Feeding Finches

For years I've had a bird feeder hanging from a shepherd's hook on the deck.  It's attracted a nice variety of birds, but we've had our share of other creatures, too, like chipmunks, racoons, and squirrels.  The squirrels were particularly annoying.  Not only did they consume more than their share of birdseed, they'd also scare the birds away and sit on the seed tray to eat. When they'd jump off I'd always hear a batch of seed falling off.

Last summer we had rocks installed under the deck where we had trouble growing grass.  Even though the landscaper installed a plastic barrier, when the weather warmed up this spring there was just enough moisture on top of the barrier that we had seed sprouting in between the rocks.  I didn't have enough time to pull the seedlings out one by one.  I talked to the landscaper; his suggestion was to spray the rocks with Roundup on a regular schedule, but I didn't want to resort to chemicals.

I had just about decided to get out of the bird feeder business when a friend told me that I could still enjoy watching birds out of my kitchen window if I switched over to a finch feeder. The nyjer seed that the small birds enjoy eating is cultivated in Asia and Africa. Before it is imported the seed is sterilized, which prevents germination of both the nyjer and any other weed seeds that might be mixed in.

Nyjer is a tiny seed, so to go with the new food I'd need a new feeder that had small feeding holes.  Last week I used the last of my "Fancy" bird seed mix, then washed out the feeder and stored it in the basement.  For a couple of days I had a parade of birds land on the deck rail and look around for their meal, which of course wasn't there.  I didn't feel bad, though; it's springtime and there are enough natural sources of food that I knew they could find something to eat.

Today buying a new bird feeder made it to the top of the list.

I went to Valley Park Elevator & Hardware, an old-fashioned grain elevator/hardware store ten minutes from my house. They had a variety of finch feeders, but when I looked at the price tags I was shocked. (The one that I liked the best cost $35). I decided to shop around at a few other stores to see if I could find a better price.

Image source.  I hope my feeder looks like this soon!

However, I knew it would take at least another week before I could get around to more stores, and I really miss seeing birds on the deck. Next to the register there was a display of sack feeders (basically a mesh bag with a drawstring top). For less than a tenth of the price of a fancy feeder, I could get back in the bird feeding business.  According to the tag, the sack would hold approximately 8 ounces of seed.  I decided to buy a pound.  The store clerk walked to the back of the store with me, where he scooped out nyjer from a galvanized trash can into a brown paper bag, weighed it on an old-fashioned scale, then sealed the bag with a piece of masking tape.  I carried it up to the register, and paid for my purchases.

When I got home, I held the sack over a bowl and carefully poured some of the seed in, tightened the drawstring, then hung it on the shepherd's hook on the deck.  If I remember right, it didn't take long for birds to find the original feeder.  I hope the same thing happens again with this new one.

My Sentiments Exactly

From a.eye at Shouldn't Life Be More Than This?

Letter to a dear friend 

I know that our relationship started out pretty intense. 

It was like, we were almost inseparable from the beginning. As soon as I had a break at lunch, I would be with you - even if it was just for a few moments. After work, I would be with you until my nap. Then, I would wake up and we would be together until I had to break away to make dinner - though sometimes I was able to have you keep me company in the kitchen as I cooked. 

After dinner, we were truly inseparable.  I was at your whim. Anytime you let me know you wanted some attention I was there to give it to you. I was always there.
Lately, I have been a lot less into you. 

Trust, though, that it's not you. 

It's me. 

I have sometimes gone days without any contact with you.  When we do get back together, I play catchup and make up for all the lost time.  But after those precious moments, there are even more days of no contact. 

I know that I don't want to completely part from you, but I do need more space.
I take pleasure in knowing that being with you has helped me meet new people and learn new words.  I have also been able to increased my confidence in being able to sometimes beat my mother in her own game. 

April was hard for our relationship. I was really busy with blogging with the A-Z Challenge, I was really busy with coaching, and really busy with teaching. My phone is so old that I don't even have enough memory on it to be able to use it to meet up with you. As soon as school is over and I have to return my iPad to the school, I don't know what I will do. I may have to buy some sort of new device to help keep us together. 

Until then, I will try and be with you as much as I can without becoming obsessed again, Words With Friends.

image source

The Right Side?

Starting shortly after noon today there was an influx of teenagers walking past my mall Customer Service desk, so I assumed that one of the nearby schools had an early dismissal day.

One of the teens, a beautiful willowy brunette who looked to be about 16, came up to me talking on her phone. Her shirt had an expensive-brand logo on the chest, and I bet her purse cost more than what I make in a week. I heard her say that she was at the mall, and then she thrust her phone at me, asking me to talk to her dad.

I started the conversation with my normal phone greeting…[Name of Mall] Customer Service and my name. The gentleman on the other end had a distinguished-sounding voice. He asked if his daughter was, indeed, at the mall. I answered that she was. He then proceeded to ask me my name (first AND last), and my job title. I felt like I was being grilled.

After he’d gotten all the information he needed, he thanked me and ended the call. I handed the phone back to the girl, who gave me a smile as she walked away.  I didn't know if I should feel sorry for the girl or her father. Was he completely overbearing, or had she given him a reason not to trust her?

Strawberries In Tuxedos

Aren't they cute?

These were one of the gifts I received for Mother's Day. I also got a beautiful pair of earrings, and a planter bowl of flowers for the deck.

It was a great day. How was yours?

Movie In The Morning

Today I went to a "private" showing of a movie. I'd like to think that it's because I'm a VIP, but it actually has more to do with the fact I woke up too early.

I had a lot to do today, and it all had to be done by late afternoon. When I woke up shortly before 6 to go to the bathroom I couldn't go back to sleep.  I tossed and turned, thinking of all the things on my list. After an hour, I decided to get up and start the day. I threw on clothes and headed down to the kitchen, where I heard Hubby Tony in the shower as I was pouring my first cup of coffee.

Tony had heard that The Artist, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture this year, was back in theaters this weekend. We hadn't seen it yet (although we both wanted to) so he suggested we go. I asked him to research theaters and show times, then headed off to scoop the cat litter and sweep the kitchen floor.

I was out back pulling weeds when Tony got back to me.  He'd found out that the first showing was at 9:40. In the morning.  It was 8:35.  If we moved fast, we could get there.

Neither of us could remember going to a movie in the morning, but it turned out to be a really good idea.  The movie theater we went to was located in a mall (which didn't open till 10), so parking was a breeze.  There was no line at the movie box office, and we didn't have to wait to have our tickets taken.  Even though the concession stand was open, we passed on snacks.  Popcorn did NOT sound good so soon after breakfast!  We arrived at the theater ten minutes before the movie started.  There was no one else there, so we got our choice of seats.  We chatted through the video commercials and waited for the movie to start.  The commercials ended, and the trailers started.  No one else had entered the theater.  We had the whole place to ourselves!

It was like watching in our family room, except the screen was massive and the sound system pristine. We lifted the arm rest between us and I put my feet up on Tony's lap.  I was able to talk back to the screen as loud as I wanted, and when I had to go use the bathroom halfway through Tony was able to tell me what had happened when I was gone.  We stayed to watch the credits, and didn't have to worry about people climbing over us to get out.

Wake Up Call?

I have a "Thought For The Day" calendar that I look at each morning. This was today's thought:

Since I pulled the page off the calendar I've been pondering the message. In 2008 I spent an entire year doing a daily activity that was new to me, but somewhere along the line I stopped.  I need to get back to putting diversity in my life.  

This small piece of paper may turn out to be a great kick in the pants.

Skip The Elevator-Take The Stairs

This morning I had a doctor's appointment.  His office is halfway to work, so when I left the house after breakfast I wore casual clothes and carried my work clothes in a bag; that way I could get to the mall early enough to change in the bathroom before I had to start my Customer Service shift.

I thought I knew how long it would take to get to the doctor's office, but since it was after rush hour I overestimated and pulled into the parking lot 20 minutes too early. After spending a few seconds pondering what to do, inspiration hit.  The medical building is four stories tall, with stairs at each end.  My doctor's office is on the third floor, and the building's elevator is slower than dirt, so I always take the stairs. Since I had time to kill today, I decided to get some exercise doing extra flights of stairs.

I entered the building at the center entrance and walked to the stairwell closest to the doctor's office. When I got into the stairwell, I checked to see if there were any security cameras to record my unusual antics. I didn't see any, so I figured no one would be watching me. I slung my purse across my body and started up the stairs at a fast jog.

With only three flights of stairs, it was hard to get in a groove, but I did my best. I went up and down the steps at one end of the building four times, then walked to the other end and did four more reps.  I walked back to the first side (stopping at the bathroom on the way) and started on a third set.

Just then I saw a UPS delivery person carrying a few small boxes use the stairs just above me; that was enough to make me stop.  However, I'd put in a good 15 minutes of aerobic work, and was pleasantly winded and sweaty enough to cross exercise off my list for the day. Besides, it was time for my appointment.

Tortilla Flats

Several years ago Hubby Tony decided he wanted to take charge of dinner one night a week.  After some discussion, we decided Sunday would be a good day.  He picks out the menu, gathers the ingredients, and does the cooking.  The first couple of weeks I found I was giving too much advice (i.e., trying to control things), and banned myself from the kitchen.  I usually go upstairs and read, or during the nice weather go outside and do yard work.

Most Sundays Son Donald rolls in sometime after lunch to hang out and helps his dad cook. They have a great time together.  A couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted to spend some quality time in the kitchen with Donald and announced I'd take back dinner preparations for one week.  Today was the day.

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, so I decided the meal would have a Mexican theme. When I saw a post in my Reader this week for chocolate corn tortillas by Stef at The Cupcake Project I decided it sounded pretty easy, so as part of the meal Donald and I would make our own tortillas, something I'd never done before.

Stef's post was on Thursday, and she promised an accompanying tortilla filling was coming, but on Saturday morning I  came up with my own idea.  Son Tony had cooked a wonderful pork roast in adobo sauce when he was in town for Christmas; if I added potatoes to that (and made it more like a stew) I could still have tortillas and serve them like bread.  I went to a Mexican grocery store near the house and bought the special ingredients--masa harina (corn meal made from corn soaked in lime then dried before being finely ground) and a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

I decided to use the recipe for tortillas on the side of the masa bag and save Stef's chocolate version for another time. There were only three ingredients-masa, salt, and water. I mixed everything together, and Donald kneaded it smooth. We let it rest, divided the dough into 16 pieces, rolled each piece into a ball, then put the balls between layers of plastic and flattened them with a rolling pin.  Some of the tortillas came out less than round, but I figured they'd taste just the same.

It took 30 second on each side to cook the tortillas in a hot pan.  When they were done I piled them on a plate until dinner time.  Tony couldn't stay out of the kitchen, so he and Donald worked together to make guacamole.  I heated up pinto beans and put everything, along with a green salad, on the table.

The tortillas were darn good (if I do say so myself).  Some of them could have been a little thinner, but for a first try we didn't do too bad.  I'd bought a large pork roast, so there was quite a bit of food left over.  I sent some home with Donald, put some in the refrigerator for tomorrow night's dinner, and froze a couple of cups worth of pork for a meal down the road.

As we were cleaning up after dinner Donald wanted to know if I was going to add tortillas to my recipe repertoire.  I replied that I just may have to.  Any excuse for eating Mexican food is OK in my book!

A Peony For Your Thoughts

I have one peony plant, which is in the back yard next to my neighbor's fence.  Each year when I see the buds starting to form I can't wait for the blooms.

Today was the day:

The flowers never last long, though.  By some strange coincidence right after the peony blooms each year we get a hard rainstorm or heavy wind which makes them flop over or knocks the petals off.  This morning, right on schedule, we had a gully-washer come through; I was out in the car and for a few minutes visibility was so poor I had to pull over to the side of the road.

When I got home and checked on the peony, all the open blooms had toppled and were laying on the grass.  I raised them up again, but based on past experience they'll never be the same.

Out With The Cold

Even though our weather's alternated between balmy and blustery, it's definitely getting warmer. We haven't worn our winter-weight coats for weeks.

From December through March (and sometimes into April), the outwear in the coat closet is an important part of our wardrobes. Then things warm up and I forget the closet's there. Several years ago I got busy and failed to wash our coats. When I put mine on the first cold day months later, it still had the previous year's supply of dirt on it. Yuck!

Since then I have a reminder on the calendar for May 1st to wash all the winter coats. I started the job yesterday and finished it today.

I have one everyday winter coat. Hubby Tony has two. I gathered them all up and took the pile to the laundry room just off the kitchen. Each coat was almost, but not quite, a full load, so I added a few extra articles in with each. At the end of the project my dirty clothes baskets were empty and I felt like I'd killed two birds with one stone. In my experience, heavy things like coats never completely dry in one dryer cycle, so as each load got done I took the coat out and hung it over the back of a kitchen chair. Eventually, half of the kitchen table chairs had winter wear slung over the back.

This morning I put everything away. I don't know about you, but during the winter I never bother to fasten my coat when I hang it up, because I'm just going to use it again the next day. In honor of the end of the season, though, I zipped and Velcro-d everything properly and made sure the hoods were hanging straight before putting the coats back in the closet.

The casual side of the closet looked so nice I decided to take a look at our "dress" coats. Tony and I both have all-weather and wool models, which I checked for cleanliness. We had a mild winter and the dress coats didn't get a lot of use. The ones that didn't need cleaning got the same hanging treatment as their casual siblings, and I started a pile for the dry cleaner.

I'll have to repeat the process with our jackets once I'm sure we won't need them any more, then I'll be able go on about my business and ignore the closet until things start cooling off again.