No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on April 25, 2016

So last week I started Monday Motivation to keep myself accountable about what I am doing or not doing creatively.

I did get about 6000 words written.

I did get some material I needed for a puppet.

And that’s about as far as it went over the week.

I will say that I did cook a Passover meal including homemade Chicken soup that took about 5 hours total.

I did make sure we had the proper food in the house.

I did exercise at my regular schedule.

I did a spring cleaning of my living room and kitchen.

We did drive down to Knoxville to spend some time with Ariel and Anthony before AJ arrives on the scene.

So a lot done I think. Not as much as I would have liked.

Goal this week is 10,000 words on various projects.

Puppets when I get home and sort out what I am going to need when.

All I do know is that Aquaman is first up on the docket in puppet land.

I am grateful for the relatively smooth drive down. Can we have the same going back?

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 24, 2016

Just getting this one in.

We left at 7 AM for Knoxville and got here about 9:50.

During the journey we listening to the Graphic Audio production of Sir Apropos of Nothing that I can highly recommend as very entertaining. It is complete word for word from the books.

Caroline is spending the night with Ariel and we are at a local hotel.

Now off to watch Game of Thrones.

I am grateful for all the traffic we avoided today.

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 23, 2016

(For the VI: This is a picture of Millie Cat. He was a grey and brown striped tabby with a white muzzle and chest with greenish eyes)

Yesterday morning I came downstairs to a mess. There was blood splotches on the floor that I am sure a forensic expert would have had a field day with. I traced the trail to Millie who was desperately trying to groom himself making him look like a serial killer cat.

We knew he had been living on borrowed time for a while because he had a tumor behind his left eye and it was in his jaw as well. We had been told that it could be any day about a month ago. But he wasn’t in pain. He was still eating and drinking and using the litter box properly. He was mooching food and being his alpha cat self.

Until yesterday and it was obvious that he was at the end of the line. We were watching him die by inches.

The Vet agreed with us. He said that we had an extra month with Millie and it was obvious at this point that he was not in good shape and rapidly sliding down into really bad shape.

Good-byes were said. Pets were given and received with a purr. He went with dignity.

He was my Hanukah present over 18 years ago. I was up in Buffalo, NY stage managing “Tony and Tina’s Wedding”. I would call and check in with Peter once a day. Ariel picked up the phone and said “Daddy has something to tell you.”

Peter said, “Happy Hanukah, you have a kitten named Millie.”

With that came the explanation of why I had a kitten named Millie and Ariel had a kitten named Vanilli. The girls named them Millie and Vanilli because as kittens they would open their mouths and no sound would come out. So they said that the kittens had someone meow for them.

Millie was a bit of a stand-off except when it came to me. He knew he was my cat. I was the only one could pick him up and cuddle him without losing a limb.

He was a first class mooch. He loved people food and figured he needed his tribute at each meal.

He was a quiet cat unless it was first thing in the morning and you were the first person down stairs then you had to feed the cats their wet food before he would shut up.

He had his spots to sleep in and woe betide the individual be it cat or human who was in it when he wanted them.

He knew when people were feeling down and he would go and comfort them in his strange way, which was to flop down next to you or on your feet and just be there. You could pet him if you wanted to but either way you could feel the purr being generated.

He was a good cat. He outlasted his brother by over a year and a half.

I will miss him.

I am grateful for my time with the Millie Cat.

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 22, 2016

I was going to write about the passing of Prince and tell the story of when I though my brother was going to get us in real trouble for playing Let’s Go Crazy at a very loud volume to counter act all the country music blasting around us as we went slowly through a small town because the highway was closed.

But this morning I got up and came downstairs and found Millie bleeding from the mouth rather profusely. We are going to take him to the Vet but I have a feeling he is not coming home with us. He’s been dying by inches for about a month now due to a tumor behind his left eye so it may be time to say good-bye. I have had that fur ball in my life for 18 going on 19 years. He was my Hanukah present all those years ago.

First night of Passover is tonight I wish all who celebrate it a Good Pesach.

I am grateful for Prince’s music which shaped my youth (OK early adulthood).

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 21, 2016

I had a discussion with Caroline the other day about various religions. We got onto the topic of Buddhism and the Tao. Her take away was that it seemed that the Tao has a lot of doing one thing and not doing one thing in it. I did have to go to the net a couple of times to get some clarifications for her and I learned a few things too. Caroline found the concept of Mindful Mindless amusing because she said that’s the way all teenagers think.

Millie the cat is continuing to slowly decline. He does have a growth behind his left eye and is totally blind on that side. But he is not in pain. He eats, drinks, and uses the litter box with regularity. He still begs for human food when he smells something he likes. He still wants his pets and still sleeps next to my hip on occasion. He has a soft place on a chair that he has been spending more time sleeping on. He’s 18 years old going on 19. An old grumpy cat rather set in his ways.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the passing of my father-in-law Gunter. The day was spent in quiet reflection for the most part. He is still loved and missed.

Today is prep for the Seder tomorrow night. I have to shop for all the items we need, which is easy to do on Long Island. There are one or two items that are more difficult to find but I have some good leads on what I need. Lamb is easier to find post Easter.

Next week Caroline has off from school as her Spring Break. All the state tests will be done and she can figure out the rest of her school year. She got into all the classes she wanted for next year. I am much happier with her math course which will be teaching her one mathematical system rather than seven.

Apparently there is going to be a third Jude Law, Robert Downey JR. Sherlock Holmes film. I know I’ll go see it. And it seems the time to film Sherlock Holmes as Sherlock is finally filming its fourth season before the two leads have to run off and promote their next projects. The window to shoot the show is very narrow. Now the big question is are Freeman and Cumberbatch going to show up in the same Marvel movie anytime soon since Freeman is in Captain America: Civil War and Cumberbatch is Dr. Strange.

Ok the last cat has found its sunny spot and has settled down for its morning nap which is my cue to finish this up and get back to the hour of writing I am trying to do on my fiction every day.

I am grateful for being awake this morning rather than just up because I couldn’t sleep.

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