a quail story

my mom stopped by our house today and i had opened the garage to help her with something.  as we are going out to her car, we notice something run towards the front door.  come to find out it was a family of quail, parents and babies.  i tried to get a closer look and ended up startling the group so they scattered running every direction.  i saw a couple of the babies run into the garage.  i watched and waited for a long time because i wanted to make sure they were out before i shut the door.  all the sudden mama quail runs in and calls for the babies and they start making the most adorable chirping noise.  i stayed very still so they don't get startled again.  eventually mama quail ran out, i thought with babies in tow.  garage got closed up and i went about my business until a little later i hear a chirping noise coming from out there.  i go back in the garage and open the side door because i can hear the mama quail freaking out on the other side of the door.  two of the now four babies trapped inside ran out shortly after i opened the door, but before they did i took these pictures.

i kept the side door open for a long time in hopes that the other two would run out.  periodically i would go check to see if they were still in there but i couldn't really tell because they were tiny, quiet when i was out there, and quick to hide.  i kept going back in the house but then i would hear chirping and go back out to try and help them escape.  after waiting in the garage for long spans of time i was able to almost touch one of them and get these pictures.

cutest little bird in the world right?

i thought the little ones finally got out until i heard chirping again.  i propped the door open and left the garage for about an hour so they wouldn't be too scared to come out of hiding.  i'm pretty sure they are all out now and reunited with their family because i don't hear any chirping coming from the garage plus i saw a group of quail in the backyard.  i am amazed by the parents and how diligent they are at gathering up the babies.  they don't simply forget about them and take off.  i heard the parents calling for the babies all day and even watched them waiting for the little ones.

i just love how they stay together in a group and get so worried when even one member of the clan is missing.  it was precious thing to witness.

mixed emotions

this here is a new painting i made for a very dear friend.

i named it mixed emotions because that is what i see when i look at it. 

we spent the evening with our friends and her parents since they were staying with her folks for the weekend.  had such a lovely evening and this painting was a big hit with the group. 

spending quality time with an old friend is good for the soul. 

kitty procedures

these little fluffs had surgery yesterday to revoke their baby making abilities.

as much as i didn't want to have them experience surgery or a bit of pain, i knew i had to do my part to prevent adding to the already super long list of pets that don't end up in a good home or any home for that matter.

brandi, remember you were here for our makeup party when i took these.

i love how he is covering her eye in this one. 

they are doing quite well, in fact when i got them home yesterday they didn't seem to be phased in the least.  they were actually being more rowdy than they should have and i had to keep calming them down.

i love these little bundles of joy and i find great happiness in giving them all the extra tlc they need at the moment. 

engaged-a-versary

2 years ago, he asked and i said yes

best decision either of us could have made♥

her favorite movies

i've noticed houndstooth has a thing for disney/pixar movies just like us.  she watched a bug's life over the weekend and yesterday her movie of choice was ratatouille.

she is seriously such a silly little kitty.  i tried to tell her sitting so close to the tv wasn't good for her eyes but she didn't listen, she was lost in her movie. 

tumbleweed eyeball

i guess putting on mascara can be a dangerous thing because this morning that very action gave me the following:

-pain

-a doctor visit

-a prescription

-mandatory eyes closed for 3 hours (which believe it or not, has been almost impossible for me do)

i've poked my eyes lots of times while doing my makeup but this time felt way different.  i papercut my eyeball once about 10 years ago so i know what really hurting your eyes versus poking them feels like.  this seemed more like a really hurting kind of pain.  i had to call za husband to pick me up and take me to the office that i work in, so i could have a doctor take a look at my eye with the glowy stuff and black light.  i didn't have a scratch but a major irritation so i was told to get my prescription of eye goop then go home and keep my eyes closed.  when za husband was taking me home i told him it felt like an entire tumbleweed was in my eyeball.

the vain side of me is really hoping that by tomorrow morning my eye will feel happy enough for me to put makeup on.  going around with makeup on one eye this morning was not cool.   

these blurry pictures kind of tell how my vision has been today between the watery faucet action and the slimy medicine.  on a side note can i please tell you that i've kind of fallen in love with blurry pictures lately. 

*i know at least one person will be able to guess what ride these pictures were taken on. 

  being hurt or sick reminds me of the things i take for granted each day.

i can tell you for sure i'm very thankful for my normal happy vision and being able to keep my eyes open all day.  oh and also being able to wear makeup on both eyes.

wall-e, eve, our wedding date

wall-e is our movie ♥ as i've mentioned before.  it was the movie we watched on our second date, and it inspired our wedding cake.  we really connected with the story, and i think we've watched it a billion times.  i recently felt the need to paint a scene from the movie, and add a special touch just for us.  our wedding date is in roman numerals on the axiom.

i worked several nights over the course of a month to get the little details right.  i tend to get pretty frustrated when a painting isn't turning out how i envision it, so i have to walk away until i feel ready to tackle it again.  i am happy to say that this one is finally finished and will take up residence on a wall in our home. 

in other news, the shop has been updated a tiny bit. 

pumpkin update

in the pumpkin world we have lots more curly q's and leaves...

this thing is growing like crazy and i'm still very thrilled about it.  you can see various twigs around the plant that have apparently become its best friend, because the curly things are wrapped so tight around some of the twigs i can get them apart. 

really....it's just adorable!

lets not discuss how it is now getting pokey thorns in some spots and i got a thorn stuck in my finger. 

don't worry pumpkin plant....i forgive you.

kitty cabinet

how much is that kitty in the window?

i have this old cabinet that has been passed down from one person to the next in my family.  luckily i was the next.  it is such an amazing ornate piece of furniture and i love it a lot, apparently houndstooth loves it too. 

it has a glass door in front the two slender pieces of glass on the side.  ever since i got the cabinet it was missing glass on one side.  houndstooth realized that at a very young age and it has been one of her favorite pastimes to climb in and relax.  usually she does this too hide from pellegrino when they are play fighting and i find it to be quite amusing.

flashback friday #24

today my friend kacee brought in a little pile of old pictures of herself and other members of her family.  i have a love of old photos, especially ones of my own family members, but even those of strangers and friends intrigue me.  i guess this goes along with my love of old buildings and really any item of a substantial age.  everyone has a story and looking at photos from years gone by helps to piece together a persons story i may not have been present for.  there is a stack of photos that i inherited after my grandmothers passing in 2004,  some from when i was a child but others dating as far back as the 1920's.  i consider them all prized possesions, treasures that take me back to days i vaguely remember and days i never knew.  i could easily share the entire stack right away just because i adore them so much but today i've narrowed it down to a few of my grandparents, my dad's parents, audley and florene mcdaniel.
*go ahead and ignore the fact that these aren't such great quality because i took pictures of pictures.

newspaper clipping announcing their 50th wedding anniversary, circa 1985

early 1930's

my grandpa in the navy

favorite part of the picture is that it is signed love, audley

which leads me to believe he sent this to my grandma.

♥ 

not exactly sure where or when this was taken.

there are some pretty amazing notes written on several of the pictures including dates and other random tidbits, unfortunately not all of them.  i am not sure who wrote on them but i'm fairly certain it wasn't my grandma.

i believe this was taken in colorado, late seventies.

october 1963 

1980's

following shots of my grandmother have ranging dates

1960's - 1980's according to my best guesses

this one of her fishing gets me every time.  she looks so happy.

the last three photos were taken in california, march 1985, at their 50th wedding anniversary party.  i remember bits and pieces of that trip we took to celebrate with them.  

it is not until this time in my life that i can appreciate the significance of that occasion. 

they look so sweet and in love.

sadly my grandpa passed the following year.  it was an occasion i remember rather well considering my age. 

we spent a lot of time with my grandma during her grieving process.  i know she had said something to my dad about how just having my brother (4) and i (almost 6) around brought her much needed joy during that difficult time.  i can remember handing her tissues every time she cried, and feeling like i was doing the most important job in the world.  i wish i could have known my grandpa better but thankfully i have these pictures and many others to remind me of him. 

the nostalgia that washes over me each time i look at all the old photos is rather hard to describe.

i adore having these moments in time. 

the story of us

the following pictures are of two things i love very much, one more than the other.  of course i love za husband more than i love beautiful sunsets.  lately i have been reminiscing about our story.  i found my old journal from our dating days.  as dramatic as some of the entries are, i still enjoy reading them because it reminds me of where we were then and what we have become now.  in our dating days if you would have asked me about our future, i would have said we didn't have one.  you know what is strange though, even during the worst times, according to my journal, there was this underlying tone that almost made it seem like i knew we would be together.  i never really felt we would but i guess some part of me knew which makes those entries all the more interesting to read now.  in a few days it will be what i like to call our engaged-a-versary.  i have talked about our engagement on here a tiny bit before but i don't think i ever mentioned that we were actually not dating at the time he asked me to marry him.  it is certainly an interesting story and the few days leading up to that moment are interesting as well.  i think deep down i knew, before i even really knew....if that makes any sense. 

i sort of love that the story of us doesn't start out on a traditional syrupy note.  i probably couldn't have said that a couple years ago, but i honestly can now because it is a tribute to our character and strength.  

we have certainly made up for our turbulent beginning.

 may we forever be sickingly sweet, extra lovey dovey, and all that wonderful nonsense, which really isn't nonsense.