Gifts: Two Cents Tuesday Challenge
Gifts – sometimes the first thing we think of when someone mentions the word is that box that is wrapped prettily and bowtied up. But I have to admit that I am more apt to think of all the gifts in my life that are not wrapped and bowtied. For the purpose of this challenge I want to go with the furry gifts that I am or have been blessed with! Our dogs and cats. So here is my post for the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge: Gifts!
I have to admit to feeling a little like Mother Nature at times. It seems I have a bit of a natural connection to animals. Having never really thought about it I didn’t focus on it but with all the creatures now around me – living in the country – I’ve found I love them all and truly enjoy interacting with them. So here are a few of our furry gifts!
Cedar is our oldest puppy. He is a little over 3 years old. He has such a young soul and always a ready smile. We call him our smilin’ dawg because he literally smiles at you and wiggles his hinny – he only has a 1 inch tail – when he sees you!
Tori was our oldest kitty. She was 8 years old when she moved on to animal Heaven this past August. She survived half of her life with kidney failure – such a strong little one. She was definitely a diva but she was well loved and truly enjoyed naps in the sun and with Momma (me).
Lily was the next little lady to join our family. She also has such a wonderful, loving soul. She is very laid back – which is an opposite to Cedar’s lively, always moving self. Lily absolutely LOVES people. Her big brown eyes draw you in every time! She had puppies on my birthday, too!
We have two cats that hang around our house – Tabi & Bella. Tabi is Bella’s mother. They each have their own unique personalities. Bella is a bit more vocal and fluffy. Tabi is a calm, laid back soul, too. Tabi is due to have another litter of kittens any day now.
And then we have all the pups from Lily & Cedar. There were 7 of them and we have 3 still at home. Blue, Louis and Bear. Definitely different and strong personalities. Blue, the light coated one on the right, is a very smart pup much like his daddy. He would be the mini-me of Cedar. Louis is in the middle and he is Mr. Super Laidback. He loves belly rubs just like his daddy, too. Bear, on the left – we call him the Dos Equis dog. He embodies the personality of the Dos Equis male character in their commercials. His best move is to lay by the water bowl so it is easy to get to.
And last, but certainly not least, is Tripper. He was my little gift upon arriving home about 3 weeks after the puppies were born. I pulled into the drive and this bundle of black & white ran toward me. He is about a week and a half older than the puppies and someone dropped him at our house. He has the biggest heart and truly enjoys life. He always is ready to play. If he were a human he would be such a special soul that one could not help but to like him. He has some issues – his pelvic bone or left leg was likely fractured within the first 2 weeks of his birth so he hops a bit like a bear quite often. This is his baby picture – the first week that I had him. 
I hope you enjoyed the photos!
Two Cents Tuesday Challenge: Funny
I spent a week and a half just outside Missoula, Montana. I’ve already shared a few of the photos with you. This particular photo seemed just right for the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge:Funny.
As I sat at the bar of the Bayern Brewery the bar cat, who had not left his cardboard box all day, walked straight down the bar to plop himself in my lap. As you can tell by my eyes in this photo that my husband took, I found it to be quite funny and very odd.
52 Tuesday Challenge #3: Tickle
This week I’ve chosen the word Tickle! Of course, that should bring a smile to everyone’s face! I like to laugh and get tickled frequently. Also, being around little animals who like to lick and tickle.
Here is Merriam Webster’s definition so you can decide what photos you will share with the challenge:
2: to touch (as a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements
3 : to touch or stir gently <a pianist tickling the ivories>
This photo is of my daughter and I laughing one spring break. I can’t remember what we were laughing about but love the photo!
The second is of one of the kittens that our cat had. She was licking my foot in her explorations and it tickled as in the definition 2.
So what is your tickle post? Have a story to tell us about it? Share some photos with us? C’mon – I know you have some stories to tell us!
Share your post in the comments and put a link back to this one to participate in the 52 Tuesdays Challenge #3! Tickle, tickle, tickle!!
The comforts of Fall
It’s almost fall. The weather today was rainy & overcast. The temperature was well below the sun-bathing minimum for me. So it’s time for coffee & Bailey’s caramel now. I’m missing my Tori (who we had to put to sleep on 8/3/12) so here’s my coffee cup with her photo, too. Have some coffee & Bailey’s, too!
Weekly Photo Challenge – Hands
For this week’s challenge word I dug waaayyy back in my photos to one that is of my hand and my beloved cat, Tori’s, paw. It was an experiment when I got my first “digital” camera.It has special sentimental value to me today because Tori was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure in September of 2008 – at just over 4 years of age – when she spent 9 days in the vet ICU. She is still quite spunky and a Diva today – almost 4 years later!
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The many faces of Tori – pictures from yesterday
I dearly love my cat, Tori. She has been a constant in my life for the last 7 & 1/2 years. We’ve been thru two near death experiences for her together – one with tapeworms when she was 5 weeks old and 1/2 pound and another when she was 4 years old and in kidney failure. She is one of my children – though some people don’t think that pets fit in that category. Since her kidney failure incident – which one can be treated but always is there when it happens – she has become a much more affectionate cat. She has no issue with requesting/demanding her lap time and attention. Some call her a diva. Yet, she is my baby. I fear the day when her kidney failure kicks back in full force so I am especially grateful for the time with her now. I miss her while I am away at work. If she were in better shape to travel – though she’s always hated travel and is quite the homebody – then I would love to bring her with me during the week.
So I wanted to share some of my favorite photos of her many faces. She is quite the pretty cat, and I am prejudiced. But don’t tell her! It will go to her head and she’ll be even more of a diva!
"you weren't supposed to find me - I'm hiding"
waiting on the feather to play with
the infamous "die, b*#@h look" - named by my sister
serious pose
ready to play
"play with me, please"
"go ahead - say something - I dare you"
bliss
almost asleep
"ahhh.... the outdoors" pose
My miracle cat – pictures from yesterday
My cat Tori is really my little miracle. She certainly has proved that cats have nine lives. I picked her from at least a dozen other kittens in the late summer of 2004. She weighed 1/2 lb. She already had an attitude. While sitting in the room with all the kittens she was one that seemed to not care much if you paid her attention. She showed curiosity but that was about it. She did keep a watch on me the entire time. I have to admit I chose her because she intrigued me and she was cute. So on that Saturday I took her home with the help of my nephew and sister. By Tuesday she wasn’t eating or drinking so off to the vet we went. He diagnosed her with tapeworms. The problem was that she was now down to 0.3 lbs and they didn’t dose that low of weight for the treatment of the tapeworms. So the vet adjusted to his judgement and then it was a waiting game. For the next 24 hours I fed her wet food and water with a syringe, minus the needle. She slept on my chest in between feedings. All went well and she was back in action by the end of the week.
Tori's baby picture
my nephew Nicholas and Tori watching TV
Her next encounter was an eye infection that scared the vet and I both. With some antibiotics and about 48 hours of patience it was cleared and we were all relieved.
In the meantime, Tori was enjoying life in her usual Diva way. She loved to play with toys and feather and we spent much time with feathers under the door and her paw chasing them. I have several videos of her playing with what can only be described as a chicken bird toy – tossing it in the air and stalking it.
Tori on cabinets
We made the move to a house in 2007. She quickly declared it her house and I just the person who paid the bills. I was gone during the week with work and so she had her Aunt Becca, my sister, to feed and play with her. I usually paid for being gone by being ignored for the first 15 minutes to 24 hours depending on her mood.
Then in September of 2008 we had a horrific experience. On a Saturday I just had a gut feeling that she wasn’t healthy – perhaps sick or such. I didn’t think it was anything severe but she had lost a little weight – barely noticeable. So off to the animal ER. About 20 minutes after they took her back the vet comes out to talk to me. She was in renal (kidney) failure and her BUN was off the measurable scale while her creatinine was at the max of the scale. The news was that she might not make it thru the night. I was shocked and devastated. They let me in the back to see her. It broke my heart to see the IV in her and her sitting in the little cage while they treated her. I visited her every couple of hours and sometimes got to hold her in an empty exam room.
The next news was that the vet would ask a specialty vet to accept her for treatment on Monday morning – we would have to wait until then to see if that was a possibility. So I picked her up and got the news that she was accepted. Then we had a late morning appointment at the specialist. They kept her in the ICU there for 7 days. I could go once a day and visit which included me holding her for up to two hours at one point in an exam room. I brought a blanket for her to curl up in and try to sleep. Only one of the days could I not get her to calm down and sleep. Finally, she got to come home with her BUN and creatinine at a high average. I was amazed and thankful. She slept in a basket for about 3 days – I guess catching up on all the sleep she likely missed and just recovering. We changed her diet to one with little to no protein.
Today she is fat and happy and has done extremely well. Her prognosis when she came out of the hospital was 2-3 years of life. We are over 3 years now with diet change. I pray every day that she continues to be healthy. She is my miracle. She’s certainly still the Diva but has adjusted well to the move we made and my marriage and family. She loves my husband and children.
So that is her story so far! Every day is a blessing!
sleeping in basket after hospital
Christmas 2008
Reflection
Tisha Clinkenbeard
