Like a caged bird...

Phoebe, my feathered daughter. Now twelve. We got her when she was three months old. She has ruled our lives ever since. We didnt know whether she was male or female, but just assumed she was a she. Proved right last year when she began laying eggs. Yes, she does talk. Does a good imitation of the fire alarm, my cough, and a manic laugh.
We have to make sure we tell guests we have a parrot, otherwise they might think part of the house is an insane asylum, well it is, but then..
I apologise to my readers about the snow report. But, when you live in the wilds as we do it does have a strong impact on one's life.
Watching the oil level go down is not exactly the high spot of the day either! Rumours of shortages and high prices don't help. I am trying to work out if we have the heating on as much as we are at the moment, will it last through Christmas? We would survive as we have an open fire, plenty logs, and electric heaters. Electric showers and a dishwasher. So long as there isn't a power cut.
I decided after lunch today that I was going out. Took Mikes 4 wheel Subaru and got to the village shop. Watching other cars slithering about I realised that though I might get to Peterhead safely the way some of these idiots were driving and the state of the roads my safety was not in my hands. So I went and had a chat to Jennifer in the shop. Some of her shelves were empty, and I know she is a manic shelf filler upper, so asked if the weather was doing her business a good turn. Now I wont use some of her descriptive language as this blog might get removed by the adult content police. However her reply was basically that she has seen people she has never seen before, from the new estate, who have just hoovered up everything and anything. So far she has had few problems with deliveries. But she does gear herself up to supply her regular clientele who dont have cars and/or are loyal customers. She also told me that as the shelves were emptied by these incomers (my polite version) she did not re-stock the shelves. The stuff was all there in the back ready and waiting! And as she shot off - to the back - and returned clutching my favourite bottle of red, what else was I to do? Buy it of course. And then chug home again.
I passed the postie on the way and stopped to ask if there was anything for us. "Oh, yes! And a parcel. But I havent got it on the van as your road is impassable, perhaps tomorrow."
As it has only stopped snowing for about half an hour here and there, I doubt tomorrow will be any different.
BUT here is where country life really makes itself felt. Mike walks the mile there and back down to get the paper every day and today asked our neighbour across the road if he wanted anything. Our neighbour lives in the 'farm' opposite, like us, no longer a working farm, and he is the Fire Safety Officer for Aberdeenshire. In fact he does our fire inspection for us being a b&b. But his mode of transport is an 'ordinary' front wheel drive, low in the body, so gets grounded in the snow. He is 'working from home', not sure how you inspect places for fire safety 'from home'. Anyway Mike fetched him a paper. Now (confusingly) Mike, across the road, is married to Jane who works in the sorting office in Peterhead. So - in return for us fetching the paper, she is going to bring our mail tomorrow, IF she gets into Peterhead. So, there you go. Well you would if it wasn't snowing.