A cat in a bag...?

A cat in a bag...?

No, not really...

What I'm sharing with you today

is a little bit of my (pictorial) story with my cat...

Most of all, it's about my tribute to my little fury friend,

who (literally) helped mend my broken heart

and has been my emotional support and best companion since J's death.
Um gato dentro do saco...?
Não, não verdadeiramente...
O que eu gostaria de partilhar hoje convosco
é um pouco da minha história (pictografica) com a minha gata...
Acima de tudo, é um tributo à minha amiga peludinha,
que (literalmente) ajudou a remendar o meu coração
e tem sido o meu suporte emocional e a melhor companheira desde a morte do J.

Don't get me wrong.

My family and my friends have been really supportive

for all those tremendous years of J's illness and passing,

not to mention all the really bad situations
I had to endure here along that path.

Do you know the saying that 's in moments of tragedy you really get to know who's really your friend...?, well, it is absolutely true.

Many years of total physical and emotional solitude,

with not much sympathy or help around,

I had to struggle to keep my sanity.
Não interpretem erradamente.
A minha família e os meus amigos têm-me apoiado muito
durante os anos terríveis da doença do J e da sua morte,
já para não falar de todas as horríveis situações que aqui tive de enfrentar
completamente sózinha durante esse percurso.
Conhecem o ditado que diz que é nos momentos de tragédia
que se ficam a conhecer os verdadeiros amigos...?,
pois é absolutamente verdadeiro.
Foram muitos anos de completa solidão física e emocional,
e sem muito simpatia ou ajuda por perto tive de me esforçar para manter a sanidade.

One of this blog purpose has been helping me

overcoming all those not so good circumstances of my life.

I think Pooh-Pooh has the same purpose

and I'm always amazed with her sense of loyalty,

dedication and friendship.
Um dos objectivos deste blog tem sido ajudar-me
a ultrapassar todas essas menos boas circunstâncias da minha vida.
Acho que a Pooh-Pooh tem o mesmo objectivo,
e fico pasmada com o seu sentido de lealdade, dedicação e amizade.

Yeah, I'm talking about Pooh-Pooh the cat... I don't think she would be more of a friend even if she was a dog.

That's why this blog post is dedicated to her.

To honour my friend pet and to show off the little brat she is,

I made her a scrapbook, which I'm sharing with you all.
Sim, estou a falar da Pooh-Pooh, a gata... não acho que ela poderia ser mais amiga
mesmo que fosse um cão.
É por isso que este post lhe é dedicado.
Para honrar a minha amiga gata e mostar como ela é mimada,
fiz um álbum,
que partilho aqui convosco.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed making it.

I'll see you all later.
Espero que gostem de ver o álbum, pelo menos tanto como eu gostei de o fazer.
Até breve!

For J

For J, my husband.

Today would have been his birthday.

 Also today is the 16th month anniversary of his death.

I love you, and I always will.

How my days have been...

While I was working this morning

everything I wanted to tell you just came out easy into my mind,

but now it kinda feels is not as easy as at first thought.

Where to begin...?

It has only been two weeks

since J was laid to rest.

And yet.. it seems it has been a long time ago.

And some other times

I still feel like I'm in a bad dream...

... and I will wake up...

... and every morning takes me a few moments to realize what's happening.

Memories, family and friends support,

and sometimes

my favourite musics have been helping me a lot.

Leonard Cohen was always one of my best favourites.

Two weeks ago this particular song gave me the strength I needed

to survive the day.

It got me really really close to J, like it always did.

My gratitude

to the wonderful Leonard Cohen!

I've been quite busy of course,

and thank goodness for that!

Last week I reorganized my home,

and put the master bedroom back together as it was back in 2004.

That gave me some peace, and brought back all the good memories

of our live together as it use to be before.

And because for the last six years I spent all my time in this room with J,

I've transformed it into my working room.

This is where I spent my days again,

and it makes feel secure and very close to J.

This next pic

is what I've been working on today,

some quilted Xmas ornaments.

This past week I've finished my grandson's quilt.

It's a belated Birthday gift,

but I was happy with it and I think he will enjoy it,

while wrapped around it to watch TV.

I've also finished

some small projects that had been laying around for ever.

I've also made a felt yellow Mr. Bunny for my sister-in-law.

She has that cute little bench

(a wonderful find at a garage sale)

she wanted to transform not into a time out bench

but into a sit and relax with me bench.

I'll ask her to take a picture

when she'll finish it and will show it to you.

And that's it.

I'll be talking to you all soon.

Memorial

It has been an year since I've started blogging in this space,

as an attempt to overcome some difficulties in my personal life.

As my friends and family and some of my online readers know,

my husband J had suffered a TBI back in 2004.

Since then we both fought very hard

just to give him the time he needed

to somehow defy the odds and maybe one day

the light of his soul would shine again in his eyes.

J was an extraordinary person and I never ever gave up on him...

...till the last 17 of August...

when I finally couldn't bare any more pain,

couldn't allow no more hurting, no more mistakes...

which finally cost us his precious life.

I've considered for a long time

and decided I would keep this blog,

not only because for me is a safe space of communication

but also it revealed itself

as a therapy when I needed to quit smoking,

and provided goals for my life,

and it worked as a outlet 

for the things I would make and create.

To all my family and friends

who gave me their precious hand and shoulder to cry...

my forever THANK YOU.

To all the others who will eventually read these so sad words...

from the bottom of my heart, a thought:

enjoy,

enjoy life

every single minute as it would be the last...

I did,

and for that I have no regrets.

To J, my husband, my friend, my love...

You'll live in me for always.