B'sidhe has died

B'sidhe has died. 
The past couple of days have worked out that I encountered an opportunity for overtime.
My hope was that I'd be able to pull together enough to pay for B'sidhe to go to the vet and that I'd be able to cover whatever procedure would be necessary. 
Unfortunately, the timing wasn't right. 
B'sidhe died. I was doing some cleaning and I found her in the bathroom cabinet. 
She was with me for 17 years...

B'sidhe

B'sidhe is dying. I know that deep in my heart I expected this one day...I just didn't expect it today.
She's the cat that came into my life the day I lost Pyewacket to some speeding douchebag.  
It's so hard to believe that happened over 17 years ago....just a couple of days ago, she was her usual self, climbing where she knew she wasn't supposed to, giving everyone (Polgara and Cleopatra) absolute hell, and doing her "I'm lonely, where's everyone" yodel.
Now, in just a couple of days, she's lost a serious amount of weight, she's lethargic, refusing treats, and the biggest shocker of all, she was going to allow Cleopatra to steal treats literally right from under her nose. One thing you never ever do is try to steal food from B'sidhe. She didn't hiss, she didn't swat at her, she was just going to allow it to happen. That's what's freaked me out the most.


I'm going to take her to the vet tomorrow, to determine what's wrong aside from old age.
Then I'll have to make a quality of life decision. I don't know what to do. 
If the Dr says she's in pain, do I spare her pain and have her put down then? 
Of course, best case scenario is that the vet will say that she's just old and a vitamin shot will do the trick.  
Unfortunately, finances are also a major part of this.
I simply cannot afford to pay out thousands of dollars for treatment that may or may not work. 
Hell, I can't even afford that for myself.
And the even bigger bitch is that her vet, Dr Gordon, retired years ago.  He was affordable and would have given me a straight answer to this issue, and would have worked with me financially.
Now, I'm looking at trying to make a vet understand that I appreciate honesty above all else, and that they'll be *very* sorry if they try to talk down to me.
Crap.  I'm digressing. I'm going to try and get her to eat something now.
I'll post more after I know more.

Welcome, Aiden Kelly

You'll have to forgive me for not getting this done sooner, Aiden.
I'm personally putting it down to "second child syndrome"... the fact of the matter is that I had Andrea's pictures within minutes of her birth.
Your pictures? I finally got some today.  Two weeks after your arrival.
Regardless, here you are! 


Aiden, Chris and Jessica




Mr. Aiden Christopher




Andrea, Jessica and Aiden



Aiden & Daddy



Aiden Christopher




Daddy, Andrea, Mommy & Aiden  



Aiden Christopher

Aiden & Chris (aka Daddy)  

Mommy & Daddy

Aiden

Gramma Lisa

Picture update on Aiden

Wow.  That's all I can say. Wow.
You've been here almost 24 hours, and I have a total of TWO pictures of you.
Actually, let me rephrase that.  I personally have ONE picture of you, Grandpa Don has two.
He sent me the one of you and your mom and sister, and he's got your closeup picture, which I'm supposed to be receiving shortly. 
Regardless, only TWO pictures? 
C'mon, Jessica, Chris, Lisa, and Joe!  TWO pictures? 
Jess, you're excused because you just produced Aiden. 
But the rest of you?  Get serious! 
Just because I couldn't make it up there for the birth doesn't mean I should get shut out of the picture sharing!
So SHARE already!!
It's not like you're using actual film, ferchrissakes... it's DIGITAL!
I WANT MY PICTURES!!!

Welcome to the world, Aiden Christopher Kelly, born today

Well, your mom's relieved, you finally decided to make your appearance.
Don't know many details at the moment, my phone's kinda screwed up and has no sound.
So when your Grandpa Don texted me that you were on the way, of course I didn't get the message until 6 hours later. 
However, he did tell me you were 9 lbs - you'll discover this over the course of time, however best you also learn it from the beginning. Grandpa Don doesn't do details well.  If I'd gotten Grandma Lisa on the phone, I coulda found out your birth weight, your size, and your birth time.
So your birth chart will have to wait until I talk to her.

Regardless, welcome to the world, kid. And Jess, if you're reading this, WHERE ARE MY PICTURES?????  

I'm the crazy Unca Merlin your big sister Andrea's gonna warn you about.
Proof I'm crazy?  Your baby pictures are going up just as soon as I get them.
Ask Andrea. I did it to her too.

Welcome, Aiden Kelly

Yeah, Andrea, I know... this is supposed to be all about you. Well, things change, and part of the things that change would be the arrival of your new baby brother, Aiden.
Today's October 20th, and he should be arriving soon. 
(At least according to your mother, who, lets face it, would know better than just about anyone except Aiden, and as of right this moment, he's not saying anything, just positioning himself for his arrival) 
Your mom says that she's lost the mucous plug and has been having contractions, but this is just pre-labor.  The fun won't be starting for another couple of days at least (I'm betting on October 21st or 22nd myself) since the moon's not yet full. 
I'm betting he's going to make his appearance during the October full moon.
I was right about your birth, and I do have an impressive track record regarding predicting arrivals - and before you start in on me about what the moon has to do with it, let me remind you that the moon does exert a gravitational pull on the Earth - and it does affect labor. 
So anyway... Aiden, I'm your Grandpa Merlin.  I'm not going to be able to get there for your arrival, but trust me, soon enough you'll meet me and your Grandpa Don.
I'm the one who sent up all the bears you'll see around your and Andrea's bedrooms (that is, when you develop cognizance that is) - and why I'm probably constantly getting dirty looks from your mom when I'm there.
Oh well, since you're my grandchild by "adoption", just as your sister Andrea is, I get to spoil the two of you like there's no tomorrow and I don't have to answer to your real grandparents or parents about it.
And incidentally, if I'm wrong about your birthdate, I apologize.  But we'll have to see. 
Love you, little man.

Lady Sintana has died.

Wow.  Honestly didn't think hearing it a couple of days ago that it would continue to affect me the way it has. She passed in hospice, surrounded by her immediate family.
The obituary was of course, complete and utter bullshit served for history and publicity. David (Lord Merlin) was listed as her husband, and while they did legally marry under Georgia law some years back, it was solely to put her under his insurance.
Under Wiccan law, she married and divorced at least 4 other times that I can immediately remember. Those men were her husbands.
But that doesn't look good when writing about an icon.
And I'm not denying her Icon status - she truly was a pioneer who deserves to be remembered.

However I believe people should remember the woman as well as the witch.

Her past is something that is about to undergo some serious editing, in preparation for history.
I was there, at the beginning. I heard the stories first hand.
How she handled her abusive 1st husband by pouring boiling water on his privates -
The particulars of her long term relationship with Sandy, and her bisexuality.
How she was introduced to Wicca by her dresser, who was one of the Brittani tradition.

The stories of Ravenwood - warts and all, will be cleaned up for publication. 

I don't want that to happen. With the sanitizing, comes the forgetting of Jolene. And she deserves more than that.