Goodbye Our Sweet Kitty Karma

As many of you know 4 short months ago we took in a couple of kittens we found in our yard. One of the kittens (Woody who is black and white) got really sick and we thought he wouldn't make. The other kitten (Kitty Karma aka Punkin) stayed by his side and tried so hard to get him to play. Finally after we tried an alternative tratment he came around. He still has some real issues but he is up and running...literally all over the house! :0)

Then without warning Kitty Karma starting showing the same signs of neurological damage. We ran exhaustive tests and blood work. But she became paralyzed. In the end I had to carry her to the litter box and pick her up and hold her so she could eat. She was such a lovely kitten. Finally we had no other choice but to end her suffering. So on Friday November 18th we said our last goodbyes. I brought her home and buried her under our Blue Spruce.

I still feel out of sorts and keep second guessing if I could have done something different. I wonder why Woody made and she didn't. I can barely type this through the tears. I ask myself how could such a small bit of fluff in 4 months have such a impact on our lives? Our house seems quiet. Woody sniffs where she used to lay and wonders the house and cries as if he is calling for her. Even our dog Jasper seemed to know she was gone.

I think animals are amazing. That Friday evening I was sitting in my rocking chair in kind of in "numb mode" missing seeing her squeezed down in the arm of the love seat behind the pillow. Then all of a sudden Woody jumped up on me and laid across my chest just under my chin. Somehow his purr seemed louder than usual. He felt warmer too. He just curled up on me as if to say everything will be OK. And though I feel heartbroken over losing Kitty Karma, I still feel grateful to have had her even for 4 short months. She was one of the most loving and sweet kittens ever.

I hope you will enjoy the little time line of pictures of her and Woody. We may have only had her for 4 months but she lived large all 4 months! She helped us love more than we knew we could. We were so blessed to have her. :0)

Take care till my next post...

I Miss You Dad

Today is the 10 year anniversary of my Dad's death. Where have the years gone? It's hard to think of all the things he has missed over the past ten years. The births of his grandsons and another granddaughter. Even his first great grandchild. Some days I still feel such sadness that he didn't take better care of himself. Even though he was dealing with injuries sustained in his accident he would have been here longer. Then it hits me like a rock...I'm doing the same thing!!! Sure I never smoked but I don't eat right or exercise like I should...like I could. I don't want to miss out seeing my nieces and nephews grow up. But I digress! :0)

I'm sorry to say I don't have many pictures of my Dad. This is a layout I did of our last Christmas with our Dad. Anyone that knew my Dad knew how much he loved Christmas! One time he told me it's the one time of year he can do something special for us all. It was so fun talking to him a few times a week till he got our gifts. He would start calling me as soon as QVC started airing Christmas stuff! Usually right after Halloween!!! hehe He would tell me what he saw and ask what I thought of this or that. But once he got the gifts he would call and it became a little game between us. I would ask him to give me a hint and I would guess something outrageous! We both had a good laugh.

One of my favorite memories was shopping with my Dad when I was maybe 10 years old. We went and got a things we needed. We got a can opener, iron, and a toaster...not just any toaster a 4 slice one! And some other items like that. I was so excited that he let me help pick out the gifts. As I got older I realized he always bought practical gifts and always loved giving gifts for the kitchen. I think the only gift that wasn't practical was boxes of candy(Hershey Gold). He said you always need candy at Christmas! :0)

One of the other things my Dad loved was all the fun foods we would have at the holidays. No turkey for him. He was a honey baked ham kind of guy! And there better be some pies! And one of them better be lemon meringue. How we love putting out the spread. He loved playing cards with us or just sitting around talking or watching TV.

Now that he is gone when the holidays come I always try to do him proud! :0) I love to have a big spread, lots of gifts the kids will love and games or cards so we all have something to do. Still, it just isn't the same. You never really know how much one person links you all together till they are gone. I miss my Dad everyday but most of all at Christmas time.

Till my next post...

My First Stamping Video

OK, I finally tried to make a video. I SOUND LIKE A SNAKE!!! (you may want to watch without the volume on!)hehe

I forgot to mention that you needed to punch out 6 scallop shapes(your color choice) and just 3 white circles to stamp the snowman images and snowflakes on. Hopefully I will get better as I go along! Plus I think I need to figure out a better place to put the camera so I don't hit it. And I think I may need a better way to record sound. (I'd like to think it's the camera's fault I sound this way! HA!)

I didn't want to make it too long or drawn out for each detail. I figured that most of the people who follow my blog are already pretty seasoned stampers. So I thought you wouldn't need too much detail on how to use the punches or stamp.

Thank you again to Diane Chianelli for her inspiration. You can view her video on You Tube. She used a different stamp set with a bigger snowman image and the colors she used were awesome. Hers turned out so well. She also goes into more detail on how to make the treat. So feel free to check out her You Tube videos. Or if I can answer any questions feel free to ask.

Take care and hope you have had time to stamp this week!

Till my next post...

Just A Quick Post...

Hello everyone!

Yesterday was wonderful. The lovely people here in Plain City who have the Reindeer on RT 42 graciously put up a banner for my surprise for Lee for our 20th Anniversary. Lee thought it was so cool that I did it but how nice they were to go the extra mile and dress them up. They gave the husband deer flowers for his "deer" wife! :0) Hope you get a kick out of the picture. I have to say it really started our anniversary off with a smile!

Till my next post...