We kinda made a boo-boo Saturday when we went out looking at cars. One of the things that was supposed to factor into the price was the trade-in value of my car, which they appraised at $800 (which I expected; Kelly Blue Book said $1000 for a Neon in Good condition, but that squeaking brake and the perpetually glowing "check engine light" probably kicked the price down a little). But--one of those things to remember for next time--I didn't have the title with me, so they couldn't take it.

However, CarMax has this unusual policy: if they appraise your car, they will buy it from you within a week, even if you don't buy a car with them. So we could come back any time before next Friday with the title and they'd give me the $800 then.

James and I chatted on what to do while we waited for them to prep the PT--should we donate it and get the $800 tax deduction, or should I take the $800? What decided me on the latter was the fact that I'm now going to have to pay the upcharge on my car insurance the moment I tell Nationwide I have a new car.

So yesterday we fished the title out of the accordion file with the papers in it and took Tucker on that long last ride back out to Gwinnett County.

We had to wait 30 minutes while they checked the car in, got my license plate off, and did other stuff, so we drove to the Aviarium to see what else we might get for Pidge's cage. What I wanted was a perch that would fasten to the outside of the cage and Pidge could sit on it, once he gets tame enough to come out, that is.

Well, we found that and also a set of rings. As I was rooting around in the small bird supplies I found a box that had short plastic perches in them, no more than 3 inches long. If I haven't described it before, the birdcage has two long horizontal perches. I set up one down near the door, with a mirror at one end and a bell toy at the other and some millet clipped near the mirror. The other perch I put toward the back of the cage and at least two inches higher. Pidge's food and water dishes are set within reach of this perch and his cuttlebone is also up there.

He can hop from one of these perches to the other, but because his wings are clipped, it's a bit of a jump. So the moment I saw these little perches, I knew this was exactly what I wanted. When I got home I set two of them, one on each side of the cage, about halfway between the two big perches so he could use them as a little ladder or stairway.

Pidge got the idea at once, hopping up and down each side a couple of times and then started to sing! Evidently he finds them useful for other things, too, because when we looked up from reading the paper, there he was sitting on one of the short perches with his head under his wing, asleep!

----------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 8:44:00 AM

Comments: Post a Comment