Early Spring?

The arrival of daffodils is always a reminder that winter will not last forever. Last year I jumped for joy when the flowers appeared. This year, the daffodils arrived early.

Winter never really got started here. We have had some cold weather, but nothing to compare with last year.

Daffodils are a welcome sight, I can't help but smile when I see their sunny, happy, little faces spring up from the cold dead ground.

My "helper" is happy to see them too. Miss Mary feels that she should be a part of whatever it is that I am doing.

We enjoy these flowers, but we keep in mind that this is South Georgia, and anything is still possible when it comes to the weather here.

Meet Perdita

When we began keeping chickens, I resisted the urge to name each one. That didn’t last long; my insatiable desire to name things took over. Perdita, Desdemona and Birdie are my Americaunas.
Birdie is the Head Hen. Desdemona lives in her own little world and gives new meaning to the term ‘bird brain”. Perdita is a very social creature and chooses to communicate with me as I enter the chicken pen.

Perdita flies to the top of the roost so that she can get closer to me. Perdita clucks and makes chicken noises in an attempt to communicate with me. She expects me to pause and gets close to me, inspecting my clothing and turning her head sideways to get a closer look.
What is Perdita trying to tell me? Could she be tattling on the other girls, and sharing their secrets? Is she requesting more fresh foods, oatmeal and cornbread, and less chicken feed? Is she requesting a TV or perhaps she feels the need to “surf the net”? Does she think that a designer chicken coop would make her happier and give her the ability to lay more eggs? Until the ability to speak chicken has been learned, her sounds will remain a mystery, and my imagination has the opportunity to take over.

Those are interesting thoughts, however I fear that she has heard of the fame that Clover and Atticus enjoy, and feels that she has that certain star quality too. Perdita feels that she is a lovely specimen of chickenhood and deserves to have her own fan club. She wants fan mail and there is an adoring public waiting for her.

There it is, the truth, Perdita’s motives have been revealed. Perdita wants to be famous. Time will tell if Perdita achieves her dreams or if she will end up being a tragedy on the road to stardom, a hopeful starlet that falls by the wayside forgotten, by the public. If that happens, then hopefully Perdita will remember that she has chicken sisters at home, waiting for her, and the chicken keeper that provides her with warm oatmeal on cold mornings.

Joining Farmgirl Friday at Dandelion House

Music Table

A dear friend sent me a picture and text one afternoon asking me if I wanted some goodies that she had happened on. Of course I said yes!!
This former silverware table was in need of some love. I sat this table to the side waiting for inspiration to strike.

This piece was simply in need of love and inspiration. The silverware box was not original to the table, and the table was pieced together from different pieces and painted to match. My heart would not break over painting this table.

Inspiration finally struck! I needed a place to keep music books and sheet music, and decided that this piece would fit my needs. So I gave the table a coat of paint, an overcoat of glaze, and a good waxing.

Kevin was called in to repair/replace hinges; he used what he had in his stash. As a good wife, I feel that it my duty to help my husband sharpen his carpentry skills, so various projects must be kept going at all times. It is a sacrifice, but I do it for my husband.

The inside was not pretty. We had scraped the glue out of the inside of the box and I decided to decoupage the inside. My first thought was to use old sheet music. So a trip to the local antique mall was in order.
Phillip helped me find a book that would be okay to use. When I got home, I was looking through the book, and found some music that I didn't have! I couldn't do it! I couldn't destroy this book!

Change of plans now, I wouldn't feel as bad about using an old novel.

There is now a place to keep my music! Sheet music is kept in the box, and books are placed on the bottom shelf!

The cost for this project was less than $2! The paint and glaze were what I had on hand, and the book was from the attic. The glue for the decoupage was the only purchase. Should I change my mind and want to do something different with the table, I can change it again.
This table was on my list of projects to be completed this year and now I can strike it off the list. Woo Hoo!

Linking to Miss Mustard Seed, Furniture Feature Friday

Oatmeal

Mama fixed oatmeal on cold mornings when I was a child. As I got older, oatmeal became "gross". One morning Mama sat the bowl in front of me and I told her that I wasn't real hungry. Daddy asked why and I told him that oatmeal was gross. Daddy said "of course it is not good, you haven't made it taste good yet, I wouldn't eat that either".

In the land of 10 year old girls, I was happy, my Daddy had agreed with me, oatmeal was really not good. This was very important in my world, a parental figure had agreed on an obviously life altering subject. I was feeling pretty good about myself, maybe I could have something good for breakfast now. You know, like kid food, the important things, cookies maybe.

Daddy handed me the butter knife and told me to put some butter in the bowl, and I did.

He told me to put 2 teaspoons of sugar in the bowl, and I did.

Then he told me to mix it all up real good.

This is the important part, he told me to pour a little milk around the edge of the bowl, so I did.

Daddy looked at my bowl, and pronounced it good enough to eat.

Daddy was right again, my 10 year old dignity was saved, and my Mama was happy because I left the house with a warm breakfast in my tummy.

This is the way that I eat oatmeal as an adult, of course I smile thinking about Daddy convincing me to eat oatmeal.

Dreaming

I am dreaming of spring! I am dreaming of new chicks.

And green grass, and flowers!

And ducklings too!

This warm weather doesn't help!

A Resolution

Every year I make New Year's Resolutions. These resolutions are not there to punish, they are my road map, my guide to the things that I want to accomplish during that year. There is a sense of satisfaction in crossing items off of the list, and that satisfaction pushes me to achieve as many of the items on my list as possible.

This year I want to play the piano more than I have been. I want to spend more time practicing. This has been a hard decision to make, because this is my Daddy's piano. This piano is now in my house, it is a bittersweet decision. There are so many memories of Daddy standing behind me and singing or just whistling as I played. If Daddy were able to understand the situation now, he would want me to continue to play and practice more.

That makes the decision a no brainer, but it was still difficult. Daddy is not aware that the piano is not at the house anymore, much less at my house, but I can't allow current circumstances to prevent me from doing something that I loved and that Daddy loved hearing me do.

This year I will play the piano more, I will practice more. Daddy will not know that I am playing, but I will.

Atticus will not be "helping" me, and doesn't know how to play, he just loves any opportunity to have his picture taken. This picture was taken early last summer when we moved the piano into the house.