two days of stories

We've had a few warmer days which is starting to affect the quality of the snow… instead of soft and fluffy drifts, there is now a crust of icy snow on top. Good for stopping the snow from blowing around so much but not as nice for snowshoeing. Still good, just not amazing! There's a potential for freezing rain overnight tonight which will really ruin things. But the weatherman has been wrong before!

It's been a busy few days with a trip into the city to celebrate Dad's birthday, which included a lovely lunch at 'Red Lobster', a supper visit with Kari, and a visit from Mom and Dad here yesterday afternoon (I'll talk about that tomorrow - it will be my story idea!).

Chapter 25 Cato and Bailey See a Ukelele

It was another quiet day for the parrots on Friday as Laura went away to her parents house to celebrate her father's birthday. She told them that it was a big birthday for him Cato and Bailey remembered that it was too cold to go in the car still but they really wanted to see the Christmas tree at Laura's mom's house. Laura told them that it was decorated for Valentines Day and that she'd take a picture for them to see.

Carm stayed home with them but didn't play any music and didn't give them their glop so they were starving at supper time! Laura was home before supper though but they weren't worried about that as they knew that Carm is the one who makes their meals.

When Laura came home she had something weirdly shaped in her hands which made music. Laura told them it was a ukulele which is like a tiny guitar. They loved it when Laura strummed it to make more notes. They thought that it would be really nice to hear a song, but she said she'd have to wait for Pat to give her some lessons before she could make good sounding notes. Cato thought it sounded okay without it being a song. Bailey wanted to try it himself but Laura said no, that his beak would break the strings. Bailey thought that he could be careful but nobody else thought he'd be careful enough and that maybe he'd think for a second that it was a boing to be taken apart!

Chapter 26 Cato and Bailey Meet Laura's Aunt

Cato and Bailey had come to recognize when Laura and Carm were getting the house ready for company so they weren't too surprised when the dogs started barking on Saturday night around supper time. They'd already had their supper but were curious to see what second supper might be.

They were surprised to learn that Kari was Laura's aunt, even though she is younger than Laura by several years. Cato remembered some of her human aunts and uncles that would come to the cottage to see them. Bailey thought about how much fun it was when they had a big gathering and was looking forward to next summer when there would be parties again.

The people stayed in the kitchen for quite a while while Laura tried to make supper. Bailey heard her swearing a few times but didn't think he'd say those words himself (although he used to!). When second supper was ready the parrots each got a spoon of pasta with a weird sauce, not the one Laura usually makes. They didn't think it was very good. Cato thought it was pretty terrible to serve company such horrible food.

Cato and Bailey were having a good time listening to the conversations plus the music was playing which they both enjoyed very much. Cato can't help but whistle along, while Bailey whoops and shouts. Or is it the other way around? 

https://youtu.be/HasaQvHCv4w?si=ZBQrMeNCoW_v2t9M (Dancing in the Street Bowie & Jagger)

They were surprised that Laura wasn't dancing around with the music playing but realized that she doesn't usually when there are other people over.

Awesome!

"surprise visit with Mom and Dad!"

"still good snowshoeing"

"steak dinner"

lucky day

Friday the 13th, or should I say 'Lucky Friday the 13th!' as that was the day, oh so many years ago, that my father was born! It was a picture perfect winter day with bright sunshine and warmer temperatures. I was lucky enough to have dry roads on my way into the city to wish him a happy birthday and join him, Mom, and Kirsten for a luscious lunch at Red Lobster!

I meant to take a photo with him but stupidly forgot :-(

Chapter 24 Cato and Bailey Remember Their Tricks

It seemed that it would be a long and boring afternoon but suddenly Laura started laughing. She jumped up to show the parrots what she was laughing at. Cato and Bailey were surprised to see their sister Shadow on the video. They'd never met her in person but knew that she lived with Laura and Ruth's friend Maria. Shadow was the same age as Cato but was hatched later in the same summer.

https://youtu.be/uXlpSGyPGB4?si=TNlu0P7OD-j5-Cv4 (Shadow sorting blocks)

Grace was amazed at Shadow's skill in putting the right blocks into the right holes. She thought that if she was given a chance she could do it too. She remembered years and years ago that sometimes she'd do a trick of putting a toy into a dish.

Adia and Lupa watched too. Adia reminded Lupa that they had a toy a bit like Shadow's except that they'd have to flip lids to open compartments with treats. They hoped that Laura would be reminded of that toy so they could practice later in the day.

Cato reminded everyone that she used to do some pretty awesome tricks too! She remembered pulling a little wagon and playing with blocks. Sometimes she'd pull up a bucket that might have a treat. Her best trick though was lying on her back. Grace couldn't believe that Cato would do that! Laura showed her a photo of Shadow watching Cato on the video - it didn't look like Shadow thought it was a good trick.

The parrots were sad to remember that Shadow had gone to bird heaven before Christmas but knew that they felt her presence sometimes when they were worried.

Awesome!

"Dad's birthday lunch!"

a routine day

I've missed a few days of posting stories so I'll bombast you with two. I don't have anything in the back of my mind for tomorrow so if you have ideas please float them over to me!

The bitter cold has left, maybe for the winter? Today the sun is shining again and I believe it's warming up to the single digits - minus that is! It's nice, but I hope it doesn't warm up too much as the snow is spectacular these days! Perfect for venturing out on the snowshoes. I got out there for a short walk on Tuesday, but yesterday I was too exhausted from the indoor exercise to even put my lined pants on, and certainly not enough energy to wrangle the dogs into their snowsuits! Today the fresh snow beckons!

I was thinking about how well Cato and Bailey have settled in and I think part of it is we have a fairly set routine so everyone knows what to expect when. Both Carm and I are big routine people, which served us very well during our working years. We had morning and evening chores figured out to the minute. We divided and conquered! We've kept it up during our retired years too… I'm not sure, but I believe it helps me, especially when I'm struggling. Knowing what has to be done when, keeps me moving when I need to and ensures that the mandatory tasks get done. The animals know what to expect so I think they are less stressed, although maybe they are more stressed when we have to break the routine.

I am mentally less flexible though which obviously has its drawbacks…

Chapter 22 Cato and Bailey Say Hi to Ruth

It was a normal day, much like every other one since Cato and Bailey arrived at Laura and Carm's house. They felt settled in and were used to the routine so nothing much surprised them. They'd heard Laura talking on the phone to someone (Grace said it was Laura's sister Kirsten) for a long time in the morning, but they were used to this and didn't pay much mind to the chatter.

A bit later in the morning Laura started talking to someone else and she seemed happy and a bit excited so they were wondering who she was talking to. They could barely hear through the phone, but then they heard Ruth's voice! They were very excited and amazed to see Ruth on the screen. Cato and Bailey were so happy to see her! They could see that she wasn't feeling well but Laura told them that she was on the mend. They were very happy to hear that!

Later, Laura talked to Maria, who is also Ruth's friend. She shared a song that she likes which the birds thought was a fine song. They hoped that Laura would play it often. They wondered if Maria was also a musician but Laura said she wasn't sure. Cato thought that anyone who plays music, even on their phone, must be some sort of musician or maybe a magician to be able to make the beautiful notes play.

https://youtu.be/U8QhB8_0t2g?si=RygejwWxR2C8Qinm (Mystical Magical Benson Boone)

All in all, it was a very good day for everyone!

Chapter 23 Cato and Bailey Wonder About Swimming

This afternoon Laura played a new song which everyone thought was a grooven tune. The parrots liked to sing along while the dogs danced at Laura's feet. Laura told them that the name of the singer is 'Teddy Swims' which they thought was a weird name and wondered if he swam in the lake like Ruth does in the summer.

https://youtu.be/JXAWPz8BwD0?si=D-dKQG8hg2O7F-mA

Cato and Bailey liked to think about swimming in the lake, although they never had done it themselves. They thought that it was like a giant bathtub but way too big for little birds. They'd seen other birds swimming in the water - Ruth had told them that they were ducks and had special feet to help them in the water. Bailey wondered how the ducks would hold their food if their feet were so weird. Cato reminded Bailey about the canary who used to live with them. He didn't use his feet at all to eat. Bailey thought it was strange, but figured that at least they didn't get sticky feet. Cato agreed as she didn't like to get her feet sticky, unless of course it was peanut butter toast!

With thoughts of swimming on their minds, all the birds dunked their heads in their water bowls to splash some water!

Oh, remember I mentioned skipping… I'll preface this to say 'GETTING OLD SUCKS'! It seems that I pulled something in my chest so I'm gimping around a bit. I only skipped for 30 seconds!!!

Awesome!

"video chat with Ruth"

"fresh snow on the paths"

"another day of sun! After November, December, and part of January under heavy cloud cover, the sun days have been fantastic!"