Gary was an internet star from the moment he arrived, and possibly my glowing review helped. He lived his life on the internet and I know a lot of people cared about him. He owed a lot of people a coffee.
Gary was really poorly. He didn't survive the night and died in the early hours - peacefully and not in pain. We all had an extra day off work and school to say goodbye and help bury him. I think it was harder because Gary arrived at a time when we really were feeling the huge gap left by Elspeth. Losing him was like losing another part of her, but it was right I told everyone, and I did so in a blog post eulogy.
He brought us joy and laughter, love, and someone warm who was always willing to have a cuddle. I admit it, my opinion of cats has changed somewhat. I miss him. He's left a shredded stair carpet, a box of chewed cat toys and a small cat-shaped hole that will never be filled in.
The universe realised we were short of a pet and needed a distraction, so it intervened and sent us another to save. My eldest son saw a magpie fighting a tiny bright green budgie near a park in Withington, stepped in and rescued the little fella.
He might be a full grown bearded adult, but he did what all kids do when they aren't sure what the next move is, he took it to his Mum. That's me. In his pocket, on the tram. I preferred it in a cardboard box (it's a proven rescue animal storage method).
I honestly don't need a budgie right now and know nothing about them, but my friend Angie does, and so do the people on the internet. I had no idea they were so popular, and our injured little pal was looking strong this morning, and was offered 5 different homes today. People can be awesome.
I now know a little about budgies and budgie care, and our unnamed visitor has gone to live a spoiled life with Angie's other budgies for company (when she's ready) or until her owner is traced and they can be reunited. Either way, the Magpie can't claim a win this time.
It's time for this month's smiles and thank you to all of you who shared photos over the last month. They've really helped me grin again this week. These are just 9 of the biggest that went well in a collage. Some awesome smiles, sunshiney days and plenty of ordinary moments.
I feature the #TBCSmiles on the blog and Instagram on the 15th of every month. Anyone can join in - just use the hashtag on a smile. You don't need to have a fancy camera or a huge following - it's grins we're after!
These gorgeous belters were provided by the following Instagrammers:
If you don't know why we collect our smiles, they are the reason and the reminder for why we carry on... Every one makes it worth it...
How has it been nearly 5 years already Jenny? Lots of love to you all x
ReplyDelete5 years, really? Sending lots of love and hugs. Thank you for featuring us xx
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