Good-bye 2011!

Well the Christmas holidays are drawing to a close and the new year fast approaches.  2011 has been a year of extremes for me; great sadness and also great joy.

As most of you know my brother succumbed to pancreatic cancer in March after a fourteen month battle.  No other event in my life has been as harrowing as Angus’ death.  Luckily we had the opportunity to gather at his London hospital as a family just a week before his death and say to each other all the things in our hearts that we would never have the chance to say again.  It was at this time that I shared with Angus the confidential details of Robert and my upcoming elopement in May.  

happier times, family holiday West Sussex 2010, Angus and the gals (L to R, me, Sarah, Mum)

Actually it was Angus’ illness which was the impetus for our decision to get married because it illustrated how quickly things change and that the important things in life should not be put off.   We felt a big celebration was inappropriate, but a quiet getaway for just the two of us was perfect!  I wish Angus had lived to see the pictures of our happy day but at least he knew our secret plans and I was able to tell him about the special place we had chosen in Hawaii for our ceremony.  As it turned out, our wedding was an intimate and magical experience and I could not have wished for anything more.   Surprisingly some people disapproved of our secret wedding, but the essential family and friends in our lives showered us with generosity, well wishes and cards when we returned and we felt very loved indeed.

Hawaiian Wedding

When we were away in Hawaii our dog Rio who was just under a year old broke her leg and required surgery.  She was boarding at a farm outside the city and apparently fell while playing with another dog, when she stood up she was holding her leg off the ground.  Rio had snapped her femur and required a metal plate with seven screws to be attached to the bone by an orthopedic surgeon.  Robert and I were both very distressed that this happened in our absence and in an environment we trusted would be safe and enjoyable for her.  Even though Rio still limps, she is at the height of her recuperative powers and we are hoping for a full recovery.  We are very thankful that this trauma has not effected her happy and mellow nature.

Rio

The last major event to take place this year was at Halloween.  Robert and I adopted Kip (Kipling Moonshadow) from the same private rescue where Jimmy came from.  Kip, the stunning house panther, has made a seamless transition to our home and integrated beautifully with Rio and the cats.  He is a happy, cuddly, curious and playful youngster with a sweet and gentle disposition and we are so very thrilled to have him as the final addition to our furry family.

Kip

Well there you have it kids my year in review, the highs and the lows of 2011.  Life sure is a rollercoaster ride but as I've said before, I am truly blessed to have such good friends who commiserate with me in the sad times and celebrate with me in the glad times.  I cherish each and every one of my Cat Blogosphere friends and send to all of you heartfelt wishes for a healthy and happy new year!!!  See you in 2012...

much love,
Cat
xx

Friends on Friday

Dear friends, this will be our last post until after Christmas.  We want to wish all of you a safe, happy Christmas and send our love and hugs to each and every one of you.

We would also like to share with you all the lovely E-cards we received...

**comments are off today

Thankful Thursday

Hi cats and kittens we've had a little excitement around here that we'd like to tell you about.

Our Santa Paws package arrived the other day from those dashing English mancats Eric and Flynn.  First mum said we had to wait until Christmas to open it, but we sulked and she relented.

It was filled with a great assortment of goodies, please enjoy the pictures of us enjoying the generosity of Eric and Flynn :-)

Wow look at all this stuff

Casper can hardly wait until I open the packages

springing, dangling, jingling fun

so many goodies!

plague rats filled with valerian, note the double footed bunny kick

Kip tries to get second plague rat out of the package

yummy treats

Jimmy digs in while Ben looks on

Archie checks out the assorted mousies while has a turn with the other rat

Thank you Eric and Flynn for the wonderful Christmas gifts, you guys were awesome secret Santas!!!!

Liebster Blog Award

Hey cats and kittens, our very good friends Cloon and Tiri (who wrote such nice things about us we were immensely touched) AND Scarlet and Melly gave us an award and we would like to thank them both sincerely for thinking about us. 

"Liebster" means dear, dearest, favorite or beloved in German.  The requirements of receiving the award are to link back to who gave it to you, paste the Award on your blog, then choose 5 of your favorite blogs to pass the award on to that are up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers, let them know by leaving a comment on their blog and hope that the 5 blogs chosen will keep on spreading the love by passing the award on to 5 more blogs.

We are choosing to pass the award to just three blogs, but they are important blogs involved heavily with rescue and fostering and each blog is dear to us :-)


Daily Dose of Dogs (aka Cats With Your Coffee) is very special to us because both Jimmy and Kip came from this private rescue.  Chrystal writes truthfully about her experiences in animal rescue and takes us on a wild ride in the process; sometimes you will laugh and sometimes you will cry.

Random Felines is written by Jeanne who cares for a continuous parade of foster kittens at her home in addition to her resident cats.  Out of the goodness of her heart she volunteered to help with Kip's transport and drove almost ten hours round trip to bring Kip to us.

Marg's Pets is a warm and wonderful place to visit and sometimes you won't want to leave.  She has quite a collection of animals on her little farm and most of them were old, sick, or just plain unwanted when they arrived but now they are all loved and cared for!

I hope you can take a moment to visit these very special blogs and the people behind them :-)

Tuxie Tuesday

Hi kitties Ben here, yes I'm a mature mancat about town, but that doesn't mean to say that I can't kick up my heels now and again.  I particularly like "The Tickler"...

Clemmie do you want to come over and play with me?