Earthquake! (in Sensurround)

...and I pretty much slept through it. Not surprising, since it was only a 4.5 and at 0525 this morning. It woke me up eventually. I guess my brain registered that something was happening, but my consciousness deduced "cat knocked something over" or "horses rampaging around". This is sad, since the epicenter was only about three miles north of us! My friend Renee in Vancouver (BC) even felt it! Fooey.

New US President Brouhaha

No scholarly analysis here, just an observation. What is the DEAL with the level of HYPE and hyperbole concerning our newest President (in the USA)? You'd think we'd just been invaded by benevolent aliens who were ushering in the dawn of universal enlightenment, longevity, hyper-intelligence, and free chocolate for all.

Obama is just another politician, and kind of a noodle-y one, at that. Since he doesn't seem to have any of his own opinions, folks assign their own to him. I'll be interested to see where this all goes. Six months from now I don't think people are going to be petitioning the Pope for canonization (like they seem to be, now). I honestly don't see how this presidency is going to be any different from those that have gone before. Maybe I'm just pessimistic. We'll see.

Nice day for shooting

Gordon is off to pick up a girl and a horse, so I'm fooling with some shots I just took of him, the horses, and Gimli.

I think this one (left) turned out especially nice. I love that uniform on him (1850s US Cav). He's such a Gibson Boy.

Gimly had to help, of course. Such a gorgeous day, today! And to think it started out foggy and chilly. It was actually almost warm in the sun!

Attacking the Chaos

I'm really trying to get after the dump my house has become. Today is "cobweb day"! I don't care how festive they are, Halloween is only on October 31st. I also need to muck the henhouse before my chooks die of literal "vapors".

The GOOAAAALLLLL train!

This is the best thing I've heard so far this year as pertains to goal-setting, resolutions, or whatever you want to call it. Ready to get your life on track? Listen up, Dave Ramsey will set you straight.

Cartoon by Wondermark!, btw. Quite serendipitous.

Saying Goodbye Again

We've been "babysitting" a kitten for a couple of weeks. He couldn't stay with his real "parents", as he's needed medication twice a day and didn't need his brother pouncing on him every few minutes while he tried to rest and mum and dad were at work. He was rescued from a shelter by some kind-hearted woman from whom our friends purchased him and his brother. Both Siamese "mutts", Gleb was a creamy Flame Point while his brother looks like a Lynx Point. Boris is a little bundle of energy, while Gleb seemed listless and underweight.

He had what we thought was a pernicious UTI, but today, after two weeks of love and care and snuggling all night every night, we found out he had FIP...feline infectious peritonitis. There is no cure, and it's universally fatal. Our friends took him to the vet a few hours ago and held him as he drifted to sleep, the last time in this world. We're all a mess right now. Our friends must be in a kind of hell. Boris and Gleb were brought in to their lives to fill the void left by two other of their cats who recently passed on; one from old age, and the other from a congenital heart condition that suddenly presented.

People who don't understand this kind of pain have never lost somebody they truly loved. Many people don't understand that for some of us losing a "pet" is almost equivalent to losing a human child. These creatures are our children. They depend on us, give us love and affection which we (hopefully!) return, and become and integral part of our lives. Losing them, in any way, can be quite debilitating. I believe that beloved creatures like these will be with us again someday. I don't have hard scripture to back this up, but there are hints, especially in the Old Testament. God knows the big picture, and I'll trust him.