Psychic Medium Reading

I guess we've all had one of 'those dodgy tarot/psychic readings' in our life, I know I've had my fair share! Anyway, my wife gave me a gift voucher for my birthday to see a psychic. The psychic has been trained by Lisa Williams - so I knew she was the real deal as Lisa doesn't just churn out 1000's of 'psychics'. I was very much looking forward to booking my appointment and seeing this psychic!

Lisa Williams

So before I start, I know there are a lot of skeptics out there... When my wife bought the voucher, the psychic knew the voucher was for my birthday, she didn't know the date of my birthday, she only knew my first name, she did not have my email address and my wife paid via paypal which is still in her maiden name. So if the psychic tried to look me up, she wouldn't have found a thing about me if she used my first name and my wife's maiden name.

Okay, so I arrive for my appointment. The Psychic lives on a rural block and she has a very long driveway - Yes, the driveway has something to do with my reading lol. The psychic came out and met me outside in her beautiful environment. We go inside and she asks if I would like a psychic reading or a mediumship reading? My voucher was for 1 hour so I asked if I could have half/half.

She started with the psychic reading. The other thing I should quickly add, is that I recently bought an older Ford F150 for carrying around stock for my business. My everyday car has advertising on the rear windscreen, so I deliberately drove the truck to the appointment as I had not as yet had any signage put on it. I didn't want.... "Ohhh you own your own business etc".

So the reading began - no cards, hand holding or asking me questions about what I did etc, she just closed her eyes and said that she was going to contact her guides. The first thing she said was that she could see that I had been cleaning up and throwing away a lot of items. (The 2 weeks before I saw her I did have a big clean up at home! We had booked 2 council rubbish collections.) 

She described that I was in a high up position in my field of work - that I was on the top rung of the ladder. She said that a lot of people were surprised when I entered this field as it's not something anyone saw me doing and that I had a clerical position. (I have never owned, run a business or worked in retail. Although my business is retail, I don't 'work' in the shop. I run the website and take care of stock etc.) She also went into detail about how much things had improved in all aspects since I started there.

She went on to say that prior to me working where I currently was, she could see that I had been working on some kind of enterprise at home to generate an income, but it stopped abruptly. (Before I bought the retail store, I was working on starting my own ceramics business from home. I stopped abruptly because my Aunt got ill.) She told me so many more things which I cannot remember right now. But she blew me away!

After the psychic reading, she said that she was glad that I wanted a mediumship reading.... She said because it was such a hot day, she went to her office to open the windows and when she walked out she saw a woman standing in her driveway looking towards the road. She couldn't get the woman's attention and the woman kept looking at her watch and then back down the driveway. The psychic said that she didn't know who the woman was waiting for or belonged to because she couldn't connect with her. She said that she could feel a very strong maternal connection, but that she wasn't anyone's mother - that she was probably an Aunt. (I started crying. I knew before she went any further, it was my Aunt as she was always early and obsessed with time!) 

The psychic described her appearance to me perfectly and asked if I knew who she was? I told her she was my Aunt. The psychic said that she was no longer here but she would try and make contact with her. After a few minutes she started telling me some of the most amazing things! One of them being that my Aunt puts her hands on my shoulders when I'm stressed (She used to do this to me when she was alive) and that she speaks to me, but believes that I have only heard her once! (In the post below I mentioned that I heard her one night say 'Hi Love'.) 

The psychic told me that my Aunt was very proud of the way in which I carried out her funeral - however one person in the will did not get what they were supposed to get. This made me feel ill! I told the psychic that everyone received what was in my Aunt's will. The psychic kept talking to my Aunt and my Aunt told her a bed didn't go where it was supposed to go.... I had forgotten all about the bed! A friend of my Aunts was supposed to have her bed (It was a wiz bang electric bed lol), but the woman's sons wouldn't come and collect it, so it went elsewhere. The psychic explained this to my Aunt and all was good lol 

The psychic told me that my Aunt was now riding her old bike that I had found in the roof and she described a jungle that she like to spend time in that had little pathways everywhere. (When I was a child I found a old bike in the roof of my Grandparents stable, I asked my Dad to get it down for me and my Aunt was there at the time.... She said 'That's my old bike!'. The jungle that the psychic described with the pathways is exactly what my Aunt had in her backyard. She had a section that had little paths running all over the place!)

The psychic then said my Aunt was saying that I had lost my spark since she left me and that I needed to get back to what I was doing and get that ute! The psychic did look a little confused at this point lol because why would I need a ute when I drove up in a truck?!?! lol (In the post below I said that I sometimes feel like she's left me - not dead, deceased or passed away - but left me, the exact words the psychic used. My Aunt knew I was starting my own business before she became ill, and she said to my wife and I that I should buy a ute to carry around stock in case I attend markets with my ceramic items). The psychic also said that my aunt will always be with me, she will never leave me and that when it's my time she will be there waiting for me.

Again, so many more things were said...... After the reading I explained that I had been cleaning up so that I could start my ceramics again and needed to make room in the garage - which was my work from home enterprise that she could see in the psychic reading. I told her this was what I was doing before my Aunt became ill and that's why I stopped abruptly. That I was going to sell some of my ceramic items in the store and some online, and that I had also just bought the truck for events/markets. 

The psychic talked to me about mediumship and that she felt that with some practice I would be able to speak with my Aunt without the use of a medium since I had already heard my Aunt once. She also told me that she could feel that I had seen/sensed spirits/ghosts before. She blew me away. She told me so many things that very few people know about and none of it was 'wishy washy one size fits all' stuff. 

After I came home and told my wife about it, I went online and started reading more about the psychic and discovered that she now teaches. I have since enrolled in one of her courses that starts next year! lol Like running a business and trying to get a 2nd one off the ground doesn't take up enough of my time lol!

Happy Birthday Pappy

Who is Pappy? Pappy was my Aunt, my Godmother and my Friend. She passed away at home while I held her hand couple of years ago. I know it sounds like a huge cliche - but I think of her everyday. I still grieve her passing and often wonder if there is something wrong with me as I seem stuck. 

In my life I have lost my Great Grandmother, both sets of Grandparents, another Aunt and my Father. I grieved and I was able to move forward. However with my Aunt, I am stuck in some kind of limbo land of grief - some days it can be unbearable.

Pappy and her little pooch Sally.

Pappy wasn't the name she was born with, it was a name I gave her when I was young and just learning to speak. I was unable to pronounce her name and at some point I began referring to her as 'Pappy' and it stuck. She was the kind of person that I could talk to about anything without fear of judgement and she also had a fantastic sense of humour.

On the odd occasion I swear I have felt her presence.... One night just after I got into bed I was thinking about something or another (not related to my Aunt) and as clear as day I heard 'Hi love'. It was her voice and she sounded as though she were standing right beside the bed. The other thing was that she used to always call me 'love'.

It was interesting, just the other day I read an article about Maggie Smith, it was an interview about Downton Abbey, Fame and Loss. She spoke about losing her husband and what she said hit the nail on the head:- 

“They say it goes away, but it doesn’t. It just gets different,” she said.
“It’s awful, but what do you do? After the busyness you are more alone, much more. A day that is absolutely crowded keeps your mind away from why you are alone, but when it stops there is deafening silence.” 

I know she was talking about her husband, but I can relate to what she said so well. It doesn't go away and yes once the busyness is over your mind falls back into its natural thought process. For me I can't visit, ring or email my Aunt - Call it selfish but sometimes I feel like she left me. I know I shouldn't think this, because it wasn't her choice, but I do feel like that sometimes. 

A fairy I gave her for her garden. It now sits in my dinning room.

She gave me some of her belongings before she passed and I still to this day cannot bring myself to go through her things. Maybe that's why I'm stuck? Maybe it isn't. But for now I know I still don't feel ready to go through the items she gave me.

EDIT:- It was Pappy's birthday yesterday when I wrote this post. I wasn't going to publish it as I wrote it more for my own benefit. Then last night I did some Goggling on the duration of the 'natural' grieving process and I found this article:-

One of the most common questions I’m asked, both as a therapist and as someone who writes about grief, is how long it lasts. How long will I grieve? Does it ever end?

My answer is always the same: It’s different for everyone. But I can tell you that grief almost always lasts longer than the people around you expect it to.

Sometimes people are surprised when I tell them that grief can last years. Others are relieved to hear this, because they already know it to be true.

So maybe I'm not stuck after all.

Doomsday Preppers - TV Show

One night when my wife was at work I was flicking through TV stations trying to find something half decent to watch, I found something called Doomsday Preppers. I had never heard of this show before, so I decided to watch it while I played mindless games on my tablet. (As I do lol)

Whoa! Okay, I have since watched a number of episodes of this show. I have to say I am completely intrigued by the way these people live their lives! The more I watch this show, the more I question if they're insane or if those who don't 'prep' are insane! lol 

The guy pictured above,  dug a secret bunker by hand in his garage. He never opened the garage door to dispose of the dirt - it was carried out of the house by hand.

This show got me thinking about the differences between Australia and America again. So on one hand the American preppers fall into a couple of categories:- Some live on farms and have barns and even bunkers underground as well as basements. Those who live in the suburbs have basements, some even have underground hideaways in the country. They have dug out bunkers or used shipping containers (pictured above) as fortresses! Many of them have massive amounts of ammo and guns etc.

One thing most of them said in relation to food storage was that they kept their food in the basement to avoid humidity....... Which leads me to the Australian side of this prepping idea. The majority of Australians don't live on farms and those who live in the suburbs don't have basements. Don't ask me why, but Australian houses do not have basements.... I should Google this and find out why lol 

So for example if I was a prepper, I would be in serious trouble regarding where I would store my food, as I live in an area where humidity can reach 100%! I live in a regular suburban house, on a small block of land with no basement. Sure we have spare bedrooms and I could load those up, however those rooms get the afternoon sun and turn into saunas by the end of the day..... So there goes all of my food and I would have wasted a lot of money stockpiling. 

The other difference is weaponry, a lot of the Americans had vast amounts of guns, ammo and other homemade devices to protect their supplies. They spend a lot of time mastering the art of arming themselves, firing practice etc. The gun regulations in Australia are very, very strict. There are so many laws surrounding the ownership and use of a gun/s in this country, it would be virtually impossible to own as many weapons as our American counterparts. So again, if I were a prepper, how would I protect my supplies? With a baseball bat?

So why do they prep? Some believe that the American economy is on the brink of collapse leaving the USD worthless and plunging society into a depression, some are in wait of a worldwide health pandemic and some believe that war will come. One woman has also had the same vivid reoccurring dream for over 20 years that something catastrophic will happen in her lifetime. Some do it purely based on the fact that the cost of living is getting so high, and if they buy extras with their regular grocery trips they can have a constant stockpile of supplies while they can afford it. Others believe that it will be a natural disaster such as a solar flare which will fry and wipe out the power grid - which will also prevent vehicles such as trucks delivering much needed supplies. 

Just out of interest, I Googled solar flares to discover that the last solar flare (The Carrington Event or Carrington Super Flare) was the 3rd September 1859 and the next predicted one is for somewhere between 2012 and 2022. The last flare occurred when the Telegraph system was in its infancy and it did completely wipe it out, so imagine the damage a solar flare could do in this high wired society that we now live in. No phones, no tv, no radio, no lights, no working vehicles.... Anything containing wires is now dead. 

The show stated that 45% of Americans are preppers in some form or another and 51% believed that something 'big' was going to happen. The show also stated that the CDC has advised people to have at least 3 days worth of food supplies in their homes at all times and never let the fuel in your car drop below halfway.

So I leave this question with you:- Are preppers insane? Or are those who don't prep insane? If you're an American reading this post, have you seen the show Doomsday Preppers and what's your take on it? Until then, I'm off to make a cup of tea and hope nothing happens in the meantime so I can finish it :) Catch you next time!   

Spirits? Ghosts? Souls?

I've never been one that likes being labelled or put into a box - I am, who I am. Over the years I've had many 'encounters' I guess you would call them, with entities of some sort. I've had readings done for me and been told on more than one occasion that 'you're psychic, you just need to learn how to use this gift etc etc'. To be honest I've never really taken too much notice of these comments, as I've put it down to these readers telling everyone one something along these lines. After all most people who have readings done, would love nothing more than to hear that they're psychic and they just need to learn how 'to tap into it'.

I don't have a label for what happens to me, I can't make it happen on command, but it does happen..... In fact it's happened twice this week! From an early age I have seen things at random that I cannot explain. It actually hasn't happened for a few months, but this week I got a double whammy!

The other night I couldn't sleep so I decided to read a book, my wife was asleep. So here I am sitting in bed reading - then all of a sudden in my mind I see the face of one of my staff members, immediately followed by the image of an older man. This man had his hand on his chest over his heart and he said 'tell her I'm okay'. Now I had no idea who this older guy was! So when I went to work and explained to my staff member what had happened and described what he looked like, she looked away from me, then looked back. She said it was her grandfather, he passed away before she started working for me and that she was at his house the day before. She also said that she had been thinking about him a lot lately, as due to circumstances she wasn't able to get to the hospital to see him before he passed and she was angry at herself for this. Don't ask me why I saw this, or received this message? I do not know! I have never seen a photo of her grandfather, nor did I know that she had gone to his house.

Okay, so take two.... Yesterday for some unknown reason, the face of a woman I used to work with when we lived in the mountains flashed through my mind. I really didn't give it much thought, I just went about my work. Then this morning while I was eating my breakfast before leaving for work, I was scrolling through Facebook...... A woman I used to work with at the same workplace, had written how sad she was to hear that this woman had passed away...... Again, don't ask me? I don't know, I have no explanation.....

That Green Bird & A Bit Of Stitching

Some of you might remember around the start of the year we bought a bird. He was supposed to be my bird...... I could hold him and pat him on the back, he would 'share' my breakfast with me etc. Well when I bought the store I was up and out the door 7 days a week lol as a result Tango and I are no longer the best of friends lol He is now my wife's bird. She can do what ever she likes with him, and he's okay with that. She even kisses his beak!! Personally I wouldn't dare put my face near that beak.... Unless I wanted my nose or lip pierced! lol

I can't even get him out of the cage! I actually left the door open one day and walked away in the hope he would come out.... But nope! He just sat there looking at me through the bars. However, here's the kicker!! The first two sounds he made were whistles - which I taught him! Then he copied the sound of the microwave - which I use. Then he mimicked the sound of my mobile phone. After that was his name, followed by pretty boy, who's a pretty boy, Tango Tango, and birdie birdie birdie. All of which I taught him! This bird has double standards! He doesn't like me and wont come near me, yet mimic's what I say! Go figure! Geez and they say cats are finicky! lol

So here is an update of my Queen cross stitch - even though two of the boys are done I still have the backstitching to do on them. I'm hopeful that I will get more done on this pattern this weekend, as it's a long weekend and my store isn't opening on Monday. I have opened in the past on Public Holidays and it just isn't worth it, so I'm closing the store on Monday.... Which means I get a day off! Woo Hoo! :) I know that most people would love their long weekend to be nice and sunny (which it's going to be) but I would really love it if it was cold, miserable and rainy! lol 

When we lived in the mountains it was either rainy, cold, snowing, misty, foggy or all of those combined lol Sunny days just weren't that frequent, and it was something you simply lived with - without giving it a second thought really. Now that we live in a coastal area it's always sunny, and I have a hard time stitching when the weather's nice. I don't know why, I guess it's because I feel that I should be doing something (constructive lol) outside, rather than sitting on my butt inside stitching lol First world problems huh? Anyway, enough weather waffling. If you live in Australia, have a great long weekend!! :)

A Bit Of A Catch Up

Well I said I'd be back lol and here I am! (I'm typing this post on a tablet via an app, so I hope the format is the same as typing it on a PC lol) It's amazing, since I bought the store, I pretty much stopped reading and I completely stopped cross stitching. I was either too tired, couldn't be bothered or spent my time after work looking at new products to sell. But last week on my 'day off' (lol) I started working on a cross stitch pattern that I purchased months ago. It's from Clouds Factory and it's the band Queen.

I should also mention that Queen was in Australia recently and we went with some friends to see them! OMG - Amazing! That is all I can say! lol Anyway, back to the cross stitch :) I've done 2.5 of the boys. I love Clouds Factory stuff as they are just quick, small and simple patterns. I also have a Halloween themed one and a Beetlejuice one as well (I can watch Beetlejuice again and again! lol) I will probably do Beetlejuice after this Queen one.

I've also started reading again, I used to read most nights before bed but then I stopped. I just couldn't focus on what I was reading, my brain wouldn't switch off, I had constant thoughts of what I had to do the next day or what I had forgotten to do that day etc...... But for some reason, since I have stepped back a bit, my brain has eased up and allowed me to read and actually take in what I'm reading, rather than scanning the words and not remembering a word I had just read! Very frustrating!

Apart from getting back to reading and cross stitching, I actually cooked dinner the other night! lol Now this might not sound like much, but prior to buying the store I used to do the majority of the cooking for three reasons: 1. I like to cook 2. My wife doesn't lol and 3. My wife prefers my cooking over hers. Because my wife is a shift worker she needs to have dinner fairly early and I'm never home in time to cook, so she has been doing the cooking. But now that I am taking the odd day off here and there, I'm back online searching for new recipes to try :) :) :)

Okay I'm off! I'll catch you all again soon!

Where Does The Time Go?!?!

Hi Everyone!

Yes my last post was in Feb! This is not because I didn't want to write anymore or fell off the face of the earth, but I bought a business. Up until about a week ago I had been working 7 days a week in my business to try and turn things around. Guess what? When you work 7 days a week you get really tired! lol So I have just recently decided to take one or two days off a week, depending on what's happening and how busy things are to allow me to be able to do this.

So what kind of business did I buy? Well I'm not going to name it because I don't want customers googling it and finding my blog lol But it's a retro, vintage, alternative clothing type shop. It's open 7 days a week and will soon have an online store. I had been to the store as a customer and I had always liked it, as there is nothing else like it around! So when it came up for sale - I had to buy it! It was advertised one night, and I bought it the very next day..... and I wasn't the only one after it!!! lol Which is good, because if I ever want to sell it, I know I'll get the same response.

When my wife and I looked at the books, it was just hanging in there by the skin of its teeth! So it was a bit of a risky purchase, but I felt that I could turn it around! Slowly it's happening, the people are returning and word has gotten out that the store has new owners and new stock in the store! 

I still have days when it's quiet and I sit in the store and think "What have I done?!?! Did I make the right choice buying this place??" I'm probably not the only new business owner to feel this way, but quiet days do tend to rattle me a bit. 

Buying this store has been a MASSIVE learning curve, as neither my wife or I have worked in retail nor owned a business. Crazy huh?!?! Yep! But I'm not one to let a lack of experience get in my way, nor will I go down without a fight! This business will shoot back to its former glory and hopefully beyond!

I know this wasn't a long post as I didn't have much time today and I've got to go out, but I'll catch you all again soon!

P.S I Hope This Makes Sense LOL!

P.S Yes I'm putting the P.S at the top for a reason lol. This is my second attempt to get this blog post written today, as I'm still taking pain killers my brain just doesn't want to link words in the order that they should normally be found lol Due to this reason, I took a break from writing today as I was constantly correcting mistake after mistake.... So I do hope that the rest of this post makes some sense and is readable :o)

The Original Start:- I haven't got much to blog about on the parrot front, as I've had the the first part of my dental implants inserted this week.... So I've been off with the fairies, thanks to the painkillers. Don't worry, I'm not going to show you a photo lol. So most of Tango's time has been spent with my wife, as I was either asleep or just not feeling well enough to cope with his antics lol. I go back next week for a check up on the stitches and the posts/screws that were implanted, then after three months I go back and the crowns are put into place.

A couple of days before I had the implants done, I went to see an optometrist as I have started cross stitching again, and I've found that my old glasses aren't quite doing the trick...... They are seven years old lol Anyway, as I expected, I needed new glasses. So I asked if I could keep my old frames as 1. I like them, 2. They're really lightweight, and 3. They cost me a small fortune! I was told that it would cost me more to keep my old frames and it would be much cheaper to get new frames with new lenses!?!!? The girl that I was talking to looked at the figures of what my health insurance company covers, and it would have cost me a minimum of $150 just to send my old frames off! That's not including the price of the lenses. 

So then she looked at the figures of what it would cost me to get new frames and lenses and the total gap I would have to pay was $139.50. This cost was for two pairs of glasses.... mind you, I only wanted one pair.... But the deal that was running was 2 pairs for the price of one. It's just crazy! So in the end, it was cheaper to get two pairs of glasses, instead of just changing the lenses in my old frames. So next week I will go and pick up both pairs of my new glasses lol

Anyway, as I said, I have started cross stitching again. I used to cross stitch all the time when we lived in the Mountains. As it was so cold there, having an indoor hobby was a must. But since we've moved to The Central Coast and it's so hot, I've found it very hard to get interested in it again. The photo above is of a witch, I have actually done more than this, and I thought I had taken a more recent photo.... But I can't find one and to be honest I couldn't be bothered right now digging it out and taking another photo lol I will post a photo when it's completed :o)

                             

I also discovered an online store called 123stitch.com, wow, what a dangerous website! They sell everything that you could ever want! I have already made a number of purchases from them lol Even though they're located in the USA, their prices are so much cheaper than Australian prices. Plus they stock so many things that you just can't buy here.

My Sister recently found a website called Clouds Factory, and they have some brilliant patterns. They're all small patterns that you could stitch up as they are designed, or you could turn the characters into cards - I've purchased a couple of the patterns and I also have a 'wish list' going there lol. I'm also back on Chatter Fox, which is an online cross stitch/crafting community.

Anyway, I'm outta here and back to the lounge room. :)

Tango The Tantrum Thrower!!

As some of you know my wife and I don't have children. However I am not so ignorant that I've not heard of parents talking about the 'terrible two's'. Well Eclectus parrots have the mindset of a two year old..... and with this comes the tantrums!!!! For example this morning we had tradesmen coming to do some repairs (this can be another post!). Anyway, as they were coming early, Tango couldn't have his usual amount of time out of his cage at breakfast time. This resulted in a huge amount of noise and wing flapping!!! 

No amount of me talking to him through the bars would quieten him down. My wife had just finished a 12.5 hour night shift, so she's currently trying to sleep while the tradesmen are working and Tango is screaming. He also throws the odd tantrum if he doesn't get quite enough sleep..... Ahhh the joys!! lol

On a brighter note! Here's Tango in a good mood on his new play gym that he got just the other day. It's made from Australian native timber, so he can chew away till his heart's content and he won't get sick. It's sturdy, but also small enough so we can move it from room to room, depending on where we are. The play gym in these photos is sitting on our dinning room table, but we've also had him in the lounge room.

Tango having a taste lol

Tango trying out the lower perch

Tango doesn't know it yet.... But after the tradesmen leave, he's having a bath.. That's going to be fun for all I'm sure lol

Tango The Smarty Pants!

Tango has been with us one week today. I can't believe how far he has come! He spent the first two days not wanting to come out of his cage - I would literally have have to stick my hands in grab him. Now, we can't keep him in there lol! 

We've taught him "up". We say this word and hold our arm/hand out and he steps up onto us. He's now getting to the point where we don't have to say the word, we just put our hand in front of him and he steps up onto us. Yesterday I thought I'd try my luck at teaching him to come when he's called..... Honesty, I didn't think it would work!! He did it successfully four times! We only spend about 15 minutes at a time with training, otherwise he starts to get a bit bored and cranky. So after 15 minutes we then let him do his own thing, which is usually eating fruit on the kitchen bench or sitting on our arm.

Millie and Tango

He's so much like a dog when it comes to food! He'll do anything if he thinks he's going to get something extra to nibble on lol  The photo above is Millie the cat and Tango. Sorry it's a bit blurry. They were sitting together and closer to each other at the dining table, but I was too slow to take a photo lol

We didn't have time for training this morning, as we had an electrician coming around early and Tango was a bit grumpy, as he wasn't quite awake when we got him out of his cage for breakfast. But once the electrician is gone, we'll get him out and he can have a bit of a fly around the house.

Tango having breakfast with his old play gym.

I'm off to buy him a new play gym tomorrow. He has one on top of his cage, but he doesn't like it much as it's too far away from where we are. I did buy one for him that's a table top one, but it's a bit flimsy. So after making some inquiries, I've found one that will suit him. It's a little expensive, but it's bigger and stronger, plus it's built from native Australian timber, so he can chew it till his hearts content and not get sick. Once I get it, I'll take some photos of him using it :o) 

Okay, well enough parrot talk for now lol I've got an electrician to talk to lol

Meet Tango!

Three days ago I purchased an Eclectus parrot. I have wanted a parrot for a while. . . To be honest I wanted an African Grey, but in Australia you're looking at $8000-$10,000 for a well bred bird!!! No that's not a typo... I can't justify that kind of money for a pet of any kind, let alone a bird, who could drop off its perch at any time.... lol So to speak.

So my next choice was the Eclectus. They're similar in many ways, but also quite different (I could list them all, but I'd be here all day). They're both known for their speaking/mimicking abilities and they are both very intelligent critters. African Greys are cuddly birds, where the Eclectus isn't so much, they're happy to be with you, but don't have the need to be constantly touched all of the time, they're a little more independent.... Plus, they don't have that big fat price tag. I think the non-cuddly, more independence and much, much lower price tag are both pluses for me lol

Tango

Anyway, three days ago I drove 2 hours from home to meet and collect my new feathered friend. He's four months old and really inquisitive!! Seriously! Just today before I started this post, he was running all around the kitchen bench. Now our kitchen is in the middle of the house, so you can stand on both sides of the bench. So he decided that he just had to get to the other side where I was... He looked into the sink and saw that he couldn't step down into it, so he decided he would try and jump the sink..... He landed in the cats bowl that was full of manky cat food water LOL!! At the time I was rinsing some things out, so when I helped him out of the cats bowl he was grabbing at the dishcloth and trying to bite the water coming out of the tap. It was very funny! LOL

Tango eating MY breakfast

The second and third morning, I cut up fruit and vegies for his breakfast and put them on a little plate for him. I put the plate on the bench.... Then I get my breakfast - plain old cereal and milk.... and guess what he wants? My breakfast! His was a much healthier choice! I should have eaten his! LOL The above photo was taken yesterday - day 2. This morning he actually had both feet on my bowl and was trying to get the cereal off the spoon when I was trying to put in in my mouth. If you've never owned a parrot, eating breakfast can be difficult lol

Tango checking out Facebook

He has this personality where he isn't interested in anything, until you touch it.... Then he wants it. For example if he's sitting on my arm and I'm just talking to him, he's happy to sit and listen and he makes these little noises where he sounds like he's a chook and other times he kind of coos. But, if he's sitting on my arm and I start to use the computer with the other hand, he wants the computer. When my wife has her ipad on and is playing a game (The Tribez), he has to walk right up and stand on the screen and he tries to catch the little men running around lol

His cage is in a fairly open part of our house, so he can pretty much see us all the time. Every time one of us walks past, he mutters something, I have no idea what he's trying to say, but he does it every time without fail lol Life living with a parrot is certainly going to be a very interesting journey.... The breeder said to me "You don't actually know what you say all the time until you own a parrot"...... After she said that, I've stopped swearing at home LOL!!!!

Sprouts and Books

I'm so excited!!! I woke up this morning, and I went to give my herbs a quick water before the heat set in for the day and look what I found!!

My tomato seeds have sprouted! It only took them a couple of days :o) Tomatoes are so easy to grow, I can kill most plants lol but tomatoes just keep on going. If I get half as many from these plants as I did from our last ones I'll have relish and chutney coming out of my ears. Except this time, because I've got other herbs growing, I'll experiment a little bit with herbs added in.

Ok onto my next topic lol (yes my mind jumps around a bit) Yesterday I was reading Behind Green Eyes Blog and she had a great idea... She has heaps of them lol She really likes to read and so do I. My problem is that I usually get stuck in a rut of reading books that are very similar to each other. Anyway, she found a list called:- 1001 Books to Read Before You Die. She also included a random number generator to select her books. So I gave it a spin yesterday and the number generated for me was 961 - The Vicar of Wakefield - Oliver Goldsmith. 

So I have downloaded it to my Kindle, as I'm already reading a book at the moment called:- Being a Sceptic is Oh So Easy - Linn B. Halton. It's okay.... I'll finish it, simply because I hate not finishing a book, then I'll read The Vicar of Wakefield. I'm not going to solely rely on the 1001 list, because there are other books I want to read, but I'll alternate between my choice and the generator. I've also added the list to my tabs at the top of the page, and I'll highlight the ones I read as I get through them.

2014

Okay, so it's the 3/1/14..... I know I'm a couple of days late, but - Happy New Year! Christmas has come and gone, and New Years Eve has done the same. We probably all ate too much, but we did live to tell the tale lol. I hope that you all had a great Christmas/holiday period :o)

Guess what? Easter is next.... My wife was at Coles yesterday and they're already selling Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns!!!! WTF!?!?! Are they serious?!?! Give me a break! Before you know it, there won't be a gap between Christmas, Easter, Valentines day, St Patricks Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Halloween and any other day that I can't think of right now. It will be like shopping in a supermarket that has 'theme week'. Rant over... 

So how many of you made New Years Resolutions? You're going to lose weight, save more, renovate the house, spend more time at home, cut down how many takeaways you buy, spend less money, win lotto, drink less, give up smoking, learn an instrument..... The list goes on. I didn't make a single one! That's right! Not one! Why? Because I have no idea what my last one was.... So it was either too unrealistic, or not all that important. Plus, I'm okay with my life as it is. If I need to change something I will, I don't need to wait until the first day of the first month of a new year to do it. 

You know those Bitstrip thingies that people post on Facebook? I made my own and posted it.... A comment was left that pretty much went along the lines of, that I had no goals and it was rather negative in tone. I wrote:- If it ain't broke, don't fix it. This is how I view it.... I'm not going to write a great long list, and tick them off as I accomplish them. As I said, I'm happy with my life, I know which way I'm going, so why would I need a list? To those of you who did make a list, good luck! I hope you make it! :o)

I haven't had much time to play with Echovox with all that's been going on, but I did manage to plant a herb garden! As our kitchen is in the middle of the house (grrr), we don't have a kitchen window and the dinning room window sill is too narrow for pots to sit on. I had this old church pew sitting in the garage, which I only drag out at Halloween.... Except the spot where I put it, now has another piece of furniture permanently in that spot. Anyway, I decided the pew would look good under the dinning room window. So I grabbed a bunch of miss matched pots, and after a trip to the shops for plants and soil.... There you have it! An indoor herb garden :o)