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"

another cold snap

It was a blustery and very cold day on Saturday. Carm had to snowblow in the -18C (not counting wind chill), so by the time he spent 1 ½ hours outside he wasn't keen on snowshoeing… I'd been out with the dogs a few times already and wasn't wanting to spend more time outside either! The dogs could barely stand being out for long enough to do their business so a snowshoe was out of the question for them.

Instead I rushed around making food for the birds, food for us, laundry, etc… 

I've come to the conclusion that my new treadmill shoes are not the greatest. They seem way hotter - I have been switching to sandals for the last 10 or 20 minutes - and they are a bit too tight. Plus my feet seem to hurt more, in fact they are what is limiting my walking time, not my legs. Luckily, I have one more pair to try… I think they will be better.

Chapter 18 Cato and Bailey Smell Good Food

It was in the afternoon, after toast but before glop, when Cato and Bailey smelled something good cooking. They wondered what smelled so good. They couldn't see very well but it seemed like Laura was cooking some ground beef. Then they saw her add little brown things which Grace said were lentils. Then Laura added some paprika and basil from her garden. 

They thought it was nice to have something that was grown outside, even though they couldn't see the pots that Grace said were on the deck. Grace told them that Laura cuts it in the summer and stores it in the freezer. She said the herbs made things taste nice and told Cato and Bailey that Laura said there were health benefits but couldn't remember what they were. It didn't matter to her as it made food taste good and that's all she cared about.

The parrots all wondered what this would taste like and hoped that they'd get some in their supper.

https://youtu.be/b12Ec1F1bGk?si=7Q6R0DHMRnmiQC9u  (I feel Good Beres Hammond)

While this was cooking, Laura played them some music. Cato, Bailey, and Grace liked to sing along, and even Adia and Lupa joined in. They really liked the song about feeling good and agreed that they all felt good too.

Chapter 19 Cato and Bailey Learn About Hope

All the parrots were happy to have the sun shining into their cages this morning. They hoped that Laura would sing the good morning song and she did. It was a good way to start the day. Soon, after Carm took the dogs outside and they finished their breakfast, Laura put the dogs in their crates so that Cato and Bailey could come out of their cages. They were happy to stretch their wings but were anxious for breakfast too.

Bailey wanted Laura to hurry up and get out of the way so that Carm could give him some banana. Cato waited for Bailey to finish eating so that he could feed her. She thought this was the best way to eat banana as then she didn't have to get her feet sticky.

https://youtu.be/OOCIptDK6B8?si=UF5il3owXO4Qhb2L (Good to be Alive Andy Grammer)

While Laura was cleaning their cages, she told them a story about many years ago when she was sick. She told them that the illness made her brain sluggish and that it was hard to remember things. She worried that she'd never be able to think and remember ever again, but she was happy to tell them that with patience and by not giving up she got her brain strength back. She said it was hard work sometimes and that there were times she wanted to give up and cry, but never gave up. She told them that Grace had helped her keep going even when it was hard. 

They were amazed to learn that Laura said her brain got even better and stronger than it was before she got sick. And that it was important to not give up hope. Cato thought this was lucky and Bailey agreed. They told each other that they would help Ruth the same way that Grace helped Laura.

I wrote the story about Cato and Bailey too late Saturday to post but the good news is that Ruth asked about the birds - that's the first time in a very long time so she's making progress :-) Today I made sure to get the story done a bit earlier. My creativity is being strained to its limits!

Sunday: I tried the other pair of shoes… I managed 50 minutes of walking before I had to switch to sandals as it felt like I was starting a blister on one side. Will try again tomorrow. I'm hoping they just need to stretch a bit more.

It's minus 27C with the wind chill so I passed on the snowshoes… even though I was itching to go, but the skin on my face would have been brutalized. If there had been no wind (20kmph with gusts), I would have done it…

Awesome!

"adding another set"

"quiet afternoon"

"snow skittering off the roof"

"sunny Sunday"