Goodbye to Vizzini; Extra Profesh in Black, White and Tea Towel

My dear friends, thank you for your kind words of solace and sympathy. We made the hard decision last night to let go of our dear boy. 

Vizzini - 2011-2025

"Remember my fine mustachios and rakish pirate whiskers, not those times when I ate your shoes."

One of the insidious things about kidney disease is that over time it starts to affect everything in a little cat body. His heart was very stressed, and his breathing had become noticeably harder for him in the last few days. Following an X-ray, our vet (the awesome Dr. Claire) showed us how his chest cavity had filled with fluid. She was amazed that he still had the energy to move around as much as he did. 

We spent some time giving him love, petting, hugging and kissing him, and when he slipped away, we opened the blinds in the office to let the sun shine on him - he loved sleeping in the sun so much. 

I appreciate your messages, dear friends, but please understand that I am finding it hard to respond right now.

And of course, this is a blog about clothes, and yes, we are pushing through! Life goes on. 

I'm "faking it till I make it" here, readying myself for a day of work on Wednesday, followed by our vet appointment. At this point, our visitors had gotten used to me, so I added some more "Sheila" things to my 'fit. 

• Cotton blazer - Esprit, vintage 80s, consignment, Powell River; first worn here in August 2024 with taupe tulle
• T-shirt - O-Gen, thrifted; last seen here layered in March
• Silk skirt - Ports 1961, thrifted; last worn here in April 2024 with a graphic sweater
• Shoes - Estefan Entity, Fluevog; last seen here in January 2023 with pink, white and black
• Sleeveless coat (below) - Only, thrifted; last worn here a week ago

Bert and Ethel were watching me as I did the Stair Pic. 

And the crows in the Garry Oaks were watching them. 

My vintage 80s cotton blazer felt appropriate, although L dubbed it my "tea towel." 

It has massive pockets in which I carried around my personal phone and work phone, dealing with canceling our anniversary trip to Vancouver (it was to have been this upcoming weekend), letting our friends know about Vizzini, and generally trying to keep things together. 

I felt very profesh in this - the simple colour palette of neutrals helped, but I am definitely jonesing for some protective armour colour.

I'm done with this skirt, having Regret-Me-Notted it at least once. I have better black skirts that I reach for. I paid $16.95 for it at WIN in 2018 and have worn it 9 times, so I'm happy with that. 

Letting the façade slip for a moment. 

I had booked Friday and Monday off for the Vancouver jaunt, but L and I still intend to have a proper anniversary weekend, only closer to home. 

I had to get all of my Thurs/Fri/Mon work done before I dashed off to meet L for our trip to the vet.

I switched to flats for that, but wore my black and white armour.

My sleeveless coat worked well over the cotton blazer. 

My long brown leather gloves kept my wrists warm - I carried my bracelets in my bag. 

Accoutrements: 

I mentally pronounced Courreges as "courage" for the day. 

• Silk scarf - Andres Courreges, vintage, consignment
• Leather/cashmere gloves - Club Monaco, consignment

The stuff: 

My shoes were hugely popular with my colleagues and our visitors. I even had a stranger on the street ask, "Are those Fluevogs?" as we walked back to the office from a celebratory lunch out. The main question is, "How do you walk in those?" Answer: SCIENCE! A cantilevered heel is just the same as a regular one - the slanted part is perfectly balanced. My feet were tired - that's still a high heel! - but I was glad to get another wearing in of them. It's been a while. 

Black and white bling: 

My little black kitty brooch was on my lapel for Vizzini. 

• Leather belt - Banana Republic, thrifted
• Black/white bangle set - consignment
• Black and white stretchy cuff - vintage, vintage fair
• White clip-on earrings - vintage, vintage fair
• Wooden cat brooch - consignment
• Silver Anneke & Lars ring - vintage mall
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower

These are the last few pictures taken of our dear boy. Thank you for your indulgence - Vizzini has been a major part of my blog since we adopted him in 2011. Every link I go back to...is full of pictures of him. He will always be there whenever I want to "visit" with him and remember what a little scamp he was.

Attacking my jellyfish skirt. Chomp, chomp! 

"I bite your skirt!"

Reason #657 Why I Keep My Closet Door Closed. 

Piercing me with his steely gaze, waiting for his food to warm up in the sink. I see me in the mirror. 

"You should feed me NOW."

He never lost his appetite, right to the end. 

And this is the last picture of him and I. Goodbye, my sweet boy. You were an asshole, a monster, a towel-biter and Eater of Shoes, but you were also our cuddly, lovey kitty and equal-opportunity lap-sleeper ("Super Kitty!"), and easily the smartest cat we ever had. He opened doors, saw himself in mirrors and watched us in reflections.

"I'll always be in your heart, Woman."

L and I are grieving our loss - Vizzini was an important part of our lives and our family unit for 14 years, the longest-lived cat we've had - so I'll be taking a few days off as L and I spend time together and support each other and get used to not having a little furry face around every corner.

The saddest sight - an empty cat carrier. 

Thank you again for your kind words and sympathy, my friends. I can feel the good vibes and know you loved him too. Please give your own furry friends a snuggle and tell them a certain tuxedo cat is waiting to play when they cross the rainbow bridge.