3.24.2011

.*:Lover Boy becomes Krishna:*.

My sweet white kitty, Shasta Sioux, passed just 2 weeks ago. She was 9 years old. She was a shelter rescue from my days in California and she was a bit of an oddity. When I rescued her I had no idea that she was deaf. I quickly figured that out (the official test consisted of an elderly veterinarian getting up really close to her ear, clapping and yelling "HEEEEEEEEERE KITTY KITTY KITTY"). Didn't matter to me, I chose her and I was committed. That girl was skittish... she hid much of the first year I had her and really didn't come out of her shell entirely until Baz was born. Those last few years were heavenly (save for a couple of incidents when she became a stalker of dogs and spent one family vacation torturing my Mother-In-Law's friendly dog Andy). When I say heavenly, I mean that she really finally relaxed. She was the alpha cat; Queen of the house (the capital Q is intentional). However, she was always tolerant of Baz. She was gentle. She never jumped up on laps for cuddles, but she often swept across my or Ben's legs to let us know she was in the mood for love. She was a good cat, and she was mine.

I took a spontaneous vacation down to California to spend some much needed time with a sister-friend and her family & other friends and family. I was gone 10 days. When I returned, Shasta began yowling her head off and didn't stop for 3 days. She was never a meower. In fact, we would joke that she only meowed quarterly; you know: 4 times per year. That was pretty close to the truth. So, I knew something was off. I thought that she just missed us since Ben said that she hadn't made a peep the whole time I was away. At the end of the third day, she had a 2 minute long seizure. The next day the vet told us that it was rare for a cat to have more than one seizure within a few weeks, often times with 6 months between episodes. We had him run some tests so that we could find out what was wrong with her and make sure that it wasn't contagious to our other cat (Hazel Gray. She's Ben's sweet kitty). Over the next 2 days she had over 15 seizures. Twice she went into seizures as a result of me petting her. It was heartbreaking. We made the decision to have her euthanized as I could no longer watch her suffer.

You might find it odd that I am willing to jump back into another kitty relationship so soon. Well, I mourned hard for my kitty. I mourned harder than I ever would have thought possible. She saw me through the end of an 8 year long relationship. She comforted me through a terrible housemate situation. She was with me when I fell in love, married, had a baby. She moved with me from California to Utah and then to Oregon. I realized that I felt a kinship with her because she was flawed and misunderstood. So much of what I have been working through lately resonates around those themes. Yeah, I loved her. A lot. But I set her little spirit free and felt a strong urge to find new kitty kinship. Not to replace her. Oh, no. That could never be... but to open myself up and see what was to be. Funny thing is, I set my intention for another kitty so unlike her. I wanted a cuddler. I wanted a kitty that would be gentle with & not freaked out by kid energy. I wanted a boy kitty. But, I still wanted a white kitty (I just love those white cats... random fact: Did you know that white cats make up only ~2% of all cats?). I began to browse petfinder.com. I posted an ad on craigslist. I was committed to taking on a rescue cat. I really thought it would take longer... but when I saw Lover Boy up for adoption at the shelter in Salem, and realized that he was brought in as a stray on the day of Shasta's death, I knew I had to meet him. Today we brought him home.


When we visited him a few days ago, he was covered in kitty dreads. COVERED. He had oil in his tail hair. He had dirt marks all around his head, ears and paws from his ear mite treatment. In other words, he was a hot mess. Imagine our surprise when we showed up to take him home and he had this ridiculous haircut. Thank goodness he at least feels better, because he looks like a shaved poodle. I've taken to calling him "Poodle Pants". ;)

Here he is settling in after braving his way out of the crate and into our home. He went straight to Baz's room and hung out while Baz played and "gave him a tour".

He then sat though a book about the alphabet, complete with storytelling and random facts about Baz's life.

"Did you know that my name is Sebastian? I'm 3 years old and I like to read. Do you like to read, kitty? This is the letter S. Sebastian starts with S."


He came out of his shell rather quickly. We had been tossing some names around: Dandelion, Wishpuff, Krishna, other variations on Krishna such as Govinda. I asked Baz what name he liked and he informed me that the cat already knew his name was Krishna. From Lover Boy to Krishna? Suitable. I like. And so, he is henceforth known as Krishna.

Here he is being lovey.

He wouldn't leave Baz's side and even snuggled with him on the living room floor long after Baz dozed off for the night.

And then!? He crawled over and licked his little nose. Kitty kisses! Yes. Another great reminder to be mindful of what I wish for... those manifestations are sometimes so spot on and quickly received.

Despite being sick as a dog, I'm ecstatic to have chosen and been chosen back. The smile is 100% proof of that. The rosy glow, on the other hand, is pure fever.

Please send us more healing thoughts. Ben has missed 2 days of work because of this awful illness and is eager to get back... and I am eager to have my voice back and to get out into the sunshine and play!

The cure for stir craziness...

An indoor picnic! We have been cooped up in the house for far too many days with this nasty sickness and my little guy has been such a trooper. He's feeling much better as he has just one more day to go on his antibiotics, but me and the BenBen were *much* worse today. Baz was ecstatic to be able to eat down low... and who wouldn't be? Cars, robots & tasty treats are about as near to perfection as one can come. That smile says it all:


Nuts, cheese, carrots, tomatoes, pb&j mini bagel & animal crackers. Yum!


It is so simple to please the wee ones. I just have to keep reminding myself of that!

3.22.2011

SPRING (& an ode to Winter)...

SO so so so so much has happened since December. I swear, I never meant to take this long of a blog break, but I suppose life got in the way. Just to catch you up:

We moved! We decided to leave the coast of Oregon and settle inland about 50 miles just on the edge of Corvallis in a community called Philomath. It's small. It's all American... It just may be the safest feeling place that I have ever lived. We love it. We do miss the coast on occasion, but we resonate so much closer to the vibe that is Corvallis and we truly couldn't be happier with our decision. Here's a glimpse of one of the perks of our rental house: SUNROOM! We spend every morning (and much of the day) in here. We drink tea/coffee, do arts and crafts, watch the birds swoop in for snacks, play cars on the floor, color; etc. It really is a little slice of heaven. Note the playground just outside of our back fence. Baz is head over heels!

We've had visitors... One of which indulged the Bazlet in a serious jam session:


Ben began a new job (which he loves!) and we have taken a few breakfast dates to enjoy some alone time to connect.

We said goodbye to a very special animal friend... Actually, said goodbye to 2. My snake, Shiva, made his way out about a month and a half before my sweet kitty Shasta.

Breakfast dates were made possible by a little someone beginning preschool! That's his preschool building just past the trees. It is set at the edge of a gorgeous park and has a fab playground out back. Again, he's in love. Loves his teachers and making new friends. Working on learning the ways of school life and finding his place in the group.

Baz GREW!

...and grew some more!

I've found little bits of my spirit self that had been neglected and hiding... Feeling so much clearer.

Got some tattoos...

Matched by a Sister-friend!


Took a spontaneous trip to Cali to visit friends and fam (and my fave mountain: Shasta!).


Connected with a niece/cousin that we hadn't yet had the chance to know.

Spent time with cherished friends (& fam; many of whom shy away from the camera)...

and decided that we just can't live without a sweet kitty friend (okay, that's all me... I'm missing my Shasti, but I'm ready for the next adventure. We welcome our new kitty this Thursday!).

Okay, yeah... so, a lot has happened in the past season... much more than I have listed, surely. I feel like I hit the major points spot on, though. Looking forward to sharing the next changes. Feeling grateful for Ms. Amelia for kickin' my butt into blog action by requesting that I get to posting and expressing that she has missed my bloggy presence. Send us some "get well" lovin'. We've got a nasty cough/cold brewing in our house. Sun has been popping out for bits and we really want to get outside and take advantage of the blooms and light!