PIctures

Here are a variety of pictures that I wanted to share but haven't really fit into any of my updates:

First:  A response 

...to my friend Christy's "Ode to a Self-Portrait."  On her blog, Christy pointed out that a lot of her friends post pictures of their families on the blog but rarely get on the other side of the camera.  She challenged her blogging friends, some (me) by name, to get dolled up and get our photos taken!  So Christy, here ya go!  I realize I got carried away with PhotoBooth, but I couldn't decide which to post.

Second: Animalia 

David loves hauling Alea around.  We have a picture of Nathan holding his cat Sammy in a similar way, so we thought a parallel picture would be appropriate.  

I had  to laugh when Alea climbed up on top of the playset and then had to think really hard about how to get down again...

And I've never seen a squirrel so relaxed...

Third: David is getting so big!

Fourth: I've been Crafting!!

Fall always gives me a crafty itch that I just have to scratch.  I can't help it!  

Many moons ago I found a link to a site that has patterns to knit and crochet Chemo Caps.  Having not been especially successful crocheting hats before, I was excited to try this new pattern and learn several new stitches and techniques in the process.  I made this in August, and promised a friend on Facebook that I'd post a picture of my end result.  Ta-da!

And my next craft I finished last night after posting the "6 Quirks Tag" where I said I hate having multiple projects at once and realized I had three going.  That won't do!  So I sat down and finished this.  I must say, I'm super excited about this one.  If I weren't so young and ambitious (ha) I might have called it my magnus opus.

My friend Jennifer called me Martha Stewart when I started making this at her house Thursday night.  Not simply because I glued some silk flowers on a vine wreath, noooo... but because I made the vine wreath!  That's right.  While I was visiting my parents last weekend, I went out and harvested some of the South's most beautiful and fragrant noxious weed from their back yard--wisteria.  Then I came home and soaked the vines and wove them into a wreath, and then wrapped a (pre-made, I confess) berry garland around it and used my trusty (more like "rusty") floral design education to arrange some silk decorations on it.  I was delighted last night when Nathan genuinely complimented my work without any fishing or prodding.  

I was hoping to hang it on my front door, but alas, I cannot find a wreath hanger to fit our door, and still be able to shut the door.  I'm hoping I'll have better luck when Christmas decorations are more easily found in stores.

Conceptualizing and planning the wreath made me want to generally improve our curb appeal, so I did some quick pick-me-ups and seasonal touches:

The process of doing all that was so invigorating, and held some delightful surprises for me.  First, I was talking to my neighbor outside about cleaning up the yard a bit, and she offered to let me borrow her edger.  Nice tool!  I finished with that and then started the very tedious and back-breaking job of sweeping our driveway with a push broom.  Every  time I attempt it I wish to myself that we had a blower so I could just blow everything off the driveway.  My neighbor had some tree guys starting their own cleanup after hauling a dead tree out of her back yard, and then without saying a word, they came over with their blower and did it for me.  How nice!

Unwelcome Tenant

Nathan often tells me I have the nose of a bloodhound. All I can say is that I'm sensitive about how things smell. Unfortunately, our family room is rather malodorous at the moment. If any of you come to my house, I promise that I change poopy diapers, bathe my children, empty the garbage, and run my in-sink-erator. The problem is an unwelcome tenant in our chimney.

So, last Wednesday as I was getting David ready for his first day of preschool, we suddenly heard some noise in the fireplace. I'm thinking to myself, "Great. A squirrel in the chimney and I have to leave in 5 minutes to take David to school." Daniel clung to me as the rattling continued, and David begged me for a flashlight so he could check it out. What a goof. As you may recall, I have my fireplace covered with insulating foam to prevent drafts. I pulled the insulation away to make sure the squirrel was not actually in the fireplace (true), and then put everything back in place, let the cat in the house, and left for the morning, hoping everything worked out in some way or another without having a carcass on my beige area rug when I got home.

When I returned in the afternoon, our tenant was still rattling away above the fireplace. I blocked off exits with baby gates, secured the kids out of the room, brought the cat into the room, opened the back door (cat promptly exited when she heard him rattle), and opened the flue, ready for a frantic squirrel to burst into my family room. Nothing. I think there's a grate or mesh or something to prevent critters from entering the fireplace through the chimney. How considerate, until I need to get one out!

I next did an internet search on how to get squirrels out of chimneys. The solution is actually pretty simple: lower a rope down the chimney so the squirrel could climb out. We had just two problems--no ladder to get up there, and no rope even if we did have a ladder. Going out and buying those things for a squirrel really was not a financial option this month. We called Pest Control to see if they could retrieve the squirrel. Yes they could, for a modest fee of $230, plus an additional $140 for this that and the other. Definitely not a fiscal option for a squirrel! After hearing that price tag, Nathan said the squirrel could stay there and enjoy his Darwin award for falling down the chimney in the first place.


And he did.

The rattling stopped during the night.

It was 90 degrees outside the past three days.

And he smells.


I caught my first whiffs of him this afternoon. I moved my ionic breeze air purifier over by the fireplace, sprayed air freshener in the room, burned a cinnamon spice candle, and incense to give my sensitive nostrils something else to think about. I hope he stops being noticeable soon!