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!"

the eye doctor

It's been a grey day with temps below zero in the morning and slowly rising as the day has progressed. We had to take a trip into the city for eye doctor appointments which took ages and ages… The roads were snowy on the way in and slushy on the way home. Not my favourite! We stopped at Costco on the way home to fill up on gas and groceries. Gas was $1.59! Yikes. And we couldn't get tofu or yogurt :-(

Yesterday was sunny and the wind had died down so we took a trip to Mom & Dad's to help them set up their new computer.

The world is getting crazier by the day… hopefully something good happens soon although it's not looking likely. I wonder if we'll have trouble getting to Europe or worse yet, home, in just over a month!

I seem to have left my brain in the city though as I struggled with this story!

Chapter 46 Cato and Bailey Learn about the Eye Doctor

All the animals in the house were dismayed when it seemed that Laura and Carm were getting ready to go out. Cato and Bailey were surprised as Laura hadn't even walked on the treadmill and it seemed like she does that everyday. The dogs were not happy either as they knew they'd have to stay in the bedroom.

Grace could see the clock from her cage and saw that it was only 9 in the morning when Laura and Carm left the house - it seemed that there would be no toast for breakfast but at least they had their regular breakfast. The parrots quietly talked amongst themselves as the morning seemed to drag on forever. They all wondered where the people had gone.

Finally, well past lunchtime, the dogs shouted out that Laura and Carm were home! Big bags of food were brought into the house and put away in the fridge so they knew that the people had been shopping, but why did it take so long? Cato and Bailey were happy (so was Grace), as Carm started making toast right away! Hurrah! It was late but there'd still be toast. 

While they were eating, Laura told them about the eye doctor appointment that she and Carm had gone to. She told them that they had to look at little letters on the wall through a weird contraption and that the doctor had also put drops in their eyes that made them see funny. None of the parrots had ever been to the eye doctor. Laura told them that there weren't eye doctors for parrots because parrots can't wear glasses. This made sense to Cato. She reminded Bailey that Laura and Carm wear glasses so that must be why they had to go to the special doctor.

https://youtu.be/jxcZAHTyVCI?si=q3Bm6zdkJTS-DNc6 (Wear my Sunglasses Cory Heart)

Awesome!

"healthy eyes"

"getting home safe and sound"

"Zootopia! Cute movie to watch on the treadmill"

"not missing a day yet this year although only walked 20 minutes today"

"chicken shwarma sandwich"

detour

Spring has taken a detour, blown off course by a gusting wind. Snow swirls across the field, sometimes almost obliterating the road on its southern edge. It's a good day for staying mostly inside - cold and blowing snow make the roads icy and snow covered.

I've gotten out of the daily habit of writing something - it seems like my creativity has taken a hike! Hopefully it's temporary but even so, already I've written almost as many blog posts as last year in total! I just have 20 to go 😱 Last year must have been a doozy!

Saturday we drove into the city to have supper with Carm's nephew Justin and his partner Sonia. Carm's brother Frank and sister-in-law Tammy were also there. We hadn't seen them, except for a few minutes here and there, for absolutely ages! That's my sign to get busy and start having people out for lunch or dinner more often! I've been remiss in that for a few years now… Part of the problem is trying to figure out what to serve… I've been in a bit of a rut cooking wise for two years… it's so much easier to create meals when they are centered around a bit of meat…

I think today would be a good day to comb through my menu records to come up with a few ideas and WRITE them down - no excuses!

Chapter 44 Cato and Bailey hear a Song

All the parrots were quietly grinding their beaks when Laura interrupted the peace with a crazy song about a dog and a window. After a moment Cato decided that it was a good song to dance to and that it was even okay that Laura was singing along.

Laura stopped singing to tell them the story about Grace's Dad whistling this song to Grace when she was still in the egg. He also sang the song to her when she was a tiny chick.

Grace couldn't remember but felt that the song sounded familiar and that it gave her a nice feeling inside. Laura reminded Cato and Bailey that they would have heard Grace's Dad too as he lived across the aisle from Cato and Bailey's parents. They thought that it was nice to think about.

https://youtu.be/Aqwq4AgMiik?si=xvkyEhQc5Pt1Ds6d (how much is that doggie in the window patty Page)

Chapter 45 Cato and Bailey are Kept Awake by the Wind

The roar of the wind hitting the house kept everyone awake all night, even Cato and Bailey had trouble sleeping with the noise. Grace could remember the wind being that noisy in the past so she wasn't too worried that the house would blow down but Cato and Bailey weren't so sure.

When Laura opened the blinds in the morning they were surprised to see snow on the trees as they thought the wind would have blown it all away. But instead the snow seemed to be plastered on the trees in a more permanent fashion. Laura said it was because it had been raining before the snow started so it stuck to everything like glue.

It sure didn't seem like spring was here, even though they could hear the lonely sound of the red-winged blackbird calling outside. Cato thought that he sounded cold so Bailey wondered if there was a way to invite him into the house, but Grace said that they are a bit shy and didn't like people like parrots did.

The blustery wind reminded Laura of the story about the three pigs and the wolf blowing down the houses so she read it out loud to the parrots. They were glad that the house was not made of straw because it surely would have been blown down by the wind. It made them wonder a bit if the wind was really a wolf trying to get inside. Bailey thought that was a scary idea and didn't want to think about it at all. He thought that hopefully the house was made of brick and was sorry to hear that it was made of wood like the second house the wolf blew down. That made him scared, but then realized that it would have been blown down by now so maybe the wood was more like brick!

After the story it was time for toast which distracted everyone for a while.

https://youtu.be/2vRsEC65NTA?si=nPqB9SPKW-Q2hiMv (Against the Wind Bob Seger)

Awesome!

"cosy in the house despite the howling wind"

"visiting with family'