In 1998, after Failed Dog Experiment One and about five or six dead goldfish, Hunter still wanted a pet.  “Mom, do you think we could get a bird?” his little seven year-old self asked.    We sent out an email to the general population of Cedarville College (where TGD was working at the time) seeing if anyone had a cage for sale. We got an email that not only did someone have a cage, they had a bird to go with it!

So, we became the third owners of a little, yellow parakeet. 

There was debate as to what to name him.  Yellowie?  Butter Stick?  Since the children had recently watched the movie Paulie which features a parrot, they decided that Paulie would be a good name for our new family member.

Paulie turned out to be a great bird. I had a parakeet when I was a child, and he was obnoxious with his squawking. Paulie made such gentle, pleasant bird noises.  Plus, he was friendly. He’d sit on your shoulder or your head or fly over to where you were and just hang out near you. 

One year, when we moved to Oklahoma for the summer, we took Paulie with us.  I don’t know that hotels are used to people carrying in a parakeet cage for an overnight stay.

He had a toy, a set of jingle balls, which he loved dearly. I think he would have followed those balls straight into a cat’s mouth.

Paulie also loved Little Miss, especially when she was a baby. He would fly down and sit on her head or walk around her and tug at her socks or pick at her baby books. One day, soon after she learned to sit unaided, Paulie was doing his usual inspection. Four month-old Little Miss slowly leaned over, hardly in control of her own hands, and grabbed a very surprised parakeet. He let out a squawking, and I rescued him. Totally unhurt, in less than two minutes, he was back at Little Miss’s side.

A few years after we moved to PA, we inherited my mom’s parakeet, Bluey,  who was another bachelor bird. The two seemed to enjoy each other and would hop in and out of their respective cages. But, when night came, separate dwelling were required.

My mom would get the birds over the summer–their vacation home. About two years ago, we just didn’t bother bringing them home as they were having too much fun.  A year ago, Bluey died, and two baby parakeets came to live.  Paulie seemed to be able to teach these wild creatures how to get back into their cage after flying and that it was okay to be friendly.

Over the last year, Paulie took more and more naps. Sometimes he would stretch out almost horizontally on the perch or bend over almost upside down on the side of the cage. He began to look like a punk rocker as his thinning feathers would stick straight up and he fluffed them out to keep warm.  But, he was still pleasant and active and enjoyed his daily bath.

Yesterday my mom called to tell me the news–Paulie died in the afternoon.

Rest in peace, you wonderful bird.

Opening night was amazing. 

Last night I was wondering why I never seem to update my Xanga. Surely my life isn’t any less thrilling than it was last year? (Okay, that’s a lie. Being in a foreign country gives everything a certain panache.)  I suspected with fewer Xanga entries, my handwritten journal entries would have increased. Not true.  Am I visiting more with friends in person or via email to share bits of my day? Um, no.

(And this first paragraph is probably a sign of why I am not writing more. I’ve turned dull.)

Wednesday, I got the gardening bug and planted innumerable seeds into 240 peat pots in mini-greenhouses.  Of course, it is far, far too early to think of planting anything outside in PA. (It did snow this morning after all.) But, one must heed the siren call of dirt. 

The funny thing about me and gardening is how quickly I grow weary of it. I start out with hundreds of flower seedlings to transplant into my insanely-long garden.

After about 100 plants, I don’t care anymore and start tossing them willy-nilly. I’m good about weeding in May and June, and about July 4th, the weeds become independent and take over the garden. So, by mid-August, just when the garden should be at its glory, I’ve got an impressive showing of crabgrass and prickly lettuce and other odd weeds. (In defense of those weeds, some of them blossom, so I just call them “volunteer wildflowers.”)

This year, the garden needs major work. When we moved in, it looked great. There was 10 year weed matting covered with mulch. Now, the 10 years for the matting are over and the mulch is just dirt. Ripping out the weed matting, getting rid of dead bushes, planting perennials, rematting, mulching, and more are what we get to do this summer.

I am thinking this might be a job for a professional. Yeah! That’s it!  Now, to find someone who might want to work in exchange for 240 seedlings…

I have some of your addresses, but not all. Just Xanga message me with them. Lisa, I don’t think I have yours, although I should.  Anna, Jessica, and Jud, I have your addresses.

That dear lady, SpazzyMommy, had a fun post on her site. Since I was one of the big winners, I am following through on my part of the deal and posting myself. Besides, I think this will be amusing.

Homemade Exchange

I was supposed to say, “First five people to respond to this post will get something made by me.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:” 

Instead I am saying, “Every person who comments on this entry will have a chance to be one of the FIVE GRAND PRIZE WINNERS!”  I will put all your names in a container on Sunday night and choose five lucky winners. It is entirely probable that I’ll pick more than five just because I’m like that.

Now, I’m supposed to say:

- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. (Which is true)
– What I create will be just for you. (Maybe. Maybe not. What I create might be something I’ve been hankering to do and will just send it to you.)
– It’ll be done this year, 2009. (Fair enough)
– You have no clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something over the internet. It may be a mixed CD. It may be a poem. I may draw or paint something. I might bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure! [not me either] (Well, I might give you a hint.)
– I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. (Okay. I also reserve the right to be insanely dull.)

And I add this one:

- If you want to participate, you also have to send me your snail mail address (via Xanga message). If this is creepy to you, which it might be, because I really am a stranger, then just let me know in your comment that you’d rather not participate.

And the final bit I’m to say–

“Here’s the fine print: In return, all you need to do is post this text into a blog of your own and make 5 things for 5 others. No cheating! You have to post this on your site and follow through.”

However, in the spirit of anarchy and non-conformity that I usual adopt when faced with a chain mail situation, I do not require this of any winner or non-winner. If it sounds like fun to you, have at it. If not, sit back and reap the rewards of a comment and some dumb luck.

So, there you go. Comment away! I am not immune to bribery.

 PS–You do not have to have a Xanga account. I know that a number of my readers don’t. Just leave a comment by clicking “comment” below the post and sign in as anonymous. Of course, if you are too anonymous (i.e. you don’t leave your name), I won’t know who you are.

It’s been a long time since I’ve reviewed a book I’ve read.  It’s not that I’ve not been reading. It’s just that when I read over my reviews, I’m usually embarrassed by how poorly I’ve written.  But, to become excellent, one must practice. And to become mediocre, one must practice occasionally.

The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History by Curtis, Lang and Peterson

This book was part of the 10th grade Sonlight curriculum, and I was glad I decided to read it, too.  The book is comprised of 100 events which occurred after the book of Acts but before 1970 and is written not just for Christians but for those who are interested in the history of Christianity.   The authors do not seem to have a particular agenda to push  or to favor one denominational philosophy over another which gives the history a neutral feel.  Catholic and Protestant events are both listed, as well as the formation of movements in the church. Each entry in the book is about a page or two in length, which makes it great for little bites of reading or for reading as part of a Bible time. The book is a comfortable size with a two-colum format and easy-on-the-eye typeface.  If you have wanted to learn more about the history of Christianity without having to wade through volumes of ancient writings or if you were hesitant to read certain historical texts because of the slant they might have toward a particular doctrine, you may enjoy this readable book.

In Search of the Source by Anderson and Moore

I have read lots of missionary biographies, some of them about Bible translators. But this book was the first that really enabled me to see how the actual work of translating the scriptures happened.  The Andersons went to Papua New Guinea in the 1970s with their two children (with two more to come) to work with the Folopa people. This people group of about 2,500 had no written language and were former cannibals. 

The book is organized around passages of scripture: each chapters shows Neil Anderson and a group of people trying to translate a passage and then tells a story about the passage or the translation. For example, how would you translate this scripture which speaks of the goodness of God?  “If your son asks for a fish, you will not give him a snake?” To the Folopas, a snake was a delicacy, and fish were of little worth.  A snake was a better gift.  Or could you effectively translate prayer, worship, and glory?  I used to think it might be easy. But, this book showed me that we should not handle God’s word lightly. 

The stories in the book not only entertained and gave a glimpse into a different culture, they also clearly illustrated how God’s word, even though it was written over thousands of years to a culture very different than that of this Papua New Guinea tribe, still speaks truth.    This book would make a great read aloud for Bible time and is a wonderful book to read on your own. The stories aren’t gruesome, but there are bits of the former culture that are related which might make it for third grade and up. 

What have you been reading?

Life seems to be fairly ordinary around here, which makes for a dull blog.