Loveyoubye

My little brother (who's 12 and getting not so little) used to just hang up the phone when he was finished talking...so my parents coached him to say, "I love you, bye." He was 4 at the time, so that was shortened to, "Loveyoubye!" And it stuck with each member of my immediate family, and, later, my husband, and several friends. So we all say it now when we hang up, or when we go out the door.

Mr. Riot Kitty and I have been having a bumpy weekend because 007 - also known as Sev and the Big Brown Bearcat, went to kitty heaven Friday morning. He had been having seizures for the past 9 months, and was amazingly healthy all of his life before that. He was 20 years old, which the vet says is the equivalent of 92 (!!!) in people years.

But the house seems so quiet now. We've lost two of our kitties in less than a year, and that's two too many.

It may sound weird, but we loved these furry guys a lot - and got along better with them than members of our extended family!

It's rare to find someone who loves you unconditionally, never lies to you, can't wait for you to get home, and always wants to snuggle. Of course, I could live without the terrible fumes from the cans of soft food, but it's a small price to pay.

We still have Vladimir, aka Vladi, aka the Fluffy White Fuck (who is so purebred and senile that he hasn't noticed his brothers are missing), but it's lonely enough that we are going to get him a new brother.

In the meantime, I hope Sev and Rocco are chasing chickens in the sky.