What day is it?

I can't believe it's been almost a week since my last post. At this rate, we'll be leaving for India the day after tomorrow and there's still so much to do.

Yesterday we went to look at property for Tom's parents. They plan on moving back up to the great Northwest soon and have an eye out for property or a suitable house. They were actually up last weekend but couldn't get into one of the houses they wanted to look at, so we met the real estate agent for a tour. I don't if it's exactly what they're looking for, but it sure was entertaining to poke around.

It's obviously owned by a single man who doesn't mind spending money on entertainment. Outside was a basketball hoop, a large boat, a pool (aboveground), a hot tub for 12 with bar and a huge barbeque grill. Inside, half of the downstairs was devoted to an entertainment room. It looked like every man's fantasy and I thought the real estate agent was seriously considering moving in right then and there. The room was divided in half with steps leading down to the lower portion which contained, among other things, a pool table, a pinball machine, two bubble gum machines, a juke box, about 30 lighted beer signs and a Christmas tree. The upper half had a bar and to be honest, I don't remember what else, other than a popcorn machine. It was one of the rolling ones with the big hopper and the plexiglass box. That was the only thing I coveted in that entire room. To me the rest of it was tacky as all hell, but to a man, it was heaven:

Once Tom and the agent had torn themselves away from sheer bliss on earth, we headed upstairs. I was lagging behind taking pictures when I heard an ear-piercing squawk from upstairs. They had discovered a room dominated by parrots, luckily all in cages. The alarm had been sounded by a Muluccan cockatoo and was fortunately not picked up by the other birds. Parrots have a way of starting screeching contests with each other that can wake the dead. There was also a very social Macaw that I promptly tried to corrupt. No, I didn't teach him any dirty words, but his owner may wonder why he now bobs up and down while making a hissing laughter sound. I would have liked to pet him, but parrots like to taste your fingers and it's hard to tell if they're just going to keep it at that or actually take your finger off. Either one is equally likely.

Whether or not my in-laws decide to buy the house, it was worth the trip just to see it. I always like to look at houses and this one was definitely unique.