I've Been Scatter-Brained Lately

I had a lovely note today from friend Sandra. She had noticed that I had not been posting my normal 'daily'. What a kind friend to notice when your routine goes wonky! It's been a difficult time in our house lately due to some pet illness'. The apple of my eye, Bart, is dying. He has an inoperable growth in his belly - wrapped about his intestines. It's about the size of a lemon I guess. He is holding his own - just losing weight & strength steadily. It will soon be time. I have been bereft thinking of how empty I will feel without his comforting, sonorous purr in the evenings as I fall asleep.... and his warm body curled up next to me in the bed. Not quite 8 years ago he wandered in and adopted us at a time when I simply was not interested in another animal. It took little time for him to win my heart however- and he quickly become my beloved kitty....joining his brothers and sisters. Odie, our 19 year old is still active and mischievous...must be the Vitiman E he loves so well!
In another odd quirk our dog had been off his feed. DH took him to the vet last week only to discover that, for some unknown reason, his kidneys had shut down. They had no idea why. Perhaps , during a walk about, he found a puddle with some antifreeze in it. After the second round of blood tests late in the week he was showing some improvement. Daily bags of hydration fluids and injections of antibiotics seem to be helping. He still has little appetite, but he is wagging his tail again and has a bit more spark in his eyes. We should know more later this week. Hopefully he will soon find food more interesting once again. I have found that there really is a use for those little Vienna Sausages that come in those cute tiny cans ---- he does seem to relish a tin of those !

I am really a wuss when it comes to this sort of stress. My eyes look like heck - swollen and red. I need to take Mary Englebreit's advice and "Just Snap Out Of It" ! I'll be back with some artsy content very soon.