I Don't Feel Right

when you're gone away

Seether Lyrics

It's hard to believe it was a year ago today that Simba died. He's so very much fresh in our hearts and minds...before today I could think back on what I was doing a year ago and Simba was in so many of those memories; last year's Christmas (where we put a bow around his neck and I warned him not to knock over Baby Jesus in the ceramic manager; that Jesus would not be happy with him),last Halloween (where he tried to snag some of our Oktoberfest), last year's move (where he cried the whole way in the rental truck I drove with Grandpa Di who tried to calm him in his thick Italian accent and tell him it was ok), exploring stairs for the first time, pretty much anytime we drink beer around the cats we remember his fondness of it...

So Many Memories:
-A game the Hub used to play with him...when he tries to play the same one with Darla or the boys they don't quite get it.
-His extraordinary patience with SD, who never grew up with pets...
-The sense of keen awareness he displayed...I swear he thought he was a human and not a cat.
-The bond he shared with Darla Beans...
-The way he would get mad at us if we went away for the weekend (or worse on vacation).
-The tricks I taught him..
-His genuine concern for David when he cried.
-His fondness for anything carb based (bread, pasta, beer, cereal) which I did not feed him, but he always found a dropped scrap if there was one.
-His curious nature...
-His love for the laundry basket.
-The way he would, without fail, greet us when we came home.
-His habit of jumping on the sink in the bathroom when I came home from work in our old Boston apt.
-The way he would sit like a human...
-His intense dislike of the WWF Panda I got in the mail from making a donation.
-The way he recognized himself in the mirror.

I'm afraid of forgetting these things, much like the way my 6 year old self was afraid I'd forget the sound of my Memere's voice (sadly I have). I'm alone tonight...just me and the cats. The Hub is on a business trip in Chicago. We visited his grave yesterday and brought flowers that a kind soul had given to me earlier last week. They still smelled good and I love flowers but don't like to see them die. It's a peaceful pet cemetery yet sad to read some of the plaques. We haven't visited in a while because it's hard to find with the snow. He's # 945 until we buy a stone. Burying him there cost more than my wedding dress, but we're glad we have somewhere to go when need be, and we can just walk there.

The worst feeling we have is that we weren't there with him during his final moments. The vet said it was most likely Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (a heart condition) and even if we had known or seen signs there was nothing that could have been done. I just hope he knew we would have wanted to be there with him...Darla has recovered from the loss, but it was hard for her at first. I wonder if she's forgotten him...

A small comfort I can take in his death is that I never would have met Milo or Oscar and they are certainly very much loved, and special in their own ways.

There's never a day I don't miss him...


You'll always be the best cat ever.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Simba's birthday. He would have been 4 years old.

Also a Happy Birthday to Darla who turned 3 yesterday and Adam who I can't believe is 17 as of yesterday!

Simba & Darla were half brother & sister and they were constantly like yin and yang as you'll see in some of these pictures.

Ode to Simmy Sims:
February 16, 2003-February 4, 2007

Lounging, Purring, Sleeping

Short of eating these are the things Simba liked best.
I'm still new to editing videos for this, but here's one of the many human sides of Simba. He often liked to sit like a person.



I miss you Simba Rificus.

A Sudden Death: I Love You Simba

We came home on the red-eye early Tuesday morning from Vegas to find Simba dead.
Our hearts are broken. He was literally the best cat I've ever had and probably ever will. Darla is also devastated, she was so frantic when we came home. Now she howls and mews at the loss. She is definitely a different cat. Traumatized and horrified to be alone. Even if we go out grocery shopping she is at the door crying when we come back. She is now very attached to us and won't let us leave her sight. There is definitely a void.

It was such a shock to come home to. It felt like someone kicked me in the stomach. Last time I called the sitter on Friday Simba was happy and purring. I was glad to hear that and missed my kitties even on vacation.
He's now buried down the street in the oldest working pet cemetery in the nation. I've lost many a cat, all special, but this has been the worst. We're doing our best to cope, yet I couldn't help but fight back tears when I heard The Lion King's "Circle of Life" as we left the supermarket.

Our family is smaller now, the house doesn't seem right, I keep waiting for him to sidle up to my leg and brush his head against it...



We love you Simba. We'll miss you always.

Rest in peace

Simba & Darla's Whisker Wishes

Simba & Darla may look lazy here, but they are getting smarter and smarter every day. Why just today Simba lowered the blinds down all on his own while Darla thought it helpful to trim the new hanging plant in the living room with her razorlike claws.

They have now learned how to use the computer and compiled this little Christmas list for their purring pleasure.

You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog!

This Halloween was pretty fun. We didn't get as many kids as we thought we would, so I started handing out double and triple amounts to the ones that did ring our doorbell. The most creative custume of the night was a young teenage girl who was a UPS person, and her candy "bag" was a UPS package with a slit on the top. Props for being unique. Of course we have lots of leftover candy and all the people at work brought in all their extras too; I'll be gaining a few pounds this week...
The cats were spared custumes this year, though Simba had to try on the retired Johnny Damon wig from Halloweens of old.

I think he looked more like Elvis.








Then the cats tried to ambush our Pumpkin Ale. Darla made friends with the Halloween stuffed animals...











And Simba's true identity was revealed.

And I Wonder...

When I sing along with you if everything could ever feel this real forever.

Questions I've been pondering lately...

1. Will this cold rainy weather ever end?!?!? Yesterday we discovered a leak in our closet which cannot be replastered until after it stops raining according to the management group. Luckily we got the new camcorder out of there before it got wet, a few DVD-Rs didn't make it, but our nice clean towels soaked up a good amount of it. I'm sure we'll be greeted with some friendly mold soon.

2. Will some benevolent soul out there please buy me a house or even just a 2 bedroom condo? With this inflated Boston real estate market combined with our hard earned modest savings we find a few lovely needs-lots-of-TLC-shacks in our price range...sigh. This spacious 748 square feet 2BR house could be yours in Stoughton, MA for a mere $297,000! Though I did see some decent sized, newly renovated condos that fit our price range in Dorchester and Roxbury, so if anyone would like to buy us bullet proof vests as a housewarming gift I'll take a medium in black please.

3. Will the landlord ever sell our apt? The landlord, who just bought this place last year from our rental group for $159K is trying to sell our "fixer-up" apartment for $189K (good luck--this place is a whopping 551 sf, 1BR that needs TLC, and comes with a parking space out back if you want to pay $22K to buy it, coin operated laundry in the next building over which is down 4 flights of stairs and out the back door to the next building only to find most of the machines broken and filled with dirty water and sometimes a homeless guy living there, a bathroom that is so small the door has actually been carved out a little so you can open it past the toilet (ghetto!), and nice high ceilings that were just repainted last year to cover up the mold which is coming back again, and too high for me to reach to clean, and no sink disposal and no dishwasher (gasp!). Yes, good luck Sanjay! This place is a gem!) So people come and go and track mud and dirt into our place and then high tail it out of here. Don't get me wrong, this place has some things going for it. I'm on the top floor so no more having to listen to a stupid RI teenager bounce his basketball over my bedroom, and the T is right outside my door. I actually like this place, for a rental, but I would never buy it.

4. How BIG will Simba continue to grow? At 3 years old he doesn't seem to stop growing, perhaps it's his beer gut catching up to him though we (or I should say I) stopped that habit of his, the Hub still finds it amusing. When prospective buyers come to look at this place they see Simba (Darla is a chicken and hides under the couch) and marvel at how big he is. One lady even gasped, "Wow!! That cat is so huge I thought he was fake!" Poor Simba, I think he gets embarrassed. I try to play with him to get him some exercise, but he doesn't run like he used to and his jumps have grown less graceful.
5. Will I ever stop dreaming about Hawai'i? All signs point to no.

-Sunset in Maui

6. Will Jack Bauer ever catch a break? If you ever thought you were having a bad day...

Happy Year of Bin Xu

It's the Year of the Dog!

And I'm taking it as a sign that I will finally get that long awaited, much hoped for, dog that I've always wanted. I've grown up with cats and they're cool in their feline way, but a dog is what I've always wanted. The Chinese say that a dog represents loyalty and honesty, not what you think of when you think of a cat, they tend to be crafty, aloof, and more independent. When I was 9 I even made a list to my parents of pros and cons of getting a dog. It wasn't just a list, it was more like a detailed poster campaign--it didn't work.

So this is the year! The Hub is all for it too, but we're going to wait until we buy a house first, or at least until after we go to Vegas for a week. I think we can fit a puppy in this apt. as long as we're certain it's short term and we'll be moving into a house shortly thereafter. I can't wait!

My cats will be thrilled, I'm sure. This was Simba's reaction to a stuffed panda bear I got in the mail from the World Wildlife Federation. He hissed and growled at baby Darla when we first brought her home. We actually had to separate them for about 3 weeks until he got used to her and she grew a little bit. She was so tiny... Simba only tolerated her when he was stealing her high calorie kitten food It'll be interesting to see how he reacts to a puppy...

Wang wang to you all!

C'est L'Halloween!

ou c'etait l'Halloween, but that's not how the song goes according to Madame Baker-Farnsworth (my middle school french teacher, may she rest in peace).




It snowed on the Saturday before Halloween this year. I love the feel of a first snow.





Darla, easily fooled as always, thought she could swat the snow outside our window. Simba was embarassed to be related to her as she gave the DiRocafella family line a bad name.






Meanwhile...










Simba hated his Lion costume and was embarrassed once again. He did get plenty of (cat) treats for putting up with this trick.

The secret is out: I married Johnny Damon! Cha-ching!







In other news: Darling Darla loved her Ladybug costume...





so much she fell over with delight!

A Simba Story

Hi, my name is Simba and I'm an alcoholic...








What have we here?














Score!
















Gimme that!













True love...
















Slurp!













No, comeback!













Mine!












Mmmmm Beeeeer!





















And he lived happily ever drunk.







*Disclaimer: No cats were harmed in the making of this story. Nor intoxicated over the legal cat limit.