When I was growing-up, I was lucky enough that we lived right next door to my grandmother.  Needless to say, my brother and I were always over playing and eating her terrific homemade food. What my grandmother always had in her house was her little Chihuahuas and her  Cockatiels. She loved all her pets and was always talking to the dogs and Cockatiels. She had a pair of Cockatiels around at all times, since they are very social birds. For a time before she got into the Cockatiels, she had parakeets. Her parakeets were always very chatty and funny. As my grandmother got older, she preferred having her Cockatiels. They were very pretty and tame birds who I remembered loved to whistle. She take them out of their cage and would let us kids pet and hold them. The Cockatiels were very active birds and I would watch and listen to their funny whistles. Every time I hear Parakeets or Cockatiels at the pet stores or around various places, it takes me back to wonderful memories with my grandmother.