We had a mockingbird who would do our neighbor's cough. That was a little unsettling, such a human sound coming from a bird, but kind of sweet once we were used to it. It was definitely our neighborhood bird, you know?

Apparently a lot more birds do imitations than I realized. The blue jays that scream like little high-pitched red-tailed hawks were a surprise to me.

There was one mockingbird that could just nail Devi's meeees. Complete with trills. It would annoy her.

Oops. My office has a moving news headline thing on a display in the lobby, and I saw an announcement that Lena Horne had died on it. Nothing about it being 3 years ago. I guess they need better inputs.

Jessica, you should get a refund for the whole blasted week.

I would love to know how the Lena Horne thing got started going back around. Is it the anniversary of her death?

I kinda love that my fb feed is full of postings from friends about [link] their 140 mile ride for Moveable Feast this weekend. The weather might be gnarly, but they're still in. I find it Smalltimore that I've ended up with groups whose only connection outside of this event are me, in the sense I didn't meet some through another. I mean, one of them? Via my Prague roommate via Boise! And they are all gonna have sore rears and legs Monday.

I just read that Lena Horne is dead. But it's certainly not the first time I read that--it's just the most recent. Like, nothing since 2010. When she, you know, died. But maybe that was just the first time.

It popped up on my Breaking News app. I felt bad because I thought she was already dead. Maybe because she was actually already dead.

There was one mockingbird that could just nail Devi's meeees. Complete with trills. It would annoy her.

I think that would freak me out. But then Kittenish took years to make any noise at all.

I don't think I have anything that mimics here. Quail, ravens, stupid ass dove that is nesting on my porch... Those are the birds I hear most. If something shows up and mimics Puppycat sassing, they are not welcome. Frankly, I can't stand it from her and she's sweet and fuzzy.

Apparently a newsfeed service hiccuped and blasted the 5/10/10 story out to a bunch of syndicated sites/services.

Devi was a talker, and I loved it. Hell, I still hear her in random sounds around the house. It's not her, it's both my head and the fact she trilled and trebbled and chirped and old houses make creaks and hinges squeak.

One of the things that's making Jeeves' decline especially sad is that he can no longer meow. He would always make these demanding blats when he wanted something. Now, though, no sound comes out. I feel like I've already lost part of him because I'll never hear those sounds again.

I know, Anne. Since one of Devi's issues was nasal blockage, I got a lot less talking. And god, the lack of purring (it would make her sneeze uncontrollably) was so heartbreaking.

Going through it? Well, I can't lie, even when I knew I was just hospice and the wheezy no longer was sending me into panics, it was a dread and doom I got to carry around everywhere. I was in mourning for my beloved Devi who was still here, but slowly losing pieces of her. Which is complex. And then she's gone and um, yay, no dread? But fuck, I don't have my cat!

But I'm getting to where I can remember all her sounds and quirks and self, not the worry of the past few months.