Heel 2 Heal

09/21/2024

Bea in a Box.

09/20/2024

We get to live here 🥲.

09/19/2024

Cuddly Kittens 🥰.

09/18/2024

The love just keeps getting lovier 🥰.

09/17/2024

In honor of Luca’s “Gotcha Day”, on this day 7 years ago, here are a handful of my favorite baby pictures of him 🥹💛. This day, and every day since, is a reminder that we (humans) are capable of not only surviving soul-crushing loss, but also to heal by the conscious choice to open our hearts to Love again. Even when it means the same crushing loss is inevitable. It is the infinite price we pay for the infinite love our dogs bring to our lives. Luca, you saved me from spiritual drowning, my sweetest love. You still do and always will. hearts

09/17/2024

Luca’s and my daily explorations of our beautiful, ever-changing wild environment, are the stuff LIFE is made of. Not just life, but LIVING. Every minute with him in our shared world is magical. Every minute with him is Everything.

09/14/2024

All Aboard the Snuggle Bus 🚌 🥰🥲!

09/14/2024

09/13/2024

There could be no better Friday night 😌.

09/12/2024

Just a fraction of today’s countless kitty pics.

09/12/2024

Luca’s Wednesday 💛.

09/10/2024

These first little touches… moments of fleeting-but-obvious initiations of contact and closeness by the kitties toward Luca…they are . I remember when Huckie was a baby, and I was afraid they would never bond. But then look what happened (🥺❤️‍🩹😔). I’ve had (and still do sometimes have) the same concerns with these two kittens…but I cannot force or rush anything, nor it is fair to have any expectations of their relationship(s) based on Luca’s with Huckleberry. I sure do hope - and believe - though, that this is only the beginning of these Three’s beautiful collective friendship.

09/10/2024

After weeks of obsessing about it virtually nonstop, these are the names I’ve settled on for our beautiful new family members. I should say, after weeks of obsessing, coming up with a million names for the boy that I really loved, but that never seemed to fit quite right when I would use them as his moniker, it feels like he chose his own name 🥰. You know how kitties are. P.S. enjoy my sister’s and my “kitty voice” written out phonetically 😊🖤🤎.

09/10/2024

Since before summer began, I have been counting the seconds until ends. The word RELIEF does not come close to how I feel when I think about how close we are to transitioning into Fall. That being said…I am eternally grateful for summers like this one in our beautiful neck of the woods - with a clean, algae-free Isabella lake, and a cold, *swimmable Kern River. (*we know the safe spots and are always extremely careful).

09/09/2024

🎶 We Are Family 🎵 🧡🤎💛🖤

09/08/2024

The very first cuddles 🥹😭❤️‍🩹.

09/07/2024

A lot of great classes happening this month! Check it out www.RiverstoneWellness.org

09/07/2024

EVOLUTION OF CAT NAMES: First of all, how have these two grown and matured so much in one week!? They are both incredibly special and I feel SO LUCKY to get to be their person 🥹. So, before they even came home, I had decided to call them Bumblebee and Blackbird. While I truly love both of these names, Bumblebee, I feel, is actually a Bea. I’ve always loved the idea of naming a pet after Bea Arthur, (many of you will remember the service pup I raised and trained and named after Betty White ☺️). Anyway, I guess that means her full name is Beatrice vs. Bumblebee. I think it suits her quite well 😌. I’ve been calling our gorgeous boy Blackbird, or Birdie. But…something about it doesn’t fit his personality. I’m not sure how to explain why, because, “on paper”, it makes sense. But maybe because Bea is a human name, perhaps he needs a human name too? I’m not married to any type of name in particular, but I would love to hear your ideas! I will tell you the couple I am strongly considering though, and feel free to share your thoughts on these as well: 1. “Jim Hopper” (after Chief of Police Jim Hopper of Hawkins, Indiana 😉); this would be doubly cool, because not only is it a shout out to , but the original name the kiddos gave him when he was born was “Lil Jim”. I am also a huge Jim Carrey fan, so there’s that. I like that I could call him Hopper, Hop, Jim, Jimmy, etc.). 2. Nimbus, which of course is not a human name, but rather the word for a dark, precipitous storm cloud. Dreamy! I could also call him Nim, which reminds me of , the chimp at the heart of the first chimpanzee sign language study. Give me your best ideas! Thanks! 🐈‍⬛🐾.

09/06/2024

It’s been a whirlwind of kittenness around here for the last (hard to believe it’s been only one) week tomorrow! These two kitties are incredibly special. So loving, affectionate, funny, purr-y, snuggly, playful, beautiful, darling, social, and well-mannered! No fear, even of my (very LOUD) Ninja Creami ice cream maker. Friendly with my neighbors (who are strangers to them). I started out keeping them in their “apartment” (AKA giant crate) any and every time I left the house, even for a few minutes, to be sure they wouldn’t destroy anything or get themselves into trouble (though I have gone to painstaking lengths to be sure there is nothing unsafe for them to get into). Now, I feel quite comfortable leaving them free in the house, as they have shown me they can manage it! They are always tucked away sleeping in my closet when I return home 🥰. Here are just a small handful of the hundreds of pictures I’ve taken of them… the last one being my favorite, as it shows the very first moment I’ve seen Bea invite Luca to playfully interact. Unfortunately it’s blurry, but it makes me feel so hopeful that - even though they are super close as litter mates - Bea and Blackbird will bond with Luca over time. I mean, how could anyone NOT bond with Luca!? 😅🥰💯

09/04/2024

In case there was ever a question as to Luca’s “angel status”.

09/01/2024

I can’t keep up with the cuteness. It is literally overwhelming. I want to share everyyyythingggg but am unable to find the right medium, or get anything else done!! I need a 24/7 kitten cam!! &Birdy . P.S. I am spelling BumbleBea’s name this way because she is on some level named after Bea Arthur 🥰😊.

08/31/2024

08/31/2024

Bumblebee 🐝 & 🐦‍⬛ are Home 🚌💟💯.