A Joyous Sound: September 2011

Sean and I celebrate 4 years of marriage today! Today is also National Coffee Day so we both got free coffee at Dunkin Donuts (with coupons) and it's Rosh Hashanah!
We celebrated last night since I had grad class tonight. We went to dinner at The Inn at St. Peter's where it all began...twice. We had our first date there in May 2004 and got engaged there in June 2006. The restaurant has since changed ownership and is now Italian. Funny thing is that they unknowingly sat us at the same table we got engaged at! Later, the waiter told us they had lost power during the thunderstorm and it came back on 15 minutes before we arrived. That lead to a story about how when it was closed someone had called to make reservations, a lady (ghost) answered and took the reservation. When they arrived at the restaurant, they saw it was closed. I hadn't noticed how creepy this town was until it got dark out. With the sound of the creek water and thunder, it really started to feel like a ghost town! They should really add some street lamps...

The Inn at St. Peter's

Last Tuesday we said goodbye to a beloved family member, our cat Simba.

7/1/11

It had been a bit of a rollercoaster ride with him since May. First he started not using the litter box and I noticed blood in his urine. I knew something was wrong and took him to the vet. An X ray showed he had stones in his bladder. This can be fatal if a male cat gets blocked. The only solution was to risk waiting to see what happens or spend a bunch of money of surgery to remove them (with a 50% chance they'd come back). We decided to wait and put him on the recommended diet cat food. I worried about him and prayed for him lots! It took a few weeks but he got better and an X ray on July 29 showed NO stones! We were so happy and thankful!

In August, he seemed a little thinner and we thought he just lost a little weight from the new food or wasn't eating as much. He has always been a VERY good eater so this was weird but I wasn't super concerned...until 2 weeks ago when he was spitting up and looked terrible. A vet visit told us he was very sick and had lost 5 pounds (down to 19 llbs) since our visit in July. Poor thing... I was SO sad. He stayed at the vet for 3 days while they did everything they could to get him better. He refused to eat and was depressed. I went to visit him Monday after work and just pet him for like 45 minutes and tried to get him to eat. I prayed and thought about him constantly. It was draining...not knowing what was going to happen... trying to not lose hope but also preparing myself to lose him.

Tuesday morning 9/13/11, I got the call on my way to work. :*( I miss him most when I'm home and he's not there. Especially when I lay in bed and he's not taking up all my leg room. I miss how he would lay at my feet and roll on his back when I practiced my viola. I miss how he'd follow me into the bathroom every morning and sit at his water bowl until I'd fill it with fresh water. He was the most friendly, social, awesomest cat ever. Everyone who has been to our house remembers him...mostly because they always commented on how HUGE he was! But also because he had to meet everyone who walked in the door.

This is the second Simba we have lost. Simba I (Nala's brother) passed away on 2/14/08 at 5 months. Then we got Simba II. Needless to say, there will not be a Simba III!!!

We still have Nala. She seems totally fine and independent. In fact, we kinda think she enjoys being the only cat. She gets all of our attention and has been very affectionate.

Some favorite photos: