Bertie the Budgie.

On Saturday 27 October, I purchased a budgie on the way home from Wellington. It was a very cold and wet afternoon after 4pm. I chose him from among the budgies at Animates in Lower Hutt. I purchased a large cage and food and toys for him. He was carried inside a little cardboard box inside the cage.
He is turquoise, white and grey with a few dashes of purple. He is a young male budgie and very lively.
I got a cloth to cover him about ten to eight. he protested so I tried again at eight o'clock and he settled down. We have now established eight as his bedtime.
I put on the computer little videos of budgies singing and he tweets with them.
On Wednesday morning when I went to put a dust bath in his cage, he walked over my hand and flew out of the cage. I tried to catch him and he had a great time flying around the roo. Finally after three hours, he perched on the blind rail in the kitchen and I put his cage on the bench beneath him. When I came back from setting up the lounge down below, over an hour later, he was perched on top of the cage peering in. I left him for a while and then when I went back, he was eating seeds in the cage, so I closed the doors of the cage.

FUN IN THE VILLAGE.

On Wednesday, Halloween was celebrated in the Village with a pizza and salad meal accompanied by wine, donated by some Committee members. Some residents dressed up in Halloween costumes. Before the event, the Committee spent time setting up tables and decorating the room with pumpkin balloons. A good time was had by all. One of the residents, who never leaves her unit, joined us a little later and was surprised to see five new people she did not know.

Winter in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
This morning, I was reading that last winter in Halifax had been quite severe and looking at a photo, it reminded me of when I was there at the age of ten ; my last winter there.
The article said that winters until 2017 had been quite mild and they had not been gritting the roads as they used to years back. They are getting ready for a severe winter this year and are making preparations to deal with deep snow. The snow can be so bad that it will make it impossible to drive buses through it. It is often combined with deep fog.

ACTIVITIES AT THE VILLAGE

Since I came to the village I have established a Book in a Bag Reading Group. We are reading our second book and will meet in a week to discuss it. We are reading."I Capture the Castle", by Jodie Smith.

I run a Centering Prayer meeting in my unit fortnightly on Friday nights. At present we have four members, one of whom is just learning the method.

On Monday 24 September, I hope to start the Monday Movie nights in the Community Centre. I thought we might start with a James Bond movie, "Skyfall".
People can bring their own drinks and nibbles if they wish.

This is my twelfth week living in a Retirement Village. I left my beautiful home and garden behind in Stokes Valley to move closer to Lower Hutt city. I now live on the Main Street.
Moving to a Retirement Village is not for the faint-hearted. It is a big adjustment in more ways than one.
This afternoon, I can finally set up my balcony garden, when my cane furniture and plants get set in place. And, the sun is shining!