Evita Bird

Says Hello and Happy Weekend

Edison makes himself at home

MorC in Gen Pop. . .

MorC is doing great. He was barely anxious about getting around the house and other pets. Here, Dexter tries to ball-up and challenge "Stray Cat Morrone." It fizzled out rapidly.

They are all sleeping and snuggling with C currently.

Anyone want a cat? He's getting his collar tomorrow and then I won't be able to part with him!!!

We are thinking Edison for the Cat's name. . .??

Central Air and the Crack House

(Mostly) C and I are pretty militant about cleaning the house on Thursday evenings. I would clean every night given the chance. . .

We missed last evening because MorC was being released from the capable hands of DocSide Vet. (Fantastic vets. Love, love, love).

Anyway, that left this evening for our typical tag-team cleaning efforts. How lucky am I to have a husband that helps clean? (That's not sarcastic)

C had been home hours before me and had the laudry humming. I put dishes in the dishwasher and let'er rip. I know. . .It's a carbon foot-print nightmare but sometimes it becomes a get 'er done situation.

Needless to say, the house got pretty steamy fast between the dryer and to a lesser degree the dishwasher.

I have figured out how to lower the thermostat on the little touch screen thingy that controls my comfort. . .It wasn't so much that the house was "hot" - it was more humid. . With the fact that it's humid outside, dryer running, dishwasher running, me and C running up and down cleaning, and pets merely breathing. . .It was nearing humid hell. (which by the way, I've always hoped hell would be a dry heat).

Enter me with my superior thermostat taming skills. . .Immediately the AC kicks on. . .

Shortly thereafter the following dialogue ensues:

d: (damp mopping the main level floors)
C: Wow! Central air makes all the difference. Can you remember when we didn't have it?
d: Yes.
C: Remember when we used to spend all day in a room with one window unit?
d: (Exercising tremendous restraint and furiously mopping the tile entry). "I think of it like child-birth: You never remember how painful it really is."
C: It wasn't that bad without AC
d: Not that bad if you recently left a crack house in Calcutta
C: Crack house? If you want a crack house, I'll jack my shorts down another 3 inches and you'll have a crack house. How would you like that?

I wouldn't. Thanks for the offer.

Instruments of Insanity

Glus and scissors (right handed of course). . .

Tonight's Insanity

Cat is safely home and doing well. I see we have no takers. Guess it's time to settle on a name other than MorC. Here's yet another preschool craft du juor. The glue layer is presently drying. Paper crinkled a little. We'll see.

Mornin' - Sky #61

Woke up yesterday with Psalm 23 in my head. Weird. I know. But comforting too.

Every day is a fresh start. A beautiful adventure. A chance to laugh and smile. . .An opportunity to do good, the right thing, give more, complain less.

Love Hurts

MorC put up quite a fight the first time we tried to load him into his carrier. Poor C. Our last weekend "get away" earned him a tick (without finding the geo-cache). . .He's almost off the antibiotics for that trip.

AND this trip he gets clawed by a stray cat. . .Which is now nearly $700 later no longer a stray. . .

I've said this before. . .There is a special spot in heaven for C. Hopefully, my spot is located far away so he can finally enjoy himself! hahaha.

Lessons from the Little Fellow. . .

So with Bitty Baby Elephant, I was determined to stop the spray adhesive madness. I am currently sporting "Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ" nail polish and didn't want to ruin it with acetone un-gumming.

*Mrs. O'Leary reminds me go give a big shout to friends R&B who recently relocated to Chicago. I WANT to visit ASAP. I NEED your address ASAP-er. . .LOL! But seriously. . .address. now. I promise I won't visit unannounced B!

So here's what I've learn-ned from this project:

1. Heavy paper/card stock works really well. Lighter weight stuff puckers. You can manipulate the puckers but it takes a lot of patience and we all know I am lacking. . .esp. when it comes to manipulating phuckers. . .Who has time?! (I tried that with ex-boyfriends - it never worked out! haha. I adore all of your phuckers to this day. . .)

2. I avoided spray adhesive completely by using a toothpick to apply regular Elmer's glue lightly to the heavy paper to tack it to the canvas.

3. Using almost nearly full-strength Elmer's glue (v. little water -way less than I used the first time) works really well. It's awesome - dries clear.

If you can use scissors, have minimal control with a paintbrush and can afford white non-toxic school glue, you can do this with pretty good results.

Interesting fact about homeeckwreck? I am left-handed but use scissors only right handed. I fondly remember my first pair of left handed safety scissors. I was about 5 and they didn't have the green rubber handles like the ones in pre-school. Rather they had a big LEFTY stamped into the outside of one blade. I got this magical tool a few days before Christmas. I not only cut construction paper for holiday cards. . .I also cut my hair, my brand new Malibu Barbie's hair, and allegedly my sister's hair too.

All went well with my little pair of rounded tip safety scissors for a few years. By 4th or 5th grade, most kids graduated to the sharper-tipped instruments better suited for precision cutting. Finding a LEFTY pair with a point was virtually impossible. We all know I'm to OCD to have a ragged or ripped edge on something unless it's intentional. So I started cutting right handed.

I've never gone back. Right is Right for me in terms of using scissors. I've also cross-trained myself to eat right handed so I'm not throwing elbows at someone at a dinner party.

(If you've ever seen me really hungry, or really excited about a fav food - blue cheese thank you very much, or even seen me in general - you know "throwing elbows at the table" is a relatively accurate description. d likes dinners!!!! And apparently breakfast, lunch, and anything in between given my complete lack of self control lately - healthful living is a marathon not a sprint and I've got to be even more disciplined).

If anyone wants to volunteer to "walk me" or would barter for other services - Self-control-support when I really want that 400 calorie Trader Joe's Sublime Ice Cream Sandwich, etc. please let me know!!! LOL!

Bitty Baby Elephant

Clearly I'm obsessed with pre school paper crafts!

Tilghman

I guess we know where he slept all weekend when we were gone. He didn't even TRY to slink off the sofa when I approached. How do I correct this? A challenge for a new day.

Little Fellow is AWAKE!!!

A bit of a kindred spirit?

Probably mostly just tom-cat on the prowl - instincts.

Luckily, I can sleep through anything. . .And he's going to the vet tomorrow.

Cat Rescue: Screamer v Snuggler

We weren't the only ones suckered into yet another cat adoption. Mom has a new one too. Let me introduce you to Callie Ann (as in calico). . .She won't SHUT UP. I don't want to gloat too much as my little fellow is quiet (for now).

Look out We've Got a Snuggler #97

Allister was immediately curious. Dexter was immediately insulted and irked. There was some hissing on both their parts but little MorC (Mason or Camden) didn't hiss back. In fact, he seemed happy just to go to sleep.

I'm still in awe of the resiliency of pets and children.

Look Out We've Got a Snuggler!

Here is our newest arrival. He's either a Mason or a Camden. (For obvious reasons). He barely cried and never tinkled the whole time in the car. When he got out of his travel crate, he stepped right into his temporary digs (isolation until neutering, vaccinations, declawing, etc.). He hasn't made a peep since. He's been asleep mostly. C questioned whether he was sick. I don't think he's sick. I think he's just so happy to be inside and safe. Of course there is the slim chance he's morning the swift disappearance of his testicles. (Which are freakishly large - I'll admit it).

Mom's Garden #39

Mom's Garden #37

Mom's Garden #31

If Allister could Twitter. . . .

"If you bring one more vile beast into this house, I will leave you for good and pursue my modeling interests. I don't care how snuggly you are or how much you're willing to feed me."

Raystown Dam at Dusk #68

Raystown Dam at Dusk #69

Raystown Dam at Dusk #76

The cleared tree-less spot on the ridge line is the "Overlook." In the foreground to the left is the "boo-eeee" which was the object of D and J's rock tossing target practice.

Raystown Dam at Dusk #70

Sister D winds up for a rock launch. Later this evening we also discovered her physical prowess also applies to just about any sort of Wii Fit activity you can imagine.

Raystown Dam at Dusk #73

Sister and her boyfriend attempt to hit the "navigational beacons" aka boo-eees with small rocks. The verdict is you need one hell of an arm to do it. Also realize I should have been using the setting for "action/sports" for this picture. It's not as crisp as it should be. The waning light was my biggest concern. I'm not sure I captured it successfully either. It should be more vibrant.

Tulip III

I think what this pic demonstrates is you can still get an interesting photo even if you have no idea what the eff you're doing. I thought photography was about light and technical and artistic skill. Maybe it's also about luck. My haphazard methods work some of the time. However, if you asked me what I did to get this picture or why, I could offer no explanation.

Tulip II

Tulip I

More practice with the camera features. . .I like how soft the first tulip looks.

Iris II

The new camera has all these bells and whistles. I took photos of Mom's garden to try out a few features. Here, you can choose what you'd like to focus on in an auto setting. (I'm not advanced enough to use the manual settings yet.) You can pick to focus foreground or background. This is obviously background in contrast to the previous post where I tried to focus on the foreground.

Iris I

Bird on a Wire

One of the tree swallows who are nesting in a box in Mom's yard. I like this photo a lot. Mom also has pairs of nesting Robins and house finches. We also were lucky enough to see a pair of Orioles when we visited Raystown Dam Sunday evening. Neither C nor I had seen an Oriole in ages. We were hoping to spot a nest but did not. Maybe next time. . .

The List

Apparently if you want to make sure your husband picks up the proper items at the grocery, you don't just give a description. . .You also make a diagram.

Equally apparent: If you do not necessarily draw well, you follow up with a description of what the diagram is not. Hahaha!!!

Guess what D did Now?!

Ugh. Huntingdon seems recently over run by stray cats. There is now one less. I know it's crazy since our ark is practically full but he really does need a home. If there are any takers please comment. He's being fixed, declawed, micro-chipped and vaccinated tomorrow.

Years and Lives in Boxes

Today my Mother opened the 'holy grail' of memories: Boxes of slides loaded neatly into cartridges ready for a slide show. Some of the slides pre-dated my arrival by quite a few years and I always wanted to see them. Others painstakingly chronicled my and my sisters' first minutes, hours, and weeks.

Of course the projector and screen are long gone but the slides remain in all their kodachrome magic. The photos are snapshots of people and places and events and memories that can live eternal for generations to come. Technology has made the slide obselete but also offers solutions to keep the memories alive. I am proud to help.

In the sea of a confusing and chaotic world, family and grounding and orientation become a life raft. The older I become, the more dearly I cling to it.

Some of these slides will come to my home to be made into memories for my children and the children of my sisters. (And safely returned to home base of course).

And so on a day when we are to give gifts to ours Mothers for all they are and do, our Mother has once again, given her children a priceless and everlasting gift.

Mom would be embarrassed by all this thought and fawning but luckily for her, she doesn't do computers and likely will never know! ;)

Great Aunt Cece's

Salt n Pepper shakers. Cece married a man my Mother referred to affectionately as Binky. They had a daughter Sylvia. It is my understanding Sylvia died while giving birth. Tho I should re-confirm to be sure my story is accurate.

Happy Mother's Day!

Spent a very nice weekend with my Mom, Grandma, and sisters. Spent time eating and talking and looking at old photos. It was calm and pleasant and a nice way to share our common experiences and learn even more about my family.

Regretably, I did not get to spend time with my Stepmom or Mom in law. Big hugs and much love to them and I hope to spend time with them soon.

Thanks to moms everywhere who sacrifice so much, love so fiercly, and ask so little in return.
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The breast of the dam

Raystown Lake

Back to the old stompin grounds

Raystown Lake

Spring in HUntingdon PA

Petunias patiently wait to be planted. How's that for some fine alliteration before a full cup of coffee?