Murphy Flock, 9 and counting.

[murfchck]

So, it has been very very hard dealing with the loss of Oliver. To be outside playing and then sick the next day and gone two weeks later. His cage is still set up and every morning i when i wake them up i look into his cage first thing saying good morning as i raise the lights. My heart drops every time when i remember what has happened. Pat tells me that Ollie did what he was supposed to by making us aware of what birds have to live through with uneducated keepers, making us want to make a difference for all of them. Right now though, i can do little more than mourn my precious baby boy. I can not believe how much he impacted my everyday. Thisis so hard to deal with right now and although i know one day i will understand and be at peace, but that time is not now. I miss him too much.

[murfchck]

Sorry, low day yesterday. Today will be better!

[SRSeedBurners]

Ahh...I need to bring Miss Tinky over to help cheer you up. She's turned into a real sweetheart. I bitey-ass, nippy, eeeeeping little sweetheart!

[birdhouse]

Nobody apologizes for loving their fids around here! Kind of our version of , "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!".

 

Sorry looks like nobody was around to give you ehugs yesterday. But eventually, we're all there when you need us. So double extra TLC. Wish there was more we could do.

[Greywings]

The more we love them and the more difficult the struggle whether for health like Ollie or aggressive personalities it seems those birds, cats, dogs and people leave the biggest holes in our hearts. Sending love and wing hugs. I know Koko will share some love.

[murfchck]

I received sympathy cards in the mail yesterday which is why it hit me hard. Otherwise i would have been okay being numb, lol. There is just so much going on right now, we finally are under contract for the property in Paradise but have to sell our house now very quickly. That means the flights we finally finished now get torn down. Walls we removed to fit the birds go back up. Fixing the dry wall where the birds redecorated, the baseboards and door trim the birds deemed as chew toys have to be replaced. And we will have several blinds to replace. Oh and painting. All this weekend and painting can't be done with tbe birds inside and it is supposed to rain ALL weekend and be cold. I am just overloaded. Oh yeah, and replace 2 interior doors that also got chewed up.

[birdhouse]

Oh geez. I was reading this & had a customized M.A.S.H. scene flash through my head! lol Whenever I read your posts, I "hear" you & Pat. And I often think how good it is that you seem to be such an awesome team as parronts. This is unquestionably another one of those times, for sure!!

 

So going through hell but Paradise awaits. You can do it. And when it's done it will just be another chapter in that book you're going to write someday.

Edited December 2, 2016 by birdhouse

[Inara]

Grief is never something that needs an apology. You have such a big heart, and your feelings of loss and sadness at Oliver's passing are not going to diminish for quite some time, if ever. They will just slowly transform until the ache lessens and the warm memories become more forward.

 

You have so much on your plate right now and I admire your strength! Perhaps as you go about the hustle of preparing for your move, you can think a wee bit ahead and start imagining a little tribute space to Oliver in your new "Paradise."

 

I truly wish I lived near you, I would be putting on my jeans and rolling up my sleeves and coming over to lend a hand! I wonder if there are any members of our Forum Flock near you who will read your post and come pitch in?

 

Beak smooches from me and HRH

[murfchck]

Thank you all for the encouragement! Literally wasted a day with the realitor yesterday going over all the paperwork. Managed to get one room painted,lol. Anyone who needs to paint, Valspar paint at Lowes has (well they say zero) but almost no VOC! Pat is putting up the wall and i am packing boxes. Rented a storage unit which now i am thinking may be too small. We have lived here 28 years, you can just imagine the crap i have collected and hidden. Lol

 

On a side note, Bongo after just the assembly of 7 boxes, has that nails on a chalk board tape dispenser sound nailed! Yea us. gunna be a long month.

[birdhouse]

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

 

 

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

 

 

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

 

 

 

[SRSeedBurners]

Love that second sign!

[Acappella]

Wow, I can't imagine taking down all of those flights. At least they should be easier going up next time - you've already made all the mistakes the first time.

[Greywings]

Another step forward and I know those steps are sometimes just leaps of faith. My heart is with you and next weekend is going to be even colder, Brrrr.

[murfchck]

So get this, we called our vet tech, who took in Lily, to see about maybe boarding at the clinic for some of our "louder " parrots. Still on hold for pricing but she let us know that my Lily is actually Sir Lily. I am shocked, she had the red eyes but is really a boy. I guess as she gets older her eyes will darken. That explains so much about how she acted toward Gus. Lol

[SRSeedBurners]

When do you all make the big move?

[murfchck]

Have to sell ours first then we can. Just not sure how well showings will go with 17 birds, lol. Waiting to hear back from vet about boarding but less any multi bird discounts, bringing their cage discount, we are at 7000.00 for 2 weeks. Yea, that ain't going to be happening. Lol

[birdhouse]

What do you think about getting in touch w/the local SPCA? They'd have access to facilities/fosters for large confiscations. I was wondering if some one of them could work w/you for boarding. Also, didn't ")Mr. Lilly come from a large facility? Surely someone you've been in contact w/after all this time should be able to help.

[murfchck]

Ha, Mr Lily did come from a large breeder where we ransomed her from them. I would like to see that lady out of business. Around the corner from our house is a duplex for rent. Pat is checking on that. If we could move in there it would be WAY cheaper than any place we could board them and the best part is that they stay with us. Fingers crossed the neighbor wouldn't be a bitch! Heehee!

[birdhouse]

Oh sure, that would be the best! Fingers crossed you catch a huge break there!!

 

But I must have been confused about Lilly. First, I thought it was "he" now. Just teasing, I know that's old habits. lol

 

But what do I think I remember about some people who you were super impressed w/who had a great big gorgeous indoor training facility that you were really lusting after... And I thought they had something to do w/Lilly somehow... Do I just totally need to adjust my meds here or what?

[murfchck]

Haha, Lily will always be my girl in my heart. I should have know she was a he, none of the girls in my house like me except Kane.

I do have a friend who is a breeder but the good kind who takes care of her birds, had amazing flights and when she was moving we wanted to buy her house for those flights. The one who had Lily was the other kind of breeder who people would like to see closed down.

[SRSeedBurners]

Tinkerbell just staying current:

 

[murfchck]

I just love that! Makes me smile every time, thank you.

So, we are accepting an offer on the house and now the fun begins. Paperwork paperwork and more paperwork. Atleast we won't be having to disrupt the birds and dogs at the drop of a hat. My vehicle has been dubbed the chihuahua mobile and poor Pat had to take Horse dog separately in his truck. It has been a stressful week to say the least. But that part should be behind us now and the gentleman buying just loves the birds and the koi pond. The house needs a roof but he told us not to worry, he will get it done after we have moved the birds out, he doesn't want to upset them or cause them any more stress. Me and my hubby just cried with this guys compassion for the animals. He is coming over Saturday to meet us and a lesson on the koi pond maintenance. I don't know him but i love him already! He is also letting us least the house back for a month while we get ours ready for prime time!

[birdhouse]

So & I do not want to jinx anything, it's sold, then??

[murfchck]

Well, i found out last night that the one we are trying to buy has to pass a foundation appraisal. If it doesn't pass, they can not loan for it. It is a mobile home that has been vacant for over 2 years. HUD will not allow repairs made prior to sale so if it is jacked, so are we. Our house now is as good as sold though providing all is good with the one we want.

[SRSeedBurners]

Well, i found out last night that the one we are trying to buy has to pass a foundation appraisal. If it doesn't pass, they can not loan for it. It is a mobile home that has been vacant for over 2 years. HUD will not allow repairs made prior to sale so if it is jacked, so are we. Our house now is as good as sold though providing all is good with the one we want.

 

 

Shoot...house dealings are never easy. We got taken badly when we bought our house. All the foundation damage was covered up with new walls and paint. Windows were re-positioned, doors re-hung. Then 6 months later the house started falling apart. We had cracks and separations from the wall-ceiling that were bad everywhere. The worst was in our bedroom where you could push a briefcase through the gap between the ceiling and the wall. It was at this point we understood the relationship of sellers, agents and even home inspectors. Those three f*s took us for a huge ride. We were young and dumb and ready to pick like low hanging fruit and they took full advantage of us. Knowing what I know now, and I'm not licensed to inspect a home, I can walk into a house and tell you if the foundation is bad. Looking back, we should have sued the living hell out of all of them but we didn't have the means too. Instead $45K and 10 years later, we had foundation piers put in throughout the house. Most of them internal. Guess how they put those in! Yep, tear every damn thing to pieces and bust through your foundation with jack hammers. We had about 20 of the internal piers done and probably 30 along the edge of the foundation.

 

My only consolation is that the former homeowner that took us for a ride died of massive heart attack 2 years after screwing us. Fortunately he kicked over before I could hunt him down. I had day-dreamed of knocking him off there for a few years I was so pissed off at what they did to us.