clodhoppers

Shopping is not really my thing, although I do enjoy the occasional trip, especially when I go with Mom or Kirsten, but yesterday it was just Carm helping me with the dreaded shoe shopping… Ugh! I have so much trouble with my feet and lately my good old pair of treadmill shoes has seen their last days. 

I've tried a few new pairs of sketchers that I'd picked up at Costco over the last year but they were not the greatest. The first pair that I tried were the step in kind, but they gave me a blister… The next pair was a slightly different style - no blisters but reasonably uncomfortable. I couldn't even get through an hour without having to change to a pair of sandals which give no support. I have been wondering if I need to take a break from walking :-(

So… first stop, first pair of shoes (Asics) I tried seemed to be good, or at least good enough to bring them home for a few minutes on the treadmill. I tried a bunch of others on but they were awful.

Next store I found a different style/brand (Hoka) that also seemed good so I purchased them too. Yesterday I walked for a bit in each pair - one was okay, the other was great, but I'll try a few minutes again today to confirm - I like the look of one better than the other, and they are also half the price of the Hokas, but they aren't as comfortable. After I tried them, I went back to the black pair of Sketchers and couldn't believe how bad they made my feet feel compared to the two new pairs…

I'll give each pair a few minutes today to confirm! (update: hokas for the win!)

We've been treating ourselves to crispy roasted potatoes a bit lately. I steam them and put them in the fridge overnight so that they change to resistant starch which is good for the microbiome! I toss them with a bit of olive oil and basil garlic salt, smash them onto a baking sheet, spray with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with parm. They go into the airfryer for about 20 minutes to crisp. Today I'll make a tahini garlic lemon sauce to dip them into :-) We'll have some tuna, red pepper, and white beans that have been cooked with mushrooms & peppers. Filling!

Chapter 29 Cato and Bailey Help with Housecleaning

Cato and Bailey wondered who would be coming to the house as It seemed like just a few days ago that Laura and Carm were getting ready for company. It was obvious when the person arrived as Adia and Lupa were running around excited and barking. They were surprised to see that it was Krista the housecleaner again! It had been a month since she was last here but the time had gone by so quickly that it seemed like it was just the other day.

The parrots were glad to see that the dogs had to spend time in their crates too. Cato thought that Krista was nice even though she had the noisy vacuum. Bailey and Grace agreed with her. They found it interesting to see her run her cloth over all the surfaces, picking up their discarded toy parts and bits of pellets. Laura and Carm did that every day but it seemed to always need to be cleaned.

They were glad that Laura and Carm didn't go away again as they get a bit bored and run out of things to say to each other. They wished that the people would leave the music playing while they left the house so they didn't have to hear the dogs howling so much. They couldn't decide which was their favourite song although they did agree with Laura that the Eagles were a good band.

https://youtu.be/gWVDjgC0NVA?si=y70Kx9o6rY7yuJSF  (Peaceful Easy Feeling Eagles)

Awesome!

"finding shoes to try"

"another sunny day and dry roads for the drive into the city"

"crispy tofu"

chapters 27 and 28

I've fallen behind in posting again! I guess we've been a bit busy the last few days! Sunday afternoon Mom and Dad popped by for a visit. Tuesday we went to Marie's to celebrate Jerina's birthday. Today we visited Trudie & Leo and did a quick shop at liquidation. I found a burgundy long woolish coat for $20! It's not a full on winter coat, more for the shoulder seasons. I have a good parka (it's like being in a teddy bear), and a shorter puffer jacket, but nothing dressy. I think it will be nice for shopping and going out for lunch!

The warm weather, aided by a bit of freezing rain, has completely changed the snow. It's now got a hard crust that supports Lupa's weight so she's been zooming everywhere. It was nice having her contained within our labyrinth of snowshoe paths! 

Chapter 27 Cato and Bailey Meet Laura's Mom and Dad

Cato and Bailey were surprised when Laura and Carm started getting the house ready for company again. After days and weeks of hardly any company it seemed impossible that there were people coming again on Sunday since Laura's aunt Kari had been there just the night before.

The parrots were interested to meet Laura's Mom and Dad as they remembered the Christmas tree that Laura had told them was decorated for Valentines Day. They thought that Grace's grandma would bring toys for them but were disappointed that there were none. Laura had showed them the picture of the tree and it was covered with toys, including ducks. They thought it was very unfair for a tree to have all those toys while they had none.

They didn't really have no toys - their cages were filled with various things, but they thought the ones on the tree looked especially fun. In fact, Bailey had gotten a new rope perch just the day before and was already taking it apart! Laura said it was an old perch of Grace's that had a broken end but Bailey thought it was perfect for disassembling!

https://youtu.be/jv-pYB0Qw9A?si=6lcy8AOa4XJ7pLJ3 (happy Pharell Williams)

Cato thought that it was nice to have people talking and laughing, it made her want to laugh too. Bailey agreed, but thought there could have been food and treats involved!

Chapter 28 Cato and Bailey Remember Their Vacation

The house was quiet again in the afternoon on Tuesday. Laura and Carm had gone to celebrate their friend's birthday leaving the animals to look after the house. The parrots could hear Lupa and Adia howling in the bedroom and were glad that Laura had shut the door to the hall so it wasn't quite so loud. When the dogs were finally quiet, the parrots were able to talk amongst themselves.

Cato reminded Bailey about the big adventure that they'd had many years ago. They remembered driving in the car for a long long time, it seemed that they'd never get there. They were used to short drives to see family, and even a few times to stay with Laura and Carm but those were only one hour long drives. This drive was hours and hours long for a few days. They even had to sleep in a strange room. Bailey remembered that they'd gone to Florida which was in another whole country.

Cato and Bailey told Grace that they needed a special passport and other papers in order to cross into the other country. They thought they must be very important to have papers like that. Cato remembered that they were CITES papers because Cato and Bailey are an endangered species.

The adventure was a long time ago, so they couldn't remember many details but did recall seeing Ruth's friend Donna which was a surprise as they'd only seen her at their house and didn't expect to see her so far away. Ruth told them that Donna lived in Florida so it made sense to them.

It seemed that they'd been talking for ages when finally Laura and Carm came home in time to feed them their supper.

Awesome!

"fun party at Marie's"

"finding a cute long coat at liquidation"

"Trudie's cat's incredible yellow eyes"

"airfried tofu chunks"

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"