11/17/2017 – 7/20/2026
Norma was a sweet girl probably best known for, and deeply missed for, her yodels and other assorted vocalizations. Vocal from the day she joined us, she’d express herself often. She’d yodel to greet you, particularly in the morning. She’d yodel if you weren’t “getting the message” that it was dinner time, snack time, or some other kind of treat time. She’d yodel to greet passing strangers, and more. She even taught it to our younger Maxine.
Two years ago I replaced our worn out flag with a new one. I added a Pride flag because I felt that the far right had commandeered the U.S. flag into a symbol of extremism that I didn’t want to be associated with. The Pride flag sends a pretty strong message that that ain’t the case here.
Little has changed. Both flags had worn quite a bit in the intervening time, so it was time for a refresh.
Another reason stock photography can be a huge problem.
To be clear, I’m writing this for myself, first and foremost. It’s how I process things, and I have a lot to process.
I’ve been overwhelmed at the number of people who’ve reached out with support (truly … more on that later). I know there are questions, and rather than repeat myself ad nauseam, I figured I’d make this little writing exercise/record public. Ignore it, or read it, or something in between. That you’ve cared enough to read even this far has already made my day. I’ll update it from time to time.
Two versions: TL;DR: WTAF! summary of the events of the last week, followed by OMG! TMI! gory details/trigger warning, etc. No blood, but there is poop.