Cob Jockey

Even though I haven't seen my horse in over a week (ugh), I still feel compelled to blog.  Likely nothing in here will be about horses, but my new parrot might make an appearance!


With the house, we are in the final two days before the original hardwood floors get refinished, which takes six days when you have about 3,000 square feet of hardwoods (just five out of sixteen rooms have something other than hardwoods).  So I am painting everything that I can, because once they're refinished I actually have to, y'know, care about paint splatters and such.

Most of the rooms will just get to 'primed', but the living room and master bedroom are both getting painted, master bedroom pictured above.  I'm in love with that color (Refuge by Sherwin Williams)

This weekend, I'm spending my time about 35 feet off the ground stripping wallpaper, priming and painting the area above the staircase.  I was going to have it done professionally until they quoted us $3,000 for this tiny spot!  In my head I was like "Hello, that's a Dressage saddle, no thank you."  So I keep telling myself, as I do this terrifying and annoying chore, that I am getting a Dressage saddle out of this somehow.  (Not likely, but it helps!)

Because of the hardwood floor refinishing, we all have to be out of the house for a week, which isn't a problem for my traveling husband, but it requires me and the dogs to find a place to stay.  The dogs are at my parents' house for 10 days, having been left there on Thanksgiving.  And when they come back on Friday, they'll be joined by their new brother, Rocky!

Rocky is a 3 year old African Grey Parrot (if you know Greys and you're doing the math, yes, he could live another 77 years!).  I grew up with Greys, my mom still has one of her own, and when a family friend asked if my mom would help place her birds due to the friend's stage IV pancreatic cancer (who doesn't understand wanting the peace of knowing your animals are in good hands?  Especially pets as complex to care for as birds, which are as or more difficult than horses to care for), I was the first call she made.  I always thought an African Grey would be my retirement pet, but with working from home, it's a pretty perfect situation for one.

Being a wild bird with his bell.

He picks up new words faster than any Grey I've ever known, and is also more chilled out than either of the two Greys I've known.  And his most hilarious quality is that he responds "Yeah," in the former owner's deep and gravelly voice.  (She wasn't a smoker, but it sounds like a smoker's voice).  "Rocky, are you a good bird? "Yeah." "Are you going to watch the house while I'm at work?" "Yeah."  "Do you want breakfast?" "Yeah."

My mom has kept him for me for a couple months because they have extremely sensitive respiratory systems and the plaster dust would have been bad for him.  But now he gets to come home!  I'm very excited.

More wild bird action.  Generally they talk and whistle, but occasionally they all do this thing where they hang from something and squawk for all they're worth.  Rocky's is especially loud.  Not sure how that's going to go on conference calls!

I've dithered long enough, time to get back on the scaffolding.  Next week, you guys will get a Noble Outfitters head-to-toe outfit review and a chance to win one for yourself, and a review of the Majyk Equipe second generation XC boot, which of course I received during the longest stretch of time I will ever go without seeing Connor.  They are REALLY nice and I am dying to try them out!