Friday greetings friends –

Great stuff packed in this episode today.

Stephanie is off this week but she’ll be back very, very soon.  She’s a super busy lady and gives her time and energy and tips and tricks when time allows.  Hat tip, Steph.  Thank ya!

The stand in for Stephanie’s Chic on the Cheap is a column by Katiedid Langrock archives from back in 2017.  Not nearly as cool and informational as Steph’s column, but it’s a heart read.  Enjoy!

“PIG”  THE RABBIT STORY
by Katiedid Langrock is beautiful.  Almost – ALMOST – wants me to look and find and bring home such a cool pet.  However, this house/ark is full around here!

QUICK QUESTION
My new name would be Calvin Cheeseburger.  Ha!  You?

PEANUT BUTTER SQUARES
Recipe reads like it’s too simple to be good.  Trust me – they are simple and they’re very good.

ART ILLUSTRATIONS
Have me planning for some kinda little garden around here.  Good news, I have a farmer’s market about 15 minutes away.  So, if I fail in doing or succeeding – have the market so close – I can go, shop, choose and enjoy the fruits of the farmers labors!  THANK YOU FARMERS!

THANKS ALL FOR GIVING US A SLICE OF YOUR FRIDAY
We sure do appreciate ya + sharing + caring + being a huge part of Daymaker Readable Art community.

Ready?
Set?
Here we go!
Enjoy

THE PERFECT PET
BY KATIEDID LANGROCK

We knew we weren’t ready for a dog.  The search for the perfect pet began there.

“Cat?”  my husband suggested.

“I’d rather not invite something into my home that would immediately begin plotting my death,” I said.  “How about a rabbit?”

“Why would we get a pet that needs to stay in a cage?”

I saw his point.  We were getting our first pet as a step into our adulthood.

We had just bought our first home.  The itch driving us into pet ownership was a clear precursor to pending parenthood.

At that point in our relationship, we had only ever tried to care for one thing, a house plant named Wal-Mart.  Wal-Mart didn’t survive the summer and we were fairly traumatized.  But it had been a few years.

We were married now and living on a different coast from the one where Wal-Mart had been under-watered and then over-watered to his early demise.

We were ready for a pet, but finding a cage-free animal that could live in an urban neighborhood and was not a dog or a cat was challenging.  After months of research, we settled on getting a pig.  We were pretty excited about it and told everyone how we were about to become proud pig parents.  However, prior to purchasing one, I came across a pig advocacy site warning pigs can be aggressive toward babies.

Deal breaker.

It was around this time I learned about a breed of rabbit called Flemish giants.  Known as gentle giants, they make great family pets and, because they can be trained to go in a litter box, can live outside a cage, roaming freely around the house like a cat.

We picked up our Flemish giant a month later and, staying true to our assertion that we would be pig parents, we named him Pig.

Pig came to us after his previous owners returned him to his breeder at 13 weeks.  They had discovered he was a runt and would not be able to compete in rabbit shows.

Our runt grew to a measly 18 lbs.

We nick-named him Piggy Smalls.

The first few months, Pig didn’t stray far from his litter box.  He seemed scared in the big house, not used to a life outside a cage, not used to a life dedicated to little more than daily brushings.

I had just about given up on the idea that Pig would socially connect with us, when he hopped over to the couch to be near us for the first time.  He wasn’t ready to be touched but was ready to be near.

By the end of year one, our first born, as we lovingly referred to Pig, had taken full control of our house.  He would hop over to greet us as soon as we came home from work.  He would place his front two paws on my shoulders to give me kisses on my lips.  He would nudge us with his head, stamp his back foot or even give a small nip if he was in the mood to be petted and we weren’t bending to his bunny demands.

In our early years, our lives revolved around Pig.  We told everyone about his hilarious antics, how he would pull pillows off the couch and create obstacle courses for himself.  About how each time he shed, new black zigzagging designs would appear on his gray coat.  How gorgeous he was.  When he exclusively chewed on my leather shoes and bags, we were impressed by his high-end taste.

He was a family man.  After we brought our son home from the hospital, Pig inserted himself into care taking.  He would run at full speed from the kitchen to the nursery whenever he heard the baby crying, standing up on his hind legs to check on his new brother.

He adapted to a life of being pulled, tugged and hugged too tight by little people who loved him.

Over the years, Pig slowed down.

He didn’t jump as high or run as fast.  But he was always up for snuggling.

Even in his last days, Pig would force his head under our hands for a pet and would nudge, stamp or nip if we didn’t show him his due affection.

This week, we laid our fur baby to rest.  Pig loved fluffy rugs, computer cords and bananas.  He loved us more.  And we him.

We had been in search for the perfect pet.  We got so much more.  Rest in peace, Piggy.

~Katiedid Langrock
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