Breakfast of Champions

Good Morning!
This is how I start my day: A bowl of fresh berries and a big mug of hot coffee. I love my "Smart Women THIRST for knowledge" mugs that Karry gave to me for my birthday one year. They inspire my day...and probably lead me to drink too much coffee. Today my mug was filled with delicious Hawaiian coffee that Kerry brought back from her trip.
I hope your day started off as well as mine did.

Dog Blog

While Rachel and the girls were out, I decided to fill you in on my stay here. I hope she doesn't mind that I used the computer.
Today I played with my baby--you can see it in the picture.
I also took a nap. I also chased some squirrels. Oh, Molly gave me a treat, and Mary brushed my fur.
I think it was the best day ever!
bye for now!
--Blue (the dog)
p.s. I miss my family. I wonder when they come home.

House Guest

We have a guest in the house this week. Kerry's dog, Blue, is staying with us while she and her family are vacationing in Hawaii.
Honestly, I was a little concerned about dog sitting when she asked us if we would be interested. My younger daughter, Molly, has had an unreasonable fear of dogs since she was about one year old. She would cry and tremble if a dog even sniffed at her. We never knew what caused her fear. Some suggested it was from a traumatic experience, some suggested it was because the dogs were as big (or bigger) than she, others said it must be from a past life. Whatever it was, she has never felt comfortable with dogs.
Blue has been a stellar house guest. He is a very mellow, gentle Golden Retriever. Even though Molly has known him for years, she never really warmed up to him, until now. She adores him! The first day he was here, I found her cuddling with him while she watched her Saturday morning cartoons.
This is a wonderful experience for all of us. I have even caught myself wondering when we might get a dog of our own.

Hatched!

The babies have arrived. By our count, there are at least two very hungry robin chicks in the nest. The mama robin is doing her job bringing lots of worms and protecting these tiny chicks. Here is their first photo.

The other three nests she built must have been "practice nests" She stopped sitting on them a few weeks ago, and directed all of her attention to this one.

I will keep you posted if there are futher developments.

Summer Reading Marathon

I am a voracious reader. I read all styles of books and feel incomplete without a book at hand. The best kind of book is that one you just can't put down. The kind that you are sad to leave at the end, like you are saying good-bye to dear friends. I know I am not the only one out there that has this love of books, I know Rachel loves them also. (coincidentally we both majored in English in college and no we didn't know each other then.)

As the Summer gets started, I have been collecting books to hopefully guarantee some good summer reading. I leave for Hawaii in a couple of weeks and want to have prime reading material for the plane ride and for lounging by the pool. So here is my list of what I hope to be fabulous page-turners. (I'll let you know when I get back if I was right.)

• Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy. She is my favorite Irish author. I have read all of her books and this is the latest. She has a wonderful way of drawing you into her colorful cast of characters that live through their tragedies and find a light at the end of the tunnel without being overly sentimental.
  
• Prep: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld. I don't know anyone who has read this but it looked like a fun, light read. It is about a girl suffering through an upper brow prep school education. Definite chick lit which is great for by the pool.
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I was a big fan of The Kite Runner and from the reviews I have read this should be just as good. It has gotten great press and I am looking forward to this story about friendship between women. If you haven't already read Hosseini's first novel "The Kite Runner" you should it is extremely well written and moving.
• My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I bought this book for my mother-in-law, Marilyn. She said she couldn't put it down and gave it rave reviews. It is the story of a girl who is born for the purpose of saving her terminally ill sister's life. Needless to say emotional strife and moral dilemmas abound. This may be my end of the trip read.

I'll let you know what I think of these and the several others on my bedside table. If you have any books you think I should read please pass on the names to me. I love to get recommendations!

It takes a village...

It may take a village to raise a child, but apparently it only takes one bird to raise a flock. The girls and I have been watching the four nests built on our front porch. These nests apparently are tended by only one bird. She must have been one busy bird, and she will be even more busy when her four nests hatch eggs!

Have you ever seen such a thing?

We'll keep you posted when the eggs hatch!

Treasures from the Studio

We are cleaning out the studio and have put together some fabulous treasures for you. Our new art scrap packs are filled with great goodies. Each pack is one-of-a-kind! There are some great items in the packs that will really add to your art collage and assemblage projects.
Each packet will hold a wide variety of items and no two packs are identical.
Your packs may include:
*Handmade papers
*7 Gypsies sticker sheets
*7 Gypsies tags, large and/or small
*Assorted stickers
*Vintage labels
*Vintage wine or liquor labels
*Vintage doilies
*Assorted Ephemera (tickets, labels, book pages, etc.)
*3/D items: clips, plastic charms, metal pieces
*Milagros
*and much, much more!
We promise an eclectic and generous assortment of items. Look at our etsy store to see pictures of our art packs for sale. These packets would be great for card making, scrapbooking, collage, and other craft projects. Be sure to take a look!