The Periphery of the Mind

So this weekend the Professor and I made a road trip to London, Arkansas, to the Singing Wings Aviary. Well, actually, we left our house on Saturday morning and after seeing half-a-dozen vehicles off the road due to slush and ice, we decided to turn back home and watch some Terminator and Dollhouse. Then we made the trip.

The aviary was just outside of Russelville, and we made it a bit harder to find than it should be. It's one of those places operated outside of somebody's house, and it really makes you appreciate just how many neat little things you can find hidden away. We were both impressed with the number and variety of birds; I think the owner said she had over 1200 birds (some of which were kept inside and out of general public viewing). Prices were fairly reasonable; we paid $80, which is about half what a pet store charges, but $20 more than other breeders. I think the premium was worth the selection however, as we found a nice mate for Casanova. A little red-brown female we're calling Esmerelda.

Introducing Esmerelda to Casanova was chaotic. First Casanova begins singing as strongly and loudly as he could the moment he sees her. Then Juliet thinks Casanova is singing for her, and starts going nuts. Making Romeo jealous. So in between attempts to sing and fight with Romeo, Casanova was chasing a rather stressed out Esmerelda around. After re-arranging the cages some, Casanova and Esmerelda were placed in their own cage well away from Romeo and Juliet and everybody seems happier.

That said, this canary breeding year may be a bust. Between the house work and moving of the birds (and hopeful moving of us), the canaries may be too spooked to properly breed or raise any chicks for a while.

Labels: birds

"Under My Thumb" by the Rolling Stones.

Labels: Funky Friday

Another "great song, bad video". This week it's "All Along the Watchtower" as redone by Bear McCreary and BT4.

The Professor was looking for a new canary for her grandmother Monday, and stumbled across a very red little guy with an excellent disposition, that we're calling Casanova. Now we just need to find him a mate, and we'll start breeding him too.

Romeo and Juliet are... possibly mating. We're not too sure. Juliet's already laid unfertilized eggs while by herself, so hopefully she'll start laying for real soon. She's been busy nest building lately, so that's a good sign. But on the other hand she shows no interest in Romeo, and he's seemed rather... cautious around her. Henpecked is possibly a good definition. She gets rather vocal in her scolding of him, and she seems to scold him a lot.

In a true case of "counting your eggs before they're hatched", we could see almost 20 chicks born in time for the fall bird fair with two mating pairs. And at $50 or more a chick, we're hoping to not only pay off all the birds in one fair visit but also make a nice profit (pet stores always charge more than independant breeders). And then next year the profit would increase even more. So maybe the Professor's hobby will pay for itself.

Labels: birds

"Release" by the Afro Celt Sound Sysytem, featuring Sinead O'Connor.

Labels: Funky Friday

So last weekend the Professor, her mom and step-dad, and I all went to Tulsa to attend a small bird fair. For those hoping to go to such a fair and get a canary, get there early! We showed up about an hour after opening and the entire fair was cleaned out (and yes, there were canaries there earlier). Other birds you can show up later for though, and the prices were very good.

But that's besides the point.

For lunch the four of us stopped at a literal hole in the wall called Webers. Claiming to be the birthplace of the hamburger, Webers also prides itself on its root beer, fries, and onion rings. All homemade, with original secret recipies! When you show up... you get an old building in a parking lot. The inside eating area is a very crowded single row of bars that doubles as the place where people place their orders. Outside you have a pick up window and some concrete tables next to a busy highway. And when we showed up there was a thirty minute wait time (I think they give worst case times, since our food was ready in about 15 minutes or so). This is not a place to go have a relaxing or quick meal. And bring a coupon or a lot of cash; the food is very expensive.

But was it worth it all? Well, the fries and onion rings weren't bad. I've had better onion rings, and I can make better fries. The root beer was okay, but I think I'll stick with Mug myself. The burger... was possibly one of the best I've ever had. I can see myself going back, but only if the weather is nice and I have some time to kill. And I have some coupons.

Labels: Food

I've talked about moving pretty much since I moved to Rogers. Our house is nice, but it's small and the neighborhood is crowded. To be blunt, I'd rather we moved somewhere in Lowell or Fayetteville (I don't like Springdale, sorry Peltablo). So most of my talk has been just me talking. And I think I'd finally realized that the Professor wasn't wanting to move, and I began to make limited peace with the Rogers house. In January of this year I decided it was time to start aggressively saving money to move. Not this year, or next, but in January of 2011. By then we'd have almost no debt beyond our mortgage, and have a nice chunk of savings. And, even more importantly, she'd be ready to move too.

But then something kind of weird happened.

The Professor's mother, Elaine, has a nice big house on a nice big lot in a nice neighborhood in Bentonville. Elaine's mother, Velma, has a house adjacent to hers. And when Velma is done with the house (to put it tactfully), the Professor's sister and niece and nephew will likely inherit it. And Elaine has been having problems taking care of Velma while running her day care. So why is this relevant?

Directly across the street from Elaine's house is an older house from the 70's for sale. It needs a lot of cosmetic work, yard work, and so on. It's a repo house that the bank says they spent $41,000 fixing up; among the fixes were improperly installed carpet and mismatched bathroom fixtures. And then there's more substantial work, like fixing a collapsing privacy wall and replacing old inefficient windows. But it's across from the Professor's family, so that's why we want it....

Did I forget to mention that there's an inground pool?

Or a 150' outbuilding wired for electricity and cable?

Or that it has two fireplaces (one wood, one gas) and a wood burning stove?

Or that it has separate rooms already set up for an indoor greenhouse, an aviary, and a paint studio?

Or that it has a 600' basement that could serve as my gym/workshop?

Or that it's big enough to actually have "wings" and is wired with an in-house intercom system?

The place needs work, no doubt about it. But it's work we've done before and can do again. The place is expensive, and with increases in utility costs its almost frighteningly so. But we can afford it, not get behind with paying off our existing debts, and be even better off next year. It adds to our commute times, and I really hate the commute. But it only adds a few minutes, and the Professor could car pool with her sister and we'd be commuting less if we had kids and put them in Elaine's daycare. A couple of people have died in that house, and subsequent owners have had a string of bad luck. But we can get a young priest and an old priest!

Seriously though, we're fixing our current house (it needed it anyway) and hopefully listing in a couple of weeks. Once listed, we're making an offer.

This whole scenario feels different. Even if we don't get this house (and that's very possible), something's changed. I'm not ready to leave the Rogers house, we are.

Labels: moving

"Word Up" by Cameo. Better late than never?

Labels: Funky Friday