Shopping with Teens!

I had an amazing privilege week before last. I took my kids shopping.

Hannah has worn out her shoes. Literally. You can see light through the sole right under her heel. She said she wondered why her feet got so wet when it rained. Now we know. Between growing and wearing everyone was in desperate need of some new duds. So we all went to the mall. And to Target. And to WalMart. And to the New Center of the Universe (huge new shopping complex south of Winter Garden). That's just our name for it - the developers gave it something nicer. Can't remember what... Anyway, we shopped ALL DAY! Those of you who know us best understand that this is not what Rigels do. We tend to limit our shopping to very carefully planned, quickly executed missions designed to get the job over with as quickly and painlessly as possible. There are a few exceptions: RK could live in JoAnn's, bookstores are for lingering, antiquing is fun anytime.

So what made this day so wonderful? These amazing young people are fun to hang out with and they are amazingly thrifty shoppers. There wasn't a bit of fussing or whining. Everyone had to wait sometimes and it was done willingly and patiently. By the end of the day we were all very TIRED! They all shopped for quality items at reasonable prices - it was great to hear some of the conversations about the high prices for seemingly already worn-out garments. I believe the Lord blessed these attitudes by providing some fun clothes at great prices. We were able to almost complete the list in one day!

During the day I noticed a few young moms with kids in tow. I remember those days. I remember when H loved to look at the fancy dresses with sequins. J once hid inside a rack of coats and watched me panic. Those days passed quickly but I think these teen years will go even faster. I don't want to hold them back but I want to savor each moment.

Bog Bodies

OK, now to address the hot topic of Bog Bodies...

Doesn't everyone sit around discussing them? We do occasionally. And it totally freaks Zach out. Hannah thinks they're fascinating. Her eyes light up and I can just picture her out in a peat bog imagining the histories of these people. Who were they? How did they end up there? What kind of lives did they live? Zach just shudders... and shudders... and shudders. He doesn't even want us to say... bog bodies...

So thanks to National Geographic, our scanner, and the technical abilities of our children...

Bog Bodies!

Far Too Long No Blogging!

Long overdue: Quilt update!


Bekah finished her rag quilt sometime before Christmas. Isn't it lovely?

OOPS!!!! That isn't her quilt! It's a BOG BODY!!! The pale NJ version anyway...

You know, I could have just deleted that photo but I'm laughing so hard and I needed that laugh so badly that I thought just maybe you did too. The kids heard me laughing and came to check it out and now everyone is cracking up. More on bog bodies later... now for the quilt.

I love the bright fun colors of this quilt. It's nice and snuggly too. Since it was quilted block by block and then the blocks were sewn into rows and the rows sewn together, Bekah was able to do the whole thing on her machine - with lots of help from Mrs. G, of course.

Cute pets!!!

Here are some Cute pictures of the

cats that I thought you might enjoy.

Bed time!!!!

Crazy Green eyed Benny...sitting on a chair...

Cute snuggles!!! With licking!

My little Darling Emmy. (or not so little)
But she is sweet!!

Bekah

Poosey News

Since my original post about Poosey back in October, we have been in an all-out battle to restore her quality of life and at some points literally to save it. Yesterday we got the first little glimmer of the possibility of healing.



If I recall, I said we were exploring the possibility of trying some acupuncture in an attempt to relieve some of her pain. Little did I know that was just the beginning. We met a great vet who has a holistic practice - www.cedarbayvet.com - and she quickly ascertained that the kidney disease was acute. We changed her food, increased the sub-q fluids to twice a day instead of twice a week, and added three supplements. By that time she was also in the midst of a full blown upper respiratory infection that we treated with antibiotics. Poosey was one very weak kitty. I remember one particular Friday that I just lay on the floor beside her and prayed that she'd keep breathing at least until Hannah got home from school. Every breath was an effort and she just looked too weak to keep it up for very long. She didn't want to eat and was losing weight rapidly. We sort of poured food into her with a pastry bag and metal cake decorating tip.

We have been doing the acupuncture - and Poosey often purrs the whole time!

She recovered slowly from the URI but the damage was done. Her liver was very unhappy with the weight loss and although her kidneys were doing better, more blood work revealed that a new monster had reared it's ugly head - hepatic lipidosis. If you're curious you can Google it. I guess it mostly happens to cats and it's 100% fatal without aggressive intervention. That's where we are now. For the last two-plus weeks we've been syringing food into her every 1-2 hours in an attempt to reverse the condition. We added a couple of additional supplements and a medication to help her GI system to move the food along and prevent nausea (and vomiting!). I can't tell you how frustrating it was to force feed her all day every day only to go to the vet and have her lose more weight! I calculated the time and literally 1/4 of my daytime hours have been spent force feeding/cleaning up this precious creature! Finally yesterday we had a small weight gain!!!! We are by no means finished but at least there is hope. I expect to continue this all through the Christmas season and possibly a few weeks beyond. I told the vet yesterday that all I want for Christmas is for Poosey to eat on her own. She smiled and said she hoped I got that gift.

Is it worth it?


Yes.


I don't know how long it will help her, but I know we did our best. She's now strong enough to express her opinions, sometimes vigorously. I love that! She can lie in the sunshine. She can purr. She hangs out with Hannah and sleeps on the box in front of her window - all the normal things we take for granted.

Thankful!

The week is here! The day is coming! The attitude will remain - I hope!

Living in Florida causes a celebration of autumn in a big way in our household. The kids delight in putting up the fall decorations. They grumble about stores that skip fall and go right into Christmas. Our landscape doesn't display the colors that we associate with fall so we bring a little of the color into our home. I find myself touching fabric rich in fall colors at the fabric store - and buying bits and pieces of it sometimes. We have garlands of leaves that we drape here and there. We've accumulated a few fall tablecloths over the years. We don't go nuts about the decorating - no time and too many cats! - but we genuinely enjoy every one.

And then there's Thanksgiving Day... the excitement builds... who is coming this year? Mom, did you buy turkey hearts? Can we buy some new balls for backyard games? Will it be cool? Will it be hot?

Why do our kids love this holiday so much? I think it's because it is one of the only traditions that we keep very close to the same every year and it isn't commercially overdone. It's all about being thankful to God for all He has given. Sometimes we've had difficult years. Sometimes our friends have had very difficult years. I hope I never forget the overflowing gratefulness I felt the year GG was here barely a week after surgery for colon cancer.

I'm not just thankful for the big things. I'm overwhelmingly thankful that I have a husband who loves me and whom I love. We have children who are learning and growing and who I honestly enjoy. We have friends - genuine friends - who really know us and still want to hang out with us. We have a great extended family. We have a church family that I wouldn't trade for all the tea in China (and you all know I like my tea!)

Last year we put a piece of paper on the fridge for everyone to write on listing things for which we're thankful. Thanks to my friend JS for the idea!! I'm a bit behind but that is going back up today. We'll see how many things we can think of by Thursday. I can start right now. I'm thankful for this computer and the internet access that allows me to write the blog entry and for each person who cares enough about us to read it.

The Quilt!

We had a very happy girl the day RKR finished her first quilt top! Here she is!

And this is LG, sewing teacher extraordinaire!

We took her quilt to a shop to be machine quilted. She had to have the backing and batting ready to quilt. It was a very interesting process. Each layer was placed on the frame and pinned, zipped, clamped or basted into place. Even with all this preparation, the shop owner had to keep a close eye on the process, smoothing any puckers and making sure the machine was doing the correct thing. Several times she had to replace the bobbin thread - just like a giant sewing machine bobbin. Bekah got to choose the quilting pattern and the thread. She chose a daisy pattern in a variegated blue. It looks lovely!

Photos of the finished quilt coming very soon...

Beaver Bones update

Thought you might be wondering what ever happened to all the bones ...

They are beautiful! Hannah puts them outside on screens and covers them with baskets until the little beasties clean them. Then she soaks them in H2O2 to bleach them without damaging them. Now they are clean and beautiful.

After surviving her midterms, she needed a break from studying. She spent a few hours this weekend with the beaver. She has the spine all put together and a lot of the other bones identified and organized. Unfortunately she discovered she only has 13 (of 20) toes. It is possible that something had nibbled a few away before she ever got it - as you can see in the photos in the previous post, it was pretty decomposed and we didn't spend a whole lot of time looking closely (phew!).

To some it may seem a pretty gruesome hobby. We don't see it that way at all. The skeleton reveals God's incredible design. Each creature is created precisely for the tasks it will accomplish. The beaver's jaws and teeth are amazing. For it's size, it really is a rugged little critter - and rightly so since it fells trees and moves them around!

My Favorite Things

I was the milk-maid today and so I had a bit of time alone in the car to think. It's a gorgeous day! Bright blue sky, a coolish breeze (upper 70s to low 80s), windows down, ... I was driving along, thanking God for a myriad of things, and I began to wonder what a list of my favorite things would look like. I know it would be long but here are a few:

My husband in his jeans and hiking boots with the wind in his hair and his hand holding mine.
Hugs from Hannah.
Hugs from Zach.
Hugs from Bekah.
Hugs from Jesse.
Hugs!
My whole extended family.
My friends.
My kids' friends.
Dogs.
Horses.
Cats.
Bears.
Wolves.
Loons.
Being in the front seat of the canoe with a long twisty creek ahead of me.
Hiking - and sitting down, being very quiet and listening to all the forest sounds.
Sleeping in a tent.
Swimming in the ocean.
A good cup of tea.
A new book - and time to read it.
Snow!


Obviously my list isn't just 'things' because some of my favorites are people.

What are your favorite things?

Poosey - Queen of Hearts

Late one evening, about 10 years ago, on the first cold night of the year, we heard a scratching sound at our front door. I don't remember if David or I opened the door, but I do remember a little orange kitten announcing her presence as if to say, "Hi, I'm home..."

Hannah had been wanting a kitty for a very long time. We had told her that she could have one if we moved to the country. (We're still waiting for that dream to come true...) She quietly decided to pray about it - and she tells us she was very consistent - and see what God would do. I have come to the conclusion that Poosey is a direct answer to that prayer and I am awed at the ways God has used her in our lives.

When Hannah got awake in the morning, this little kitten took one look at her and very effectively said, "She's Mine and I'm Hers!" And that's the way it's been ever since. When Hannah was born her Grandpa Rigel called her his poosey. Loosely translated, that's Rigelish for 'a precious little bundle that melts my heart and makes me smile'. And so, Hannah named her kitten 'Poosey'.

I believe Zach actually met her before Hannah did because he's an early riser. He was losing his hearing at the time and many days were difficult for him. Poosey has a purr that is much bigger than she is. Every morning Zach would get awake very early and sit on the recliner holding Poosey and just enjoy the feeling of her rumble. He says that he could always 'hear' her. I know that physically there were times when he couldn't but his perception is that he always could.

Poosey is part Manx. She has just a little stump of a tail and her back legs are longer than her front ones, putting her rump just a bit in the air when all four feet are on the floor. The Manx traits influence her personality too, causing some rather uncatlike behaviors. She often follows Hannah - to the extent that I've taken to calling her a puppy-cat. She's openly affectionate and isn't moody. It takes only Hannah's presence nearby to start her purring and if Hannah pets her too, she starts this funky purr-squeak, purr-squeak. It seems like she works very hard with all the purring but she can keep it up for long periods of time.

She's never stingy with her love! Here she's giving Jimmy a bath. In case you can't tell from the smashed face, Jimmy is a rabbit - and another whole love story. Jimmy would drive Poosey crazy, following her around Hannah's room begging for attention.

I could go on for a long time about all the things we've learned from living with Poosey. God sometimes answers little girls' prayers with a big 'yes!'. He gives us a glimpse of His unconditional love in the way a companion animal loves her master. God doesn't withhold His creative energy from the lost and the stray - Poosey's eyes are incredibly beautiful, like the most elaborate and delicate green lace imaginable. And most recently, doing good and loving unselfishly doesn't protect you from suffering and pain.

Our Poosey is in severe pain right now. Five years ago she was diagnosed with the beginnings of kidney failure. She's been managed ever since with a low protien diet. She also has degenerative disc disease. Apparently that is also thanks to being part Manx. This past Monday something happened to aggravate the disc problem and is causing some nerve entrapment. She is having pain in her back and she can't control her back left leg properly. Her kidney disease is also worsening. That sounds very bleak but the kidney disease can be managed with sub-q fluids twice weekly for now and she is on pain medication for her back. We're looking into some alternative treatments to help get the inflammation down and hopefully get the nerve function to improve.

We are all feeling the pain. Living together in a homeschool atmosphere allows us to process it, but also keeps it up front in our minds. We've had discussions about the pleasures and the responsibility of pet ownership. We've always taught the kids that having pets means that they depend on you for all their needs - and rising to the challenge of meeting those needs isn't always easy or fun. We've talked about euthanasia - Is it right? Is it our responsibility?
Why is it OK for animals and not for people? What happens to animals when they die? Why is it so easy to see that when a normally loving animal lashes out, it's due to the pain and fear but when a person lashes out, we're often so offended that we don't look for the pain or fear that caused it? How exactly do you get a pill into a cat? Why does God sometimes say 'no'? Why does love have to hurt so much?