how many rotations around the sun

It seems impossible but 39 years ago today I first met Carm! It was a series of coincidents that led me to be at that place at that moment… the day before I'd gone to sign a lease at a new apartment but when I mentioned that I had a dog, they backed out. Boo hiss! So I was starting to walk back to my current apartment when I passed a man putting a 'for rent' sign out! It was for a one bedroom on the first floor of a two apartment house. I loved it and it was in my price range. I mentioned Chetta but Gene wanted to meet her before signing the lease so we set up a time for the next day for me to bring her over. That next afternoon, as Gene was meeting Chetta, Carm walked through the entry hall so Gene introduced me as the new neighbour! No one could have predicted that 39 years later, we'd be celebrating Carm's birthday together still!

I thought I'd get a bit ahead of the game yesterday by getting Carm's birthday cake done… it was a  burnt sugar disaster 😞  I think the cake turned out okay (but won't know until tonight when we finally cut into it), but the icing, which is really the best part, was an utter failure. I THINK I measured 2 half cups of brown sugar instead of 2 full cups… I felt that something was off, but I had measured everything out in the morning so it wasn't fresh in my mind. By the time the butter and sugar had melted it was too late to re-measure. When the final step was done, I should have followed my gut and started over. As it turned out it never thickened (it's usually like fudge) so ran all over the place.

Tonight, instead of supper at the Keg with Bruce and Tina, we are making a prime rib roast with all the fixings. They'll stay the night 😀  We don't eat meat very often, and I cook it even less frequently but gosh! The smell of a prime rib roasting in the oven is heavenly!

Chapter 51 Cato and Bailey Sing Happy Birthday

Laura wasn't singing the usual morning song but instead was belting out 'Happy Birthday'. All the parrots wondered for a minute who's birthday it was. Cato knew it wasn't hers or Bailey's. Grace quickly figured out that it was Carm that Laura was singing to! The parrots all thought that it was very exciting and that perhaps there would be special food for supper.

They could tell that people were coming over as the people were cleaning and spending lots of time in the kitchen. Grace told them that it was probably Tina and Bruce as it was also Bruce's birthday on the same day. She remembered Laura and Carm talking about it many times. She was glad that they weren't going out, which is what they usually do on Carm's birthday. The birds were all happy that there would be company and hopefully interesting things to listen to.

Later in the day Bailey noticed that there was the smell of meat cooking and was certain that the parrots would get some for second supper! It made all their tummies rumble and their mouth water to think of such a delicious second supper.

https://youtu.be/Cs5vUfddkT8?si=oYe_8-Sl22oWxdbM (Birthday Beatles)

Awesome!

"licking the beaters"

"anticipation of cake"

"bright sunny day"

"the smell of cooking roast"

elderly

I've always been a believer that even if you don't like something (to eat), that you should try it a few times before fully deciding, and even then, try a year later! I purchased Kimchi to try ages ago and honestly, at first I thought it was horrible, but I had a big container that I didn't want to waste. So I kept eating a bit everyday - now I love it! My tastebuds just needed to adjust. 

Other examples include cantaloupe which I always disliked as a child - it was easy to avoid so I did. Then on a cruise a few years ago I served myself a few cut pieces and GOSH! I loved it and now gobble it up whenever it's on sale :-) (which has been often now that we have a Food Basics in the neighbourhood).

Some things are just too horrible to develop a taste for though… I have never gotten over my aversion to coconut (yuck) or miracle whip (double yuck!). I keep on trying, mainly because I like ¾ of what makes up a nanaimo bar so plug my nose for the coconut ingredients…

Spring has been reluctant to show it's face… it's been barely above freezing and there's still lots of snow on the ground. I recall many late March days when we enjoyed lunch on the front deck. Several  years ago we met friends at a patio in the market and ended up having to ask for a table in the shade!

We've had a busy few days - Saturday Pat came for supper - I made mushroom gnocchi with a creamy lemon and garlic sauce which ended up being way too lemony and way too garlicky. More is not always better! Sunday Kari came for a late lunch - we had french onion lentils & barley with roasted butternut squash, brussels sprouts, and a bit of tofu. Sad for the birds that everything had onions in it though 😞 

Yesterday afternoon we deeked over to see Trudie & Leo so Carm could help Leo with his printer.

This is what Lupa does while I'm busy walking on the treadmill... and then if there's still a sun spot it turns into a napping area!

I started step one of the prep for the sugar extravaganza that we will enjoy Friday. Yes! It's burnt sugar cake day again soon 😀 

A comment on some random post: "I'm elderly, 63…."  WTF! I would never consider myself even close to being elderly! Imagine her mindset thinking that she's already elderly at 63…

Chapter 48 Cato and Bailey Listen to an Italian Singer

The parrots were delighted when Laura started laughing while she was watching her tablet. They couldn't quite make out the words to the song she was listening to but they all agreed that the beat was fun and worth dancing to. 

https://youtu.be/fU-wH8SrFro?si=hgucujBBOqnA7p2U (Italian Guy with made up words)

Laura brought her tablet over to the birds so they could see what she was laughing about. Cato thought the guy dancing was funny although maybe a bit goofy. Bailey wondered why Laura was laughing as it all just seemed like good fun.

Carm asked Laura about the video and she told him that it was an Italian singer from the 70s who made up a song of nonsense words that sounded a bit like English to trick the Italian listeners. It turned into a huge hit! He thought the guy looked like a mix of Jerry Lewis and the guy from 'Flight of the Concords'.

Cato and Bailey thought that a lot of songs that Laura plays sound a bit like gobbly goop to them as well and wondered if most musicians did the same thing. Grace just thought that many singers aren't very good at saying words clearly and that she has a far superior way of talking. Cato thought the same thing.

Chapter 49 Cato and Bailey Sing the Champion

It had been quiet in the house for a while until Laura finally put on some music. The parrots were all singing and dancing along but when the song about being a champion started playing the dogs even joined in. Everyone thought that it was a good song.

https://youtu.be/HgknAaKNaMM?si=5N-WiVKCQab7L37f (the Champion Carrie Underwood)

Laura told the parrots that she would listen to this song when she was feeling down or unmotivated as it reminded her that she has power within. Cato agreed that the song was energizing and started swinging on her boing. Bailey hung upside down from the top of his cage while Grace just bobbed on her perch.

Then Cato got in the mood to toss her toy around. While she did this, Bailey moved to the perch that he is slowly taking apart. All that activity made everyone hungry so they all had a few more bites of lunch.

Chapter 50 Cato and Bailey Have Grains

This morning Cato could see that Laura was measuring out things into the instant pot and wondered what she was making. Bailey wasn't sure if it was something that he would like, (and really, how could he tell!), but Grace told them that Laura was making their grain mash! The parrots all agreed that this was an important task for Laura to complete so they stayed a bit quiet while she measured things. They could hear Carm telling her how much of everything to add.

Cato thought that there were a lot of grains and beans that made up the mash… first there was flax seed, then millet, quinoa, adzuki beans, split peas, barley, bulgar, hard wheat kernels, oatmeal, and finally vegetable soup. She was amazed that so many different things went into their food.

After the instant pot was started, Laura played one of her energy songs so the parrots and dogs could all dance around for a while. 

https://youtu.be/qaH7exO9GzQ?si=z-LovPwfzj-HVCsr  (Don't Stop Me Now Queen)

The smell of the grains cooking made all the parrots feel a bit hungry which was good because it was time for glop!

Awesome!

"clouds of honking geese darkening the sky"

"smashed potatoes with lots of basil garlic salt"

"a few more sunny days"

young men

I can't help but think about those young men, really boys, that we shared a few drinks and laughs with at Punta Cana. They were finishing up training to be merchant marine sailors and were going to be deployed to the middle east… at least that's what I remember. Those boys were just dumb kids with no real understanding of the world, or politics, or how some American citizens were being manipulated by billionaires and war mongers. They believed everything that they were told. There was only one critical thinker among the bunch. I hope they are out of harm's way… but know that there are many other young people in the line of fire. 

https://youtu.be/SgpiQF_ulzM?si=-p3nHttEaejtzZny (All the fine Young Men)

Yesterday was another snow day! Today was mostly sunny and 6C! Beautiful!

Chapter 47 Cato and Bailey Eat Grilled Cheese

The parrots had already eaten their supper when it seemed that they could smell toast, or at least something good cooking. Cato hoped that Laura and Carm would share whatever it was that smelled so good - Bailey was sure that they would. They tried to be patient and made sure to shout out 'Supper' at frequent intervals. The smell was making their tummies rumble.

Finally, Laura walked over with a plate in her hand and started handing out food. Grace was pretty sure it was a grilled cheese sandwich, although it had been a long time since she'd had one. She grabbed it out of Laura's hand and took a big bite. 

Bailey was next. He was so excited that he fumbled it and it dropped on his cage floor. Laura quickly opened the door to retrieve it to his dish. He was a bit more careful when he picked it out of his dish. His eyes flashed as he bit down into the toasty, cheesy, buttery goodness.

It was finally Cato's turn. She didn't make the same mistake that Bailey made, instead she put it into her pellet dish and just picked it partially up to take bites. 

The parrots were all happy and didn't leave a crumb of their treat.

https://youtu.be/6dAavO8TtsE?si=-GapM0K2z-PRUbYN (Cheeseburger in Paradise Jimmy Buffet)

Awesome!

"no where to go!"

"grilled cheese sandwiches - missing chocolate milk though!"