Dear Minymo,

You have a good group of pets!

I think that we call the budgies Parakeets here.
Do you have to cover them at night so they know to relax?

Chica is a good name for a dog.
How about the cats? Where did you get them?

I'm not so sure about the ferrets. I've seen ferrets and they are cute but weird looking too and I am not sure that I would want to see them all the time, if that makes any sense.

Mari

yes it makes sense because i think it is already there...does that make sense. I have tended since kindergarten to help the underdog. In graduate school, I even stood up to a very tall teacher who obviously controlled my mark but i couldn't stand that he was making fun of a fellow student in front of the class pointing out his accent and how short he was. I went to him after class because I didn't want to embarrass the student and made fun of the teacher's short comings, slumping and lousy spelling besides his despicable behavior. I just had to do it or else I wasn't bobby. My final grade rested on a paper and I chose the topic altruism...lol..I got an a-....boy did i luck out
I have heard such wonderful things about the Netherlands...is it true that is a faux paux to brag or to show off about ones wealth. I know they did it in art a couple of hundred years ago with the still lives showing how ephermal life was.
You are a fellow animal lover. At one point, I had fourteen birds. I rescued a couple of starlings..Sammy lived to be fourteen, two mourning doves...samatha lived also to be about fourteen..supposely the longest a mourning dove lived was 32 years. I adore german shepherds and obviously schnauzers...my heart was torn apart when mine died...
more later
Bobby
ps i had a killer parakeet..i finally had to let him free -he imposed too much of a danger to the other birds trying to peck them to death-i tried isolating him for a while but that made him meaner if possible

Ha, we seem to have a lot in common. I did exactly the same thing, a really nasty sarcastic teacher picked on the very weakest boy who had no friends at all and I got so infuriated that I could not control myself.
About the bragging about wealth, in the northern half this was the case but it is wearing thin as young people learn to "sell themselves" in the job market. Many have got a real problem grasping the idea, though. It has got something to do with the protestant faith having been invented and very virulent in this area. Plus there was disdain and aversian towards the flamboyant conquering Romans, Spanish and French, "with their plumes, wigs, men in dresses and perfumes". This was originally mainly swamp and the people were not wealthy and dressed for practicality and concealment.
I did have two white doves with the spread-out tails for a while but the neighbours complained so I had to give them to a petting zoo.
I've never heard of a killer parakeet. I do know that they need at least one other parakeet there, or they do the weirdest things out of loneliness.
I am a bit put out because I had a busy day, satisfactory but hard, and now I feel like I don't know "where to put myself". I hope it will be better in the morning, it usually is. How is your day?

that is interesting how the trend started. I assumed there were a lot of wealthy merchants...lol...
that was nice that you could find a petting zoo for your doves. Something was wrong with each bird I "rescued" and that is why I found them on the street. I had other parakeets which I bought but the killer parakeet got meaner and meaner. I had never seen anything like it.
What did you do today?
My day was horrid for a large part. I had therapy and I like my young therapist. She basically said I built a prison for myself. She doesn't understand that a bipolar doesn't do well with stress. I forgot to tell her. I will remember next time. Then when I came home I wasn't comfortable in my own skin. I even had a crisis of faith. I tried to watch Harold and Maude and didn't have the patience. I took a bubble bath and that didn't do it. I took all my medication and thensome and fell asleep. I woke up feeling better. For a while there I was really frightened. Do you ever feel that uncomfortable in everything?
Bobby

I also take care of any animals I find wounded or sick in the street. Sometimes they just need rest, cleaning up and good feeding. We have got an "animal ambulance" service here that will come pick them up from my home if they need care I cannot give. They are volunteers and work with donations, and they pick up animals for free. If you pay a small donation each year, they will give you free rides to the vet in case your animal is in an emergency. Otherwise you can still use them for a ride to the vet put you pay them a realistic sum.
They are really good people and they also offer a chance for people, who would otherwise not readily be employed or who live on a large income they do not work for and get bored, to be part of society. Some very carefully screened ex-addicts get to work there as a stepping stone towards proper employment.

What did you do today?
I went with a friend who lives nearby to do our shopping for the week. She was very out of sorts because their doggy had an accident hurting his foot. She asked to go together because she feared making mistakes - which she did and I could help her. I really enjoyed shopping together for my own sake too but felt overwhelmed afterwards.
Late at night I found a cloister-style dining room table and four matching chairs on the curb nearby. People leave large stuff in certain area's once a week for the trash people to pick up. There was a lot of other beautiful oak furniture too but I had no room, alas. I am painting my bedroom so my home is full of stuff that don't belong where it is. My dining room table and chairs were 15 years old, I hated parting with them but the cats had scratched up the legs real bad.

I am sorry you felt that way. I did too. This is what I meant by "not knowing where to put myself". You know, the remark about building a prison for yourself may just be a way to encourage you to sometimes take a bit more of a risk of becoming restless. The idea being that it is better to develop ways of dealing with this restlessness than to avoid more and more, which could lead to phobia. You probably know all that anyway. I sometimes feel I am avoiding risk too much, so then I do a bit more.
It makes me more confident when I find a coping skill that works for me, more in control, but I do not like being dislodged from where I am by negative statements. It works a lot better to remind me of the last time something did work for me and how happy I was about it. I am very much a hedgehog whenever anyone tries to "correct" me by negative statements. Where I come from were very negative people. They were not interested in me, just in getting as much glory and praise about me for themselves as possible. So I forbade them to show everyone my paintings. Later on I learned people in my family were grateful for that suddenly stopping and they laughed when they found out why. Couldn't stop them from bragging about my school grades, though.

I did try out a couple of things too, and even so it took me a couple of hours and a nap to get over it, just like you.

For me, this is the next day, BTW. I am really enjoying this sharing with you. How are you today?

I got confused about that...why were they grateful? Also do you paint? What is your style? What do you paint?
That is so neat about the vet ambulance.
My vet is about ten blocks away. A golden safety net was thrown to me when Morgy died. I have a very close friend named John. We never ask each other favors. I debated whether to call him to go to the vet's with me with Morgy and Hammy but then didn't. The boys loved John. It was a snowy morning. Wouldn't you know I had walked two blocks and I ran into John...some miracle. HE WENT WITH ME TO THE VET'S AND SAID GOODBYE TO MORGY'S BODY.
if i understand, you wound up taking in the dining room set...that is so neat...in NYC they throw out really good things too and each area has a special day. Some people almost make a living out of it. We have great thrift shops. When I was younger I used to haunt them.
A couple of years ago I bought a lot of furniture on EBAY. All Chinese and Tibetan. Some have animals painted on it. I just adore the pieces. I bought them from the wholesalechinese dealer. He said ABC carpet, an expensive well known store in Manhattan sells his furnishings for four times what he sells the for on Ebay. Oh I also got a leather couch which Abby scratches and two Italian chairs..like Fornali(sp)unique....abby is going after the stuffing on one of them. Yuki prefers the wooden pieces, especially the altar desk and chair and the high Tibetan cabinet. I live for my animals and not for my furniture lol.
Restlessness is an excellent word. How can it give one so much discomfort it causes so much suffering. Isolating yourself I guess isn't the answer but when one can't concentrate on anything while it is happening, I find it hard to distract myself. Mild restlessness is sort of easy. I usually read at least a frivolous book a day. I follow the stock market. Now I am half following our upcoming elections but they are triggering me too much. I am an Obama fan.
Are there any comments about a woman and a black man running for president over there? I used to be a news junky and had the tv on 24 hours a day. Now for almost two years, maybe I have watched 48 hours total.
I too really enjoy our "conversations"...you are also a natural born writer....I can't believe your command of English...I don't know anybody who has a better command, especially with style
Bobby
ps thank God yesterday is over

why were they grateful? Well ... you know how it goes at family gatherings. Mom does not only get my latest "work of art" out, but also every time all the previous one's. It just became too embarrassing for me. I did a few good one's, as I can see now, but ... too much is too much.
At the time, it was mainly pencil drawings, charcoal and watercolours. The one I liked best was a portrait of Siddharta that really looked at you. An old bearded fella with really tired, wise eyes. I have not done any art for quite some time. Am actually thinking of starting again because I miss doing something creative. I did a few nice pottery things a couple of years back. I like beads, knitting, cutting and glueing, most things really but I do like to work finely, so woodburning is not for me. Enaemeling also not.

You like Chinese and Tibetan? Have you heard of Judge Tie? A series of books by Robert van Gulik? I am such a big fan. My daughter is into Japanese a lot lately. She is watching fan-subs in the same room as me and it sounds real funny at times.

Frivolous books: Terry Pratchett. The best laugh ever, but also magical and somehow, he shows you so clearly every single person has their own unique character and strengths and their own part to play within the universe, whether they like it or not.

Comments about the sex or skin of the presidency candidates? That is so "not done" around here. They do have opinions about the candidates, the gossips and speculations as to what they would mean to USA and the world in general.

Yes, the last few years I also did not watch TV very much. Sometimes I miss it and try to hang onto a series, or I organize a TV-evening with somebody, you know, we go over what's on the tube together and plan two movies, then I take care of dinner and TV-snacks and -drinks. It's lovely.

I am stunned and very honoured by your compliments in the end of your message. Hope to "read" you again soon.