December, Here We Come!

Our fridge is still packed with Thanksgiving leftovers, but that doesn't stop us from moving straight into the Christmas season. There is some serious holiday spirit going around our neighborhood. Several of our neighbors were outside this weekend putting up their holiday decorations. We started inside the house with our Christmas tree....

Our 8.5' artificial tree is a pain to put together, but this year we happened to have a few extra family members around to help make the job a lot easier.

Max thought it came out nice and it makes a pretty good perch too!

This is how our tree looks so far, decorated with Disney ornaments. We still need to flatten out the branches near the top of the tree and fill it in with the rest of our ornaments.

On to the outside of the house....Rick put up some white LED icicles, with a little help from Tyler of course.

How does it look? It may not be the most festive house on our block, but it sure beats the heck out of last year when we did nothing!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's all about the food around here. Yesterday I got a head start and made the stuffing and pies. This morning Rick and I got up at 6:30 to put the turkey in the oven...all 25 lbs.

We got the turkey from Costco this year and followed the recipe on the package for a rub that made the turkey smell wonderful while it was cooking.

Here are the sides that I made...mashed sweet potatoes (the real thing) with marshmallows on top, mashed red potatoes, and stuffing (no Stove Top here).

I found a recipe for Dutch Apple Pie on allrecipes that had a really high rating, but nobody has tried it yet so we'll still have to wait and see.

I used my usual pumpkin pie recipe. Yikes...who made that giant slit in the middle...don't look at me!

Say "cheese" everybody! We put the camera on the tripod and set up the timer so we could get everyone in the picture. We had a great dinner, but I think I'm ready to start digging into the pies!

Bad News

I found out this afternoon that Marceau died last night. Apparently she took a turn for the worse and was completely unable to tolerate food anymore. She hung in there for eight days, but wasn't able to pull through in the end. The doctor said that he has never seen a case where the bird improved so dramatically and then didn't make it. And here I am second guessing myself...maybe if she had been able to see the vet on Sunday and start her treatment earlier this wouldn't have happened....maybe if we hadn't gotten cats this wouldn't have happened...I guess I'll never know.

Psst...Marceau, Get Better Already!

The doctor called this evening with an update on Marceau. He said that she was making dramatic improvements on Thursday and had even started eating seeds. However, she was unable to keep the food down and vomited it all back up. Today, she took a step backwards and is back to feeling down and droopy and doesn't want to eat. She has been under the doctor's care for 5 days now, and he feels confident that she will make a recovery. That's good news. Hopefully she'll be able to come back home in a few more days...we all miss her around here.

Besides worrying like crazy about Marceau, I haven't really done much at all this week. The weather has been kind of dismal, dark and gloomy, highs maybe reaching 50 degrees. Not the kind of weather I need to improve my mood, that's for sure. I've had Tyler cooped up in the house for the majority of the week. But I was looking in the paper this morning for upcoming events I could do with him and I read about a Christmas train event at the train museum in Toppenish that he might like. Also, the Parade of Lights is coming up the first week of December and that sounds like fun too. We've got to get out and do what we can before it starts snowing...there's nothing I hate worse than driving around in the snow and ice.

The Dr. Said....

The vet called this afternoon with an update on Marceau. After her blood work came back, it looks like she has a disease called Psittacosis, which is caused by the Chlamydia bacteria. He is going to run another test to confirm that she has the bacteria in her system, which would rule out other possible causes for her illness. He has been giving her the proper antibiotic for 3 days already, but she has still not shown much signs of improvement. It's also hard to diagnose how she came in contact with the bacteria, as birds can carry it for years without showing any signs or symptoms. So it looks like Marceau will remain under the doctor's care until Friday at least or until she starts eating again on her own.

And Now We Wait

I called Dr. Stueckle this morning, who is apparently the only vet in town that sees birds. He mostly does house calls, so he came to our house to take a look at Marceau. It reminded me of All Creatures Great and Small, the way that he makes house calls, has a traditional black doctor bag and his practice is called "All Small Creatures" Veterinary Clinic. Marceau was doing much better this morning, her strength is up and she is able to walk much better. However, she still will not eat. The Doctor said that birds need to eat about every three hours, so an entire day and a half without food is bad news. Marceau is now hospitalized under the Doctor's care, and will be tube fed until she is able to eat again on her own. He will be running blood work today to try to identify the problem. Poor Max, you would have thought our house was on fire, the way he screamed when Marceau left. He has calmed down a little bit, and now we just have to wait until the doctor calls with an update on Marceau. Let me tell you what....it had better be good news!

Dr. Mom Is In

This morning, I found Marceau lying of the floor of the cage. I don't know why or what happened, but she is sick. She's really weak and just wants to sleep, I can't get her to eat or drink. Right now, I have her in the small airplane carrier with a towel and a heating pad underneath.

It's Sunday today, and of course there are no veterinarians that are open....Murphy's Law, right. The best doctor in town for birds will only do emergency visits for regular clients (which we are not) and charge a rate of $163 just to walk in the door, Sheesh! So I am babying Marceau the best I can, until the morning when we can take her in. Max is doing his part, serenading Marceau with only his best whistles in every combination imaginable...anything to make her feel better.