Annie's Medical School Graduation

 How exciting to have another female doctor in our family!  We couldn't miss watching my amazing niece, Annie, receive her medical degree; therefore, we flew up to Pittsburgh last Friday.  Cousin Dave Hickton invited us to stay with him and we were delighted to accept his invite.  Most of his family happened to be traveling, therefore, we had him all to ourselves.  We caught up on family news, and met Hawk, his fabulous retriever dog.  On Saturday, the day before the event, Dave made us a yummy brunch.  In the afternoon, Paul & Diane picked us up for a trip to Pittsburgh's National Aviary.  We had a super time meeting up with the graduate, her boyfriend, Julio, friends and Diane's sister and brother-in-law.  The birds were fascinating, too!  Check out the pictures below.

National Aviary 

  

Urban Garden

Graduation Ceremony 

Church Brew Works 

By evening, Mary & Al arrived and we set out for a nice family casual dinner at the Urban Garden. We all "clowned" around with some funny props for the pictures.  Next morning was graduation time and we headed off to the University of Pittsburgh.  It was in a beautiful historic building.  We enjoyed the speeches and seeing her diverse class of graduates who have high ambitions in their medical careers.  It was inspiring to hear from some of the speakers that it was not enough for them to sit on their laurels.  Medicine and science are under attack in some segments of America.  The graduates were asked to pay attention and speak out for education, science and medicine.  Hurrah!

We celebrated afterwards at a unique venue, the Church Brew Works, were we had a wonderful meal with drinks and much deserved praise of our graduate, Annie McDermott, M.D.  I, Joanne, decided to gift Annie with a family keepsake, a gold cross that was given to her great great grandmother, on her 50th Wedding Anniversary.  I wrote up the entire story and my sister, Mary, asked me to read it.  It felt good to give Annie a piece of our Family History for her medical journey

(To hear the presentation, click on Joanne Presents Cross to Annie )

We were so happy to share this moment with Annie and wish her well in her medical career.

Remembering our Adorable Cat, Bleu Kitty

 

It's hard to believe our dear blue-gray Persian boy is gone!  He was 12 years, 2 months old and he brought nothing but joy to our lives.  The tears are flowing and our home is so empty without him.

How to describe this great cat?  

After doing our research, we adopted him in October 2011 from Disaronno-Persians in Bradenton, Florida when he was 7 months old. (His birthday was 3/25/11).  We'll never forget meeting him for the first time.  The breeder opened the door and he came prancing out to meet us.  He never knew a stranger; he was so friendly to us and all he met along the way.  He was the runt of the litter and the breeder thought he would be full grown at  5 lbs.  She was incorrect.  He grew to normal size, 9 lbs. and his distinguishing characteristic was his curly tail.  We think his atypical tail is why he was adopted out as a pet, not a show animal.  His coloring was beautiful.  He had blue gray fur on this head and body with a fetching white mussel with a white underbelly and white boots.  His eyes were alert and a sparkling amber color.  Oh, he was a gorgeous little guy!

Bleu had personality plus!  In the 12 years of his life, he was full of fun antics.  When he was a "child" cat, he jumped from couch to chair making a full circle over my sister's lap before he settled down.  He would routinely get "the zoomies" and race back in forth by us particularly when we were eating in the kitchen.  He loved people to watch him eat.  He would look up from his dish at you to make sure you were admiring his fine appetite.  He woke Richard up every morning at 6 AM sharp by standing on this chest or laying by his side.  He purred beautifully while I read the paper.  He was our companion cat. He watched tv with me and laid down next to me.  He loved to sniff flowers and plants and chew them.  We had to move the plants from his favorite haunt, our lanai, to make sure he wouldn't consume anything that would cause digestive distress.

Speaking of our lanai, that was where he patrolled up an down looking at the water in our canals, birds, squirrels, bunnies or whatever he could observe.  He would crouch like a hunter when something good was within his sight.  Oh, it was fun to watch him make his moves.  His favorite lanai activity was catching geckos.  He caught quite a few in his time on earth and was proud of his hunting skills.

Surprisingly, he made a terrific "boat" cat.  He sailed to the Bahamas on our boat, Eagles Wings, and truly "went with the flow" of whatever we were doing.  He never got sick from rocking around in rough waters.  As soon as the boat settled down, he was ready to eat and would let us know it was time to feed him.  One time after a long passage, we left a hatch open on the boat.  A fellow boater alerted us that he saw our cat heading down the dock.  We thought this was impossible!  We knew Bleu was on the boat.  But, "no" he had crawled through the hatch, jumped off the boat between the dock and water and went exploring.  We and others led a merry chase of him and fortunately, he tired of this game and came back to us.  We were very careful after that - we knew he loved to explore and check out new environments.  He learned to walk on a leach in the marina and always attracted a crowd of admirers.  He loved to meet little dogs and sniffed them.  We were always amazed with his fearless attitude and love to people and other animals.

As Bleu grew older, when he saw us preparing our boat from the lanai, he hollered at us, letting us know that he wanted to board the boat and partake of any adventure we were going on. 

We traveled a lot seeing many countries of the world and having foreign visitors stay with us as part of an organization called Friendship Force.  Bleu made friends with whoever stayed with us and we can attest that especially the Russian and Japanese visitors loved him dearly.  He had wonderful cat sitters who stayed with him either at our home or he would go to theirs.  We so appreciate Becky, Angela, Christel, Stephanie & Larry, and the Cat Cottage for taking such good care of him throughout the years.  Bleu also loved little children.  When he first met my niece's 2 yr old daughter, Francesca, he was enthralled with her.  Later, he even traveled under our seat to visit her in Connecticut on a plane flight.  When he was in the airport terminal, people asked to see him and took pictures of him. 

Bleu ready for a night on the town.  Bleu did not like taking a bath!

Christmas was always happy with Bleu.  He loved sitting under the lights of the Christmas tree and rarely bothering any of the ornaments.  He know they were part of the decorations and he respected that.  He loved older people and had a special relationship with my Mom, who is now 102 years old.  He visited South Port Square and brought joy to many of the residents there.  He seemed to sense when someone was sick and knew to sit next to them and purr.  Recently, he visited my Mother at the Assisted Care Facility and upon seeing her, jumped into her chair to sit next to her.  My mother loved that!

It was devastating to us when Bleu got sick.  The vet tried hard to figure it out and decided he had lymphoma.  They gave him prednisone for 3 months which gave him a new "lease on life."  He was back to his old cheerful self, pain free.  However, the drug only lasted a short time.  Bleu went down fast.  In the previous article, we tell about what we went through saying goodbye to him.  He did enjoy his last cruise, at least in the beginning, but by the 3rd day, it was time to take him home.  We realized he was suffering when he could not eat and drink.  We took him to the vet and he was put down with me (Joanne) holding him and Richard petting him.  

We have a big hole in our hearts and our home is so empty.  Today we buried him in our backyard near the lanai he loved and we placed a stone with his name on it.  We said prayers and a goodbye.  We will never forget this special little cat who brought such joy to our lives.  We hope to see him again in the next world. He is sweetness and light.  Rest in peace, dear little one, our Bleu Kitty.

Bleu's Last Cruise

May 16, 2023 3:00 AM - Bleu stands in front of his water dish, his back legs wobbly. He pierces the air with a short but mournful howl. He does not drink. I cannot sleep. At 1:45 PM today, he will visit the vet one last time. 

May 10, 2023 - Bleu has stopped eating.  The vet suggested that doubling his dose of Prednisone and adding a appetite simulant might bring him around.  Joanne purchased a few packets of Puree Salmon paste and Delectables Lickable Treat Stew to try. When he licked the paste and the broth of the stew off a plate, I got excited and brought $60 more of the paste and stew packets at Walmart for our boat trip to Sarasota.  Bleu would be cruising too.

When Joanne and I went down to the Lickity Split together to check our inventory, Blue howled as he has done before. He didn't want to be left behind.

Bleu patrolled the lanai and caught his last gecko, one of his favorite things to do. He spent a lot of time at the far end of the lanai looking for bugs, birds and the occasional rabbit passing by outside.

May 11, 2023 - The three of us departed on a fine cloudless morning for Venice Yacht Club, our first stop on this PGIslanders' cruise to Sarasota. Given the fine weather we went outside through the Boca Grande Swash Channel and a mess of close packed sport fishing boats each hoping to land a Tarpon.  We learned later that one of them smacked into Impulse, Yeoman's sail boat, when Yeomans passed through.  Fortunately, there was not much damage since it hit the anchor.

Bleu licks a little of the salmon paste off our fingers but that is all. He drinks a lot of water. He is all over the boat looking out the windows and even sleeping on the pilot chair.   

We had a drink at the yacht club's Tiki Hut with two other IYC/Islander couples, enjoyed time in the pool and dined outside. Some of the Islanders staying at the nearby Crows Nest Marina joined us. 

May 12, 2023 - We followed the ICW North to the Field Club, our favorite yacht club to visit. The rest of the fleet went to Marina Jack's in Sarasota.

Lickity Split easily slips under all the bridges, the exception being the Blackburn swing bridge although we needed to lower the VHF antenna to pass under the Albee Creek bridge.  John and Marylin in their new Merry Fisher 895 pulled right up behind us as we called the swing bridge for a opening. 

Osprey with Chick on Channel Marker 12

At the Field Club, we met the old but friendly dockmaster, refueled and then backed into the slip #1 right along the fuel dock.  The Field Club, on the National Register of Historic Places,  feels "old world." A moat runs under the club house! Moss hangs from several acres of Live Oak trees that lends a peaceful feel to the grounds. 

We had lunch at the club and relaxed at the pool. Returning to the boat from the pool, we found a 20ft or so flats type boat along the fuel dock. Four teenage girls in thong bikinis who looked to be about fourteen were draped across the bow! A fifth one wouldn't fit. I suppose the older guy at the helm was the dad of one of them. I didn't see any life jackets!  

We  "ubered" to Marina Jack's for the PGIslanders' Happy Hour on the dock and then "ubered" back. 

Bleu now refuses to lick the Salmon paste off our fingers buts still drinks water. 

Sunset at the Field Club

May 13, 2023 -  Bleu went for a long and slow walk on his leash early in the morning and spent time in the cockpit looking out at the expansive grounds of the Field Club. We are by ourselves in this quiet and peaceful place.

At 11 AM, we motor the few miles up to Marina Jack's and back into Slip D19 along side the other Islander boats on this cruise. I know this is an exciting time for the Islander's making this their first time to this marina at the foot of downtown Sarasota.  It was for our first time too. But for this time, the noise the band and crowds are making, the mega yachts, the valet parking and the young women in their heels and short skirts are out of sync with the way we feel. 

We walked the few blocks to the Burns theater to watch Book Club Two, a nonsensical chick flick about four older women on a bachelorette trip to Italy. The scenery, however, of Tuscany, Rome and Venice was nice to see and I treated myself to popcorn.

After the movie, we joined the Islanders at Mattison's City Grille for an early dinner. Joanne and I shared a pizza. After dinner, thunder boomed and we rapidly departed for our boats. Joanne and I made it just before the rain came down.                               

May 14, 2023 - Bleu is getting weaker but still manages to jump up on the pilot's seat and other seats in the salon.  He likes to go out in the cockpit and look around. He tried to walk up along the port side of the boat but I wouldn't let him as I was afraid he might fall overboard.

I walked around Bayfront Park in the cool morning air stopping to photograph the the famous statue of a sailor kissing a nurse in NYC on the day World War II ended.  My mother-in-law, Marie, at 102 years old, is one of the few alive who can remember that day. 

Transient Dock at Marina Jack's

At Bayfront Park, A Sailor Kisses a Nurse at the End of World War II

Dolphins Leap in a Fountain along the Bay Side of the Park

We headed over to Sarasota Yacht Club at 11 AM, about 1/2 hour away. Our assigned slip, A19, was still occupied so we were reassigned E11 with a full length finger pier.  E Dock is right by the pool!  A cruiser from Clearwater pulled in next to us with two dogs.  Bleu enjoyed watching them from the salon table.

We enjoyed an expensive but wonderful Mother's Day buffet at the club.

The pool was crowded with young families and no shade so we waited until 6:30 PM to swim.

Bleu is not drinking water. He looks at his water dish but does not drink.

May 15, 2023 - We motored out at 8:30 AM planning to go out Sarasota Big Pass but the waypoints I copied from the club website looked all wrong as we headed for the pass so we took the scenic route home taking the opportunity to snap photos of the ospreys nesting on the channel markers. 

May 16, 2023  9:30 AM - Bleu's appointment with the vet has been moved up to 11 AM.  He sits by the pool but does attempt to drink - One of his favorite things to do.  He wobbles to the far end of the lanai to look for wildlife and comes back to the pool. He is as light as a feather.

We are so sad to loose our little guy.  He cruised with us to the Keys and the Bahamas as well as up and down Florida's west coast. He was a real sailor toughing out the rough weather and always ready to eat when we either anchored or pulled into a marina. He also flew to Connecticut under the seat in front of me.  He was a hit in the airport at Tampa as well  - as just about any place he found himself.  

We will miss him greeting us at the door, trying to sneak out as we came in and getting himself locked in cabinets patiently waiting for us to find him.  I will miss checking on me at 6 AM sharp if I had not already started to get up.  We will miss playing with him. We will miss everything about him.  He trusts us completely. 

One of our friends often said "There is no cat like Bleu."  That's the way we feel too.