PRAYERS NEEDED!

UPDATES and recent hospital photos of Abe on their daughter's blog. Click here.

Patty and Abe Lincoln

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! But for everyone, it isn't a happy day, not really. You see, one of our fellow bloggers from Ohio is in the hospital with a collapsed lung. Abe Lincoln is spending his Thanksgiving holiday in the hospital! His lung had collapsed back in 1981 and then again a few days ago. If it happens once, there's a 50% chance of it happening again. If it happens a second time, then the recurrence of it happening yet another time is 80%! He had a new lung procedure, a very painful procedure, yesterday that is supposed to kind of patch the bad or weak spots in the lung, and he seems to be doing much better now. Their daughter has some pics of Abe posted on her blog with a more-detailed explaination of his lung problem.

I'm sure the family would appreciate all the prayers they can get at this time. So please add his name to your prayer list, and pass it on so that he'll have a mutitude of people praying for him. Prayer does work, we all know that, so please pray and remember him and his family in your daily prayers and also your Thanksgiving Day prayers today.

Some of you may already frequent his blog or his wife's blog. If you haven't, you need to, as they have theeeee best blogs! Patty and Abe celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary this past July! I have met some wonderful people through blogging, and this couple is on the top of my list! To know them is to love them!

Punky's Battle is Over

" PUNKY" (1991-2008)

Yesterday (Nov. 22, 2008) in Orlando, FL, Punky had her last ride. Her battle with oral cancer is over, and she is now at peace. She had started to bleed from the tumor again, so it was time for her to go to kitty heaven. Her Pops had given her radiation therapy two different times, once in March/April and again in September. Each time, the tumor shrunk entirely away for a few months, but then it eventually returned each time. She even purred as my son placed her carrier in his car for her last ride, with her probably thinking that she was going back to her home in South Carolina. She loved to ride! She was a well-seasoned little traveler. He said she never took her eyes off him during the entire ride. She traveled with him everywhere he went, as did Scooter.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will remember that Scooter, age 15, lost her battle with heart disease on October 6th of this year. It has been very heartbreaking for my son to lose both of his beloved little girls less than 7 weeks apart. It was a very sad day for our family again, but we know that Punky and Scooter are frolicking together once again.

" PUNKY" in July 1991

Punky was a shelter kitten when he adopted her on July 5, 1991. She was a pitiful little thing with an infected eye with puss running out of it and down her little face. We took her straight to the vet for a checkup and medicine for her eye. She was given a bath to rid her of fleas, as she was loaded with them. Her coat was so thin that we could actually see them crawling all over her bony little body. The vet said her eyeball was even swollen. Our shelter has come a long way since the 90's and has a great staff now. Dogs seem to get priority at our local shelter, though, so we adopt the little cats no one would ever choose. We have found that they are all beautiful on the inside.

Below is a pic of where she slept...right next to Tim's pillow. He said that she actually got on his pillow with him the night before, something she had never done. He took that as a sign that she was telling him something, maybe that she was ready to go. We have found that usually an animal will let you know, in some manner, when they are ready.

As I told my son, she loved him, and she knew that he loved her. They had 17 great years together. We have videos of her that we can watch to keep her alive forever in our hearts.

As my vet wrote in a sympathy card one time when I had to have my beloved Duffy put to sleep in 1996, also, due to cancer: "You have given Duffy one last gift...his release from suffering." So I passed those words on to my son:

"You have given Punky one last gift...her release from suffering."

My last words to you, Punky: "I know you are in a better place now, but you will be sadly missed, my little Punky, and you will always have a special place in my heart....Grandma loves you!"

Cold Day in the South

Just a little note today....that's about all I have time for at the present. I am still among the living. I have posts I want to do but need to find the time to do them. I usually spend hours on some of my posts with so many photos, so I am looking to do some shorter ones soon. I have some good stories my son wrote when he was managing editor of his college paper at Clemson University in Clemson, SC, but I have to retype them in order to post them. Plus, I have some awards from Mary I need to thank her for yet, too.

We had a cold front move in on us, so today is a bit nippy with a little wind. I kind of welcome the cooler weather myself. I have to run out this afternoon to do a few errands, and then I am taking time to visit my good friend, Wanda, who fell a week ago last Friday night and broke her lower leg and ankle...a total of 4 bones broken! She had surgery the next day and had to have a rod and pins put in. So she is now at home, recuperating. I made her some homemade rolls, so I plan to stop by and visit her for a little while. My work is taking the backseat today! LOL

A BIG "Thank You"

I want to thank Gramma Ann for this lovely award!!! Thank you, Ann, so much!!! I really do appreciate it!!! She knows how much I love animals, especially cats. She, too, is also a cat lover and has recently taken in a newcomer to her home by the name of Mr. Jones, and he's a cutie! Hop on over to her Ann's Quotes and Things and check it out....you'll be glad you did! Her other blog where she posted this award is called Ann's Reading Corner. She has a photo of her reading corner as her header, and it looks so-oooo cozy and relaxing! She is a great blogger and publishes some very interesting posts!

I know it's been almost a month since my last post, but work has been crazy working with "snowbirds" every day who are looking for winter homes in the Orlando area. I am going to try and do better. Usually, by the end of the day, I am so tired that all I want to do is grab a quick bite to eat and head on to bed, which is usually around 2 or 3am. I hope to get around and visit you all soon!

Yesterday took me to Greenville two times with my daughter's cat, Buster. We had to leave him there, and then they called when he was finished. He was due for his one-month post chemo checkup and ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that there is no reoccurrence of his bowel cancer, thus far. I just received a phone call from the specialists' facility with his bloodwork results. Everything is the same as it was the last time. He has had an elevated kidney value all along. His BUN is at 54, whereas normal is in the 14-36 range. This indicates that he is experiencing some kidney failure, but it hasn't improved, nor has it worsened, since his last bloodwork was done. All cats by the age of 15 experience some kidney value problems. Anyhow, we are very pleased with the good news, both yesterday and today! He has to go back on December 1st for another checkup and chest x-rays. They keep a close watch on them after they have received chemo and/or radiation treatments.

Our leaves are turning, but I don't think the colors are as vibrant as they have been in previous years. They are more muted in color this year, and there are a few leaves falling! We are expecting temp of 77 on Thursday! The nights have cooled so nicely, though. And then also the holidays are quickly approaching....something else added to my "To Do" list! LOL

I'll be around to visit you soon! Thank you all for being so faithful in leaving me comments and sticking with me. I want to also thank those of you who have emailed me with little notes! It's so nice to be remembered when I have been such a poor blogger lately....I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart!

P.S. Does anyone know why Blogger won't allow me to separate my paragraphs??? I have to copy and paste everything into a Word document and space it there, and then copy and paste it all over again and place on my blog. Strange, huh? But it works!