Saturday Critters

This morning I'm  sharing with Eileen's Saturday Critters party. Not only that, but the sun is shining and all is right with the world...  I do declare spring has sprung...  No snow in the forecast at all!!!! And along with the turn in the weather  I can introduce a new  pair of visitors to  the feeder  this week!!  Mr. and Mrs. Brown Thrasher!

I love their warm brown tone and mottled breast...

 their feathers can look rather ruffed!

That curved beak and  the two white bars on the wings will give them away!

 They have become our new alarm clock!

 As I type this handsome couple is nesting in the leatherleaf rhododendron bush on the fence line!

Otherwise,  I am thrilled to say that the white throated sparrow  has taken up residence nearby and  his song is my very favorite of all!!!

 Apart from their white throat,  you can  id them by the yellow stripes above their eyes.. unlike other sparrows that are white or grey.  I've always only seen them foraging instead of  feeding at either of the  feeders!

            Our regular crowd of feathered friends include the grey                                              tufted titmouse,

 The Carolina Chickadee!

The robin

 Multitudes of chipping sparrows who  desire to rule over the feeders.. they just  settle in and rest a spell!

 A rather  crotchety jay!  He really doesn't dine,  but  doesn't want anyone else to, either!

 I love our mother  Mourning dove...  She holds court there  occasionally .. I really think she keeps some order to the whole shebang!

 The bluebirds  feast on the   plated suet...  I need to  change that by the way and put out some meal worms today!!!

A pair of  woodpeckers    are  very frequent  visitors...

 

 And some  varieties of wrens...  house, ruby, and purple.. I really  can't fully tell. 

 But I do  enjoy my bird watching....  even Hubs is getting into it...  I can not wait to visit our grand daughters who have established the feeder I sent them  and we will    do a bit of  watching, teaching and learning while we're there!

Sweet Green Memories

I have been looking for green transfer ware  for some time   and finally found a bit on Replacements,  but  only the smaller  dishes ... dessert plates,   and so  I got 6 of them....   then, this  spring I  found 6 cups and saucers,  so  I am  really quite  pleased  that  I can at least do something with  my small lot!  So I  brought together  a spring table scape  using  what I have and was altogether pleased as punch!

Pairing the dessert plates with my  ancient green glass salad plates   and  my  white  scalloped edge  dinner plates from Home Goods(made in Portugal ) worked like a charm!

I think  it  made for a sweet springtime  table setting..  My mother  made  the  table topper  for my  first  smaller table  with which we began housekeeping... I love being able to use it again...  so bright and full of  wonderful memories!!

I, also, was able to use  the wine glasses we purchased back in 1972 when we lived in Germany during Hub's  military years.  So marvelous to be able to bring out  items so  rarely used from   so many years past!  I just love my  green transfer ware....  and am storing it  right in my main kitchen cupboard so I can use it every day if I want to!!!

This springy table  really got us through those  late winter /early spring snow events that  kept a damper on our  days..but every time we passed through the dining room,  we were warmed with cheery color  and loving thoughts from our  beloved first days together !!

Thursday Favorite Things

Home Sweet Home

Grace at Home

Wednesday Hodge Podge

Click the icon to return to Joyce's page.

1. April is National Jazz Appreciation Month. Are you a fan? If so what's a favorite you'd recommend to someone new to jazz listening?   I  absolutely am a fan of   smooth jazz... like  Beegie Adair,  a lot of Sting's work ,  and  Dominic Miller, Chris Botti....  oh my.. I love them!!!!

2. Mandolin, ukulele, harp, accordion or banjo...which would you be most interested in learning to play? Or do you already play one of the instruments listed?  I would love to play the harp, or the dulcimer actually..  I know it's not on the list but should be,,😖  hehehehehe!

3. Do you judge a book by it's cover? Elaborate. You may answer in either/both the literal or figurative sense of the word.  When I go to the library I do judge  a good romance  by the  cover and the author's notes.. it  cannot be  American,  or  especially nothing   Texan or western.. hahah.. The covers really helps me  when  I'm trying to  find  a book of choice!

4. According to a recent study the ten most nutritious foods are-almonds, cherimoya (supposed to taste like a cross between a pineapple/banana), ocean perch, flatfish (such as flounder and halibut), chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, swiss chard, pork fat (shocking! but I don't think they mean bacon), beet greens, and red snapper. Are any of these foods a regular part of your diet? Any you've never ever tasted? Which would you be most inclined to add to your diet?  We keep almonds here in the pantry at all times...never tasted  cherimoya.. maybe  Id try it..  I  prefer flounder,, but  to tell the truth I just  walk right past  farm raised anything..  my fish has to say wild caught...  which is limiting..  I like swiss chard and all greens actually.  I ordered  a pork fat dish at Peter Chang's  last time we were there..  uh.. not for me!  My daughter tired to get me on chia seeds,  but  I have  some issues  in digestion  and those small seeds  are scary to me!!!  Avocado is not on the list but  from what I am hearing I really need to push it because it is so  good for hdl!

5. Besides a major holiday what is the most recent thing you've celebrated with your people? Tell us how.  This past week  we celebrated our 50th High School reunion!  We had a ladies night out  on Thursday...

Loved spending time with my best  Grammar school friend!!!

 I couldnt go to  Friday night to a local eatery, Hubs did!

Then we had a lovely banquet on Saturday.. nothing like getting caught unawares!!!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

So excited we met  with   our project manager yesterday to  discuss the scope of our  small entry level bathroom...  He actually thinks we can get it done this summer...    I mean we have been trying to find  good help and  a  good timeline  for  the past few years...it seemed no one wanted a smaller job...  but  at  the budget it doesn't sound small to us!!!YIKES!

Happy Homemaker Monday

Return to DOASHM here.

Breakfast time....what is on the plate this morning::::

AS usual, dearest had my coffee and yogurt ready early,  then  by mid-morning  I  fixed some cinnamon toast  with my second cuppa Joe!

On this week's to do list::::

Monday - 

Laundry:::: laundry is separated and hopefully will be started this afternoon.

Renovation::::We met with the project manager who took some  preliminary measurements and  we spoke  about the scope of the  redo of our  very small bathroom  on the  entry level.

Tuesday - 

Bible Study and  Prayer meeting planning

correspondence... I have several cards to write this week!

Wednesday - 

Vehicles to  dealership for  tuneups and oil changes

Choir

Thursday - 

SOS Prayer meeting here at our home

Friday - National Day of Prayer meeting for our local event

Dinner with friends

Currently reading::::

Bible~ Isaiah and Ephesians

How to Boil a Flamingo and 49 Lessons in the Lost Art of Being a Lady by Allison Vale and Alison Rattle

When Friends Gather for Tea Gift book

Martha's Vineyard Isle of Dreams by  Susan Branch

On the TV this week::::

Mostly  anything  that  strikes me  on Netflix...

The weather outside is::::

Spring keeps getting pushed back.. Today is it quite frigid and we've had  very light snow.  Hopefully, things will be changing mid-week!

On the menu this week::::

Tonight chicken stir fry and rice..from there I have no idea!

If I have a few minutes to myself, I will::::

I would curl up with one of my books and  probably  fall a sleep!

What I'm sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating::::

I am still  creating  a  springy mood for the home,, but it is difficult  with  such  cold blustery days.

New recipe I tried, or want to try this week::::

I'm not into a lot of cooking this week...  No time  for it...

Favorite photo from the camera::::

I absolutely love  when the red buds  burst forth in their  gorgeous hues!!!

Bible Verse, Devotional::::

I am awaiting  a  result  form a biopsy on a birthmark that  was  burned off   with radium when I was two..  Just an odd spot picked up last week by my  dermatologist... I have been a bit  concerned about it...  so 

Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday

Beverly's page~

Good morning  and   happy Saturday even though snow is in our April forecast for today!!!!

Today I wanted to share about our  new sun room look.   Nothing  particularly new, just a  redo  and I am so pleased  with it so far.  Heretofore, it was  dressed for the very rare  occasion we might have overflow dining guests  and  needed  to spill into the sun room  for  large family  meals! 

   
  

One side was  conversational and the other for dining. But since the kids left home in the last 10 years I can count the number of times  we've actually eaten out there on 2 hands.  It was definitely time for a change because now  Hubs and I are interested in special things we like to do together..  and  this space  just didn't accommodate us!

 Here you can see bird-watching was a  lonesome endeavor  and  not  that fun   to squeeze into my corner... We didn't  want to go through the trouble of trying to sell the table  with leaves and pads and chairs, so we  received a greater  blessing in donating them all to the  refugee resettlement center  who came to pick them up the very day I called.  I couldn't be more delighted!!

We shopped our basement for a smaller table we used to use in the kitchen   along with its chairs ... 

Now we can both  enjoy  some leisure time together  in our  reclaimed space .

The conversational space is still intact and now I have a  special comfy chair in which to sit, read,  chat on the phone, and just have my quiet time away from the rest of the house!

I am hugely delighted to  be  able to  enjoy my new favorite pastime of  identifying the birds  who  come to the feeders and  enjoy  the glorious benefit of their morning songs!  It is a wonderful place to enjoy  my morning  coffee!

 it's a whole new world out there  now!!!!