Sunday Selections #304

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
 
Like River I usually run with a theme. This week?  Hopefully my tears won't short out the keyboard before I finish.  Monday was hot here.  Jewel went out briefly in the morning but was subdued and off her food when she came in again.  On Tuesday she was no better so we went to the vet.

X-rays and blood tests gave us dreadful news.  Jewel's kidneys had failed and she had a tumour on her bladder.  There was no hope and nothing we could do, so we made the dreadful (for us) decision to let her go.  And my tears have fallen in floods ever since.  Jazz misses her too.  And looks for her.  And calls her.  And cries.  Which makes me cry too.

So this week is all about Jewel.  Precious.  Beautiful.  And gone too soon.  

Jewel was a rescue cat, who had already been adopted and returned once before she came to live with us.  She settled into our home and hearts quickly, and while she has left the home she remains in our hearts.

And a huge thank you to those of you who have supported me as I wept.

Memories

Just after Easter 2004 my mother died.  The last five or six years of her life were difficult for us all as she descended into the depths of alcoholism.  She was sad, lonely and afraid and I grieved for the mother I had known and was angry, bitter and despairing.
After she died and I received my inheritance, I had two choices.  I could invest the money and put it away for the home modifications, medications etc I am likely to need (be sensible in other words).  Or I could use it to fulfil a dream.  Something I had always wanted to do, and had not thought possible.
SO I WENT TO ANTARCTICA.
I flew to Argentina - challenging because some of my medication is injected and it is very, very difficult to fly with multiple syringes these days.  Flew again to Ushuaia (where I was simultaneously fascinated and appalled when the other passengers applauded the pilot for landing safely) and boarded a Russian ice breaker for a 21 day tour of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Antarctic.

I spent the next three weeks in heaven.  I dislocated my jaw on a daily basis gaping at the sights around me.  One day I was really, really tired and thought I would have a quiet afternoon lying on my bed.  And when I got to my room we were floating past a large iceberg with penguins sliding down it, laboriously climbing to the top again and sliding back down to the sea.  So my nap ended before it began.

Baby King Penguin in its first moult

I was appallingly seasick and it didn't matter.  I have been sick before and I expect I will be again, but never in surroundings like that.
There are restrictions on how close you can go to the wildlife - but no-one told them about it.  I had a baby seal gumming on my knee and penguins pecking at my boots.

I took every chance I had to experience as much as I could.  Which is how I  swam at Paradise Harbour when the water temperature was 1.4 degrees C, and where I had to dodge floating bits of ice.  The next day I swam again - at Pendulum Cove in the flooded caldera of Deception Island.  The water was a little warmer there - but still brisk.  I hadn't realised that there was a volcano there.
I saw Shackleton's grave, and the graves of less famous individuals.

Very lonely graves at the Argentian base.

 And everywhere I went I was filled with awe and wonder at the beauty.  One day we travelled by Zodiac (small inflatable boats) through a version of Monet's waterlilies executed in ice.
We saw Humpback, Minke and Fin whales even though it was too early in the season for many of  whales to have reached Antarctica.  There were usually Albatrosses to be seen.  And Frigate birds.  And many others too.
It was obscenely expensive and I would do it again in a heart beat.

Adult King Penguin in all its glory

Magellan Penguins

Adelie Penguins

I have literally hundreds of photos and each time I look at them my heart wells with gratitude.  And the calm serenity and beauty of the trip gave me the impetus to take the first steps towards forgiving my mama and recognising the many positive things she gave me in life. 

Blissed out male Elephant Seal surrounded by his harem.

Taken at Midnight on my last night.  Midnight and Dawn both.

Suicide by cop

While reading my morning paper this morning I discovered that very early yesterday morning our police shot a man dead.  http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/man-shot-dead-by-police/2074772.aspx
And as I read further I discovered that the same man had been shot by police in September of last year in very similar circumstances.  And had apparently told police at the time of the first shooting that he wished they had shot him in the head.

While my heart goes out to the poor man's family and friends I am, if anything, more sorry for the police and their family and friends.  I don't as it happens have a problem with suicide and to open a new can of worms given our current laws about euthenasia sometimes it is people's only option BUT I don't think you should get other people be they police, train drivers or your family to do the deed for you.