Blog Archives

Happy Birthday!

12/31/2014

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Zacchaeus!
Happy birthday to you!
And many more - we want you to have many more.

Happy 16th birthday, Zack! We love you and hope you have a great day.

We also wish all of our excellent friends a safe and Happy New Year!

Luv,

Chloe, Rick (daddy), and Sherri (mommy)

Farewell Christmas 2014

12/29/2014

Today, we bid farewell to Christmas 2014. Mommy and daddy cleaned up the decorations and the house, and now it's all back to "normal." It's funny how things seem crowded when you first put up the decorations, but you get so used to it that it seems empty when you take them down. I'll especially miss the pretty Christmas lights, the stockings, and the picture of Santa in the den. It was a great Christmas, through, and we have lots of great new toys and snacks to remember the goodness of the season.

But it's not over yet! My birthday is on December 31. Mommy calls me a "millennium baby" because I hatched on December 31, 1999. It's quite an honor that people not only partied and celebrated my hatching, but they continue to celebrate with me every year in the same manner. I'm so flattered by the fireworks, the parties, and the countdowns until my birthday is "officially" over.

:)

Seriously, we usually have presents and popcorn for the birthday. And kissies at midnight. Then it will be a new year, 2015, and we hope and pray that the new will be better than the old. 2014 can get on out of here anyway, at least as far as we're concerned.

It will be better. 2014 was tough for a lot of us, but here's hoping that 2015 will be bigger, better, brighter, and filled with hope, fun, and joy!

That's all today. Take care, and have a great week.

Luv,

Zack

Christmas!

12/26/2014

As you can see, Santa came night before last, and Zack and I had a lot of Christmas goodies. We got 2 chew toys each, peanuts, popcorn, seed treats, and Goldfish snacks. Mommy and daddy also gave us each a chew toy, and Grandmommy and Granddaddy gave us toys too, along with plenty of bread, dressing, cookies, and other goodies to fill our tummies yesterday. Oh boy, it was a good day! We had a lot of fun. What a wonderful Christmas.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas too! It's been a busy but fun week for us. But we also kind of like the day after Christmas, because it's a good chance to slow down the pace and take time to rest, relax, and still be happy from the festivities you just celebrated. Fun, but tiring. We are a bit off schedule. And then Zack's birthday, New Years, and bowl games are coming up. We better rest up the next few days! What busy birds we are!

That's all today. We hope you're having a good holiday and thank you for being wonderful friends. Have a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Chloe

Let the Holidays Begin

12/21/2014

Christmas always starts the weekend before the holiday for the parronts. That's when we celebrate with daddy's sister and her family. This year, they came to our house, so Chloe and I got to join in the fun. There was food and gifts and Sounds of the Season with classic holiday tunes on the stereo all weekend. And it's just starting, as there's still lots more celebrating to do!

It suits me. I love Christmas. It's so much fun. People are mostly happy and jolly, because they got the griping and complaining worked out of their system by the time the festivities start. Mommy and daddy get off work, so we get to spend more time with them, which is always a winner. Santa comes and gives us lots of loot because we're really good birds (most of the time). Mommy and daddy and the grandparents also usually give us toys. Chloe and I are hoping for some good chew toys and kabobs this year. There's also food. And snacks. And then my birthday on New Years Eve. It's a wonderful season of celebration! And given that today is the shortest day of the year, well, anything that brings festivity into the chilled winter air is good!

I hope you're gearing up for a good Christmas and New Year. We've already started down here, and it looks like there's more fun (and food, and gifts) ahead this week. Yay! I'm so excited!

That's all today. Take care, and have a good week.

Luv,

Zack

Chatter With Chloe

12/18/2014

Hi all, and welcome to another edition of Chatter with Chloe! Today, we’ll discuss many issues of great importance in the world, and whether we really care about them or not.

Let’s start with Cuba. So, we’re friends again. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what we get out of this new arrangement. It seems that Cuba gets all the benefits: tourism, our money, our stuff, etc, and we still can’t get cigars from them. Oh, wait a minute. That’s right, we want them to be friends with us and not the Soviet Union! *Light bulbs go on over my head* We don’t want another Bay of Pigs, do we? So let’s make friends with them before the Soviet Union does. It’s an international popularity contest, and we want to make sure we fill that island with our weapons, not the other guys’ (especially when they’re a mere 90 miles away, although mommy swears that even a nuclear missile couldn’t make their food any hotter and spicier in Miami). Geeze, and we thought that stuff ended with high school. Oh no, it goes on, and on, and on – even in International politics. Good grief.

Next, I’d like to chatter about Sony pulling The Interview from theaters. Um, excuse me. What was Sony thinking when they made that movie? You know good and well that these radical dictatorships have no sense of humor. They don’t joke. They just get pissed and threaten and squawk like pissed off parakeets and send cyber attacks and make a lot of noise that nobody wants to hear. And I don’t understand why they bother with it, either. I mean, their borders are closed to the outside world, so it’s not like their minions citizens will ever get to see it anyway. This is a whole lot of drama over nothing. That movie should have been made for streaming video and DVD from the start. They really don’t get the power of niche markets and cult classics, do they? These bigwigs just have an eye for the spotlight. I think they knew this would happen and they want the drama. If it were really about the art or the message, they’d understand that coming in quietly through more low key places and breaking through can be more powerful than the red carpet.

So the government is torturing terrorists. Good! We’re talking about people that behead people and post the video online, and you care about their rights? There are some bleeding hearts out there that need to wake up and realize that the suffering saint keeps on suffering until they learn that it’s ok to fight back. Meek doesn’t speak to these radicals. Time was during the Crusades when Christians would kill you back for that crap, but now we’re more civilized than that. We just torture. So the “they’re human too!” people can be glad we’ve learned some moderation, and the rest of us think that if they come out of there alive, then we’re being too nice anyway – or at least, nicer than they are to us.

And before you say “what would Jesus do,” I’ll say this: I know what He’s going to do when He comes back. It’s gonna be on like donkey kong then.

Speaking of which, my last item is the Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday debate. We have it every year. Why can’t we just wish everybody a happy whatever-we-choose-to-celebrate? People get offended too easily.

Ok, that’s it for this edition of Chatter With Chloe. I hope you enjoyed it! I know we’re getting into crunch time now with Christmas just days away, so in closing I’ll ask everybody to please try to keep things in perspective. Drive safely, do what you can, and remember the reason for the season.

That’s all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend.

Bye!

Yay for Daddy!

12/12/2014

Chloe and I are so happy! Daddy took his Apple Software Certification Exam today, and he passed! He's been studying for it for 3 months. His work actually dropped it on him that getting this certification is a job requirement this year right after his father died, and it's been stressing him out a lot. But he showed them and passed. Yay for daddy!

We've been trying to help him study, and we're so happy that it paid off. That just goes to show the power of internal motivation - he succeeded, despite a huge personal loss. We're so proud of him.

So now it's time to celebrate this weekend, and you know conures are good at that! Oh happy days. It's like a Christmas gift was delivered early. Here's hoping this is the start of better days ahead for daddy, and that there's a lot of good on the horizon for all of us.

That's all today. Happy Friday to you, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Zack

Back to Normal

12/8/2014

Well, it looks like Zack and I finally got both parronts healthy, healed, and back to work. That means that we're going back to our normal routine this week. Yay! Don't get me wrong - we love having them at home, but we don't like them being sick. It's good to know that they're better and able to do what they're supposed to do.

I do have to admit that it was nice to have the house to ourselves, though. It was good to listen to Christmas music on the radio, and to have the freedom to play and sleep as we wished. It was a grey, cold, gloomy day too, so it was good snoozing weather. And we definitely need to rest up and get ready, because it's Christmas time, and that means that it's going to get busy soon. There will be family and friends visiting. Mommy and daddy will be off work for the holiday (and well enough to enjoy it and have some fun!). There will be gifts and songs and Santa and everything that makes the season fun. And then Zack's birthday is on New Year's Eve. We have a lot of celebrating coming up!

I hope you guys are getting ready for a fun holiday season. Rest up while you can. You know these humans. Boy, do they get wound up for the holidays!

That's all today. Take care and I hope you have a great week.

Luv,

Chloe

It's Christmastime!

12/6/2014

Oh boy, it's Christmas time! Daddy got out the trees, and he and mommy finished decorating the house for Christmas. They were a bit slow about it because mommy is still recovering from the flu, but it's done. I am so excited! I'm a Christmas conure. I love the holidays. And the my birthday is on New Year's Eve, so we have so much to celebrate. Yay!

Speaking of mommy, you know that she got the flu earlier this week. She had a flu shot and took TamiFlu while daddy was sick over Thanksgiving, but the foreigner at the pharmacy counter told her to take it wrong, so she got sick anyway. Mommy's doctor is taking up issue over her prescription not being given as ordered, so we feel sure that's being taken care of. But mommy has sworn off CVS, and has occasionally mumbled about the pharmacist being a terrorist when she was feverish and feeling bad. She seems to have turned a corner today. She still tires out easy, but her sinuses aren't stuffy, no more aches, and the fever seems to be gone. She's trying to get up and do some stuff to get her energy back up before she has to go back to work, but she is taking it slow. We've been glad to take care of her these past few days.

I know we'll all be glad to have the flu out of the house. It will be great to have both parronts well and to celebrate the Christmas season. Oh boy! It's so exciting! I may just pop!

That's all today. Take care and have a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Zack

Chloe Christmas - A Flash Fiction Story

12/4/2014

Time out for a flash fiction story! Enjoy this brief tale titled "Chloe Christmas."

Chloe’s eyes popped open at a thump at the fireplace.

“What’s that?” she wondered, listening to soft rustling mixing with Zack’s buzzing snores from the cage next to her. She stretched and climbed to the bottom of her cage to peek out of a space where her cage cover hung just over the bottom of her cage. That wasn’t mommy or daddy! Her eyes widened as she stared at the tall, fat man dressed in red.

“Hey!” she said.

He turned from filling her stocking. “Well hello, pretty lady!”

“Are you Santa?” she asked.

He bent down, a twinkle sparking with the reflected light from the night light nearby. “Yes ma’am, I am. You’ve been a good girl this year, and Zack has been a good boy.” He motioned to the box full of toys on the floor next to the fireplace. “And you’ve been rewarded.”

“Wow!” Chloe said. “Can you pull up Zack’s cover and wake him? He’d love to meet you!”

Santa laughed. “I know he would, but that’s against the rules.” He paused, listening to Zack’s buzzes. “In fact, he’s having a nice dream of being on the Anipal Express to the North Pole. You should be too, little lady.”

Chloe gasped. “Oh no! Am I on the naughty list now?”

“Ho ho ho, no!” he said, opening her cage door. She stepped on a white gloved finger and he lifted her to her sleep perch. “I’m sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep, Pumpkin, and tomorrow you will wake from happy dreams to find rich treats waiting.”

“Mommy calls me Pumpkin,” Chloe said, yawning and tucking her head into her back, where her snore-buzzes joined with Zack’s for the rest of the night.

~*~

“Oh boy, Santa came!” Mommy said as she and daddy pulled the covers back from their cages. Zack and Chloe fluffed and stretched as they stared at the full stockings and box full of bird toys on the floor.

“I meant to stay awake!” Zack said. “I can’t believe I fell asleep again!”

“I think staying awake is against the rules,” Chloe said as their parronts opened their cages so they could dive in their gifts. There were treats, chew toys, and even a remote controlled car for them to play with.

“Oh boy!” daddy said. “Do you guys want to go for a ride?”

“I want to drive!” Zack said, pulling a driver’s license from the Department of Motor Vehicles from a Cracker Jack box.

“What?” mommy said, grabbing the license. Zack wrestled with her, but she pulled it free. Sure enough, it was issued to Zack. “Good grief, no wonder there have been so many accidents lately! They really do put them in Cracker Jack boxes for anybody to have!”

“That’s not all,” Chloe said, pulling a green card out of another box. “Here’s a permanent U.S. residency card for Jorge that runs the taco stand on the corner. Do you want to take it to him?”

“Absolutely not!” Mommy said, taking the green card. “Santa didn’t do that. It was the stupid government!”

Daddy shook his head. “I’m not surprised, but at least Santa hooked us up good this year!”

“He sure did,” Mommy said, helping Zack and Chloe in the car. “Come on, guys, enjoy a ride. You deserve it for being such good birds this year!”

“I just wish I could meet him one day,” Zack said, as daddy zoomed them across the floor. “I always dream of meeting him on the Anipal Express to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, but it would be nice to see him put out the toys here.”

Chloe’s cheek feathers rose in a smile as she remembered the night before. “Who knows, Zack? Maybe someday you will!”

THE END