Our new feathered kid - Riley

This is Riley, our new feather kid. He is 14 weeks old. He is a green cheek conure.

Thanksgiving

I wish I could take better pictures.

Kari and Mindy
Mark, Ashley and Charly
Dave and Charly
Brett and Mindy
Mindy and Mike

I am very thankful for my family. My children are all grown and they are a joy to be with. My husband and his family are the best people to be around. I wish I had gotten a picture of my mother-in-law with the new baby. I don't know why I didn't, but it made tears come to my eyes to see Charly sleeping on her shoulder.

Memorial for Sparky

November 21, 2006

Yesterday afternoon Sparky passed away. He was being taken to the Vet for his monthly beak trim. While being held by the technician, he suffered a heart attack. The doctor tried to resuscitate him, but to no avail.

Sparky was at least 12 years old. He had lived with Dave for most of his life. They were best pals and he will be greatly missed.

I didn't realize how much I would miss him. I knew that Dave would have a hard time, and that is the case. But even though he was a pain in the butt sometimes, he was very much a part of our lives.

weekend projects

Well, I got quite a few projects down this weekend. We didn't have any football games to attend. Just watched them on the telly.

I regrouted bathtub. I think there is a small leak somewhere need the seam of the bathtub and the shower door framework. I need to figure that out. We also need to get the hot water faucet washer fixed. Not sure how to do that easily. Maybe we need to get all new fixtures for the bathtub. I think we have to go through the access panel that is in Dave's office to get to the other side of the tub. Sounds like fun. (not).

I also shortened the curtain that was in the bathtub window. It hung down and sort of got in the way when taking a shower. Plus it was getting discolored on the bottom from the little bit of rust in the water. This will last until I get a new one.

Lastly, we had bought some throw pillows for the living room. We picked up four of them on sale. Well, they are falling apart. So I got the bright idea that I would just recover them or make new covers for them. I am still trying to figure out how to put the old braid on the new pillows. I have one done and three covers sewn together. I just need to turn them, stuff them, and put the braid on.

I looked through the sewing projects that my mother had started. There are a lot of them. Purses, vests, appliques, a wall hanging. I need to see if there are any projects that I can finish. I hope so.

lucky

Well, I am feeling either lucky or unlucky, depending on how you look at it. If I was lucky, then I probably wouldn't have had these problems at all. But I guess I am lucky because both of these turned out fairly well.

1. My husband is trying to demolish my car slowly, a little bit at a time. Not really. I asked that my car be allowed to "sleep" in the garage with his car. The trouble is, the garage is a small two-car garage and my Focus has big ears. Dave's Santa Fe takes up a lot of room and my Focus just fits. Well, the first time that Dave tried to put the car in the garage, he scraped the passenger side of the car. The second time he tried, he knocked off the driver's side side-view mirror. Luckily, it only cost $106 to get that fixed. The scrape is still there. I need to get some paint that matches my car color.

2. Brett returned from San Francisco on Sunday. I was to pick him up from the airport, as he had left his car in our driveway. I had to take the Santa Fe (mirror wasn't fixed yet). I had contacted Brett via cell phone on the way to the airport, but he said his cell phone was dying. So when I parked to wait for him in the "tow away zone" I wasn't sure he would be able to find me. I waited and waited. I knew he was having to pick up his bag from the baggage claim area, so I thought it would be a little while. Still I was getting worried. I thought I would pop my head into the terminal and see if I could catch his eye and let him know I was there, as I couldn't reach him by cell phone. I was able to find him, but when I got back to the car, a police officer was writing up a ticket. I was only gone maybe 2 minutes. Geesh. Anyway, he said that he had called the tow truck and that the ticket and the towing would be $150. I started to cry quietly. I asked if there was anything I could say to change his mind. I knew that I had done wrong, but...but...oh, well, darn. Then he stopped writing and said, "oh, okay. I won't give you a ticket. Since you didn't try to argue with me, I will let it go." Oh, my gosh. I couldn't thank him enough. I was so glad. I thought sure that he wasn't going to let it go, but he did. Whew. That was a close one.

So I am either lucky or just stupid. Not sure which.