Do you believe in angels?  I certainly do.  I have been very fortunate in my life time to have witnessed, and experience the grace of their work in their miracles. Angels are always ready to go to work and help all life forms on earth, their only criteria is to be asked.

About a month ago as I was getting ready to crawl into bed, I had a vision.  It was a scene that flashed by like a movie, one that involved my mother.  The vision, was of mom walking on the sidewalk in the middle of a cold winter night, with something in her arms and a strange blue flashing light surrounding her.  She had nothing but her shoes, pants, a couple of t-shirts and a hoodie on.  You might think that this is no big deal, but it is when it's minus 30 outside.  This vision disturbed me, and left me feeling alarmed and concerned.  You see mom lives in a supportive housing complex in a small town outside of Winnipeg and suffers from dementia.

After I received the vision I decided to *heartlink with the angels and ask Archangel Michael for his guidance, and surround my mother with protection.  I asked the angels that if by the grace of God it was time for my mother to leave the earth, then let it be so, but not in a grueling death, by freezing to death; let it be gentle and kind in a way that it is easier for her and for the souls, her friends, family and grandchildren that are left behind.

24 hours later from the time I had this vision, I received a call from my sister at 3:30 a.m.  That awful dread came creeping into my solar-plex as you know nothing good comes from a phone call in the middle of the night. My sister informs me that she is at the hospital with my mom.  Mom had been spotted by a street cleaner walking along the sidewalk with nothing but her shoes, pants, a couple of t-shirts and a stuffed cat in her arms.  The "Earth Angel", street cleaner, got into his truck, and convinced my mom to get in, where he then took her to the hospital. 

Here is what we know for sure.  Mom managed to exit her residence in Ste. Annes around 1:45 a.m. and walked all the way to the Co-op.  This is probably a 3/4 mile walk.  She was brought to the hospital around 2:30 a.m.  For 45 minutes she was in -30 weather, with nothing but her pants, shoes and t-shirt on.  When she arrived at the hospital she was disoriented, but her toes, fingers, ears and nose were warm.  By the grace of the angels, mom did not suffer any effects from the cold.

When my sister was done telling me about the details of mom's adventure I was in awe.  I then told her of my vision.  I said: "But what was the blue light,I can't figure out what this weird flashing blue light was?".  My sister then replied; "the blue light is the light on top of the street cleaners machinery".

There are no words to express the feelings, the rush, the gratefulness, the relief that no harm had come to mom; no frost bite, no effects whatsoever.  It simply is unfathomable.  I know that Archangel Michael illuminated his blue protective shield over my mother and worked through this street cleaner.  I know that on that night a miracle took place and by the grace of God my mother was spared a grueling death.

If I ever had any doubt about angels in the past, I can tell you that all that doubt is gone, for I do BELIEVE in ANGELS!

PS
If you are reading this story and you know someone who knows someone who was that man who saved my mom that night.  Please have him contact us, for my family would really love to say thank you to him personally.  Please share!

*Heartlink:  a process in which you make a connection from your heart to the angels.  I teach this in my "Healing with Angels" course.

-I've done a few strange things in my day, and always open to trying them.  Recently, my husband and I slept with sliced red onions at our feet.  Yup you heard me right!  But you just don't wake up one morning and decide ah sweetie I think we will sleep with onions tonight.  Of course not!  You'd have to lock me up in the loony bin if that was the case.  However, let me take you back a few years. 

For a couple of years now I have observed Grant's health in the decline.  His love of life had faded.  His energy level washed away.  His enthusiasm for music even seemed to be blown away in the winds.  I'd sit and watch, forever the observant and when I tried to approach the subject of his health he denied that anything was "really" wrong.  Deep down inside my intuition told me something was up.  I even had two psychics tell me that he was sick.  But when you are so close to someone it's hard to communicate your concerns without appearing like some annoying nag.   Some of hardest lessons to learn in life is to let someone walk in their own shoes, in their own journey, on their own time especially when you have a deep connection of love with that person.

Every chant, every drumming, every meditation, every shamanic journey, and every prayer I asked the universe to grant me the courage, the patience, the compassion and most importantly, I asked for a gentle, graceful wake up call for Grant.  And without fail, the universe delivered.

On a morning in September 2016, Grant came out of the shower, and I noticed that he had skin rings all over his body.  I knew what it was right away for I had been in contact with this when I was a teenager.  He was covered in ring worms also known as tinea. I was really horrified at the site, and I knew that something much more severe was going on with his health.

I'm not going to go into what tinea is or is not, because this is irrelevant at this point.  Simply note it is a symptom of something much bigger.  And Grant's gentle wake up call to really look at his health.

And so a new chapter begins in bringing Grant's temple, his body to a new level of health.  I say new because you can never go back to what was.  Our bodies are in constant change of renewal.  There is no going back!  What we have is what is forward, what is new.  You literally create your temple by means of breath, sleep, food, thoughts etc. We are also the healers of our own bodies.  We have control over a healthy body, mind & spirit.  No one else does!  So it's important to understand that when you are not healthy, you alone with the power of will can make the decision to do something about it.  No one else!

With a heart filled with gratitude I thank Grant for making the decision to do something about his health. A new path has been taken on the road to a life of "energized being" in 2017.

So what about those onions you ask?  Don't worry I'm getting there.  Grant and I are not fans of the "Western" medical system and lean more towards the "Eastern" philosophy.  So with the Eastern approach we knew that the tinea was simply the result of something much much more...but what?  Fortunately, for us we are well connected to many different healer practitioners, and immediately I knew we needed to go see our good friend Purnima Chaudhari.  Purnima is an Ayurveda specialist.  She has many many years of training in this field and with a simple pulse assessment she can determine the levels of imbalances you have in all of your doshas and sub-doshas.  In my opinion this is more thorough then a visit to your MD who is overworked, has no time and has no clue what is wrong with you.  They focus on the symptoms and send you off with a cream or worse a pill.

We quickly changed our diets.  Dealing with the first imbalance; too much sugar in the body feeds the tinea (fungi - candida).  The key to a healthy body is a healthy digestive system.  We eliminated all sugar, the white stuff, the fruits, and starches.  We also cut out all wheat and anything fermented.  Grant had to say good bye to beer!  We needed to pay attention to when we ate and what foods hit the belly first, along with pre-biotics and pro-biotics.

After 4 months of being mindful of what was going into our bellies, Grant made the decision to give up cigar smoking.  That one was a little tougher then giving up beer.  But I admire his willingness and courage.  I myself have a really hard time giving up the sweets and chocolate.  And so we are getting closer to the onions.  After our last visit with Purnima, Grant's imbalances had much improved, but because of the cessation of cigar smoke many toxins were swimming along in his body looking for a ride out of the body.  With essential oils and transdermal creams applied to the spine and liver Grant started a painful process of ridding himself of the many, many toxins his temple was host to.

And so the onions.  Grant spent New Years Eve deathly sick in bed with a high fever, shivers, severe chest coughing, hacking mucus, loss of appetite, weakened, and shriveled to skin and bones.  Anyone who has walked along someones illness knows the desperation as an observer you feel.  I tended to his hydration, change of clothes, sheets, medicines and encouragement that he would get through this...and then the onions.

Another wonderful friend, Marina (my wonderful friend from the Fay)  suggested to slice up onions and sleep with them in our socks.  The onions would help break the fever and pull out the toxins in his body.   She also recommended that I do it as well, for I have been inhaling his germs and my immune system would be compromised.

So night time came and I looked at my husband and said: "you are going to laugh, maybe think I've lost it completely, but would you be willing to sleep with onions at your feet tonight?  It might help you break your fever and get you on the road to recovery".  He looked at me and said "Whatever Carole".  Okay let's do it.  And as we went to bed that night.  We laughed!  It felt silly even a little bit crazy.  But then who are you talking to?  I am crazy and willing to do what it takes.  That night I felt like chicken soup was cooking in the sheets.  We managed to ward off the cats, vampires and the fever.

We are grateful for those who aren't afraid to share their tips and tricks.  We are grateful to those who chanted for us.  I am grateful for Grant who doesn't always question why we do the things that we do.

I know one thing is for sure.  I will never look at onions in the same way again!

When you look around, one can truly see magic and beauty everywhere.  We are surrounded by the divine’s gifts of nature, kindness, and creativity.
 
There is a place I can call home situated in the eastern regions of Manitoba.  Carefully situated on the banks of the Whitemouth river, where a meandering, gentle flowing waterway, reminds you that life is simpler and easier if you allow yourself to be carried by the current of the river. The river is guarded by some ancient tree beings, protecting the sacred waters that give us life.  Warriors of a different kind never tired of their quest.
 
My bald eagle clan greets me even if it’s for just a fleeting moment.  We honour and respect each other by the acknowledgement of being present.  Here, my daily life and responsibilities melt away like a shadow in the mists of a fog.
 
We are greeted each morning by the rising sun with spectacular skies of unimaginable colors.  And our feathered friends show their excitement by singing and dancing in the branches; waiting to greet us for a new day.  In the evening, when it is time to slow down the sun makes it’s way to the West sprinkling hues of  pink, orange, yellow and purple.  A vista that never gets tiring for me as it only inspires me.
 
The moon beckons me, a time to honour the divine feminine within me.  A time to empower, create and set intentions.  She envelopes me with her nurturing rays, carrying me through some of my darkest times.  Here, in this place I call home, the moon’s energy is nothing short of miraculous;  precious, gorgeous, outrageously immense. I always have a great sense of being blessed to be in her presence.
 
Within this space, if you look carefully, you will notice the little things that make this a special home.  Sprinkled with inspirational quotes that require you to take note.  Angels and fairies are neatly tucked in places you don’t expect giving you the sense that you are not alone, never alone!  Reminding you that the divine is always within.  Your guardian angels are by your side day and night, waiting for you to ask, ask for their help, ask for their guidance, ask for their grace, beauty, radiance, peace and love; always ready, always present.  Open your heart to the possibilities of magic, magic of fairies.  They wait to bring you joy and laughter as they flutter from plant to plant, and tree to tree.
 
I am honored that the creators of this space, guided by their light are my friends who open their hearts to greet, meet and love me no matter what.  This is a special place I like to call home.  A place I like to come when I need to reconnect with my higher self in order to truly find my way home, the oneness of our universe…LOVE.

 
 

This month is filled with new beginnings!  I introduced a whole new series of yoga and meditation mini workshops, wisdom shares and mini day retreats for small groups.  How exciting and scary to start new things.

We come up with these great ideas and think WOW wouldn't it be so cool to do this and do that...and then you get caught up in the creation of it all and build excitement.  Then that little voice pipes in and says; " who are you kidding no one wants what you have to offer".  Urgh I really despise that voice.  As much as I want to capture it and put it in a box and bury it so that it never sees the light again, my kind heart says this is no way to treat your ego.  So I kindly nudge the ego and say; "listen if it is meant to be it shall be, let's just give it a try and see". 

Fear is a pretty big monster in all of our lives.  We give it so much power, yet we don't necessarily make the connection that we are the ones that feed it!  Silly isn't it?

I'm getting better at not feeding the fear, and really focusing on what makes my light shine.  For some what we offer at the Calder House may seem out of the ordinary and others see it as beauty.  Whenever I'm feeling doubt, a kind soul will send me a message and tell me that they love what I'm doing, they feel inspired, and wish they could participate to all.  I pause and think yes thank you so much, for your support, and for sharing.  Timing is always perfect.

Don't let your desires, your dreams, your longings be smothered by fear.  You are meant to be useful in this lifetime and your gifts are in your desires.  Gently push the fear out of the way and remind it that it has no place here and now.  After all you are holding the remote control.

How does one gracefully walk alongside someone who has just been diagnosed with cancer?  We all fear to some degree that big ugly disease called cancer.  We all know someone who has either died or survived it.   So what do you do when you find out someone close to you is suffering from this disease?

My journey begins on September 18th, 2015 when my sister called me to tell me her husband had been diagnosed with lung cancer....silence

It's like hearing a bomb going off.  A hundred thoughts come flashing through the mind with a thousand questions.  As you stand in shock, you struggle to keep your center and say something supportive and intelligent.

Good morning!  It's a brand new day and a new canvas to be painted!  First order up BELIEVE in miracles cause you are going to make them happen!

Today my sister takes her husband to Health Science Centre Cancer Care to be admitted. 

Imagine you are leaving your home and you truly don't know if you will ever step your feet back in your home again.  You have no idea what to expect, you feel nothing but FEAR, CONFUSION, SHOCK, EMOTIONS, SADNESS, DESPAIR, HELPLESSNESS, ANGER and the same question keeps repeating itself in your mind WHY ME?

Another new day.  Word for today is UNDERSTANDING.
Lots of information coming to you today; listen, discern, question and pay attention to how the information makes you FEEL.  Second opinions are your right.
Love you both

Today my sister watches her husband receive a barrage of tests; everything from Xrays, blood tests, drainage tubes. intravenous, exploratory surgery and a lumbar tap.

Imagine witnessing a man who has never had any health issues, to seeing him pulled in one direction to another, seeing a body used like a pin cushion.  A man, proud and strong sitting in his hospital gown, feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed with fear.

Top of the morning to you both.
Today's powerful word is TRUST.  Trust in the skills of the doctors and nurses who will be doing the surgery and treatment today.  They have spent their lifetime perfecting their skills to be of service today for you in this moment now!

We have an identity; lymphoma T cells.  Okay so now what? Chemo, chemo, chemo.  All due respect to all the health practitioners who specialize in cancer care, but is that truly the only answer?  My belief system is different from my brother in law's.  I do believe you can heal yourself, I do believe in miracles, I do believe in the power of prayer, and energy work.  I believe!  But this is NOT my journey.  I'm walking alongside this cancer, I'm walking along side my sister who is being the best she can be to support her husband in this leg of his journey.

Today's word is IDENTITY.  You both will learn the identity of the disease that has invaded your body.  Identities are made up of characteristics.  Those characteristics are malleable like the mortar you use in brick laying.  The mortar changes depending on the type of sand silt and water.  So guess what characteristics are temporary and changeable.  So in essence the identity is not permanent.  Cancer whatever name it goes by is temporary because it's characteristics can change.
Love you both

Radiation begins....our western world treats cancer like wars.  Kill everything in site, kill all, clean up and then rebuild.  Do you ever really recover from that type of war strategy?  Such a hostile body takeover.  We sit and listen to the team of doctors and nurses explain the plan of attack.  The whole body and all it's perfectly operating systems will be affected by this strategy.  Not only will my brother in law's body be filled with chemo and radiation, but he will be pumped with many other drugs to counter attack the barrage of side effects he is expected to experience.

What if there was another way?  What if we could incorporate Eastern medicine (Ayurveda) with Western.  Wouldn't we have a perfect marriage and we would not have to go to war?

Today's word is GENTLENESS.
Be gentle to yourselves today.  Do something nurturing, and love yourself like you do your girls.  Yesterday is gone and all its events with it.  No need to relive them.

Just when life seems complicated enough, you find yourself in a different hospital for a different emergency supporting another family member...

Today's wise word is CHAOS.
What is chaos other then temporary?  If we can find the eye of the storm we remain calm and the chaos is nothing but external factors.  We choose to step into the storm or stay centered.  Find your "eye" and the chaos will end.

My brother in law is experiencing some ill effects from his first round of chemo.  But there is something magical that is going to happen today.  A ray of sunshine is flying in from Ottawa. This will help raise everyone's spirits.

Good morning!  The word today is JOY.
The humming bird is the power animal that brings JOY.  It flutters and navigates quickly into and out of your life.  Yesterday JOY flew into your life.  Enjoy her presence while she is here.  And when she is gone allow her presence to permeate into your hearts.  This little hummingbird has a name; she's your youngest daughter.

So how do we get to the point of dis-ease? Where does it come from?  What lessons are we suppose to learn from it all?  Can you find gratitude in dis-ease?  Can you truly bring yourself to embrace the dis-ease, love it, then release it to something greater than you; the divine?  Walking along side my brother-in law's journey, puts you in deep reflection about your own journey and your own life.  These questions and more are to be continued...

Wow!  So where did 2015 go exactly?  So many precious moments, some difficult, some painful, and some delightful.

2015 brought us so many wonderful, beautiful guests at the Calder House.  All of which I believe were meant to find us, and in turn we them.

I've grown closer to my spirit, and practicing what it means to embody the mind, body and spirit.  It's been a beautiful transformation.  One that has seen some amazing benefits.  My body has shed 35 pounds, and moves with more ease.  My mind's addiction to alcohol has ceased.  My spirit, sees, hears, and recognizes light in all mother earths inhabitants from the ant all the way to the mountains.  The mind is less cluttered with nonsensical stuff. It's more clear, calm, relaxed, emptied.  A mind more observant of itself.
My spirit has awakened and is excited about it's potential and the journey yet to travel.  A deeper comprehension if it's vastness and all that lies in reach behind veils yet to be removed.

Yes it has been an incredible year both filled with grief and joy.

I have witnessed miracle upon miracle by guests who uncovered their powers of creation, of mastering their lives.  Truly it has been an honor.

Yes it has been an incredible year both filled with excitement and depression.

So what will 2016 bring me...more of the same or different?

I master my life, so what will it be?  Caution lies to the wind as I must be very careful of what I ask for consciously or subconsciously.  Do I want abundance?  Do I want health?  Travel?  More lessons to learn?  More skills to master?  What do I want to attract?  Very important question to ponder, to reflect before putting it out to the universe.

I think this year I will keep it simple, really simple.  I want to embrace the universal law of giving and receiving.  I want to bring balance to this law in my life.  All my life this law has been unbalanced.  The scale has always had more weight on the giving.  This year I want to embrace without fear, without guilt, without shame, RECEIVING!

I want to receive LOVE, and I want to share it in it's purest sense of how I know.

Simple isn't it,
                        Just "BE LOVE".

in light,
Carole

I'm beginning to think that I spend most of my time being drawn to my blog to write about cats.  Not sure what is going on there.  Maybe I should start a whole new blog dedicated to this species of animals that touch your heart.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the loss of my cat Stu.  Stu departed the earth realm on August 19th, 2014.  I woke up this morning, knowing that today might be a little difficult.  I knew that my heart might feel raw as the memories of his death would come flooding in.  So I'd set out to do something special, a little ceremony in celebration of his life and death.

However, the universe had something special in-store for me.  This morning I found myself looking for Oso.  Oso is our little grey kitten that knocked at the door last November.  You can read about his arrival in one of my previous blogs.  Oso is a gift from the universe.  I'd asked for him and the universe delivered him. 

Oso was not around this morning for his usual feeding time.  I thought this was a bit strange as he never misses a meal.  I poured myself a cup of coffee and headed out to Stu's tree where I could converse with him and ask him how he wanted to celebrate today.  In my silent conversation with him I'd asked if he'd seen Oso and that I was a little concerned.  A few sips of coffee later, a voice peeped into my head and said "check the road".  My heart skipped a beat, I put my coffee down and walked to our road.  Up ahead, I could see something in the middle of it.  A blob of something.  Was it Oso?  I put my coffee down and started to walk towards this lump in the road.  As I got closer, I started to run.  Well you know where this story is going.  It was Oso.  He'd been hit by a car in the night.  My little Oso was gone!

Life on earth is truly precious.  We have no idea how long we are here for.  One minute here, next minute gone, in a blink of an eye.  When does death come knocking at the door?  Are we ever prepared for it?  What about those of us left behind?  Are we ever prepared for the loss of our loved one?   I believe I have a very healthy attitude around death and I'm not afraid of it.  But having said so, it doesn't alleviate the pain in the heart we feel when someone we love is gone.  When the shock settles down, and the grieving begins, you start to remember the loss of all others before.  You find yourself "feeling" a universal loss and sometimes can see yourself being swallowed up by grief.

Can you grieve for a cat just as much or maybe even more than say a sister, brother, father, or mother?  Is there any limit to the love we can have for another living being? Is it better to grieve alone or with others?  Do other animals feel loss as well?  So many questions and so much pain.

For me this day represented 2 losses for 2 cats.  As I sat and cried for Oso underneath one of our old oak trees, my dogs also cried the primordial cry.  They sensed through my tears of grief that we lost one of our pack members.  They too can feel, they too can grieve.  As I shared the story of Oso's passing: all of my friends felt his loss and shared in the grief.  And I know as you read this, you too will feel the loss.

There is no shame in grieving for a cat or a dog when they are gone.  We bring them into our lives to join our families, so when they are gone it feels like a missing puzzle piece. 

There is beauty in grief.  A beauty so undeniable, that it awakens and illuminates the soul.  For to have loved so much and to have felt the love in return, unconditional is one of life's greatest miracles that we experience as humans.  If you are grieving it means that you experienced the beauty of love.  How amazing is that!

I leave you with the riddle of love:

"Everything it gives you it takes it away.  But would you have it any other way?"


Hello, hello my name is Oso,
Hello, hello my name is Oso,
I am your Calder House greeter,
If you need cuddles I'll lay on your lap,
If you need lovin' you can pick me up,
If you need soothing, I'd be happy to purr in your ear,
If you need fun, feel free to watch me play,
Hello, hello my name is Oso,
Hello, hello my name was Oso.

I am here to write today about a very dear, dear furry friend; Stu.  If you have ever been a guest at the Calder House, or you are family or friends, you would have heard the story as we share it's uniqueness and beauty often.

Stu is short for "Stupide".  I know what you are saying, that isn't very nice to call your pet Stupid.  You are right it isn't.  But if you pronounce it with a French accent it doesn't sound so harsh.  Stu got his name due to the unbelievable "stupid" circumstance of how he came to be our cat in the first place.

We once had a dog name Teiga.  She was a beautiful 10 year old, 135lbs Alaskan Malamute.  Teiga was diagnosed with 3 tumors in her larynx.  Her health had rapidly declined and she was no longer eating and barely drinking.  We knew she was dying and taking medication or surgery was cost prohibitive for an end result that was not promising.  We were faced with a difficult decision as to whether to euthanase her.  We put the decision off as long as we could.

One day Teiga mustard up enough energy to go for a walk with Grant.  They didn't walk very far, only up till the end of the driveway by the ditch .  Teiga's tail started wagging and she experienced a burst of energy and excitement.  Teiga ran to the ditch and out of the bull rushes she pulled out a small grey and white kitten no older than 4 - 5 weeks old.  The little fellow was cute.  All kittens are!

We imagined he must of belonged to someone. But first things first, the little guy must be hungry.  What do you feed a kitten?  Well the only "cat" food we had was tuna.  So he got his first can of tuna.  I have to say that he's been a fan of that stuff ever since.  We decided to scout the neighborhood to find his family.  Knocked on all doors and no one was missing a kitten!  So where did this little guy come from?  Was he abandoned in the countryside by some city slickers who did not know what to do with their kittens?  Well we don't know how he became the cat from the ditch, but here he was.

In the next week to come the kitten and Teiga were inseparable.  The kitten would be seen sleeping with Teiga or they would be mutually benefiting from a lick bath.  They were new found buds.  Unfortunately, Teiga's life was fast coming to an end, she was suffering so much that we finally made the decision to put her down.  The kitten was about to loose his surrogate mother.

To be honest we had mixed emotions about this cat.  We felt it was so "STUPID" to have to deal with a kitten in the midst of loosing our furry best friend.  Teiga was put to rest and the kitten shortly thereafter disappeared.

In amongst my grief I was worried about the little guy.  Where did he go?  Was he eating and successfully hunting or was he be hunted?  Teiga is gone, the cat is gone and we were left to deal with our grief and the worry of our missing new friend.

In many discussions about this cat, we decided if he came back to us we would call him "Stupide".  The name although not nice was appropriate in our minds as the circumstance in which he came into our lives was stupid!

On the third day of the missing cat, I decided to go out and look for him.  Maybe he was near the front of the yard where Teiga had once found him.  So off I went calling for Stupide; Stu for short.
"Stu, Stu, Stu, where are you little fellow?  Stu, Stu, Stuuuuuuu" I called.  A few minutes later I could hear a very faint meow.  A few minutes more another meow.  Oh my God I think I heard him.  Next thing you know he came running out of the thick poison ivy.  I was sooo happy to see that he was still alive.  I picked him up and gave him numerous hugs and kisses and we were off to go give Grant the great news.

So now what?  Stu can't be an indoor cat as we had just opened up our bed & breakfast and I did not want to deal with cat hair and dander in the house.  I knew we would lose reservations if we had cats due to people who suffer from allergies.  We decided that Stu's life would be the life of a "barn" cat.  This is a cat that lives outside, but has a warm place in the garage and never wanting for food.  Soon fall came and that arrangement seem to be working out just fine.

You could find Stu following me outside as I worked on the yard or he'd sleep in my pocket from my overalls while I painted the windows.  He was such a character and really liked people.  Anytime I'd be feeling sad about the loss of my dog, Stu would take his two front paws and rub my cheeks.  It was really special.  The little guy had stolen my heart!  There was no doubt in my mind that he was a very special kitten and I was starting to understand that the universe brought him to us to help grieve the loss of our dog.  When one goes out of your heart another comes in to help fill the void.  Stu was truly a gift from the ditch!

It is now winter and Stu is fairing well in his new home ; the garage.  One cold winter night, Grant brought Stu in the house up to the third floor.  I looked at Grant and Stu and said: "What are you doing?  You can not bring that cat into the house!"  Both Grant and Stu looked at me with big sad eyes and Grant said; "Carole, it's really cold outside".  I looked at my husband and at this little shivering kitten and I knew we were doomed.  I said; "Do you realize that once we take him in, he will think he owns this house and we WILL become his servants.  There is NO going back!".

Stu slept with us that night and there was definitely no going back.  There is nothing like the sound of a kitten purring who can imitate an old John Deere tractor.  We were hooked having this little warm ball of fuzz with us.  Stu opened up the crack in our hearts that night.

The love, the antics, the friendship grew and we are forever grateful for what he brought to us.

Six years have gone by where we have had the privilege of watching him grow into a BIG handsome cat.  He has brought countless smiles and giggles to our guests who have come to the Calder House.  Stu brought us many moments of cuddles, talks, sharing naps, petting, combing, purring in utter contentment.  He developed the mentality of thinking like a dog, acting like a dog to the extent of being able to chase large dogs away, sitting for treats, and knocking at the front door when he wanted in.  He has always shown affection even if he wasn't in the mood.  He always had Friskiness and love bites for the guests.  He even had his favorites; Kim I'm sure you going to miss having your toe bitten.

Life and it's experiences are a journey.  I believe we are all angels having a human, animal, and plant. experience.  We come to the earth to learn lessons and those lessons come in all kinds of formats.  I know in my heart that Stu's purpose was to bring us the shimmering light to fill the void that Teiga's death created.  I know that he was meant to bring comfort to many of our guests.  I know that he helped many to heal on levels that we will never understand.  I know that he truly believed he was a dog.  He was full of tricks and always motivated by food.  I know he loved us, Zen, Trudeau and Luna.  I know he will be truly missed by many.

Stu I know you can hear me; "I MISS YOU BUDDY!  You will always have a place in our hearts."

Stu died unexpectedly on August 19th, 2014 at 11:00 a.m.