Decorating with Leah ......

...... is easy.  When your subject is so precious - it's hard to not make things for her.

My Mommy got me this handmade Amish doll cradle.  I filled it with some of Leah's favorite toys.  Her giraffe, Duckie, one of her many doll babies, and of course, Big Bird from the video.

Then I took a super cute photo of Leah with her giraffe:

And put it next to that toy:

And then I repeated it with Duckie on the other side:

I wish I hadn't had to wash Duckie so often - he (she?) is losing some of the yellow color and his (her?) fur isn't what it used to be.  I remember Leah used to pluck at the fur like a little monkey would to pick off bugs.

The cradle and pictures are in our room; on our TV hutch.


And this is still one of my favs; and I keep Jeff's cremation pendant on there for safe keeping:

And lastly .......... I recently ordered a new urn for a portion for my butterfly angel babies ashes:

So now we have 2 official urns for Leah.  Her teddy bear urn that sits on the mantle, and this one, that is by our bed.  Since the day we brought her ashes home I have kept some in the original container on my night stand.  I wanted to get something special to keep in our room so I could still have them close by while I sleep.  I've had this new urn for well over a week and yet .......

......... I still have the plain white box with her remaining ashes sitting on my night stand. 

All Cats Go to Heaven

Leah has a new buddy up in heaven.  A great big furry sweet-souled gentleman that can give her piggy back rides and let her use him as a pillow.  He'll probably even let her dress him up in pink tutus.

This big kitty is Thor.  Thor was one of my sister's cats.  I got to live with Thor for a couple years (back when I still lived at home) ..... I was there when she brought him home from the shelter.   He was half-shaved - something the shelter had to do to clean all the gunk off of him.  If I recall correctly he had both motor oil (from trying to find warmth on the streets of Camden, New Jersey in January inside the hood of a car) and gum stuck in his fur.  He had scars on his side that could have only been from a dog bite.  His nervousness at the mere sound of a dogs bark in the distance validated that.  

But he was a full-breed Norwegian Forest Cat. How he found his way to the mean streets of Camden is anyone's guess.  But he found himself a home with us.  He was lucky enough to go from the streets, to the shelter, to a forever home where he got to live the good life.

Thor passed away on Saturday - most likely from a heart attack.  He may have had a very gentle heart - but his little ticker always was a little malfunctioning.  A genetic defect perhaps.  But he was the definition of a gentle giant.  I can't recall him ever hissing at anyone or anything.  When the next rescued cat, Gwen came into the house, she jumped right up on a chair that Thor was sitting on and cuddled up to him.  He didn't raise one piece of fur in objection.  The other cats arched their backs and hissed at little newbie Gwen - Thor just let her cuddle.  While the other cats came around the embrace Gwen, she rarely left Thors' side - and she is currently heartbroken to have lost her friend - as is everyone who knew Thor.

But, just as they say all dogs go to heaven, I know all cats must go to.  Especially gentle giants with sweet souls like Thor.  Enjoy your rewards in heaven, Thor.  

'Hi Leah'

I don't feel silly admitting that every time I see a butterfly I say 'Hi Leah'.

And I don't feel silly admitting that the small cement slab that serves as our 'back porch' has been my crying spot.  Both when Leah was still here and after she passed.  It faces away from the house, towards the backyard and is the most isolated spot for crying that I could find.

Just now as I walked through the hallway toward the kitchen I saw something in 'my spot'.

Looking On The Bright Side

There are advantages of having a half-dead fruit tree and rotting fruit in your backyard.

This is our pear tree.  As you can see - it doesn't look so good.  And as the summer dwindles down all the fruit is tumbling down to lay and rot on the ground.  

Appetizing huh?

Here is a comparison to our neighbors tree in the background that still looks quite well:

Yeah, our tree just ain't the best.  And we've contemplated just axing it down.

This doesn't look, nor smell too good.  Even Sammie doesn't linger around the fruit too long - she sniffs - and moves on.

She'd rather mosey in the Morning Glories ....

Cute huh?

But enough of her - back to the rotting fruit, and the bright side of it.

The 'rotting fruit spot' has been the place to be if you're a bee, bug, moth .... or butterfly and you're in our area.

Close up!

Another close up!

So yes, our neighbors get to enjoy the site of their healthy plentiful pear tree - but we get to feed the butterflies.

Butterflies = Leah

Sorry I've been M.I.A. on here lately.  There hasn't been much to talk about.  I get up, go to work, come home, cuddle with Sammie, Hannah and Jeff, and then go to bed only to start the cycle all over again.  

Even the weekends have been uneventful lately as the work on renovating my bathroom continues ... and there have been more than a few hiccups along the way.  (No it still isn't done).  And I feel like this blog should just be Leah-centered.  So, while I say there's nothing really going on, it's more so that there's nothing worthy of Leah's space .... mayhaps a new Turnquist family blog is called for?

But in any event ...the weekend before last was pretty cool, with some Leah-connected things.  I traveled up to Philly to surprise my Daddy for his birthday, and Jeff traveled down to Virginia for his cousin Heathers wedding.  

I gave my Dad a couple of Leah-inspired gifts, and at Heathers wedding they did a butterfly release.  Of course it wasn't for Leah per say, but to me and everyone else in the family, butterflies and Leah will always be connected.  And she was also mentioned in the program:

And here are some shots of the butterfly release (which was a surprise for the bride and groom):