The ballad of Mustang Sally

WARNING:  this is not a happy story.  Approximately two weeks ago my mother found this little goober running around in the road and brought it to me.  The kitten was a young, purring female, and on the spur of the moment I christened her Mustang Sally, after the Wilson Pickett song that I love.  

Sally quickly made herself at home, purring and happy on my stomach.

Meeting Allie, the younger of my two calico cats.  Allie wasn't thrilled, but in time she got over it.

Zzzzzz!

Charcoal paw pads!  I've never owned a cat with white feet and dark jellybeans!

Kneading Mommy's tummy!  She's not sleepy here, just shielding her eyes from the flash.

NOW she's sleeping, with her paw as a pillow.

Enjoying head scratches.

With Tommy.  Tommy acted tough at first, but he eventually warmed to Sally.  I suspect that these two may have been related since their markings were similar.

Here I left the flash off so that I could get a picture of her open eyes.  And yes, my pajama pants have cats on them.

Washing her butt.  I don't think she was too happy with having her privacy invaded.

Saturday evening I noticed a downturn in Sally's health, but it was too late by then to get her to the vet.  I upped her food and gave her extra cuddles.

Please get better, little one!

Early this morning, before I went to work.  She ate only a few bites of her meat, and I had a vet appointment scheduled for 2:15.

2:15 came, I came home, and I found Sally in a puddle of her fluids, gasping for breath.  My first thought was that one of the other cats had attacked her, but it turned out not to be the case.  I took her on to the vet and requested a euthanasia, knowing that there was no way to save her, and then I watched as she slipped away unassisted, before getting the shot.

I am absolutely heartsick.  Sally was never a big eater to begin with, and beginning last evening she began to act like swallowing was choking her.  I have no idea what hastened her end, and since I couldn't pay for an autopsy I likely never will know, but I feel horrible knowing that I could've done something and waited too long.  Anyway, that's just another lesson learned:  keep a close eye on your cats while they're eating.  If you've got pets give them an extra squeeze tonight for Mustang Sally.

Love, 
RagingMoon1987

The doctor's visit

So today was D-Day for both Mama and Second-or-Third Cousin.  Mama and I visited the oncologist today, and even though we both kept saying it was nothing we were a bundle of nerves.

Of course we didn't just go to the doctor.  We got to Sikeston super-early and had time to eat and swing by Goodwill, which I always like to do.  Mama needed a restroom and I wanted to look at any dolls they had.  Dig this funny-looking thing!

She was made of rough, cheap porcelain with a stiff cloth body and hot pink yarn hair.  Yep, YARN hair.  Yarn hair is not uncommon for rag dolls and not unheard of for dolls from the second world war, but this one was a weird one.

Speaking of rag dolls, Madeline toned the weirdness down somewhat.

Most Madeline dolls have removable clothes and visible appendix scars, but alas, this Madeline had her dress permanently attached.  Madeline's closest shelfmate was this Irish girl, Maggie. 

Maggie is ready to compete in a feis...or she would be if she could stand up straight.  Rounding up the items that caught my attention was this very pretty teddy bear. 

I'd have named him Cranbeary, LOL!  I didn't need any of these items so I didn't buy them, though I have to admit that I liked that first gal with the weird pink hair.

Then, of course it was time to go to the doctor.  Mama had been told that the doctor was more of a blood doctor than a cancer doctor, but the sign in front wasn't reassuring. 

The good news is that Mama doesn't have cancer.  The doctor said that though her hemoglobin levels were a little high they were still in the normal range.  He diagnosed her with secondary polycythemia, stated that the leading cause of this is sleep apnea, and scheduled Mama for a sleep study.  He also wants her nurse practitioner to keep an eye on the hemoglobin levels over the next few months.  So that's it!  Mama will probably be okay, and if she gets treatment for sleep apnea then she might even feel better than she does now!

While we were waiting for Mama's doctor we learned that Second-or-Third Cousin came through his surgery fine.  He'll have to lie very, very still for a time, but as always he's putting his faith in God and in his physicians.  So today started off nerve-wracking but ended on a positive note.  I'm thankful to our good Lord above for taking care of us all, and I pray that he'll continue to do so.  Thank y'all for the prayers, positivity, and advice!

Much love,
RagingMoon1987 

Sunday randomness: Skelita and Pix

Today's image dates back to 2014, around this time of year.

At the time both Monster High and Lalaloopsy were a thing, and the dolls pictured are Art Class Skelita Calaveras (whom I didn't review) and Pix E. Flutters (whom I did review).  I just thought they looked cute on top of Mama's couch (I was living with her at the time).

November 17th is D-Day for both Mama and a second or third cousin of mine.  Mama will be seeing the oncologist to see how her bloodwork reads, and we'll be going from there.  She's been a-drinkin' the water to rehydrate herself, and I'm still praying that that's all it is.  My opinions on cancer have never been high, but they are at an all-time low right now, with Mama's cousin being sick and inoperable, and two of my favorite ex-teachers being sick, and Graeme Edge being dead...<wails and gnashes teeth>...NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  Ahem...Second-or-Third Cousin does NOT have cancer, but he hasn't exactly had a fun year either.  He is (or was) a baseball player, and back in the spring he got plugged in the eye by a baseball.  He kept the eye, but the ball did a number on it and the doctors are STILL trying to determine how much vision he'll regain in that eye, if any.  He's had multiple surgeries and procedures and has been in a lot of pain, so we're hoping that this last surgery will be it.  The surgery is to close a hole in his retina and hopefully return his center of vision.  His peripheral vision in that eye is fine, he says, so maybe closing that hole will help.  I'm hopin' and prayin' for the best for both Mama and Second-or-Third Cousin.

Love,
RagingMoon1987

Autumn at Crowley's Ridge

The passing of a front is often a mixed bag here in the Bootheel, as I expect it is elsewhere.  We can get anything from a single cloud and a puff of wind to a wave of tornadoes.  Last night we got rain and...I think I heard one crack of thunder, and today is clear, cool, and beautiful.  Since Mama and I had the day off we grabbed some grub and went out to the ridge, the same road where I took most of the pictures in this post.  Since it's just fall foliage I'll let the images speak for themselves.

Oh yeah, I had Reagan in tow.  I asked Mama to stop at this footbridge so I could take this picture. 

The home behind all this once belonged to a family friend, and it once served as the backdrop for a few of my senior pictures. 

Then there were more leaves.

Note that the kudzu is still bright and green, LOL.

Not bad, eh what?  I wouldn't trade living in the country for the world!

Much love,
RagingMoon1987 

Day of the Dead comes again

Happy Monday to y'all!  When I was a kid November first was always kinda like the day after Christmas.  Mama would start putting away her cute Halloween bric-a-brac, and for us kids Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed an eternity away.  Now of course I'm older, and Day of the Dead is one of my favorite holidays.  It's a day for trotting out Flaxie, Z, and Denise in their sugar skull clothes, and a day for Morrada Calaveras to show off, but this year Morrada is not alone.  I've chosen the name "Marigold" for my newest doll, due to her yellow dress and the associations of marigolds with Day of the Dead...and because I love marigolds, LOL.

This poppet came from Whit's Art World on Etsy.  She used to be one of those slightly creepy hard plastic dolls from the 1920's, and she's had her existing creepiness enhanced by touches of paint.

When I first ordered her her eyes were half-closed, but I eased them all the way open.  One of her eyes drifts and that adds to her creepiness!  She got a ding on her nose during shipping that I need to fix.

Marigold is a little under eight inches tall, and if I measure her bow she comes to a full eight inches.  Her head and arms move, but her legs do not.  No biggie, since sitting wouldn't allow her to show off her lovely dress.  The plastic feels a little fragile anyway so I wouldn't be monkeying with her leg joints if she had them.  She's also pretty loose up top, so that her head always lolls to her right.  Definitely NOT a toy, though I had no intention of using her as such.  But Marigold isn't the only new Day of the Dead doll I've got.  In July Mama surprised me with this.

She came accompanied with a blown glass hummingbird, and a slip of paper explaining the Mayan creation myth surrounding hummingbirds.

This accessory earned the doll the name "Chuparosa."  Chuparosa has three tags safety-pinned to her left sleeve.  The top tag advertises the Etsy store she came from, Frida Tehuana.  The "Frida" in question is none other than Frida Kahlo.

The second tag is the "thou shalt not" tag, with care instructions.

The last tag explains Frida Tehuana's purpose, which is to help rural Mexican women find jobs.  I can dig that.  There's more to it than just providing jobs, but y'all can read it for yourselves.

Personal touches like this are the reason why I love handmade rag dolls.  They all have part of the person who made them built in, and they all have some type of history behind them.  Thanks to the tag I know Chuparosa's story.  Anyway, since she's handmade there's a lot to talk about.  Chuparosa's skirt has large sugar skulls and flowers on an orange background, and this muchacho is an intense-looking so-and so!

His female counterpart looks familiar!  These two faces are all over Chuparosa's skirt, by the way.

As for Chuparosa herself, she's not as intense as the male skull on her skirt, nor is she generically cute like Skelita Calaveras is.  Her face is handpainted in a number of bright colors, including green eyebrows.  

Her hair is made of...either very fine yarn or embroidery floss, and it's braided and heavily decorated with satin ribbons of yellow, orange, and purple.  Two of the yellow ribbons are woven into her braids.

A lot of care went into making Chuparosa.  I suspect very strongly that she's supposed to be a decorative item, and yet her seams and clothes feel substantial.  She'd make a good companion for a child aged ten or over, one who is old enuff to take care of his or her things.

Of course I can't use Marigold or Chuparosa as decorations at the library lest my superiors' heads explode, but I can and am using these.

I love matryoshka dolls!  I've never owned a set before...well, before last June, actually, when Mama got these sugar skull cats.  Yes, another gift from my mom, LOL!  These actually do nest, by the way.  I was afraid they wouldn't due to those ears, but they nest just fine!  The fourth one is my favorite due to his mopey face, by the way.

So that's my Day of the Dead!  No shrines, but who needs a shrine when you've got some awesome dolls like these?  Heck, who needs a Day of the Dead shrine when you're alive???  LOL, thankful I am to be alive and not need a shrine!  Sigh...I can't say the same for a few of my friends.  When I was in high school a young man died in a tragic (and senseless) truck-vs-train accident, and the next November one of his friends built a Day of the Dead shrine for him during Spanish class.  Talk about a mental punch in the solar plexus; this boy had a special necklace that he wore every day, and when I saw that hanging on the shrine I darn near cried.  This young man wasn't even someone I was that close to, but knowing him and liking him was enuff.  Despite one sad memory I love Day of the Dead, and I'm happy to have some poppets to commemorate!  No update on my mother, as she doesn't see the oncologist until the seventeenth.  But she says just drinking more water has helped ease her arthritis, so that's something.

Happy Day of the Dead,
RagingMoon1987