Knee Deep

I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I have just been... preoccupied.  Since we have come to the realization that we will be living in this house for a while, or at least someday sell and hopefully profit on it, we decided to start working on some home improvement projects.  We bought this house after the owners foreclosed on it and put it on the market at a steal of deal.  It was too good to pass up so we took advantage of what started out as a bad situation.

Since this was a rental for so long, many things had been neglected.  It was fairly dirty, there are chunks of drywall missing in places and bad patch jobs in others.  There is no color on the walls, the carpet has been well worn, and the appliances were overused and not very efficient.  The first goal was to paint.. everything.  However plans changed and we started to do a mini kitchen renovation.  After some quotes, we decided we would do most of it ourselves other than the counter top refinishing.

I will have some before/after pictures eventually, once I locate the befores.  It is finally starting to come together nicely although it was sketchy at first.  I was without a sink and dishwasher for about 2 weeks and I have since come to truly appreciate their presence in my kitchen.  Washing dishes in my bathtub was getting really tiring.  I realize this is a first world problem  but most of the problems in America are.  Sometimes we just don't realize how good we have it.

I digress... so far, we have a new stove, dishwasher and microwave (that still needs to be installed), and new sink and faucet (that yours truly installed herself).  The counters are refinished and I am about 80% sure of a paint color.  I need to find some curtain fabric so I can take down the horrid faux wood blinds.  It will be nice when things get spruced up with some new paint.  We are also hoping to paint all the cabinets and trim.  We have learned so much about each other and home improvement in these last few weeks.  I also appreciate the people who do this sort of work for a living as it really is an art form.

I am trying to do a little more reading lately.  We went to the book store to look at some books the other day and I found this little gem in the bargain shelves.

Now I know most of you won't appreciate the all kinds of wonderful this little book holds, but for my fellow lefties, trust me when I say how great it is.  I would never have thought to read books on being left-handed but growing up as a lefty in a right-handed world, I can honestly find the humor and truth within these pages.

My kids are all on Spring Break this week so that in itself has presented many challenges.  Thankfully we have had good weather compared to some that are experiencing snow storms in March.  I think Punxsutawny Phil better run for cover because I know a few people who would like to have his hide!  I, on the other hand will be enjoying almost 70 degree weather in the upcoming days where I will be planning the final layout for my 2013 garden.

Happy Spring y'all!

For the Birds

We had an unusually cold winter this year.  For a few weeks it was below freezing constantly.  We have had a few warm days since that cold spell but the last few days it has been really windy and chilly.  I can't wait for some warmer weather when I can get my garden going and spend time outside.

This winter we decided to put up a bird feeder.  When I was young, we had one in our backyard that my dad built.  I loved identifying all the different birds and seeing the same ones come back time and time again. I have wanted one here for a long time and a couple weeks ago Brent thought we needed one too.

My childhood cat, Patches, waiting in the birdfeeder

I have really enjoyed having birds around.  Our dog, Kati, who happens to be a bird dog, happens to think its pretty great to have all the tweeties in the yard.  She has long since ignored the chickens but is enticed by the little ones.  Part of what makes having a bird feeder around is the fact that many of the birds found in Idaho, were not found in Tennessee.  I have my handy little bird identification books around so I can look them up.

Some of the things we discovered is how many hawks are around here.  We see hawks flying around all the time but usually not in our backyard.  Last summer a Robin built its nest in our tree and hatched five little babies.  The kids were excited.  Then one day one of the kids went to check on the babies and the nest was totally empty.  Someone said it might have been a Magpie, but we don't usually see those either. After we put up the feeders, there were a lot of hawks hanging around.  So we thought maybe it was a hawk that plucked those featherless babies from the safety of their nest.

Kati is not enthused with the chickens

We have watched some hawks nose dive the little house sparrows and goldfinches.  We have even found some feathers on the ground.  One day there was a young Cooper's hawk on our fence eating what appeared to be a little bird.  This just proved that they are around in full force.  I know next time I have baby chickens I will be really careful to keep them safe.  It would be horrible to have one plucked from the pen by a hawk.

Some of the other birds we have seen are various finches, a downy woodpecker, several Northern flickers, and many doves, starlings, and robins.  I am hoping spring will bring back some of the migrating birds and we will see some different species.  I also want to put up a hummingbird feeder.  I am really glad we decided to put up the feeders this year and hopefully we will enjoy them for many seasons to come.