Welcome Ganymede to our Pride!

We brought home a kitten last Thursday, December 27th, from where Jupiter was born. He is a five month, one week old blue-point Siamese, a cousin of Jupiter, they were born two days apart. The little guy needed a good home where he get lots of love and can get expert medical attention for his eye, so he was offered to us. He had caught my attention with his elfin-like appearance in October when we went to bring Jupiter home. It was thought that the outer corner of his eyelid had been torn in a scramble to his mother's milk. It was clear that he needed surgery and there is a first class veterinary eye clinic just three miles from us.

When we arrived home, we put the kitten in one of our bathrooms with the carrier door open with a litter box, food, and water. He slept in the carrier on his blanket as if it were his safe cave, just as Jupiter had done when he first came to us two months ago. We were awakened by his meows about 5am the next morning. I held him in the bathroom and he snuggled and purred. Jupiter had been cooing at the door all morning. I decided to leave the bathroom door open to see what would happen. The two were instant friends! They spent the first half of the day exploring the house together like two velociraptors and then took a long nap that afternoon on our bed, cuddled together.


In both photos, Ganymede is in the top portion of the picture and Jupiter below. If I turn off the camera's flash when taking pictures, the photos are blurred, otherwise their eyes glow like lanterns.



We took both kitties to our vet that Saturday. When you face the two carriers together on the back set of the car, the two kitties are amazingly content. When we arrived, we made the decision to call the kitty Ganymede; the largest moon in our solar system and one of the planet Jupiter's 63 moons.

Jupiter gave a blood sample for tests in preparation for his neutering surgery in a couple weeks. The doctor looked at Ganymede's right eye and told us it was a birth defect. Underneath the lower lid, when pulled back, you can see a flap of skin with a few hairs. Ganymede is unable to blink because his eyelid did not develop properly in the womb. It does not appear to cause him any discomfort, although he needs eye ointment to keep his eye from drying out. He cleverly sleeps with his cheekbone against the bed so his lower eyelid closes. The condition is called eyelid agenesis. We got the referral to the eye doctor we wanted. I am so happy to be able to help our little Ganymede. Both Jupiter and Ganymede are as perfect as can be!

My Husband's Mom Left us this Morning

This morning, my husband's mom died at the age of 91 from septic shock. She had been admitted to the hospital only yesterday. My husband and I were both by her side as she took her last few breaths and her heart, tired from a long life, stopped. The photo above is from this past Thanksgiving when we broke tradition and went out for Chinese Dim Sum. It hasn't been the best year for my family.

It was my mom's birthday at the beginning of this month. She has been in my thoughts as I was decorating for Christmas, something we enjoyed doing together. I have a wonderful memory from many years ago, of my mom and her youngest sister drinking hot sake while sitting under the Christmas tree and singing Christmas songs. This below is one of my favorite photos of her that was taken last year around this time of year. She died seven months ago, also of septic shock.

Jupiter is Enjoying the Christmas Tree and Train

It was an exciting weekend for Jupiter as we set up the tree and Lionel train. We had the first chance in a long time to do some overall cleaning and neatening. Jupiter loves the train and Christmas tree. He enjoyed the visits from friends and family members who dropped by on Sunday just to meet him! I feel much more organized and ready for Christmas.

Sadly, my husband's friend and commute partner had a stroke this morning and my mother in law was admitted to the hospital. Only twenty-one more days until the new year; I hope 2008 will be a happier year. I am feeling that my neck and shoulders have tensed up from all this.

I am hoping to have the pink baby sweater assembled by next week for Annabelle. I will be so happy if I can accomplish that. It seems like such a luxury to be able to just sit and knit. The weather has been beautifully crisp. The squirrels are frantically burying the almonds I have been tossing out for them. It seems like the same four squirrels, I call the "Jumbo Clan", because they are looking quite robust. I haven't seen Mama Squirrel, our favorite. She has a twisted little tail, is hunched over, and blind in one eye. She has the sweetest face and is very trusting of us. I hope she is okay.