Dusty’s Alive!

Lauren called me last night about 10:00 pm from Massachusetts and in a very excited voice said “Some woman has Dusty!” That was a shocker for both of us. It has been six weeks since we last saw Dusty and we had final come to accept that she wasn’t going to be in our life anymore. Boy she proved us wrong.

Sarah called Lauren after she was able to lure Dusty into her garage with a can of tuna fish and read the tag on her collar which fortunately remained around her neck. I called Sarah right back, got directions to her house and booked it over there. I couldn’t believe how far Dusty had travelled and I couldn’t believe she was still alive. Sarah and (Dave…I think) live over by Rabbit Road off of Route 26 which is four and a half miles from our house on the other side of town. They were so kind and concerned and were keeping a close eye on her until I arrived.

As soon as I went in their garage I picked her up and said “Dusty…where have you been?” in kitty talk and she immediately started purring. She hadn’t forgotten me. After thanking Dusty’s “Guardian Angels” we drove back home and Dusty chowed down a whole can of cat food. She remembers the house and me and I think she’s wondering where Lauren is. She’s lost some weight and feels boney. I don’t have a scale but I would guess she lost about 3 pounds and because I know she was only 10 pounds before she feels light at 7 pounds. She has a little patch of fur on her head that looks like it got scraped off somehow and is growing back. She has been SO “lovey-dovey” since she came back. She slept on me and tight against me all night long and every time she woke she would talk to me to be sure I was still there and I had to pat her and talk back before she would go back to sleep. She’s wiped out and has been sleeping most of today but every now and then when she wakes she rubs against me, jumps on my lap and relishes every pat I give her. I can tell she is really happy to be home and we’re really happy she made it. If she could only talk what a story she could probably tell us.

Welcome back….you little bugger.

Amber and Tommie

Amber and Tommie sitting in a Tree
Mom is W-A-I-T-I-N-G
First comes LOVE
Then comes College
Then comes Maya and
Then comes Marriage

Yep. Who would-a thunk? 11 years together and Thomas Locke Watson pops the question to Amber Elizabeth Gailitis and she says…..YES. (Although I think she first said…Are you kidding?)

So it is Official. Amber and Tommie are engaged to be married. We don’t know when yet because I don’t think they know when. First the Planners must Plan and then they will reveal that Plan at the Planned upon hour…so stay tuned.

Congratulations Tommie and Amber. Maybe it was Pre-Destined when you could smell each other in the Maternity Ward at Addison Gilbert Hospital 26 years ago. Who knows? You two are definitely kindred souls and amazing individuals.

Thanks for letting us know on Father’s Day. You definitely caught me by surprise and it was such a neat gift even though it’s about you. I love you both and I wish that all your Desires move you True.

Good Bye Dusty Noel

It’s time to say a proper good bye to Dusty Noel our cat of 11 years. She’s been missing for about one month now and given the deep woods which are located behind our house and the variety of creatures which live in those woods, the likelihood that she was caught as prey by one of them seems high. It’s been a sad thought for us these last few weeks. Dusty seemed to have had more than 9 lives. She was an indoor/outdoor cat and did pretty well herself catching the mice, moles, and unfortunately birds around the neighborhood.

She came into our life very shortly after our previous cat Rachel had passed away of old age one weekend. If I remember correctly Amber’s friend Claire Guidry knew someone who had young cats or kittens out behind their house and the family wanted to find a home for them and Claire was the temporary caregiver of Dusty. A cat was the last thing I wanted after our other cat died but Lauren and the girls decided to “surprise” me after work one night and picked me up with our “new” kitten in the car. It’s not easy arguing with daughters who want a kitten. So Dusty became part of the family.

Over the years Dusty and I built a symbiotic relationship where early in the morning mostly just before dawn (if it wasn’t cold and raining) Dusty would rustle around letting me know she wanted to go outside and my bladder said you might as well, you need to pee anyway. So that’s how it worked many a morning. She related to each one of us in the family a little differently. I think we all agree she seemed to like Amber the best maybe because Eva’s music was a little LOUD during those days. Dusty was a well travelled cat and when we moved to California she flew out in cargo and adapted to the life style of big apartment living in San Diego. She remained an indoor/outdoor cat there and when we lived at The Villas of Renaissance it was on the fourth (top) floor, so we would walk down the hallway, open the door at the fire escape and she would walk down the four flights of stairs and hang outside in the tropical shrubs and landscaping at The Villas all day long. Sometimes when we were at the pool or hot tub she would know and come around to visit us. At the end of the day I would jingle my car keys at the top of the fire escape stairway and she would come up and in for the night. We lived in three different apartments in San Diego and each one she adapted to quite well. One night Lauren saw a coyote chase her up a tree upon which I climbed up later to get her down from the tree.

When we left San Diego this past winter she ended up being my sole travelling companion in the cab of the Penske Truck for more than 3,000 miles and a full week of driving. At night she would let me know if the hotel/motel room was to her liking. She preferred the Hampton Inns over the Motel 6 and so did I.

When we made it to Massachusetts we left her there in Magnolia with Amber, Tommie and Maya (and Frank and Joan) for a few months until we were able to go back down to pick her up and bring her to her “new” home here in Bethel. It didn’t last long….three weeks…and the last time I saw Dusty she was out behind the Barn with me around 8:00 PM as I was gathering kindling wood for a campfire we had.
Ah Dusty….we all miss you, you little bugger. Rest in Peace.