Pretty is

...My Life and Style

You are here: Home / Home

Little Kitty Little Kitty

LB and I have been grieving the loss of our little Elvis since he passed away.  I randomly break out in tears and sometimes imagine that I see him; LB has missed calling “little kitty little kitty” every time we come home.  After the busyness of the holidays passed I was missing Elvis really bad.

There was a kitty shaped hole in my heart.

I started stalking the Humane Society website to find a kitten.

Then Richard and Emily told me about a kitten under their house and borrowed Amanda‘s cat trap to try to catch it.

Last Saturday they caught the little black kitten.

LB and I went to their house to get it, but not knowing the rules of cat capture I accidentally let it go. We all went out to breakfast together and then LB and I went to the Pet Supermarket to buy kitten food and a litter box.  I figured the kitty would be needing breakfast again the next day and this time I would take the whole trap home with me.  Fully expecting to hear of another capture I had picked out the name Ozzy if it was male and Lisa Marie if female.  Day after day passed and still no kitty.

~

When I saw a little black kitty (whom they named Ozzie) on the Humane Society’s website, LB wanted to take me to see him.

Meet Ozzy

He was about 10 weeks old and weighed just over 2 pounds.

Richard and Emily tried for several days to trap the kitty under their house, but I don’t think the little fella will fall for it again.

Meanwhile, our new little kitty has kept us on our toes.

There will never be another Elvis, and my heart still hurts for him,

but it is nice to have a furry little presence in the house again.

 

 

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

My Best Friend has Four Paws

One year, for my birthday, my sister gave me this coffee cup…It was true.

My little Elvis was a friend like no other.  He was a full time job, but he was no work at all.

It was in May 2025 that he began to have some physical problems.  We took him to the vet right away.

Dr. Bradberry ordered:

  • Catalyst Chem 17
  • CBC w/Diff.
  • t4/SDMA Catalyst Test
  • Electrolyte test
  • Urinalysis-Sedivus/UA/Bact Confirmation
  • Fluids
  • Cerenia
  • Pepcid
  • Gabapentin
  • and a prescription for a new special cat food.

She found nothing wrong with his heart, kidneys, or liver and she was very specific about his kidneys and liver.  After that visit, Elvis stopped vomiting and seemed to be okay until July.  We went back for another cerenia injection and fluids.

 Right after Labor Day he began showing signs of swelling in his abdomen.  This time we saw Dr. Thoma.  She ordered the Catalyst Chem 17 again and afterwards gave us the bad news.  His liver was failing.  She asked me if I would consider euthanasia, to which I shook my head.  Never would I give up so easily on my beloved baby cat.  I asked if there was anything I could do to save him.  So she drained the fluid in his abdomen and wrote 3 prescriptions:

  • Furosemide liquid (2x daily for fluid retention)
  • S-Adenosyl Methionine liquid (2x daily for liver support)
  • and Mirataz ointment (1x daily in the ear for increased appetite).

We went through several different brands of food to find something Elvis would eat.  His interest would pique and then fall away leaving me to start over.  Eventually I would spoon feed him.

There would be 2 more visits to Dr. Thoma because of fluid buildup.  Then Elvis began to refuse his medicine.  I would roll him up like a burrito and if I managed to get the medicine in him, he would eliminate it as soon as I put him down on the floor.

After much urging from my daughters, I finally made an appointment with San Jose-Beauclerc Animal Clinic and took Elvis to see Dr. Holly on November 26th.  Amanda came along.  The vet requested Elvis’ records from his previous appointments and ordered more tests.  Dr. Holly advised me that Elvis had possibly one of these three conditions:  Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), GI Lymphoma, or Liver Cancer.  She said we could make him comfortable, but it would only give us [maybe] a few weeks with him.  She prescribed Prednisolone (2x daily).  I’m not sure why but was a lot easier for him to keep down.  Probably because it didn’t smell like old meat.

We spent the rest of his days doing whatever Elvis wanted to do, which was sitting out on the patio

or being in my arms

…sometimes all night long.

On Monday following his last appointment I noticed blood in his litter box.  I called Dr. Holly.  When she returned to the office she called back and let me know what I already knew.

Elvis passed away while we were sitting in our spot on the sofa.

It was Sunday December 7 around 5:45 PM.  LB and I will never forget that day.

The reason I’m putting this in writing is to remind myself that I did everything that I could to save my sweet little cat.

I loved you your whole life and I’ll miss you for the rest of mine.

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Sweet 16

My baby is sixteen years old today!

Elvis has been with me since he was three months old.

It was December 12, 2009 and my plan was to give my oldest daughter Stephanie a kitten for Christmas.  LB and I went to the Humane Society and looked at all the adorable kitties that were living there.  Some of them were in crates; some of them were playing together in the Kitty Cabana.  As we walked into the Kitty Cabana I noticed one little black fur ball scurry behind a kitty play set. Of course I went after him.  Given the fact that he was so skittish, I was surprised that he let me pick him up.  Not only did he let me pick him up, he let me hold him close and snuggle.  I had found a winner.
We took him home.


My plan was to keep him for the next several days before Christmas and then take him to Stephanie on Christmas morning.

It was only a few days that he was with us and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to part with him.


The decision was made that I would keep Elvis and go back to the Humane Society for another rescue.

 

Exactly one week later, we went back and adopted Aymie.  She and Stephanie are inseparable.  Aymie is obviously a good sport.

~

If you have a kitty in your life, you know just how special he can be.

Elvis used to go everywhere with me.  Now he is a homebody.  He tolerates no visitors and hides under the bed as soon as he is aware that company has arrived.  To most people, he seems very unsociable.
However, when he detects that his mama has arrived home, he comes running.  He then leads me to the living room for some hello-let’s-have-a-brush time.

Elvis sleeps on my bed at my feet. He is anxious for me to get up in the morning and has been known to sit by my head and pat my nose. His favorite time is when I’m sitting in my living room chair letting him sleep on my lap. 

He is sleeping on the recliner next to me as I type this post.

He is just a precious little fur ball, and I’m so happy to have him in my life.

Happy Birthday Elvis!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Beach Vacay 2025

This week I was surprised with an impromptu vacation at Crescent Beach.

LB has a friend who has been trying for some time to have us visit his beach condo.  Being the generous friend that he is, he provided his Summerhouse beach condo to us the first week of September from Thursday through Tuesday.

Summerhouse Beach & Racquet Club

I was a little hesitant to leave Elvis since he hasn’t been feeling well, but we made it work and thoroughly enjoyed our time away.

We arrived a little late on Friday and brought our things inside.  LB took several photos…

Once we were settled in we took a walk on the beach.  At the time I had only seen the beach at high tide.  I was concerned that Crescent Beach didn’t have much of a beach, but it would turn out to be better than I thought.

Then we went to dinner at the Elkhouse Eatery, which was a recommendation from LB’s friend.

 

~

On Saturday we set out early to find a nice place on the beach.  The low tide provided plenty of space to choose a good spot.  We set up our chairs and umbrella and found that we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

There is no better beach than a private beach!

Unfortunately we stayed out in the sun too long and found that we were both a bit more pink than we wanted to be 🫠

In addition to the amenities on the grounds, there are several great places to go out to eat. On Saturday night we went to Taco Libre for dinner and on Sunday we enjoyed a breezy evening at Finn’s Beachside Pub.  Each of our dining out experiences get 5 stars.  The Summerhouse Beach & Racquet Club gets 5 stars too.

The condo was lovely, the beach was lovely, and each day of our vacation was lovely.

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

It’s Friday and I’m at home!

This past week was an exciting week and I have a few favorites that I’ve selected to share…

Last Friday LB and I headed to Captiva Island Inn for a vacation to celebrate my birthday

Favorite #ONE

Captiva Island

We made it in time to have dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant before catching the sunset!

Another restaurant on Captiva Island is the Mucky Duck which has been closed since the devastation that came to the island during the 2022 – 2024 hurricanes.

Many places are still in desperate need of repair.

~

Favorite #TWO

Mudbugs

Mudbugs is an adorably decorated Cajun restaurant that we happened upon while touring nearby Sanibel Island.  We didn’t sample the crawfish, but LB was able to have his fill of oysters while I enjoyed blackened fish.  Also while exploring Sanibel, LB and I found several cute shops.

Favorite #THREE

Beach Daisy

a lovely little shop where I found a lovely little summer sweater and pendant.

Someday I will post an OOTD pic wearing this!  In the photo above, I’m sitting in bed surrounded by all of the birthday gifts LB presented to me on June 1st!  Speaking of birthday gifts…

Favorite #FOUR

Birthday Gifts

This is what I was awakened to.

When I got home, I laid everything out for a more impressive photo…

I’m spoiled forever!

~

As we do nearly every year, LB and I attended one of our favorite concerts on Thursday

Favorite #FIVE

Happy Together

This year’s performance included the Cowsills, the Vogues, Gary Puckett, Little Anthony, Jay & the Americans, and, of course, music by the Turtles.

Just for fun I created a YouTube playlist that I’ve included below

I hope you enjoy!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog!

May was a Great Month

If you’ve read any of my posts, you know that I did not like my job.  I’ve been free of that obligation since March 22nd when the company officially closed my office (2 months and 6 days). And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it!

LB and I began working in our yard right away.  We have added a well, a sprinkler system, a custom fire pit, and gas lines to support the pool heater.  Working in the hard has just about worn us out, but in May there were more opportunities to get out of the yard and have fun elsewhere.

We started with a Cinco de Mayo party with the “party people”.  Here you’ll see our attempt at a Cinco de Mayo selfie…

I think LB and I were the only ones having a good time LOL!

Dinner included a taco casserole that was SO good.  That recipe can be found here.  Even though it was delish, there was so much food and leftovers were plenteous.  The kids came over the following night for Taco Tuesday.

After dinner they had a great time playing in the sand

 

Especially Lydia!

The following day we had to take Elvis to the vet.  This was not a happy occasion and Elvis made sure we knew it.

It turned out that the nausea medication and fluids were all he needed to set him straight.  Currently there is nothing seriously wrong with him 🥰 🐈‍⬛

Next came Mother’s Day.  There were fun presents and pedicures and a lovely luncheon at Mama’s house.

~

Baseball season gave LB and I an opportunity to spend more time with the kids and be thoroughly entertained watching children play their little hearts out.  Lydia played for the Slammers [I think].

She enjoyed herself and did a great job!

IMG_5875 2

 

This little one and his “bock bock” spent some time sitting with Glammy in the shade because the bleachers were just too hot.

 

~

Memorial Day

came and we had to have a pool party.  All the kids had fun swimming and making sure the pool stayed filled with water.

When LB left his post by the faucet, Zeke followed him to the yard for a refill.

~

A very special event took place in May: Rory made a decision to follow Jesus and was baptized.

~

We ended the month with a mini birthday vacation to Captiva Island.

Like I said, May was a great month!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog!

Taco Casserole

It is

Cinco de Mayo

so LB and I have invited the party people over to celebrate!

I’m making dinner and one of the menu items is a

Taco Casserole

This Taco Casserole is a beefy, cheesy, flavor-packed dish that’s perfect for taco Tuesday or any Mexican themed gathering! Made with layers of deliciousness and favorite taco toppings, this easy one-pan dinner packs a wallop and will have everyone coming back for seconds!  The recipe is worth saving!

Taco Casserole

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients
For the Casserole:

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 packet taco seasoning (or homemade)
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies (like Rotel)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn (fresh, frozen, or canned)
1 cup salsa
2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, or your favorite)
3 cups corn tortillas or 3 cups crushed tortilla chips
½ cup sour cream

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.

In a large skillet, cook the ground beef and diced onion over medium heat until browned. Drain excess grease.
Stir in the taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, salsa and sour cream. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spread half of the corn tortillas or crushed tortilla chips on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Layer half of the beef mixture over the chips.
Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheese over the beef layer.
Repeat with another layer of tortilla chips, beef mixture, and cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Let the casserole cool for 5 minutes, then dollop with sour cream and sprinkle with your favorite toppings (diced tomatoes, sliced jalapeños, chopped cilantro, avocado or guacamole, extra sour cream)

prettyis.me

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog!

Connect