Happy New Year – R.I.P. Soot

We hope everyone made it through the Christmas season OK and that you are looking forward to a good 2016.

It is with sadness we note the passing of one of our De Beque-born house cats, Soot. He had not been feeling well Christmas week and Pam took him to be examined/observed by the vet. To make a long story short, Soot was suffering from invasive cancer that could not be remedied with surgery; the “no brainer” decision to euthanize was made during the surgical procedure. Soot will be frozen for now, to be buried later in his “native sod” this spring.

While not popular with the other cats – being something of a bully at times – Soot was very personable with humans and liked to spend time sitting on my lap. His longer than normal tail was carried in a crook and occasionally showed up under the bathroom door when we were in there in the mornings. He will be missed.

Soot on Jerry’s lap

We received about 8 inches of snow between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; clearing this White Christmas kept me busy for a few hours and gave me the chance to play with my Troy-Bilt snow blower and John Deere LX186 lawn tractor; the later is fitted with a snow blade, suitcase weights, and tire chains. Otherwise the days have been quiet, frigid, and calm.

Blade and blower both come in handy for snow removal

On New Year’s Day we took down our outside decorations and put them away. Pam had removed the inside stuff during the week (CMC closes the week between Christmas and New Year, so she was home). We are pretty much done with holiday decorations. Unlike our neighbors, many of whom will have their sad outdoor decorations up until Valentines Day (or Easter),  Pam insists we maintain some discipline in promptly packing ours away.

The spare tire cover arrived for the Toyota RAV4, along with a replacement jack; both were installed as part of my effort to get the car in top-notch condition. I also bought a LeBra for the Toyota (in black, no purple front bumper after all) but have to wait until warmer weather to install it. Later this weekend I will change the oil and oil filter along with the cabin (air conditioning) filter and that will about wrap up all the routine maintenance tasks that needed to be done at present; we will be comfortable knowing all maintenance is up-to-date. A total fluids/belts run-through will occur at the mechanic sometime this spring.

New spare tire cover on the RAV4

While deleting Soot from the blog, I also added KitKat to the Cats blog page along with a short description of her, and Pam made a few changes in the commentary. Check it out!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

With as many cats as we have around here, it seems odd to miss one.  But, being the OCD person I am, I always count the animals during the day to see where everyone is.  Some one is missing.  Soot was only five years old; I’m not used to having cancer-filled animals at that young age.  The vet and I had a conversation about how my rescue population is aging and that we will likely be repeating the Soot scenario in the coming years. It’s a bummer to contemplate.

Fields isn’t going to do his “Year In Review” until a future post, I will include my 2016 resolutions then. (I just know everybody is waiting expectantly for both!)

Happy Trails.