Lifetimes

My kids have a wonderful book that I bought for them a few years ago when my dog was paralyzed and unable to walk. Its called LIFETIMES. He was in so much pain that we had the appointment made to have him put down. Its something I didnt want to do and after reading the book a million times to my DD (my son was to young to understand) she understood what death was or as best as she was going to understand it. The book talks about how everything that is alive has a time thats called living thats in between being born and dying. I havent had to read the book since then and we didnt put my dog to sleep because he had a miraculous recovery. The book has been on my bookshelf for about 4 years until yesterday.

Yesterday we went out to SEARS to puchase a new dishwasher because ours just stopped draining water. (Nice, eh?) After Sears I promised my DD that I would stop at the brand new HUMONGOUS JoAnn's to get some polymer clay to make bears (see photos in my post later). After spending way to much money on clay, a beautiful sewing basket, cat, sheep, cow, and ducky buttons for future baby clothes I will knit, craft projects for the kids, and absolutely NO yarn we finally went home. I told the kids to go directly to the playroom when they walked into the house because my DH was going to walk the dogs and I was going to set up a project for them to do. In the playroom, almost directly in the center of the room lay my 13 year old brown tabby, Dommy. He wasnt laying in the normal way a cat lays when sleeping because he didnt raise his head when we came into the room. All my years working for the Bronx Zoo and as a Veterinary Tech told me that he was no longer with us. My beloved Dommy cat was no longer with us and crossed over Rainbow Bridge. This is a little tribute to my kitty whom I loved so much I cant even describe. I held his cold, stiff body for a while and then the smell started to get to me. My DH went outside in the yard where we buried the bird in December and started to dig a hole. The kids were hysterical and couldnt stop crying so I had them help me look for a big enough box to hold Dom. We sat down and read the book LIFETIMES and they drew with crayons and markers on the box. My DD wrote that she loved Dom with hearts all over the top and my DS drew a house with all of us in it. It was so cute that it made me cry even more than I was already. We then went outside, said goodbye and buried him. Tomorrow I am going to try and find one of those garden stones that you can make with the animals name on it so we can mark his grave. I think it will be a nice thing for the kids to do to remember him.

Dominick (Dommy) Born Jan.1994~Died June 26, 2007. 13 years with us and we will always love you.


The kids were very upset and they wanted to get another cat right away. My concern was for my other cat, Tommy who was Dommy's best buddy. He is only 3 years old so hes a baby compared to Dom. We got him the same day my Poppy died in August of 2004. Tommy was crying and meowing all over the house last night searching aimlessly for Dom. It was very sad to watch and I wasnt sure what to do. My DH thought the kids were right and the best thing to do was to get another cat preferably a kitten so he/she could adjust to the other animals in the house. I called the Westport Humane Society and asked if they had any kittens for adoption. It must have been fate because they said they had a ton of them for adoption. Any other time I have been there they never have any kittens. This was the 1st time I have seen kittens there. They had black and white ones and a litter of brown tabby's (like my Dommy). We first looked at the black and white one but she wasnt friendly and kept running away and at one point jumped into the garbage pail! I asked if the tabbies were more friendly than the black and whites and the lady had told us not only were they more friendly but the lady that had fostered them until they were the age where they can be adopted had other cats and dogs in the household. She said this ladies dog was like the kittens foster mother. When she brought us the kitten to play with you could immediately tell that this was the cat for us. She was perfect! Friendly, playful and good with both my kids. She's only 8 weeks so we have to be careful not to step on her and hurt her.
We have her in a crate until all the animals adjust to her. So here are the 1st pictures of our little girl Nicky who we estimate was born 5/2/07:



The day before Dommy died was a joyful one because it was my doggies 12th birthday! We had a birthday cake with candles that the kids helped blow out. Instead of eating the chocolate cake (which is poison for dogs) we gave them some corn bread which they loved. Everyone was happy.




Some happy pics of my kids in our pool. I took these with my telephoto lens from in the house.



These are the polymer clay bears I made the other evening. The polar bear is actually a pin that I gave to my DD to wear. This is the reason I bought all the clay at JoAnn's yesterday. With all the stuff happening we havent had a chance to make any yet. This is a Panda Bear, Polar Bear, Stuffed Teddy Bear and Papa Bear:


BlueMoon Fiber Arts June Sock Kit~ The Solstice Slip Pattern with Firebird colorway. I absolutely love these colors and I have not seen them together in any other yarns before. It reminds me of Fawkes in the Harry Potter Books


Beautiful yarns I bought at WoolGirl.com


Claudia's Handpainted Yarn in Strawberry Latte Colorway


I had my staples removed today by one of the surgeons PA's and my leg feels a whole lot better! Wow, its amazing how much those darn staples hurt! I also had to see my plastic surgeon today to check my tattoos and see if they looked OK. He said that they were looking good and it takes time for them to fade to the right color. I have to see him in November and then he will decide if I need to have more tattooing. Maybe I can make him another pair of socks and give it to him as a Christmas present!