The case of the missing bird

It takes a lot to get a funny look from the natives around here. Certain pockets of the city appear to have passed through Alice's looking glass, only to bring back the most weirdly wonderful sights and people. This is a facet of living in Seattle I have not yet ceased to appreciate.

Even a situation where, for instance, a man stops you on the street downtown, keeps offering to give you all of his worldly possessions, and asks you repeatedly how to get to Montana on foot will raise few eyebrows. (This did not happen to me, but to someone I know.)

Here in my neighborhood, we've got kind of a situation: a lost tropical bird. As to be expected in the Northern hemisphere, it is getting cold here at night, and there is a one-legged cockatiel missing. There are Lost Bird flyers everywhere. I keep one eye out for this bird at the bus stop, though I've never reunited a lost pet, even an amputee pet, with its owner.

In light of the general bizarre wonderment endemic in Seattle, however, I wonder if it would register in my head that a cockatiel is out of place in an half-bare oak tree. Can one lose the ability to see things as out of place? Can there be too much environmental weirdness?

Here's to a happy bird homecoming.

(photo by W.S.)

Making the most of everything starts at home

Downsizing to a 380 square foot apartment could have gone any which way for me. I could've despaired at giving away all of the art supplies I'd amassed for projects that never materialized over the years (but I didn't). Or I could've felt a bit smug getting in on the Tiny House and anti-stuff movements (there's been a little of that).

Mostly, I've been itemizing a list of things everyone should know about living in a teeny space. Manhattanites probably know all of these things already and they can skip the following, but in any case, there won't be a test.

1 - Anything you own can be hung up and out of the way on a hook. Anything. Just pretend like you've run out of surface space, test out some possibilities on your index finger, and use your imagination.
2 - Say you need to print a PDF document for school, straighten your hair, and poach an egg lickety-split. You're in luck, multitasker! There's no outlet in the bathroom for the Revlon doohickey, and the printer's in the kitchen. Start the water to boil, and voila!
3 - Someone needs to host Thanksgiving this year. Guess what? It won't be you!
4 - Electric heat in the winter is dreadfully expensive! But you won't need to run it if your cat is sufficiently obese and cuddly. Allergic to cats? An electric mattress pad should be able to warm the entire place.
5 - Mopping the floor can be completed in approximately 8 measures of a foxtrot step.
6 - Shouting will now be reserved for genuine emergencies.

And finally - what every city dweller knows - home is where the heart is, but I gotta get out of here. The walls are closing in on me!

The seating situation sometimes gets awkward
in such a small place.