Wordless(mostly) Wednesday...

less than 2 hours left in this day but it still counts!...



(my dad's works)


(old flame)


(new baby)

Friday Fifteen...

(squirrel on the roof!)


(sunshine on the oaks)


(flooded yard)


(mostly cleaned out garage)


(table project, not yet underway)


(favorite mug)


(Sarah)


(girls bunks)


(new color for the laundry room)


(Papaw's yard clean-up)


(book purging)


(kitchen in the morning)


(bird and/or cat watching)


(Papaw)


(Sarah's friend)

CUTENESS!!!!

Maezy(might need a home-laid back curious personality)


Bijou(has gone to her forever home in the country-with 6 kids no less!)


Biscuit(needs a home-sweet but fiesty personality)


Macaroni(probably staying with us-smart, very sweet personality)

Some video...

Mark finally loaded the software for Amy's video camera. Here's some of our goofy animals and our record setting SNOW from mid-February.

coming out of a whirlwind...

One hospital stay for chest pains and crazy high blood pressure(175/115), CHECK.
I'm now on meds for anxiety and reflux. Nothing is wrong with my heart at all, thank God. I'll be seeing my doctor in a few weeks to follow up. AND starting my yoga back up!!!



One family delayed by snow storm, CHECK.
My parents got about 17 inches of snow the weekend before they were to travel to our place! It was amazing to look at but had them unable to get down their driveway for several days.


(the horrid cat who loves nobody but his mama)

One nasty unprovoked cat bite, CHECK.
Tibert bit the crap out of my dad. He also bit Aaron a few times. I think he was very out of sorts with all the company, a new puppy-sister, Christmas goings on and so forth. He's never met my family and isn't used to so much activity.


Several crazy shopping days scoring lots of great thrift store goodies, CHECK.
I got some Christmas junk and two gorgeous vintage eelskin purses(pink doctor's bag for spring and a maroonish brown for fall), and some wool.(pics later when I find my new card reader again)


(girls ready to open presents)


(Sarah's Snuggi-wrap, she LOVES it despite her expression)

Many nice gifties for everyone, CHECK.
We did family gifts this year and got a nice rug for our concrete living room floor and a convection-toaster oven. The kids cleaned up with electronics, Mark and Ryan got cologne, and the girls got lots of clothes and such.

Crochet lessons for my mom, CHECK.
She is learning, slowly but surely. Being left-handed makes it difficult for me to coach her along though.

Delish tortilla soup, CHECK.
3 ckn breasts(boneless/skinless), cute in 3/4 inch cubes
1 bell pepper
1 onion
2 cans pinto beans, drained and well rinsed
1 can no-salt tomatoes(diced)
1 tsp cumin, chili powder, garlic powder
1/4 tsp chipotle powder
3/4 cup brown rice
8-10 cups of water

Brown veggies and ckn til pink is gone, add water, spices, beans, rice, and tomatoes. Cook over med-low heat for about 45 minutes. Serve with cheese and sour cream over tortilla chips.

Two huge batches of my special Honey Mustard/Deviled Party Mix, CHECK.
I make a large roaster pan full of this, using almost all of each box of cereal, plus nuts and pretzel twists. Mine has Quaker Oat Squares too. I used 2/3 stick of butter, about 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 3-4 tablespoons olive oil, generous sprinkles of garlic and onion powder, 1/4 cup honey, several good squirts of mustard(spicy if you've got it), and a dash of cayenne. It was inhaled.

Dozens of snuggles with a cute puppy, CHECK.


(Aaron and Sparkle, she was a huge hit!)

It was a crazy, hectic but fun Christmas celebration this year at the Sonier Casa and I wish my family didn't have to leave so soon!!

A Lucky Dog...

About a month ago Sarah started in on us about getting a puppy for Christmas. Of course we immediately and resoundingly said "NO". We already have 3 big dogs, half-dozen cats, and half-dozen guinea pigs, another dog was NOT in our plans! Apparently the powers that be took that as a challenge on Sarah's behalf. They saw an opportunity to play a great joke....

One night last week, maybe Wednesday or Thursday, Mark mentioned that there had been a stray dog or puppy under a storage building at the place he works for a few days. I didn't think too much of it, dogs wander around a lot and we figured it would be long gone.

It wasn't.

We briefly discussed the possibility of making Sarah's Christmas wish come true but were 90% sure the dog would move on.

With temperatures expected to dip into the low twenties, the puppy didn't have much of a chance Friday night so the employees worked Thursday afternoon and all day Friday to lure her out with no luck. She would come out about a foot and then scoot back under, causing them much frustration. The boss finally brought a trap and baited it with turkey legs, something they'd fed the dog the day before. I think he was afraid she'd die under his building and they'd have to move it to get her out.

At 8pm Mark and I drove down(an hour 1-way) to check the trap. Nothing. We were able to see her back under the building so we parked across the alley and waited. Nothing. Except that Mark's boss drove up and checked the trap too. I felt much better seeing that. We could expect that someone would be around if she ended up caught. Still it was hard to drive away without that puppy knowing she'd probably be dead in the morning.

Saturday morning, still nothing.

Sunday around noon his boss called to let us know that she'd been caught if we wanted her. We were in the car less than 5 minutes later, telling the kids that Mark needed to go on a "pick-up" run to Carthage and I was going to ride with him to discuss Christmas presents. They had NO IDEA.

I think Sarah was in shock when I walked through the door with a puppy! She has been quick to let me know that she does NOT like surprises.

So, here she is. We have named her Pashmina. The vet says she's about 10 weeks old, 6.5 pounds, and probably a good bit Schnauzer.

Merry Christmas Pashmina!! We sure hope you love living with us!

Piggers Free to Good Homes....

Locally of course. Landlords are wanting us to downsize our pets.


(Echo's pretty side)


(Echo's other pretty side, and Basil)


(Meadow, sister to Echo, Sundae is their mom)



(Moonshine, Basil's son)



(Stella, the Peruvian beauty)


(Sundae-mom to Meadow and Echo, Panda, and Rainbow-Moonshine's sister)


(Basil, daddy to Rainbow and Moonshine)

Ages(approximate): Basil 3.5, Moonshine and Rainbow- 2.5(born March 31st, 2007), Sundae- 2ish(born December 2007), Stella(acquired September 2007, age unknown), Panda- 2.5(born April 6th, 2007), Meadow and Echo- 1.5(born April 9th, 2008).

Cages are included with the sets. Girls will all go together unless someone already has a suitable cage and can take either Stella, Rainbow and Panda or Sundae and Meadow as sets. Boys are bonded and need to stay together. Bedding, water bottles and hay will be included.

Apples don't fall far...

My kids are taking after me in ways I'd sometimes rather they did not. This is a water snake of some kind that had been about to enjoy a meal of bullfrog... Until Ryan yanked it from the water and stuck it in this bucket. It measured about 33 inches long. They did release it after an hour or so, it was too aggressive for them to hold.
(click any image to see it bigger)


Remember this cutie pie that I found in the woods back in early April?...



He has turned into a giant hair-eating monster!!!


**
And his cohorts have taken up all the good places to sit.


**

In other news...

We've decided to start on the carpet next weekend. We found the tools we'll need and have been encouraged by other folks' successes. I think we're going to paint the kitchen this week, at night. I've also got plants to pot and some yardwork to get done during the days. Fun, Fun!!

** taken with Mark's phone camera.

Sounds of Summer...

One of my favorite treats of summer is listening to cicadas sing in our oak tree. Of course, I can also hear them singing in the trees throughout our neighborhood, they are quite loud! When the kids were little they would collect bread sacks full of empty cicada shells but they've thankfully outgrown that. Very rarely have we had the pleasure of watching one hatch from its larval shell.


Longview News-Journal photographer Les Hassell braved mosquitoes and who-knows-what other creepy, crawlies to get these spectacular images of a cicada emerging from its shell. They are truly spectacular!

In other news....

We are going to the Pritchett Okra Festival tomorrow!! I hope to come home with a bushel of goodies. Homesick Texan just posted a recipe for pickled okra, how timely is that? I'm planning on making a few pints at least, depending on what my haul is.

Look-ee what we made!!

I totally forgot to bring the camera to the park for how-to pictures but oh well. Many thanks to all who participated(and brought stuff to share), it wouldn't have happened except for y'all! We had a great time making these and I hope they survive!

Here's the results...



(Sarah's terrarium)


(Mark and Molly's Buddha terrarium, the moss and plants will grow, they're about the size of a dime now)


(Amy's terrarium)


(new family member, Pickles Turtle rescued from the middle of a brush pile many many yards from water, slightly bigger than a quarter)

Cool colors and less clutter...

I bought this shelf sometime last year and just love the shape of it. There used to be sliding doors on the front but they weren't with it when I found it.


(picture taken when I first brought it home and cleaned it up)

We stopped by Lowe's on Wednesday night after we dropped the girls at their church activities and I bought a "mis-tint" pint of this wonderful minty green. It is SO brilliant it almost sparkles(but its a satin I think). Anyway, it was just enough to do the octagon mirror from the thrift store and the inside of the shelf. I love how it turned out!


(look next to the white shelf, but don't you dare laugh)(you are laughing aren't you?)(I told you not to laugh!!)(its the same box)(quit laughing)



I spent most of Saturday and Sunday thinning out books. If there is a thing that is harder to part with I've not found it. So far I've got two stacks over 30 inches tall. First I'm taking them to my homeschool park day to hand out and what is left will go to the thrift store.


(There isn't an after picture yet because I'm not finished but there is a cleared path to the door now)


In other news...

We stopped by the pet store to see how our kittens were faring only to learn that 3 of the 4 had passed away about 2 weeks ago. The rescue/foster mom said they just never gained weight and seemed to get sicker and sicker. They had trouble opening their eyes and trouble eating. It makes me wonder if they weren't a bit premature or suffering from an illness(I hope not). She said the survivor was very small still, about 2 weeks behind in size, but had a good appetite and they were hopeful she'd make it. They've decided to keep her and named her Fiesty.

Their sad sad situation just drives home the point that people need to spay and neuter their animals(and keep them inside to curb the spread of disease). If you haven't done so, please do. And, if yours are all taken care of, consider donating to a low-cost provider of these services like the one we use here in Longview, S.N.I.P.-Pets so that others can afford to do what is right.

We are doing VBS this week for Sarah, starting this past Sunday. Its at 6:15 til 8:45 each evening and lemme tell ya, that's a major pain. Having to have Ryan here there and yon and now Sarah, EVERY night, I'm a tired mama. This morning I woke up about 6:40, ate, got online and decided at 8am to go back to bed. I slept til 10:34. Apparently I needed it, to be fair I did get up at 5am Sunday morning when the boys left to go fishing.

Anyway, Sarah loves VBS and tonight she brought a friend. She'll go to the friend's VBS on Wednesday morning to return the favor. So, tomorrow Ryan to work at 9am, pick up around 5:30ish, Sarah to VBS at 6:15-8:45. Wednesday, Sarah to VBS(friend's) at 9am, home at 12, back to her VBS at the usual time. Thursday morning is homeschool park day, 9am-2pm usually, Ryan to work at 6, Sarah to VBS at 6:15...I'm not sure how I will pull this off, they are on opposite sides of town, Sarah out at 8:45, Ryan off at 9:45. Friday Ryan to work at 11pm til 7am Saturday(for a Lock-in). Oh My Heavenly Stars, I'm going to be freakin' exhausted as I am the designated driver to and from all of these events!!! So, there may not be as much decluttering going on as I would like.

You all know where I'm headed as soon as I hit the publish button...zzzzzz Hopefully I won't dream about strange men breaking into our garage like I did this morning, that was a scary, very real dream. ugh.