Hey, reader!
It’s me!
I’ve long neglected this site. I’d have shut it down entirely if it weren’t for the chalazion post and the one about dogs and hyperkeratosis as those are the two main ways readers end up here and they seem to still be relevant, which is always nice.
We’ve had some major family losses over the past few years and sadly I don’t think I got to mentioning them as my posts have been regrettably lax.
In January 2019, we lost our beautiful fluffy cat, Jane. She would have been 18 that February. Jane was a soft, sweet, quiet soul with gorgeous green eyes and the most lovely fur to touch. I still remember that texture running through my fingers. She was peace and calm in kitty form.
At the end of September 2021, we lost my soulcat, Rico, also 17. I know I’ll love many more cats before I’m through, but I’ll never know another like him. Losing him was something I was never prepared to do, but he had been unwell for a while so I had that time to fully appreciate him being in our lives and to tell him every day that he was the best cat in the whole world. He knew how loved he was and knowing that helped with my grieving a lot.
Rico <3
This past year, quite unexpectedly, we lost our booming 95 lbs force of nature, our yellow lab, Casey. Somehow, maybe because it was so sudden, her death hit me hardest. With the cats, each had dealt with kidney issues (unfortunately common to a lot of older kitties) so we had time to anticipate what was coming. Casey had developed a tumour in her spleen quite suddenly that we didn’t know about. She began breathing heavily and her belly got very hard one day, and I noticed her gums were white… when I saw that, I knew this wasn’t going to be one of her usual clumsy incident-induced trips to the vet. She had had tests including bloodwork just a month before (during another one of her aforementioned usual clumsy incident-induced vet appointments) that showed nothing. Unfortunately this turned out to be a very serious tumour and by the end of her vet appointment, she was gone. 🙁 I made sure she knew what a good girl she was and that we would miss her so very much in our lives and that, while she was here, she’d made our lives so loud and funny and fun.
And of course during the height of the pandemic we lost my wonderful Nana, everyone in our family’s biggest fan and greatest supporter, the first person to show me how to use a camera and one very funny lady.
Nana, Papa and I… a few years ago
I don’t know how this post turned into an Oscars Remembers tribute post, but I’m very sorry. Haha. I feel like I’ve left a lot out since becoming a mom, my mind got scattered and I’m only now picking up the pieces of who I used to be and gluing the ones I liked most of them together with bits and pieces of who I am now into a colourful mosaic of who I will be.
I know what you’re thinking: How very profound!
Lately most of my life updates are posted via my Buymeacoffee (where you can just follow public posts, or become a Supporter or a Member to see all posts) and on my Instagram. I’d love it if you’d join me on either or both and follow along. If not, that’s okay too.
Thanks for stopping by and for keeping this blog rolling, even when I don’t. Hope your year ahead is full of bread! (Food or otherwise.)
–Nik
