Well here is a picture of Fynn; the remaining bird from the original pair. Katie now has two new baby birds too. Needless to say Jake has been banned from her room unless she is present and he is invited. Fynn can be seen here posing with a piece of limp lettuce; She quite likes lettuce but prefers fingers when she can get them!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Roller Coaster
Well the last few days have been a huge emotional roller coaster. Katie's birds duly arrived; though they were not transported to their cage without a fright. As Katie was adjusting something in the cage, one got out! Lots of flapping and chasing later the bird is back with it's mate, though Katie is nursing a severely pecked hand! Katie did not mind though, she was just so happy she spent the rest of the day just watching her new birds.
The next day Lorii wins a new ceiling fan for the dining room on the internet. I take Katie with me to fetch it, after dropping Lorii off at a friends hotel. Lorii had become quite chatty with the seller of the ceiling fan, and had told him about Katies new birds. He took us around the back of his home to see his aviary, containing numerous finches including canaries. He also owned chipmunks, though we only saw one as the others were fast asleep. Katie was delighted, however, and was glad she had not stayed in the car while I collected the fan. Another surprise though came while chatting with Eddie, the fans owner, when it emerged through conversation that he was a good friend of George, Lorii's dad. They had both run businesses near Gyn Square, and often went drinking together. Eddie was really amazed that of all the people on the internet, who should buy his fan but the daughter of a good friend. A small world indeed.
When we got home Jacob was really agitated. He thrust the phone at me and told me I had to phone Lorii. I was instantly concerned, frightened even, that something terrible had happened to her. I asked Jacob what had happened and he confessed; he had accidentally released one of Katies birds. Not just from the cage, but from the house. The bird was gone. Forever. It turns out that once the rest of the family were out of the house Jacob had decided to play with Katies birds. Knowing full well that Katie would not let him near the birds while she was there he had decided to feed them; despite Katie having done so already. So although being present when Katie chased the bird around her bedroom, he opened the cage without first shutting the windows! I have never seen my daughter so upset, or been so angry with my son. As a parent I feel incredibly guilty that I did not prevent this from happening. I have felt for some time now that both my children were mature enough to be left unattended without risk of a major incident. For Jacob to display such a monumental streak of both selfishness and stupidity is totally gutting. It has taken Katie two days to come to terms with this. Jacob has further angered me by trying to play the victim card, sulking and playing the woe is me act as he suffers his punishments. Time (and Jacobs savings) will heal this. I only hope that Jacob has finally learnt not to touch other peoples possessions without asking.
The next day Lorii wins a new ceiling fan for the dining room on the internet. I take Katie with me to fetch it, after dropping Lorii off at a friends hotel. Lorii had become quite chatty with the seller of the ceiling fan, and had told him about Katies new birds. He took us around the back of his home to see his aviary, containing numerous finches including canaries. He also owned chipmunks, though we only saw one as the others were fast asleep. Katie was delighted, however, and was glad she had not stayed in the car while I collected the fan. Another surprise though came while chatting with Eddie, the fans owner, when it emerged through conversation that he was a good friend of George, Lorii's dad. They had both run businesses near Gyn Square, and often went drinking together. Eddie was really amazed that of all the people on the internet, who should buy his fan but the daughter of a good friend. A small world indeed.
When we got home Jacob was really agitated. He thrust the phone at me and told me I had to phone Lorii. I was instantly concerned, frightened even, that something terrible had happened to her. I asked Jacob what had happened and he confessed; he had accidentally released one of Katies birds. Not just from the cage, but from the house. The bird was gone. Forever. It turns out that once the rest of the family were out of the house Jacob had decided to play with Katies birds. Knowing full well that Katie would not let him near the birds while she was there he had decided to feed them; despite Katie having done so already. So although being present when Katie chased the bird around her bedroom, he opened the cage without first shutting the windows! I have never seen my daughter so upset, or been so angry with my son. As a parent I feel incredibly guilty that I did not prevent this from happening. I have felt for some time now that both my children were mature enough to be left unattended without risk of a major incident. For Jacob to display such a monumental streak of both selfishness and stupidity is totally gutting. It has taken Katie two days to come to terms with this. Jacob has further angered me by trying to play the victim card, sulking and playing the woe is me act as he suffers his punishments. Time (and Jacobs savings) will heal this. I only hope that Jacob has finally learnt not to touch other peoples possessions without asking.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Birds
Anyone who knows Katie knows she is just a weenie bit obsessed with birds. She has pressed us every year for some sort of bird every birthday and Christmas; and now she is about to turn sixteen. Well we have given in. Harris hawks are still off the list as we just cannot look after them properly. Large parrots and macaws are no-nos too, as they live too long and require too much attention. So we have settled on cockatiels. Lorii won a huge bird cage on ebay, that would have cost £90 or more, for only £15! Jacob has been doing his bit too, by wooing the local pet store owner; he may have secured a free bird. So, Katie is under the firm understanding, that when she flies our nest she takes these birds with her, but right now she is just bouncing of the walls with excitement. It's good to see her so happy.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Oven
Well our oven died on Friday. So we've bought a new one and a new hob too. The oven I had installed in seconds, the only hitch being the lack of even a mains cable on the new oven. But I simpley removed both plug and cable from the out going unit and Robert was my Mothers Brother! The hob though is a different kettle of fish altogether. That is going to require a Corgi certified Gas fitter. I was amazed to find that, unlike cookers, hobs don't have flexible hoses to connect. Or if they normally do; my existing unit and my new one don't. So I can't install my hob. Ho hum.
Lorii gets the results to her second scan tomorrow. I'm not too worried; as they have left it nearly a month after the scan to tell her. I'm sure if they had spotted anything to worry about they would have called her in much sooner.
Lorii gets the results to her second scan tomorrow. I'm not too worried; as they have left it nearly a month after the scan to tell her. I'm sure if they had spotted anything to worry about they would have called her in much sooner.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Wounded
Well I've just got back from the NHS Walk-In Centre. I sliced my little finger on my right hand, on a broken glass, whilst doing some washing up. The bugger would not stop bleeding, so after an hour of leaking circulatory fluid, I thought I'd show it to an expert. It was only a little cut. But things must have been slow at the walk-in centre, as I was shown straight through to a nurse, after triage, instead of being sent out to wait while they dealt with real emergencies. For my troubles I got three steri-strips, as it did not merit stitches, half a mile of tubi-grip, some gauze, Micropore and a tetanus booster.
The good news is I'm banned from washing-up. This is a bit dire for Katie though, as Jake cut his hand earlier iin the week and he too has problems keeping his dressing dry.
The good news is I'm banned from washing-up. This is a bit dire for Katie though, as Jake cut his hand earlier iin the week and he too has problems keeping his dressing dry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)