Blue and gold Macaw

Beautifully posed at the zoo

The person who gave me our bird (Peru - for whom this blog is named) owned other birds. One being a blue and gold macaw. I never cared to own a bird of this nature. Too big and much too noisy. They live to maybe 80 years or so. The person almost lost her thumb so the bird had to go. She went through her varied strange animals. Snakes and birds mostly. Personally, I believe she got them for the attention. The stranger the animal the more attention it would bring.

As it is, I guess we all do certain things for attention. Take my daughter's hair. The triple color brings about three remarks on a day that we venture out into the world. At the mall or in Cincinnati, people make a comment. All positive. I suppose if somebody does not like it, they keep it to themselves. I would joke and say "Hey, at least it isn't a tattoo or a body piercing!" They would laugh and agree.

However it dawned on me today. If it were a tattoo or piercing, it would be over and done with. As for hair, it grows out and fades. The money thing never stops! Arrgghhh! Saturday we are looking at getting teal instead of red/pink. I guess some girl at school did the same "do" and we just can't have that now can we? We must be different. We must stand out in a crowd. She said she wants the teal like the color in the peacocks or the macaw. I am hoping that this "fad" fades quickly.

Nobody in the family has mentioned Easter dinner, yet. I wouldn't mind a quiet one. Usually somebody pipes up by now. Somehow I got to be the family go-between. I go between those with e-mail and those without. I make the effort to call everybody and get the show on the road. So and so is having the dinner, can you bring (usually what they enjoy making) and if not, whatever else they feel like bringing. Then, I call the person having dinner and fill them in on who is bringing what, who can make it and who can't, who will be late and who can only come for an hour before they have to be somewhere else.

My daughter wants a lemon meringue pie for her birthday. I have made a pumpkin pie and I have a made a no-bake cheesecake. My Mom made great lemon meringue pies. I never liked lemon pies so I never watched or took an interest in how she did it. I looked up a couple of recipes and I guess I'll give it a go. My Mom also made sea foam candy from time to time. Another candy I did not like. (I guess some call it divinity). Sugar, water and egg whites. Yuck.

When my daughter was young, I really got into throwing birthday parties for her. One of my favorites was when I dressed up as a fortune teller and told the girls' fortunes. (All good fortunes, of course!) I rented a costume and we had great fun. The past couple of years my daughter does not want any fanfare. Any at all. No cake, no party, no decorations. I feel weird with this decision. As if I am not doing enough or something. She wants to go out to eat (her favorite is Damon's ribs) and she wants to get her hair done. Pie and/or ice cream cake when we get home. Just me, her and her boyfriend. (And any other family that happens to be here that week-end). We are looking at a very quiet one, though.

Me? If I had my way? I would invite girls and boys, turn on all the disco lights. Blast the music and set up Dance, Dance revolution in one corner of the basement and karaoke in another area. I would decorate with green, purple and blue streamers with a tiki Island theme. We would have pizza, pepsi, chips and dip, candy and cake. I guess we already did that at the 11th or 12th party (before the boys). I recall one year doing the island thing. Oh, well.

Birthdays past involved skate parties, pinatas, limbo, Discovery Zone, Chuck E. Cheese and a handful of other crazy games and ideas. Sigh. Well, they were fun.