Cosmo's home!

I put off posting this because I didn't want to tell the big secret of the day before my sister got a chance to tell it. It occurred to me, though, that no one is reading my blog, according to the counter, so it doesn't matter what I say here. So here it is: Cosmo is home! Bay will be telling the whole story in her blog, so I'll just add a little link here to the most recent installment in the story. She hasn't written the conclusion yet, but I'm sure she will tonight.

What with all the worrying about Cosmo, I got to thinking about how many times birds have touched my life. One of my earliest memories is hearing an owl in the woods behind our house in Decatur, Georgia. My mother showed me the magic of birds in our back yard later when we moved to Social Circle -- I still remember her excitement when an indigo bunting came to our feeder. When I got older I got George, a mynah bird. After George, there was Georgia, a green-cheeked conure. Then Noah, an African grey. Then Kito, another African grey. One of my last gifts from Mama is a figurine of a bluebird.

They're beautiful creatures, and my life would be emptier without them.

Cosmo

I spent the last weekend concentrating on what was happening a continent away. My sister's Amazon parrot Cosmo escaped last Friday. They knew where he was for a couple of days, but he hasn't been seen since late Saturday night. At times like this I start trying to think of solutions. How can we find him? Would a megaphone help? Do they have pictures of him posted? If someone finds him, will they be able to find his home?

I hate being so far away and so unable to help.

My, how time flies

I'm guilty. I'm one of the millions who created a blog, edited it for a while, then got busy doing other stuff and just let it sit here gathering dust and giving bloggers a bad reputation.

So what have I been up to? Well, the job I talked about in January is going strong. I'll be out of my probationary period in mid-July, at which time I'll be allowed to start taking leave. WOOHOO!!!! I haven't taken any vacation since March 2004. I'm tired. I want a vacation. Speaking of which...

We've scheduled a cruise for this November. Our last cruise was in October 2002 on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas. I hadn't really thought myself a cruise-type person, but I was wrong. We still talk about what a great time we had. It's wonderful to wake up each day and see the ocean outside your window or a new adventure just waiting for you to explore. Last time it was the western Caribbean (and yes, we picked a bad month for that itinerary, what with hurricane season, but it still turned out well); this time we'll be seeing the Mexican Riviera on NCL's Star. Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta -- names I remember from the Love Boat.

What else? Just off the top of my head, here are some things that have happened since last I wrote: We hosted the Where's George gathering in Las Vegas, my niece Emily came to visit, my sister had several articles and layouts published in a popular scrapbooking magazine, and we went to visit dear friends in San Diego. Just sitting here trying to think up this list, I'm realizing how many things have happened that I should have written about. Perhaps I'll do a better job from now on...but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.