Picture project and Smokey

The picture sorting project is going very slowly.  Part of the problem is all the memories they inspire. 

Plus I woke up Sat. with a very sore throat so I didn’t do anything all day but gargle salt water and drink juice. 

Today the throat feels better but the energy level is low.  Couple loads of laundry was about it.

So I’ll give you another Smokey installment.

I had Smokey for about 5 years.  He was a part of the family.

He would throw himself on his back and want me to blow on his stomach like a baby.  He made the puffing sound to be very clear about what he wanted.  He neatly removed earrings.

He would steal a partially melted ice cube from your drink, take it to his cage and stash it in his food dish, it was too cold.  Later he would look for it, cocking his head from side to side, where could that ice cube have gone?

We learned that sunflower seeds made him hyper so we bought safflower seeds and fed him vegetables.  Peanuts were always his favorite.  He would hold the peanut shell in his claw, pop off the top, and eat it like an ice cream cone.

We learned to put the seeds in the microwave for a minute or so to be sure we killed any potential moths.  Bird seed is one of the worst offenders for bringing those tiny moths into the house.

Exterminators had to come to rid us of those before we figured out what to do about it. 

He tolerated other people most of the time.  If people were patient they could pet him.  If someone got too friendly with him they got bitten.  My daughter has a scar on her lip from him. 

If you want to give a child a lifetime pet, give them a parrot.

Later….