A Little Catch Up

We've been busy.

Enjoying life and the break Mr. Dragon has had from treatments.

Tomorrow we start again with all the restaging procedures before surgery on March 9.

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Meanwhile, we love NPR - National Public Radio.

When we heard "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" was going to tape in Houston, we knew we had to go. They were here two nights and both were sold out. This adventure was our Valentine's present to each other.

Peter Sagal started us off laughing by saying "all the liberals in south east Texas must be here tonight"!!! Two hours later and we were still laughing! Don't know when I have ever laughed so hard. You might have caught the broadcast that was taped in Houston. That was us! We heard it here on February 13.




The show was 30 minutes late starting as Carl Kasell had a hard time flying from Washington DC to Houston ... it was the weekend of one of the bad winter storms. Tom Bodett, Kyrie O'Connor (the Houston girl) and Paula Poundstone were the panelists. Too much fun.

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We've been to the zoo and saw, for the first time, the memorial brick we ordered for Mr. Rocket Man. (Oh, my ... how we miss that little guy ... still.) It is right in the middle of the entry way of the zoo. Perfect!

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Baseball is keeping us busy. We watched 6 college games this weekend!

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Finally, once again I'm asking for your prayers, thoughts, white light, juju, candle lighting, chanting, however you may call on the spirit you believe in - to watch over
Mr. Dragon as he begins the restaging procedures and has surgery next week on March 9.

Thank you!

He's Coming!

THE grandson is coming for a visit with his mom (Mr. Dragon's daughter), and dad. We are excited. It is always a delight to see and visit with all of them. We usually travel to Seattle, but this year they are coming here. His mom has had some medical problems and she's seeing a few doctors here. We get to visit, entertain, run, play, laugh and enjoy. I bet we sleep well every night, too!

I wanted to let you know as it will probably be a little quiet around Twisty Lane while HIMSELF is here. I'm also doing what Mr. Dragon calls my *visiting lecturer* gig on Tuesday (the same day HIMSELF arrives). I'll be talking with docents at the museum about the new Arts of India Gallery ... for two hours or until my voice gives out ... whichever comes first!

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In other big news, Mr. Dragon broke 100 for the first time since returning to golf. This important event took place on Saturday. He's been smiling a lot, but I still have asked that all golfing equipment be removed from the dining room table.

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It has been sad around here since Rocky's passing, but a special aromatherapy has helped. Perhaps it is one of Snap's Rules: When you are sad, make soup! First I made my favorite (it's so quick and easy) , then the chowder again and lastly a split pea soup that was just too close to perfect for words. I promise to share the recipe when I have a moment or two. (Shame on me for teasing.)

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Lastly, we picked up Rocky's ashes from our veterinarian. He assured us, once again, that there was nothing we could have done. For some reason, it was more important for Rocky to be on the other side than with us, but, oh, how it still hurts and how we miss the little guy ... all of us ... Mr. Dragon, Moi, Riley and Teddy.

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So, until next week ... JOY!

Did You Know ...

Did you know that September is National Honey Month? Just a thought!

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(Image from the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project Annual Report)

What do you know about gorillas? Mr. Dragon and I learned about Mountain Gorillas at a recent wildlife lecture at the zoo. I’d like to share this from the yearly report from the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. “The story of the mountain gorillas begins like many other conservation stories: only 700 left in the wild, threatened by poachers, habitat destruction, and disease transmission from domestic animals and human. But unlike so many other stories of threatened species, this one has taken an optimistic turn: the numbers of Mountain Gorillas are increasing. In fact, mountain gorillas are the only great ape population that is growing, despite the challenges. What explains this success? A focused effort by governments and conservationists working together to overcome the odds. Key to this effort is the work of Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, which not only provides veterinary care to the mountain gorillas in their wild habitat, but also champions the “One Health” approach to conservation. The One Health approach recognizes that to sustain the wild Mountain Gorillas, the health of their environment, including their habitat and the human and domestic animals with which they interact, must be maintained. This approach is the key to the hopeful future for this species, and may provide the most promising prototype for conservation projects elsewhere.”

We spent an evening listening to Dr. Mike Cranfield the Project Director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project talk about the Mountain Gorillas. It was amazing the work these volunteers are doing, not only for the health of these wonderful animals, but also the health of the people living near them -- vital to the well being of the gorilla. More information can be found at their public web site: Gorilla Docs. It is an amazing story.

It is very apparent, from this lecture and the others we have attended on wildlife that the greatest ape of all -- man -- has not been a very good steward of the earth and its inhabitants. Have you noticed the number of stories in the press lately about tainted water and that its getting worse, right here, now? Will man ever learn? Is it already too late? Mr. Dragon often looks at me and says “What makes you think this is the first time man has been on this earth? He’s probably been here before, destroyed it, returned and didn’t learn again. Perhaps this cycle has been repeated many times.” Our own science fiction story?

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I thought I’d share with you what our veterinarian believes happened to our little Rocky. There is a syndrome in male cats that causes cardiomyopathy. It is completely without symptoms. No murmurs. No nothing until there is a catastrophic incident. Just like what happened to our little dumpling boy.

I suppose we are getting better. The house is still too quiet. I cry everyday, but can now look at his pictures or remember little things without completely breaking down. Ms. Riley, his litter mate, misses him the most -- her brother, her playmate. Looking at Riley will always remind us of Rocky.

We normally write a check to our local SPCA and Humane Society when one of our companions passes from this life and we will do the same for Rocky. But, Rocky was too special. There was something about him --- perhaps a look on his face that said "I know everything that is of importance in this world"! We decided we need to do a little more in his memory. So, we have arranged for Rocky to have a brick at the entrance to the zoo. It will be at the zoo long after we are gone and will be engraved with the following:

ROCKY

Little Dumpling Boy

We Miss You

Rest

I will leave you with this thought sent to us by our wonderful veternarian and friend.

We were indeed blessed.

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I am thankful for another day on beautiful Mother Earth.

Joy to You!

My World

Visit My World to see more of our world or to participate yourself!

Today, I'm taking you back to Texas Art Supply
and the last of the murals on the outside walls.

Click here to view all the participants of My World Tuesday.

Just a short note to thank all of you who have left messages of condolence
by commenting or by email regarding the death of our kitlet, Rocky.
All of us appreciate your kindness. The house is too quiet.
We all miss him -- two leggeds and four leggeds.
I'll have more about what took Rocky from us at a later time.

Memorial

At around 9PM this evening, my little dumpling boy, our precious Rocky, died. He had been with us not quite three years. He was too young to die and I don't know why he did. One minute he was with us. I heard him cough. And he was gone. He was a very special kitty and he'll be greatly missed by Mr. Dragon, his sister, Riley, his big brother Teddy and his Mom. Especially his mom. Here are some of the latest photos that we had taken of him -- saving them for a camera critters post.

I don't believe this has happened. It's just too sad.
We love you Rocky.
Rest in Peace little one.

(I will be taking some time off from blogging. I'm not sure when I'll be back.)

Camera Critters 68

Today is a special day. It is the kitlets birthday.
Rocky and Riley are three years old.
Hard to believe that they have been with us that long.
Time flies when you are having fun!

I wanted to take new birthday photos of the siblings.
Rocky saw the camera coming and took off.
We tried and tried and caught him the kitchen waiting for a treat.
That's as good a shot as we got.
So, I decided to have some Funky Fun and Funked one of his other photos.

Here's Rocky a la Andy Warhol!

We did get a lovely shot of Miss Riley (the Impress).

Have fun today, you two!
Love,
Mom, Dad, and Theodorable

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

(You can read more about the kitlets and Teddy by clicking on their
pictures on the sidebar.)

Mr. Dragon's Art

Mr. Dragon took two workshops at the Glassell School of Art this summer - one in pen and ink (eight 3 hour classes) and the other in color pencils (four 3 hour classes). These are my favorites. There are others, but these were easy for me to scan. He says he will photograph all his artwork from this summer. I'll share when it happens (at least my favorites). I'm happy to report that he really liked both of his instructors for these workshops.

This is Rocket and I plan on framing his portrait.

The color pencil class was the first color class for Mr. Dragon.
All of the work was based on photos one or the other of us had taken.
The apricot rose from Musashi's Garden was his first ever color pencil.

Next he tried the iris.
The original photo was taken at the Japanese Garden in Hermann Park.

The seagull is my favorite and the last one he did in the class.
(Taken in Seattle.)
It has a frame in its future.
Mr. D said the instructor said "see, you've gotten better".
He said it took him a week and a half to figure out what questions to ask!

Happy Friday!

Joy to You!

Camera Critters 65

It's time for another Camera Critters.

Summertime and the living is easy.

Jon at the Houston Zoo

It doesn't matter if it's a big cat or ...

Rocky

a little cat

Teddy

the pose is the same!

Wishing all my Camera Critter friends in the USA a Happy July 4!

Have a great weekend.

Nap time!

Camera Critters

 This is my first post for this meme. I love critters of all sorts and I'm glad I saw Camera Critters on my friend's blog: Remembrances of an Arkansas Stamper.




This is Rocky. I've posted about Rocky and his sister, Riley before. Rock is 2 years old and is my little sugar dumpling. This is a recent photo. I caught him wide awake in his basket. He and his sister are still pretty wild. They don't like too much human touching although Rocky does wake me up at 2:30 in the morning to be petted! Purring away and grabbing at the covers with his paws to find a hand! It was unusual for him to be so still for picture taking. Perhaps this means he thinks living here isn't all that bad!

Mr. Dragon and I went to the zoo this morning. The pictures haven't been downloaded yet. Show and tell next week!

Happy Birthday

Two year old twins/litter mates, Rocky and Riley, are celebrating their second birthday today with extra treats provided by their well trained staff.

Rocky (AKA Rocket, AKA Little Dumpling Boy) came to live at Twisty Lane first. His sister, Riley, was already promised to another client of our vet. The kittens were caught along with their mother and taken to our vet to be spayed and neutered. The kittens were left with the hope that someone would adopt the feral kittens. Their mom was taken back to the neighborhood were they were found and released -- never to have kittens again.

When the Little Dumpling Boy was a kitten he used to sleep in my lap on his back with his full little kitten belly face up just begging to be rubbed. He lived with us for six weeks before his sister arrived on the scene.

Riley

Our vet's office called one day and asked if we could take Rocky's sister. Things hadn't worked out with the elderly lady she had been promised to. Riley hid in the air ducts and wouldn't come out. I said "sure, we would take her, but I couldn't pick her up until the weekend." The tech said, "That's ok. I'll deliver her to you." That should have been our first hint what a little Imp-ress she would become. She hid under the buffet for 48 hours before Rocky lured her out to play.

Both kittens (they'll always be kittens no matter how old they are) are still a little wild. They would prefer not to be picked up, although they both seem to enjoy being petted and cooed over when they are in our arms.

We hope you'll celebrate with us by posting on your blog a little something about the critters you share your life with and wish Rocky and Riley a Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Rocky and Riley from Snap and Dick -- your well trained staff.