Good-bye Boo (our cat of 15 years)

We made a tough decision yesterday. Our 15 yr old cat went to heaven. Actually, she was closer to 16 yrs old.

16 years ago, my 'boyfriend' and I rescued two tiny black kittens. We named them Boo and Scam. We loved them so much. We decided they needed a brother, so we rescued a puppy, Bourbon. When my 'boyfriend' turned into my husband, then my children's father, those three animals were still apart of our family.
Scam and Bourbon passed away the past couple of years ago. Boo was the last one.

Boo, the cat that didn't care if Peck the pigeon was on her head. Boo reminded me a lot of Garfield, the cartoon cat. She just wanted attention (her terms only) and food. I bet she would've loved lasagna. People would comment on her beautiful black shiny fur and how 'big' she was. My kids loved how calm she was.

Lately, she refused to eat. She didn't want to move. It was depressing to see. When I called the vet, I didn't know how to explain it to them. "I need to see if my cat needs to go to heaven?" They had an appointment at 8:40 a.m. It was 8:00 a.m. I wasn't ready to rush to see if my cat was going to heaven. I picked the 10:40 a.m appointment.

I checked in at the reception desk. The women behind the counter, "You're here for a quality of life appointment?" I had to stop and think. Wow, that what it was, "quality of life". Although, I knew the answer, I nodded my head to receptionist. I bit my lip to stop the tears.
My 8 yr old daughter was sitting in the seat, holding the cat in a Spiderman blanket. I had to take my 10 yr, 8 yr and 4 yr old with me for a 'quality of life' appointment. My 4 yr old asked, "Is this heaven?"
"No, baby, this is not heaven. But this is where we will say good-bye, " I said.
My children were usually quiet. Unfortunately, they experienced Scam and Bourbon's passing.

I sat in the seat, tried to smile for the kids. I called my husband and asked him to come. Like always, he was better at handling those situations than I was. After all, he cleaned Boo's cat litter for 15 years, he was also close to her. Honestly, Boo loved him the most.

I waited and thought, "Don't call me in yet, my husband isn't here..." Just ONCE I wanted an appointment to be late, but it didn't happen. We were called in.

Boo was 5 lbs. She use to weigh 16 lbs.

My husband came in the room as the vet was explaining about our 'options'. That's when I cried. Should I have been stronger for the kids? I don't know. I just knew I needed to cry.
My husband made us go home. We all said our good-byes.

My husband said she went peacefully. My 8 yr old daughter said, "God is taking care of her now."

Good-bye Boo.

Christmas Cards Coming Soon

Yes, Christmas. Keep in mind it is best to take photographs Sept - Oct to ensure Christmas cards are hung on other chimney's EARLY.
Christmas card previews will be up soon. Just like custom photography, your cards are also customized. They are designed for photographers. Choose from unique sizes as 4x5's, 5x7 (front back), 5x7 folded even 5x5 designs. I've had many people request 5x5's trifolds because of its unique design. (Image will be posted soon).

Our pigeon is a girl...

My husband naturally assumed the pigeon that flew the front door was a boy. She flew in the house in January, and has been here since that warm Sunday afternoon. We've taken it to the vet to make sure she was healthy.

Fast forward to last week:

She was acting funny. We are use to letting her out of her cage. She likes to follow my husband around like a duck. She likes him. She will fly to him and land on his shoulders. Actually, she likes me too. I say, "Here kitty kitty." I snap my fingers and she'll come.

Last week, she was just grumpy.

She laid an egg! We were excited, and tried to figure out the last time she went flying on her own. We do get her wings clipped, but they grow back so fast. She will 'hang out' in the backyard with us. We are careful not to have the puppy or the kitten around. The 15 yr old cat could care less.

So I had to google about pigeons and babies. Two days later, she lays another egg. Again, we think... when was the last time she went out. We questioned everyone (the kids). Then we realized that the eggs were not fertilized. We were sad, but relieved. I had to explain to the kids about the birds and the bees .... well, maybe just the birds.

The eggs are about 1.5 inch long. We cleaned her cage and took out the eggs. She seems like her old self now. Of course, I had to take a photograph of the pigeon eggs.

Our new kitten...

He's 2.5 months old and hyper as can be. He sleeps anywhere at any given moment. The minute you carry him, he wants to sleep. If he's not sleeping, he's chasing the puppy.

Here's a quick snapshot of him... two seconds later he fell asleep on my messy desk (first photo).

A bugs life

Beautiful newborn

Why does custom photography cost more?

My prints do cost more than chain stores. Why does custom photography cost more? There is a great article written by Marianne Drenthe that explains what costs and time goes into custom photography.
Here's an excerpt from the article.

http://www.professionalchildphotographer.com/information/?p=6

TIME of the CUSTOM PHOTOGRAPHER:
Approaching it from a time standpoint, for instance let’s imagine if you will that you have hired a photographer who has work that you love and that is travelling an hour to your on location session. TIme break down:
*session prep time (30 mins - 1 hour, includes equipment and back up equipment checks + vehicle checks)
one hour travel time TO session
*15-30 minutes prep time at client’s home
*90 minutes-2 hours with client photographing subject
*one hour travel time FROM session
*30-45 minutes uploading time from digital cards from camera to computer
*30-45 minutes time spent backing up the original images
*2-5 hours editing time to present you with a diverse gallery of edited images
*1 hour prep time getting ready for ordering
*2-3 hours time with client for ordering images
*1 hour sorting through and checking order
*30 minutes-1 hour prep time for delivery
*30 minutes-1 hour getting order shipped
*any additional phone time or time needed for add on ordering, shipment issues, quality issues
As you can see, average client time for a session ranges from just under 13 hours to 19 hours dependent on the photographer’s level of service. This is time dedicated only to your session. When the photographer charges $150-$300 for the photo shoot you are not just paying for the two hours of session time, you are paying the photographer for 12-19 hours complete time for your session.


To read more about custom photography, please visit http://www.professionalchildphotographer.com/information/?p=6
For questions such as "What is custom photography?" "Why does custom photography cost more?"