Mmmmmm, Meatjuice.

Memorial

Yesterday, my local immediate family drove up to Northern New Jersey for the Memorial of my great aunt, Mae Erskine Fowler, or just 'Merk'. She had actually passed away in January, but conditions were such that they could not hold the memorial until today. The ceremony was brief, and my Mom read a passage written by our cousin (Merk's granddaughter, unable to make it in from Colorado). The reading reminded me a lot of the woman I knew as Merk.

She had died at age, and for all but the last few years she was in good shape mentally. She was quite ahead of her time, really. A College educated woman, an enthusiastic artist, and definitely not a petite Southern flower. She almost never worse dresses, was instead wearing slacks or jeans, and her hands were almost always a bit dirty from either gardening or from her throwing wheel (she was an enthusiastic potter and had her own studio in the basement of her house). She and her husband made quite the pair, but he passed away in 1984.

Her house was a marvel, it was old enough (18th century) to have a historical marker and was full of antique furniture. That is all gone now, I saw some photos online that showed the empty interior and it was quite shocking. The lot was sold and will likely be subdivided. So the house will likely have a couple of McMansions plopped down next to it. Oh well.

Merk had died at age 99, and her death was not unexpected. She was only occasionally aware and had definitely deteriorated in the past few years. She was a remarkable woman. I remember the many visits to her house (always a long ride, as it was we had to touch just about every major highway in New Jersey to get from Haddonfield to Boonton. I-287, I-80, I-280, GSP, NJ Turnpike, I-295).

This is not as coherent as I might have liked. But I just felt the need to comment about her passing.

Assorted Things.

I had the day off today. Three day weekends that start with a Friday off are always a bit disconcerting. I didn't do much today, just some food shopping and watching some videos. I would have worked a bit on the deck plantings but the rain made that too annoying.

I took a walk downtown last Saturday. It was just to run a couple of errands but it was pouring rain and my aversion to umbrellas got me soaked (natch). I saw, or rather heard a bus vs. car accident. Everyone was OK but I had to wonder where the fault was since it was in the middle of an intersection.

I also noticed that Logan Circle was opened for the first time in months. It has had chicken wire around it for ages while they worked to renovate it. It had been struck by a runaway garbage truck some months ago, and before it was overrun with homeless. I took this lousy shot with my phone camera:



One thing some of you might notice: The trees are gone. They replaced them with open grass fields and some flower beds. I don't know what the plan is here. To make more flat open space for people to drop blankets and hang out like they do at the much more successful Rittenhouse square? Or is it some kind of anti-lingering measure to discourage the homeless from setting up camp somehow? Or is this something done to improve the view from City Hall down the Ben Franklin Parkway to the Art Museum? I dunno. I just wonder if this effort will bear fruit of having more people hang out at the park? The big problem is pedestrian access, which was improved, slightly. The park is still isolated from the rest of the city by a large high speed road with lights times for the benefit of heavy traffic flow, not pedestrians.

SaraBelle didn't gain any weight from her week of pigging out. I've been giving her treats and some of the Nutro pouch food. The trouble is letting her eat it and keeping it away from the other cats. SaraBelle can't eat an entire pouch at one sitting and I have to keep the leftovers on my desk while she is between binges, lest the other fuzzballs munch it down and get fat.

One of the forums I am on, another person whose pet also has cancer was asking 'how do you know when its time'? I've been looking at SaraBelle a lot these days. She's still cuddly and affectionate (or I am nice and warm for her skinny bod) she meows a bit at me. I don't think I see a look of pain in her yet, but how good am I as a judge? I don't know. I almost don't want to know.

My Vet actually called me this week, and it was good to hear from her. For the past couple of months SaraBelle's treatment has been sort of assembly line. Bring her in, give her chemo, check her out. This time she would like a note from me as to her temperament. Usually the only indication she has is what I mention to the V.A. when I check her in, and that's not a lot to go on.

THERE IS NO GOD!!!

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!

4th Month

SaraBelle has entered her fourth month of treatment. She didn't lose any weight from last week, but she didn't gain any either. She was loopy for the first part of last week right after treatment, but improved a lot the day or two before the next vet visit. This is the week she gets to play catch-up since she was given L-Asparaginase and that seems to keep her appetite up pretty well. I've taken to giving her treats every time she meows. She is also now eating wet catfood just for herself, although it may be that she just licks the juice off the meat and leaves the rest for Lyra and Brother. I've taken to milking the Whiskas packet dry to get the most meat juice for the girl. What I need is a food packet that just contains meat juice.