jessicagallagher: (Default)

It's been so long since I've blogged. I realized this when I couldn't even remember what my blog looked like.

The other night my dear friend [livejournal.com profile] cloudwoven emailed me a link to her recent LJ entry, which pretty much just said I need to get my ass back on here. I promised her I would write this weekend, and so here I am.

I really don't even have that much to say, sadly. My life has become one big, long, sad rerun of "Groundhog Day". Work, home, sleep, repeat.

Things That Have Happened Recently
1. I lost my grandfather. After a long battle with cancer, my grandfather finally decided it was time to leave on July 1st. He would have been 90-years old on August 13th. He would have been married 69 years on August 29th. But he was tired. He fought a good fight.
So, not even a year after losing his second child (my aunt) to the same disease, he passed away. In ways it wasn't as hard to deal with as my aunt's death, simply because he had lived such a long, fulfilling life... But at the same time, he was my last grandfather, and I can't imagine a world without him in it. I visited him at the hospital the day before he passed. The doctors had told the family that we would probably want to see him soon. He was already drifting in and out of consciousness by the time I had gotten there. Lots of family were just sitting around, talking and remembering. Every once in a while talking to Gramp, touching his foot and making sure he was ok. He didn't really respond. It didn't even look like him anymore. In a week, he had deteriorated into some old, fragile man that I didn't know. My grandmother sat by his side while everyone conversed and just stared at him. Her hand on his, just waiting.
I was the last one he spoke to. I had to leave, and so I had walked over to kiss him on the forehead and tell him I loved him. I leaned in and yelled "it's Jessie Gramp. I'm going to leave now, ok? I love you." he didn't even open his eyes or move, except for his lips. I could barely make the words out, but I knew what he was saying. "I love you too."
It wasn't until the next morning when I got the call from my mother... And I knew before I answered what she was calling for. I had dreamed about this moment since his health had gone downhill. I answered the phone and just said "Hi..." It was silent for a moment and then I heard my mother's voice with all the strain and tears that I knew I would hear... And she just said "He's gone." and that's when she told me that I was the last one he spoke to. He never came out of the coma again after I had left.

2. We adopted kittens. on the brighter side of things, as you saw from my previous posts, the kittens have grown and we gave away all except two of them: Mr. Waffles & Lady Socks. My grandmother adopted one of the boys after Gramp had passed, which I was insanely happy about. She named him Chester, because her and Gramp had land up in Chester, Vermont all when my mother was growing up, and because they live on Chester Lane. Waffles and Socks definitely keep us our toes, climbing the drapes and attacking our toes in the middle of the night. But we do love them dearly. That means that we now have six cats, seven birds and a ten pound rabbit. Just call us the Gallagher Petting Zoo.

3. I went on vacation! [livejournal.com profile] leahcreates and I had been wanting to have a girls getaway for a while, and we had decided to take a long weekend vacation to the Cape. I hadn't been there in years and I really missed the ocean. It was wonderful and beautiful and I want to go back right now.

4. I walked away from Twitter. Which sounds like such a stupid "event" to log, but it had become such a huge part of my life that giving it up seemed like such a big deal. It's only been two weeks, but I honestly don't miss it much. Maybe it will give me more of a reason to write.

5. I am starting therapy again. After probably six or so years, I've decided to go back to therapy. The reasoning for this will be a blog post for another day, but my first appointment is tomorrow and I'm both excited and nervous about the outcome.

And there you have it. My summer in a nutshell.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPad.

jessicagallagher: (Default)
Because [livejournal.com profile] angrr has been begging, I'll post some kitty videos for your viewing (and squeeing) pleasure. I've been taking a bunch of random, pointless videos of these moving piles of fluff over the past few days because sometimes pictures just don't do them justice.





Day 4

Jun. 27th, 2011 06:02 pm
jessicagallagher: (Default)
Another kitten update! Day 4 brings nothing new to report. Kittens are still all fumbles and furriness... Nothing but eating and sleeping, but oh how cute they are even doing that!! Mama seems quite happy with them. I find it highly amusing when I hold one of the tiny little guys and when they start to meow, mama comes walking over - quite calmly - sniffs at her baby, and proceeds to pick them up by the scruff right from my hands and trot them back to her carrier.

Can't wait until they open their eyes and start to walk around. I am literally dying from anticipation!!



jessicagallagher: (Default)
babies!5
The kittens have arrived!!!


After what seems like forever, this morning was the special day. For the past week, every night when I got home from work I would throw my bag down, run upstairs and open the door to the library and look for babies. No such luck. Just a big, fat, tired mama laying in the middle of the floor looking at me expectantly. Every morning when my husband would wake me up, I would say - before fully even opening my eyes - "Go check on mama!" I would hear him walk down the hallway, open the door and say "...Nope, she's still fat."

But today. Today was different. And I knew it would be. I had a feeling.

This morning I woke up and did my morning routine of demanding my husband to check on the cat. I heard him open the door, pause and then say "...I don't see her..." That's all it took for me to jump out of bed - stark naked - and rush past him into the library. We looked around... Where was she?!?! Then I bent down and looked in the oversized carrier I had set up with sheets and blankets in it for her when she decided to let those babies out of her belly.

And there she was... With six babies!

"WE HAVE KITTENS!" I yelled. She got excited and came walking out, the last kitten still dangling from her lady parts, not even fully out of her yet.

I grabbed my cell phone and started snapping photos, even though they were mostly too dark to see anything. I immediately dialed my mom. It was only 5:20am. After a few rings, she picked up very sleepily - I had obviously woken her up. "WE HAVE KITTENS!" (I think I have overused this saying plenty today, honestly.)

It was about five minutes later, upon taking a closer look, that I noticed one of the babies wasn't moving. I poked at it... Still nothing. I picked it up... and it was stiff. The poor thing was still-born. I held him in my hands and looked at his little baby face and wanted to cry. I know we saved the lives of five potentially-healthy kittens, but my heart felt heavy with the loss of this little furry life.

We buried him tonight in a shoe box under our baby weeping cherry tree. It seemed fitting. We marked it with a big stone to remember where he will stay. Poor little baby.

babies!3
babies!2


This little guy (I keep calling them all "guys" even though I have yet to identify what they are) kept finding his way out of the carrier, away from mama and kept getting lost. He was meowing and screeching away every time I picked him up to put him back inside. He's going to be a wild one, I fear.

A midst the excitement of being a new kitty-mommy, I also was informed that my grandfather - who has been suffering from lung cancer that has returned to him at least three times over the past five years, and shall be 90 next month - was admitted to the hospital with blood clots in his lungs, and the lung cancer growing again. As much as it pains me, I almost want him to go. I want him to be at peace. He's been fighting so much and is suffering so greatly lately. I just want him to be happy again. I want him to go see his son and daughter, who he's lost to the same damning disease.

So... today has been filled with ups and downs - almost to the extreme - but I am thankful for being able to have the happy along with the sad. It makes life worth living.
jessicagallagher: (eyes)
WHERE ARE YOU BABY KITTENS?!?!?!

Seriously. You can arrive any day now. The stress of thinking you're getting eaten by your father while I'm stuck selling flowers to cranky old ladies is beginning to create ulcers in my tummy.

Plus I really want to see your cute faces.

SSDD

Jun. 16th, 2011 10:36 am
jessicagallagher: (feet)
There really isn't anything new to report, sadly. I was hoping by now I would be able to post pictures of little baby kittens and rave about how absolutely adorable they are. Alas, Phoenix is still one big fat mama. I have no doubt she's going to burst at any moment. The other night we visited her in her room, and I could see the babies moving around in her belly. When I placed my hand on it, one of them actually kicked me! The frisky little things. I can't wait to meet them. I know we will be getting rid of most - if not all - of them once they're ready to separate from mama, but I am going to have a hard time not naming them all and falling in love with them.

I have almost officially decided that Skyspun.org will be the landing-page for the rest of my online projects. Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] angrr for that suggestion, because it didn't even dawn on me! I'm looking forward to blogging more here and being a part of more photography communities. I'm getting my inspiration back, and I think that's the most important thing.

I'm sitting at work at the moment and completely procrastinating, which is something I've been doing for the past week. I have lost my will and motivation to actually work, which I blame on the nice weather and lack of organization I have here. I'm hoping that when I get my iPad (I'm hoping by next month!) I will be more inspired to be organized and on top of things.

And with that, the boss came back, so I must get back to looking busy.
jessicagallagher: (Default)

Remember when I said that cats just are the cutest thing in the world?  Ok, I may not have actually said it, but sometimes I think it... a lot.  And I believed it, until I saw that picture.  Because DAMN.  If that ain't the ugliest cat in the world I don't know what is.  If I saw that thing peeking at me in the window one night while watching television and eating my kettle korn... I may just die of heart failure.  Seriously.

I'm sorry kitty... but you're almost too ugly to love.

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Jessica Gallagher

October 2016

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