Finally....Caseville

Tomorrow I am finally leaving for Caseville. I got the car packed. I have so much to take up there. Hubby will come up by Thursday and will bring a few things. Hopefully, we will get our water back on without a hitch. I'm hoping that the well just needs to be primed after the pump froze on me last winter. The condo water should be on by now so I can always go there to shower if need be. I'll be back by the first week of May cause I have a dental appointment I need to keep. Our cobra dental ends on the 15th so I want to get my teeth cleaned and checked before it runs out.
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I'm sure little Brinks is okay. I know that Brinks has a guardian angel watching over her. That is why when she was hurt, my son was there to help. If he hadn't been there, I know that nobody else would have stopped and got her out of the road to safety. She would have died for sure. But he was there and he brought her to us to help her. When I released her I asked her guardian angel to please be with her and keep her safe.

But I've been so worried about her. I asked to please give me a sign that she is okay. Today I pulled into a parking lot behind another car. I couldn't believe what the license plate holder on the car in front of me said. It said "Angels are watching over Me" with the symbol of a dove.

I know she's okay. Her guardian angel is with her.

The good ole days.....1969

I was reading Joan's blog today (It's Always Something) and she writes about what she was doing on April 14, 1962 and quotes from a diary she kept back then. I use to keep a diary back in 1968 and 1969 and I still have them. It is so funny going back and reading what my life was all about way back when things were so much more simpler and FUNNNNNNNNN.

I was divorced with a kid and I lived in an upper one-bedroom flat. I worked as a secretary answering phones, taking dictation, filing, etc. I made enough to get by. And I dated and dated lots and lots. I laugh my ass off reading it now. I didn't believe in the "going steady" crap. I went out with who I wanted and it was always understood that I do my own thing and if they didn't like it, there's the door.

Here's an example: (circa 1969)

Friday, Jan 3....."Gary came over for awhile.
Saturday, Jan 4...."Went up to Crockett's Lounge. Saw Bill Timm...."
Friday, Jan 10...."Went out with Bill...."
Saturday, Jan 11...."Went out with this guy named Lou from work."
Sunday, Jan 12....."Jerry, a friend of Gary's, came over."
Thurs, Jan 16....."Gary called me"
Saturday, Jan 18...."Went out with Lou again..."
Sunday, Jan 19...."Rick called me..."
Tuesday, Jan 21....."Bill Timm came over...."
Wednesday, Jan 22...."Gary came over for awhile after work...."
Friday, Jan 24...."Gary called...."
Saturday, Jan 25...."Wilkie called and wanted to come over but Gary already came over. After he left, Don (Jerry's brother) called and came over.
Sunday, Jan 26...."Don came over..."
Wednesday, Jan 29...."Gary called me. Don called me. Butch called me. Gary & Butch asked me out for Saturday. I told them both to call back Friday. Don came over for awhile until he had to go to work."
Thursday, Jan 30...."Butch called...."
Friday, Jan 31...."Butch called again. He came over...."

And that's just January...LOL

It gets better....I just laugh my ass off.

Oh...and who did I decide to go out with on Saturday (Gary or Butch??)

Saturday, February 1...."Went out with Butch. Went out to dinner at Gherardi's & then to Prossers and to Crockett's Lounge. Had a good time. Gary and Wilkie were at Crockett's & a couple of other guys I know."

Thursday I went to a Home Interiors party at a friend's house. We haven't seen each other in a long time so it was great getting together again. We've known each other since second grade! I told her that the order will be in while I'm in Caseville so we'll get together when I get back.

I'm finally able to get back up to Caseville. I always have to wait until tax season is over but I've been having a problem with my car for quite awhile and it was getting worse....idling weird, stalling at lights, RPM going up, etc. My son told us it was my idle air control valve. I went online and it sounded like that is what the problem was. I've been waiting for hubby to get the damn part. Finally Friday I went myself and bought it. Saturday he put it in. So I'm hoping that it fixes the problem. I'll know for sure once I start driving to Caseville. The only problem is that before my "check engine" light was on...hell, it's been on for 3 years now! Anyway, internet said that a bad idle air control valve will cause the check engine light to go on. After hubby fixed it, the light was off....great!...but today I was driving it and the light came back on....bummer! I also think I need a new gas cap, so I'll buy one and replace it and see if it makes that damn check engine light go off. Hubby's check engine light stays on on his car too. I don't know why they bother putting those lights in cars....I would think that if you really had a problem with your engine, YOUR F'NG CAR WOULDN'T EVEN GO!! Hubby says they only put those stupid lights in cars so it will freak people out and make you take it to the dealer and then they make money...haha

I went to a couple Estate Sales over the weekend. I've been thinking about getting a new mattress set for my bed cause the one I have now is almost 20 years old and is now too firm for my old tired body and I want a softer plush one like the one I have in Caseville. But they run around $400 and I'm too cheap to spend the money, so I pretty much decided to just keep what I got. So I went to this estate sale and they had one there for only $95 for the whole set including the frame! It is like new. It is a deep plush mattress and box springs. I think it was in their spare bedroom and was rarely used. They had a king size in the master bedroom for sale too. I called my son who has a truck and we went back over there and I offered them $80 and they took it!! I put it on my bed yesterday and it is so soft and comfortable. I couldn't believe my luck.

Then my hubby was talking about getting a small electric chain saw that can run as much as $100 and I went to this garage sale today and found one for $20! So I had a very productive weekend for buying stuff.
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I miss Brinks. Everyday I'm crying about her. I'm so scared that she's dead. I keep imagining terrible things happening to her. If she's not dead, then she's starving somewhere....or hurt...or scared. I'm thinking that she wants to come home but doesn't know where to find us. Feral pigeons and homing pigeons are different. Also homing pigeons have to be trained to find their way home and they depend on each other. Little Brinks has nobody to help her find us. I keep thinking that I shouldn't have released her. I should have kept her and kept her safe. Screw Caseville. We can sell the damn place and Brinks can live here with us forever. I told hubby that if she comes back, I'm keeping her. I still keep the window open for her and her food and water out. I put her heartbeat machine on hoping she will hear it and guide her home.

I keep driving to this freeway intersection where there is an under pass and lots of pigeons and I look for her. I saw this one pigeon that looked like her and I rolled my window down and yelled her name, but too much traffic and noise. This pigeon was scratching and scratching and then stood on one foot. That's what Brinks did. She was always scratching herself and she stood on her good foot...the right one, and held her left foot up under her. It was her left foot that was injured and she still favored it. So I saw this pigeon doing the same thing. I went back again later but the pigeons were gone, but I left birdseed and pretzels in the parking lot across the street. I admit that this is not a very good area and hubby told me not to get out of my car if I go there. I can see the headlines now..."Woman Found Dead In Parking Lot Holding A Bag Of Birdseed....One-Legged Pigeon Hopping Nearby"!

Last night seemed so eerie and lonely. When nighttime came, I became very anxious worrying about Brinks. I thought for sure she would fly back before sundown to her safe place and where her food and water is. She didn't come. I left the window open and the lights on and even had her heartbeat machine on in case she was trying to find the house. But she didn't come. I laid awake a lot of the night. It just seems so odd that she isn't there with me.

I saw a group of pigeons today at the expressway and I could have sworn one of them was Brinks. I rolled down my window and yelled "Brinks...Brinks"...I think the pigeon turned its head. There was so much noise from the traffic, I doubt if I was heard....and I doubt if it was Brinks. But it helps to think it was....that she's doing her bird thing with other pigeons and she's happy.
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When I got home I received some bad news. A friend of mine who use to own the condo next to mine in Caseville called to tell me that another former condo friend had passed away. I couldn't believe it. She and her husband use to own one of the upstairs condo apartments. Their family would come up and stay....sometimes having 10 people sleeping, and we would all party. They were a fun bunch of people. I adored Geri. Even though she was older than me we got along great and I loved her like a second mom. We would sit in her place or out on the deck talking for hours. We'd go shopping in town or in Bad Axe. We both loved our rum & cokes...haha! After her husband died, she kept the place for a few years and then sold it. She lives quite a ways from me, but I've been to her place a couple times. Mainly we kept in touch by phone. Now that tax season is over, I was just thinking the last couple days that I want to call Geri before I leave for Caseville and then go visit her when I get back before the busy summer comes. I was also hoping maybe I could pick her up and she could go with me for a few days and see my new place. I was just thinking of doing that and now I find out that she died Sunday. We went to the funeral home tonight.

Everybody that we use to see all the time in Caseville were there. We haven't seen them since she sold her condo probably close to 8-9 years ago. It was nice reminesing (sp?) about "the good ole days". And those were definitely the best times. We had a blast back then. We would all go into the bar and party. One night after the bar closed around 2:00 a.m., we all decided to go take a dip in the lake. So we went and got our bathing suits on and ran down to the beach and ran out into the lake...pitch dark! We were drunk....haha. The friend that called me with the news had taken a picture of us and it was one of the pictures posted at the funeral home. Geri's favorite song she always wanted the DJ to play was "Wooley Bully"!! They said they might play it tomorrow at the funeral.




"Hey Geri...let's have a rum & coke and dance to Wooley Bully!!!....I'll miss you my friend..."

This picture was taken about 10 years ago...Dick died in 1996, so I'm guessing it was 1998 or so.

Here's Brinks on top of the garage roof enjoying her newfound freedom.





"When pigeons pass through our lives, they leave behind treasured memories in a nest they have built close to our hearts."




Brinks and her human mom the last night they spent together.

FREE AS A BIRD......

I truly understand the meaning now of being "free as a bird". Brinks is free now.

We watched her glorious white wings flapping and sailing across the blue sky.

It was amazing.

I sobbed and cried....partly because I will miss her so, but mainly because I am so happy for her.


We started out opening up the window, but she wasn't interested. We coaxed her and I even stuck my head out the window and flapped my arms. No deal. She wasn't having any of it. I finally took her and put her feet on sill, where she wrapped her pigeon toes tightly and flapped her wings to keep from falling out the window...haha. We decided that maybe she was scared of the height.

So we took her outside in her cage on the patio. Normally, she tries to get out. But I think she knew something was up and she decided she wanted to stay in her "safe world". She seemed content being in the cage. We opened the door and she wasn't interested. We coaxed her with teddy bears. I put Little Green Bear on one of the patio chairs to try and get her to come out on her own. She put one foot out and turned around and went back inside. Finally, she got brave and curious and put both feet out and stood on the patio table checking out her new freedom.

I pointed to the roof of the family room and told her she could go up there....and that is what she decided to do. She flapped her wings and was up on the roof. She walked around up there and flew over to the garage roof and walked around. She flew out and made a small circle by the patio table and went back to the roof.

Then out of the blue, she just started flapping her wings and went straight up high into the air. She did a small circle....higher and a bigger circle.....way higher and a larger circle and then flew a straight shot eastward...East is where my son found her originally.

She is going home.

Pigeons have an amazing homing instinct. I watched a video and they explained that pigeons can pick up the Earth's magnetic field. They explained that when you release them, they will circle around a couple times to get their bearings and then they will head home.

A PIGEONS PRAYER....

Please Watch Over Us While We Fly;

Keeping Us Safe From The Predators That Share The Sky;

If We Become Ill Or Injured In Any Way;

Please Lead Us To Safety Where We Are Welcome To Stay.

I love you Brinks!

Be Safe.....

Brinks and Little Green Bear....

Right now little Brinks is laying on top of the dresser cooing and snuggling up with one of the teddy bears. That's where she's been sleeping the last few nights. She discovered the little green bear and at first she did not like him. She was cooing in that "yelling cooing" way of hers and beating the hell out of him with her beak. I mean, she was being a real bitch. She was standing on top of this little bear pecking away at his little head and I swear there were little pigeon curse words coming out of her mouth. And she kept knocking him off the dresser...like she didn't even want him up there with her and the other two bears. She seemed to like the other two, but she was being so mean to little green bear. Then I don't know what changed her mind. Lately, it's like she's in love with him. They've been sleeping together the last few nights. And she coos to him.






Tomorrow is Release Day....I wonder where little Brinks will be sleeping tomorrow night? I'm keeping the window open and his little heartbeat machine on and the light...maybe she'll come home for a sleepover with her new friend.

SALE is my favorite word.....

Yesterday it rained all freakin' day. Today there were snow flurries and at 11:00 a.m. it was only in the 30's...degree-wise. Brinks is still with us waiting impatiently for the weather to get better. The websites say that you need to be sure that there is at least 3 days of good weather when you release a bird back into the wild. They need time to adjust before having to deal with cold, rain or bad weather. Yesterday we put Brinks outside in the cage in the rain so she can get use to it somewhat and also to get her feathers wet. She needs to waterproof her feathers and I keep forgetting to spray her with water. Anyway, she didn't last long out there before she started going nutso so hubby brought her back inside. She is so damn spoiled. She has a hissy-fit and everybody jumps to her commands.

I'm working my last day tomorrow, so Tuesday is the BIG RELEASE DAY...if the weather gets better, that is.

Today Value City at the mall near me closed for good. Personally, I rarely shopped there cause I thought it was like ghetto shopping, but I love love LOVE good sales. So they've been reducing their stuff down....30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, etc. Thursday they hit 70% off and I was buying, buying, buying. Saturday they were down to 80% and I was buying more crap I don't really need. Today the store was only open from 11-6 and I was standing at the door at 11:00 for their 90% off!!! I was throwing everything in sight in my cart....dolls, cake plates, sugar and creamers, salt n pepper shakers, pictures, clothes, odds and end drapery panels (for the material), candles, sheets, even a pair of cute shoes but the right shoe was one size and the left shoe was another...thought they might still fit! After about two hours of walking around trying to find more stuff I decided to go through what I had. I ended up putting back the cake plate (cause I don't bake cakes anyway), the matching sugar & creamer set and salt n pepper shakers cause what's the point if I don't have the cake plate....the candles, the drapery panels (cause I'm not planning on sewing anything with them anyway), another pair of shoes that turned out to be both for the left foot (unless I like walking in circles). So I kept some of the things and got everything 90% off.

They were even selling all the display racks and shelves. They had this cute wooden bench by the restrooms and I asked about it.....only $20, but decided not to buy it. Hubby would have had a fit. Mainly cause we already had one and I sold it on Craigslist.

At 5:45 I was so tempted to run back up there for some last minute deals...cause I just know everything was reduced to 95% off by then!!

Preparing Brinks for the Big World....

We need to release Brinks back to the wilds of nature. I know that. I'm trying to prepare him for it. And I'm trying to prepare myself. Now that it's getting nicer outside we've been putting her in the dog cage and putting her out on the patio so she can get use to the outside again and get back her instincts. She hates being in that dog cage and after about 15 minutes she starts going nutso in it, flapping her wings and trying to get out. I saw a much larger cage at this garage sale for only 10 bucks so I bought it. It's twice the size of her other one. She still doesn't like it. She's okay at first...then she starts going balistic trying to get out. She is not a cage-bird. She is not a canary or a parakeet. That's why we have let her fly free upstairs.

We need to get up to Caseville as soon as tax season ends so we can work on getting our well up and running again. I thought maybe I would take Brinks up there one more time so we can get things done and then release her when we get back. But there is no way she will stay in that cage for the 3 hour drive up there now. I'm afraid she will break a wing when she starts flapping them furiously in that cage. So we are now thinking that maybe we need to release her first...before we leave.

The problem is that we need to do a "soft release". The websites say that when we release a bird we need to be there for them for the first couple weeks or so....providing them food and water, etc until they can fend on their own. So we need to do this soon....like this weekend if the weather stays good.

First, I took her nest and eggs away the other day. She was looking for them at first and sitting on the shelf like a lost little mama. She's acting like her old self now. So I'm hoping she has forgotten about them. My computer room faces the backyard and there is a big window, so I'm putting her food by the window now to get her use to eating in here instead of the other room. My plan is to simply open the window and let her fly out on her own, and leave the window open so she can fly back in if she wants. I will leave food and water near the window for her. Hopefully, she will adjust to her new surroundings again. And I'm hoping and praying that there are no hawks!!!!

Damn....I love that stupid little bird, but she needs to fly free again and be a bird. She can't come sit with me on the bed at night and watch TV with me. She can't sit with teddy bears all day. She can't play on the computer anymore. She needs to do bird things.

I'm so scared for her. I'm afraid something will happen to her. Her safe world will be gone and she will have to live in the big scary one. She's been living in the human world for over 6 months now. Can she live in the bird world again? I hope so.....

Nuts about Squirrels.....

Yesterday I did something a bit weird, but nice even though it's kinda gross. So what did I do? Well, at the end of my street there was a little young squirrel laying DEAD. Some idiot ran over this poor little squirrel who barely lived long enough to even enjoy nuts and peanut butter crackers. I felt so bad for it. So I told hubby I was going back to get it and we can give it a decent burial in our backyard. I asked hubby if I should use a spatula to scoop it up with....(of course, I would throw it away afterwards). He gave me a couple pieces of cardboard. So I drove back up the street, got out of my car, scooped the little squirrel onto the towel, wrapped him up, put him in my back seat and drove back home. I put him inside a paper bag to bury him in. I told Hubby to bury him today while I was at work. He's still laying in the bag.

Man....I gotta do everything around here...
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We have this tree in our front yard that has a squirrel hole in it. Squirrels have been using this hole to bear their little younguns for years. One year this one little baby squirrel fell out of the hole and was hanging on for deal life on the limb. We saw him and I was frantic as to what to do to help him. I started to park the car under the limb so if he fell, at least he wouldn't fall as far onto the road....even though hubby said that the dirt ground would probably be softer than the top of the car. Anyway, didn't matter...cause he fell before I got the car under him. He was a little stunned but okay. We put him in a cat carrier and took care of him. We named him "Baby Squirrel"....very original...haha. We had him all summer. We even let him in the house. I had to teach him to climb trees. I would put him on a limb and he would shake cause he was scared but he got use to it eventually. We would leave the door of the carrier open during the day and he would play around the patio and in the shrubs. Then he would play in the tree that was next to the patio...then he started to go a little farther and play on the grape vines. He got bigger and braver as time went by. Every evening I would look inside the carrier and he would be snuggled under his blanket sleeping for the night. Sometimes I couldn't find him during the day, but he'd be under his blankie come evening time.

Then one night he didn't come home. I was awake all night going out there with the flashlight hoping to see him under his blanket, but he never came back. We're hoping that he found a nice squirrel hole somewhere and met up with another squirrel. He was ready to be on his own.

The following summer there was a squirrel that kept hanging around the patio and was very brave towards us. I always like to think that it was "Baby Squirrel" coming to say "HI...and Thanks for taking care of me".

April 2.....

If you want a good laugh, go into "It's Always Something"...Joan's blog and read her March 30 post, "I Smell Trouble". Her dog Penny got herself in some mischief and wrote this post on Joan's blog...haha. I laughed so hard I was gasping for air. Also, Penny needs your votes to get back into the house.
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Purple Heart charity truck is picking up tomorrow and I spent the last two days going through my crap AGAIN. I just gave a bunch of stuff to that church rummage sale last week. But there is always more crap to get rid of...ALWAYS. Where the hell does it all come from anyway??? Last night I spent a depressing evening trying on shorts and jeans. I finally gave up on this drawer of "maybe if I lose 10 pounds it will fit" jeans and tossed them. Well, I still saved a few...cause I WILLLLL lose and wear them.

I always wash everything before I pack it away for the winter and I don't know what kind of detergent I used or how long they were in the dryer, but everything seems to have shrunk while in storage. Basically, if I could get them up over my ass and zip 'em up then I'm keeping them....I can always move the button over. But I really hate when they ride up my butt. Maybe if I get them wet and stretch them out good...maybe even wear them around the house wet until they dry, they will fit. Anyway, I think I got rid of at least 10 pairs of shorts (why are they called "pairs"?...I only got one butt), and 6 pairs of jeans. Luckily, a lot of my shorts/jeans are the stretch type and that really helps.

So I'm going through all the closets and Brinks is so damn curious she has to follow me around and see what I'm doing. And she sits on my head so she can get a better look. Anyway, at one point I couldn't find her. I looked everywhere in every room...up, down, around corners, on top of doors, and she was nowhere. So I started calling "BRINKS....BRINKS....BRIIIINNNNNNKKKKKSSSS!!!!", and I'm hearing nothing. I knew I had shut the closet doors so I start opening up the doors. When I opened up the big closet door in the hallway, out she comes walking! I don't know how long she was locked up in there....lord knows what's all over my coats now.

I put her in her cage outside again today and after about 15 minutes, she's going nutso...flapping her wings and trying to get out. She really HATES being in that cage. So we let her back in the house. I think she thinks she's a house bird now. I don't think she has any intentions of ever leaving. And she's still sitting on those damn eggs. Hubby says we need to take them away.
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Time for bed.....nite...

BRINKS HAS A BABY!!

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Brinks says "APRIL FOOLS!!!!"