I can't believe I won.

I just love when you go to the mail box, and there is something good in there. Don't you? Most of the time it is only bills.....Today was a GREAT day. I received the lovely little mat shown below. I won it on Laurens site at http://rugsandpugs.blogspot.com I am so happy with it. I wish the picture did it justice. I want to thank Lauren again for the great giveaway. I hope everyone is staying warm. I think I am off to start a new rug. Good night.

I can't believe it is February already. Yippee!

I just love that January is behind us and Spring is getting closer and closer. I just love that it stays lighter longer now. I am so thankful that we didn't loose power and that the storms weren't as bad as they thought. I am glad I had today off so I didn't have to leave the house.

I went to the thrift store on Monday night and found some pretty material. The first two on the left are flannel. The rest are all cotton. I don't know what I am going to do with them. I think that is part of the fun. hehe. You just can't beat 4 yards for 4.50 I love it.
The only other exciting thing around here is the baby finches. This was a few days or so ago. I had planned on keeping a journal but didn't get that far. oops.

I have to laugh when I see this picture. I can just imagine that it is screaming help.........I am stuck in between all these silly eggs. GET ME OUT !!!! (Sorry about the poor picture quality. It is hard to take pictures while on a ladder, with the camera over your head, with the parents flying around squawking, while trying to dodge the wire cage)

Here is a shot with it's little mouth open.

This was just on Monday. I had checked the cage...all was well. I came back a few minutes later and this little guy was on the floor of the cage. I picked him up with a spoon and put him in this little cup and put him back in the cage. I thought since he was still moving I would give him another chance. I don't know if he just got pushed out or if it was an accident. I figured if it wasn't an accident he would be back on the floor when I got home. All ended well.

This is a shot from today. I thought that I had five babies that hatched but I could only see 4 today. I decided not to think about it too much. I only have one egg left that hasn't hatched. A couple hatched but were dead on the bottom of the cage and some never developed and some broke. I think she had laid 11 eggs total.

What is wrong with this picture? You guessed it this little guy should be in the cage. Larry was doing something in the cage and this little guy just flew right out. I couldn't believe it. Larry was on his way outside to plow snow on Sunday so he said let him fly around and I will catch him when I come back in. I felt like a challenge so I closed the dog door and locked the back door and went to it. I didn't want to take a chance that our "Bird dog" Carlee would sneak back in. She just watched thru the door. lol

I was able to catch him twice but didn't hold on tight enough. You guessed it he got away twice. I got a butterfly net out of the closet and finally was able to get him back in the cage. What a relief. Oh, guess what I found in the other finch cage today. This is the cage that holds the "mean Male" and the other female. Yep, you guessed it an egg in their food dish. I have read all these books and web sites that all said "If you don't give them a nest they won't lay eggs" Well I think it means they won't sit on them and they won't hatch(I guess) cuz I also found another egg on the bottom underneath the paper linning. Gee wiz. I hope it isn't in the water. All these babies in my house. What if it is in the water?

I hope you are having a good week and are staying warm. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will come back soon. Lisa

Oh my!

Well the baby count is now three. They are so cute. I tried to get some pictures but mom doesn't want to leave the nest. I was even touching her tail feathers that were at the edge of the cage and she still didn't budge. I am so happy that she is feeding them and all is going so well. I am really glad I didn't throw out the eggs. lol.

We went to the auction and there was nothing there we were even remotely interested in. bummer. So we decided to just go and eat. On the way I saw a Goodwill so we turned around and went in. I just love that about my husband. He had no problem turning around and going back. Whether it is something on the curb or a store, whatever. He is so good to me. We were discussing tonight that Feb. 11th will be the ten year anniversary of when we met. Awwwww. I was waiting tables and he was my first table of the day. I was finished with my shift at 2:30 and he was still at the table working on his laptop. 7:00-2:30! I didn't make much money turning that table over. lol. I was all done and I said "No rush, I am done for the day. I am going to go and have something to eat but I will check back with you and see if you need anything." his response was....why don't you get something to eat and sit down here. Yipee. We sat there til 5:30 talking.(he did most of the talking) He walked me to my car, I gave him my number and the rest is history. It was fun talking about all this tonight.

I didn't find anything at Goodwill by the way. I hope you are all staying warm. Thanks for stopping by. I will try to get some good pictures soon. Have a good night. Lisa

And then there was two.

Yep, you heard right. I woke up this morning to another little baby finch. The first baby still doing well. I could actually hear it's little chirp this morning. Mom is taking good care of them.

Today should be a fun day. I only have to work until 4. I will meet Larry after work and we are going to an auction and then out to dinner. Sounds like fun to me.

I hope you have a fun day today. Thanks for stopping by. Lisa

It's a Baby!

Well....We have a baby finch everyone. This will have been the second of ten eggs to have hatched. The first one didn't live.
But this one is still doing well. Sorry but it is very hard to get a good picture. I have to get up on the ladder and try to hold the camera over my head and try to get a good shot. I told it to hold still, smile and say cheese. None of which they did. I hope you can make out the little guy(Or girl) It's little eyes are not open yet. It sure can open it's little mouth though. hehe

Here is mama and the baby. I just think this is soooo cute. Hope you are staying warm and having a good evening. I am. Good night.

How was your day?

Here is a shot of Maddee resting after a long day. How cute.
Today was a fun day at the thrift store. I found some cute fabric. It was various small segments from a 1/4 yard to a yard. 25 cents-1.00 for the yard. Yippee. They all go pretty well together. Just might have to look into a wall hanging or something.

I worked in the sewing/craft room a little. I changed the way things were arranged on the shelves and changed out the fabric. I am happy with how they are looking.

There is still alot to do but it is definitely better that it was.

I just hung up a couple things. I used the nails that were already in the wall since when I did this part it was 1:30 in the morning. I didn't think Larry would appreciate the hammer at that hour.

This is my paper caddy. I love how easy and accessible it is. We made it out of an old file cabinet. It is the kind that you use hanging folders with. We spray painted a wire basket and hooked it to the wheeled cabinet and voila. I love it and when I don't need it I just roll it under the table. I hope you had fun today. Did you get any thing crafty done? If so let me know. Thanks for stopping by. I hope my story didn't bore you. Lisa

I think a bomb went off in my craft/sewing room.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by an area in your life? I have to admit that that is how I have been feeling about my craft room. It seems that since Christmas I have just been piling things up in there and not putting any thing away. (I am sure that is obvious by the pictures).
Here is another embarrassing shot.

This pile is what is supposed to be the top of my ironing/work station. It is hard to believe but it is under there somewhere.

Those pictures were taken on Sunday evening. I decided to start(and I emphasize Start) to organize and pick up this room. I thought if I showed some of the embarrassing before pics I would be more apt to actually finish. Sooooo.

This is what I worked on tonight after work. I was able to clear off my work area.

Here is another angle. Oh there is still so much more to do....

I picked up my stamp area also. I know that I would be sooo much more productive if this room was organized and the creative juices would just flow. So tomorrow night into Wed.(my day off) I am hoping to get a lot more done. I am counting on you wonderful blog buddies to hold my to it. So cross your fingers for me. I hope you are having fun with whatever you choose to do tonight. P.s. please don't call "Hoarders" I promise I will clean this up. lol.

A look at my week...

Spent one evening working on the birthday card mission. I was able to borrow some of my mom's stamp sets. She was saying how she needed some new ones...I said "why don't we just swap for a while." So she brought me a big basket full on mon. night. I got started as soon as she and my dad left. It was a fun evening.
I liked this brown and blue together.

These were some of the other ones that I got done....Unfortunately, I ran out of double sided tape so they still need to be assembled.

I went to the thrift store on monday. Got this great old trowl for a dollar. Can't you just see this on a grapevine wreath hanging on my garden gate? I can. I also found some more ivy. I swear I think it is almost becoming a sickness. I have been getting so many artificial flowers lately. The little grapevine wreath will be another swing for the little finches.

Here are some pretty geraniums. Sorry for the blurry picture. I plan on putting these beauties up on the front porch to our pond shed. I usually plant some annuals up there and often neglect to water them. You know the rest of the story. hehe. I admit it. I tend to get lazy when it comes to watering plants. Next year problem solved. They look so real in person. I know that no one will know the difference. I think they will look great coming out of an old crock. One set is a deep red the other has more of a pink tint to it. How fun...

Sorry,,,more blurry pics. These placemats were 2 for a dollar. I thought they were cute. But The next picture has to be one of my all time best finds at a thrift store. Are you ready?

What a beauty...This is a table runner that I found weds. I just love it. It was only two dollars. I couldn't believe it. The fabric feels silky and there is no batting or quilting stitches but the colors are wonderful.

I have been limiting myself when it comes to buying wool. The thrift store that I have been going to every week has racks of clothes that are 50 cents. I have decided that for a while this is the only wool I need to buy for awhile. Did I mention that this will only be for "awhile?" hehe. Here is all I have gotten and I only have $4.50 invested. Yippee. I still need to felt all of it. But I figure I have alot more time than money soooo I don't mind. Thanks for sticking with me to the end. I hope you have enjoyed seeing what I have been up to. I hope you have a great weekend. Lisa

Where has the time gone?

I am not sure where all the time has gone lately. It seems like I blinked and two weeks have gone by. I thought I would let you know what has been happening. Here is a picture of Larry working on the new bird house for our new finches. We thought it would be nice to repurpose something instead of starting from scratch with the framework. We had this shelf unit sitting around accumulating dust so I asked him if this might work. So we were off....

Here is how it turned out....We still have a few finishing touches to do. We need a drip edge around the bottom to catch alllllll the seed they throw around constantly.

Here is the expecting couple( inside the wreath) the other female is on top of the wreath.

The egg count is up to 9 eggs. Isn't that just crazy. I don't think they are going to hatch though. It has been about 17-18 days. I might have to take them out and let them start again. Between changing cages and the males fighting...they were off the eggs alot. I had to remove the one male to another cage. He was picking on the dad something aweful. The last spat left the dad's eyes both bleeding and they scabbed over and he couldn't see. We had to moisten his eyelids with a warm towel til they would open up again. He is doing wonderfully now. I think I will list the other "mean male" on craigslist or something. I know there is a survival of the fitest and everything but I don't need that kind of drama in my living room. I will make a happy place if at all possible. hehe.

Got a few more cards made tonight. Working toward my new year goal. Have January all done and starting to make some for Feb.

Last year I had made up some Christmas cards but didn't get them assembled. I got them all assembled tonight. One more thing to check off the list.

Isn't this a cute snowman?

I hope to make alot more so that the card sending process will be much easier. I hope you are enjoying your evening....whatever you are up to. I would like to thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. It always makes me smile to see what you have to say... Keep up the good work. Lisa

My New Year Plan

Every year around Christmas I think of all the things I would like to make for my friends and family. But often, I talk myself out of actually giving the gift because I am afraid that they will feel awkward when I give them a gift and they don't have anything for me. Do you ever feel like that. For example: I was planning to make a cookie tray for my one friend and didn't get it done. It was 2:30 am and I thought to myself "I need to make up one for ....." but I was tired and didn't do anymore......What happened the next morning?...she gave me a cookie tray. Bummer. I felt so bad that I didn't really enjoy receiving the gift...Don't get me wrong-I thanked her a bunch. But inside I was mad at myself...DO ya know what I mean? So I was visiting http://sewnwithgrace.blogspot.com/ and she was planning to make something for Christmas every month so that the few month before Christmas wouldn't be so stressful. Sounded great to me but I think my plan is going to be to focus on birthdays all year long. That way I won't feel awkward when they don't have anything for me..It won't be my birthday...Problem solved. So tonight I got started.

I went thru and wrote down everyone so I won't leave anyone out. Some will just get a simple birthday card.

Others will get a notepad. I am planning on using things I already have...as much as possible. I got to looking at my stampin stash and thought that might be a good place to start.

I put some of their initials on the front cover.

I am happy how the first bunch are coming along. I am not sure what else I will decide to make. It won't all be the same thing. This is just the start. Just thought I would share what I was up to tonight. What were you working on?

The egg count is....

If anyone is wondering, the egg count for our little birdies is up to 4 this afternoon. Oh my.

I am off to do something creative.....I am not sure what that will be....but I am hopeful that I just might do something with the rest of this evening other than eat. Cross your fingers for me. lol.

Have fun with whatever you are doing tonight. Lisa

Well, I got her done! Thank goodness. I think the next project will be a little smaller.

Here is Marlee checking out the rug. I was trying to take a picture and he walked up and then spralled out all over it. Carlee was next. I didn't take a picture of her.

Here is a short of Maddee with her favorite toy. She will chase these for a long time.

Here is a shot of Larry and the gang. I had forgot about taking this one. Thought I would add it since I had to download his pics.

Carlee was all tuckered out and used big birds butt as a pillow. Oh by the way the birdie egg count is up to 3. Yikes.