World's tackiest bird feeder

I have not had very good luck with bird feeders this year.  And I wanted to very badly!  First, the only one I had bit the dust.  Then, the next two I got were duds.  Who ever heard of bird feeders that birds won't eat out of?

My parents have two great bird feeders.  One of them is a flat feeder and the other is a regular feeder.  Regular, except that it has batteries in it to shock the squirrels who try to steal some seeds.  That's just the way they feel about squirrels in Oklahoma.

So, I called Mom to see if many birds were eating at their feeder.  She said that it really wasn't the time of year to feed birds since there is so much food other places right now.  That made me feel better, but I have had almost -0- birds!

Without spending any money, a flat feeder seemed like the way to go.

And I set out to make the World's Tackiest Bird Feeder.

I think I was very successful!

Closet cleanup

Last night Daniel opened the coat closet door and said, "Minnie, there is a booger in the closet."  While I have no idea what he might have been talking about, I can't think of anything good that can come from having a booger in your closet.

So, this morning I decided to clean out the booger closet.

With a little help from my friends.

Another pest

I had a friend who didn't like cats at all.  Her reason was because of the way cats look at you.

I think I see her point.

And this morning when Twinkle decided to rub noses with me at some hour before daylight, and when she jumped on my feet before the sun came up, and when she was lying on her back under my bed running in circles by pulling on the underside of the box springs...

I didn't like cats, either.

Bath time for Midnight

I don't know what is going on around here, but this has been a spring of invasions.  First, we had carpenter bees, then there were the cicadas.  Now, the horse flies have moved to town.

They are a nuisance to us, but to the horses those guys are pure torture.  You can always tell when they are back because the horses just can't keep still.  They stomp their feet, bite at the ones they can reach, and swish their tails at the others.  Constantly.

Yesterday was our day to give Daisy and Midnight some relief.  There are chemicals you can put on them to ward off the pests and in the past we have sprayed it on the horses.  They get jumpy, though, and don't like to be sprayed.

We decided to try a new way this year.  And it involved giving these sensitive family members a bath, then sponging on the bug spray.  Don't know why, but we have never bathed our horses.  We weren't sure how they would like it.

Daryl is wearing the classic 'give-a-horse-a-bath' attire.

They seemed to love it!

Of course, it helped that it was around 95 degrees yesterday.

And that there was a sweet feed bucket right under their noses!

Words for Sunday (and every day)

from homegrownhospitality.typepad.com

New Perspective

While reading Whole Living Magazine this month I decided to participate in a 10-day Reboot.  It is a plan to get moving physically and to clean out mentally.  At least, that is my take on it!

One idea I really love is to clean out your closet.  Not with the mindset of "How does this fit?", but of "How does this make me feel?"  That was a big difference to me.  Sometimes when I buy clothes, the item doesn't end up fitting like I had thought it would.  And every time I put it on, I don't feel good about how I look.  I guess it is because I don't buy that many clothes, but I have always left it in my closet until I finally say something like, "I have kept you long enough not to feel guilty about giving you away."  

So this week I weeded out a few things.   It feels good already!  There are probably some others, but I just can't do it all at once! 

This flower didn't know it was in a child's plastic swimming pool.  It bloomed as beautifully as if it had been in a pond at a botanical garden.  There must be a lesson in there for me somewhere!

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for small things.

And sometimes it is just the small things that make me giggle - out loud by myself - that can help make a day happy!

Have a happy Thursday!

Just thinking....

I like to get my color inspiration for inside the house from outside the house.

I have a bedroom wall painted the color of one of the green eggs my chickens laid.  For realz!  I even took the egg to the paint store to get them to match the color.  And the sales person did not give me any strange looks!

What about this color combination for my dining room redo?

I think I would choose the more turquoise color of the sky in the next picture.  And there is LOTS of wall in the dining room so I need to be careful with my color choice.  Maybe white trim in the color of clouds and a chair rail to divide the wheat and the sky?  And while you can't see it here, I will incorporate some green into the mix.

This is a plate I bought at Dillard's that combines the colors well.

Hmmm......    Just thinking.....

The intimidated leading the young

Early this year I decided that I would take up knitting.  It isn't a totally new thing to me, but it does intimidate me and I want to gain some level of mastery over it.  I bought a learn-to-knit book and started at the beginning.  The first project in the book is a simple purse.  I don't need one of those, but decided I could use a little makeup bag.  I lined it with a scrap of fabric and was really happy with the results.

Then, I wanted to make a prayer shawl for a room at church.  It was nothing more than knitting row after row until the piece was long enough and then adding tassels.

The book quickly moved into knitting sweaters.  I am so intimidated by making one, that I can't seem to get past the first row.  I have started, though.  It will be a brown sweater for a little boy.  I'll have to see how big or small it turns out to know who it will fit.  Since I have grandsons aged 4, 2, and 7 months, I hope it will fit one of them!

A friend at church would like to learn how to knit and her mom asked me to teach her.  I really don't know what I am doing, but maybe we can learn together.  She is left handed.  I am right handed.

I accidentally started off teaching her how to knit backward, then figured out what I had done.   We both look confused, don't we?  The best I could tell her when we finished is, "Well, maybe those YouTube videos will make a little more sense now."   Poor Madelynn.

A "You've Got Mail" kind of day

There is no explanation for this, but when I am sick, I watch "You've Got Mail."  It is the movie equivalent of comfort food to me.

And I knew this morning when I got up and thought about watching that movie that I had better get myself to the doctor.

He diagnosed a sinus infection, gave me a shot and a prescription, and sent me on my way.  I am off to bed with my movie...