A week of anniversaries

Saturday marked two years since we adopted Cooper.  He's now a thriving member of our family, and can sometimes be a pain in the neck!  But we love him!

Today, August 26th, it's been five years since Newman (a.k.a. Hairball) joined our pack.  He was adopted three weeks after Tux and Cali because Newman had a flea infestation and the person who had the kittens wanted to be sure he was free of fleas before handing him over to us.  The three came from three different litters of motherless kittens, but we adopted them at the same time.  I named him Newman because, in the days prior to his coming to live with us, I kept referring to him as "The New Cat" or "The New Guy".  New Man just seemed to fit (in spite of the fact that Paul Newman, one of our favorite actors, had passed away about a year before, Newms was not named in memory of the actor and salad dressing king).  Gil dubbed Newman "Hairball" because his original family had shaved the long-haired cat to get rid of the fleas, but left a "ball" of long fur at the top of his tail as a little joke.  The nickname stuck, and today we use the names Newman and Hairball interchangeably!

Poor Newms with a close shave and poofy tail!

The gorgeous guy today!

And last, but certainly not least, we observe the three year mark since we lost our beloved hound dog extraordinaire, Hector, this Thursday, the 28th.  I have written so much about Hector in the years since he died, I don't really have much more to say, except that we both miss him every single day, even though we've got our hands full of canine and feline love around here with our other pets.  There was nobody else like Hector, and there never will be.  

Love hold my hand
Help me see you with the dawn
That those that have left
Are not gone

But they carry on
As stars looking down
As nature’s sons
And daughters of the heavens

You will not ever be forgotten by me
In the procession of the mighty stars
Your name is sung and tattooed now on my heart
Here I will carry, carry, carry you forever

You have touched my life
So that now
Cathedrals of sound are singing, are singing
The waves have come to walk with you
To where you will live in the land of you,
Land of you

You will not ever be forgotten by me
In the procession of the mighty stars
Your name is sung and tattooed now on my heart
Here I will carry, carry, carry you
Here I will carry, carry, carry you forever.

"Carry" by Tori Amos

Please note: k2k9 will be taking a short break from blogging and social media between now and the September 8th.  There may be intermittent posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but don't count on it :)!

See you in September!