Welcome Sabrina!

Yesterday I adopted Sabrina at PetSmart. She is a small, solid black cat. Sabrina had been at PetSmart for over a month and had been there even before Miss Kitty got sick and had to be put to sleep. We have always had more than one cat, at one time we had four.

Sabrina is a different cat now that she's here. She was so happy checking out the rec room and laundry room yesterday. She has the whole couch to herself and has lots of room to roam around. Even a window ledge to sit on and watch the birds outside. She will get to come upstairs in a few days after she has had time to acclimate. I am introducing her to Randy slowly. He's not pleased with me right now.

I got a nice email from the lady who had rescued Sabrina last year. It seems Sabrina's owner had left her at the apartment complex when they moved. She didn't get along with her rescuer's cat, so they took her to the New Leash On Life shelter where she ended up at PetSmart. I think I'm lucky to have found her.

Goodbye, Miss Kitty

Today has been a terrible day. I had to have my beautiful grey tuxedo cat, Miss Kitty, put to sleep this afternoon. She has been sick since last week when she suddenly stopped eating. I took her to the vet last Friday and she was already jaundiced - the inside of her ears and mouth were yellow. She was being tube fed but she was anemic and her liver was failing. After talking with the veterinarian this morning, we decided that she wasn't going to recover. I spent some time with her and held her, she even managed to purr for me. But she could barely hold her head up. I know I did the right thing, but I still feel awful.

Miss Kitty was my diva cat. She was picky about who touched her and you always had to let her smell your hand first. She had the prettiest, slender "girl" feet. She had been abandoned by her owners, who moved off and left her when she was barely a year old. She chose us and I could not resist those gold eyes looking up at me begging for food. She lived like a princess the 10 years we had her. Rest in peace, my pretty girl.

A Gift for Gremlin

A few years ago we rescued a stray female American Pit Bull Terrier puppy. She was about 5 months old at the time and was starving. She has turned out to be one of the greatest dogs we have ever had and loves everybody. She gets along with our old retriever mix, Briley and both the cats. We have spoiled her rotten.

Last week I bought her a pink leopard print nylon martingale collar. It's a little more girly than the black martingale she's been wearing. I got it today and it is really nicely made and should withstand her strength when she walks with me. The collar was made by Big Doggy Bling and you can get all kinds of collars in a wide variety of designs. http://www.etsy.com/shop/BigDoggyBling

Gremlin loves her girly new collar!

Happy New Year!

The year 2010 is upon us. A new year and a new decade. I'll happily put the last decade behind me. About the only good things that came out of it were Duane & Nita getting married, Greg got his life together and got married. We welcomed Amber into the family. I reunited with a childhood friend and I met several glass artists online that have become great friends. One personal triumph was quitting smoking.

I lost my mother and mother-in-law within 3 months of each other in 2000. My last grandparent passed away. I saw another side to some relatives and didn't want to see anymore. I learned to accept things for what they are, I can't help someone that doesn't want help.

Making resolutions usually don't work for me. So I'm just going to continue to take care of myself physically and mentally. I can do that and hope that this decade will be much better than the last.

An Unpleasant Task

Yesterday I had the unpleasant task of burying a beautiful cat that was allowed to roam and got hit by a car. I saw it happen. Since the cat wandered all over the neighborhood, we have no idea who it belongs to. But under the circumstances, I doubt if the owner cares anyway. I don't think they deserve to know.

The man who hit it was just going to leave the cat laying there, but I thought that was awful, so I got a box and buried the poor thing in my backyard under the forsythia where it always watched birds.

I'm still upset about it because it didn't have to happen if the cat was kept indoors. There are too many predators and dangers to allow pets to roam. No excuses.

Christmas Open House at the Two Rivers Mansion

The beautiful Two Rivers Mansion in Donelson, TN (next to McGavock High School)will be open this weekend for Christmas. Area florists are decorating the parlors and hallways downstairs and there are several of us upstairs that make and sell handmade jewelry, pet items, stained glass and other things. Refreshments are served in the dining room.

I will be there with my stained glass, glass mosaics and gemstone jewelry. If you are in the area, I hope to see you there!

CGGE Gift Guide

The Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE) has set up a gift guide at http://cgge.org/shop.aspx for your convenience. It is filled with all kinds of glass items!