Cats lack opposable thumbs.

Why did you not make the kitty a panini too?
Sad kitty. Hungry kitty. Totally-going-to-waste-away-without-this-panini kitty.

Off to the fun place.

We're off to the fun place this morning-- the vet. Don't worry, everything is ok. This trip is for updating shots and checking out a few things (including a busted toenail with what looks like a nasty bruise. Crazy dog).

I say "the fun place" though because this pooch LOVES the vet's. Everyone is so friendly, and she never associates the vet's with anything miserable, despite the fact that she's been poked, prodded, and pinched there. Nutty girl.

Don't drink the water.

I've come to the conclusion that if you're in the Pacific NW, you may want to avoid drinking the water. EVERYONE is pregnant. Ok, maybe not everyone, but dang. DANG. And no, I'm not on the pregnant list.

Yowza.

The dog love began early....

This love of animals is not a new thing. Clearly.
Me with my childhood dog, Maggie.

I was also somewhat blonde. As in you may need sunglasses to look at these photos.

Bye girls.

Well...

Today I sold 10 chickens, leaving me with 4. I love my hens, and 8 of these girls I raised from chicks.

But...

a) they are almost 1 year old. You can sell 1-year old chickens, but selling 2-year old chickens is much more difficult. Egg production goes down. I knew if I was going to sell, it'd need to be sometime soon.

b) I was going to hold off on selling till spring, but then I realized they aren't laying much due to it being winter. Why feed 10 extra birds if they aren't "earning their keep" and I am going to sell them when they start to lay again?

and finally,

c) the most important reason: we need to sell the coop at some point. I don't want to someday move with it, and I'd rather not sell it and be all desperate to sell it. This way, without us moving right now, we can wait out for sellers and not have to post it for $50 in desperation. Right now, I have 4 interested people who want the coop, so this may work out. Selling the coop also means we have a $200 deposit coming back to us from our landlords (because we built a non-movable coop).

So, right now, there are 4 chickens in a large coop. I kept my brahma, the copper maran, and the two salmons. I need to build a small coop, and my challenge will be to build it lightweight and with materials I already have. Since this coop will likely accompany us to our next home, I want to be pretty careful in its construction.

The other thing that encouraged this decision was what to do with the eggs next year. My neighbor (not Joe-- he's cool. The other neighbor) is going through some difficult personal/family issues, and I think it's best to just give her space. That means no one to sell my eggs to, and I really don't want to have to hunt out buyers each week.

So, the decision has been made. 10 girls are gone. 4 remain. Time to build them new digs.

I don't feel too bad. They're chickens. We knew they were sellable and interchangeable when we first agreed to get them. They're going to a lovely farm with other chickens, the purpose for them to roam around in the yard and lay eggs. We gave them a happy home while we had them.

Now, our cats (one whom even has his head on my shoulder right now and sighs every time I kiss his head) and Maddie? They're never going away. They were permanent decisions. :)

Clearly, these animals are tortured daily.

I mean, clearly. Not comfortable in their homes at all.

Not comfy on the humans' couch...


Or comfortable on the (supposed) dog bed...


Or comfortable splayed-legged on the floor while the cat takes up the dog bed...


Or while on one's bed after stealing a rubber duckie...


Or in the humans' basket on top the dresser...

Not quite sure what to do about this situation.

Sapien case and MASKS!!! Before and after pictures!

I've long appreciated the benefits of the Sapien bookcase. With its flat, many shelves, lots of books can be stored on it. Plus, it fits just about anywhere, providing lots of vertical space while not taking up much horizontal.

Problem is, it's pricey-- between $198 and $298 for the type of model shown above.

So, a long while back I figured out a way to make them. They're not as pretty with teeny tiny thin shelves as the metal version, but hey, it costs me about $15. I'll take that, thank you. It's a system with one back vertical post and then the shelves not only screwed in but also pinched together. It works. If there's enough of a calling, I can do a post. But trust me, it's easy.

I've had a sapien-ish shelf in a few of my (and our) last places. I build them, then move and sell them. That's the deal. I'd never finished up one, so there was no real connection to the piece.

But finally, ours in the corner (and keep in mind this baby is about 8' tall) got to me. Squashed into the corner, it had become the place to stuff things.

Yes, and a place to hide dog toys. I knew part of the issue was that the shelf did not look nice and finished, like a place to be treated well. And, well, I reached my limit with that this week.

Before, the shelf consisted of unfinished pine. Nothing wrong with that, but it just looked rudimentary.

I thought about painting it, but I did not have a big paintbrush at home and I was determined to do this project without buying anything.

So, I stained it. A deep walnut mahogany color:
Don't worry, I did have newspapers underneath. And since it's mid-project, please ignore my floors.

However, the shelf, while it looked great, did not have that umph. I needed the top of each shelf to have some sort of wow factor so that it wouldn't become a stick it spot again. I also wanted the shelf to somehow match my masks.

Getting to the masks.... I COLLECT MASKS. Yes, truly. It's an achingly slow growth, since my rules are that I have to collect them or have a friend collect them. So no ordering off of ebay or something like that. So far, I have 5. One homemade and ones from Italy, Honduras, New Orleans and the Cook Islands. They were just hanging on the wall, kind of looking unimpressive and not-thought about. You can see one of them sadly hanging on the wall if you look up at the before picture of the bookcase, above.

So, getting on with the shelf, I had to decide how to make it pop. So, I took two of my Martha Stewart sampler paints: Francesca (a dark charcoaly with a slight purple) and blueberry pie (purple) to create an eggplantish dark purple color. Keep in mind that the photo below is taken with a flash, so the purple looks much brighter than it is typically.

Yup, I painted purple on top the shelves. I've never stained AND painted before. I give my friend, Natalie, super kudos for talking about this project with me.

And then, I did something even crazier. I needed to put some sort of finish on the wood and paint to have it look glossy. Since I was doing this all indoors (and I wanted to use the bookshelf asap), I did not want to use typical enamels that would stink to high heaven or polyurethane that would require several layers. I just needed something simple.

So I used mod podge. No joke. I read that you could use it on wood! And we're not talking about finishing off a project that cost me $100s. It has purple shelves. Obviously, I was willing to experiment here. AND IT WORKED:

All that done, here is the final project. I used the rest of the purple paint and painted wood cabinet doors I had acquired from the recycle store a few months back for $1 apiece. Those are now backing for the masks, hung by the shelf.
I'm not sure if I'll keep the green banner hung there or on another wall... we'll see. I also went through our books and other things so that not every shelf has books on it. I wanted the shelf to be pretty and functional.
And here are the masks. Going clockwise, starting from the yellow one: New Orleans, homemade, Cook Islands, and Honduras. Italy is currently broken and needs to be fixed before it is put up.

I cannot tell you how happy these projects make me. That corner of the house is so much cleaner and nice. The bookshelf is so much more elevated in stature now-- it feels less poor student and more adult. I love it. And the fact that my masks now get more attention too is something that has needed to occur for a long time.

And, most importantly, NO SPECIAL TRIPS TO THE STORE OCCURRED FOR THESE PROJECTS!

No more tangles!

I needed a solution. My jewelry was a mess. It really had no home. In a box, on my dresser, on the bathroom counter, in the bathroom medicine cabinet and drawer... you get the idea.

I loved the idea of getting one of these cabinets. But our home lacks wall studs (seriously. Not sure what's going on, but we can NEVER find a stud, even with a finder), and I really was extremely hesitant about spending $200 on something that might not work AND might not work in our next home (whenever that happens).


The quasi-home of my jewelry was here, in boxes. It was a difficult system and one which did not work well. BUT, it did work well for earrings (see next photo). So I soon realized my main problem was necklaces.

See? It works well for earrings and smaller things. Yes, it does still need to be organized, but it works, ok?


So I finally decided upon a well-spaced-out TIE RACK! I purchased one from Walmart, but it was metal (but only $6), and then I found a $4 one at Goodwill. I spruced it up, and then hung it on the wall. It took me a while to sort out my necklaces (which were in clumps in a box), but now I actually WEAR them, rather than limiting myself to the few non-clumped ones.


I should also add that, unlike an armoire, the necklaces are free to hang LONG, without me having to worry about them getting caught on the next row of hooks or in the cabinet door. It works really well, and even adds a flash of color to the wall.

For my day-to-day use, I use a little box. I quickly realized that I am irresponsible and lack the fortitude to put my jewelry away everyday. The necklaces are easy; just hang them up. But earrings and such require me to find the box and put them away (SIGH!). I know, I'm pathetic. But, with this little countertop box, I easily plunk the earrings in. Then, every few days, I put them all away in one fell sweep. Hey, it works.


Plus, with the earrings all in one place, I don't lose them.

So, this is what is being tried out right now. It's about 2 weeks in, and it works REALLY well. And B is super-happy to not have my jewelry all over the place.

New life goal: Gecko Bobblehead.

B: I want a Gecko bobblehead doll.

Me: You are not allowed to watch commercials anymore.

B: But it's a Gecko bobblehead doll. I mean, you want lots of things too... a house, insurance, groceries...

...

Yes, he was trying to get a rise out of me with that last sentence.

Pretty darn good list.

It's not a New Year's resolution list, but I love this nonetheless:

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small sep.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29 What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift