Wingy

I think your doing pretty well if she at least considered the step up request from someone else. It doesn't sound like she was frightened or alarmed she just didn't want to. If you think about it you wouldn't ask a toddler to sit on the lap of a stranger. You have that pack-o-bird and could get it out and slowly start introducing her to outside. First just hang by the open window together, then try an open doorway, then a balcony or patio, then a walk near an object she can see from the window etc. Just a little at a time moving onto another step once she's comfortable. You can explain what she's seeing and just spend time together. Eventually she may get comfortable enough to explore parks, go for drives or to a farmers market where she can see her favorite foods.

I am so sorry.

I imagine the poor pup is extremely confused. Could you make some leather armor for your pup. Something that would cover the head, back of the neck and across the back. Google hunting dog armor for some ideas. As for protecting your tv cabinet you could buy a miscut or flawed piece of granite countertop or cover a piece of plywood with tiles and just set it on top. That will look attractive and be chew resistant.

Thanks Jay. I'll see if I can't find a sample pack of the cream to have on hand just in case.

Why not the ointment Jay? I never use it so I don't know much about it except that the ointment is petroleum jelly based and thick vs the cream that is much thinner.

Dave apple jelly will go nicely on roasted duck or even a light wine sauce. Roast it low and slow preferably on a rack in a covered roaster.

Too's have the most expressive eyes.

Take note if this happens at a certain time. It could be your birds way of telling you to turn out the lights. If you notice a pattern to this behavior try and start a bed time routine "before" the skittering around starts. Some members offer a bed time snack, others tuck their companions in and say sweet words. To cover or not to cover is your choice. Some birds like it and some don't.

Read the sides of the packages. Canned beans contain juice with corn syrup, canned vegies usually contain added salt and often other additives. I rarely eat them because of the added junk. If you looking for something fast and easy try cooking and freezing into individual servings. My supermarket has a line of organic frozen vegies with no additives and the price isn't much more than the non organic. As for fresh stuff the pesticide content is extremely high in some fruits/vegies. I know Yahoo had a story not that long ago about certain vegies/fruits that you should always buy organic. Personally I will not buy strawberries or celery that aren't organic.

This is really good but I did substitute some things based on my tastes. I replaced the onion with match stick carrots cut in half that I steamed for 3 minutes in the microwave just to get a little soft and I replaced the cilantro with curly Italian parsley and a fresh basil leaf and cut back on the dill. This goes nicely over brown rice, wild rice, lentils or in place of dressing for a bowl of mixed greens. (the seeds from the cukes and peppers can be saved for your fid to have an extra tasty snack) Summer Cucumber Salsa http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=299416 Ingredients 3 medium-large cucumbers 3 small-medium tomatoes 1 green bell pepper 1/2 cup red onion 2 jalapeno peppers 2 Tbsp minced cilantro 2 Tbsp minced fresh dill 3 squeezes of lime juice (either from wedges or a lime-bottle) Directions (20 minute prep-time is for chopping up all the ingredients.) Peel cucumber (if desired- you can leave the peel on if you prefer- I usually do, or at least leave some of it). Remove seeds from cucumber and discard, and chop remaining cucumber flesh into small pieces. Remove seeds from tomatoes and discard. Chop remaining flesh into small pieces. Remove seeds from bell pepper and discard. Chop bell pepper into small pieces. Remove seeds from jalapeno peppers and chop into very small pieces (or mince). Chop red onion into small pieces. Mince cilantro and dill. Combine all chopped veggies in a large bowl. Add cilantro and dill and mix together well. Add a few squeezes of lime juice and mix together again.

I don't know about the Quakers because they devoured everything but the zon knew the smell of favorite foods. That bugger could tell when we went out to eat and someone had pizza. He had to have smelled it.

This will be my reality when my parents go.

I am so sorry you have gone through this. I congratulate you for finding and maintaining focus on the one thing that kept you going and asking for help. I too know and understand just how bad it can get when dealing with toxic family members. I hope this new chapter in your life allows you peace.

I've done both. New beans respond well to the quick cook method but older beans can be tough. Tough beans aren't bad or harmful its just that the skins aren't tender but will usually soften up if cooked longer. When cooking the bean mix sample 2 of the thickest beans to make sure it is soft completely through.

The store you got it from must have been using up stock or something. Here is the wiki article on their history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_%27n_Say

I wonder if a compounding pharmacy could help by providing it in a more pleasing flavor.

You are both so bad.

They stopped selling the model with the string in 1989 and switched to a push handle. The see and say of today uses batteries.

Thank you for sharing that. Don't you wish sometimes you knew what was going on inside her head.

If she's falling in her cage you can try moving the perches lower. If your home you can also put a folded towel in the bottom as a cushion but watch that her nails don't get stuck on the loops. If you need even more cushion I think you could use the new biodegradeable packing peanuts that are made of 100% corn starch. Care should be taken so that those packing peanuts aren't being eaten but the same can be said for towels, carpeting or anything else you could use as padding.

If your companion wants what your eating you can try using the flock mentality to your advantage. Find a cereal for your breakfast that resembles the size,shape and color of the pellets. Transfer some of the pellets out of the bag that he/she knows and into a clean dry container to use at breakfast time (do this on the sly because they don't miss a trick). In the morning put some of the cereal in a bowl for you and the pellets from the container into a treat bowl for your companion and sit down to enjoy breakfast together (don't get them mixed up or your eating parrot pellets in milk for breakfast). Once breakfast is over remove the treat bowl just like you would for any other meal. My family and I spent weeks eating fruit loops for breakfast because it looked like the pellets but the "I'm never gonna eat these pellets" zon did finally decide that he liked them because he saw us eating them. Once he decided the pellets were good I started lessening the cheep parakeet seed mix he came with and increased the pellets until he was eating a combination of pellets and cooked/fresh foods. **I did have to alter when I cleaned/filled the regular food bowls to after breakfast time. I changed my routine from changing food/water when the kids were eating breakfast to changing water before breakfast, then family breakfast, then changing food bowls. It worked for us.

You are exactly right. The metal in the wick is usually lead and it is very toxic to all. I have a few battery operated unscented flickering wax candles scattered around just to look nice and one in the bathroom to act as a night light for company to find the light switch. The newer ones flicker and look closer to real flame than the old style that used to flash and there is no heat at all. I have seen both bees wax and soy candles in the battery operated models. A friend of mine has a child with severe asthma. She wanted to freshen up her house and wondered what if anything she could use around her home. The doctor said to take a piece of cheese cloth, get it very drippy wet and lay it outside on the clothes line or even on a bush in the sun and let it dry until it was crackly. He then said to hang it over the furnace/ac vents. The air blowing over the cheese cloth made the house smell like it was kissed by the sun all without any harmful scents at all.

I guess its a good thing I had my hair cut yesterday. The stylist cut 20 inches off. Detangling a bird from that would have been a bunch of no fun.

Nancy I found the freeze dried stuff at Wegmans in the organic section. I've got 3 Wegmans near places I frequent and each seems to stock different things. I've been haunting the grain/rice and organic areas of every darn supermarket looking for Kashi 7 whole grain pilaf and I'm striking out.

My guilty pleasure is attending demolition derbies. The DS and I are junkies. We attend about 6 crash em up events normally between June and September but this year we are adding an early one and are traveling for one or 2. Car, rv, truck, school bus demolition derbies and 100 car/100 lap enduro races with rules of go around it or go through it no yellow flag. Who needs another left turn. There is something very satisfying about that bang and seeing pieces go flying or a tire rolling away. Perhaps its passive aggressive road rage. I'm weird and I know it. I was not raised this way. So what is your guilty pleasure?