It's been so long ....

... since I last updated my blog, but so much has been happening in my world of late, and not all of it good I'm afraid.

First of all, I had to bid a very sad farewell to my gorgeous pussycat Winston a couple of weeks ago.  The little spunk had been part of my life for just on 16 years, and it was so sad to have to say goodbye to him.   And to make matters worse, the last couple of weeks of his life weren't the best, as he decided to run under the car while I was driving up the driveway, and I ran over his leg!   So, off to the vet we went, and we did a series of blood tests, to determine that, even though he was 16 years old, he really was still in top condition, so we decided to operate to pin his leg, and $850 later, we had Winston home with us again.

Things were going along really well for about a week and a half, and then on the Thursday of the second week, he just wasn't himself.  I went in to feed him in the morning, and he just looked so grumpy.   That was the day that the stitches had to come out, and I was a bit concerned about him, so I got the vet to check him over.  He didn't have a temperature, but did seem to have some fluid on his shoulder at the surgery site, so they drained some fluid and said to take him back if he hadn't improved in a day or two.

Well, that night we went to dinner for Dad's birthday, and I came home to find Winston in quite considerable distress in the bathroom - front legs locked outstretched while the rest of his body was floppy, and his head was lolling around with his eyes tracking from side to side ... he was breathing very rapidly and was 'moaning' a bit as well, and as soon as I saw him, I knew that the end was near.  

Thankfully, I still had one syringe of painkiller left for him which I gave to him straight away, and we went and had a long cuddle on the couch.  I could feel him slipping away in my arms, and it was so distressing.   After about 10 minutes he let out this really big sigh and finally his legs relaxed a bit and his breathing became more regular, and he gave me one last nudge under my chin and snuggled into my arms.   We sat there for what seemed an eternity, but I decided that I just couldn't be holding him when he actually passed away, so I put him up into his bed and made him as comfortable as possible, and said my goodbyes.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be), when I went to check on him in the morning, he had died during the night.  He hadn't actually moved from the position that I put him in on his bed.   At least I didn't have to take him to the vets and make that terrible decision that I had dreaded making only a week and a bit earlier.

I hope that I made his last moments with me as comfortable as possible ...he really was one of the most beautiful cats I've ever known. 

Writing this is proving to be quite therapeutic, as I currently have tears streaming down my face again ...   Winston came into my life in 1994 after a very difficult time in my life, and had been with me ever since.   I will miss him terribly.

The boys took the news really well - Ashton's first response was that we should go and buy a beautiful tree for the garden - The Winston Tree - so we can remember him forever.   We have done this, and planted a nice little garden for him to boot, and we go out and visit him daily. 

Here's the most recent pic I have of Winston - taken back in summer this year - with him totally flaked out sleeping under the back table .... so chilled out ...

And, on top of all the Winston drama, I've had another operation on my knee, so I'm back to hobbling around again with a knee the size of a football.   Thankfully the recovery is tracking along nicely though, and I should be back to normal again in another week or two.

We've also had school holidays to deal with again, and so many birthday parties for the boys to go to as well - including Ashton's 7th birthday.  We had a lovely party for him at the local minigolf centre, and I even organised a terrific cake for him ... how fabulous does R2D2 look??  (With a big thankyou to Max from Megamax cakes for making such an awesome cake!)

 I have also done a layout using one of the pics from Leanne's photoshoot, but Blogger has now decided to be rather annoying, and isn't letting me upload it, so I'll have to have another go at it over the weekend.

Well, I know I have a very busy day at work tomorrow (including organising for our hot water serve to be fixed as it blew up today), so I guess I should get to bed.

I will write again soon, I promise ...

Cheers,
Ness.
xoxo