Farewell Puss

The last several days have been very sad ones on Gypsies - last night we lost Puss, one of our fearless 23 year old boat kitties. Puss (aka Pussiwinkle, Winky, Winklemeister, Leena and just about any other nickname you can come up with) was one of the sweetest, funniest and bravest boat kitties you could ever imagine. She has been part of our family for more than half my entire life and has given us so much laughter and joy that we can't begin to imagine our life without her. Who is going to sleep on my head all night, or repeatedly jump up on the table when she knew she wasn't allowed up there or calmly step all over her sister Boots while pretending she didn't know she was under the covers?? Luckily Puss adapted to the cruising lifestyle quickly when we moved her onto the boat over a year and a half ago and loved the adventure of cruising the US and the Bahamas (OK as all of our friends know, she stayed inside the boat all the time (usually on the settee in the pilothouse or on the couch!), but she loved how much time we were able to spend with her on our long seagoing trips!) She spent her last several days the way I know she would have wanted to - curled up in our laps watching football (she was a huge New England Patriots fan and the Pats obliged with a win just for her yesterday!) Doug, Bootsie and I already miss her beyond words but her memory will forever be with us as we continue our journey, one furry, lovable green-eyed Gypsy short.