when you open your eyes

The sun was back again today, perhaps for the last time for several days so we took advantage and hit the snowshoe trails again. Adia wasn't too sure about her outfit when we were putting it on her - she was shaking like a leaf - but seemed okay once outside. Lupa tries to hide for any sorts of clothing, including her harness, but once dressed, she's raring to go.

Chapter 16 Cato and Bailey Have a Good Day in the Sunshine

First thing in the morning Laura always sings the good morning song which the birds find enjoyable even though Laura is not a very good singer, but they like the words of the song. Laura was going to play it for them but she listened to the rest of the lyrics and thought it wasn't a good topic so she only played them a short verse. After listening to it they thought that Laura sang it okay and they hoped she'd continue to sing it every day.

When you open your eyes

To a brand new morning

And the sun shines

Above you

You pull on your breeches and say

Oh well,

It's the start of a brand new day

It was sunny in the morning again and the clouds stayed away until later in the afternoon, just after Laura and Carm took the dogs snowshoeing. Cato and Bailey wondered if that would be a fun thing for them to do as well, but Laura reminded them that it was cold so they'd have to wear a snowsuit but they don't make them for birds. They'd have to wear boots too which they didn't think would be very good - how would they hold their snacks? Because surely there are snacks eaten outside. Adia and Lupa told them that there were sometimes tiny snacks but that it wouldn't be worth it for them to get their feet cold. When Laura is wearing her mittens there aren't so many treats.

https://youtu.be/R9ncBUcInTM?si=IoH76BgauNAQMb2D

Later Laura played the good day sunshine song which the parrots thought was a very good song. Laura told them that it was the song that she kept in her mind when she was going through radiation and had to hold her breath for so long so that her heart was not getting any radiation. They didn't know what that was but Laura told them that it was a life saver which they thought was good.

Awesome!

"another sunny day!"

"leftover buffalo tofu chili"

"perfect day on the snowshoes"

snowsuit

Well! It seems like the winter felt like parting the curtains on the sun again today! Another stunning day with gorgeous sunshine, brilliant white snow, and a powder blue sky. I managed to talk myself into starting resistance training again (hummm… Carm might wonder if that is resistance to house-cleaning, but no, merely resistance for my weak muscles)! Five minutes on the bike and then long enough on the treadmill to watch 3 'Schitts Creek' episodes. 

Today I retired my original walking shoes… they've done good service with around 2700 kilometers on their worn out tread. Enough to walk from here to just past Moose Jaw! All that said, it took 2 years!

After recovering from all that - it took ages to catch my breath and cool down - I had a coffee and then we stuck Lupa in her crate and popped Adia into the car for a trip to the pet store to try on outfits! Our snowsuit order was in! I poked around the store while waiting for the manager to dig out the coats and noticed the same outfit in black. So rather than taking the pink one out of the packaging we tried the black on her and bingo! An almost perfectly fitting snowsuit!

When we got home, I caught Lupa, jammed her into her outfit, then we hit the trails! The hayfield has a labyrinth of packed down paths that criss-cross and loop - another few days and we'll have the whole thing tamped down! Goals 😱 . I tried to keep a nice visual (I see it out of the kitchen window), but gave up after our second time out. Both dogs went crazy with joy 😀  Unfortunately whenever I tried to get a photo they'd end up under my feet which makes it impossible to get a good shot.

Chapter 15 Cato and Bailey Listen to Music

There was sun in the sky in the morning so everyone felt very happy. Cato wondered if it was summer yet, but Laura told her that there were still many months. Bailey thought that was too long and agreed with Cato that Laura should make summer come more quickly.

Laura was listening to music again which the parrots all really liked. Grace told Cato and Bailey that sometimes Laura dances around like crazy and that she likes to join in. Grace told them that there were some songs that Laura would play over and over again when she wasn't feeling well a few years ago and that sometimes she still plays them when she wants to feel upbeat and strong.

Grace said that she really enjoyed those songs as they made her feel good too and that she agreed with this song that said that she was born to be alive. She couldn't think of what other way there was to be born but didn't think about that too much.

https://youtu.be/vb5a-GYty-o?si=eOjHEmau4RahXd5w

Cato and Bailey were amazed and loved this song. They agreed that we were all born to be alive and that they were glad for the sunshine and that today was going to be another really good day. Bailey thought that it would be an even better day if he had more snacks.

Carm was busy again on the phone with Bell trying to troubleshoot our home phone issues… the tech on their end has possibly identified the problem - something about us having the same address as someone else (?)... they'll fix it and call back tomorrow. Note related, except that it was a scam that used Bell, Carm had a weird phone call from someone claiming to be Bell but obviously weren't… he asked the guy a few questions and got alarming answers 😯 We felt pretty bad for him as it seems he was in Myanmar and possibly a prisoner...

Awesome!

"Adia's new outfit"

"another sunny day!"

"dogs asleep in sunspots after playing outside"

"birds quietly napping after filling up on glop"

chapter 14 already

It was a great run of sunny days (or partially sunny days), but as winter still has us in its frozen grips it felt obliged to toss a bit more cloud and snow at us. It's not a full on snow day, just annoying flurries… and not even snowy enough to keep me home. Carm dropped me off at Mom & Dad's while he did all the shopping chores - I had a leisurely visit while he braved the crowds! If he wasn't a shopper I don't know what we'd do for groceries as it's like pulling teeth to get me into a store!

Chapter 14 Cato and Bailey Wonder about the Christmas Tree

Cato and Bailey thought that today would be a good day even though Laura and Carm went away for a little while in the morning. Laura told them that Carm was going to Costco to get more food for them. They hoped that he was buying the almond crackers that they like.

https://youtu.be/uSnpObUx71Q?si=EpBryDY6wjgTOt5K

Laura told them that she was visiting her Mom and Dad while Carm was shopping. They wondered if they should go too but Laura said it was too cold outside to risk them going in the car. They agreed that they didn't want to get cold feet. When she got home Laura told them that her Mom still had her Christmas tree up which didn't surprise them because they remembered that it was second Christmas just a few days ago.

Laura took a few pictures to show them and they were amazed by all the beautiful decorations. They thought that the decorations would be fun to play with. Bailey thought the tree could have all its little needles pulled so they wouldn't be so prickly looking.

Cato reminded Bailey that they were not allowed to play on the Christmas tree at their house so Laura's mom probably wouldn't have let them climb it anyway. She thought that some of the decorations might break if they threw them around but that it would be fun to try.

All the parrots were happy that Laura and Carm were home so early. It wasn't too late for toast and in fact they were still a bit full from toast when Laura made their glop. They weren't too full to eat lots of glop though!

I thought that after my walk with Kirsten this afternoon I'd be raring to get out on the snowshoes again today but alas… instead, I collapsed on the sofa with no motivation to get outside. My excuse is that it is snowing, but that's rather weak! 

I was a bit bored so opened the document that has a few years worth of suppers sorted alphabetically. It was from the COVID years so lots of recipes with meat which I'm rarely cooking these days (going on 2 years now!)... but I did see a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Chili which I'm going to adapt with beans, tofu, and cauliflower. Carm stocked up on Frank's Red Hot sauce without realizing that we already had gallons of the stuff - it makes sense to use some! And gosh, cauliflower and Frank's is a great combination :-)  (update: it was great! Will make it again.)

On another more irritating note: for years we had Koodo home phone which worked perfectly for years, but since Bell ran fibre down our road we switched our internet to Bell which included a home phone… It's been giving no end of trouble since it was installed after Christmas. In fact, just getting the phone number switched from Koodo to Bell was a royal pita which required I don't know how many hours of trouble shooting with Bell Customer Support. What a pain! I probably would have given up but Carm is persistent and excels at these types of problems!

I need some sort of sweater that is like a reverse vest - something that will keep my arms warm but not overheat my body. I've had issues with body temperature regulation for absolute yonks (it was terrible when I was on tamoxifen - I was always frozen), and these days I freeze in the afternoons, especially if I've walked… my hands and arms feel icy cold… but then in the middle of the night I sleep outside the covers in my cold bedroom - it's crazy! 🤪 

Awesome!

"visit with Mom & Dad"

"roads still okay for the drive into the city"

"chilling out on the sofa, feeling slightly tired but relaxed"

"the hush of a quiet house"