Parting's sweet sorrow

The past two weeks have been veiled in sadness like a damp scotch mist with the odd ray of sunshine to help push us back to the happy side of life. With heavy hearts, we handed off our first two kittens, Mr. Big & Frexie, to the local humane society for adoption.

Shortly after, we learned our sister-in-law had suddenly passed on. The eulogies at the memorial service paid homage to her memory and it was with mixed emotions we greeted family and old friends not seen in ages. Happy to see people but not under those circumstances. Such is a funeral. It's sobering to think my brother is now a widower, the first of our family to lose his spouse. And the rest of us have lost someone we've all known since childhood.

The family reunion too was bittersweet as we gladly reconnected with distant family members but regretfully, they too had to leave the party earlier than planned as a dear cousin on our cousin's mother's side had passed on.

We were pleased to reconnect with an old friend in Orangeville, enjoy her company and a fine meal plus a tour of the town. Our stay in the McKittrick Bed & Breakfast was also a highlight, as the bed was so fantastic we almost missed breakfast which was a gastronomic delight: a "cocktail" of fruit/yogurt/granola followed by farmers' market delectables, thickly buttered toasty fruit bread and strong coffee.

Happily in Whitby we surprised hubby's niece's family on the hot Saturday afternoon & enjoyed their company with a cool one poolside. On the way home, near Tweed, we picked up some home-made blue berry pies to share with friends. So good to be home.

Then sister came to pick up our last kitten, Roamer. We put that crazy little guy in the cat cage for transport. Of course, Mumsie showed her concern by walking around the cage and mewling to her last kit; she knew what was about to happen. When he reached thru the cage to pat his mum with his little white paw, my heart broke. Sister's renamed him already thus more finally cutting any ties that bind.

The next day hubby took Mumsie to the H.S. while I avoided the teary farewell by making a blood donation. Mumsie will be spayed then given to her new owner. We mentioned her predilection for licking venetian blind cords and chewing on the tassels. I imagine that was what she did when abandoned in her former home.

We went back to the H.S. however, to pick up our next family of kits: a 6-pack who'd been living, wildly, in a woodpile. I got to give Mumsie a final bit of loving then we headed home with the little ones ~ 5 girls and 1 boy ~ to spend the next few weeks nurturing and socializing them. So far we identify them by their physical traits: Bigspots, Littlespots, Fuzzyspots, Mickey (has arches over his eyes like Mickey Mouse ears), Blaze (who has a white "blaze" between his shoulders) and Callie who is calico. Three are hearty and active, one is fair to middling and the other 2 seem weak and traumatized. We hope to get them all on an even keel.

Yes, I get too attached. Yes, it hurts to give them back to the H.S. although I know they'll end up in good homes. All in our first "family" have. I've done my ugly cry and hope I'm over it...but no doubt the tears will fall again in a few weeks time when I fall apart at the Humane Society in front of the inventory they have of 110 cats + the 6 we'll be returning.

Wherever, whoever you are...please consider adopting a cat. Having a cat in your life is a wonderful experience for both you and the lucky cat.

The Little Blackfly

My blogname is derived from that most infamous of pests: the blackfly. Growing up as we did in Northern Ontario alongside the Abitibi River, it behooved us - thanks to our teacher, Miss Glendenning's not-so-subtle encouragement - to learn Wade Hemsworth's song "the Blackfly". What is wonderful is that Christopher Hinton (National Film Board) used Hemsworth's song to create this marvelous little film. Do enjoy it.

At the same time this brings back memories of what we wore to save our scalps from the pernicious little buggers: fly hats. Now a fly hat was not a thing of beauty but we kids did look kind of cute. You take your standard men's handkerchief (now a rare thing to find) and you tied a knot in the top right and left hand corners. You placed the kerchief on your child's head with these little "rabbit ears" knotted corners at the child's temple then knotted the remaining two corners under his or her chin. It did save most of the scalp but many of us came home with bites running with blood (as blackflies don't seal their bites with anticoagulents the way skitters do) all along the backs of our necks. Ahhhh, the good old days!

Our new "family"

As many of you may know, we are fostering a pregnant cat we'll call Momsie for the Humane Society. Not knowing how pregnant she was, we didn't know when to expect her litter. Four days later, we knew.

I'd been out socializing with the girls but got home at noon in time for hubby to nervously exclaim "You're just in time! The contractions have started!" I check her nether regions and sure enough there's a little black tail protruding. Oh no! Breech. We check a website for advice; they tell us not to worry so we massage her long spine which seems to comfort her although her contractions are quite intermittent.

At 12:55, no. 1 arrived safe and sound. Momsie did her job cleaning up her kit and chewing the umbilical cord to enable baby to separate. We're not sure of the kit's sex but it's black and white with a pretty white swoosh on the crown of his head. Already, s/he's a good rooter, looking for milk.

Half an hour later, no. 2 arrived but in the usual way: head first. And what a large head. Even Momsie squealed a little when he arrived. He's larger than no. 1 and an orangey/blonde colour. Again, Momsie dedicates herself to his cleanup & detachment.

At 2:10pm, the contractions produce a back foot! Oh, no, not another breech! All goes well and Momsie produces a tiny replica of herself, a black, white and orange calico. Once all Momsie's administrations are done, all 3 bobbleheads inch their way around, toward their just rewards and all settle down.

Ah, what a relief. Momsie's done a great job, all three kittens look healthy. No. 1 has turned in feet but they straighten out after a couple of days. No. 2 is definitely the largest and most likely male. No. 3 seems very assertive and is the most active. All is well, and we now have a beautiful little cat family.

Anniversary

We celebrated 40 years of marriage yesterday: it was a lovely warm sunny day, full of activity and friendship. We updated some of the gardens around the pool with Barb, Doris and Jack, Don and Bill. Then, while hubby headed back to the condo for a nap, I caught some rays and hot tubbed. Then, all dolled up, we were off to a lovely meal at the Bon Appetit in Dunedin with Fran & Bob, Judith and Paul, while the sun slowly set in the Gulf. A pianist played and we danced to the Tennessee Waltz. We lingered over coffee, conversing with our friends and soaking up the lovely ambiance. Not wanting the evening to end, we indulged in dessert & coffee at Hellas Bakery on our way home - damn the calories, full speed ahead!

And today, reflecting on yesterday, I realize what "happy" is...it's the above. Time, effort, food, conversation shared with others. When I'd asked my friend to join us for our anniversary, she asked, "Wouldn't you rather be alone, the two of you?" And while I love [relish !] being alone with my man, I have to say the inclusion of others while we enjoyed this milestone intensified our enjoyment.

David Brooks of the New York Times wrote about happiness in a recent column : "the daily activities most associated with happiness are sex, socializing [after work] and having dinner with others." What more can I say? We's happy!!

Repetitive Emails

This is a simple request for all my friends and relatives to review their group contact lists to help avoid sending duplicate emails. Here's what I really mean:

A receives an email from B. B has also included addressees C thru Z. A also has a distribution list for C thru Z and forwards B's email on to these same people. The result is an email, most usually a joke, getting sent umpty-ump times to the same people....and so on.

So just a word to the wise: please check (if it's not a blind cc) to ensure you're not contributing to email spam. Thank U!