04.12.21 MoJo sez...goodbye

Fourteen is old for a cat, especially one who spent as much of his life outdoors as MoJo did...and I hadn't noticed how much he was aging (or maybe it's just that I didn't want to)...

we called him the Tabby Spaniel, because when he joined our family as a kitten, he was trained by our cocker spaniel, Max.  They did yard partol (sniffing along the entire fence around the backyard) every morning; they came when they were called for meals; they slept side by side, indoors or out.

When Max died, more than 5 years ago, we had entered a busy part of our empty nest lives, and didn't get another dog.  Honestly, I didn't feel the need for one...we had MoJo.

When I say he was more dog than cat, I mean that he came running when he was called, slept in a crate in the house, and never ventured far from home. Sometimes he'd go to one of the houses next door, or across the street to hang out on a porch with a neighbor cat...but mostly, he would nap close enough that he didn't have to walk very far if he wanted to come in for a snack.

He would snooze in the corner just outside the kitchen door (where you had to be careful not to step on him if you went out)...or under the silverleaf bush just across the driveway.

He was also like a spaniel in the way he ate.  We tried free feeding him once Max was gone (we used to feed them at the same time, because otherwise Max would eat his own food, and then the cat food).  However, with his bowl always on the floor, and a constant supply of kibble, MoJo got fat, so we had to put him back on a scheduled - and a weight control diet.

He had no fear of preditors (you'll notice he sleeps with his feet up and belly exposed, like a dog not a cat) and believed that he, not he humans, was in charge of the property.

Covid was great for MoJo because there was almost always a human around...as opposed to be before times...when I would go to the jewelry studio and my husband went to the office.  Back then, sometimes, he'd have to go *gasp* more than four hours between feedings!

Even when we were home all the time, except in cases of bad weather, he preferred to spend his days outside.  Every few hours he would appear at the kitchen door during the day, or on top of a patio chair behind the family room where we watched TV in the evenings, announcing his presence and demaning that a human let him in and give him his portion.

He did this every night...he didn't want to come in while the humans were eating dinner, or even cleaning up.  No, he waited until we were settled on the sofa to appear in the windows behind our head barking orders.

It's what he did the last time we saw him.

On a Sunday night, a few weeks ago...during the 10 o'clock news, he made himself known and came in.  He ate a little - but not very much, he got his chin and ears rubbed, then he went to the door and asked to go out...of course, we let him.

Thinking back...all the signs were there...he was eating less; he'd had terrible allergies for years (and we happily purchased and administered expensive medication from the local compounding pharmacy to treat him) and they had been pretty bad - but we just attributed it to spring allergies.  His eyes had become glassy and droopy, he was coughing more and sometimes his breathing seemed a little labored...but nothing that set off any alarms for us, or frankly the vet, who had seen him recenlty.  We all thought he was doing pretty well, considering.

When he didn't show up after 24 hours, I was worried...he'd wandered off before, but never for more than one or two feeding cycles.  We posted his information on neighborhood lists and missing pet forums. We put his favorite towels out on the front and side porches, so that he would be able to smell his way home.

I kept refreshing the water in his bowl on the back porch...and on the third day he was gone, there was a cardinal perched on the edge of the bowl drinking...something I'd never seen before.  I noted it, but didn't think much of it.  But, when...after more than a week of searching for him, checking with neighbors and shelter postings...the cardinal appeared again, I thought maybe the bird, the cat, the universe...is trying to tell me something?

We left the towels, and his rag toy out on the porch a little longer, but I knew in my heart that he had crossed the rainbow bridge...and I had to let go.

This pendant was last piece I made in the jewelry studio before everything shut down...I bought the stone and designed it for myself, and named it "MoJo sez".  

I stayed late that day to finish it, because I had a sense that it might be a while (I thought maybe a couple of weeks, or a month) before I got back...and I'm glad I did, because I can wear him close to my heart on a day I need some warm fuzzies.

Before MoJo, I would have put myself squarely in the "dog person" camp...but he changed me.  Dogs need their people, cats appreciate you but want their independence, and are okay if the humans have some too...which is where I am in my life right now.

There's a lot of joy in having four legged members in a household, and imagine we will invite a new feline into the family sooner, rather than later.

Until next time.

07.06.20 MoJo sez...

MoJo sez...

he's doing just fine in this time of Covid-19, in fact, he rather likes that someone is home all the time to let him in or out, and make sure his bowls are full of kibble and fresh water.

I don't know if he realizes - or cares - that the humans have not adjusted quite so well to this "new normal" (which frankly, doesn't feel normal at all)...

It's been almost four months since I was in the studio - and I miss it.  I am glad to report that Creative Side continues to be a going concern - they have reopened on a limited basis, and are taking extensive safety precautions. There is now an online shop, and the sales support keeping the studio open for members and for small group classes.

I was really hoping to go back this week, but because our [lack of] leadership in Texas decided to reopen pretty much everything in May, and new Covid cases have spiked - I've put my return on hold.

It's also been months since I wrote a blog post - and I'm trying to figure out how to ease back in.  It seems a bit frivilous to write about jewelry, but while that was usually the "hook", it never limited my range of topics or subject matter...and there is certainly a lot in the world to think and write about now.

Because I'm not in the studio, I'm filling my time with other things, and I think I'm finally finding some rhythm and routine...

Famers Market bounty

Sunday has become my favorite day of the week...

I get up and go to the farmers' market near our house. I head out early, before it gets too hot, and I'm home before lunch. I'd been occassionally in the years before - but it has definitely become my big outing - and the only place where I'm really around other people.

It's run by the Texas Farmers Market organization (a non-profit) and they are all about safety - face masks, social distancing, they even greet you at the entrance with a squirt of hand sanitizer, and a smile.   

I really look forward to seeing the vendors and brining home beautiful produce to eat all week. 

Winner, winner chicken dinner

Then in the evenings, we get carry out fried chicken from Dai Due - one of our favorite restaurants (where we have been weekend regulars since they opened in our neighborhood).  

Not only it is delicious, it gives me a break from cooking (which I am enjoying, and will probably write about), but I get to say hello to the staff, who are became our friends over the years of dining in.

I'm slowly starting to fill my week days with new policy work (pro bono, because I officially closed my consulting corporation last December), and with this post, a return to blogging.  

...and I certainly haven't given up on jewelry...

the last piece I finished in the studio was one for me, a carnelian pendant with MoJo's likeness on the back.

Last week, while I was scrolling through Instragram, these orange shell earrings from Me & Ro popped up - and I thought they would be perfect with the pendant (I was right), so I bought them as my souvenir for this year's missed vacation.

Photo credit: Me&Ro

As I said, I'm easing back into this - nothing profound or thought provoking today - but I'm working on that for future posts.

Until next time.

09.14.15 The Dog Days of Summer

My mother, grandfather and Penny (1943)

We are pet people.  More than once I have said that I'd like to be reincarnated as one of my critters.  Our animals lead very plush lives (go ahead and groan), with no responsibilities other than to wag their tails or purr when we rub their ears.

Where dogs are concerned, we have always had spaniels.  As a child, my mother had a springer, Penny, who would sneak into  her room at night and get under the covers at the foot of the bed.  Even though the dog was NOT supposed to be there, my grandmother would pretend not to notice, and let her stay.  Penny was the first in a long line of over-indulged dogs.

Silver spaniel pin

My mom was a dog person through and through. I have a great pair of earrings that belonged to her - I suspect she acquired them from the New Yorker Magazine catalog, as they are silver renditions of dogs drawn by their famous cartoonist, James Thurber.

Thurber earrings

The old man of our household is Max, the cocker spaniel, who is going on 16.  Since the kids left home, he is pretty much my constant companion, hanging out under my feet when I work (or try to do anything in the kitchen).

Max the dog

My husband, and by extension my kids, are cat people...so we have cats in our menagerie as well.

Our first cat was a grey tabby with great eyes - one brown and one green.  We didn't start out to have a cat - but he had been abandoned and showed up on our back porch.  I felt sorry for him and put out a bowl of milk - and posted a "lost cat" message on our neighborhood email list.  When, after multiple postings (and feeding him high dollar cat kibble because my husband said I couldn't keep giving him milk) no one claimed him, he claimed us.

Agent 99

He showed up about the same time we adopted our dog, as a puppy.  So - we named them as a pair - Max and Agent 99.

99, as we called him, was an outside cat, but when it was cold or he needed a check up he allowed us to be his humans.

I don't remember where I spotted this pin - but it made me think of Agent 99, so I bought it.  He would leave "gifts" at the back door for me.  He wasn't a particularly social cat, but he had a really big heart.

When Agent 99 died, both my daughter and the dog moped, terribly.  So, despite not being a "cat person" I agreed to another cat.  We adopted MoJo, an orange tabby.  We refer to him as the "tabby spaniel" because he grew up following Max around, he really does behave more like a dog than a cat. They are best buds, and are happiest when they are hanging out together.

MoJo Kitty

I spotted this pin in a catalog, one that I flipped through, and probably would have tossed directly into the recycling except that this it reminded me so much of Max and MoJo, I knew I had to have it.

I'm really grateful for my furry friends, even though sometimes I feel like my primary job is "critter concierge"...let one in, let the other one out, fill the water bowl...without them around, my empty nest would be entirely too quiet.

The sound of the dog snoring, or the cat purring, is just enough to keep the silence at bay, and keep me from feeling lonely.

As we meander through these last dog days of summer, I hope you find some time hang out with a friend or catch a cat nap.

Until next time.