Senior Prom

I'm not sure how it is possible that I have a senior in high school, that is graduating in just a few weeks.

Can someone please explain that to me??

Earth Day Giveaway!

From the Natural Kids Team! Fabulous array of gifts to be won! You can see the collection on the right of my blog. You can click on each item to see what can be won.

Simply go here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4db068be92738eef9319079a/win-this-naturalkids-team-earth-day

If you're not already registered as an Etsy user, you'll need to register, which just takes a few seconds. Then just leave a comment on the Treasury!

Giveaway ends this Monday, April 25th.

Happy Earth Day!

Road Runner Conversation

Yep. They're sitting on a nest - we've seen both Mama and Papa. Yesterday evening, one of them had a very large lizard dangling from his mouth. I chased the black cat away. I have a feeling I'm going to do a lot of cat chasing. Anybody have any good ideas to keep him away, without scaring the road runners? Should I spray around the tree with amonia/vinegar? Put out moth balls?

This morning I went outside and had a quiet discussion with whichever parent-bird was sitting on the nest. He listened to me, cocking his head to the side, trying to understand this strange language.

They are fast, and difficult to get a good picture! I snapped this one from inside my little office - Mrs RoadRunner had come to visit in the little courtyard. Picture is taken from the other side of the screen - sorry!

I'm excited for baby road runners!

It's a wild country with lots of predators, so I'm going to keep fingers and toes crossed.

Something ELSE in the Tree!

(photo courtesy wikipedia)

I remember the first time I ever saw a roadrunner, and not the one that tortures Wily E Coyote. (did I spell that right??)

Although they can fly, they spend most of their time on the ground. We've seen them catch lizards. Sometimes they are very curious, and don't run away.

I've heard that they can get very used to humans.

This morning, I saw one hop in the big mesquite tree in our front 'yard' (not really a yard, no grass...).

I wandered outside to see what he was doing.

He/She has built a nest.

See his/her head? Right in the middle of the picture, through all the leafy foliage.
So, I guess I'm going to have to try to keep the maurading cat away, and hope for the best.
Right after I snapped this picture, she ran out of the tree, and then I could see her nest.

We had a birds nest on our side porch for the past couple of weeks, I was enjoying watching Mama feed her babies. The other day, I realized that I had not heard them all day. I climbed up to see - gone. There are fresh claw marks on the post nearby. Owl? Bobcat? :(

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the possible road runner babies.

Almost Antique

I think the definition of antique is - 100 years old.

We (my husband and I) make jewelry from vintage typewriter keys. At craft fairs, I'm always asked "Where do you get the keys??".

The answer is - everywhere we can find them!

From estate sales to craigslist to ebay. I've even had people come up to me at fairs and tell me they have one in their garage at home - one sweet lady brought it back to me and we bought it then and there!

The keys we use are from typewriters that range from the 1920's to the 1940's. After that, they started using early plastics, and they aren't so cool anymore.

Recently I bought a set of keys on Ebay (OH so pricey). But the wonderful seller included a receipt that had been in the typewriter case:

From 1938. They paid $25 for the typewriter - pretty expensive for those days?! So this set of keys is 73 years old. It's a Corona, with serif font. The final product will look like this:

Of course, you can find all our jewelry at Buster and boo.

I think I have to frame that old receipt!

Cat Sighting!

Around here, you really cannot let your cats outside. There are too many predators - coyote, hawk, great horned owl, bobcat. It's dangerous. Sadly, we lost a cat many years ago, our adored Tweety. She got out one night, never to be seen again. :(

We have a neighbor that has cats. They live in their garage, and prowl the neighborhood. They keep them primarily to rid their property of rodents - pack rats and ground squirrels, that can tunnel and cause damage. People that find cats just drop them off at my neighbors. I cannot say that I agree with this philosophy. (These are the same neighbors who have no qualms about leaving their dogs outside barking either....)

One of their current cats is all black, and semi-feral (wild). When he was a few months younger, he took up residence in our garage for a while, and was very afraid of humans. Now he's older, and he's on the prowl. Because he is all black, he stands a good chance of surviving longer term. I hope he does. He's very cute! And still scared of me.

Woolies in the Window!

Peeking out at you - can you see?

What a Week!

What a week.

Sadly, my stepmother passed away. She and my Dad were married for 25+ years. I'm going to miss her lots. It was her time; she was 90. Love to you, Mary. My Dad passed away 8 years ago, and she has spent the past 8 years missing him terribly. I hope they are together now.

*********

My kid brought home germs. I caught those germs. In one day, it turned into bronchitis. Antibiotics, asthma meds. No sleep, up all night coughing, misery. 4 days later, not a whole lot better. I was supposed to be a vendor at my friend's Spring Shearing Festival today - and was up and dressed and the truck was packed with tent, etc. My husband kept telling me I was out of my mind - terrible weather forecast for cold and rainy (in Tucson?!?). I like the cold. I don't mind rain. But then I stood outside for 10 minutes, and couldn't stop coughing. I have no voice either. I decided to listen to my hubby. And I cancelled. I'm sure my friend wasn't thrilled; I'm sorry Kathy!!

And during all this, I worked my day job. Yep, worked and worked. I had a business lunch on Wednesday - people came in from out of town to see me. No way could I cancel on them. Sick as a dog, I went. I hope I didn't breathe too much on them.

and every evening worked on Woolies for the fair today, that then I didn't attend.

I sort of feel like I'm moving through a fog. A rainy fog. Similar to the outside.

And underneath it all, a sadness for losing Mary. She's never far from my thoughts. I imagine hearing her voice. My last conversation with her was just a couple of weeks ago. Feisty Mary. I will miss her so.

Look at little Boo running to me in the rain. :)

Did I tell you the story about the snake in the yard? I'll save that one for another day....

Something You Might Like!

Isn't this ADORABLE? And very affordable!!! The artist is licoricewits! Tell her Woolies sent you!

Woolies Giveaway

Woolies Giveaway- a pony! You get to choose your colors. Head on over to Natural Suburbia. Linda has a wonderful blog, and I find it extra great to read, as she lives in South Africa! If you like to knit, Linda has some fabulous patterns for sale in her shop.

Giveaway ends tomorrow, so don't delay!