Polly wanna name?

They always talk who never think. - Matthew Prior

Well, it's a pretty nice day today in paradise, and just maybe it is past time that I remember (and share) just where and when I am/we are. Yes, we did after all, move here for a reason. I know I always harp about bad internet, spotty electrical service, poor phone connection, bad roads, lack of customer service, and on and on. But, you know what, I was at least semi-aware of most of that before I got here. What brought us here was obviously none of the above, but something else that I seem to always overlook, or fail to mention: It is freakin' beautiful here! Today, the sun is shining, the temperature is around 73 degrees Farenheit, there is a brisk wind blowing, and the sky is absolutely gorgeous, clean, crisp, with great big beautiful clouds.

We had a quick trip over to Tilaran late this morning (I had a dentist appointment at 11:00), and everything went well. Maybe that's one of the positives I could share. I got the last bit of work done in connection with a very important dental implant – one that started at least three years ago, believe it or not! You see, I really needed to have this work done, and it did begin. Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly when it began, but we were here on vacation, and on a Saturday, the specialist came from San Jose to Tilaran, where he placed the actual implant. The cost, as quoted at that time, was $1,500.00Dollars, half of which I paid then. I'm going with 2007 as the year I had this done, and I believe it was probably sometime in July.

Well, there would normally have been a follow up after about two weeks, but of course, we were back in Dallas by then. I knew that the implant wasn't taking, probably before we left to go back to Texas, because I remember the gum and jaw were still sore. At some point in time, I realized that the metal post was not exactly tight in my jaw, and sure enough, within a couple of weeks of our return to Dallas, that sucker popped right out. I communicated with both the specialist and my dentist in Tilaran, and they said that sometimes the metal in these things is rejected (boy, I'll say) and not to worry. We'd do it over again whenever I was back in Costa Rica.

We did return very briefly in 2008, but that was only one week, and the purpose of that trip was to look at – and, of course, buy, our lot. Then, we moved here in 2009, and for one reason or another, I didn't have time to set up the appointment to try for the do over. Meanwhile, I do remember that I had to have one bad tooth pulled right after we got here, then, sometime in January or February of this year, I went back in and had a new implant done. There was supposed to be a six month wait for this to take before proceeding to the next step, which would be the creation and placement of a crown over the implant. This was extended because I developed a very bad abscess to another tooth, near the implant, and that had to be pulled. Because of the proximity to the implant, of course there was some concern that this might impact that healing, but fortunately it did not. It did, however, create a further delay in getting the crown, because we had to wait for the area of the recent extraction to heal.

So, today was a for-real red letter day for me. Got the crown, it makes a huge difference to me, and the balance is paid in full. No work other than the placement of the crown was done, so no pain involved, and no healing time. I only had to wait for the cement to set, and now I can actually chew on both sides of my mouth for the first time in some years.

Now, we're up to date. The stereo is chuggin' out some Texas Tornados, and the silly parrot is making all kinds of strange noises. Oh, yeah, we now have a parrot. No name. Blanca wanted to call her Lola, but nobody (including me) likes that name. How do we know she's a she? Funny you should ask. We have no idea of the sex of this bird, and from my research it appears that there are only a couple of ways to know the sex of a parrot. One, take the bird to a vet, and have blood drawn for typing, or two, take the bird to a vet and have him open the bird up to see what kind of sex organs are present. Both of these seem a bit extreme to me, so we have gone with what the Ticos tell us, pending an opportunity to introduce her to another bird, so we could see if she catches or pitches.

How, you ask, do we know the sex of the bird, based on the ancient wisdom of the Ticos? Simple. A girl bird likes males (as in human type males), and a boy bird likes females (again, as in human type females). That is, providing, of course, that said bird is not either in a closet, or outright homosexual. This bird, after all that Blanca has done for her, obviously and blatantly prefers me to her. I mean, it was Blanca who spoon fed her as a baby, who cleaned up after her, made sure she had a nice, warm and dark place to sleep, who fussed and fretted over the poor thing until she was able to feed herself. But, if Blanca comes near when I'm around, the bird makes threatening (read, screeching) noises at her, while cozying up to me. She will ride on my shoulder, preen me, and generally jump towards me whenever I walk near, but none of that for Blanca, or any other female. So, that, my friends, is how you tell the sex of a parrot – at least around this house.

So, any ideas out there for a name for this bird? Whatever I decide on will NOT be a common, run-of-the-mill, ordinary everyday parrot name. So, please don't suggest Polly, or Paulie, or Lola or Lola, or any variations of same. Meanwhile, our little house is not so little any more, with the addition of a closed garage/workshop/storage space where the carport was originally placed, and a carport located to the back and the front of the house, respectively. We've overbuilt to the point that we now have no idea where we could stand to take a picture that will show the entire house in one shot. The best I can think of is to go up on the road, and take a series of shots, while walking down. So, that's what I did, and the results have now been posted on Facebook, as a video (http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1639272072508) and now, I think I'll take a little break. Thanks for reading.