splish splash

Writing a story about Cato and Bailey everyday has started to get the creative part of my brain to fire up. It's a bit like pulling teeth trying to get the words out, but I have a compelling reason to keep trying. My friend is struggling in the hospital and this is the only way I can think of to reach out to her. Her husband reads the story to her. Hopefully it doesn't make her feel sad but maybe she can see that the birds are doing well and not to be worried about them.

Carm was out this afternoon snowblowing from the last dump of snow… I wasn't as productive but did get my 60 minutes on the treadmill, despite being a bit tired again today. Yesterday I only managed 30 minutes… I was hoping to watch 'Ted Lasso' while walking but there seems to be an 'opportunity' with Apple TV in that the video is very dark - sometimes all I see is a black screen. This is a known problem that Apple doesn't seem to want to fix. So I've turned to 'Escape from the Country' on Prime video. It is bright and easy to see, even when it's being backlit with a sunny day (which honestly is pretty rare!).

This afternoon I'm doing a bit of prep for supper - the long drawn out process of caramelising onions takes about an hour - I'm doing a double batch so I'll have some tucked into the freezer for next time! I set the timer for 4 minutes each time I stir so I don't let it burn - we want them caramelised not charred! For the last 10 minutes I hover over the pan, stirring occasionally… I burned a batch a while ago in the last few minutes… after an hour of effort! So I don't take a chance anymore…

Tonight I'm making French Onion Lentils & Barley with roasted butternut squash and a side of sauteed bok choy tossed with my homemade garlic chili oil. Getting a leg up on the onions will streamline tonight's effort. (update: it still took 3 dogs ages to get it on the table so we didn't eat until 7pm!)

Last night I made roasted sweet potato & red onion with a side of bok choy. It was topped with sauteed finely chopped mushrooms, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, black beans, thai basil, and some tofu crumbles. It was good! In the afternoon I had prepared the tofu - it was grated then tossed with garlic powder, smoked paprika, liquid smoke, and fish sauce. Then it's spread onto a baking sheet and air fried for about 20 minutes in total, tossing it around a few times. It turns out a bit crunchy and very tasty. I think the birds liked this concoction. Carm and I did too!

A shout out to our airfryer/toaster oven. I use this thing almost daily (well, daily if you count Carm and the bird's toast). It's great for vegetables, tofu, and on the odd occasion when we treat ourselves to chicken wings. Oh, and it does a great job on salmon. It's a Ninja something or other. It doesn't fit anything too high but it fits perfectly in the spot under the microwave which makes up for any functionality that I might miss.

Chapter 6 Cato and Bailey have a Bath

Water flew everywhere as Bailey flitted in his water bowl. Puddles on the table and puddles on the floor added some humidity to the dry winter air. He whistled and cheeped as his head dunked into the water dish, over and over again. Laura watched with amusement and decided that a proper bowl of water would be provided the next day - it was already too close to bed time for these shenanigans.

Splish splash, we all had a bath!  https://youtu.be/QSA-yHzkvP8?si=z-hVI_YgUAmpAADW

The sun was still shining onto Cato and Bailey's cages so Laura thought it would be a good time for a proper bath. A low dish of warm water was carefully placed in  Cato's cage. She immediately climbed down and started flicking water with her beak. Energized by the fun music, she sent water everywhere.

Bailey's turn was next. He ran down to try to dump it. Maybe he had enough bath before bedtime last night.

Grace's turn was next. She was definitely not in the mood for a bath on this cold winter day! But that didn't stop her from trying to overturn the offending bath.

In the end, after all the water was cleaned up, everyone seemed content to have an afternoon nap, with visions of glop soon to be served.

The clouds seemed to thin out late this afternoon - I thought I'd get outside for a snowshoe but my energy just isn't there today.  Tomorrow I'll enjoy all the fluffy white snow!

Awesome!

"double batch of caramelised onions"

"crazy parrots"

"my amazing air fryer"

"a turnaround for Ruth"