the whistle blows

It was an exciting but ultimately disappointing morning here (really anywhere in Canada)... I watched the hockey game from the treadmill and I'll have to say that my pace was much faster than usual!

We had a bit of snow a few days ago so I got out on the snowshoes yesterday afternoon to start remaking my paths… which had all blown in :-( It was impossible to see where the old ones were so it was a deep and exhausting loop or two. Today I hit the trails again and pounded down another few paths. I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest! It was hard work!

Carm had an exciting morning driving to the city to pick up his new golf clubs! He's meeting his buddy tomorrow to test them out 😀 

Chapter 30 Cato and Bailey Watch Hockey

It had been quiet in the house in the morning although the parrots could hear clunking and groaning that sounded like it was coming from downstairs. They were sort of used to it but wondered what the noise was and why Laura always came upstairs huffing and puffing. Cato and Bailey liked to join in with the huffing, they thought it was funny.

Weirdness started when Laura started walking in place on the machine in the livingroom… often she would talk and laugh, sometimes she'd sing out loud, but this morning she was shouting and sometimes even swearing! They couldn't believe their ears! It was weird too as Laura had turned on the TV in the morning which never happens. Soon, Cato realized what the shouting was about - it seemed to be louder when the TV showed a bunch of people chasing a little black dot. Bailey could see it too. Grace asked them what was going on but Cato and Bailey had no idea why this was so exciting. Laura told them that it was a hockey game and that Canada was playing the USA for the gold medal in the Olympics and they all agreed that it was very exciting.

https://youtu.be/F5I_zaqM8LM?si=O3pf_EB8UjAcAW5Q (Hockey Song Stompn Tom Conners)

Everyone, even the dogs, got excited and started shouting along with Laura. It seemed too that Laura was walking faster and faster till she was almost running! It was all too exciting! But then, after quite a long time there was lots of swearing and the TV was turned off. Cato wondered what had happened. Laura told them that Canada had lost the game which they all felt was sad and a bit unlucky for Canada.

Awesome!

"my new walking shoes! I love them!"

"fresh snow"

"watching Lupa power through the deep snow"

"a few minutes of sunshine"

"getting to the number of reps that I was doing in September"

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"