Mice and big, hairy babies

I don't know what it is, but it seems that a theme of hairy animals has come into my life the past few days.

It all started with a crunching-type sound up in our attic, above our bedroom. (Why do these things always happen right after you to bed?)

I nudge my hubby. "Do you hear that?" I whisper.

To which he replies sleepily, "Nooo..."

"I do," I say. "It's a mouse. We have a mouse in the attic."

No response, just the sound of restful breathing.

"Honey!" I whisper louder. "How can you sleep at a time like this???"

*SNORT!* SNORE!* "...huh?..."

"Mice! They're up there chewing our things, having wild mousey sex and having lots of babies!"

More snorting, more snoring, then...only snoring.

I give up, knowing that he has to wake up at 5:00 AM to get to work on time. But, I am wide-eyed the rest of the night, with visions of mice chewing through the ceiling and dropping down onto our bed - on my side, of course. (I later google mouse habits and discover that "one happy mouse couple" can give birth to 100 offspring in a one year period.)

He calls me the next day from work. "...and we need mouse traps," I remind him. "Lots of them. For every room, just in case. At least five for each room, including the attic and basement." (I later find out he hangs up the phone and informs his coworkers that his wife is demanding over $80 worth of traps for one mouse.)

Fast forward to yesterday. I am on my way home and spot a beautiful fawn looking frightened and alone in a meadow. There is no doe in sight. Knowing that it would only run if I approached it (besides, what would I do with a fawn? Load it in my van?), I did the only thing I knew to do. Turn around and take pictures.

I continue on my way home, trying not to worry about this baby deer, trying not to worry about it running out in front of a vehicle, trying not to worry about it starving to death without its mother, when Hubby calls.

"I found a hamster," he says. "Either a hamster or gerbil, I don't know the difference."

Remembering that we trapped no mice in our attic but one mole in our basement (a mole?? in a finished basement???) I ask, "Where?" I am, for one fleeting moment, wondering how in the world a stray hamster would enter our house.

"On the side of the road. In a pink cage."

Sure enough, I get home and there in a pink cage, is a very fat sleeping hamster. Hubby explains that someone had set it at the side of the road, under a tree and he describes an area to me that I know has no nearby houses. Clearly, it was abandoned. The cage had been freshly cleaned with food and fresh water provided.

The hamster moves about clumsily, eats little or nothing and is really, really pudgy. He talks about taking it to an acquaintance who has several kids. I suggest we wait a few days to make sure it's not sick or pregnant. I would hate to give it to children who would get attached to it, only to have it die within a few hours and would also hate to have their parents hate us for giving us not one, but potentially seven or eight hamsters. (If you have any knowledge of pregnant or sick hamster behavior, I would certainly appreciate your advice. Like, how can you tell whether one is pregnant or sick?)

By the way, let me also suggest here that you not try to understand how the thought of a mouse in our home totally scares and disgusts me while my heart goes out to a similar rodent. I, myself, don't understand.

So...the hamster remains snuggled up in its corner, sleeping away, as I type this.

And, as I am typing this, I am interrupted by the sound of a barking dog outside and realize it is our mutt, Frankie. Looking outside, I see two cows in our back yard.

Calves, actually. What is this, with all these hairy creatures coming around me all of a sudden?

Realizing they are surely from the herd that lives next door, I look for Hubby, who instructs me to stand guard while he looks for the owner. Have you ever tried to guard a cow? How about two of them? (I should probably add here that, while I am "guarding" these calves, our cockatoo is inside yelling, "PAPA!!!")

Again, the only thing I knew to do was grab my camera. I really have to blog this, I am thinking.

Now, as the owners have responded to our phone call and are trying to find the calves' escape route, I wonder what type of animal to prepare for next.

We've Another WINNER and We're Not Political Here...

Congratulations to our newest Giftaway winner, Polly of Counting Your Blessings ! Polly will receive her choice of the vintage aprons shown here (scroll down to the slide show), the votive holders and vintage dish shown here (scroll to the last two pictures in the post) and some surprises that I like to include in my Giftaways! Polly, please email me at Miller.sher@yahoo.com with your snail addy info!

Everyone who posted a comment earlier today will be included in this month's (September, of course!) Giftaway. I'll post photos of that gift package in a few days. Why not now? Because, as normal, I still haven't put everything together.

Now, for my nonpolitical statement: WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE

Remember, it was not until 1920 That women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed Nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking For the vote. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing Went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.' (Lucy Burns) They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above Her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping For air. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her Head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, Beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women. Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, When the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his Guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because They dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right To vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their Food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks Until word was smuggled out to the press. So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because- -why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining? Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new Movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle These women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling Booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder. All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the Actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient. My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, Saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk About it, she looked angry. She was--with herself. 'One thought Kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use, or don't use, My right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just Younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The Right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.' HBO released the movie on video and DVD . I wish all history, Social studies and government teachers would include the movie in Their curriculum I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere Else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, But we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think A little shock therapy is in order. It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.' Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so Hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote. History is being made. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf

A New Do, More Pillows and More Babies!

As I sit here typing today's entry, I am much happier than my husband is. Why? One word - haircut. What is it about men, that they almost always prefer that their wives or girlfriends have long(ish) hair? Before I left yesterday for my appointment he insisted on taking a picture of me. It was like, "Let me have something to remember what you looked like before this terrible, irreversible atrocity is done..." LOL. Men! Anyway, here is his "before" picture and here is the after

It feels so much better to be able to lean forward and perform closeup tasks (like thread a sewing machine or paint tiny details on a piece) without my hair falling forward. But it feels great to not have to worry about a sweaty mass of it falling into my eyes while I'm outside in the garden or hand sanding delicate detail on an antique chair.

And still another new do: I've switched pictures around (again) on my banner. Yep, I'm still playing!

It's time for another reminder! Don't forget that tomorrow is the last day for entering this month's Giftaway. The name drawing is Monday! For any of you who may be new to this blog, all you have to do to qualify is leave a comment! I have a monthly Giftaway so make sure you return again with another comment!

When I gave the tip on stuffing pillow corners the other day, I failed to show you the reverse side of the pillow I was working on: This is just the cutest toile. Don't you just love these sketches of happy kids?

I finished this one, too - here's the front and back.

The vintage button in the middle is shaped like a little flower. I'm working on some door pillows now for the holidays. You know that at least one will end up in a Giftaway!

Finally, I had to share this picture that Hubby snapped this morning: (Snap on the photo and you can see the open mouthed baby!)

This birdhouse is above our smokehouse shed. We don't know how many babies are in the nest; it's too high to peer into. We do know that this particular duplex birdhouse is probably the busiest that we've had this year. Both upper and lower units have been occupied all year and we've watched at least five different families of babies learn to fly the short distance from each "doorway" to a nearby Maple tree.

An Award! Stuffing Pillow Corners and This is Organized?

What's that saying about the plans of mice and men? It obviously applies to women, too.

My hairdresser called to postpone my appointment until tomorrow. She basically overcooked herself in a tanning bed last night and is in a lot of pain. She said she is red all over, from her top (literally) to her bottom (literally) and all she can do is lay on her bed with nothing touching her skin. Ouch! I hope she considers seeing a doctor.

But I have news and I have pictures! Thanks, Deb , for passing your "I (Heart) Your Blog" Award on to me! I love awards and am so honored whenever someone (electronically) hands one to my blog!

Here are the rules of this award.

1. The receiver can put the logo on their blog

2. Link the person you received your award from

3. Nominate at least 7 other bloggers.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you mentioned.

The seven bloggers I nominate are:

Cynthia at Rust and Splinters, Tomboy at a Day in the Life of a Tomboy, Margo at Margo's Junkin' Journal, Karla at Karla's Cottage, Bebe at Bebe's Peaches and Dreams, Kim at Dear Daisy Cottage, and last but not least, Jenn, the Thrift Shop Romantic.

There are many other bloggers I visit daily, including the ones above. But I'm limited to seven and hope you (they) understand.

I told you previously that I've been making accent pillows. While I was working on one this afternoon, it dawned on me that I should share a pillow-making tip with those of you who are interested. It has to do with pillow corners. You know how hard it is to get the stuffing to stay in those corners? Here's a secret: Before you turn your pillow inside-out, stitch a bit of stuffing on to the outside margin of the corner. Then, turn it and stuff it as usual.

Finally, these last pictures are for Deb, who used to think she had the messiest craft room around. Then she saw mine and quickly let me know that I "won" that distinction. Okay, keep in mind that what you are about to see is still (a) a work in progress, (b) getting organized but not necessarily neater, (c) not the entire room because I'm barely halfway finished and (d) that it has taken me several weeks to get this far (which gives you an idea of how large an undertaking it is).

With this in mind and a deep breath, here goes:

This is above my main sewing area. The little storage compartment units aren't new - they're the same. But I have about a half zillion old bobbins and decided to put them to work. I wrapped my ribbons (by color) around them and they're now out in the open where I can see them.

Immediately adjacent to that is my television (I'm addicted to Bravo and True TV). It sits atop a shelf that sits atop my sewing table. It might be unconventional, but it provides more storage for me. And I DO need storage!

Right next to that is another work table with (of course) another shelf on it. Told you I need storage.

This is a temporary solution for the gobs of trim I have. I still have unused bobbins; maybe I'll do the ribbon thing with all this trim. (There's more behind what you can see in this pic)

Here is the closet under the stairs. I can see the floor! I have more fabric and some old frames stored in here.

This is the new old cabinet Hubby hung for me the other day. I can hide more stuff in here.

Yes, I have Hoarder Disorder but I'm trying to cure it by using everything I have before buying anything else. Kinda hard when you're an antiques dealer and constantly fixing, painting, recovering, etc. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

My BFF, Janet, has seen this in person when she visited a couple years ago from Kansas. So, Janet, do you see any improvement? LOL!

Wait! Don't Go...

You're in the right place! I just decided to (finally) change my banner and, thanks to the Cutest Blog on the Block I have a new layout. I like the layout but haven't quite decided about the banner. What's your opinion? Maybe I should actually pay someone to do a banner for me...

The layout itself is free! How cool is that? Plus, all you have to do is "cut and paste" to use the layout.

Well, this past weekend was Nascar time here in east Tennessee. I never go to the races (just like, when I lived in Indianapolis, never went hardly ever went to the Indianapolis 500. (I think I may have been to two actual "500" races, although I'll admit calling in sick to work on a few occasions to watch the qualifications. I always reported back to work with a tan...)

The one thing I do enjoy about the Bristol races is the flyover that the Air Force does before each major race. Three jets circle over the Speedway (and our house) several times and it is an awesome sight and sound.

The only thing I accomplished today was more peaches canning. Okay, I did get a few other things accomplished, but canning is the only thing that will get noticed. Regular housework is one of those things that nobody notices unless it's NOT done. I knew you'd know what I mean. It and laundry are completely thankless jobs.

I've had a few of you either email me or call me to make sure I'm okay. I think it's awesome that you care enough to check on me! But I've been fine, just knee-deep in canning. Here's a corner of my basement pantry:

And, would you believe, I'm not finished yet?! Next on the agenda: PEARS! Know any good recipes? I tried a recipe last night for peach upside down cake. It didn't have a bad taste but it tasted kinda doughy and reminded me of bread pudding my great-grandma used to make us when we were growing up.

A couple of weeks ago, Hubby and I were complaining to each other that the fruit on our apple trees were looking more like crab apples than Granny Smith. I'm now beginning to think this might be a blessing.

I know this is a short post (for me). Tomorrow morning's plans include a trip to the shop to rearrange, "fluff" and add to our inventory, then on to a hair appointment at 11:00. Tomorrow afternoon should be relatively "free" (we all know that, to a housewife, "free" simply means grocery shopping, cleaning and every day things that have to be done that never make it on a to do list because every day things look silly on a to do list). I'm hoping to squeeze in some blogging time in there.

'Till then,

Bits and Pieces, This 'n That

It's been a few days since I've posted so I thought I'd share with you what I've been doing. Remember our peach-laden peach tree? If not, here's a reminder pic:

We have a similar tree toward the back of our property and it, too, had to have its limbs propped up to prevent the branches from breaking. Well, the peaches have been falling off the tree faster than we can pick them. Our next door neighbor told us her freezer can't handle anymore; we gave them at least four bushels. We gave several bags to neighbors behind us, neighbors across the street and even to a couple people who stopped by asking if we would sell any. We ended up giving them about a bushel and a half and they left overjoyed. I'm out of room in my freezer so I've resorted to canning the rest.

This isn't all of them - there are still several on the tree and they are awaiting their turn in my canner.

Then, one evening I decided to embroider the words "Nice Counts" for another pillow. I love tone-on-tones and decided to use some of my pink fabric stash, then decided it needed some "bling" around the edges. I like the way it looks but boy, was it tedious to handstitch this little rope of beads "in the ditch" (meaning it was stitched along the seams).

I found an old octagonal box (oops, I spaced the before picture!) at a yard sale for a dollar. I don't know why in the world I was attracted to it, it was filthy and needed repair. I cleaned it up, discovered the repair job was an easy one, then it told me that it really wanted to be made pretty. It already had the little white ceramic knob with it, so out comes the pink spray paint, a cute little doily to serve as a resting spot for the knob and voila! I love it! It's now sitting on my dresser, being cuddled by this old faceless doll. Oh, almost forgot - maybe soon I'll have some updated shots of my sewing/craft studio. My hubby hung a "new" vintage cabinet for me today, giving me more storage. I'm really trying to get it organized in there. But look what he did last night while I was trying to move things around to make room for the cabinet: No, Silly, I'm not married to this bird. The bird is Bailey, our cockatoo - you've seen him before! Get a load of what he's doing. Hubby gave him a whole slice of pizza! He thought it would make a cute picture. Of course, Bailey loved it and ate quite a bit of it.

Speaking of birds (and also neighbors), the lady next door knows I love birds and antiques. She saw this at a yard sale and said she had to get it for me. Isn't that sweet of her? It's sitting on a shelf above my computer. I have at least another day of canning peaches, then I'll be on to some new projects.

What have you been up to lately? (Remember, leaving a comment will get you entered in this month's Giftaway!)

More on this Month's Giftaway and a Candle-lier Redo

Not too far from here is a little old farmhouse that has been abandoned for several years. The exterior shows obvious signs of neglect. The wood planks that make up the front porch have curled up in areas like a perm gone bad; much of the paint has been beaten off by the weather and the roof - well, the roof looks like you would expect the tin roof of an old abandoned place to look.

Still, the house holds some form of mystery for me. It's in an area of town where one would not expect an empty house to sit for years on end. The lawn stays mowed, yet the house remains unoccupied.

Now, imagine me driving my van past the house today, past a small sign in the yard that reads, "Yard Sale". Yard sale??? Now, imagine how quickly I found a place in the road wide enough to negotiate a U-turn.

I was greeted by a sweet elderly couple who was obviously happy to share a story, their story - anybody's story, actually - to anyone willing to listen. They had just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last week. She was 77 years old; he was 84. The best anniversary gift, she told me, was the one the doctor gave them yesterday when he told her husband he would no longer need cancer treatments. He was cancer free. She clasped her tiny hands as she gave praises to God. Her excitement was contagious and I had to hug this sweet stranger.

They told me that they had purchased this house four years ago. He was much more spry then than he is now, her husband told me. The repairs would probably take him awhile to do. The people who used to live there were "really old" when they died, she explained. I had to wonder how old "really old" was to this 77 year old youngster. She told me matter-of-factly the house had been in that family for years, until everyone got old and died. All except for the son, who had promised them that, if he ever wanted to sell the place, he would give them first dibbs. The house came with all that was in it. Although I didn't see a lot of furniture, there were piles of books, window coverings, Christmas ornaments and items that had been handmade by the unnamed lady of the house. She had obviously been skilled in crochet, knitting and sewing. Piles of handwoven place mats, old but never used, were spread across a dining room table. It was in the midst of these place mats that I found these aprons.

Well, to make a long story not quite so long, the aprons made it home with me. And why am I telling you this story? Because it affects YOU, if you choose to get in on this month's Giftaway. In addition to the items I've already told you will be included, the winner will get to choose one of these sweet vintage aprons (I'm guessing they were made in the 40's or early 50's) as part of their prize. Apron Selection - August Giftaway

And all you have to do to be eligible is comment!

I've had this black iron hanging candle rack drifting around in the shops for almost two years. I finally decided it needed a facelift, a whole new look. So, I brought it home, hung it in the tree and thanks to magic fairy dust in the form of white spray paint, Phase One was about to begin. (Okay, call it Phase Two if you want to count Phase One as covering up the copper flame protectors.) The final stage was to sew sleeves to cover the chains, slip them into place and add candles. Oh, and to add a strand of little bubble-bauble things...

It's probably hard for you to get the full idea of this little changeover, as I took the picture this morning after hanging it in the shop.

What do you think? Tell me the truth, I can take it. Actually, I probably couldn't take it if the truth is that it looked better before. But then, it did hang in the shop for almost two years... Okay, tell me the truth. Really.