This Weekend...

This weekend had a lot of pros and cons:

Pros:
1. I got to drive over the Mackinac Bridge for the first time.

2. I got to travel to Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, & St. Ignace for the first time.

3. I got to spend time with family.

4. I got to take some awesome pictures.

Cons:
1. I found out that I cannot digest Alfredo sauce. (I think it's been about 5 years since I had it.)

2. Our truck would not start and had to be towed to Cheboygan, MI. Since it was a holiday weekend, no mechanic place was open until Tuesday.

3. I woke up at 3:20 a.m. on Monday with incredibly low blood sugar and fighting nausea. My body isn't normally awake at that time, so it wasn't giving me proper amounts of insulin.

4. Brian and I missed work waiting for the truck to be fixed.

But, it was totally worth it...



I loved the fabric of the pillows and bedspread at the hotel.



A view of our room.



We traveled to Cynthia's Yarn Shop.



She had so many yarns. I wanted to live there!



She had a lot of items on display.



I bought two skeins of this, too. I don't know what I'll make with it yet, but gosh it's a great color.



I also found this bag in Mackinaw City. I thought it would make a perfect knitting bag.



We saw this guy on our first night there. Check out his site here.



This was the restaurant we dined at for Colleen's birthday. Click here to view their site.



I liked their table lamps.



When we went to the island Brian and I had lunch at Goodfellow's.



I got this amazing picture of Brian there. Isn't he handsome? :)



In Mackinaw City I bought this. (It's a general rule that I must buy stuff with my middle name on it.) I also got it because...



... it mimics the awesome housewarming gift that Brian's Mom bought for us.



This picture is from the island.



Gorgeous.



Horses. :)



I took this fresh off of the ferry.



This is the Mackinac Bridge from the island.



Some of the shops on the island.



There were mini classic coke bottles at Ryba's Fudge Shop. :)



Look at how "gorgeous" I look after biking 4 miles.



This was the view from our hotel. :)


I had a great time even though I was sick for part of it.

Couches and Cats

I forgot to mention in my earlier posts that Brian and I got a new couch. Well, it's not like a huge couch. It's more loveseat sized. It's called a "chair and a half." We bought it while we were in Bay City.



Georgia is almost always laying/sleeping/grooming on it.





The fabric is almost like a thick corduroy.

I also thought I'd add a few pictures that I took tonight... And by "few" I mean eight.



Georgia laying in front of the fire place. (No idea how she got that little cut. I suspect Bella.)



Aesop finally sat still!



Cognac doesn't look too thrilled that Aesop swooped in to groom him. He tolerated it, though.



Aesop toes.



I mentioned in my previous post that I'm learning how to knit. This is my practice assignment.



As fall approaches, my flowers are wilting. Still beautiful, though.



Tonight a moth got stuck in our floor lamp. Aesop was very interested.



Just look at that concentration!

Quick Update

Little Bud, Aesop's big brother, died two days ago. Heartbreaking. Aesop is the only one left. It's so frustrating. I scheduled an appointment to have Aesop checked out next Wednesday September 8th. We'll be checking his red and white blood cell levels and also seeing if he's still positive for fe leuk. I'm praying that he'll be negative so that I don't have to be in a constant state of worry. Georgia is also getting a check up and a few vaccinations.

Feline leukemia can attack at the strangest times and areas of the body. Though Cassie's blood cell levels were fine, her lungs started filling up with liquid. The same thing happened about 6 years ago to our kitten, Muggins. We had just adopted him about 2 months before from the local animal shelter. (Muggins died September 14, 2004 and Annie died September 20, 2004 - In the same week from Fe leuk.)

For some reason Aesop is still alive and kicking. I freak out a little every time I see him napping because I'm worried that he's lethargic. The stress about this is almost constant. But, he eats very well. I put his viralys medicine on his food. And he is such a water baby I don't even need to worry about him being dehydrated. He's very big and is a good weight. He's not really fat, just thick and muscular. (Which, that's something all the other siblings didn't have; size. Little Bud was Aesop's "big" brother, but he was far smaller than Ace.)

I cannot stress enough how much I want Aesop to survive. He's got so much personality. I keep him active and play with him every night. He's got some strong lungs on him from all the jumping and flipping he does while playing with his favorite feather toy. Please send good thoughts our way.

Coming up this weekend we're heading up to Mackinac for the holiday and for Colleen's birthday. I've never been up there, mainly because of my fear of water... But I made it through the Alaskan cruise. So, I can make it through this, too. I'll be hanging out with Brian's Mom a lot. We're going to try to get some good pictures up there of colorful things. She'd like some one-of-a-kind art pieces for her downstairs bathroom that she's been redoing. Hopefully we'll get some good shots.

This past weekend we got quite a bit done. Brian started his wood cutting. He cut a good amount for his first time. This is our first year having a wood burning stove. (Well, actually we have two of them and a fireplace.) Since our new house requires propane for heat, we want to save money in the winter.

My cousins, Addie and Anna, came over this weekend, too. Addie has been knitting for about 15 years now. And I decided that I wanted to learn. So, I had my very first lesson. I think I'm pretty good for a beginner. :)

On Sunday we went to Battle Creek to spend some time with Brian's parents. We traveled to Marshall to go to the Family Bible Church. The sermon was interesting.

Well, that's about all for now...



Goosfraba....

Feline Leukemia Sucks

I just found out that Cassie died today. She was Aesop's last sibling that lived at my parents house.



We took these guys in completely oblivious that they were all feline leukemia positive. The first one passed away in February, her name was Lily. Then Amelia passed away in July. And Cassie passed away today. Aesop is the only one surviving. His half brother, Little Bud, is still alive. And oddly enough he's a black male cat just like Aesop.

Aesop will be a year old in a few weeks.

There is no test saying that a cat has leukemia, just that they've been exposed to it. It's up to the cat and their immune system if they are strong enough to beat it.

The odds aren't really ever in their favor. The only real success story I've had was my cat Bella. She was positive and then negative a few months later. She was immediately vaccinated. And she's 6 years old now. Most cats don't get that kind of luck.

Aesop and Little Bud are the only cats still positive. Hopefully they won't have to suffer the same fate.

Though I wasn't really attached to Cassie, I know the pain that my Dad and brother, Jason, are feeling right now.



Lily on the left. Cassie in the middle. Amelia is on the bottom right.

Weekend Activities

Well, Brian and I were CRAZY or should I put 'CrAzY?' Naaahhhhh busy this weekend.

Friday night we walked in the Relay for Life walk that was in Hastings, MI. If you don't know much about the RFL, you should look it up. They raise millions of dollars every year for cancer research. In the past, I made bracelets to sell. This year I made a lot of pinwheels and pinwheel barrettes. I think I sold maybe 6 items. Thank you, Addie, for buying one!



It's usually located at Tyden Park in Hastings.





As you can see, it was Twilight themed.



Here is a luminary that my Mom and I decorated. It's in memory of my Grandfather. He passed away from liver, lung, and bone cancer in 1998.



This is a luminary that we made in memory of my Uncle Gene who passed away from bone, kidney, and lung cancer in 2008.



Roger B. was the husband of my cousin, Sheila Marie. He passed away in 2009 from brain cancer.

On Saturday, Brian and I ventured over to Brighton, MI. We had a birthday party to go to for a very handsome little man. He turned one.



I kinda sorta fell in love with a golden retriever, Kodee.



There was some pool party fun for the kids. Hey, Lindy... Where was my kiddie pool? It was around 93 degrees and the humidity slapped you in the face.



The cake was kinda cool. It was a jungle themed party.



Here's the birthday boy eating his cake. Which, at one point he picked up the entire piece of blue fondant elephant and ate it in one bite. Too bad I didn't get a picture of the face he made.



And here he is eating his candle. ;)



Here's the family.



And I had some fun with the balloons on the balcony.

On Sunday we had a Hayes Family reunion. I think the last one was about 13 years ago. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. The last one I remember was Grandma Hayes' 80th birthday party.)



It wasn't a huge turn out... But we were glad people showed up. I had cousins there that I hadn't seen in years.



We played ladder ball.



Cousins went to great lengths to rescue our ladder ball pieces.



Here is Cheryl with Carter.

We had a great time. And reminisced about our younger days.

On Sunday evening Brian sat down on our sectional. And I thought to myself, "When was the last time I even sat down and relaxed?"

We managed to get a few good shots of the kitties, too.



Here's Bella and her belly floof.



Here's Georgia. I tried to get a flattering picture of her. She seems to be losing some hair on her belly and legs. We're not sure why, but she doesn't act stressed or anything. She's the same old weirdo she's always been. And I mean that with love. She's our oddball kitty. :)



Even when Aesop isn't in the picture, he has to ruin in at the last second. This is NOT a first for him.



And here's our little man all sprawled out.