Rocky

Rocky, dozing in the bird feeder.

 

I lost my 16 year old cat Rocky the day before my 60th birthday. He'd been slowing noticeably the last few months, eating less, sleeping more, needing help to jump up on the bed or chair.

I brought him down here to my home in Kino Bay, Mexico in my little Nissan, where he of course threw up the whole way. (I usually do too, if I don't wear a Scopalomine patch, which I did.) I'd found out one of the back seats folds down, so I put his litter box in the trunk and he mostly laid there, but would come up and puke on the front passenger seat perodically, then go back again.

He seemed very content to be home again, the whole sandy world his litterbox, but he stopped eating one day. Flat out refused. (He DID just devour 2 mice that weekend, I assumed he was just full at first.) By the 3rd day with no food, I was very worried. But his personality changed, too. Did not want anything to do with us, spent all his time lying in the shower. If we were in the bathroom too long, he'd get up and go to his jar on the porch or outside. I began to realize he was calling it quits, and we decided to let him go naturally if he wasn't in pain. I continued trying to get him to eat, and he did once accept 4 tiny slivers of tuna, but no more. He drank water till the end. Taking him to the vet was not Plan A, as the vet here I deem borderline incompetent.

On day 9, I gave him permission to go. Talked to him about how fabulous he was, thanked him for spending his life with us and sleeping on my left arm every night, and said it was OK to go, that we'd be OK. And I made him promise to come visit me sometimes at night, after I turn out the light and stretch my left arm out. Told him that if he just curled up there, I would scratch his "ears-es".

On the 11th morning, my formerly Fat Cat was skin and bones, weak, and his eyes seemed unfocused. He came out of the shower, slowly walked to his water dish, but flopped down before he could drink. I put the water right in front of him, and he drank a little. I picked him up (so light!) and put him in his chair on the porch. He looked at me and squeaked, voice completely destroyed. I knew he was asking me to help him go.

So we drove him to the vet, who after palpating his abdomen, declared "tumor in liver". I don't know if one can diagnose liver cancer merely through palpation, but I didn't say anything. It WOULD explain a lot. Rocky weighed 10 pounds, had lost 14 pounds in 11 days.

So on December 13th, 2012, Rocky was made to "asleep forever" (that's how the Spanglish-speaking vet phrased it, and I like it.) He's buried in the front yard next to Ella.

Ron seems stoic about it, but I know he's heartbroken. I am consumed with grief, long crying jags. But the part that gives me hope is this: the tears seem to be from a mixture of grief AND gratitude that I had this amazing cat for 16 years.

In time, I'll post a gallery of his best photos, but for now just this one, his empty chair.

Life as a 60 year old Gringa

Yes, I still feel like an expatriot, even though I'm living and working in Arizona. I dream about my casita and my beach while I'm saving lives and watching the temperatures plummet. (Yes, plummet, I live at 6400 feet).

So my boy Obama won! There IS hope! I could NOT abide the thought of that other person being our President.  I wore my old button "Hot Chicks Dig Obama" to the polls, but they made me take it off.

So LIFE as a 60 year old Gringa bears some soul-searching. I actually LOOK better than I have in years, thanks in no small part to weight loss. Which ALSO in no small part was due to no effort of my own: I do not eat much. I drink gin after work, 2 big ones, then go to bed. Sometimes I eat lunch at work, IF someone else goes out to get it, and IF I have time. Never breakfast, rarely any supper more than a corn dog and a Klondike bar or Twinkie, I just bought this T-shirt: Klondike Bars now come in Dark Chocolate, Mint Chocolate, Heath, Reeses, and Double Chocolate!

Currently, I'm on Worker's Comp disability after a mishap at work: I slipped in a puddle of liquid at work and re-wrecked my bad knee. Found out today NO SURGERY! PT and light duty, great news! Although "light duty" at this job may be an oxymoron...

For 7 years now we've been living on Ron's Va disability and SS disability, and while it paid all our bills, there wasn't much extra. There is now, and I'm really enjoying being able to pay bills WHEN they arrive (really new!)  and buy things I want. It feels really great and luxurious to SEE! BUY! after all those years. I get occasional complaints from my other half re: this, but his idea of "necessaries" does not exactly mesh with mine... To wit: these boots are NECESSARY! Why is he reading my emails anyway? I don't read his...


Etsy, $55, including shipping!
 

Mi amigas favorito, (Delfie, Jan, Karen, Bette Sandy Sue, Jill and Joan), are all in or en route to Kino as we speak. I am SO jealous! I am absolutely homesick and devastated that I'm here while they're there. I'm feeling secure in their love and wishes I were there with them, know that it's just a short delay in the grand scheme of things, and in any event,  I will be there for two weeks in December to reconnect and catch up. And have a blow-out 60th-Birthday-Party! And I'll wear my new boots!

Weekend Trip Home to Kino Bay

I suddenly got 5 days off in a row, and have been SO homesick for my casita and beach that I decided to run down there. I've been gone 8 months. I arranged for Mary-The-Cat-Lady to come tend to Rocky, who doesn't travel well any more. He pukes the whole way. The drive wasn't as bad as I thought, only 10.5 hours. It's exactly 500 miles from my house to the Dos Palmas gate. That little Nissan definitely wasn't built for comfort, but it sure corners nicely on those mountain curves. Sounds a bit like a sewing machine coming UPhill, though.

No issues at the border going down, they didn't even stop me. There've been reports online that there's a new immigration policy in effect, but I saw nothing new. Huge police presence all the way down, all the Pemex gas stations and Oxxo stores had swarms of them.

I drove through New Kino on Mar de Cortez, as I'd heard there was a new Oxxo going up in La Palapa's parking lot. It's true. The rumor is they'll close the other new one next to the Pemex that they finished last year.

(You can click on the photos to enlarge them, they're pretty good-sized.)

And just seeing the swath of the bay coming down Mar de Cortez is an AH moment! Lots of new potholes on Mar de Cortez, it was a bit like a video game with all the swerving.

It felt good to be home. I timed it right, the hot weather had abated, MOST of the No-See-Ums were gone, and it was quiet and very peaceful. There have been some changes since I left. THAT ROAD is nearly finished. It used to be 10 miles of rubble, soft sand, shredded tires, boulders, and took 2 hours when towing. Smooth as silk, 10 minutes, towing or not. 

This is the end of the finished part, nearly to El Cactus Trailer Park.

That first hill

Most of it is even striped, with glowing center and side markers that make it look like a landing strip at night.

At home, Ron's been busy building a screen porch and cultivating fauna. Here's the work-in-progress, and then some yard shots. Mind you, they've had LOTS of precipitation this summer, everything's a jungle. He spent many days grubbing out the volunteers with his trusty Hula Hoe.

New steps and walk

Before pic

Screen porch

Yes, the palapa roof needs some work. Our neighbor Jack's friend Marisela is our plant guru. She brings the seeds, plants them, advises, and checks back. Here's the "Ivy" Ron wanted to grow up the south side of the porch, to block that strong afternoon sun. It has purple flowers. Currently, it's attached to chicken wire, which will in turn be attached to the outside of the porch structure.

Various plantings around the property.

White acacia, Ron grew it from seed!

Bouganvillea, not growing much

Umpalumpa Tree, thriving!

Grapefruit Tree, not exactly thriving

Dead lime tree. Oh, well...

Center cactus garden.

Cultivated Datura-like bushes, huge blue and white trumpet flowers.

My Desert Rose!

We went on a tour of Old Kino, and saw they completed the little pier. It's terrific!

We ate at Jorge's (no clams yet), went to Happy Hour at Club Deportivo, went ATVing, went fishing pre-dawn at the Christmas Tree, and of course, I beachcombed. The shrimp boats are everywhere, and the shrimp are great. There's 22 pounds of them in the freezer there, and no, you can't have ANY!

It was a wrench to have to come back to Show Low. I left Monday morning at 5. No fears driving THAT ROAD in the dark any more! Saw some strange sights on the way: a truck with no headlights, both the driver and his passenger holding flashlights out their windows as they drove. A starving dog tearing a chunk out of a dead dog. I hit the border at 10, and had my car searched after he asked if I had any shells or animal parts. I admitted to a few shells and a coyote skull... They needed to make sure it wasn't something protected (like whale or dolphin bones), but it only took 10 minutes. I got home at 3:30, and the cat was actually excited to see me. Can you tell?

So this winter when we have 2 feet of snow on the ground, and it's dark most of the time, and I'm missing my beach and casita, I will transport myself to my rooftop chaise in my mind, and try to imagine that soft salt air on my face. I do get to go back in December for 2 weeks. Can't wait!

ADDENDUM!

An anonymous comment asked for photos of the Show Low area. I don't have very many, and they've all been posted in my blogs before, but here's a few. Show Low is located at 6400 feet in the largest stand of Ponderosa Pine forest anywhere. Not hot in the summer, DOES get some snow in the winter, but not cold like Minnesota. Winter population: not many. Summers it's full of all those folks from the hotter parts of Arizona. I only used the swamp cooler in the mobile home for about one week this summer. Fishing and hunting paradise. Very few bugs. And it's next to the Apache Reservation.

Hawley Lake, on the Rez.

My mobile home, last winter, photo courtesy of the previous owners Ed and Liz.

My mobile home, without snow.

ONE LAST UPDATE

This is what I've been doing lately: slipped and fell at work, re-wrecked my already worthless knee. Yes, that's a walker next to me.

Alone again, but OK!

I've had a really great summer all in all. My friend Delfie was parked in her motor home 50 feet away from me, and we spent the summer (after I got off work) eating, drinking, dissecting life, and laughing until the tears ran. I gained some weight back, because she cooked for me. She's truly family to me, and I love her dearly. But they left yesterday, time to go south. They'll be in Kino all winter, but plan on coming back here in the spring. I'll have her on Skype.

Me, Delfie, Jose, and Teriyaki Elk Chops!

Ron comes up to visit sometimes, had to buy screening for the casita porch. Here he is at the grill. Yes, it's mounted on the outside of the deck.

It was intended he take Rocky home to Kino for the winter. He had all his stuff packed, bought a winter's worth of those expensive tiny cans of Fancy Feast. Then the night before he left, Rocky suddenly crawled in my lap and was actually SNUGGLING against my neck and licking me. Normally that cat doesn't like me, but it was like he KNEW I'd be too lonely. I changed my mind. He's here for now.

After Delfie left yesterday, I tried to keep busy to lessen my sadness. I had bought a couple of coleus plants for the deck, and over the summer they got humungous. I want to try to keep them alive this winter, but had to move furniture to accommodate them inside. Ron brought our big trunk home from Minnesota this summer when he cleaned out our storage unit there, and it serves perfectly for those plants.

So here's the way it all looks now. Sorta crowded...

My oil lamps, now with crystal petticoats!

And I still have Buddha, sporting a tiara and binoculars...

During and after I finished moving furniture, I also did 3 loads of laundry, made another batch of Bailey's, made Elk Chili, watched a bunch of stuff saved on the TiVo, and had a bubble bath. I'm off today also, and plan to go to the Segundas. Maybe haul out the holiday decorations and see what's needed.

And let my cat know how much he's appreciated.

Where the hell did August go?

And the summer's over, just like that. Haven't blogged in over a month, so here's a randomly slapped together mishmash of where the rest of my summer went.

Ron went home to Mexico, had been working on expanding/enclosing the front porch, when THIS happened:

 

 

Kino's had SO much rain that our hay bale construction sort of caved in. Apparently we need better drainage directed away from the foundation. It's been repaired with concrete block.

I've truly enjoyed having my friend Delfie parked across from me this summer. We have cocktails every afternoon when I get home from work. We go to Segundas (second-hand stores), we eat out, she cooks for me (Posole last night!), AND we've perfected our homemade Bailey's recipe. (Bailey's costs too much in Mexico.) Tonight we're having Teriyaki Elk Chops, courtesy of one of my favorite patients, who sometimes calls off sick to his treatments because he's out hunting. Delfie and Jose are heading south in a few weeks, and I'll be very sad. But my neighbors are great, quite laid-back and throw great bonfires. With beverages. And snacks.

Jose, Delfie, and neighbor Kim

Segunda Treasure: Ashtray with planter

Segunda Treasure: Oil Lamps! (The Horsehair Pottery Vase was a gift from Ron)

I bought a tiny clothes dryer to go with my tiny washer. Home Depot delivered it free. Currently it's just sitting on the built-in dresser in the den, but it's going to be mounted on the wall above the washer in the bathroom. The washer actually washes a larger load than the dryer can dry, so it's required some adjustment on my part when organizing this most-hated chore. I liked it better when I was just dropping off two overstuffed laundry baskets at the laundromat and picking them up later, all folded and on hangers.

Dryer

Washer

But now I have more $$ for the important things: fresh flowers every week, segunda treasures, Bailey's ingredients, and I DID buy the Kohler's Pig print! It's above my bed.

 

 

Our RV park is emptying out for the winter, and the visiting patients are going back to the valley. Rumor has it that if the patient census drops low enough, we'll only be open Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 15 hour days. Oy vey.

There's a javelina problem here in our park. Herds of them wander around at dawn, fearless, destructive. I bought a bazillion candlepower spotlight that they seem to hate, and when my tethered cat's out there in the dark, I keep running outside with the light to check on him. Rocky's pretty fierce toward intruders, but those pigs could be his match. (I would add my photos HERE but blogger is being horrible. It's taken me two days to finish this post because the photos aren't loading.)

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The only other new development is I'm now diabetic, courtesy of that secreting adrenal node. It has (to date) caused high blood pressure (requiring 2 medications), nausea, weight loss (not a bad thing yet), angina (last summer, I now carry nitroglycerine tablets), and now diabetes. I take my meds and my blood sugar monitor everywhere. Had to switch to my BIG purse to carry all that crap around with me. The adrenal node needs to come out, she's looking for a surgeon that will do it. Apparently it's tricky.

 

So onward toward winter. Ron may be coming back up soon, needs to buy NoSeeUm screening for the porch. I'm planning on sending Rocky home with him: he isn't happy being leashed, plus he's starting to slow way down. I don't think I can handle being the one to have to put that cat down.

 

 

 

If I had more room...

...these are what I'd buy for the walls.

By Michael Sowa, "Kohler's Pig". I've always loved this pig!

Can't recall the artist's name, saw it in a gallery in Minnesota somewhere. Just reeks of companionship, adoration, and love. It was titled "Batman and Robin".

By Rudy Hurlsmeier, "Krahe" means crow. With boots on. Makes me giggle, and not very much makes me giggle any more.

Don't recall this artist, either.

The Bear Dance, William Holbrook Beard. I actually owned a huge framed print of this once, but gave it away when we downsized to the RV. My friend Joy in Minnesota has one over her sofa. Reminds me of the song Teddy Bears' Picnic, which used to scare the crap out of me when I was really little. This version by Anne Murray isn't dark at all.

Teddy Bears' Picnic (Anne Murray)

Saw this on Ebay. I used it for my Avatar for a while.

Here's what's been going on:

Ron came up to Show Low, fell down (he gets dizzy) and got a huge bruise on his leg because he takes a blood-thinner. Took a while to heal, he was miserable.

Then he drove to Minnesota and cleaned out the storage unit. He was supposed to get RID of it, instead he brought a lot of it here. He also got to cuddle grandbabies.

Then we went to California to meet our first great-grandchild, Oliver. SO precious, so contented, we never did hear him cry all week.

And that's all. Glad I'm home, need a vacation after my vacation...