My Hitchhiker has thumbed a ride out of here

My Hitchhiker spinning wheel is starting on a journey to its new home today. The poor thing was terribly neglected around here. David at the Merlin Tree made it for me back in 2005 and I used it once. Sad, I know.

But things will change in its new home - Tracey will make sure of that.

Before anyone makes a big deal out of me giving a spinning wheel to someone I don't even know (except on online), let me tell you this is totally selfish on my part. It gives me a large thrill to make someone else happy, even if I've never met them in person. (I'm pretty sure she's happy about it, judging from the number of emails I've received.) Besides, Tracey was threatening to hire out her daughter as farm labor to raise the money for a wheel. I don't think the Monkey would go for that.

I hope if (or when) Tracey decides to get a newer, fancier wheel she'll consider giving this wheel to someone else that is desperate to spin. It seems appropriate that a Hitchhiker should travel.

The Story of Emy

Emy was born August 27, 2003 in a local park not far from our home - she was the runt of the litter. Her mother was a young tortoiseshell cat that was also born in the park. We know Emy's birthday so precisely because this park was home to a feral colony with two caretakers. Willa and Stanley were dedicated about keeping records of every birth, death and adoption in the colony. Willa gave the new kitten a name - LittleBit.


LittleBit/Emy had a single kitten early on. Willa told us about Emy's pregnancy - she was so small and short-legged that her tummy was practically dragging the ground. This was the only time that she allowed Willa to hold her on her lap. That kitten was caught in due time and was fixed and vaccinated. Unfortunately, the kitten escaped in Willa's neighborhood before she could find it a home and we don't know it's fate.


We first saw Emy when she was about 15 or 16 months old - it was only a swift glimpse, as she was extremely shy. We had been petting another more social kitty called Baby and Willa had told us all about the colony.


Willa called us a few weeks later - she had caught Emy because Emy had been limping and had taken her to the vet. Emy had been spayed and vaccinated - they couldn't find the reason for the limp though. Did we want to adopt her? Yes, we did. That's when she transformed from LittleBit to Emy.


Unfortunately, that limp she was exhibiting was due to abscesses - probably from a fight with another cat. Also unfortunately, that fight involved the passing of feline leukemia, a very nasty virus that hides in kitty bodies and really screws with kitty immune systems.


Emy recovered from the initial illness enough that she was able to be a happy, energetic kitty. It only took a few months for her to transform from a scared, under-weight, sick kitty to a happy, content kitty. She loved to play, especially with the little rubber balls - they were just right for her to pick up and carry around or to chase around the living room. She would sit in front of my husband and give him 'the stare', indicating that it was time to play now.

That insidious monster called feline leukemia was still lurking, though, and eventually caught up with her.

We will miss Emy's owl-like gaze, her manic chasing of laser lights, little rubber balls, bugs, and anything that moved. We'll miss her purr, her soft fur, her nudges. We'll miss everything about her.

Emy died July 3rd, 2007 and has joined Tux, Kissy and Frog out in the garden. She wasn't quite four years old.

It has taken me a week to write this post...it will take us a lifetime to forget her.