Good-bye to my handsome guy

My orange cat, Mustard, is gone.  In about a week, he went from pretty healthy for an old guy to dehydrated and not eating to diagnosed with diabetes to unable to move around at all AND not eating or drinking.  There was probably something else going on too, since his belly was bloated.  But I'll never know.

Mustard was a gift to D#1 for her 3rd birthday.  We'd lost a cat to cancer not long before and a friend asked if it would be ok.  She turned 21 this past July, so he was well over 18 years old.  Calling her to tell of his swift decline and loss was deeply painful for both of us, as he meant so much to her.  This photo of Mustard and the one remaining cat, Tabbitha (who really "belongs" to D#2), shows them engaged in their favorite pastime: synchronized sleeping. 

Of all the cats I've had over 4 decades, I only ever had 2 that weren't shelter cats or strays.  He was one of them.  He never knew a life where he wasn't loved and cared for.   I held him on my lap, talked to him, and petted him up until the end.  I'd like to think he still felt loved even then.

W.I.F. (What I've finished)

Photos as promised in previous post.

Two small quilts for children's hospice at local hospital: 

Quilt for my sponsored child in South Dakota.  She will be 9 on October 21st.  Need to make label and mail.

Almost Amish, made from swap blocks and given as wedding/housewarming gift to the daughter and son-in-law of a colleague who has been especially helpful since I've been alone.  Used the extra blocks in the pieced backing.

Don't have a full-length photo since, now that daughters are gone, I lack a quilt "holder".  But I took one with the quilt lying on my bed which shows most of the blocks. 

Progress report: month 15 (September 2011)

September!  The second "new year" of each calendar.   In which I helped both daughters settle into their autumn surroundings -- #1 in DC for a fellowship, #2 back at college for her sophomore year -- and returned to my empty nesting. 

Completed:
17.  Plant shrubs around front porch and perennials and shrubs in side yard.
48. Watch 125 movies (actually 128).
77. Set 1 set of swap blocks into quilt top. (Finished Almost Amish [photos to
      come].  Given away as wedding/housewarming gift)
Extra quilts: 2 small quilts finished and donated to the children's hospice at the local hospital.  (Photo to come but Nancy posted a description of the group effort.)

Progress: 
    6. Resumed work in basement.
    7, 26, 28.  Kept up-to-date.
    9. Gave away 20 more books to HS teacher for classroom "library".
  10. Started sorting clothes for donation to costume shop.
  12. Completed a few "small things" around the house.
  33. Went to the gym 2-3 times a week -- usually 3!
  48. Watched 7 movies:
        Come back, little Sheba
        Of mice and men
        Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
        The American
        Cry Baby
        The Road
        Scott Pilgrim vs. the world
  49. Read 5 books (45/60, 29/30, 13/10)
        The Eyre affair (Jasper Fforde)
        Through a screen, darkly (Jeffrey Overstreet)
        Room (Emma Donoghue)
        High fidelity (Nick Hornby)
        Celebrity detox (Rosie O'Donnell)   
  75. Started cutting scrap fabric
  78. Scrap quilt (first EVER from100% scraps and stash; background for RR was
        purchased) sent to quilter.
  84. Extra contribution to ASPCA; pledged higher amount to St. Paul's.
  99. Updated blog with progress (15 out of 15)
101. Blog posts:
        W.I.B.W.O. -- Leader-ender project
        If I were a widow
        Taking a class with a friend

October priorities:
  6. Continue work in basement.
  8. Get bookcases into living room and sorted out.
  9. More book sorting.
12. More small things around house.
44. Attend Family Weekend at M.C.
74. Label and mail quilt to sponsored child. (Her 9th birthday is 10/21)