Who can turn the world on with her smile?

(from the Mary Tyler Moore department)

Hi everyone,

Just some quick photos of the joy that is Rose:







These were taken at a local restaurant called "St. Clouds" - well worth a trip if you're ever in the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle.

Cheers,
Paul

Rose finds the North Pole

(from the Trip to the North Pole department)

Hi everyone,

It snowed in Winston-Salem, NC on Christmas Day (Dec. 25th), 2010. We went out the next day to play in the snow, and I recorded this video of Rose journeying to the North Pole.

Enjoy!



Cheers,
Paul

Zoe

Hi everyone,

Some very, very sad news today, I'm afraid. Our beloved cat, Zoe, passed away in our arms last night. Her health had been declining since she'd had emergency surgery and then a subsequent stroke. We think she may have had another stroke, but this time, didn't survive it.

She was a friendly cat, with a great sense of curiosity and a very regal bearing. To illustrate, here's a cell phone clip of her looking around a vet's office.



She'd started out as a feral cat, and as a result, always kept her claws at full sharpness, much to the chagrin of our couches. Although smaller than our other cat, Jelli, she let him know exactly who was the boss, and would not put up with his attempts to become alpha cat.

Dana wrote an elegant eulogy for Zoe. I'll quote it in full here:

Zoe passed away just before midnight on Saturday, 11/20/2010. I’ve taken care of her since October or November of 1997, and known her for two years prior to that, when she (pregnant) followed me in to Andy’s house in Greensboro, NC. When Andy needed a place to stay in Nov. ’97, he moved in with me and brought Zoe. When he left, I kept Zoe. Her full name is Zoetrope Sugarsmack Rose Kepple Pietromonaco. She had lost massive amounts of weight and fur, and had become very frail.

I’m so glad her last few moments went quickly. I’d just seen her 15 minutes before and she was fine, and then Paul passed by her and heard her wheezing between long pauses. I held her, then Paul held her, and then he passed her back to me. She took a breath, shuddered, and relaxed, stretching her paws out just a little, as if getting comfortable for a good sleep. And that was it. We said our goodbyes, had Jelly touch her paw and see her without life in my arms. We then woke Rose and told her Zoe was having to go away and she should say goodbye, because Zoe wouldn’t be coming back. Rose woke up just a little, enough to put her hand on Zoe and say goodbye. I doubt she’ll remember that moment, but perhaps, if there was any thought left, Zoe heard it, and maybe Rose will internalize it somewhere deep down to know she was able to say goodbye to her kitty.

D

I'll add one more story. This morning, I was looking for these pictures of Zoe:





Rose toddled in to my office, and when she saw them on my screen, she said, simply: "That's Zoe. She's my friend."

She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

-Paul

Cupcake at Halloween

(from the A cupcake a day keeps the doctor away department)

Hi everyone,

Here's a video of Rose enjoying a well deserved cupcake. She's dressed in her "fairy princess godmother" for Halloween. We're at the University Village shopping center, during their Halloween celebration. Every Halloween, the merchants sponsor a trick-or-treat for kids. It's fun, but it's crazy busy with kids running around in costumes. Hence, the cupcake break.



This was shot 31-Oct-2010.

Cheers,
Paul

Blowing Bubbles at Sunset Beach

(from the Always Blowing Bubbles department)

Hi everyone,

Here's Rose and her uncle Nick sharing a moment blowing bubbles at Sunset Beach, NC. This was shot on September 2nd, 2010.

Doesn't Rose look like she should be in an old Shirley Temple movie? I think it's the sailor hat. We found that at a gift shop at Sunset Beach and she loved it. If we'd had her tap shoes with us, I think we could have starting filming a musical!

Cheers,

Paul

Surf's Up!!! Hurricane Earl passes by Sunset Beach, NC

(from the My Name Is (Hurricane) Earl department)

Hi everyone,

Shot some video this afternoon as Hurricane Earl passed by the coast. There was no danger here - Earl was far offshore - but the sea was definitely stirred up, and the surf was larger than usual.







UPDATE: It occurs to me that it might be useful to see what the normal surf looks like. Here's a video I took a few days ago on 30-Aug-2010.



Cheers,
Paul

The Ferryboat - A Ballet By Rose Pietromonaco

(from the Pirouette department)

Hi everyone,

This is a quick blog post of a video I found of Rose ballet dancing on the deck of a ferryboat. No deep meaning to it or anything - just some happy dancing. I think this was taken around May 31st or so:



Cheers,
Paul