Christmas Time

Little Miss Stevie passed away on 8th, December, 2012. It was a Saturday afternoon, just on sunset as the skies were turning burnt oranges and hot pinks... a great end to a day - and a great end to a bird's life too.

But for a few years, I found Christmas a very sad time of year for me; as it was so close to that time of year where we were supposed to be celebrating so much, and yet I had lost that special little fluffy pet in my life; right when I needed her the most at that point in my life too.

It's been 5 years, and I still hate putting up the Christmas tree, mainly because there's bum-fluff feathers all over the darned thing!

So, this year, I went out and bought myself another tree - a new, taller one - and it's made me feel better.

Now, I still have memories of Little Miss Stevie, but they're funny memories. Of her reaction to the streamers on the Small Leaf Jades outside, and how she'd stare at the reflections on the ceiling of the living room. She'd screech as the sound of children anywhere near the house. Yes, she wasn't a fan of children being around the house and yet I wasn't really either. 

And then there was her Christmas Ornament that I bought her only two years before she passed away and yet when she did pass on, I took it back and got the lady who decorated it to put the years on it of when I had her... which she did for nothing. And I do appreciate it that she did that for me. I did have the money to do that.

Anyway, buying the new tree was something I really just loved doing because it was something I could afford and it was also something to add to my house ... for the year to come. 

I still remember how much my little bird loved this time of year; as I always bought her something she enjoyed either playing with or eating. But the year she passed away, I bought her nothing. I thought that we had a pretty good life together and our life with each other would be better than any present. 

And isn't that the point of Christmas? I think so. 

Personalities and Phobias

Little Miss Stevie had the biggest personality... she was a lovely little thing and knew it; you could tell by the way she flirted with the camera that she was the centre of attention!

But really, she had some really strange phobias... like the one of band aides. If I walked up to her with a band aide around any of my fingers, she'd freak out! She ran away from me, as though it was going to give her some disease - or attack her. So, I had to be careful about how I cut things in the kitchen; and try not to slice my fingers or hand open with a knife because any type of band aide was bad news.

Also, tissues, wet wipes and cotton buds were also out. She didn't like anything she was going to wiped or poked with... but I was patient with her and held her carefully enough and she never knew the difference (but knowing her, she did and didn't let on!). 

She also hated it when she pulled out one of her feathers during preening and dropped it on the floor of the cage and I picked it up and showed it to her. She ran away from that as well. For the longest time I never knew why. But the vets told me that when a bird threw away a feather they saw it as rubbish and never touched it again. And so when we touched them with it, they saw it as the equivalent of us touching them with poo, as something dirty and freaked out. 

Another phobia I found she had was of me leaving the room... she hated me going to toilet for a few minutes. And if I had to go when she was out of the cage, I never got her back into it. 
The first time this happened, she left me no choice but to come with me on my shoulder. Boy! Did she regret that move! I had a bird clinging to hard to me that her claws dug into my shoulder! She was so scared of falling into the toilet! But she didn't learn her lesson... no! She found it was another place to follow me. Yep, this was another place I had no privacy at times. 

She did have great taste in music and television shows. She hated Oprah (but then I wasn't real big on that show), thought Dr. Phil was a real person in our living room (until I turned off the television) and loved Santana's 'Moonflower' record (the longest track on vinyl 2, side 2 - the drum solo). She really got into KISS, U2 and Jo Satriani as well. Yep, she was a rockin' little budgie in the end... would listen to Mozart but on the same day listen to AC/DC too. And in case you're wondering, her all-time favourite show was 'Supernatural'... I kid you not! I really missed her when the next episode came on only two days after she died and I couldn't watch her climb into her cage moments after the guys bonded over the bonnet of the car and drove off into the next episode. I remember looking over at an empty cage and bursting into tears. I almost stopped watching after that... because I couldn't share it with my little bird. But I've been watching it because I love the show and I have wondered exactly what my little bird would have thought of the plots now. Sounds dumb, but I do. 

These are great memories, and I love them. I don't cry over them much anymore, but they're here to share with you.