Baby Bird Part II

Could that little fella' be ANY cuter?! I don't THINK so! I still have no idea what kind of bird it is. Any ideas? I can't believe how big he got so fast!

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Small Things

My new refrigerator, freezer on the bottom.
My ice maker! Wa-hooo! (Oh, and a big wa-hoo to BF, who hooked the crazy thing up!)

Unpacking my decorating books and stacking them up "just so."

The view from my LR window.

The turkeys who are a daily part of that view. Here they are this morning!

My awesome kid on wacky sock/outfit day. Whose idea was this day, you ask? Yep. Hers. I hope her friends (and teachers...apparently there was a class-wide email event) follow through! LOL! Note the pack-mule-esque look she has going on there. Three bags: lunch, sneakers, school books.

These are some of the small things that make me happy, and I am thankful for all of them.

Swamp Thing

Morning mist...so pretty.
Back yard newly leveled and seeded.

Ok, so there are some drainage issues on my acre here at the edge of the lovely field. The town has come and put in two big grates with drains down one side of my property, and they even took down a hill of sand in my back yard to level it out for me. I guess it pays to bake brownies and flash my pearly whites in the morning! Ha!

But I still have an area to the right of my garage that BF likes to call the swamp. It's not quite THAT wet, but it's damp enough to produce some of these swampy looking plants. Anyone have any ideas what they are? The green leaves are now quite large, and I think the flowers are gone now. I haven't taken a look in a while. I don't know why, but all of a sudden I'm having flashbacks to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

Morning Visitors

Say hello to Tom Turkey! How cool is that? BF woke me up at 7:30 this morning to see this guy standing practically on my driveway! He was there with his two girlfriends. Usually they stay out in the field, and the pictures I get look like Nessie the Loch Ness monster...tiny little heads peeping out of the grasses once in a while. This shot was so exciting this morning!

I've seen the females this close before, but not the male. He's so HANDSOME!

And here are the deer! They were out there too! And much closer than they usually are. It's difficult to get a clear picture through my LR windows, because they have that old wavy glazing, which I love, but which is not so conducive to clear focus. I couldn't get them all in one shot, but when the deer were out there, the turkeys were too, off to the right of this shot. Ah, nature! I love being so close to it!

Oh, and the baby bird is doing very well...his momma keeps feeding him and sitting on him, even though we brought a washer and dryer in through that door the other day, and created all sorts of disturbance. Nothing phases her! I can see her perched atop the overhang through my bedroom window. There's a vista from every room in this house, I tell ya'!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Today is supposed to be a stellar day in NY weather-wise. High 70's and sunny. Can't beat that with a stick!

Floors Before and After

This is my LR floors before sanding and refinishing.

And here they are after--complete with dust balls! LOL! I have to Swiffer twice a day, but it's worth it. I'm in the market for some good rugs, though. No hurry. I love the floors. I had them stained with Minwax's Dark Walnut, and finished in a satin topcoat. Two of the undercoats were semi-gloss, and I was getting scared they were going to be too shiny. The guys assured me they knew what they were doing, and they did! Yay!

This is the before of the den floor...it was in the worst shape of them all, I think.

And this is the after. I love the way the stain really brought out the grain in the pine. As you can see, I'm still just barely moved in. MOST of the furniture is here, and most of the kitchen stuff is put away, but I've only unpacked four boxes of books. There is a LOT to do. My apartment still has a bunch of stuff left in it. I have until June 1 to be out of there. Oy, the stress!! And I'm really tired of going back over there to do laundry. Hopefully I'll get the washer and dryer over here this weekend.

Right now, though, I have to go sew two pillows for delivery this afternoon.

Baby bird

Look at that little baby! Isn't he cute? He's right above my back porch between the rafters.

And here's the momma about 3 minutes later...lol. She was staring me down. I'm pretty sure she's a junco, but I'm not positive. She flies away every time I open the door, so I can't get a good look at her. I just love the softness of the nest. I'm wondering where she got the cotton batting! It's so cute with the green moss....looks like a nice soft home for her baby. I think the baby was born today, because I haven't heard any tiny peeping until this afternoon.

It's a nature wonderland here. Every night the field is host to turkeys and deer. Mornings too. I've got binoculars by the windows so we can view them up close. I'll have to get some pictures of Mr. Turkey fanning his feathers. He looks just like the pictures we drew as kids, and like all the Thanksgiving pictures you see of turkeys. Live ones, that is. :P Oh! Here come the deer now! They're on the other end of the field, so I won't be able to get a good pic. I'll get the turkeys soon though.

I'm off to Kathleen's final concert of the year. Chorus and band. She says it's going to be their best one yet. Yesterday she ended her track season by winning a 4x400 relay by FLYing by the girl who was ahead of her. It was great to see...and a great way for her to end the season--on a high note.

I didn't get a good picture of her passing the other girl...but in this shot, Kathleen is running hard to catch up to her. I just noticed the guys behind her checking out her running, too! Funny!

First Semi-Formal Dance

Is it just me, or is 7th grade a little young for a semi-formal? Oh well. Kathleen was really looking forward to it, and she looked absolutely gorgeous tonight. After I gave her a manicure and curled her hair I said "Kathleen, I just can't believe how beautiful you are!" I know she's my kid and all, but WOW, she's as sweet as the day is long, and just oh so pretty. I made her dress for her, which she really loved. She said "The best thing about you making my dress, Mom, is that noone is going to have one like it!"
We designed it together, and somehow I constructed the thing. Don't ask me how. And don't look too closely. But if you blur your eyes, it looks pretty darn good! Hee! Let me tell you, there is NOTHING like silk charmeuse. Everyone should own a silk charmeuse garment. It feels divine. I may make myself a cami out of the leftovers. It's such a great color. She even planned ahead and had the orthodontist put blue bands on her braces so they'd match her dress! He thought that was pretty clever.
She's at the dance now. I had my first "slow dance" with a boy when I was in 7th grade at the very same school. I can't believe she's there right now, maybe having her own first dance with a boy. *Sigh* Where does the time go?
This last shot, I told the girls I was going to take three "America's Best Top Model" pictures, and I just counted out loud "ONE"....click......"TWO"....click.....you get the idea...and this is what they came up with. Kathleen's been watching WAY too much of that show if you ask me...lol.

Oy..what a mess!

Ok, so I haven't moved in 8 years. But seriously, how is it possible to collect so much STUFF in 8 yrs time? It's funny, as I'm packing the boxes, I'm thinking to myself "I may never unpack this box again." I might just leave it in the garage on a shelf and forget about it. That's how OVER my stuff I am right now. It's all just frivolity and silliness....and every last bit of it collects dust. I'm thinking that the time for editing is NOW. It's time to slice through the chaff, and get down to the nitty gritty--display only what I love, or that which has some sentimental importance.

In the mean time, I'm enjoying the emptiness of the new house, before I get all of my crap moved over there. The floors are gorgeous, and everything is freshly painted. I've thought that I should just move a chair and a lamp over, and maybe my bed, and call it done. :) Ok, so I guess I haven't gone TOTALLY overboard yet. I'll move it all over, but it's going to be a new me over there on Wood Ave. A cleaner, tidier, more organized me. I swear. Really. Honest.

New House

Wow, I guess it's been a while, eh? It's been a very busy time for me. I have bought a cute little house three miles from where I am right now, so Kathleen doesn't have to change schools, and I've been over there painting and painting and painting and...well...you get the idea...lol. I had the hardwood floors refinished and stained in a dark walnut finish, and I LOVE them. I had them use a satin topcoat, so that they wouldn't be TOO shiny. Today I can put furniture on them, if I so desire. We've been moving stuff over and keeping it in the garage for now. I'm still not packed, so it's been interesting, to say the least! I'll try to keep posting shots of my befores and afters so you can see what's been going on. If I skip a few days, know that I am working my butt off trying to get moved!! I'm also finishing up Kathleen's semi-formal dress, which is really coming out great, if I do say so myself! Pics of that will be forthcoming as well. My apologies for such a long absence!