Laurie

Nice job, Dan! I am part Irish. My maternal grandmother's maiden name was Flood. They tell me that's Irish, and I'm not going to fight with them! LOL

Thanks, and the same to you!

It's not a Holiday so much as it is just a day on the calendar. It's the first day of Winter. Just as March 21 will be the first day of Spring (that's an equinox - equal day and night). Autumn equinox is Sept 21 and Summer Solstice is June 21. Geez, I'm a nerd...

Right now I am waiting for dinner to be served. Spaghetti. By the smell of things, it should be soon. The "camp cook" has been playing with our new Wii all afternoon. I may have to go kick him into action. I'm getting hungry! LOL In a freak turn of weather it has been in the 50's today here in Detroit. My son and I went for an hour walk and just enjoyed the heck out of it.

I joined because I suddenly had a Grey living in my living room. The Grey decided he was in love with me (not his rightful owner, just the homeowner who agreed to let him camp out here). So of course, I was won over by the little guy. And as the one internet savvy person in the house, I started trying to gather as much info on Greys as I could and stumbled across this place. The rest is history! I love coming to this site!

I'm in Michigan, too! I got to have a snow day (off work) out of that little storm. How about the cold we're having now? My son and I are going to bundle up and go for a walk in a few minutes here but I'll be suprised if we can stay out 30 minutes!

Hulllooooooo! Where is everybody? Just wanted to drop a line into this thread about a fabulous book I just read called Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Harry S Lodge, M.D. It goes into great detail about the benefits of excercise. How it basically destroys muscle cells, forcing your body to make new ones, and therefore you are essentially younger on a cellular level. Fascinating reading and an inspiration to keep at it!

Missed it yesterday, but wanted to wish everyone a Happy Solstice (as well as Happy Holidays). Hard to believe, the days start getting longer from now until June. A cheerful thought during this time of short days and long nights...

Aaaaah, yes! People need to realize that a bird basically has his beak to work with and really no other way to say, "Leave me alone!" Except, of course to say, "Leave me alone" which they probably know would then cause a big fuss, and they certainly wouldn't be left alone...*sigh*

Peace and joy to you all! Your birds and families, too! xo Laurie

Well, I have to let Klaus know his skills are in demand! LOL

Here is Klaus' latest: The phone rings. He says, "Hello?". Then a short pause. Then, "Take me off the list." He cracks me up! :laugh:

I love how hilarious Klaus is. The noises he makes and the stuff he says. Also how at dinner time he will nonchalantly climb down the leg of his cage stand, toddle over to the table, climb up my pant leg and peek over the edge of the table to get a better look at what we're having (even though I've already given him his own little bowl of what we're having). Overall he is just fun to have around!

No graphics here...those who know me know I'm hopeless, but I would like to wish you all peace and joy this season! With love from Laurie and Klaus

Snow day! Our phones rang at 5:30 am first with school calling to say it's closed (my son is overjoyed, to say the least)...then a little after 7:00 work called to say it's not worth trying to trudge in. So I have this unexpected day off and I'm not sure what to do with myself! I will catch up on my fave forum here of course then will probably tend to a few chores around here. I need to do some more Christmas shopping (yep, I'm one of those last-minute folks) but I don't think today's the day...or maybe I'll run out later when the roads are clear. Hope you all are having a nice day!

Poppy your kitty cat looks just like mine - her name is Pandora and she is 8 years old. Luvparrots, your pug is adorable! And of course, the greys are sweet...

One of Klaus' latest sayings is, "You be a good bird, ok?". Ok, Klaus. I'll be a good bird. LOL! Also, you've heard it before, but it's a classic, when he tells himself to stop it! "Stop it! Stop it, Klaus!" as he attacks the molding in the doorway near his cage...

I talk to Klaus and still carry him around on my shoulder a little bit. Sometimes we "Rassle" - I put my hand on his back and say, "Wanna rassle?" and shake him around (very, very gently - I don't want to hurt him or give him a reason to bite me). He seems to enjoy that little bit of rough housing. Your bird sounds like a sweetie!

Not only does Klaus like to shred the paper from the bottom of his cage, he then likes to toss it "overboard" creating a lovely casual look on the floor around his cage. He's quite the decorator! LOL

Hi, Lyn - Sorry to hear about your Dad. But what a nice story about Alfie. You know, at times I start to feel resentful of Klaus (all the fuss, clean-up, feeding, watering, having to rush home, scheduling our evenings around him). Then I realize what a trouper he is. He's locked up usually 20+ hours a day. A good many of those hours there's not even anyone home or in the room with him. And yet he's a happy bird. He chatters away contentedly when we're home and keeps us entertained. We have the reward of getting to know him and learning how to take care of him. They deal with more than we give them credit for. Thanks for reminding us that all our birds are special!

Klaus seems to say something new every day now. Today he's piping up with, "That's my baby! That's my baaaaaay-bee!" Also he's saying, "Wha doin'? Wha dooooin'?" (He always seems to drag it out the second time he says anything.) Also Scott has taught him to whistle, "I Can See Clearly Now (the Rain has Gone)." He'll whistle bars of it interspersed with bombs dropping, like so: "I can see clearly (ka-pow, ka-pow) now the rain (ka-pow, ka-pow)...etc, etc. He cracks me up every day!

Dan, the man! =)

Hey, thanks for posting that! I live in the Detroit area too. I shall mark my calendar and see if I can make it to the show...

I took a long walk in the morning...I've never measured the distance, but I thinks it's about 3 miles. Then had dinner at noon (a relatively sensible amount of food). Then took the same walk again with my son (he has phys ed this quarter at school and it is required homework for him to do 30 minutes of physical activity 4x a week). So far so good right? Then at about 9:00 pm we were all getting hungry again so DH ran out to White Castle. I had two sliders and one cheese stick. Aaargh. Probably ruined everything. *sigh*

I love Echo & the Bunnymen! That is so cool ...