Tag Archives: Spud

Wish I may, wish I might

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Stary night

Star effects

Got my new 6-point star-effect filter in the mail today (from Hong Kong! I ordered it on eBay on December 15… ironically I’m still waiting for a package of photos which are part of a Christmas present that I ordered on December 12, from a 20 minute drive away. Screw you Canada Post).

I was hoping this would come before the holidays – not just to play with over Christmas, but because we’re going to Portland to pickle ourselves silly with America’s biggest selection of craft beer per capita! I was admiring bnzai9′s fantastic Portland set on Flickr and thought gee, I should get me one-o-those!

Stary night

Bokeh stary-ness

I’ve been madly making maps today of all the wonderful places we’re going to check out (we’re three days in Portland, including New Year’s, and three days in Seattle), only to discover that many of the LYS’s are going to be CLOSED!! Or at least open only a limited time while I’m there. Sigh. I guess this might make things a little easier on my life savings though (and Chris will appreciate that!). I need more yarn like I need a hole in my head, but still.

I have yet to figure out what will be my travel knitting. I need something relatively light, not too complex and not too bulky (obviously). I have several projects on the go but none of them feels like travel knitting. Or maybe I should pick up the lacy soy-silk scarf I started this summer and haven’t touched much since. I dunno. I’m feeling a bit uninspired now that 90% of my holiday knitting is done. I’ve still got a few days to figure it out.

And… I’m definitely feeling melancholy. I know this will pass but I’ve had the last two days at home to myself and I’ve been incredibly unproductive. Yes, yesterday I had to get the car fixed and today, I got shoes for the trip, but other than that, nothin’. Loosing Spud was such a shocker, and then we had both cars break down over the weekend which was such a pisser. I think now that I’ve been home alone, I can really feel that my little guy is really gone. I’ve spent the last few years going through ups and downs about losing my big and very old dog (who at this rate will outlive us all), that I never expected it to happen to one of the cats. And I’ll admit that out of the two, Spud was our favourite. I know I know, don’t play favs but he was really the best. Smokey is sweet and I love him to bits too, but he also has the potential to be super annoying, always underfoot and begging for something. He’s chilled a lot the last few days and I do feel sorry for him to have lost his friend, too. We’ve spent lots of time cuddling. I hope over the long haul he adjusts ok to being a single cat, because I certainly don’t need any more animals around here, and we won’t be adding another kitty to the family, despite how much fun they are.

It’s a sad day

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I’m very saddened to share with you that my kitty Spud passed away this afternoon, quite suddenly. Chris and I came home from work early because of the snow storm, around mid-afternoon, and after being home about an hour or so, we realized that we hadn’t seen the cats yet. I found Spud down in our basement in quite a lot of distress, with Smokey (our other cat) by his side. We rushed him to the vet and they immediately told us that he was suffering from a blood clot in his iliac artery, which is the one leading from the heart to the kidneys and the legs. Apparently this is can often happen quite suddenly for cats which have cardiomyopathy (a heart murmur), which can be difficult to detect in cats, and something I didn’t really know Spud had. This morning he was his usual, happy cuddly self, and so it’s quite a shock that he’s suddenly gone.
Hitting the books

Spudnik

This comes as an especially hard surprise because over the last two weeks I’ve had lots of ups and downs with the big dawg Zeus, who is 11 and a half years old, and well past a Saint Bernard’s life expectancy. He has problems with hygromas on his elbows (swellings of fluid and build up of callous-like tissues), which periodically get infected and need to be drained (yes, it’s gross). He had an especially big/bad one last week which sent us to the vet on an emergency visit which required antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and lots of stress that this was going to be “it”. Eventually the infection opened and it drained, but now its a gaping wound that requires extra care. Our vet advised that these wounds are especially hard to get healed and there may be a tumor underneath. Right now he’s wearing children’s leggings that have been fashioned into a “shrug” so we can keep a bandage over it (that bandage being a maxi pad – you’d be surprised how well this is working). I’m actually working on a design I’m inventing for a knitted shrug that will fit better and look less silly! More to come on this later.

Spud chasing sunbeams

Spud chasing sunbeams

So it’s a sad day here, and we both already miss the little “Sky Hook” immensely (Spud had a slightly deformed tail which meant that it was hook-shaped at the tip). Spud came to us with Smokey via a friend who moved to Hong Kong and was not able to keep them any longer. The two, while not related, lived like brothers, and Spud came from a shelter at about 5 months. He may have been abused or at least neglected because he was very shy for quite some time, but he immediately had a calming effect on Smokey, who was a holy terror at the time. Spud eventually came around, and evolved into one of the sweetest, most loving cats I’ve ever owned. He loved to hang out in sunbeams, watch the birds outside and visit me while in the bathroom. He was especially fond of our duvet, and rejoiced in October when we got the new king-sized bed. One of his latest and most endearing behaviors was to come up behind me while I’m standing, reach up for a stretch with his front paws and basically “grab my ass”.

Spud chasing sunbeams

Big stretch

Rest in peace little snugglebug. We miss you terribly already. Here’s to you little buddy: