Twyla

A couple of years ago, I drafted some thoughts on Twyla along with a few pictures I took of her at the time, but never remembered to finish posting to the blog.

Sadly, this will be my last on Twyla. As luck would have it (good or bad), we happened to see Twyla lying in the middle of the street (one block over from our house) on our way to a friend's house this evening. I recognized her half a block away and saw she was still alive, mouth open, likely meowing for help, so I made Jon pull over immediately so we could check her out.

Sure enough, it was our precious little Twyla.

She was badly hit, with a terrible head injury (I'll spare the details), but still moving slightly and trying to get up. Jon called animal control and went back to our house to get some towels to wrap her in, while I stayed guarding her from any more trauma, directing oncoming cars to slow (the hell) down and move to the other lane to go around us. A couple of people stopped to ask if I was ok -- I explained that someone had hit my cat, and we had just found her -- while uttering those words out loud, I could feel my chest get heavy, my eyes start to swell and my throat catching.

While we had given up on keeping Twyla indoors (she was always very feral and skittish), she was still my cuddly fur ball. The first pet that Jon and I both found and owned together.  And the thought of losing her, right there at that moment, in front of me, pained me.

It felt like eternity, but was probably only 10 minutes, before Jon showed up again, with the truck, some towels and a box to carry her in. Sometime during the time that I was waiting for him and reassuring her that she was going to be okay, she died. While it was an awful way to go, I'm glad I was there with her during those last few moments of her life (and can only hope that me being there helped comfort her some).

We love and will miss you Twyla dear, but hopefully now you've found a place where you can happily dance forever.

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Draft post from August 2009:

And then there's Twyla. The one who gets stuck on roof tops and is scared of everyone, and I mean everyone, except for me.

She's light on her feet, she runs on tippy toes and scuttles out of sight at a moment's notice. But, when she sees me lie down on the couch or bed, it's cuddle time. She immediately jumps onto my chest, kneading nonstop, with her butt in the air begging for pets, until she can finally find a comfortable spot to lie down on.

She's our most petite cat by far - yet over the last year she's definitely been putting on the weight. She's hardly home long enough to eat a few pieces of kibble, so we're pretty sure she's getting food from the neighbor's.

As quiet as a mouse as she is (her mews are fainter than a kitten's), she's been known to leave scars (on friends) with her razor sharp claws. Yet she still holds that special spot in our hearts and I'm always thankful the day we found her and decided to bring her into our home.

The Grovester

"Shedding" from our neighbor's palm tree after a recent rainstorm.

My friend Amanda recently mentioned she hasn't seen any pics of Grover on the blog lately, and this is why.

Hey look Mom, instant playtoy!

The furry monster is constantly playing, jumping, running, hopping... pretty much a blur in our household.

One of the many reasons why I mistakenly call him Lola.

Like, ALL. THE. TIME.

Loganism of the day

Mommy, I'm gonna get some coffee for you.

No, I don't need any coffee.

Yes, you do need some coffee!

(Little does he know how true that statement really is...)

The good news is, he seems to have recovered from the stomach bug he had earlier today. And, amazingly enough, I cranked through and finished Callum's room too! I'll post pics later - going to bed now.

Decorating for boys

I just now had to stop and take a break from the work I'm doing in Callum's room/Jon's office since Callum really needed a nap (the nerve!).

These Atari-inspired alien creatures are proving to be a pain to apply (notice only a few are actually on permanently, the rest are just taped up for now to give me an idea of what I'm working with), but I think the end result will be worth it.

Block Party

Yesterday we got together with several neighbors up and down our street for a big block BBQ party. One of the neighbors down the street thought to organize and put it together - I helped her out a bit with the planning - but mostly just participated and did my best at being a good neighbor. ;-)


Jon did more socializing than I did - since I was either nursing Callum, taking pics, or chasing after Logan. Ah well, I still got to say hi to a few of the neighbors.


Like this fun couple (the son and wife of our next door neighbor).

And these hilarious ladies. :)

These guys spent the entire evening convincing me why we should take their son's Jeep (see below)...


Donna (on the right) came up with this brilliant party idea. It was such a success, we're talking about making it an annual tradition. I love living here!


Suffice to say, it was a blast! We had three grills out for folks to grill the meat of their choosing on... we had several tables laid out for people to sit at, drink, eat and be merry. We laid out all sorts of yummy desserts and side dishes on another few tables. We blocked off both ends of the street with cones and then let the kids go wild riding up and down the street on their bikes, scooters, (automatic) Jeep, you name it.


On our lawn, I set out several toys so that the younger kids could still play and have fun without getting trampled on by big kids racing on their bikes (since it could be, at times, a bit intimidating!). That turned out to be more of a hit than I had imagined - with the older kids also coming by to swing at the bat, golf clubs, basketball hoop or toss 'em game, every now and again too. :)


Except for a couple of girls who are in high school/college, and the newest born baby on our block (just one week old), the entire block of kids is BOYS BOYS BOYS with most families having two boys or more! It's like we were MEANT to move onto this block and have our boys grow up here or something. ;-)


Our next door neighbor is a Fire Captain, so he called up some of his buddies to stop by with a fire engine for a bit. What a huge hit! The kids got to climb in and around the fire engine (I missed some of it due to nursing Callum, but I hear Logan enjoyed that), as well as spraying water from a hose.


We concluded the fire engine visit by rounding up all the kids (as many we could at least - it's like herding cats to get a group of 2-8 yr old boys together!) for a group picture before the firemen had to take off.

About half the boys/kids on the block!

Logan had a blast. He was enamored by all the big kids and how fast they were able to ride their bikes along the street - but more than that, he fell in love with our neighbors' automatic Jeep truck, which we may be inheriting since their little boy has outgrown it. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not (it's monstrous!).

Seen (briefly) drinking and driving....

Callum was also a wonderful sport - not really kicking up a fuss until the very end of the night when it was time for bed anyway. He was mostly content to just hang out with Jon or I, drifting in and out of sleep while we hung out chatting and watching the kids play. Jon and I did a lot of man-on-man defense - where the one without Callum was responsible for following and chasing Logan down to try and keep him out of trouble. That was DEFINITELY the more exhausting of the two jobs. ;-)


It's days like these that make me appreciate our block so much more - and make me extremely happy about our decision (which felt like a huge big, potentially risky decision at the time) to move to this house. Yay for living in the 'burbs! hehe :)

China Beach

After the museum, we stopped at a secluded little beach in a gorgeous SF neighborhood. If I ever lived in the city, it'd have to be here. Of course, we'd need several millions of disposable income to do so, so that'd never really happen. ;-)

Balance

Hard to see in this pic but Logan has set his juice cup smack in the middle of the couch while climbing down to go see his Daddy, who just got home.

The top of our coffee table

A collection of items belonging to each member of the family.

Visitors Galore

We continue to have visitors in and out of the house! Grover has found a new resting spot to keep an eye on the gaggle of humans invading his space ;-)


Friday, my Aunt Pammie drove down for a quick visit with me, the two boys (I kept Logan home from school), and my parents. We didn't take any pics or even hang out at the house - just grabbed lunch at a nearby delicious new spot my parents found, and caught up on family gossip. Still, it was great to see her and have her spend time with (mostly Logan) the kids! :)

After our visit, I headed back to the house for nap time. It was a FIGHT to get Logan down for a nap, but he finally succumbed, thank goodness. I then spent the afternoon hanging out with Callum and visiting with neighbors, enjoying the gorgeous weather on our front porch.

That evening the Children's Discovery Museum had a special "Members' Only Night" to showcase two new exhibits of theirs: Bob the Builder - Project: Build It and Run! Jump! Fly! Adventures in Action. We invited my parents along to check it out and Logan absolutely LOVED it. We're going to have to return because these two exhibits were really up his alley. :)

Mix and match the tools!

"Watering" the plants with Zafu

Zabuton (with Callum), Daddy and Zafu looking on at all the craziness and fun (the place was PACKED!)....

Callum can't wait for his day to get in on all the action.

Practicing Downward Facing Dog.

Getting ready for the next boarding season! ;-)

Exploring out on the lawn in front of the museum.

Balancing and walking with Zabuton (I love this shot!).

BOO! He was playing a hide and seek game with me and my father (notice way down at the other end). He'd hide on one side of this wall and then peek out at the other end. I caught him here by surprise. :)

So what did you do this lovely Monday afternoon?

Assignment of the day: mix a little over a gallon of laundry detergent with a little dirt, kibble, dog and cat hair. Sprinkle in some kitty litter for good measure.

Let it splatter all over the doors and walls and really puddle up nicely. Make sure it gets underneath the washer, dryer and behind against the wall.

Text your husband with a picture or two. It's ok if you want to use some curse words in case the pics didn't already explain the gravity of the situation clearly enough.

Call your dad and ask him to come over to help watch the baby. Make sure to say "there's been an accident" while the baby shrieks in the backgound. He'll arrive faster than he's ever arrived before. Time it. Trust me.

Ready, set, go!

Grab as many spare towels as you can find to spoon up the tacky mess.

Fill several buckets of clean water and try "rinsing" the floor. Repeat.

Again and again.

Oh you thought you were done? I don't think so. Repeat again.

Now move the washer and dryer. Try not to cry when you see all the gunk still left to clean.

Grading is based on thoroughness, cleanliness and timeliness.

Extra credit awarded to those who do not complain about their back killing them.

Sadly, I did not get the extra credit.

Auntie Kimmy Rocks.

Yesterday we found a pleasant surprise gift box waiting for us on the front porch. Our good friend Kimmy, who moved back to Kansas a year or so ago, made a BEEEEEE-UTIFUL quilt for baby Callum. It really is magnificent - and given Jon and I are both quilt lovers, it couldn't be a more perfect gift. THANK YOU KIMMY!!


Callum loved it (he immediately took a nice long nap snuggled up in it, after this photo shoot).


It's so fucking awesome, I couldn't stop taking pictures of it. And check out the back! You guys. LOOK. AT. THE. BACK. (or is it the front?) ;-)


It was meant for a linguist like me.

Callum's ready for his nap now Mom.

And, if that's not enough to choke you up, she made a wonderful tribute to Lola, writing her name on the quilt since Callum won't ever get to know her special crazy.


Like I said. Auntie Kimmy Rocks.