I have never understood how it is that a plane can fly. At the height of my air travel for work, when I flew several times a month, I read books about it. I felt that if I was spending so much time at 40,000 feet I should educate myself…
Temp To Perm Position
So much of life is temporary, yet for the most part, we live as though everything is permanent. Jobs, relationships, homes and driver’s licences may not be forever, however, we think, we expect, that they are. Life itself is a temporary condition. We all know the truth of the matter,…
The Lowdown On Low Vision Centers
Low vision means having impaired vision that cannot be corrected by glasses, surgery or medication. I don’t use the term often, I usually say that I am visually impaired or legally blind. A low vision center provides advice, techniques and devices to make the most of your remaining vision. If…
If Not For This Man You’d Be Reading Blister Pain
Going to a concert at a venue close to home in 2008, the opening act was a local singer-songwriter, Dan May. I was so moved by his music that I went home that evening after the show and purchased four of his songs on iTunes. I looked him up as…
Squawking The Same Language
People ask us all the time if Piper talks. Honestly, it drives me crazy. Of all the parts that make up Piper, it is the very last characteristic I would think of. I want to ask the person posing the question if their dog or cat converses? But I don’t,…
Sometimes You Want To Go Where Everybody Knows Your Team
Born and raised outside of Philadelphia, my husband became a Seattle Seahawks fan when they joined the NFL in 1976. At the time, their quarterback was left-handed Jim Zorn. Southpaw Mister Rain, age 9, had his team. His fate was sealed; fourteen years later when we met, so was mine….
The Quicker Picker Lamper (An Optic-Neuropathy Illusion)
Remember that picture (above) where you might see a young woman but someone else will look at the same drawing and spot an older woman instead? Being visually impaired can be like that every day. I shopped for this lamp online, shown at the top of this post. I purchased…
I’m A Writer, Not A Rapper
I am terrible with measurements. For example, I was recently looking for a new birdbath (for the outside birds, not Piper) as our old one broke last fall. The online listing would say 22”, prompting me to get a tape measure to see what that looked like. Of course I…
Want A Supple Beak? Shower Every Week!
Most parrots have an oil gland that drains into the base of their tail, however, this organ is absent in Amazon parrots, which includes Piper. Technically he was hatched in Florida, but his species hails from the forests of South America. The gland performs many functions, including waterproofing and keeping…