizen, thank a Hebrew deity in an Indo-European language that he is 100% American.
Linton, Ralph. The study of man : an introduction. New York : Appleton-Century. 1936
***********************
Our solid American citizen awakens in a bed built on a pattern that originated in the Near East but that was modified in Northern Europe before it was transmitted to America. He throws back covers made from cotton, domesticated in India, or linen, domesticated in the Near East, or silk, the use of which was discovered in China. All of these materials have been spun and woven by processes invented in the Near East. He slips into his moccasins, invented by the Indians of the Eastern woodlands, and goes to the bathroom, whose fixtures are a mixture of European and American inventions, both of recent date. He takes off his pajamas, a garment invented in India, and washes with soap, invented by the ancient Gauls. He then shaves - a masochistic rite that seems to have been derived from either Sumer or ancient Egypt.
Returning to the bedroom, he removes his clothes from a chair of southern European type and proceeds to dress. He puts on garments whose form originally derived from the skin clothing of the nomads of the Asiatic steppes, puts on shoes made from skins tanned by a process invented in ancient Egypt and cut to a pattern derived from the classical civilizations of the Mediterranean, and ties around his neck a strip of bright colored cloth that is a vestigial survival of the shoulder shawls worn by 17th century Croatians. Before going out for breakfast, he glances through a window, made of glass invented in Egypt, and, if it is raining, puts on overshoes made of rubber discovered by the Central American Indians and takes an umbrella, invented in Southeastern Asia. Upon his head he puts a hat made of felt, a material invented in the Asiatic steppes.
On his way to breakfast, he stops to buy a paper, paying for it with coins, an ancient Lydian invention. At the restaurant, a whole new series of borrowed elements confronts him. His plate is made from pottery, invented in China. His knife is steel, an alloy first made in southern India; his fork, a medieval Italian invention; and his spoon, a derivative of a Roman original. He begins his breakfast with an orange, from the eastern Mediterranean, a cantaloupe from Persia, or perhaps a piece of African watermelon. With this he has coffee, an Abyssinian plant, with cream and sugar. Both the domestication of cows and the idea of milking them originated in the Near East, while sugar was first made in India. After his fruit and first coffee, he goes for waffles, cakes made by a Scandinavian technique from wheat domesticated in Asia Minor. Over these he pours maple syrup, invented by the Indians of the Eastern woodlands. As a side dish, he may have the egg of a species of bird domesticated in Indochina, or the thin strips of the flesh of an animal domesticated in eastern Asia that have been salted by a process developed in Northern Europe.
When our friend has finished eating, he settles back to smoke, an American Indian habit, consuming a plant domesticated in Brazil in either a pipe, derived from the Indians of Virginia, or a cigarette, derived from Mexico. If he is hardy enough, he may even attempt a cigar, transmitted to us from the Antilles by way of Spain. While smoking, he reads the news of the day, imprinted in characters invented by the ancient Semites upon a material invented in Germany. As he absorbs the accounts of foreign troubles, he will, if he is a good, conservative citizen, thank a Hebrew deity in an Indo-European language that he is 100% American.
Linton, Ralph. The study of man : an introduction. New York : Appleton-Century. 1936
Monday, October 13, 2008
Asian Lady magnet
yup, everytime I walk out my front door these days I am greeted by a considerable number of Asian Ladies...
unfortunately, they are beetles looking for a place to winter and since they have historically lived in cliff crevices in Asia and I am fresh outta cliff and the accompanying crevices, well, they are just looking for someplace to call home for the winter.
I'll sit inside and wait for the mail man (yup - really is a man) to bring the mail so I can (pray pray pray) hopefully get my reader for class in today's mail. Today marks the beginning of the 4th week of the quarter and my reader has still not arrived... so I am 4 weeks behind at the start - isn't that nice!
Ok gonna go, just wanted to share my popularity with the Ladies!
unfortunately, they are beetles looking for a place to winter and since they have historically lived in cliff crevices in Asia and I am fresh outta cliff and the accompanying crevices, well, they are just looking for someplace to call home for the winter.
I'll sit inside and wait for the mail man (yup - really is a man) to bring the mail so I can (pray pray pray) hopefully get my reader for class in today's mail. Today marks the beginning of the 4th week of the quarter and my reader has still not arrived... so I am 4 weeks behind at the start - isn't that nice!
Ok gonna go, just wanted to share my popularity with the Ladies!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Spray Can Blister...
OK, maybe I am extra fragile and delicate, or maybe I have been pressing far too many nozzles attached to spray cans...
I have a small blister on my index finger. Fortunately it is low enough on the pad that I can still type.
Lots of spraying going on. I was using the spray citristrip for the built in cabinets and had planned on using the brush on gel on the doors, since they can be laid flat and it wouldn't run like it did on the cabinet frame.
Well, it is much more time consuming to try to paint that gel on than to spray it on, and the spray is a much more even coating... so... lots of cans of that crap in the garage waiting to be used.
I also used 2 cans of spray paint when I painted the register covers and the air return covers.
Then, I got a can of green to spray on that icky rusted up T bar for the clothesline.
Then, I got a can of grey to spray on the front of the porch to cover up the crack house address someone painted on using black spray paint. It was too dark (it was primer - the only flat grey I could find...) so I primed the galvanized metal hand rail for the steps.
I then took the dark red paint I bought to cover the primer, but it ended up being too bright and with a purple cast. It was also failry glossy for a satin... so I have to take that back and get something less flashy...
so, now I am sporting a blister... who'd a thunk that using spray cans could give you a blister!
Time to go to bed so I can get up and do some more stripping!
I have a small blister on my index finger. Fortunately it is low enough on the pad that I can still type.
Lots of spraying going on. I was using the spray citristrip for the built in cabinets and had planned on using the brush on gel on the doors, since they can be laid flat and it wouldn't run like it did on the cabinet frame.
Well, it is much more time consuming to try to paint that gel on than to spray it on, and the spray is a much more even coating... so... lots of cans of that crap in the garage waiting to be used.
I also used 2 cans of spray paint when I painted the register covers and the air return covers.
Then, I got a can of green to spray on that icky rusted up T bar for the clothesline.
Then, I got a can of grey to spray on the front of the porch to cover up the crack house address someone painted on using black spray paint. It was too dark (it was primer - the only flat grey I could find...) so I primed the galvanized metal hand rail for the steps.
I then took the dark red paint I bought to cover the primer, but it ended up being too bright and with a purple cast. It was also failry glossy for a satin... so I have to take that back and get something less flashy...
so, now I am sporting a blister... who'd a thunk that using spray cans could give you a blister!
Time to go to bed so I can get up and do some more stripping!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Now I Know Why...
there is no range hood in the kitchen!
The kitchen is compact and the way the cabinets are constructed, the stove has to go in front of a window.
I figured I would just do some online browsing for a suitable range hood that I could put over the stove and in front of the window - like one for the island cooktops. Yes it will block the window, but you really should have a vent...
Well, turns out the freestanding hoods - called chimney hoods - start at about $600 and go up to $2500... huh? That is not including all the duct work and other things needed to get the thing up through the ceiling and roof.
Now I know why there is no evidence of a hood in that kitchen!
Plan B...
I'll take ideas if you have them.
And, no, keeping the window cracked is not an option when the temps will be hitting low teens...
guess I have some researching to do!
The kitchen is compact and the way the cabinets are constructed, the stove has to go in front of a window.
I figured I would just do some online browsing for a suitable range hood that I could put over the stove and in front of the window - like one for the island cooktops. Yes it will block the window, but you really should have a vent...
Well, turns out the freestanding hoods - called chimney hoods - start at about $600 and go up to $2500... huh? That is not including all the duct work and other things needed to get the thing up through the ceiling and roof.
Now I know why there is no evidence of a hood in that kitchen!
Plan B...
I'll take ideas if you have them.
And, no, keeping the window cracked is not an option when the temps will be hitting low teens...
guess I have some researching to do!
El Productivo day at Kia Rio
Well, today was the first really productive day I have had working on the house.
Between grieving periods and just a general funk from life altering changes, I have been operating at about 30% for most of the 3 months I have been here.
Today, however, I actually finished sanding down the frame of one kitchen cabinet, putting a coat of wood conditioner on it, gave it a couple of coats of stain, sanded and spray painted the heat registers - they were awful looking to say the least - Mom has the camera so I did not get before pictures, but essentially they were rust with a little bit of black here and there. Now they are shiny black - courtesy of 2 cans of black rustoleum spray paint.
Of course, there was that run to the no-Homo Depot for the extra can of rustoleum and the wood conditioner...
Also got the first quote for window replacement - $4k - owie.
I also started trying to figure out why the garage door is not working. I think it may be a problem with the wall mounted control box. I do not have a remote for it, so I did the research and have ordered a replacement opener that will allegedly open up to 3 different garage doors. If true, I may be able to program it to open mom's garage as well.
Was going to poly the kitchen cabinet frame early tomorrow, but have decided to wait. The new fridge comes tomorrow, and I did not get around to getting the walls on those 2 sides primed and painted. This means the fridge will have to come back out to do that, so I will probably do the poly at the same time, and hopefully the other cabinets will be ready to poly -(absolutely nothing has been done to them yet...).
FYI, stripping and staining cabinets is not hard, but it is very time consuming. I discovered I am not the only crazy person who has used dental picks on the edges and trim work when stripping old paint... I also discovered that I do not know how to get the imbedded paint residue out of the wood. I tried many tricks listed on the internet to no avail, so the cabinets have some spots where there is a few white areas with little to no stain on them. C'est la vie.
Snuggie and Jaz are both on the desk with me. It is times like this when Tashi's absence looms so large.
Jaz is sitting on the mouse cord and I am starting to cry, again, so I am going to sign off and will be back in a few days with an update on the progress.
The chimney inspector is coming on Friday, so I will know if the fireplace is usable with minimal repairs or if I will just block off the flue for insulating the house better.
Sorry for typos, hard to type under current cat conditions.
Between grieving periods and just a general funk from life altering changes, I have been operating at about 30% for most of the 3 months I have been here.
Today, however, I actually finished sanding down the frame of one kitchen cabinet, putting a coat of wood conditioner on it, gave it a couple of coats of stain, sanded and spray painted the heat registers - they were awful looking to say the least - Mom has the camera so I did not get before pictures, but essentially they were rust with a little bit of black here and there. Now they are shiny black - courtesy of 2 cans of black rustoleum spray paint.
Of course, there was that run to the no-Homo Depot for the extra can of rustoleum and the wood conditioner...
Also got the first quote for window replacement - $4k - owie.
I also started trying to figure out why the garage door is not working. I think it may be a problem with the wall mounted control box. I do not have a remote for it, so I did the research and have ordered a replacement opener that will allegedly open up to 3 different garage doors. If true, I may be able to program it to open mom's garage as well.
Was going to poly the kitchen cabinet frame early tomorrow, but have decided to wait. The new fridge comes tomorrow, and I did not get around to getting the walls on those 2 sides primed and painted. This means the fridge will have to come back out to do that, so I will probably do the poly at the same time, and hopefully the other cabinets will be ready to poly -(absolutely nothing has been done to them yet...).
FYI, stripping and staining cabinets is not hard, but it is very time consuming. I discovered I am not the only crazy person who has used dental picks on the edges and trim work when stripping old paint... I also discovered that I do not know how to get the imbedded paint residue out of the wood. I tried many tricks listed on the internet to no avail, so the cabinets have some spots where there is a few white areas with little to no stain on them. C'est la vie.
Snuggie and Jaz are both on the desk with me. It is times like this when Tashi's absence looms so large.
Jaz is sitting on the mouse cord and I am starting to cry, again, so I am going to sign off and will be back in a few days with an update on the progress.
The chimney inspector is coming on Friday, so I will know if the fireplace is usable with minimal repairs or if I will just block off the flue for insulating the house better.
Sorry for typos, hard to type under current cat conditions.
Monday, October 6, 2008
"Joe P." 1925 to 2008 - Gone Fishin'
Well, mom and I had been planning for the last few days to go out and decorate dad's grave for the fall.
For those of you that do not know Mom, she is a decorator - holiday decorator - yard, porch and now dad's grave. I know he is shaking his head right now... kinda amuzed by it, cause she is his pretty little blonde girl, and partly annoyed that she spends money on this stuff.
Well, for one reason or another, we did not go out on each of those planned trips.
Finally, on Sunday, Mom wasn't able to find her floral wire to tie the fall flowers onto the decorative post at his grave. So, instead of decorating his grave on Sunday afternoon, then going to Red Lobster for the all you can eat shrimp (no I did not eat any of them), we went to Michael's crafts, (ok to Lowes also - the car does not leave the house without a stop there or Homo Depot -- btw way it is decidely NOT very homo here...) and on to Red Lobster.
We decided she would do the flowers on Monday morning then she would drive out by herself and decorate it and make a few stops in New Lebanon - where I grew up, to do her errands. She went and did her errands but did not go to the cemetary. She came home, called me and we decided she would come help with the house, then I would drive her out there and we would go to her house and have dinner.
Mom has been struggling with the gravemarker issue. On one hand, his grave is unmarked and she feels that is disrespectful. On the other hand, she has said more than once "seeing his name on that stone is what will make it real."
Well, on the way to the cemetary I found out why she waited. She told me that last night dad told her the grave marker was there. Now, from a previous post you may remember the marker being ordered and a 50% deposit being paid. The cemetary said they would call when it came in, and after she paid the remaining 50%, they would set the marker at the grave.
I gently reminded mom of this, and that it probably would not be in until another week at least. She was insistent that it was there, dad said it was so. Now, she was not always fond of agreeing with dad or listening to him in the past, but, times have changed.
We arrived at the cemetary, and I was just ahead of her walking to the grave with all of our decorations. (it is ok to laugh, really). I noticed it looked different, and was not clear about the status. I thought they may have just done the prep work, but no, as we came closer, they had set the gravemarker out in its' marble base. I really think they must have done it earlier today, or perhaps yesterday, because I know they would have called to tell her they had done it so she would not be surprised by it. There was also fresh tire tracks in the grass leading up to his grave and stopping there.
Well, seems dad took care of the notification detail for them...
As one could imagine, mom was highly emotional and did some intense grieving, seeing his name in bronze on that marker. I was so glad she trusted her intuition and had me go with her. I would have really felt awful if she had to go through that alone.
After some grieving, we started to decorate and our moods lightened a bit. We even joked about taking a pair of his overalls and putting his shoes, a ballcap and a life-sized picture of his face on them and setting them at his grave complete with a fishing pole. About 50% of the time, Dad would have found that idea funny, so don't go thinking I was disrespecting him. I inherited that weird shit equally from both of them.
I offered to stay the night with mom, but she declined and said she'd be ok, well as ok as she will ever be.
I am going to go and call her to check on her before bed.
We took pictures of the fall decorations. I will post a picture, or two, along with a photo of the marker, in a few days or a couple of weeks...
I am trying to imagine Tashi hanging out with Dad. Tashi and dad both love the water, so maybe they are now fishing together in spirit. I sure do miss them both.
For those of you that do not know Mom, she is a decorator - holiday decorator - yard, porch and now dad's grave. I know he is shaking his head right now... kinda amuzed by it, cause she is his pretty little blonde girl, and partly annoyed that she spends money on this stuff.
Well, for one reason or another, we did not go out on each of those planned trips.
Finally, on Sunday, Mom wasn't able to find her floral wire to tie the fall flowers onto the decorative post at his grave. So, instead of decorating his grave on Sunday afternoon, then going to Red Lobster for the all you can eat shrimp (no I did not eat any of them), we went to Michael's crafts, (ok to Lowes also - the car does not leave the house without a stop there or Homo Depot -- btw way it is decidely NOT very homo here...) and on to Red Lobster.
We decided she would do the flowers on Monday morning then she would drive out by herself and decorate it and make a few stops in New Lebanon - where I grew up, to do her errands. She went and did her errands but did not go to the cemetary. She came home, called me and we decided she would come help with the house, then I would drive her out there and we would go to her house and have dinner.
Mom has been struggling with the gravemarker issue. On one hand, his grave is unmarked and she feels that is disrespectful. On the other hand, she has said more than once "seeing his name on that stone is what will make it real."
Well, on the way to the cemetary I found out why she waited. She told me that last night dad told her the grave marker was there. Now, from a previous post you may remember the marker being ordered and a 50% deposit being paid. The cemetary said they would call when it came in, and after she paid the remaining 50%, they would set the marker at the grave.
I gently reminded mom of this, and that it probably would not be in until another week at least. She was insistent that it was there, dad said it was so. Now, she was not always fond of agreeing with dad or listening to him in the past, but, times have changed.
We arrived at the cemetary, and I was just ahead of her walking to the grave with all of our decorations. (it is ok to laugh, really). I noticed it looked different, and was not clear about the status. I thought they may have just done the prep work, but no, as we came closer, they had set the gravemarker out in its' marble base. I really think they must have done it earlier today, or perhaps yesterday, because I know they would have called to tell her they had done it so she would not be surprised by it. There was also fresh tire tracks in the grass leading up to his grave and stopping there.
Well, seems dad took care of the notification detail for them...
As one could imagine, mom was highly emotional and did some intense grieving, seeing his name in bronze on that marker. I was so glad she trusted her intuition and had me go with her. I would have really felt awful if she had to go through that alone.
After some grieving, we started to decorate and our moods lightened a bit. We even joked about taking a pair of his overalls and putting his shoes, a ballcap and a life-sized picture of his face on them and setting them at his grave complete with a fishing pole. About 50% of the time, Dad would have found that idea funny, so don't go thinking I was disrespecting him. I inherited that weird shit equally from both of them.
I offered to stay the night with mom, but she declined and said she'd be ok, well as ok as she will ever be.
I am going to go and call her to check on her before bed.
We took pictures of the fall decorations. I will post a picture, or two, along with a photo of the marker, in a few days or a couple of weeks...
I am trying to imagine Tashi hanging out with Dad. Tashi and dad both love the water, so maybe they are now fishing together in spirit. I sure do miss them both.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Things I did not know that I missed...
Horizons that stretch for miles
Sunsets that stretch for miles, and have amazing colors and shapes
Mom
Deciduous trees that create a burst of fall color
Dread of winter, with the longing for spring
Stars
Mom
Drivers that wave when you do something considerate
Drivers that get out of the way when a sirened vehicle is nearby
Drivers pulling off on the shoulder and stopping when a funeral procession passes
Using the high beams and driving through the dark of night
Going to my hometown
******************************
I guess there is no mistaking the fact that I am squarely middle-aged.
Dad was right, it was time for me to come back.
It is different, for sure, but except for Dec to March each year, I'll be pretty darn happy with the decision.
Yes, I miss home, but so far only when I watch movies set in large urban areas with lots of interesting street life, cafes and restaurants along with colorful people. I'll always miss that.
I will miss my friends, too, but am going to work on calling them more often and being a bit more in touch.
I still miss Tashi immensely. It is as if a part of my soul has been ripped away.
Snuggie and Jaz are still behaving in ways that are out of the norm for them. Snuggie is picking up weight and looking more like a full grown male cat. Both of them are already starting to get their winter fur in. I cry every time I wonder what Tashi would look like with winter fur, or when I think of snow and how much he would have loved it.
Well, as happens often, my eyes are overflowing with tears, so I will sign off.
Sunsets that stretch for miles, and have amazing colors and shapes
Mom
Deciduous trees that create a burst of fall color
Dread of winter, with the longing for spring
Stars
Mom
Drivers that wave when you do something considerate
Drivers that get out of the way when a sirened vehicle is nearby
Drivers pulling off on the shoulder and stopping when a funeral procession passes
Using the high beams and driving through the dark of night
Going to my hometown
******************************
I guess there is no mistaking the fact that I am squarely middle-aged.
Dad was right, it was time for me to come back.
It is different, for sure, but except for Dec to March each year, I'll be pretty darn happy with the decision.
Yes, I miss home, but so far only when I watch movies set in large urban areas with lots of interesting street life, cafes and restaurants along with colorful people. I'll always miss that.
I will miss my friends, too, but am going to work on calling them more often and being a bit more in touch.
I still miss Tashi immensely. It is as if a part of my soul has been ripped away.
Snuggie and Jaz are still behaving in ways that are out of the norm for them. Snuggie is picking up weight and looking more like a full grown male cat. Both of them are already starting to get their winter fur in. I cry every time I wonder what Tashi would look like with winter fur, or when I think of snow and how much he would have loved it.
Well, as happens often, my eyes are overflowing with tears, so I will sign off.
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