By the way, I’ve been using the phrase “Kingdom Come” my entire life and just bothered to google its meaning for the first time and now I’m confused. Something about the Lord’s Prayer, salvation, DC comic books and the Justice League? Since I don’t read comic books and never did even as a kid, one can only assume I'm using ‘Kingdom Come’ as an idiom for eternity, the next world, the hereafter, the end of time---take your pick. But my curiosity was peaked about the comic book. The blurb for the comic Kingdom Come at Amazon reads, “Set at the dawn of the 21st century in a world spinning out of control, Kingdom Come is a riveting, alternate reality story pitting the old guard--Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and others--against a new, uncompromising generation of heroes in a war that will determine the future of the planet.” 84% of those who reviewed the comic book gave it five stars and only 1% gave it one star. 84% is pretty high. The Bible only has a 79% on the high end and 3% on the low. I only read books with at least 75% of the reviewers dishing out a 5 star rating. I may read a lot of smut but a girl’s gotta have some standards when reading kissy-face books.
Back on topic if I can remember what that was…oh, ya, my super-duper ordinary day. The second thing I did this morning after a trip to the bathroom is what I do second every morning. I hopped on the scales which often sets my mood for the entire day as I compare my morning weight to what it was just before I went to bed. Yes, I’m one of those females who is obsessed with how those two numbers can vary from three to seven pounds. I like water. I drink a lot of it and it comes back out during the night plus supposedly the moon phases also effects overnight weight loses. Thank goodness I still get up for those "comes back out" events. Somewhere along the pandemic I’ve gotten into a pattern of waking up at 7:30 and I hate getting up that early or at least that’s what I tell myself as my sleepy brain tries to catch up with my body as I’m shuffling towards the kitchen to start my four cup coffee pot. (They call it a four cup pot but it's really only two cups unless you're using a little girl's tea party set with tin cups.) Everything is better once I’ve had my Starbucks Breakfast Blend with Italian Sweet Crème.
Today I had a mission to accomplish. I was scheduled to get
my second Covid-19 vaccine---not a very ordinary thing to do but I was having trouble naming this post, so just go with it, okay? After getting the vaccine I visited a Petco where the internet
said I could buy live canaries and finches. Last summer I bought myself an
Audubon Bird Call and I often sat on my deck in the late afternoon,
teaching myself how to use it. When I decided to explore the idea of replace Levi
my dearly departed schnauzer with a canary I looked for my bird call and I took
it as a sign that I hadn’t downsized it out of my life. Petco was disappointing, though.
They only had a couple dozen parakeets and one canary and she was the center
in a parakeet sandwich the whole time I was there, never woke up from her nap
so we could make eye contact. A couple of summers ago I went to a place that
had a walk-in bird aviary with hundreds of finches, canaries and budgies inside. You could buy sticks
that were covered in bird seeds and you’d hold the stick out so the feathered creatures could line up on your arm to politely take their turn grabbing a seed
then taking off so the next guy in line could grab a snack. I got it into my head that Petco would be like that---have an aviary I could walk into and have a bird pick me instead of the other way around. Ya, I know. It's Petco and I should have known better.
I am still open to the idea of getting a canary. I’ve done my homework and will now let it simmer on the back burner over the summer. My city does have another place to buy birds---that's all they sell---plus everything that goes with them. It's been around since I was a kid. Heck, I went past the place twice a day for ten years when I was working on the south end. When I'm in a serious buying mode, I'll bite the bullet to drive the dreaded S-Curve through town to get there. In the meantime, I don't want to tempt myself too much until I'm 110% sure I'm ready to close the door on getting another dog. I miss Levi and reminders are still popping up when I least expect them. I put on a spring jacket today, for example, and found baggies in the pocket I used when we went on walks---things like that are like pulling a Band-aide off a wound that is still trying to heal. ©
Hoping on the scales is also my daily ritual, especially in winter when I usually gain weight and it affects my knees.Shedding the additional pounds brings relief to my knees , and all's well..
ReplyDeleteThey say hopping on the scales so often isn't good for trying to lose weight but I can't seem to help myself. My joints would benefit if I could drop a bunch of pounds as well, you are not alone in that.
DeleteI remember well those moments of grief and memory coming unexpectedly. It's just impossible to erase them physically, and they're never gone entirely.
ReplyDeleteI know. Coming home with no one to greet me at the door will probably always bother me and I still find myself looking for Levi at bedtime and when it's time to go get the mail out of my box. Those habits are so deeply ingrained...not just with Levi but way back to childhood.
DeleteMaybe develop your own wild bird visitors. I have seen people train hummingbirds to drink from little cups held in the person's hand. Once birds discover an all you can eat location, they will return.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had seriously considered adopting an older dog when I got Callie. She is most likely going to outlive me which bothers me greatly. Check with a groomer. They usually know of someone who has passed and left an older dog that needs a home.
The groomer idea is a good one.
DeleteLast summer I got a fair amount of birds visiting my deck with just a dish put out for bathing and drinking. I will do that again...and the bird calls. I doubt we'll be allowed to feed wild birds where I'm moving, and I'd be happy about that since I'm on the first floor where the mice would come in the fall after eating the fallen seeds.
Hummingbirds actually scare me. I know, I'm crazy. I must have strong smelling ear wax or hairspray.
Oops, bet I hit "older post" and not publish. The reminders are the hardest to get past. There is nothing like a dog. I wish I had gotten an older dog when I got Callie for she will most likely outlive me. I should have checked with a groomer for they usually know of an older dog whose owner has passed and is looking for a home.
ReplyDeleteNo, you did everything write. I used to worry about Levi outliving me. It never occurred to be it would be the other way around and I had plans laid out in my 'emergency care' book that I keep visible on my kitchen counter. I still haven't removed Levi's chapter from that book or his the four contacts in my phone for him.
DeleteLiving in a place as you are going you would be my nightmare neighbor with a bird. Chirping, talking, etc. Oh that is nails on a chalk board for me. Like the neighbor I have now and his damn birds. The rest of the block would kill them along with the neighbor it's gotten so bad. Sure you don't want to adopt a dog? There are places that take only senior dogs. Hopefully the sound acoustics are good in these apartments.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine the walls being so thin you could hear your neighbor's bird singing. They tell me I won't be able to hear toilets flushing. Yes, I asked. LOL
DeleteI don't really want a senior dog. But I'm still open to getting a youngish dog. I've been I've looking at the dogs up for adoption at Pet Finders and the little ones that are seniors come with too many house breaking and teeth issues or being aggressive with food or toys.
Sometimes the breed specific rescue groups have a better selection of dogs and know their history. Love your story of feeding the birds from your hand at the aviary.
DeleteI'm going to check for a poodle specific rescue and just let it ride for not---not seriously looking but the right dog comes along at the right time, I'll know it.
DeleteIt's interesting how ordinariness is actually not so ordinary but we've been told by society to ignore the ordinariness in our lives if we are to extraordinary. Like the characters in the comic books.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a way with words...and I agree, comparing our ordinariness in the blog community is one of the things I love the most about our collective selves.
DeleteMan, finding dog poop bags in the pocket of every jacket when we changed our coats for the season was hard. Every jacket had one in each pocket. And so many other "normal" things. Like cooking with a dog at my feet. I have to actually pick up dropped food now. There is just a lot of muscle memory involved.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, whoever measures the "cups" on coffee makers is using some pretty tiny cups. Ha!
I've done that too, with the dropped food or having to cut down on how much i cook, how many carrots I put in the crock pot, etc. Every day it's something and some things will never go away like when I arrange for the post office to pick up packages and have to pick between: "Yes, there is a dog a dog in the house" or "No, there is no dog in the house." That gets me every time.
DeleteOnce you are settled into your new place, you will know if you need to add a pet or not. You can see how busy you are and how much time you spend out of your home. Things will work out for the best!
ReplyDeleteI know. I went to a travel club presentation today---the first since Covid shut them down a year ago---and it struck me that I could actually book one of those trips now that I don't have a dog worry about stuck in a kennel while I was gone. I need to resist the temptation to fill the silence with something live while I'm still getting used to Levi being gone, it's only been 3 weeks.
DeleteYes, go to a bird shop! They have knowledge and experience and connections to doctors or sitters if you travel. AND, if the bird doesn't work well for you (we had a conure BEFORE we knew how loud they were) and the shop "interviewed" him and allowed him to be returned. Birds should be handled every day! He was such a hoot and when his Dad came home from work, oh the squawking we would here. We left him out of his cage most of the time and could hear him tap tap tapping on the hardwood floor.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm thinking about a new dog but it is totally up to Jesse since he does most of the work! Small poodle would be perfect!
We have a bird rescue in town and the bird store has some of their listings for adoption on their website.
DeleteSmall poodles don't seem to be a very popular breed right now. In small dogs its the designer breeds and I don't know what I think of them, haven't been around any.
Congratulations on getting your 2nd vac! I got mine a few days ago and I'm so doggone glad. We might not avoid the virus, but maybe it won't hammer us if we do. I'm one of those people who get weighed every morning. If I've gained, then I try to be a little bit more responsible with eating choices (doesn't always work, tho). I know these days without Levi have to be hard on you. I truly hope it will become increasingly easier, though.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I think I'm doing okay about Levi then something will remind me that he's gone and it hurts all over again.
DeleteI wish I was into healthy eating. I eat way too much processed microwaveable meals.
I can't wait until most people are gotten vaccinated!
I have tea pots that use that same "4-cup" label for what is really two mugs. My mugs hold about 10 oz. each, so they are assuming a cup of tea/coffee is 5 oz.? Who drinks from 5 oz. cups -- except kids having tea parties?
ReplyDeleteI have some antique cups that I rarely use but even they are six oz. I have the tea set from my own childhood that have 4 oz cups, but the tin set I bought for my niece when her granddaughter was born---family thing---those cups are 3 oz.
DeleteCheers on the vaccine! And it's important to take your time and do the right thing for you and the future new family member. A day, week or month won't matter and you'll know the right one when you see it -- canine or avian. Meanwhile, I know those home alone times are really hard. It hasn't been long at all, and so sudden. So please, be gentle with you.
ReplyDeleteI know. It's hard for me not to have a plan in place. Levi was such an important part of the way I envisioned myself settling in to my new place and I can't seem to visualize myself living alone.
DeleteYou stopped me cold with this: "I’ve gotten into a pattern of waking up at 7:30 and I hate getting up that early." That's the best example of different strokes/different folks I've come across in a while. I can't remember the last time I slept that late. Late for me is 6:30, and I'm usually up and drinking coffee by 6:00. If I'm heading out to east Texas or somewhere, I'll be up by 5:00 to be one the road by sunrise.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, we're in agreement on those so-called four cup pots. Two cups = one mug in my book. I suppose they're still calculating on the basis of those six-ounce coffee and tea cups from aeons ago: silly people!
My dad and my husband both worked the night shift their entire lives and I did as well for 17 years. You get used to living by a different clock than most people. Your body clock gets screwed up after so many years of doing that, that you can't get it set back very easily. Even though I no longer set alarms or stay up to 3-4 AM my body clock is so screwed up my best sleep comes when others like you are just getting up.
DeleteYou've seen more sunrises than me, that's for sure, but I'll bet I've seen more Northern Lights and star-studded skies or enjoyed more nights camping out where night vision glasses let you see animals you won't see in the daytime. And few things are as awesome as watching a heat lightening storms coming over Lake Michigan in the dead of night.
I usually have to take sleep aides to even fall asleep. Getting enough sleep is a major health issue for me.
I only weigh once/week. It's too demoralizing to watch the scale go up and down with daily fluctuations. It's demoralizing enough to see the weekly plateau I seem to have achieved! And 7:30??? I'm usually up at 6:00. But I didn't used to be a morning person; that came with growing older for some reason. Now I am awake and full of energy. But by 4:00 I'm done! LOL Glad you are taking your time on deciding canary or puppy. Big difference! LOL
ReplyDeleteI used to have a bathroom scales with a light up dial and I was so obsessed that I'd weigh myself every time I got up to pee in the middle of the night. LOL I still miss that scales.
DeleteI hope you can resist the temptation to immediately get a new dog. I haven't been able to have a dog for years because I live alone and my job required long hours - not fair to a pet. So I always imagined that as soon as I retired I would pick out a dog. Four years in, and I still haven't done it because I have found that life is so much fun when you can be spontaneous. I have a friend who is about a 10-hour drive from me. One day he called and suggested that we meet in the middle for the weekend, and it was delightful to be able to say yes. I will definitely have a dog sometime in the future, but for now I am enjoying the ability to take vacations with an indefinite end date (10 days? 14? we'll see). I must say it has been hard to keep that in mind through the pandemic, but I don't want to make a spur of the moment decision that will last 10-15 years. Once you begin life in your new place, I'll bet the decision will gel for you.
ReplyDeleteNina
I know what you mean. I went to a travel club presentation this week---the first since the pandemic started a year ago---and I was struct by the fact that I could actually take one of those trips after I get settle and assuming I get a good price for my house. Never wanted to leave Levi home in a kennel that long in the past. I'm really too busy right now to give a new dog the time he or she would need. I think doing the bird research was part of me trying to find a way to let go of the idea of having another dog. I'm letting it all simmer on the back burner now.
DeleteOk what is Italian sweet creme? Sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteAnd are you not a cat person? Easier care and can be very affectionate...
I like cats but I'm very allergic to cats and some breeds of dogs give me hives when I touch them. Can't just take any old dog because it needs a home and I need something to love on.
DeleteItalian Sweet Creme is just one of the flavors put out by Coffee-Mate in liquid form. Sounds more elegant than it is.