Sick kitty doing better

I wrote in late August about one of our cats being quite sick. We've spent the last five weeks managing this. For the first two weeks, it meant force-feeding her four times a day (ie, putting food into her mouth and persuading her to swallow), pilling her twice a day, and giving her subcu fluids every night. After the first week, she started eating some on her own, but we were still pilling her and doing fluids. She was getting bloodwork done every two weeks, and gradually improving, so we progressed to doing fluids every other night, then twice a week.

Kiri had repeat bloodwork on Monday, and I'm very happy to report her liver enzymes are normal. No matter how long or stressful these five weeks have felt to us, it's really an amazingly short turnaround time for hepatic lipidosis. Her vet and we are all quite happy about this.

Hurray!

Best of all, she's supremely perky again. It's disgustingly cute. :)

Friends Hospice Opens!

I received the following email from F/friend TylaAnn Burger, the Director of Friends Hospice of Philadelphia. I've been peripherally involved with Friends Hospice from the beginning, and have been really excited about it from the beginning; if we'd continued to live in Philadelphia, I would have put considerable time and energy into it. They are now going live -- how wonderful! - Stasa

Friends,

It is my privilege to announce that Friends Hospice is fully licensed and ready to open. A considerable number of people have contributed to our reaching this important moment. They have contributed time, energy, prayers, expertise, resources and funds. I want to express my gratitude to everyone who helped bring us to this moment.

Some of our volunteers spent this weekend finishing painting, setting up supply shelves and cleaning the office. Our computer systems are in place and going through final preparations. Our staff is completing their training and we will be ready to accept referrals that have an immediate need for care as of October 1st.

Please continue to keep Friends Hospice in your hearts and prayers as we start care.

TylaAnn Burger,
Executive Director
Friends Hospice
706 W. Girard Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19123-1313
(215) 925-6848

For more information on Friends Hospice, click here.

Mabon

A good Fall Equinox to you!

Mabon, or Fall Equinox, is the Second Harvest, the Witches' Thanksgiving, the Descent of Inanna, one of the two days of the year when dark and light are in balance, the beginning of the part of the year when each day has more hours of darkness than light...

(More when our internet technical difficulties have been resolved...)

Shana Tova

If you were here, I would feed you apples and honey.

Actually, I would also attempt to feed you kugel.

Every so often, in late September, I get the urge to make kugel. Apple kugel. When I check the calendar, it's invariably in or near the High Holy Days of the Jewish calendar. (Early this year by the Gregorian calendar.)

I am used to my Jewish cultural roots coming out in the Spring, at Pesach. It somewhat takes me by surprise when it happens in the fall, since I didn't grow up celebrating Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur.

But, every so often, in late September, I get the urge to make kugel.

As a Witch, this doesn't surprise me too much. Apples are such a fall food, and the early local apples are starting to arrive at the Farmer's Market. Kugel is comfort food, and it's noticeably darker, earlier; the days are getting shorter, more quickly, these days; and over the last few days here in southeastern Michigan, it's also gotten chilly, with lows in the 40s F at night, and highs in the 60s F during the day. And the urge to cook also makes sense to me from both a Pagan and a Jewish perspective.

And so I have been craving kugel.

I've had a music-filled evening while cooking: Broadside Electric, disappear fear, Juliet Spitzer, Hugh Blumenfeld, music from our wedding. There's a an apple-noodle kugel in the oven, with traditionally mishmash ingredients and spices: apples, egg noodles, cottage cheese, dried apricots, sugar, pecans, ginger, cloves, lemon juice, etc.

So I wish you shana tova, a good new year, a sweet new year; and if you were here, I would offer you kugel.

Kiri and Shadow

Here's Kiri, feeling enough better that she wanted to help me on the computer (the computer being one of her favorite things).


Kitties in the sunshine (Shadow, then Kiri):



Someone may still be in guarded condition, but she's clearly feeling better:


:)