Waldo on Vacation

You might be wondering what our critters do while we're off cruising in Mexico.  Well...I'll tell you...they go on vacation too.  Waldo & Suzy stayed with their cousins Lizzie & Wrigley in Corona.  It's a cushy life at their cousin's house:

Now that we're back home, we're having a heck of a time keeping the dogs off the couch & the bed.  They sure learn bad habits FAST!!!  I wish I could teach them other things as quickly.  I don't think Waldo wanted to come home, but we made him.  Now he's got to sleep on his dog bed on the FLOOR again.  (Don't tell him the number of the ASPCA--he might be tempted to report Noah & I for animal cruelty!!)

Buckskin & Noah Go Cruisin'

Buckskin & Noah recently went on a 7-day cruise to Mexico.  They sailed out of San Diego on Saturday, December 12, 2009 on the ms Oosterdam & visited the ports of Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta & Cabo San Lucas.  Here are a few shots of Buckskin in their cabin & on the balcony:

Buckskin & Noah decided to go high-class this time, so they stayed in a fancy deluxe suite.  It was great:  private breakfast & lunch, free laundry & dry cleaning, expedited boarding, 24-hour concierge...a person could get used to the high-life real quick.

Noah has recently become obsessed with farmville on facebook, so when we hit our first port of call, our first stop was an internet cafe--he was going through withdrawls & needed to get his facebook fix.  Here he is:

When we hit Cabo, we decided to take an off-road Rhino tour & I'm really glad we did.  We drove along this absolutely pristine stretch of beach and got to watch as a pod of whales swam by right off-shore spouting, blowing and breaching.  It was beautiful:

All I can say is wish you were here!!  It was a great get-away, super relaxing & a wonderful break from the Wyoming winter.  I think we can make it until spring now...

Good-Bye, Emily!!

I've been putting off writing about this, but here goes:  I had to say good-bye to my very special friend, my cat Emily, two days ago.  Yes, Emily was almost 14 years old and she'd had a good life, but the two of us had been together for a VERY long time & we'd become quite attached to each other (almost literally)--and she was also VERY fond of her dad, Noah.  Emily slept beside me on the bed every night, she lay on my lap when I watched TV, and she sat patiently (often for hours) on my desk while I worked or played on the computer.  Anytime I called her, day or night, she'd come running immediately, meowing all the way.  She liked to lay on Noah's chest when I wasn't home. And she's the one who gave Noah the stamp of approval when we first started dating.  The first time he asked to come to my place I told him, "OK, but my cat won't like you!"  She'd always hated my dates, but she was in his lap purring before I knew what had happened, and the rest, as they say, is history.  Emily started showing signs of not feeling well very suddenly on Thanksgiving Day, and it was all downhill fast from there.  We took her to the vet last Friday and he said either kidney failure, end-stage diabetes or cancer &  he didn't hold out much hope in any case.  We brought her back home, hoping to let her go in her own time, but she couldn't eat, and by Tuesday it had been over a week with no food, she was skin and bones and could barely croak out a meow--though she still tried--she'd always been a talkative gal.  But she could still put out a pretty good purr right up to the end.  She spent her last night at home sleeping between Noah & I under the covers, then on Tuesday morning, I wrapped her up in a blanket and Noah drove us to the vet's. I was with her when she was put down--the vet sedated her first, so she didn't know or feel a thing--it was all very peaceful.  So...another good friend gone to heaven.  At least she's got good company up there: all her big brothers:  Ernie, Zeke, Easy, Bear, Odie and Bo.  Good-bye, Emily.  I love you &  miss you very much!!!