DTE suggested

getting Oribel a pet Guinea Pig to keep her from being lonely. I will be willing to do that with the same rules we had for the kids and pets when they were still at home. AKA, when Oribel is mature/dedicated enough to feed, clean the cage without having to be reminded every time, and play nicely/safely with her pet, I will be happy to get her one. (I don't recall being accused of inconsistency much in my life.)

Some folks have asked me

if Oribel misses Sadie, to which I generally have answered "Who really knows with a cat?" I still stand by that statement (not my business to try to understand a cat!), but I am beginning to think she might, at least a little. It used to be that Oribel would sleep on Sadie's bed in our room every afternoon and some evenings. Well, she hasn't slept or even gotten on it at all in the last week (plus a few days). She has slept on Sadie's bed in the family-room a couple of times, but again this used to be a daily activity, if not several times a day, so that is another significant change.

 

The biggest change I have noticed is that the water bowl has looked like this all week,

 

instead of this.

 

Coasters are still being given (loud) tours of the house, dropped on me at all hours, as well as being kept very close and greatly loved.

 

It would seem she knows Sadie isn't here to get presents anymore.

This was not the post I planned on

returning from the blogging hiatus with, but it is the one we all get anyway. I had planned on telling you all about our trip to Portland in May for DTY's college graduation, catching you up on my Project Spectrum doings, telling you about all the knitting I have been doing, sharing news about my trip to Milwaukee when friends that "lived in my computer" became "real", as well as a trip report of a family vacation to Washington, DC, this past week. Other than that brief "what I would have said" bit, I am not really here today to talk about any of that stuff.

 

Well, I guess in a way I will mention DC a wee bit more since in a way it leads into the real subject of this return posting. Last Wednesday Hubband, DTE, and I all got on a plane together, then changed planes together, and then landed in Washington, DC, where DTY met us via different plane routes. We all had a several days of fun and activities together, and then headed in three separate directions (all of that would be the previously planned report) on Saturday afternoon.

 

DTE and I flew back to our starting point together, where we were greeted by a cat who seemed fine with our return, and a dog who was, as always, very happy to have most of her pack back where they belong. About three hours after we got home from the airport, Sadie started fussing at the two of us, pacing, and wanting in and out. We figured fairly quickly that she was not OK and needed to to go to the Emergency Veterinary Clinic. Shortly after getting her there she was diagnosed with GDV (which I had rather suspected would be the case). Given that she was fourteen-and-a-half, an rare/strange heart murmur, and several other known age related issues, she was not a candidate for any kind of surgery, so I am pretty sure you know the rest of the story.

 

 

 

DTE headed back to her place in Minneapolis today and our house has never, ever felt this empty.