Today was the day

I knew that sometime this week the vet office would call me to tell me that little Zoe's ashes were ready for me to pick up. What I didn't expect was for them to call me while I was out and about running errands this morning. Needless to say, that phone call brought a flood of emotions, and once again I found myself trying to navigate the roads through a blanket of tears. It's hard losing a little one, and perhaps I take it harder than most people. I don't know. I do know that Zoe is now at home with me where she belongs. Soon, I will put her ashes in a little sache bag and head over to Build a Bear Workshop where I will have them put inside a teddy bear. That's what I do for my departed little ones. Here's a picture of Mione (she passed away last year April) with all the teddy bears I had at the time. I am sad to say that I've added to that collection since taking this picture almost four years ago.

Here's the beautiful cedar box that currently house Zoe's cremains.

I also requested that a clay paw prints be done before she was cremated. I will need to bake this slab before too long, but I want to add some color and bling. After all, she was one of the pricesses of the house.

The pet cemetary that cremated Zoe also included the Rainbow Bridge Poem. Many forms of this Norse-inspired legend exist, but the poem iteself is one of my favorites. I cry every time I read it, so I warn you, if you're sensitive to the loss of a pet, you might want to get a hanky.

The Rainbow Bridge

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past,
The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,
And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.

I will be making Thank You cards for the gals over at the vet hospital soon. I haven't quite been able to bring myself to do that just yet, but I want to let them know how much I appreciated their support.

In an effort to make this post a bit more cheerful, here's a card that I made the other week. It may look complicated, but I assure you, it's rather easy.

Instructions: Take a piece of SU's white glossy paper (it has to be glossy or this technique won't work) and cut it down to your desired size. Use SU Classic reinkers in your colors of choice to dab a few spots on the paper. If you want, you can also use the Gold and Silver Encore Pad refills to add a bit of glitz to your design as I have done in my example. Next, thoroughly moisten a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and then dab it over the glossy paper. The alcohol will pick up and move the colors around. You can dab and smoosh until you get the look you want. Once you're done, spray the paper with fixative (honestly, I use hairspray - works just as well, is less than half the price, and smells darn good) and let it dry. After that, the piece is ready for you to do whatever you want! I used StazOn ink to stamp an image from the "You and Yours" stamp set. The sentiment is from the "Heard from the Heart" set.

I'll be back tomorrow with some more cards and techniques. I hope you all have a good day :)

Thank you so much

Before I get back into the groove of blogging, I want to thank all of you for your kind words about my little Zoe. They meant so much to me. Last week was undoubtedly a difficult one for me, and this week will be no different as I wait to get her ashes back. I suspect I will receive that phone call tomorrow.

Since I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago and was then hit by Zoe's passing last week, I have a lot to catch up on. Actually, I have a lot to catch YOU up on! I'll start with pictures from my very first Stampin' Up workshop I held a couple of weekdends ago. My fellow SU demos and my friend, Q, helped me organize and set everything up. I had eleven ladies and two teenagers attend, and we all had a wondeful time!


Last up for today is a card set that I did before my workshop. They're small little notecards (3 3/4" x 2 3/4") that I wanted to quickly put together and have on hand for those last-minute holiday occassions.

Supplies: Holly, Jolly Christmas, Best Wishes, Notes for You, & Heard from the Heart stamp sets; Whisper White, Ruby Red, & Olive Olive cardstock & stamp pads

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope to be back with more tomorrow :)

Sweet dreams, Zoe

My heart is breaking right now. This morning I had to say my final goodbyes to my sweet little Zoe. She had been battling cancer for the past few years and seemed to recover quite nicely from her adrenalectomy. She bounced and played and had a great old time just being her. However, I noticed a change in her these past couple of weeks, most especially these past few days. She went from being a spunky little critter to one that could no longer walk. She barely ate her soup (which she LOVED), and she started to loose control of her bladder and bowl movements. When I saw that she was just too weak to even greet me, I knew the time had come. I held her in my arms last night, and she looked up at me as if to say, "It's okay, mama. It's okay. I understand."

I think one of the greatest gifts you can give your companions is the gift of a pain-free life. That has always been my philosophy. I spoke with my honey, and he reconfirmed that the decision we were making was the right one for HER. I took her to the vet office this morning, and everyone at the hospital was just so incredibly kind. A very sweet lady saw how much I was crying, and got up and gave me a hug. I was so touched. A complete stranger saw my pain and wanted to comfort me. It's times like that when my faith in humanity is restored, and I thank God for such kind people.

Zoe went very peacefully with my hand covering her tiny, naked little body. I kissed her one last goodbye, wrapped her in her blanket, and left the room. I'm not even sure how I made it home through the blanket of tears rolling down my face, but here I am. I know it will take me a few days to recover. A little piece of my heart just died, too.

As a tribute, here are a few pictures of my little angel. I miss her already.

Here we are a few days after we got her. Travis was working at Ground Zero at the time (this was April of 2002), so he didn't meet her until a few weeks later. It was just her and me at the beginning...

Zoe was ALWAYS getting into things she wasn't supposed to. She loved the phone and the remote controls. I'm convinced that because she was deaf, she used her other senses to their fullest potential, most noteably her sense of touch. She loved putting things in her mouth!

She also loved to sleep. After all, that's what weasels do best!

She grew up to have one of the most beautiful winter coats I've ever seen. It's no surprise, though, as their cousins are the mink.

She was a happy little thing, always appearing to beam with delight.

Until we meet one day across the Rainbow Bridge, sweet dreams my little one.


XOXO,
mama & daddy