Charon, the Odd Angel

A new weekly bit of joy here at Odd Angel dot com!

Every Friday I will be drawing an original design on a postcard and sending it to someone out there in Reader-land whose address I have. I am trying to keep the selection of address relatively random, but if I hear of someone having a particularly bad week or needing some love to help get through a rough spot they will be the preferred recipient for that week’s offering. Feel free to contact me with suggestions if you know someone who would enjoy a bit of color in their snail-mail!

Here’s what’s going out this week:

This all started with a suggestion by one of the Dixie Bikers that there should be a farewell / safe travels / see you later in the Spring party before Best Beloved and I headed back out on the road after a nice long stay in Southern Georgia. So our hosts offered up their home to do it and as the invitations were being composed I was struck with the inspiration that all the dishes brought for the pot-luck should be based in bacon (Mainly so I could eat most of them, but all dietary issues aside, it is a damn good theme for a pot-luck don’t you think?).

Best Beloved and I did our fire and swordswallowing show after the first rounds of the food and grill had been made. It was just the sort of show I adore, performing for a small but enthusiastic crowd not twenty feet away from us. The weather was absolutely perfect.

So the First Annual Deep South BaconFest was born (and yes, we’ve already bought the domain name … ). Here’s what we had on the table by half past 6 in the evening.

• Bacon-wrapped shrimp with pineapple (2 platters!)
• Bacon-wrapped scallops
• Bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with cream cheese
• Bacon wrapped jalapeno shrimp
• Potato salad with bacon dressing (2 platters!)
• Cheese and bacon cornbread
• Bacon-wrapped Anaheim peppers stuffed with cream cheese
• Bacon-wrapped jalapeno peppers stuffed with cheese (2 platters!)
• Pineapple-pepper jelly cream cheese canapés topped with bacon
• Chocolate covered bacon (2 platters … dark and milk chocolate!)
• Spring veggie pizza with bacon
• Bacon dip
• Baked beans with bacon
• Bacon wrapped asparagus spears with Parmesan
• Bacon candy
• Wasabi bacon
• Bacon-wrapped ribs (yes, you read that right … )
• Bacon cheeseburgers
• Sauteed apples with pecans and bacon
• Macaroni and cheese with bacon

What a marvelous feast on a full moon evening filled with friends, fun and fellowship. It was most definitely a high note on which to head back out onto the open road. We will miss you, Georgia and the Dixie Bikers too. But most of all, we will miss our hosts, Rowan and Wayne. Thank you for everything and for all that you do for us and for your community. We love you!

**** 1/7/2012 UPDATE BELOW****

As I held my dear little cat over the grass while he threw up for the third time I knew there were some hard decisions to be made in the near future. I placed him back in his cat carrier knowing that he would continue to be sick until exhaustion finally enabled him to turn into a weary little nekkid cat loaf for the rest of our journey. We were three hours in. We had another three hours to go.

Cesare never ever got carsick the first season we had him. He and Brundlefly both traveled very well and had no difficulties or complaints. But for some reason, at the start of this season, Cesare’s kitty constitution just completely gave up on him whenever he was put into the carrier and loaded onto the truck for a jump. He became absolutely explosive from both ends until he was emptied, worn out and miserable. Stopping every half hour to check on him did nothing to make his condition any better and contacting vet techs we knew resulted in suggestions for medication after all holistic solutions were tried to no avail. We had to stop feeding him before we knew a jump was coming, and while this stopped him from vomiting, it did nothing to halt the exploding bowels.

This last jump just before Christmas was the clincher. He was so very sick both days that he was visibly thinner when we arrived at our destination. Once in the house of our hosts, however, he slept for a bit, then took off at a dead run every chance he got. He played, he capered, he sampled everyone’s lap and purred so loudly we could hear him across the house. We hadn’t seen him this content and active since earlier in the spring. That evening we had a very difficult conversation about what we should do, knowing that if we made the choice to medicate him in addition to taking up his food prior to towing, we’d be doing so at least ten days per month, two days at a time.

Can you say “cruelly unfair” and “crappy life half the year”? We can.

We realized that to follow the aforementioned course of action would mean that we were placing our desire to have Cesare on the road with us and in our lives above his needs and his quality of life. We just couldn’t do it. Having a pet is a responsibility above all else, and we decided to honor our responsibility to Cesare by finding a situation that would give him a thriving quality of life with people who already knew and loved him and would continue to honor this same responsibility.

Enter Jena & Josh, a young couple getting ready to be married late this coming year. Jena is the daughter of our courtesy parking hostess and she and Josh assisted us greatly at our own nuptials in 2010. Jena also inherited her mother’s severe cat allergies, but wonder of wonders, Cesare is a cat she is able to cuddle, pet, play with and spoil rotten with showers of affection without the least bit of allergic flare-up. She and Josh spent a great deal of time with him and Brundefly and even talked about getting a sphynx of their own. We had spoken with Jena’s mother about getting her connected with Hadakat Sphynx Cattery to start the selection process, possibly as a wedding gift.

We remembered all of this so clearly as we discussed Cesare’s future and realized the perfect solution was right in front of us. We called Jena and Josh immediately. They discussed it and called us back within three minutes. Cesare will be going home with them the day after New Year’s Day.

It is very, very difficult to say farewell to a family member, but we know that Cesare will be going to a wonderful home, and we will definitely be seeing him every winter without putting him through pure travel hell. He will have an enormous house to run about in and people who adore him surrounding him.

It is the Right Thing To Do.

It is also Right in Brundlefly’s case. She was much more playful, humorous and relaxed before we acquired The Mump and in the times they have been apart, she has slid back into those qualities, rather than being suspicious of rounding every corner and feeling unsafe when putting her head down to eat. Cesare never really understood that not everyone enjoys being bounced upon 24/7, and Brundlefly spent much of her time being stressed out by him, reflecting this in her personality quite clearly. She was happier as an only cat and this decision is most certainly one that will improve her quality of life as well.

Sometimes the decisions that are best for everyone are the most difficult and truthfully this one is up there with some of the hardest we’ve ever made. But it is very much the Right Thing To Do.

We know The Mump will be healthy, loved, and very, very happy. And this, in the end, is what matters the most of all.

***1/7/2012 UPDATE***

The Mump is doing fabulously well in his new home, following Josh around from room to room and sticking close by Jena when she was under the weather late last week. He has some new toys and has already figured out the best spot to lurk while in the kitchen. We hope to have photos to share in the coming weeks.

Brundlefly is much more talkative, active and playful with us all. She chatters at birds, the laser pointer and the lizards that run across the front walk. It is obvious that she is much more carefree and cheerful and is acting much like her old self once more.

Thank you, everyone, SO MUCH for your love and support. This was ABSOLUTELY the Right Thing To Do.

We shall see. This is my first time posting from my phone. It could go badly. Here’s hoping the photo of my current backyard comes through.

***EDIT*** The photo made it to my library, but not attached to the post …. So here it is!

Hello there, and welcome to a free artwork download for your iPad or iPhone viewing pleasure! This piece was produced in conjunction with my nomadic friends Brian and Maria over at The Roaming Pint, and if you are a craft beer enthusiast you NEED to check them out.

So in the spirit of the holiday season and with all the joys and fabulousness that come when you collaborate with fantastic people in their endeavors, I give you  The Craft Beer Graphic!

Download to save as a wallpaper for your iPad or phone! RIGHT CLICK OR CTRL CLICK to view image, then right click or CTRL click to save to your desktop [Info: JPEG file - 768 x 1024]