My dear cat died just over a week ago, after turning 16 in June. She had some sort of sudden neurological event, probably a stroke, and just faded away over the course of the next few days to the point where she could no longer stand up. The vet came to the house to put her to rest. I had Phoebe from the time she was a few weeks old. A friend had rescued a pregnant stray and I was looking for a new cat, as my Vincent had died a couple of months earlier and his pal Nigel needed a new friend to play with. I remember sticking my head under the bed where the mother cat had stashed the kittens. Phoebe was the first one to scamper over to see who had come to visit. She definitely picked me out and not the other way around. She was fearless and independent and aloof. She had the biggest ears I’ve seen on a kitten. She and Nigel became fast friends. When she was an outdoor cat, she loved to sit on a fencepost in the pouring rain. We were all lucky 13 years ago when my husband came into our lives and had no problem with cats on the bed at night. Nigel died in 2000 at age 17. We have three other cats now, but Phoebe never loved them the way she did Nigel, though our latest, Barger, who has only been with us for a year, was definitely her favourite. He kept her company on the bed many times in her last days. Phoebe was a petite little cat. She loved to chase a feather twirling on the end of a spinning lure. Her favourite treats were tarter control, but I always called it out in French, “contre le tartre” and she would come running. She became an indoor cat early on (all our cats are now), but she learned to go outside on a harness and leash and we would spend many mornings wandering around the back yard together, or she would sit on her favourite part of the path and watch for butterflies and hummingbirds. She was very vocal when it was time for me to go to bed, impatient for me to settle down so she could get into position on my shoulder. I got so used to her being on top of me that I didn’t even feel it after all these years. She never sat on my lap, but she would sit on Lyle’s. He would be working away at his computer, look down and realize Phoebe was sitting on him, without him ever having noticed her jump up. I knew she was getting old, but I was hoping for another year or two with her. Losing her this quickly was quite unexpected. I guess I’m writing about Phoebe because I know my friends read this blog (some of them have even caught a glimpse of her once or twice). This site is about things that leave my life. So far I’ve been lucky enough to choose what leaves and when. But not this time.

(I’m going away for a few days. I’ll update the site again by August 7 or so.)

Tags: cats, July

I thought I would remember how things came to be in my possession, but I don’t recall acquiring this knife. That could mean it came in with the husband. I haven’t ever used it. Found it at the bottom of a kitchen drawer. It has a bone handle. It has been honed many, many, many times. Random flower is a new clematis I planted last fall. The name is on the tag out in the pot, I don’t know it offhand.

Tags: kitchen, knife, July, random flowers

But it doesn’t suit me anymore. It’s a man’s shirt, but it looked ok on me when I was thinner. I even went through a stage of wearing ties when I had on a shirt like this one. Jeans. Shirt and tie. I wouldn’t have bought a United Colors of Benetton shirt new, so I must have snagged it at a thrift store or at a costume sale after a movie wrapped. I got fabulous clothes once when a Spelling series went off the air and the wardrobe for a couple of seasons was sold off. One of the benefits of living in Vancouver – a lot of TV movies made and a lot of stuff left over when the movies wrapped. Random flower is a big red poppy.

Tags: clothing, July, random flowers

I envisioned a row of fresh-picked garden flower arrangements in these three small white crocks. But things have got to go. And as much as I like a series of similar objects, I am willing to part with these.

Tags: vase, kitchen, July

I had no idea when we moved into this place that gardens with trees and shrubs and bushes generate so many piles of prunings and clippings. Here are some recent trimmings. Thank goodness I have a gardener to help me with keeping the enthusiastic plants under control. She has a truck to take everything away to a proper garden waste recycling facility. This is a small pile!

Tags: garden, July

These came with the husband. He realized he hadn’t played them in the last decade, so he agreed to part with them. Random flower is another daylily that is out right now.

Tags: music, July, random flowers

Well, two of them anyway. More books to my friend who does papercraft and cuts up old books to make art. These books were in a box of free stuff I passed on the way to a coffee shop in my neighbourhood. It was only about 3 weeks from the time I picked them up to the time they left the house. Not bad. Random flower is a day lily from a flower bed in the front yard.

Tags: books, July, random flowers

I have stored my food in glass containers as much as possible for years. So plastic ones like this don’t get used very often. These went out in the last load to Big Brothers Big Sisters. The garden shot is is the area outside my office. I get to watch birds splash in the bath when I want a view other than my computer screen.

Tags: kitchen, July, garden

Can’t remember where I got this. Haven’t ever really used it. It’s been on a shelf in my sideboard. Don’t need it. It is now in the donation box, which I’ll take away once it is full. If you want it, it’s yours. About 7in across. Random flower is a climbing red rose.

Tags: kitchen, household, July, random flowers

I picked this up at a yard sale for $5 as a replacement phone, but even though it works, the display has a defect through the centre of the letters and numbers, making it too hard to read. Didn’t find out about that until the phone was charged up. I stuck it out in a box, marked it free, and it went a day later. At least I put a note on it warning about the display. Whoever took it had fair warning. Random flowers are peonies from my yard. The pale one is Sarah Bernhardt.

Tags: phone, office, July, random flowers

This is a wooden match holder. When I was younger I had a vision of living in a quaint Victorian house with nooks and crannies, with antiques and doilies. Now I’m paired with someone who likes open plan and is emphatic about no doilies. We live a mish mash of styles, if we are even able to sense a theme under the chaos. Getting rid of things is supposed to be helping.

Tags: household, antique, July

Gave this office clock (IKEA) to my gardening helper. Lunch yesterday was first pickings from the fava bean crop, stir fried with garlic and green onions from my garden and purple sage from my neighbour’s herb patch. Yummy. Still holding vigil for my sweet little 16-year-old cat. Will discuss options with the vet tomorrow.

Tags: office, July, garden

Might as well continue the trend for another Friday. I wore these for a summer or two. Every one did. Now I rarely see anyone with this style. No arch support whatsoever. We’ve all figured out we need proper casual shoes. Random flowers are from the garden. Pretty little orange wallflowers and a bloom from a red verbena. Putting them in very small vases plays with the scale, makes the flowers look much larger than they really are.

Tags: shoes, July, random flowers

These look almost like another pair I got rid of. I used to burn candles almost every night, but my husband is worried about lead in wicks and breathing in emissions or whatever. I have to burn them when he is out of town. So I don’t need dozens of candle holders. These have joined the thousands of other candle holders lining the shelves at the Salvation Army. Don’t know the name of the little white flowers. They come up in the spring.

Tags: knick knacks, July, random flowers

Because I sometimes find the time to paint small watercolours, I am always on the lookout for little frames. Now I have more frames than I will ever need, so I am getting rid of some. These have left the building, you didn’t really want them anyway.

Tags: frames, July

I rarely put on regular nail polish much less go through all the steps required for a French manicure. I’ve had precisely one French manicure in my whole life and it was on April 17, 1988. Professionally done, not with the polish in these bottles. A friend gave these to me when she moved three years ago, and I have never used them. Random flower is a white delphinium in the back yard.

Tags: July, personal products, random flowers

I had this changing pad around for when my nephews were infants and came to visit. This afternoon I went to visit Lucy the longhaired dachshund, hit by a car about a month ago. She is home now, and dragging her paralyzed back legs around behind her. There are small improvements, but she has no bladder or bowel control, so every time she is on a lap or on the sofa, she needs to be on a pad. Her mom is doing lots of laundry. Lucy is as sweet as ever and is so happy to be out of the animal hospital. She still manages to steal Max’s bone away from him and scootches down the hallway making her getaway.

Tags: bedding, household, July, dog

I was positive these came in with my husband and his belongings when we merged our stuff, but he says no, so I can only assume this is detritus from a previous ex that got missed in the shuffle. Two 1994 Canucks t-shirts. I don’t watch hockey. The only sport I follow is tennis. Love the grunting. Anyway, these were part of the big pile of clothes that went off to Big Brothers Big Sisters. I suppose I could have taken one photo of a huge pile of clothing, but this way I can cover a few more days and write about individual items. I didn’t even want to keep these as rags. Random flower is an iceberg climbing rose that goes up and over our back deck.

Tags: clothing, July, random flowers

These were $5 shoes in the discount section. I loved them. The dangly bits are faceted glass baubles — sparkly. Wore them quite a lot when I first had them. No support whatsoever, so I only wore them for short periods of time. My feet have grown a full size over the past 20 years, so these no longer fit. They aren’t leather, so there is no stretch. I’d have to be like Cinderella’s sisters and cut off my big toe to stuff my foot into one. Ah well. More space in the closet for new shoes that don’t hurt.

Tags: shoes, July

Unless you’re like me and keep things, you won’t discover how long it takes for rubber bands to deteriorate to the point of being useless and crumbling beneath your fingers as you try to stretch them. Actually I haven’t learned that either, because I have no idea how many years ago I put this collection of rubber bands in a baggie. I only know they are rotten now. I’m reusing the baggie, but I’ve had to throw the bands away. I hate putting stuff in the trash. Random flower is Cephalaria gigantea.

Tags: household, office, July

Happy Canada Day! I tried to get some work done, but I took a walk, played tennis, helped clean out the shed, had a long visit with Lucy and her mom and have been watching Wimbledon in between (recorded). At the moment I’m watching Haas close out his match against Djokovic. I’ve enjoyed watching Haas throughout the tournament. Ah well, there is still this evening to get some work done. Usually a stat holiday is the best time to catch up on projects. None of my clients phone or email me. In honour of Wimbledon, and because when I started taking tennis lessons I had to upgrade my racket, I am posting the ancient wooden one I used to hit a ball against the school wall with. It has gone to one of the teenage boys who live next door to Lucy’s mom. The fava beans are almost ready to pick and saute in some olive oil with fresh green onions (also from the garden), a bit of garlic, and a sprinkle of hot chilies.

Tags: sports, July, garden