Baby strikes again...

 The picture of innocence.

Right?

Not so much.

Get ready, Baby, because I'm going to spill all of your secrets.

Once upon a time the dining room bay window looked like this, 

with a beautiful white pedestal bird perched to the left.

Now I have to be honest, it already had a crack in the breast and a 'patch job' on the beak from when my handsome Mr. B...

...  knocked it over years and years ago. (Wasn't he gorgeous?)

So the bird that looked like this just last week 

(with the cracked breast and patched beak)...

... ended up looking like this. (Yikes!)

After a terrible glue job, it now looks like this. Not much better, I'm afraid.

Hopefully when I have more time I can do a better repair job.

90% of the time Baby is very well behaved.

(After all, look at the company she keeps!)

But the other 10% of the time? Oh, boy!

Baby knows she is not supposed to be on the counter. Does she look guilty?

I don't think so either.

From the time Baby was adopted at 6 months old...

... she was pushing all the limits!

Not much is safe from Baby when she gets into one of her 'moods.'

On rare occasions, valances have been pulled down.

But on a daily basis, runners end up on the floor.

What was once a beautiful, matching pair of vintage boudoir lamps...

... has now been reduced to a single lamp.

The beautiful pressed flower frame that holds a cherished photo of my mom at 4 years old...

.. is now shattered beyond repair.

Every year we wonder if we should put up a tree...

... and nobody's feet are safe in the bathroom when Baby is 'hiding' behind 

the shower curtain before her sneak attacks!

So if we could, would we change a single thing about her?

(photo altered with PicMonkey - link on sidebar)

Not in a million years!
(unless you count maybe being a tad more graceful :)

Have a great week, everyone.

I'm joining Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday and
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday!

Donna

For the love of blue birds...

 I picked up this bluebird music box statue at a thrift store about six years ago because,
after all...

... who doesn't love bluebirds?

A few years later this bluebird gravy boat came home with me because, again,

how could I resist the bluebirds?

I own this video of Shirley Temple in The Blue Bird. 

I love Shirley Temple. And bluebirds.

And this little green 'bluebird house' storage box came home with me from a thrifting expedition a few years ago because... Well, I think by now you know why.

So now that I have this little guy and his friends visiting my very own back yard on a regular basis (for the first time ever!)...

... I've made sure I have all the necessities on hand to entice them to stay such as 

Insect Suet and Mealworm Suet and freeze dried mealworms...

... and fresh water (in a heated birdbath as it's often still below freezing here in New England!)...

... and we put up one bluebird house in the back yard 

(it's the birdhouse that is new wood and hasn't weathered yet)...

... and another in the side yard, both placed 6-8' high because my research said 

that that's the height bluebirds like!

Yes, I'm doing all I can to keep these beautiful little blue birds as regular visitors...

... because it's been THE most amazing experience having them visit us on a daily basis -

a once in a lifetime experience!

(or at the very least, a once in 33 years experience since that's how long 

we've lived in this house without ever seeing a single one!)

So are we tweaking our yard to make them feel welcome?

You betcha!

I'm joining Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
and Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Donna

Our little black dog.... a love story :)

It was 3-1/2 years ago that Mr. J came to live with us and I wrote all about it in this post. 

He was about 9 to 11 years old at the time.

 We learned quickly to not forget to bring the bag of trash out before leaving the house, 

even for the shortest period of time!

Mr. J  immediately became a beloved member of our family, and is to this day!

He's a pretty low key family member, so I'm afraid he doesn't get as much blog time as Baby, his wild and crazy feline sister.

Exactly one year ago today, March 23, 2013, Mr. J came home after a 3 day stay at an Emergency Animal Clinic after life-saving surgery. His spleen had ruptured and he was bleeding internally. Our vet had us rush him to a 24 hour clinic where they could remove his spleen and then watch him for several days.

(Our poor baby the day he came home)

The doctors suggested that if he seemed to be handling the anesthesia well, that they go ahead and remove his right eye at the same time. The lens had shifted and we'd been working with our own vet to try to correct the problem, but nothing seemed to be working. Both our vet and the emergency vet felt he would be better off just having the eye removed, so we agreed.

After all, we'd had first hand experience with our sweet Ms. Gizmo (who crossed the rainbow bridge in 2008). She was about 13 or 14 when she had to have her eye removed to to complications with diabetes. And we'd seen how well she'd adapted to one eye, despite being practically blind in the other. She lived several more very happy years being a one-eyed pup.

And just like Ms. Giz, Mr. J has adapted wonderfully. 

Here he is napping with little Lamb Chop on his favorite chenille rug.

It's right in front of the hutch which sits between the dining area and living room.

There's a reason he likes this spot.

When he finally wakes from his naps, he has a clear view to the kitchen.

He knows what is in the kitchen.

Dog treats.

You'll see how he still has laser vision when it comes to catching a dog treat, 

even with just one eye!

And here he is retrieving Lamb Chop after a game of catch and, as always, enjoying a little tug of war at the end. His little tail starts wagging whenever we start that game!

Yes, our little 'Enchanted Cottage' wouldn't be quite so enchanted without our little Mr. J (who loves nothing more than to bury his nose in the snow before he comes inside!)

(This picture was not taken today - our snow is JUST ABOUT GONE!!!)

Have a great week, everyone!

Donna

The early bird gets the...

... house!!

As many of you know, as soon as our bluebirds arrived, we immediately ordered and hung a couple of bluebird houses. And although the bluebirds have been checking out the houses...

... they may have waited a wee bit too long to stake claim to them! At least this house.

This scene unfolded mere minutes ago. Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow seem like very serious contenders as they discuss the pros and cons of this new home.

Mr. Sparrow checked out the neighborhood (tree) while Mrs. Sparrow sat firmly on the roof lest some other birds come along looking for a new house.

Looks like I've been spotted!

Apparently I didn't scare them off because they're now peeking inside.

Well, they've now both inspected the inside and Mrs. Sparrow is taking one last look at the view from the front door before they make their final decision.

It looks like it's a done deal. Mrs. Sparrow just dropped some 'bedding' inside the front door and I see that Mr. Sparrow has some in his beak as well.

Ahhhh, spring is definitely in the air (although you'd never know it by the temps!)

"Honey, I'm home!"

Sorry, my bluebirds. There's still one more house mounted in the yard and one more waiting to be mounted. Don't forget, the early bird gets the (meal)worm and the house!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Donna