When mommy's working on a book, it seems like she's playing mind games with us. She calls it "bouncing ideas off us," but to me, it seems like making things harder than they need to be. The fact that she has 2 works in progress now makes it even more of a game. 

One is a piece that she's writing as a contribution to a supernatural anthology. For months, she's complained about feeling like it "needed something." Fine, type more words. That's something. And in the end, she did, many times over. She did it enough times that she's finally happy with the story. Good thing too, because it's due June 30. But see, my idea worked. She wrote words, deleted words, wrote more words, edited words, proofread words, asked others to read and suggest words, and finally found the right combination of words. I don't know why she had to make rocket science out of it. 

Then there's her other piece, the sequel to Move. The title is Obsidian, both because the stone is represented in the book and because it's a dark piece. Now she's chattering about how to make readers "feel" the darkness in the story. Really - feel darkness? What kind of nonsense is that? If you want dark, turn out the light. Better yet, turn down the illumination on the ereader. There. Problem solved. 

Good grief, they call it art but it seems to me that they're just tormenting themselves. More reasons why it's good to be a bird. 

Oh well, the writing does seem to make her happy. She sure does love books, anyway. If she isn't writing one, she's reading one. If twisting her mind up over them makes her happy, let her have at it. 

That's all today. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a great weekend!

Luv,

Chloe

Mommy finished another novel last night! She completed the final edit of her mystery novel, Move, and sent it to her publisher. Hooray! We're so happy mommy got that novel done.

And we helped! Zack, Ollie and I all helped mommy write this one. From brainstorming to rewrites, revisions and edits. Yep, we have our own creative muse avian workshop around here. It's fun helping mommy with her writing.

She plans to wrap up Feathered Frenzy next week. Then after that, she wants to work on short stories, flash fiction and articles some. She said she's worked on novels for the past 3 years and she'd like to change the pace a bit and learn more about writing shorter things now. We look forward to helping her with that too! Ah, short stories sound like an interesting new adventure. I can't wait!

I hope you're all doing well so far this week. Take care!

Luv,

Chloe

I helped mommy write a chapter of Feathered Frenzy today! I've helped her with all of her writing projects, and I find this one especially interesting because it's about birds. Here's a sample from the chapter we worked on today. "Parroants" will find this helpful. Birds - well, it might cure insomnia but hey, this book is for your human companions anyway. It's our way of using mommy's writing skills to help us all live in harmony together.

Enjoy!

Luv,

Zack

From Chapter 6 - Adapting Your Home

Cleaning your house can also be a challenge when you have birds. They are, by nature, messy creatures, but that doesn’t mean you must have a messy house. In fact, there are quick and simple ways to keep your house clean if you have the proper supplies and take a few minutes here and there to spot clean messes. 

          
If you got a cage with a cage skirt or put a cage skirt on the cage then you’ve done 90% of the work already. That will go a long way in keeping mess confined to the cage area and keeping it out of carpets and off walls or furniture. But some will still get out, and those cages still need to be cleaned. Here are a few things you can keep on hand to make cage and house cleaning quick and easy:

 A lightweight vacuum (for carpet)

 A broom (for floors)

 Cleaning wipes

 Scouring/cleaning pads

 Carpet spray

 A small scrub brush

 Newspaper

 Garbage bags
                 
The need for a lightweight vacuum and a broom are obvious. Vacuuming and sweeping every few days will go a long way in keeping your house clean. The cleaning wipes, scouring pads, and small scrub brush make cleaning cages much easier. Cleaning wipes and scouring pads are sanitary, safe for use on cages, and disposable. The carpet spray and scrub brush are good for cleaning “accidents” on carpet and furniture, and the scrub brush can be cleaned in the dishwasher. And, of course, you’ll need plenty of newspaper and garbage bags because the cages will need frequent paper changes. 

                
The experts will tell you that you need to clean cages daily but really, who really has time for that? If I cleaned cages every day then that’s all I’d do with my spare time. Here’s a trick I’ve learned: Deep clean cages about once a week. Set a night each week that you’ll do it (doing it the day before garbage pick up day is usually smart). Wipe down the cage with the cleaning wipes, scrub away hard messes with the scouring pads, change newspaper, rotate toys, wash cloth toys, and vacuum or sweep around the cages on this night. Then for the rest of the week, freshen food and water daily and change newspaper and spot clean messes every two or three days. This will keep the cages and the area around them clean and sanitary with a heavy investment of time once a week and minimal disruption to your schedule the other six days. 
                 
Now on newspapers: I realize that fewer and fewer people are taking the newspaper, so what do you do about cage lining material if you’ve gone digital? Well, we cancelled our newspaper subscription in 2007 and have never lacked for paper to clean cages. Here are two options on getting newspapers with little or no cost to you:

1.      If you work in an urban area, see if they have what I call “freebie papers.” These are small local
newspapers that are usually stacked in stands about once a week that people can pick up. We had two papers that restocked in my building once a week when I worked downtown. I learned that they restocked new editions on Fridays, so I went to the stands before I left work on Thursdays and took whatever papers they had left.  (If I found I needed more paper during the week, I’d grab one or two newspapers to hold me over).   


2.      There will always be “paper holdouts,” so take advantage of them. When my job was transferred out of the downtown area, I didn’t have the “freebie papers” available anymore. What to do? I asked my parents, who still take the daily newspaper, if I could have theirs when they were done reading it. They bring me their old newspapers about once or twice a month, and I keep them stored in a large bag with the other bird toys. And if anybody at work or elsewhere asks if somebody wants a newspaper when they’re done with it, I take it. Ask your neighbors, colleagues, church members, friends, or others you see frequently that you know have a newspaper subscription if you can have their papers when they’re done reading them. It saves them from having to dispose of them, and it keeps you supplied with cage cleaning material. 
 
And if these options fail, then you might have to occasionally buy a Sunday newspaper. I suggest getting the Sunday edition because it’s usually the biggest of the week, so that should keep you covered for a couple of weeks, depending on the size of the cage (and how many cages)  you’re cleaning. 
                 
Having birds doesn’t mean your house has to look and smell  like an aviary! In fact, it is possible to have a nice, clean home and have multiple birds in it. You just have to know the tips and tricks for set up, safety and cleaning to keep things running smoothly and to keep a nice home that’s comfortable for you and your feathered friends.

I'm so excited! Mommy started writing her new book tonight! It's a non-fiction book about integrating birds (or as she puts it, "avian companions" - how fancy pants!) into your life and hope. She just posted the introduction as a sample over at her blog at http://www.sherrithewriter.com .

I'm honored to help with this. Mommy gave Chloe a bath earlier, so she's still pouting, and Zack was eating snacks after helping daddy fold laundry playing Star Wars - Knights of the Old Republic for a while. So I got to be the muse that kicked off this writing project. I'm so honored! But I'll try not to gloat too much because Zack and Chloe are bigger than me and I don't want them angry at me.

Still, I can't help but be happy. I'm one blessed budgie!

Take care and enjoy your week.

Luv,

Ollie

Mommy has a new book idea, and it's a book about pet birds. I say it's about time! Good grief, she's had birds most of her life. You've heard of "crazy cat lady?" Well, we joke that when she retires, she's going to be "crazy bird lady." She has said that she accepted the fact that she'll be cleaning cages for the rest of her natural life. Darn right! Once owned by a bird, always owned by a bird, I say. She'll never escape. We have her number now! I mean, look at that picture. Is that a woman owned by birds or what? (And don't tell her, but I love this "mommy and me" picture. I'm the alpha bird around here. I've gotta play it cool, you know?)

Seriously, it's a good idea. She wants to combine some of what she calls "scattered knowledge" and some "trial and error" things she's learned into a comprehensive book on the basics of building a life with a companion bird. Here are some of the topics that we approved for inclusion:

Birds & your lifestyle –  what’s best for you, what’s best for them.


·         Cages – best style, easy cleaning, mess control.

  ·       Feeding – pellets, seed, and   snacks. What foods are good to share.


·         Toys – chew/preening/snuggle – and don’t forget happy huts and mirrors (for keets!).



·        Adapting your home. Cleaning, organization, what you can’t have. Tips & tricks


·        Socialization – establishing a flock and helping them adjust.


  ·     Training. Yes, you can teach   them. No, it’s not 100%. Anything’s better than nothing.


·        Multiple bird homes. Cause birds are like potato chips – you can’t have just 1.


·        General tips to make your life and home happy and less stressful.


          Fun ending – why birds are the best pets.

I objected to the training topic, but she insists that it's needed. Heh heh heh, we shall see if that one survives edits!

Seriously, if this works out then she wants to self publish it as an ebook. She thinks there is a market out there and it's a serious enough need for this book that she doesn't want to waste time shopping it around, especially when self publishing is so easy now. Plus, she can price it cheap. She wants this to be something that's easy for people to get.

I say yay for this idea. It's about time she combined her writing skills with her avian care skills. What do you guys think? She has more on her rationale behind this project over at her blog at http://www.sherrithewriter.com .

That's all tonight. Enjoy the rest of