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Just two pictures to share with you today. Not much to say. This first one is primarily for  , who helped me out this weekend picking out fabric and doing a lot of stapling.
 Two chairs already covered in the floral. The blue one is what I found last night to coordinate for the other two chairs, unless someone tells me it's a horrible idea. Note: the selection of home dec fabrics (the 45" wide ones) at JoAnn keeps getting smaller, and there weren't many options. I miss JCarolineCreative.
And, a final sneak peak of my DQS9. It’s going off in the mail today, and when I know it’s been received, I’ll post pictures of the completed project.
 Ooh, pretty!
Happy Tuesday!
It’s getting harder to take nice pictures again. It’s only daylight until 7:30-ish (at least, daylight that counts for photo-taking), and no longer light enough in the morning before I leave. At least it’s not December (I really shouldn’t complain about 12 hours of daylight). So, while I’d like to bring you pretty pictures, I am instead bringing you mediocre pictures. My apologies. Also, I was crunched for time, so I didn’t do any artful arranging or anything. Really not showcasing my best stuff here. But, I think they show off Sunday’s activities well.
After brunch with and  Sunday morning, came over to my house to help me recover the dining room chairs. There was much discussion about which fabric(s) was/were appropriate. We settled on two for the chairs (2 chairs of each, since I mostly had 1/2 yard pieces, not nearly enough to do 4 chairs), and one for the piano bench (yes, that would be the second time in a year that it’s been recovered). We took the fabric to the front lawn to Scotchguard it (if you’d seen the old dining chairs, you’d know how crucial that is – however, since I don’t want you to lose your appetite, there will be no pictures shared of them). While that dried, we disassembled the chairs, pulled out a whole bunch of staples, and got the old covers off. We did a spectacular job recovering the first two chairs (even if we did have to completely re-do the first one – we learned a lot through that trial run), and then faced two problems. One, the fabric we had selected for the other two wasn’t actually wide enough to use, and two, we were running out of staples.
In the end, it was determined that I didn’t own a second coordinating bit of fabric and would have to purchase some (we tried, we really did! I really wanted to use up some of my existing stash, which we did, just not in the quantity I would have liked). So, at this moment there are only two partially finished chairs. (I say “partial” because the chairs are a bit wobbly and we need to re-glue some joints, and then screw the seats back in – this time with new, non-rusty screws, and four in each chair, notable only because several had gone missing since they’d been recovered 6-ish years ago.)
 I didn't want Prince Charming or myself to accidentally sit on the unasembled chair, so I did this. Matea didn't seem to mind at all, and has adopted this one.
We moved on to the piano bench, which needed to be recovered for several reasons. One, when we did it last we forgot to leave uncovered the spot where the cushion attaches to the bench. Two, my original fabric choice, a rusty-pinky faux suede, was just wrong. There were always butt-prints or hand prints on it, cat hair stuck to it, and it was the wrong color (though it worked with the original color scheme for the room, which has now been abandoned). We settled on a print that manages to have the colors I wanted to include (notably blue) as well as some red to tie the CL chair into the room.
 Doesn't it work well with the wood? *A* really liked how it turned out, and I do too.
Before she left, I wanted to show our garden progress. While I was showing off the pumpkin, as well as the two large patty pans I’d seen that morning, she found another (smaller) patty pan, as well as some ripe tomatoes!
 For scale, the yellow blob in the basket is a regular-sized patty pan. You've got to watch these carefully - I read yesterday that they can grow to full size (2-4") in 4 days. There's several that I'll need to check on this week. (Also in that basket - 7 cucumbers, just part of the harvest from the cucumber plant!)
 They might not be as tender as the small ones, but they're still pretty, and I bet they still taste OK.
 This tomato needed to ripen a bit more, so it's sitting in the sun. I accidentally cut off the green ones with a much riper one, so I'm hoping some of the red will rub off on them.
My professor had finally emailed out my missing syllabus, so I spent some time organizing the semester, and then quilted up my DQS9 piece. It turned out well (but I didn’t take a picture of it, so you’ll have to wait). I also sewed on the binding (at least the machine half). Then  and I went to Target and Home Depot, and found ourselves at home, at 7 pm, without having started dinner yet. Oops. While the veggies were roasting, I multi-tasked.
 Perhaps not the best-looking corner, but it's the one that's in-progress. It looks so cute!
I have to apologize – I had two other very cute pictures that I took of this instead, but they both turned out blurry. Apparently taking photographs in the basement at 6:45 am isn’t the ideal environment for quality pictures.
After dinner, I did some homework, managing to finish just in time to do the grocery shopping and stitch up another side of the quilt.
Saturday, by the way, was spent at the State Fair. We didn’t bring the camera, so there’s not much to share there, and since I don’t get all googly-eyed at the thought of food on a stick, I won’t bore you. I did get a nice tan (for me), and the water ride at the end of the afternoon felt fabulous after all the hot stickiness that is the Fair. Now I’m good for another year or three (Fair-going-wise, that is).
I’m hoping to get the quilt in the mail tomorrow (Wednesday is the deadline), so I should have another picture or two to share (but not a full reveal until after it’s been received).
- You do your thing; I do mine and sometimes we’ll end up doing stuff together that we both enjoy.
- The tightness factor of Gap jeans is what’s been on my mind on and off all day.
- Remember when you could eat whatever you wanted and stay a size 2? Good times.
- Fabric, chocolate, and school supplies are three of my favorite obsessions
- During the last year we did a whole lot of work on our house.
- Seeing one of our cats happy puts a smile on my face.
- And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to making significant progress on DQS9, tomorrow my plans include going to the state fair and Sunday, I want to be able to plan out this semester (homework-wise)! I had hoped to do this last bit tonight, but I still have not received a copy of the syllabus, despite the professor’s promise to mail it. Grr. Hope we don’t have homework.
via Friday Fill-Ins
Just kidding. But I have impressed myself with my productivity (and relative awesomeness) this week. (Also, the book I’m reading just got awesome. And I’ve been waking up a lot in the middle of the night. All this combined means that I’m tired. But, it’s a good tired. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.)
Last night I had class, and since it was the first night, we got out early (8-ish instead of 9). When I got home, I put myself to work on the DQS9.
 The aftermath
 Sneak peak
 Progress!
Design-wise, I’m planning on sashing the blocks with white, and then probably putting a print border around the whole thing (though I’m not decided on that – we’ll see how it looks after the sashing). I want to try to make a wonky patchwork star for the top corner (I wasn’t feeling the embroidery that I’d originally had there) on a white background, and a surprise embroidery piece for the bottom corner, also on white. Question for those two – should the piece be framed in a print, like the others, or should it be white to the edges? Thoughts? I have picked out a plaid print for the background, and red mini polka-dots for the binding.
Remember earlier in the week when I organized my sewing projects? Here’s the results of the “fall” sort.
 Left to right: two skirts, two dresses, one blouse (started) and three knit shirts.
Eight things. That’s at least conceivable. The winter bag has more than this, and then spring and summer are both quite full. The three knit shirts should take only an hour or two each. The two skirts should take a weekend each, and the dresses, well, my success in the dress department has been varied, so those will probably take longer. The pink blouse has been started – the back is done, and the two front pieces were done. But, they had me put interfacing and a lining on the front panels of the front, and the fabric itself is pretty stiff/heavy, and that just was not working for me. I’ve ripped out the interfacing (except for what remains in the stitches – I’m prepared to leave that there), and now I need to stitch the facing (raw edges) under again. Then, I think, it’s sleeves, and collar. Buttons maybe? I’m not sure. I picked the version without a button placket, since at the time I didn’t have a machine that did button holes well. So, I’m not sure how the closure goes.
So, there you have it! The quilt needs to be done by Monday (to get in the mail by Wednesday), and I think I’m on track for that. No plans for this evening, so hopefully I can get the whole top pieced (assuming I complete those two corner bits). I might work on some other piecing too (for guest bedroom pillows), but only after I get as much done as I can on the quilt. The deadline for the pillows is Thursday/Friday, since we have guests for that weekend. Then, and only then, can I work on the pretty clothing projects for me. Keeping in mind, all the time, that homework reigns supreme, and I require more than 6 hours of sleep each night (8 would be preferred, but I’m delusional if I think that’s going to happen).
Today, I’m thankful at how productive I’ve managed to be lately. Last night, among other things…
… we finally quit the gym. 15 months of not using it seemed to warrant that. OK, I have gone once since we moved, and went a few times. Definitely not often enough.
… we refilled the bird feeder, though “fill” is a misnomer, since we only had enough seed left to fill the bottom third.
… I mowed the lawn (while making dinner – a feat I’m sure you’re jealous of). Actually, I made dinner before mowing the lawn, put it in the oven to bake, and while I was out, made sure everything was OK and cooked up noodles to go with. I’m not superwoman.
… I did more poly-ing.
… I partially disassembled the pretty blue floral disaster of a dress, wrote myself a note of what was wrong, and packed it all up for next year. The time for sundresses is over.
… I went through my clothing projects (pattern matched up with fabric), divided them out by season, and bagged up what wasn’t fall. The fall ones went on the shelf where some of them had been. There’s a lot more space in there now, and it actually seems… manageable.
… The above meant that part of my cutting table was now clear, so I cut out the embroidery pieces according to the markings I’d made on Monday. Then I cut out the pieces to make the sashiko panels for the guest bedroom pillows.
… Stayed up way too late reading. Stuff was happening! I couldn’t just leave it hanging!
… Accidentally slept in an extra 15 minutes today. Oops! Still, I’m thankful for that extra bit of sleep.
What are you thankful for? Have you been productive like me (what have you done?) or have you taken time to relax? Are things starting to get busy, or winding down?
After some emails were exchanged (and some reminder emails sent) and an appointment was set with my advisor, I actually managed to register for classes (by myself!) yesterday. About 5 hours before my first class was set to start. So, as of 6pm last night, I again am living in the land of homework. I promptly paid my tuition and bought books, which, thanks to Amazon Prime for Students, will arrive on Thursday, before my other class.
For those not paying attention, that means I have class on Tuesday and Thursday nights this semester, from 6-9. Both are graduate level, 3 credits each, which puts me at 3/4 time (8 graduate credits is considered full time) this semester. I should be much happier than the 8 credit semester (last spring), or the proposed 10 credit semester (that I was supposed to have this semester and next). That’s not to say I won’t have homework or be busy, just that… school won’t be completely all-consuming. I should have time to rake the lawn (is it almost time for that? no, that can’t be right), watch 30 Rock, and turn my sewing machine on a few times. And apple picking. Can’t forget the apple picking.
I am a list girl, so today I am making lists. Lists make me feel in control, and like the tasks are manageable. So far, I have an “office” one (meaning my craft room, not my 9-5), a school one, a home one (as in the house), and a Today one. I don’t have any syllabi yet (last night’s class was emailed out and thus not distributed on paper, and I’m still waiting to get my email copy), so the scheduling of homework with colorful Post-Its can’t happen yet. Ooh, fun project for Friday night! (What, isn’t that how you spend your Friday nights?) Don’t knock it – I have a 4.0 GPA (3.96 undergrad) proving my system works… for me.
For now, my lists will (hopefully) help me prioritize what needs to get done this week. If I don’t stay on the ball, I may have to bow out of Saturday’s State Fair trip (with and  & stepfamily). I have some things with actual hard deadlines that need to get accomplished (unlike, say, “mow the lawn,” which is overdue but no one’s really going to do anything about it if I don’t, other than perhaps frown shamefully while driving by), and those definitely take priority over going to the State Fair, an activity that I don’t really enjoy anyway.
Now… back to the lists.
Yes, that’s right, I actually remembered to take pictures. Amazing! So, now I can update you on the crazy weekend we had.
 I finished putting poly on the trim for Prince Charming's office. And then, because we're crazy like that, we took down the stair railing, sanded it back to bare wood, re-stained it and are in the process of polying it too (it's the roundish thing next to the white thing - very technical, i know). I've got three coats of poly on it right now, and I'd like to get up to at least 5. Railings get awfully dirty, and quite abused.
 We did some work on the irrigation system. I know, it doesn't look like much, but here's the deal: there used to be a big trench there, and we spent part of Saturday burying the pipe we'd laid / re-filling it with all the dirt we'd removed. I've been saving irrigation system pics for another post, but since this was such yucky work (it was hot and sunny), I thought I'd include it here.
While we’re on the sticky and gross idea… we spent two hours on Sunday morning cleaning the garage. I didn’t take a picture for you, because garage pictures are never pretty (and I forgot to take one), but it was a major effort. It is now conceivable that I could get my car inside by snowfall (which, of course, will involve more construction, or rather deconstruction – thinning down the ramp so my slightly wider Rav4 fits).
We worked on the spare bedroom too. If you need a refresher, it’s a dark, odd room where we’ve been keeping lots of boxes and random things (because the room is unused). Also, the server rack takes up a large corner of the room. It used to have my old twin bed in it, but in the great bed switch-up this month, it now contains a queen! And I spent part of my vacation organizing the linen closet, so now the room is all set up.
 This looks more like a place you'd like to stay, right? White bedding, down comforter and pillows (I'm working on pillow covers for those two square ones), art on the wall...
 We had a spare side table after the bed switch-up too, so it found a new home here. The chair came from the living room (actually, the chair came with the house).
As a side note…
 Prince Charming loves having a chair by the front door, where the earlier one used to be. So, he found this replacement on CL. Cute, no? It's actually a designer chair that retails for over $1,000. Crazy, right? That red boucle on the seat just has to go, though.
Back to the decorating… our next stop was making the downstairs hallway also look a bit more lived in (instead of just storage area for ongoing projects, like the trim at the top). Pardon the picture quality – it’s pretty dark down there, and still a bit messy, and even with some artful cropping and adjusting the exposure, I could only do so much.
 Right outside the guest bedroom
I asked if it would be OK if I decorated the hallway with all of my coffee / French stuff. He said that was fine, and I went to unpack several boxes of “decorations” that we haven’t yet used. I sure came up with a lot (four pieces didn’t make it onto the walls, and there’s probably more I’m not remembering).
 The hallway (door in the middle is the bathroom, door at the end is the spare bedroom).
I had to do a little collage for these, because the bathroom is notoriously hard to photograph (exhibit 1, exhibit 2). Also, it’s kind of ugly. The sink area is painted bright blue, but the rest is white (and cracked and peeling). There are all these weird corners… but I digress. I wanted to make it look more like we actually used the bathroom on a regular basis.
 Slight improvement. Great artwork for a bathroom, right? The calla lilies used to be above our dining table in the old house, and were a gift. I love them, but they need to be re-matted before we could use them anywhere else in the house. This works just fine.
After hanging the pictures and getting a bunch of boxes into storage (and out of the spare bedroom), we tackled the “library.”
 This may not look like much, but trust me, it's a huge improvement.
We got rid of 7 grocery bags of books – sold them to Half Price Books, so someone else can use them.
 Formerly, there were two overflowing boxes under the shelves of my books labeled "to read," and we found two more boxes in the spare bedroom. We had to get rid of some to fit everything in, obviously, but it was needed. This is about all the work we're going to do on the library until the family room remodel this winter, when these bookshelves will get replaced with something that is not dirty, dusty, crappy, raw plywood.
And, because that wasn’t enough, we started on a new project. Just some hints for you, though I’m sure you can figure it out. Full reveal… next Monday perhaps?
 Well, hello!
 Lovely lines.
And lastly, an update on the garden (I sacrificed my body to get you these pictures – the mosquitoes are out like crazy in the mornings, since the sprinkler runs at 6).
 Squash! And a pumpkin (also, technically squash)! How cool is that? (Disclosure: these are the only two fruits from the huge squash plant monstrosity that we have going on.)
Whew! Now you know that I wasn’t joking when I said our weekend was crazy busy, and that we did a lot of work. The pace has to slow down soon, because classes are starting and I won’t have time for frivolous things like making our house look presentable to non-family members. Seriously, vacuuming is a luxury during the semester.
Do you want to know how much I love my new Rav4? I had a custom keychain made, because the red plastic thingy they gave me at the dealership was not worthy.
It’s true.
 Now this is worthy of my new car.
I found SewSweetStitches via Flickr, where she shares some beautiful pieces in one of the embroidery groups. It took me a while to figure out exactly what colors I wanted, but once I did, she made it up for me pronto. I was very impressed.
And then it arrived at my house, quite quickly as well.
 Isn't it lovely?
Anyway, you should go visit her shop. Keychains aren’t really her thing, but she is more than willing to do custom work (since barrettes and iPod cozies aren’t really my thing).
 Beautiful stitching!
I’ve finished most of the embroidery for my DQS9 quilt (that needs to be in the mail September 1st! Eek!).
 I think they turned out well.
There’s actually a fifth piece, but the picture turned out a little blurry. I have two more bits to make for this quilt – I haven’t decided if they’ll be embroidery or… something else. That’s all I can share – don’t want to give away my secret plans.
Last night I washed the disappearing ink off (the slight bluish tint on many of the stitch lines above), and ironed them all out. And then I did some math and figured out exactly what size each piece needs to be, and drew the lines for cutting. (My cutting table is currently unavailable – I have to move this disaster of a dress* before I can cut.)
So, my next step is to cut out the fabric that will frame the squares, and the sashing. I should be able to get that done tonight, even if I do get registered and have to attend class. Wednesday piecing… it should all come together fine.
*I’m not giving up on this one, but I do have to rip out the side seams and try a new approach. I’m hoping I don’t have to rip out the invisible zipper I already sewed in – it turned out really well! I will have to take the front bust apart and re-do the darts (because the whole front bust needs to be about an inch skinnier, and the other option is to put a seam in the middle of the bust, and I’m not a huge fan of that). I may have tried to make too many alterations to the pattern all at once (it was a size too small for my hips, and I moved the waist seam lower – lots of math, and I did it all correctly, I think, but I might have been too generous with my enlarging for said hips). I think it can work, but it will take some time, which I do not have at the moment.
We had such a productive weekend that… I can’t tell you about it. At least, not without photos, which I do not have yet. So, it’ll have to wait. Suffice it to say that we nearly worked ourselves to the bone, but in a good way. We were so busy that we forgot to buy groceries. Bummer.
And so now I am tired. I’m not nearly as sore as there was potential for, which is nice.
In other news, classes started today, and I am still not registered (despite emails to the contrary, no one has yet acted on said requests and I cannot register by myself yet). Boo. Thus books are not purchased, tuition is not paid….
Also, we have a trip to Chicago coming up at the end of September, which seems dreadfully close, and it is not planned, at all. It is my 10 year college reunion, which has potential for fun. We’ll also be doing Race for the Cure on Sunday. And we have a place to stay ( ‘s), and have figured out which vehicle we’d likely take (the Rav4, of course). But, um, I haven’t yet told anyone who lives in Illinois that we’ll be there.
People are busy – most friends back home have multiple children or are currently pregnant. I am that age. I can think of two friends from college who do not have kids – one just got married a few weeks ago, and the other… I’m not sure but for certain I won’t ask (since I am severely allergic to people asking me “When are you going to have kids?”).
And I don’t really want to plan a get-together, for good reasons. One, I live in Minnesota, and it would be so much easier if someone else picked a restaurant or volunteered their home or whatever. And two, out of the circle of friends, I am definitely not the one who was/is closest with many of them. There are far more “popular” people than I, people who have actually kept in touch with each other. That wasn’t meant to be a downer statement – I’ve always been a “few friends” person, not a “throng of friends” person. I just think that the “throng of friends” people are better at planning get togethers. Also, they’re less likely to forget people that should be invited. So, yeah.
Last week, I finally brought my “ponytail” plant to work.  has been chewing on it for the past two years, almost daily, regardless of where I put it. It must not taste fabulous, as he always hacks a leaf back up. Yech. But still, he continues to chew. The thing looked so sad. It is already flourishing here at work, even with the fluorescent lights. It will get watered more frequently, and has a friend (the bamboo plant).
Continued work on projects is planned for tonight, but I will try my hardest to take pictures, really. I certainly need to take pictures of my finished embroideries for Doll Quilt Swap 9. The deadline is coming up really, really fast, and I need to shake a leg (so no recreational crafting or sewing until it’s finished and in the mail).
In a surprise move, we stopped in at Best Buy while on an errand, and instead of looking at the latest releases (Blu-Ray, of course), we took what was supposed to be a quick detour into the Blu-Ray player section. was an early adopter, which means that he had a Blu-Ray player before lots of other people. But, that also means it was much older than everybody else’s. And super slow. Like “turn it on, go upstairs and make yourself a cup of coffee, go back downstairs and maybe it will be ready for you to put your disk in” slow. And we’d been looking on and off for quite some time for a new one. Well, we took one home yesterday! It was an out of box, and last year’s model (which means it’s missing built-in wi-fi, which we wouldn’t be using anyway), so it was about 1/2 the price of current models. Yay! It didn’t have any cables, or even a remote, but all those boxes of cables and cords that has meticulously organized came in handy. We hooked it all up, and it is a hundred times faster. Fabulous!
And now I am sitting here, waiting for others to get back to me so I can continue on with my projects. Unfortunately, I may be waiting for a while. I’ve finished up everything else. I can think of a few back burner things to do… maybe I’ll get on that. Or lunch. It’s a toss-up.
How long have I been back in school now? 4 years? And how many books have I ordered from Amazon to save me money? Way too many. Most used, but some new.
So you know when you’re checking out in Amazon how they’re always trying to sell you Amazon Prime, because then you’d get free shipping! Well, not one to fall for that, I choose free Super Saver Shipping.
I am in the process of registering for classes (nothing like waiting until the last minute, right), so I’ve filled my cart up with the required textbooks (2). Recently, when making online orders, I’ve opened a new tab in my browser and searched “promotional code [insert website here].” It usually saves me at least $5. I decided to try that for Amazon today. Well, you won’t get many good results, but there’s one awesome one, if you’re a student.
You can get Amazon Prime for free as a student. !! Just sign up with your .edu email and, presto-chango, now you have free 2-day shipping! For the next year! On select items (you know, the Amazon ones, not the partner vendors)!
I could not be happier about that, especially since 2 day shipping gets my textbooks to me on Tuesday, just in time for my first class (Tuesday night). That is, if my advisor and the office do their part to get me registered. I’m playing the waiting game (and logging in to the school website a lot).
If you combine that deal with the money saved by buying through Amazon (new, even, since used prices were not much better, and I couldn’t get free shipping with them) versus the school bookstore, and however many points we get for using the credit card for this purchase (we bought our dishwasher almost entirely with points – totally awesome)… $10 shipping (guestimate) + $48.24 Amazon pricing + points = >$60 savings!
Hey, when a $2,000 tuition bill is about to come due, it all helps.
So, if you have a .edu account, and I know quite a few people who do, you might want to give it a look. I am loving free Amazon Prime right now. (Hmm, what else could I buy for free shipping? Just kidding.)
- Laughter cures many ails.
- “Done.” [insert signature here] are the three words that started off the last email I sent. I send a lot of these at work.
- What I’m most looking forward to today is lunch. I think I’ll eat out today. Chipotle maybe. Yesterday, I didn’t really have a lunch, and Wednesday I brown-bagged it (a 3rd grader’s dream: Lunchables Pepperoni Pizza, Lemon Chiffon yogurt, and a Double Chocolate Pudding Snack Pack). Before that I was on vacation. I think warm food prepared for me is a great way to end a rather productive week.
- The happiness of others puts a smile on my face.
- Where in the world ~is Carmen Sandiego~. Sing along!
- Discovering Amazon.com Shoes is just what I needed!
- And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to trying out the new stain color* for the bookshelves, tomorrow my plans include working on the irrigation system, playing with stain and polyurethane, fixing up the guest bedroom (I could go on, but I won’t bore you) and Sunday, I want to feel prepared for both the start of the school year (Tuesday) and our house guests (Labor Day weekend)!
Friday Fill-Ins
Maybe you don’t. I didn’t. That is, until today, when I wore my pretty new grey sweater with my navy dress, and had to wear my black shoes. Not that big of a deal, but grey shoes sure would be nice. I have at least two grey sweaters, and two grey pairs of pants, and at least one skirt. That warrant’s grey shoes, right?
 So, um... would these look OK on my larger feet? I mean, sure they're cute in size 5, but I'm a 9 1/2 these days. Can my canoe feet pull off the ruffle? (Source: Cassie by Kensie Girl in Gunmetal via Zappos.com)
Grey shoes are not exactly easy to find. I don’t want silver, I want grey (I don’t need to bring sparkly attention to my feet). And I don’t like heels. And… well, I’m picky about shoes.
The only problem with the above, other than the ruffle dilemma, is that people say they run wide, and I have narrow-ish feet. Oh, and there’s the slight problem of them being out of stock in this size/color combo. No one seems to have them. But, put those things aside. Can I wear these, or are they too… [fill in the blank]?
I love them. Conveniently, they’re one of the species that frequent our yard.
If you remember, I requested a bird feeder for my birthday. gave me a hummingbird feeder, which we hung in the Hawthorn tree by the deck (aka my favorite tree). Though visits were infrequent for a while, it seems they’ve now found it.
 Whoa! Thirsty! (I've also seen the bees hanging around - I wonder if they can feed off of this too.)
gave me bird seed for my birthday, so in early July and I picked out this beauty.
 Our first location choice was not popular, but when we moved it to this corner, we became the hot spot in the neighborhood.
It’s weighted, so it’s squirrel-proof, but the squirrels will happily sit on the deck below and scavenge what the birds drop. Win-win situation.
We have two bird species that hang out in our trees (and lilac bushes) – Chickadees and some basic brown bird that’s about the same size as the Chickadee (I’m not a bird watcher, per se). Both seem a bit nervous still, but they’re getting bolder as time goes on. (The above picture is from Sunday – by Tuesday the feed was down another inch or two.)
I managed to snap these the other day. I sat very still on the deck (which looks like this right now) while waiting for to return from Home Depot. As long as you don’t move, they’ll get pretty close. Unfortunately, they can see us moving inside the house, so it’s hard to get a good glimpse of them.
 They move so fast! It's hard to get a good picture - by the time the camera had shown me the image I'd taken and switched back to photo mode, the bird was always gone.
 Well, that's a bit better.
 Profile shot (if you didn't know what Chickadees looked like before, you certainly do now).
 The best shot.
I hope these pictures brightened your day! More on how I spent my vacation later….
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thankful
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