Change is inevitable

I seem to have a really bad habit of only updating this blog about once a year. But it's not like I haven't been pretty clear that blogging isn't my forte'. News: In November 2020, my friend, Priest, brother in Christ, and adopted Papa, Fr. Bernard reposed in the Lord. He actually passed away due to severe complications from pneumonia - he went into the hospital due to complications with underlying conditions, was placed in the ICU on a COVID floor, caught COVID, and passed away, all in about 20 days. Result: the inevitable "power grab" ensued at the church - wild accusations and suspicions were thrown, and all of the work I had done (in keeping with the expectations of Fr. B, which were clearly communicated to me by the good Fr. himself) were clearly unwanted and unappreciated. We requested a transfer to a new Parish and are very happy there. I do not plan to ever return to the Parish we left. I will mention no more names, nor will I mention the name or location of the church we left, because at the end of the day, that doesn't matter. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. I may not understand those reasons today, but I know that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (If you want to read that verse in context, here is the chapter: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=NKJV). I am reminded of a line of dialogue from the film "Dances with Wolves: Wind in His Hair is telling John Dunbar about the death of Stands with a Fist's first husband: Wind In His Hair : You know, the man she mourned for... He was my best friend. John Dunbar : I didn't know that. Wind In His Hair : He was a good man... It has been hard for me to like you. I am not the thinker Kicking Bird is. I always feel anger first. There were no answers to my questions. But now I think he went away because you were coming. That is how I see it. Why did my adopted Papa have to die? I don't know. But I am learning so much at the new Parish, and I am thankful that I am there. So maybe he had to go away because I needed something that he couldn't give me. "Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. ~ Job 1:20-22

Have I mentioned that I suck at blogging?

Here we are more than 2 years since my last post. LOL - blogging is NOT my forte'. Things are well...I've lost two furbabies this year. Kimiko T'Paw left us on March 3rd very early in the morning. Probably sometime between 1 and 2 AM. When I got up for work at 5:45 AM, she was already cold and stiff. We aren't sure what it was that killed her....she had a nasty abscess in October 2019 which we treated but other than that, she was fine. Her Vet wasn't even sure why she got the infection. It was located under the left side of her lower jaw. Wasn't a dental issue because she had no teeth. Anyway, last week of February, she started acting "off" - something only I would notice. She wasn't "right" - walking like a drunken sailor, not eating the same, no energy. Vet thought it might have been dry FIP, but the test they ran said no. But we couldn't get her turned around, and I couldn't afford the high level tests (CT scans and such) which might have definitively diagnosed the problem...and she faded quickly once Saturday hit. When I went to bed Monday night, I knew she would not be with me in the morning. She did not want to die at the Vet's office though. I felt that from her very strongly. She crashed Monday night after her final Vet visit, so I held her and snuggled her, and loved on her - and gave her permission to go. Needless to say, I was devastated. This little Persian was a joy and a blessing. I will miss her forever. Then on April 23rd, around 7:20 AM. My granny cat - Princess Guinevere of the Pretty Paws - passed away in front of me. I was cradling her head as she suffered what can only be described as some kind of stroke or seizure. She was almost 17 years old, and morbidly obese for most of her life. Yes, losing her was painful, but at the same time a bit of a relief because she had been having a lot of issues with mobility and I could tell that she was VERY uncomfortable. The 3 days or so prior to her passing I could absolutely tell that she was fading, and her mucous membranes (eyes, gums, etc) were not the right color. She was a very affectionate "people" cat. She was a delight, and I miss her too. Today - June 24, 2020 - is an interesting time. COVID-19....George Floyd....Breonna Taylor, etc....civil unrest....accusations of racism....Donald Trump....Joe Biden....Jo Jorgensen (who has MY vote)....it's ugly out there, folks. There's no love, no compassion, no tolerance, nasty talk, blasphemy, Godlessness, murder.... Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Killing time

Hopped on here today to update a setting....figured while I'm here, I'd post a blurb. Vegan diet attempt was a colossal failure. Did I mention that? Not sure if I did. But having a husband who won't even think about giving up meat made a completely vegan transition impossible. At least for me. So, I did eliminate quite a bit. But I'm still eating fish and dairy (in moderation). I bought a sewing machine this past December. I have a class today at 1:00 PM to "learn my machine". I don't know how to sew, but I want to learn. so this was an investment. Relatively speaking, the machine was rather inexpensive when compared to fully loaded idiot proof models (the Brother machine I absolutely loved was close to $600.00. Ummmm.....NO). I paid a little less than $250 but that included extra accessories and new thread and stuff. Hoping that I learn something today. I know enough to thread the thing, and I figured out how to thread the bobbin. Gotta run....not that anyone will read this. LOL Time to go buy cat food.

Happy New Year 2018

Just checking in.  I tried to post this on January 1, 2018. It didn't "take".

I suck at blogging. Not that it matters....LOL

So this happened

No, I'm not getting all "fan-girl" -- but I was lamenting the fact that there won't be a new season of Outlander until after the New Year (plus, I read ALL 8 books in a little over a month), and I have NO clue when book 9 is being released. Diana Gabaldon doesn't even know yet. So, I tweeted about it. Then a few days ago, one of the actors who played in a few episodes of Season 2 requested to follow me -- of course, I accepted. (The only reason why I don't allow just anyone to follow me is because in the past, I have gotten some pretty filthy direct messages from people, and so I put the extra security on my Twitter account so I can check people out before I approve them.) ANYWAY -- the follow request was from Scott Kyle, who played Ross in a few episodes during the latter half of season 2 of the show. Now I didn't expect to ever have a conversation with him, but earlier today he posted the sweetest photos of a kitty who was "visiting", so just for fun, I replied to his tweet with a photo of my cat, Travis. Turns out, Scott Kyle liked my photo. LOL -- I thought that was pretty cool! (Now, I ADORE my cat....it's almost irrational how much I love that animal. He's my boy. And he's VERY attached to me....even his Veterinarian took note of how bonded he is to me. So when someone likes his photo or says something nice about him, they've made my day.) So today, Scott Kyle made my day. Which got me to thinking: I absolutely LOVE connecting with people on Twitter and Facebook (Instagram too) because at the end of the day, we are all made of the same stuff (flesh and bone), and we are all going through the human experience. I realize that the majority of people I follow who are "celebrities" in some way or another may never reach out to me on a personal level, but it's really neat when it DOES happen. This little story today is just one example of a random encounter that kind of made my day. We're all human. We're all flawed. We all want to be loved for who we are, and accepted. We all need friends. For any random individual who happens to see this story -- if you need a friend, I'm here.

Meh

Day from hell. Resting now, waiting for this migraine to go away.

I can't believe it's been over a year

Sincere apologies, friends, for the long gap between posts. I can only confess that I totally suck at blogging, and poor Travis has to deal with a lack of thumbs, or he would do it himself.  LOL

Everyone and everything is fine.  Hope you're all doing well!