Chook chook chook lay me an egg!

I've been on a bit of a creative splurge. After the loss of my beloved best friend of 12yrs Venus, I went into a bit of a black hole. I didn't even listen to the radio. But in the last week, slowly, I've been returning to the norm and am better coming to terms with the loss.

My Isa Brown chicken that I raised from a wee one, has started laying beautiful big brown eggs once a day, so inspired by this, I decided to make an egg cross stitch with a bit of a country theme. It was a ball to make, as I don't often work with boarders or country themes. I've been more into the motocross designs as of late.

I am now 30 weeks pregnant, just 10 weeks to go! I finish work in just under five weeks, and I realised, that cross stitch is a cheap way to curb the bordom of being at home! You can buy lovely designs from around $4.00US and threads are only about $1.00each, so you slowly build up a collection of threads and aida.

I'm still stitching slowly, my design for my fiance Sean, work haulted on it when I lost Venus as I was stitching it at the time he was lost. But I can feel the urges coming back so no doubt I'll be stitching away again soon :)

I've still been working on my lost and found group. I asked for volunteers to help maintain it, but I didn't get any hands up which left me feeling a bit crest fallen. I've been having trouble with a neighbour at the moment. They have a rat infestation that they won't deal with, they're just letting it go wild (much like the yard and her 4 dogs), so the rats come across from under the fence every night to try and eat my birds and so far, these rats have been sucessful. As quick as I kill the rats, more come over her fence, and unless she deals with the problem too, I'll forever spend hundreds of dollars killing her rat problem and having my birds eaten alive! I'm not happy at all with this.

Anyway, feeling a bit tired, so off for a nanna nap! Much love!

More Found than Lost!

What I've learnt so far from this new venture of mine, is that there are more birds being found out there than are apparently being lost. Does this mean folks are losing birds and then simply not searching for them? And what happens to those that are found but never reunited?

I had always assumed a lost tame bird would be missed and searched for by it's family. But as it turns out, this is NOT the case. I visited a lovely artist today who had found a weero around the time Venus went missing. Sadly, it isn't Venus, but she says it's tame and likes people. She can't keep it herself, so I've offered to give it a home and continue the search for it's parents when she can no longer look.

Again, I've come across the same problem, a few resources to find your loved one, but people don't hit all available resources to find their pet, they tend to stick to one, like the Quokka, for example.

I was hoping to build a geocities website with a list of all kinds of helpful things. As it turns out, Geocities, which is part of Yahoo, got greedy and no longer offers free websites, you have to pay for them. What this means, is that what would have been our most valuable resource for people who have lost and found their pets, won't be available. I can't afford to pay for it.

If anyone knows something similar to geocities, let me know!

Come back Mars, Come back Venus

Well, it's been an odd sort of week. It's a week to the day since Venus 'flew the coup' so to speak. On Friday, I did get his partner back, Mars! It was an odd sort of phone call, where I could hear a weero in the background and knew it wasn't Venus. But the lady said he fit the personality description and she'd had him for a while. Keep in mind, Mars went missing just after Christmas. I thought I'd pop down anyway, just to have a look and see. I didn't expect anything, I didn't even bring a cage with me.

She showed me through the house, and when I stepped out back, I stopped dead! He looked like Mars. I asked about his 'go faster stripes' on his beak, and she said he had them. I looked close, and holy cow it was him! I couldn't stop grinning.

The wonderful lady didn't want a reward, she said she'd had him for a while, he'd been hanging out with doves, but had flown to her whilst she was in the garden, so she popped him in a cage. He's a little survivor! Since then, Mars has settled back home and is enjoying lots of love and attention.

I had a call today from a lady down the road that said Venus was in her yard. She was too old, bless her heart, to remember what day he'd been there, but she said he was in her tree and very distressed till he saw her, then calmed down. She said she left him there overnight, and the next morning he was in her garden, but then he was gone. So I know he's made it to the intersection of my street, and in the direction I expected. I'm sad she didn't take him in, but who knows, maybe someone further down picked him up. So I need to expand my search zone and put letters in homes further down from where I thought he'd be! Maybe then we'll have something to go on.

I've been feeling sick for most of the morning, so the search has been haulted some what. But all I can hope for is that he's been in the general area and someone has picked him up!

A new Start for Blog!

So over the Xmas break, I went to Bali. I had a great time, till the last night where staff at Basakhi beach hotel stole my camera by using their trusted keys to enter and leave my room. I lost 1500 memories, and a $1,500 camera that I'm patiently waiting on insurance with. Note to all, never stay there!

Luck didn't improve for me much. My partners dog continues his trail of destruction in the garden and my birds. He killed his second hen, and went for his third none the less today. Amoungst the plants he's torn out, there's little left to say other than my passions are a bit squashed. I lost my hand raised weero Mars a little bit into the new year, and last sunday, I lost my nearest and dearest friend Venus. Venus, pictured above, has been my best mate for all 12 years of his life, and we spent every day together. He's out there somewhere, maybe even with Mars (who escaped from a whole in the ground of the aviary). I have my fingers crossed that Venus will return.

What I got from this, is that time is short, and you never know when it's going to end. But I've been trying to find him, and found that the 'lost and found' of Perth are spread all over the place. People advertise in one spot and not others. This can make the search VERY hard indeed! I've phoned well over 20 places, placed adverts with 2 news papers and the quokka. SO, I have started a FACEBOOK group. I encourage all the people of Perth, Western Australia, to sign up and help us find our birds! The group is called "Lost & Found Pets - Perth, Western Australia". Even if you just happen to read a newspaper and want to add in the lost and found pets of that paper, that would make the world of difference to seperated families. I've also opened my aviary to birds that have been found, but haven't been reunited with their families yet. From the research I've done, I've found that birds that aren't reunited, are rehomed with new owners, potentially losing the trial forever.

So this blog will now also be used to talk about the lost and found.

I had a call today from a lovely lady who had seen my advert in Mirrabooka Square calling for help to find my Venus. She had done some searching for me and found a Weero at Balcatta Vet. She called to inform me about him. What a wonderful kind deed she did. She said she'll continue to look for me, I am truely touched at her kindness towards another Perth person she's never met. So thank you anon, and I cross my fingers your added help brings my Venus home. But we need more people like this lady, to help reunite families.

I hope I've produced my first reunited family from my FB group, I've located adverts for a lost long bill corella and a found long bill corella with similar name to sayings. Could have our first reunited family! I'm hoping to be able to post photos of reunited families through a website I want to build as part of the FB group.

That's all my news for now!

Love to all
Jody

discriminate much?

I have worked hard for my company. I'll admit I've had those days where I've been totally lazy and not worth the uniform I wear, but I pride myself on my work. I've saved the company thousands in revolutionising my department. I've contributed to occupational health and safety, training programs and come in when I'm sick. I am very qualified having been trained in 3 departments of the company, as well as a degree in biological sciences, QAP certificates, forklift ticket and various other atributes I have brought to the company. I am sought after in every department for new positions. But the head honcho has insulted me to the core and as such, I'm on protest.

I received just 2% pay rise for my talents and hard work in over a year. I do far beyond my perscribed duties and only ever asked for this to be recognised on paper, but they refused. I was told today I didn't get a good payrise because:

> I'm on light duties - I can't lift more than 3kg because I'm in a complicated pregnancy. In actual fact, I haven't changed my duties, I still do all the same work but only ask for the occasional hand in lifting heavy items into trolleys for me. But boss says because it says on paper I can't lift much, I'm worthless.
> The department I share a building with is a 'fucking mess' (quote) - even though he recognises my specific department is spotless and the areas I do share with the said offending department are spotless, I am being soley blamed for what the other department looks like (note that other employees within this offending department got up to 8% raises).
> My supervisors say I'm not worth a pay rise and haven't worked hard enough - I didn't get any verbal or written notification they didn't think I was working hard enough, so I confronted them about it to find out why they didn't like my work and never told me. They said they were never approached by the boss and never discussed my performance with him.

So, basically because I'm pregnant, I'm no good. And he even went as far as saying "the problem with you is you expect something in return for hard work, you expect to be paid for it".

Hollow

I feel empty and hollow inside. I thought I'd had my three for bad luck, but I had not. I went out for a movie leaving Sean behind, and came home to the dog hanging a bin bag around it's neck. Sean broke the news, that the dog had eaten the hen I raised from a chick, the one that had just started to lay eggs...

I couldn't hold back anymore. The dog has taken all my passions from me. He tears up anything I plant, and has left me with what looks like a dessert when you first step out to the back yard. He has eaten my prize birds, and slaughtered two of my hens. I can't hang washing without him tearing it from the line and dragging it through the dirt. I'm heartbroken.

When I heard those words, I couldn't hold back anymore. I saw the dog and I told him firmly and emotionlessly "I'm done with you dog, I'm done, I hate you". Then confined myself to the toilet where I sobbed makeup onto the floor for the next half hour.

He has taken from me my gardening passion. He has taken from me my bird passion. He has taken it all from me and he knows it, because he doesn't have to be met with hostility when he's been bad, he runs straight to his box knowing. And it doesn't matter how much attention he gets, or how many toys he is given, how many quality chew bones he's given, he still does it.

I have never hated an animal before, but I hate that dog. I have nothing left, and thanks to the hotel staff at Basakhi beach hotel, even my photography passion is gone. So I'm sitting here wondering what the hell I should do. I feel empty and lost. My life was filled with art once. The art of gardening, of breeding and raising birds and keeping hens. With taking photos. But now it's all gone, and mostly thanks to the dog. My christmas and new year are marred by sadness.

Rough Ride - strike 3

I need a fresh start. from a new home, to throwing out old things.

Sean took me on an amazing romantic 5 day holiday to Bali, where he proposed and we did so many things you wouldn't think you could achieve so much. I ate well, my skin went healthy again, even my hair was healthy. I had fresh squeezed juice all through each day. Juice that was thick and you could actually wash them squeeze or peel then pulverise. And it was all so affordable, in Bali, I could afford to eat as well as my baby deserved. I ate well too, eating fresh foods every day. I walked more, and had so much energy!

On our last night, whilst out to our last dinner and in search of Fireworks. A hotel staff member from our hotel (the Basakhi beach hotel, don't go there by the way) opened our room, went through our belongings to find all the lenses and attachements, and stole the camera I sold my soul for... taking with it, the 1500 photos we had taken to remember our time there together by.

The hotel manager didn't help us at all, he chain smoked around me knowing I was pregnant and a non-smoker, telling us it wasn't his staff, and wouldn't even have the accused searched. He didn't apologise, he didn't do anything to help us feel better and more secure in our room. The cops even asked for money for a report they filled out so we could try and get the camera back on insurance. A report I wrote for them since they had no grasp of english.

We came home Christmas day, heartbroken at the loss of memories. Then Boxing day, my partner fell very ill and we ended up in the emergency department from 11pm till 530am, and it was the most horrendous experience of our lives. For Sean, the agonising cramps of food poisoning, for me the pain of not being able to help, of feeling totally helpless and afraid.

Today, I lost my little hand raised weero, that I had raised from an egg. My neighbour has a rodent infestation she refuses to do anything about, and one in which the council is powerless to do anything about too. The rodents dig through the bottom of the aviary and make holes big enough for birds to fit through. I've lost a few over time, but this time it was our precious Mars and partner of our eldest Venus. I'm too afraid to put Venus back in the aviary, he's been with me for 12 years, I couldn't bare to lose him.

That aside, I have a garden I can't grow or keep alive because all I have to grow things in is sand dune that won't let any water through. So it's all been slowly dying over the year.

But there is still plenty to look forward too. A baby and marriage next year, a new home maybe, lots of new things :)