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!"

a musician

Just a quick story!

Chapter 21 Cato and Bailey Meet A Musician

It was early afternoon and the parrots were enjoying the music playing on Laura's speaker. She had it playing a bit louder than usual as Carm was not home. It wasn't time for glop yet, but it was on their mind when suddenly Adia and Lupa started barking. They wondered if it was someone coming. Lupa was barking in a way that it sounded like a stranger was coming into the house so they were all a bit worried.

Laura ran to the door to say hello and they heard that his name is Andy. Cato wondered if it was the same Andy that she'd seen in a movie about toys, but when he came in she saw that it wasn't. Still, the birds all agreed that was interesting to have someone new in the house.

The people sat down on the sofas right near the parrots which didn't surprise them at all as they figured that Andy had come to see them. After a lot of talking (which they didn't find very interesting), Laura asked Andy about his music. They were surprised to learn that Andy was the drummer on some of the songs that Laura plays. Bailey thought that was cool and that maybe he'd be a good drummer too so started banging on the paper tube that stuck out of his cage.

https://youtu.be/VZENwdjxlSU?si=AVjTFggxUnNXUe3t  (Don't Fall in Love with Me  Windfall78)

Cato and Bailey were excited when Andy started playing some of his music especially when he played the new songs that he is writing. They loved all the different sounds and couldn't help singing themselves. All the parrots started singing and dancing. The song was about a boat which made Cato and Bailey remember the boats in the lake. It sounded like it was a big boat with room to sleep so they knew it wasn't one from their lake. They were sad when the music ended and Andy left as it was the most fun they'd had in a long time. They hoped that Andy would play more music for them another time.

Awesome!

"video chat with Ruth"

Cato and Bailey meet Pat

It's been bone chilling cold the last few days but thankfully the mercury rose to -12C this afternoon which felt almost balmy after the -27C wind chill of the last few days. We were all happy to rebreak our snowshoe trails before the clouds socked in again… I believe we are in for a snowstorm tomorrow which will mean we have to redo the trails again but I'm good with that!

Carm and his friend golfing buddy, Andy, met up at a new local indoor golf range and then came back here for a slice of last summer's zucchini bread. I'm excited to go with Carm so that I can work on hitting the ball! Maybe I'll even take some lessons and play a few 9 hole rounds with Carm over the summer. 

I've never been a person who enjoys physical effort… until… the last few years! I've gotten to a point where I enjoy the effort. A lifetime of pushing myself through depression is paying off in spades these days as I can put in the same effort now, while I'm feeling strong, and get results. I've got lots of practice challenging myself when I'm having mood issues (which are also surprisingly physical) so I just keep the pressure up. Which is good practice for the next time I'm low 😀  Some people might think I'm crazy (they aren't wrong!), but it's what keeps me putting one foot in front of the other when times are hard.

Last night Pat came for supper - the first time since Cato and Bailey arrived, so that's the theme for today's story for Ruth.

Chapter 20 Cato and Bailey Meet Pat

Cato and Bailey had just started eating supper when the dogs made a ruckus. It seemed that someone was coming to the house. They could tell that Adia and Lupa were really excited, and when the visitor came into the house Grace got excited too.

Grace told them that Pat was here! They were curious and wondered if she would think they were beautiful. When Pat finally came to say hello to them, she seemed familiar so they thought that they remembered her from a long time ago. Of course Pat remembered them! Pat talked quietly to them which and told them how beautiful their pretty wings are. Cato and Bailey really liked that. They thought that Pat was a nice friend for Laura and Carm to have.

Grace told Cato and Bailey that Pat comes to take care of her and the dogs when Laura and Carm go away. She told them that Pat makes good food too and that they all liked it when she stayed, even though they missed Laura and Carm.

https://youtu.be/fiMJk7trF00?si=nN2T_sAn_qUAzqbu  (Summer Side of Life Gorden Lightfoot)

After the people ate their supper they all sat down in front of the TV. Cato likes it when the TV is on so she was excited. Sometimes it is just the boring news but tonight Carm played something called Star Trek which Cato thought was very interesting. She liked how the people all looked different and sometimes didn't even look like humans at all. Bailey wondered if there were ever parrots on the TV. His question was answered when the humans started watching the next TV show - there was a cockatoo! All the parrots thought that was very interesting and that perhaps someday they could be on TV too.

The shoe struggle is real… I walked in the new grey ones again, and again, by 50 minutes, a blister was forming… I had to go back to the old worn pair to finish my walk. I guess we'll have to check out some shoe stores in the city, but gosh, if it takes 50 minutes to tell that a blister is forming, how the heck will I try them out 😞 

I've started adding a few 'skips' into my morning basement routine - I haven't gotten totally tangled up in the rope… yet! It's hard to remember that when I was a kid I could skip for ages. Now I can't even skip for a minute without nearly passing out. The visual is bad, but think of an ungainly elephant jumping up and down 😱  I want to add more impact exercises to increase bone density - I'm not certain that skipping is enough force, but it's at least a start.

Awesome!

"a visit with Carm's friend"

"warm enough to get outside for a bit"

"doing 30 skips without falling face first onto the floor"