Stacyverb

Thanks for the memories

It's been just over 24 hours since the shocking, sad loss of our Nacho Kitty.  While those last moments were terrible, and I'm sure I'll never forget them, I don't want them to overshadow the four years of happy memories our little pip squeak gave us.

 

This was one of the first pictures I ever took of her, shortly after she appeared on our doorstep one cold evening in November 2007.  She was so friendly, I thought surely she must belong to someone.  But we put up posters and no one ever claimed her.  By then, she had claimed our hearts.  Just look at that adorable face!  She was about 6 months old when she found us.

 

She quickly settled in as part of the family and developed a wonderful friendship with Little Kitty.  They were snuggle buddies and playmates.  The day before Nacho died, they were up in the window watching birds together.  I wish I'd taken a picture of that.

 

One of her favorite activities was "helping" Anthony while he was working at his drawing table.  She always wanted to be where the action was.

 

Case in point: here's our party animal, wiped out after a whilrwind of Christmas festivities.

 

Despite her chronic breathing problems, this kitty was unstoppable.  She might have a coughing fit one minute, but then as soon as it was over, she'd be back to her normal mischief-making.

 

  She wasn't supposed to be on this high shelf, and she certainly wasn't supposed to be in this flower pot!  Fortunately, I'm a terrible gardener, so whatever had once been growing in there was already ruined anyway.  Besides, this photo brings more smiles to my face than any plant could have done.

 

I miss you, pip squeak.  It's not fair that your life had to be cut so short by an ailment you were born with.  You got a raw deal in the lung department.  But did you ever let it get you down?  No way.  I've never known any animal who was full of so much pure joy and zest for life as you were. 

Having you in my life taught me two important lessons: 1) Although losing a pet leaves a big hole in people's hearts (as I was still grieving for Dinah when I met you), that hole can heal when the people let a new pet into their lives; and 2) When you have a bad spell, don't let it stop you.  Just get through it, and get back up, and go right back to making mischief and living life to the fullest.

This morning a friend reminded me of an old song, and this line sums up what I'm feeling as I remember my furry little sidekick: "You didn't have to love me, but you did, but you did.  And I thank you."

Heartbreak

Readers, I am typing through tears today.  This morning Anthony and I had to say goodbye to our beloved pip squeak of a cat, Nacho.

She has had a mysterious breathing problem her whole life.  X-rays showed that her lungs were malformed--some kind of birth defect--resulting in asthma-like attacks.  Last week she had a particularly bad spell in which the vet had to give her oxygen.  She came home and had a few pretty good (not great) days. 

But early this morning she just could not get her breath, period.  We rushed her to the emergency vet, where they tried to help her with an inhaler and more oxygen.  But she continued to struggle.  At that point the doctor told us that in his opinion, we should let her go.  We knew it was true.  Anything else they could have done for her would have been only a temporary fix, at best.  As horrible as the choice was, the thought of her asphyxiating alone during the night or while we weren't home was worse.  I held her on my lap as the vet administered the final injection.

We've been trying to think about some happier stories about our sweet little sidekick.  Believe me, there was much more to her than her medical problems!  I will write more and share some of these memories when I feel up to it.

RIP Nacho, 2007-2011

Insert clever title here

It's been one of those months where stressful things keep happening, and you end up getting not-enough sleep and hemorrhaging money.  Two pet health emergencies, laptop had to be replaced, car got a flat tire, dryer is broken, blahblahblah.  So yeah, I've avoided blogging for the past few weeks.  I can hardly stand to listen to myself--why should you have to?

The other day, someone I've known since early this year asked me if I'd ever thought about being a writer.  She'd read some stuff I wrote here and liked it.  Her question made me feel weird--why?  Because there was a time when writing was such a major part of my life that no one who'd known me for ten months would've had to ask that question.  Also because, well, she just read some of my writing so...I am a writer, right?

So anyway.  Here I am on my day off, in a little yellow house strewn with recuperating cats and air-drying laundry, filling you in on all that.  I really don't have anything to report.  Does that mean I shouldn't blog?  Is this blog just about reporting and documenting my life?  Is it just about posting pictures of cool events I've gone to, and projects I've made, or what?

It's supposed to be my own place where I can do whatever I want.  Somehow I got into a rut of taking photos, reporting what happened, and posting it.  Which is fine, but there's no reason I have to be limited to that.  I need to do some thinking about this, if I can free up some brain cells from dealing with all these domestic crises.

Watch for more randomness, coming soon.

"Old Man Cabbage" screening party

A few months ago, I mentioned that my husband had shaved off his goatee for his role as an extra in a music video.  It wasn't just any music video, but a 15-minute "long form narrative music video" produced by Ninja Puppet Productions and featuring the music of Atlanta's fantastic Blair Crimmins & The Hookers. 

This week we were invited to a screening party of the almost-finished video at The Goat Farm (an amazing venue that might need its own post sometime).  Director Raymond Carr introduced the film, and the band performed the soundtrack live.  It was a great evening of music, wine, and creative folks.  At the bottom of this post, watch the trailer for the video!

 

Anthony appears very briefly at 1:02, but is much more visible in the full video. :)

Closing The Gaps: brown high-waisted skirt

Well, look at this: I finished a sewing project, without any drama this time.  Ahhhh, success!  So much better than failure and frustration.  Sometimes you just need a simple, straightforward project to cleanse the palate, get you back on the horse, or whatever cliche you prefer.

This dark brown skirt will be really useful in my wardrobe, coordinating with a lot of my print tops that have brown somewhere in their design (Closing The Gaps, baby!).  Also, be proud that I used a different pattern for a change.  No offense to my beloved McCall's 3341, but somtimes a girl needs to branch out, you know?  Being higher-waisted, this one has a bit more of a curvy shape rather than a straight A-line.  When I modeled it for my husband, he said (umprompted by me), "I like the waistline."  Rawr!  :)

PROJECT DETAILS:

Pattern: Butterick 5466, View E.

Fabric: Some kind of faux suede material, less than a yard (60" wide)

I'll be honest, there were better shots of this skirt, but this one cracks me up for two reasons: my feline co-worker, Bibi, made an appearance in the background; and the way I'm leaning makes it look like I have a giant Popeye arm.  Heh.  I'm easily amused.