Friday, May 22, 2009
Cozy Critters
Cozy may not be the most appropriate choice of words, but I enjoy some alliteration from time time. Yesterday afternoon I took my kids to Costco. Amongst the shrubs for sale, we found a large and lovely brown garden snail. His shell had been cracked and broken, but he was creeping along the outside of the pot. Having grown up in a very non-humid area, things like snails and fireflies are so fascinating. I decided, since I was getting one of the potted plants anyway, that we would give him a transported ride home and the kids could watch him for a day or so before he bites the dust. He's really cool. We've got him in a bowl with a rock, some dirt, a few leaves from my Phlox, Lilac and Lilies. We read they like those plants as well as raw potato and carrots. I've yet to see him eat a thing, but he does a lot of sliding around. I wanted to name him Slipper, but Sassy thinks Curly is a better choice. Curly? Whatever.
This next one is anything but cozy. Yikes! I've seen these around my house for several years. Never a lot of them. One or two here and there. I found a rather large one on the front of my house this morning and promptly sprayed the tar out of her with some spider spray until she was writhing on the ground and dying slowly. (did that sound like I enjoyed it? :::ahem:::) I've finally discovered, after typing 'black furry spider' into Google that it's called the Bold Jumping Spider. Bold it is. These spiders will watch you and turn there body to face you as you move around. They will also position themselves with their legs up in the air, seeming very aggressive and ready to jump. Freaks me right out! When she was dead enough to be less intimidating this morning, I poked her with a little stick and she grabbed right onto it with her pincers. Those stinkers are like the tips of regular size needles. I've read that they aren't poisonous, but that their bites are quite painful. This is a lovely photo I found on Google (as well as the one above of the snail).
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sister's Weekend and Sleeeeeeping Pills - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I had the greatest sister's weekend! It was SO much fun. The kind of weekend where you spend great amounts of time really laughing hard, nearly peeing your pants, snacking and eating, staying up late, sleeping in (sort of), chatting about evvvvery thing. Oh my gosh! When I got home I felt like I'd had enough, without having gone too far and I still super-love every single one of them and I can't wait to see them all again.
The first day, I got up at 4:30 a.m. so I would have time to finish up packing and shower before we left for the airport. My flight took off on time at 8:15 with a landing scheduled at 10:00. I fell asleep in my seat before we even left the ground. It was way windy when we left Denver, so I was prepared for bumpiness. A big jerk of the plane woke me up, and I braced myself for some more turbulence. I opened my eyes and realized we'd just landed. "Wow!" I thought. "I must have been so tired! I'm glad I slept that entire time." I looked at my watch and it said 8:50. Huh? We're an hour early? A whole hour? I looked outside again. Yep. On the ground. I looked at my watch again. This time, squinting my eyes and bringing my wrist up closer to my face. Maybe I'd read it wrong. No. Still 8:50. Oh! Maybe my watch died. I tapped it. The second hand was moving. The little twister knob thingy on the side was still pushed in the way it was supposed to be. What the........
I'm very confused. What did I miss? There's something wrong with the plane? Am I going to ask someone? Heck no! I was asleep and missed it all like a loser and I'm certainly not going to look like a bigger loser saying - hey what's going on? So instead, I just lean my ear to the left and eavesdrop on the phone conversation going on behind me. I hear there's a problem with the landing gear. Wouldn't go up after the take-off. Ok. That's ok. They de-planed us and within about 30 minutes, we're on a new plane and headed out again. A very exciting way to start the weekend.
I arrived in Billings and my Mom and sister Sara are waiting for me. So good to see them. They are completely lovely and put together as usual. Every hair in the right place. I'm a shambles. Having slept on the plane, been awake for 6.5 hours already, hungry, tired, but free. Free for the weekend. We did some shopping and some more shopping and some more shopping. We went out for lunch at this awesome pizza place. Mexican pizza, people. Mexican pizza. Thin crunchy crust, salsa, spicy chicken, big slices of warm and creamy avocado, drizzled with sour cream. Oh goodness. It was tasty. We met up with Martha and Gretchen at Costco. Hooray! Now we're really getting into business. Buying groceries and snacks. We have a small pleasure in the Billings Costco. Dyson hand dryers in the bathroom. The funkiest things I've ever seen. They're mounted to the wall a little lower than waist high. The opening is sort of shaped like a sideways figure-eight. It's automatic. You place both wet hands in the dryer at the same time and the air comes on. Like blades of blowing air from both sides, very strong, warm, and as you slowly pull your hands from the dryer, these 'blades' of air just peel the wetness from your hands. It's just awe-inspiring. You must promise me that if you are ever in a public restroom and you see them, you will try. Do not be intimidated or afraid. Step up and give it a go. You will thank me.
After all of our shopping, we went to dinner. One of our favorite Billings restaurants, The Mustard Seed. Really good and fresh chinese food. We stopped at a convenience store for a few sweet goodies - Nut Goodies, to be precise. Don't knock 'em until you try 'em.
Then went on to the airport to wait for Jessica. Her plane is delayed too. Not for the same reason, tho, I think. I'm not sure. Another new pleasure we discovered? The Wisp. Are you ready for this? Yes. I think you are. If you're ready for the Dyson Hand Dryer, you're ready for anything. The Wisp jumped out and grabbed me in Walmart. It was just hanging there with the toothbrushes. And then again near the register. I grabbed a couple of two packs to try and we went on our way. When we pulled up to the airport at 10:45 p.m., having been shopping and eating and all of that all day long - we needed a little freshen-up. So I grabbed my wisps and started handing them out. Amazingly, I discovered that one of my packs actually had 4 in it, which meant I had enough Wisps for everyone to have one. It's a little tiny disposable toothbrush. It's about the size of your pinky. A little brush at one end with a blob of sooper minty stuff in the middle and a little tooth pick at the other end. Three flavors. Peppermint, Spearmint and Cinnamon. Keep one in your purse for after Sac. mtg., one in your car for after Costa Vida. The uses and times to use them are endless. It isn't as good as a real toothbrush, but it makes a big difference when you aren't feeling as fresh as you'd like.
So Jessica got in, we all piled in our two cars and headed for Red Lodge. It was a fun ride, getting to sit and visit with Sara and Mom. I know that Gretchen, Martha and Jessica had some rockin' tunes blaring in their car, but I would have been happy to be in either. We unpacked the cars and chitty chatted for a while before going to bed around 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. I slept great that night. I woke to the sound of a can of soda being opened. Ahhhh. My mom's first-thing-in-the-morning diet pepsi fix. That day, we had massive cinnamon rolls for breakfast and lounged around until well after 1:00. Finally, we headed out to lunch, shopped the little shops, stopped at the grocery store and went back home. We started dinner around 7:00, stayed up very late again. Do you see it? It's all just so much fun.
The next day our candlelit-wine-glasses-full-of-non-alcoholic-bubbly breakfast was fantastic. Fatty's cheese eggs, blueberry muffins, fresh fruit. We cooked a lot from The Pioneer Woman's website. Check it out. On this day, we definitely lounged. I stayed in my pjs all day. All day. Some people went for a walk, some did not. Some of us played wii. Some of us took a nap. We snacked on craptastic (one of our words for the weekend, as well as ruckus and hot totti) snacks all day, watched a movie or two, played a game. Pictures? Oh yes. I didn't take a camera because Honey's camera is SO big. My bag weighed 49.9 lbs. No room. So, some of the other girls took the photos and we'll just be sharing with each other. I'll post a few when I get them.
The last night, I realized that my flight time had been moved from 3:30 to 2:12. Yuck. I wanted to stay longer SO bad. I tried. I searched new flight times, I checked hotel rates, I texted Honey. Uh....I don't think he liked that. He wanted me home. We stayed up watching a movie, but I was getting sleepy, so I went to bed. I didn't actually fall asleep the entire night. My brain was doing cartwheels all night long. Exhausting! But we got everything cleaned up and made it to Billings in time. Brian picked me up from the airport and made a very gracious stop at Sonic on our way home so that I could have a beautiful Rt 44 coke. That night, I didn't sleep either (this is where the sleeping pill comes in).
So, last night I decided to take a couple Tylenol PM. Just before 9:00. At 10:30, I was still awake and reading, but went out shortly after. I didn't wake up until 8:00 this morning. Thank goodness Honey got the boys ready and off to school or they would have been late. I dragged myself out of bed, but was clearly still half asleep until about an hour ago. It's almost 3:30, you gize. All day, I've been a sleepy zombie. I dozed on the couch for about 15 minutes after Honey left for work, but got moving again. Listened to some toons, cleaned up a few things. Then decided to finish my book, but fell asleep on the couch again for about 30 minutes around noon. A coke and a spontaneous visit to Landee perked me up a little. Now I need to wash my hair and make myself presentable for the weekly visit to Chick-fil-A and scout pack meeting tonight at the park. That is, if it isn't raining. Thunder and lightening right now. I'm sitting on my front porch. It's been quite hot today, but the cloud cover we have now is helping a lot and the cool breeze coming off the dark clouds feels great. Sassy is asleep on the couch. ::::::sigh::::::
So, sorry I haven't been blogging much. I'm tired of always feeling that no matter what I'm doing, I should be doing something else. Never ending self-inflicted guilt. Keep an eye out for photos. I promised my sisters that I wouldn't post anything unflattering. So, I may have to do some cropping and editing. I promise I'll keep my promise.
I've left the weekend feeling completely thankful for all of my sisters, completely tired from being too old to stay up so late so many nights in a row, and really anxious for the last 13 days of the school year to just get the heck over with already. Have a great day!!!
The first day, I got up at 4:30 a.m. so I would have time to finish up packing and shower before we left for the airport. My flight took off on time at 8:15 with a landing scheduled at 10:00. I fell asleep in my seat before we even left the ground. It was way windy when we left Denver, so I was prepared for bumpiness. A big jerk of the plane woke me up, and I braced myself for some more turbulence. I opened my eyes and realized we'd just landed. "Wow!" I thought. "I must have been so tired! I'm glad I slept that entire time." I looked at my watch and it said 8:50. Huh? We're an hour early? A whole hour? I looked outside again. Yep. On the ground. I looked at my watch again. This time, squinting my eyes and bringing my wrist up closer to my face. Maybe I'd read it wrong. No. Still 8:50. Oh! Maybe my watch died. I tapped it. The second hand was moving. The little twister knob thingy on the side was still pushed in the way it was supposed to be. What the........
::::flight attendant voice over the intercom::::
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we welcome you back to Denver. Please remain seated.....blah blah blah....we apologize for the inconvenience. Safety is our first priority.....blah blah blah.......get it fixed and get back in the air......"
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we welcome you back to Denver. Please remain seated.....blah blah blah....we apologize for the inconvenience. Safety is our first priority.....blah blah blah.......get it fixed and get back in the air......"
I'm very confused. What did I miss? There's something wrong with the plane? Am I going to ask someone? Heck no! I was asleep and missed it all like a loser and I'm certainly not going to look like a bigger loser saying - hey what's going on? So instead, I just lean my ear to the left and eavesdrop on the phone conversation going on behind me. I hear there's a problem with the landing gear. Wouldn't go up after the take-off. Ok. That's ok. They de-planed us and within about 30 minutes, we're on a new plane and headed out again. A very exciting way to start the weekend.
I arrived in Billings and my Mom and sister Sara are waiting for me. So good to see them. They are completely lovely and put together as usual. Every hair in the right place. I'm a shambles. Having slept on the plane, been awake for 6.5 hours already, hungry, tired, but free. Free for the weekend. We did some shopping and some more shopping and some more shopping. We went out for lunch at this awesome pizza place. Mexican pizza, people. Mexican pizza. Thin crunchy crust, salsa, spicy chicken, big slices of warm and creamy avocado, drizzled with sour cream. Oh goodness. It was tasty. We met up with Martha and Gretchen at Costco. Hooray! Now we're really getting into business. Buying groceries and snacks. We have a small pleasure in the Billings Costco. Dyson hand dryers in the bathroom. The funkiest things I've ever seen. They're mounted to the wall a little lower than waist high. The opening is sort of shaped like a sideways figure-eight. It's automatic. You place both wet hands in the dryer at the same time and the air comes on. Like blades of blowing air from both sides, very strong, warm, and as you slowly pull your hands from the dryer, these 'blades' of air just peel the wetness from your hands. It's just awe-inspiring. You must promise me that if you are ever in a public restroom and you see them, you will try. Do not be intimidated or afraid. Step up and give it a go. You will thank me.
Then went on to the airport to wait for Jessica. Her plane is delayed too. Not for the same reason, tho, I think. I'm not sure. Another new pleasure we discovered? The Wisp. Are you ready for this? Yes. I think you are. If you're ready for the Dyson Hand Dryer, you're ready for anything. The Wisp jumped out and grabbed me in Walmart. It was just hanging there with the toothbrushes. And then again near the register. I grabbed a couple of two packs to try and we went on our way. When we pulled up to the airport at 10:45 p.m., having been shopping and eating and all of that all day long - we needed a little freshen-up. So I grabbed my wisps and started handing them out. Amazingly, I discovered that one of my packs actually had 4 in it, which meant I had enough Wisps for everyone to have one. It's a little tiny disposable toothbrush. It's about the size of your pinky. A little brush at one end with a blob of sooper minty stuff in the middle and a little tooth pick at the other end. Three flavors. Peppermint, Spearmint and Cinnamon. Keep one in your purse for after Sac. mtg., one in your car for after Costa Vida. The uses and times to use them are endless. It isn't as good as a real toothbrush, but it makes a big difference when you aren't feeling as fresh as you'd like.
So Jessica got in, we all piled in our two cars and headed for Red Lodge. It was a fun ride, getting to sit and visit with Sara and Mom. I know that Gretchen, Martha and Jessica had some rockin' tunes blaring in their car, but I would have been happy to be in either. We unpacked the cars and chitty chatted for a while before going to bed around 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. I slept great that night. I woke to the sound of a can of soda being opened. Ahhhh. My mom's first-thing-in-the-morning diet pepsi fix. That day, we had massive cinnamon rolls for breakfast and lounged around until well after 1:00. Finally, we headed out to lunch, shopped the little shops, stopped at the grocery store and went back home. We started dinner around 7:00, stayed up very late again. Do you see it? It's all just so much fun.
The next day our candlelit-wine-glasses-full-of-non-alcoholic-bubbly breakfast was fantastic. Fatty's cheese eggs, blueberry muffins, fresh fruit. We cooked a lot from The Pioneer Woman's website. Check it out. On this day, we definitely lounged. I stayed in my pjs all day. All day. Some people went for a walk, some did not. Some of us played wii. Some of us took a nap. We snacked on craptastic (one of our words for the weekend, as well as ruckus and hot totti) snacks all day, watched a movie or two, played a game. Pictures? Oh yes. I didn't take a camera because Honey's camera is SO big. My bag weighed 49.9 lbs. No room. So, some of the other girls took the photos and we'll just be sharing with each other. I'll post a few when I get them.
The last night, I realized that my flight time had been moved from 3:30 to 2:12. Yuck. I wanted to stay longer SO bad. I tried. I searched new flight times, I checked hotel rates, I texted Honey. Uh....I don't think he liked that. He wanted me home. We stayed up watching a movie, but I was getting sleepy, so I went to bed. I didn't actually fall asleep the entire night. My brain was doing cartwheels all night long. Exhausting! But we got everything cleaned up and made it to Billings in time. Brian picked me up from the airport and made a very gracious stop at Sonic on our way home so that I could have a beautiful Rt 44 coke. That night, I didn't sleep either (this is where the sleeping pill comes in).
So, last night I decided to take a couple Tylenol PM. Just before 9:00. At 10:30, I was still awake and reading, but went out shortly after. I didn't wake up until 8:00 this morning. Thank goodness Honey got the boys ready and off to school or they would have been late. I dragged myself out of bed, but was clearly still half asleep until about an hour ago. It's almost 3:30, you gize. All day, I've been a sleepy zombie. I dozed on the couch for about 15 minutes after Honey left for work, but got moving again. Listened to some toons, cleaned up a few things. Then decided to finish my book, but fell asleep on the couch again for about 30 minutes around noon. A coke and a spontaneous visit to Landee perked me up a little. Now I need to wash my hair and make myself presentable for the weekly visit to Chick-fil-A and scout pack meeting tonight at the park. That is, if it isn't raining. Thunder and lightening right now. I'm sitting on my front porch. It's been quite hot today, but the cloud cover we have now is helping a lot and the cool breeze coming off the dark clouds feels great. Sassy is asleep on the couch. ::::::sigh::::::
So, sorry I haven't been blogging much. I'm tired of always feeling that no matter what I'm doing, I should be doing something else. Never ending self-inflicted guilt. Keep an eye out for photos. I promised my sisters that I wouldn't post anything unflattering. So, I may have to do some cropping and editing. I promise I'll keep my promise.
I've left the weekend feeling completely thankful for all of my sisters, completely tired from being too old to stay up so late so many nights in a row, and really anxious for the last 13 days of the school year to just get the heck over with already. Have a great day!!!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Our Birds
This is one of my favorite things. Birds. In the front yard of our house, we have a birdhouse and two feeders. My dad made the birdhouse and gave it to me one year for Christmas. It's made out of really old wood from a fence on my grandpa's farm. It was outside for 2-3 years before any birds showed interest in it. Now, this is the third season we've had these fantastic Tree Swallows living in it. They come in the spring, around the end of April. It usually takes them a week or two to decide they want to stay, but this year in only a few days, they've already begun to gather grass and things to build their nest inside.
These are pictures from the year before last. They had three babies that year.
Last summer, when we left on vacation at the end of June, there were eggs in the nest - quite close to hatching. When we came home a week later, the house was turned to the side. The birds were gone and there were some feathers floating around the yard. We aren't sure what happened. News from one of the neighbors is that she found a little boy on our front porch digging things out of the house and she shewed him away. We also suspected a cat that wanders the neighborhood. At the end of the summer, I decided to clean out the house and found that there were dead baby birds inside, very tiny. Whatever had disturbed the house, caused our Tree Swallows to leave and their newly hatched babies died. Isn't that sad? I'm really happy to see them back this year. I wasn't sure they would give it another try. I've done a lot of reading online about them, their habits, the length of time between the eggs being laid and hatching (about 2 weeks) and how long they stay in the nest before they leave (2-3 weeks). I'm hoping it will all work out this year and I'm anxious to get some good pictures.
One thing I read is that sometimes, you can toss feathers in the air for these birds and they will swoop down and catch them before they hit the ground and then take them into their nest. We tried it last year and it totally worked. It was so much fun! Today, as I've watched them gathering dry grass from the ground, I've decided to go find some feathers for them and scatter them on the front lawn. Aren't I nice? I'll keep you posted!
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