The Old Cat and The Tough Old Bird

Karson, our church cat will be turning 16 years old this coming May 3rd, which makes him about 104 years old in humans years? 

When I think of growing old, I think of a few quotes I read some time ago. 
There's this one by Richard Gere

'Do not regret growing older, It's a privilege denied to many.' ~ Richard Gere 

Appreciating old age and keeping healthy both in body and mind as best I can, these days I try to limit myself from news feeds and often escape to places where I can have happy thoughts. My husband, daughter and I have taken up the routine of tuning in every afternoon to Ricky Gervais's live Twitter videos, they make us laugh and that's a good thing. 

It's wise to keep informed just so you know where you stand but too much information I have come to realize makes me not feel very good. Finding that happy place is necessary to keep one's sanity and avoid becoming increasingly depressed and sick.

A happy place for me is watching the old movie flicks. Maybe I can coax hubby and daughter to watch this one more time...lol 

'Some Like It Hot'.   

PHOTO BY TCM

FOR ALL THE OLD FOLKS OUT THERE ♥️YOU❣️🙏 

Watch this on TCM youtube channel

SOME LIKE IT HOT 




Here is a clip from Some Like it Hot on TCM channel / Facebook

♥️ Three-quarters of a century-old and he is still an adorable pussycat.♥️

Josephine: Well, there they are. More millionaires than you can shake a stick at.
Sugar: I'll bet there isn't one under seventy-five.
Josephine: Seventy-five. That's three-quarters of a century. Makes a girl think.
Sugar: Let's hope they brought their grand-sons along. 

Karson, his furry paw on my hand, love❣️😺

 No matter your age, inside you are still young. Life in all it's imperfections is still beautiful. And the human spirit never dies. I think I can still work on becoming that tough old bird. 

  STAY AT HOME AND SAVE LIVES 

HAPPY CATURDAY & EYES OF MARCH 🌼🐱🌼🐱🌼🐱🌼 Out of My Mind

“Imagine if you could dream 75 years of time in one night.”
Maggie…’ Well, I tried to but you interrupted my dream.’

The Dream of Life - Alan Watts 

So then…

Let’s suppose that you were able, every night, to dream any dream you wanted to dream. And you could, for example, have the power within one night to dream 75 years of time. Or any length of time you wanted to have.

And you would, naturally, as you began on this adventure of dreams, fulfill all your wishes. You would have every kind of pleasure.

And after several nights of seventy-five years of total pleasure each you would say, “Well, that was pretty great! But now let’s have a surprise.”

“Let’s have a dream which isn’t under control. Where something is going to happen to me but I don’t know what it’s going to be.”

And you would dig that, and come out of that and say, “Wow, that was a close shave, wasn’t it?”

Then you would get more and more adventurous.

And you would make further and further gambles as to what you would dream.

And finally, you would dream where you are now.

Our Birth is but a Sleep and a Forgetting:

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The soul that rises with us, our life's Star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar.

~ “Intimations of Immortality”

 1804 William Wordsworth

Creatures of the night, in their nocturnal habit they dance on the threads of the gleaming moon.

Emrick, happy to have finally arrived at his journey's end sits by the river and watches the aerial ballet. In the starry, almost scary heavenly world above, Emrick catches a glimpse of another world, one he might know.

I loved painting on this 6 x 6 canvas. I was inspired by Old Quebec paintings for this landscape and gave it more of a surreal, magical fairytale Victorian Gothic style.

Hubby named the cat, Emrick, a name from Wales meaning immortal, from that a story materialized. I will eventually make some prints to sell this artwork. I like how it turned out.

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that's gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” ~ Karl Lagerfeld

These are the memories we will never let go. It seems like it was just yesterday we were treasure hunting with Grace. We discovered Geocaching and M and I went on some wonderful outdoor adventures around our region like Merrickville and Kemptville searching for the secretly hidden geocaches. Grace helped us find them all. Although there are mixed views on the game and I understand the dangers associated with it, we still love playing the game. The clues, the puzzles, the mystery and stories, the thrill of the adventure of finding the cache in the most unexpected secret location are all part of the fun of geocaching and besides that its a wonderful excuse to take a walk in nature, breathe in the fresh air and bring your dog out for a walk, sadly we will miss having Grace on our next hunts.

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal***From an Irish Headstone” Richard Puz

Heart and Soul

Grace, a soul with heart and spirit






In his book "Dog Stories", James Herriot writes of an old woman whose only fear is that she may never be reunited with her animals after death.
Here is an excerpt from the short story "The Card Over The Bed" A very touching and beautiful story.


I went back and sat down by the bed. Miss Stubbs looked out of the window" for a few moments, then turned to me. "You know, Mr. Herriot," she said casually, "it will be my turn next.""What do you mean?""Well, tonight Ben has gone and I'm going to be the next one. I just know it.""Oh, nonsense! You're feeling a bit low, that's all. We all do when something like this happens." But I was disturbed. I had never heard her even hint at such a thing before."I'm not afraid," she said. "I know there's something better waiting for me. I've never had any doubts." There was silence between us as she lay calmly looking up at the card on the gas bracket. Then the head on the pillow turned to me again. "I have only one fear." Her expression changed with startling suddenness as if a mask had dropped. The brave face was almost unrecognizable. A kind of terror flickered in her eyes and she quickly grasped my hand."It's the dogs and cats, Mr. Herriot. I'm afraid I might never see them when I'm gone which worries me so. You see, I know I'll be reunited with my parents and brothers, but ... but ..." She gazed at the two cats curled up at the end of her bed."Well, why not with your animals?""That's just it." She rocked her head on the pillow and for the first time I saw tears on her cheeks. "They say animals have no souls.""Who says?""Oh, I've read it and I know a lot of religious people believe it.""Well, I don't believe it." I patted the hand which still grasped mine. "If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. You've nothing to worry about there."
"Oh, I hope you're right.



“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.” Robert Louis Stevenson ☺️

And All Through The House, Not a Stir 💔

Karson will be 15 years old on May 3rd

Karson is the last surviving pet of

"The Three Amigos"

This morning, all through the house, not stir. All three cats were sound asleep and just looking at Karson sleeping it's very clear he knows Grace is gone.

KARSON

The little ones, they too know she is gone.

MAGGIE

LITTLE BAT

Grace and Karson

                    Grace

July 1st, 2005 ~ Feb 27th, 2019

              

Grace and Karson photographed by M

“And it is exceedingly short, his galloping life. Dogs die so soon. I have my stories of that grief, no doubt many of you do also. It is almost a failure of will, a failure of love, to let them grow old—or so it feels. We would do anything to keep them with us, and to keep them young. The one gift we cannot give. •”


Mary Oliver, Dog Songs

 

Above photos by M

Go To Sleep, Darlings

Daisies in the Snow

Go to Sleep, Darlings...

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields...
It covers them snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, Go to Sleep, Darlings, till the summer comes again.” 

Lewis Carroll