Just another simple Saturday

100_9764, originally uploaded by torri_g.

I'll admit that since Thursday simple and lazy has pretty much been the name of the game for me. I starting to think I meant it when I said I was taking the rest of the weekend off. So since I'm so busy being lazy, just a simple entry today with pictures taken in the last couple of weeks of the fall color across the field behind the house.

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend!

Not my little mister

100_9803, originally uploaded by torri_g.

Earlier this week I post about finding an egg that had been laid in one of the love bird cages and promised to share a picture of which one it was. Talk about setting up a perfect thing for Feline and Furball with Feather's Friday post! Puff the Mighty Eagle is the one with the eggs! My little mister isn't a mister, and since all of us have gotten used to referring to Puff as little mister or little man, it has thrown us all off. Since Puff is the lovebird with a cage all to herself, I'm sure that these are infertile eggs that she is laying. I'm hoping since she is so young that it will not be a whole clutch of 5-6 eggs that she feels the need to lay, but right now the count is at 2. As a precaution to avoid her feeling the need to keep laying them till she has a full clutch I have opted to keep the eggs in the cage with her, going with the idea that when she no longer is so defensive of them I will remove them. So far all I have seen her wanting to do with them is play soccer around the bottom of the cage with them, and fight anyone that gets to close to the cage. My little princess bird that makes me laugh so much with her daily antics has been getting the spoiling treatment that comes from this Mom whenever she thinks any of her kids just aren't feeling so great. I'm pretty sure that Puff is getting tired of me keeping such a close watch on her, and yes I have even asked her more than a couple of times this week if she is alright. Oh and laugh about that one all you want, but Puff has this eerie way of nodding her head yes to things a times.

Alright it is time for everyone to head over to visit Steve and Pickle again because it is Feline and Furball Friday. I you want to play along too all you have to do is post your own and leave a link in comments. Since I'm posting way early today I will have to come back later and update with the link over to Steve and Pickle. I hope that everyone has a good turkey day recovery Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving

100_9832, originally uploaded by torri_g.

Cooking, eating, cleaning, what a day it has been. Another Thanksgiving is nearing an end and the count down to Christmas is in full swing. Before that though let me take time to once again tell the story about the naming of the Thanksgiving turkey. It is something that the oldest two girls came up with when they were just little, and for whatever the reason, it has become as much of a yearly tradition as any of the food that gets cooked. This year it was Little Bugs year to name the turkey and I'm proud to introduce Gibby. Gibby was a great turkey to work with this year even though his size was huge, a tender and more juicy bird I don't think we have had in a few years. There will be tons of leftover eating going on tomorrow and Army Guy is on for cooking come Saturday because I think I am going to need a couple of days off.

I had the girls write a quick couple of thankful for things for this entry here tonight because I couldn't remember everything that they had said earlier.

Binky Sue is thankful for, family, food, almost being done with school, and music. She also wrote that she is thankful that her Dad didn't fart right in front of her tonight like he was threatening to do.(They are soooo very sweet in this house.) She is also thankful for clothes, and having a "job" that she loves doing.

Sweetpea is thankful for, her family, the things that she has, the food that we eat, school (mostly teachers & art).

Little Bug is thankful for, family, love in the house, friends, songs, pets. The fact that my Mommy can't read my writing, but most of all people who have loved me the most...Mommy and Daddy.

I'm thankful for being done trying to read Little Bugs hand writing here tonight. Alright now for real, I'm thankful for all of my girls and the laughs they have given me over the last year, they far out weigh any tears or frustration. I'm thankful for my Army Guy and looking forward to all the next year is sure to bring our way. I'm thankful for knowing every day that there are people who love me. I'm thankful for family, I'm thankful for friends, and I'm thankful for another wonderful Thanksgiving.

Sweetpea during her dinner time list said "I am thankful for having what we have, even if others wouldn't think it was a lot, because to me it is the best and most important that everything I have is because of being loved, and now a days it seems like a lot of people don't have enough of that." I may not have all of the words just right, but I don't think that really matters. She spoke words that are very true, and I hope that today everyone felt that whatever they had or were doing, that it was the best and everyone felt loved. Happy Thanksgiving!

T'was the night before

100_9823, originally uploaded by torri_g.

T'was the night before Thanksgiving,
when all through the house,
All creatures were stirring,
thank goodness there Not a mouse!
The pies are all cooling on the cabinet with care,
In hopes that Mom would not pull out her hair.

Alright so that is as far as I'm going to go with that little poem here tonight. Pie baking turned into a need for a major clean up in the oven because of a butter milk pie that didn't seem to want to stay in the pan or bake right. They are done though and I'm so thankful right now that the plan was just for two pies, because I really don't think that I could find it in me bake anymore. After sending ranch dip mix flying all over myself I also think I'm going to skip trying to chop up and veggies for trays. I live with the thought that as long as things go kind of crazy the night before Thanksgiving, all will turn out just about perfect the day of. Good grief after tonight I sure hope so, or my very favorite holiday is going to find me hiding in a corner crying.

I hope that everyone is ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and that today and tonight's prep doesn't leave any of us bald. I'm sure tomorrow night I will be back with a post about what everyone is thankful for this year and of course a picture of the turkey and the reveal of what it's name is this year. Until then have a very Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, and enjoy the time spent with those you love.

One year ago today

100_5740, originally uploaded by torri_g.

Since I haven't really been able to get out of the house to take new pictures, I went back into archive photo's and found this from one year ago today. It doesn't look like much but it was our first dusting of snow on the mountains. I do remember it being much cooler last year than this year so far. We never did hit our projected high of 70+ today, but then again the sun never managed to come out from behind the clouds today either. Rain and much cooler temperatures are the forecast for the next couple of days here. Since Little Bug and I have to make a drive up to Tucson tomorrow, I'm hoping that the rain just holds off and that there won't be an added bonus of gusting winds. It is more than enough fun driving at the set speed limit of 75 mph between here and Tucson, add a good gusting wind though and it is just down right exhausting. As soon as we manage to get back from Tucson it will be cook dinner, get Binky Sue over to her baby sitting job and time to work on the pre-Thanksgiving cooking and chopping that needs to be done.

I hope that everyone has had a good Tuesday and that you are all ready for the holiday and not about to find yourself out trying to shop tomorrow.

Peaceful slow start

100_9809, originally uploaded by torri_g.

Seeing as I'm not really ready for it to be Monday morning already, I'm getting off to a slow moving start here. Maybe because my favorite holiday is this week, and I'm storing all of the energy I can to get through the cooking that will be going on. No...wait...I think it has a lot more to do with the fact that I went to bed with a headache, woke up with a headache, have sinuses that are not just stuffed up but stuffed up and draining at the same time. How is that really possible? I mean one or the other would be more than enough! It has me wanting the peaceful start to the day to not end here because right now it is quiet. However, being the Thanksgiving nut that I am there is a long list of things for each day this week for me to get through and sitting here typing blog post isn't going to start making that list any shorter.

I hope that today is a good day for everyone, and even if the day isn't a peaceful slow one that we all have some time to think about the things we are thankful for.

Some Birdy isn't what we thought!

100_9818, originally uploaded by torri_g.

We knew when we got the lovebirds that there really isn't anyway other than DNA to tell just what sex they are. Hence the reason for the names Mango, Honey, and Puff. None of the names are really one gender or the other. Alright so Honey is pretty close but still it could work for a male bird too. We have taken guesses at what we thought the sex of each bird is but today one guess was totally shot down. We now know that there is one female of the group because of finding the egg in the cage. I am going to wait till Friday to post a picture of just which bird it is, but felt the need to share this bit of news.

I hope that everyone has had a great weekend and that the coming holiday week is good for all of us.

What is it? Sibling Sunday is what it is!

What?, originally uploaded by torri_g.

Since ordering Binky Sue's announcements, cap and gown, there has been a debate going on under this roof about a couple of things. First and foremost was what in the world her class motto was about. I mean in the whole scheme of class motto's this one just struck me as...well it struck me as a lot of things most of which I'm not going to even bother typing here. At first Binky Sue thought it was pretty cool, but fast forward a week and she too is wondering "Couldn't anyone come up with something better?" After much checking we find out that the senior student body actually had nothing to do with the creation of the class motto, the school faculty did. Now I know there have been a lot of things that have changed since I was a senior in high school 20 years ago, and I have learned to deal with the things that used be but are no more. However, when I was thinking that it was the students that had picked this, I didn't understand it but I could see it because it is a group of 17/18 year old's trying to come up with a way define themselves. Knowing now that it was chosen by the teachers and administrators, I'm viewing it as a virtual slap in the face to each one of the 600+ seniors at that school. This accompanied by the fact that the day of ordering caps and gowns the students were being told...no encouraged to decorate their caps with writing and other decoration prior to the graduation ceremony by the school staff, leaves me with a very bitter taste in my mouth.(Oh wait that taste may have something to do with the really bad words that came flying out of my mouth upon hearing this!)

My question would be does the school think so little of these kids that it is okay to set the bar so low that a baby could crawl over it? Let's play down the momentous mile stone that each one of the senior student body will achieve come May. Instead let's make it take on the look of a three ring circus side show act and we can all just say "It is what it is!" I know that a good share of the student body was thrilled to hear about the allowed decorating of caps and the ability to come dressed that night as they would any other day of the school week, including my Binky Sue. I however being the mean Mom that I have always been, and will always be said "NO!" Actually I said a lot more than that but once again not even going to type that all out here. Binky Sue at first was of course mad at me about it, but after thinking about it this week she is more upset with the school for setting a standard so very low. "It is what it is" is slowly being viewed as a slap in the face of every bit of hard work that has been put into making it to this soon to be mile stone of her life.

Simple Saturday Morning

100_9805, originally uploaded by torri_g.

When going out during fall here there is a very simple thing to remember, think about where you are heading to while you are still in the house and can grab a coat if needed. Of course I didn't think about that yesterday before heading out for Huachuca Canyon and trying to find some fall colors to take pictures of. I didn't think about while I was walking from the house to the carport either, because my long sleeve shirt was enough for the almost 50 degrees here at the house. It was not enough however once I got up into the canyon! A very chilly 36 degrees up there is what greeted me when I climbed out of the car with my camera. From the parking area I hiked about half a mile up one of the trails and then turned around to head back down wondering if I had somehow left my brain in the nice warmth of my house. Due to a cold shake of my hands most of the pictures just will never be seen by anyone. It was a good morning though because of being able to see so much wildlife out and active in the canyon. No pictures of that though because that was while I was making the drive back down. I know our temperatures are not as cold as a good share of my readers area's, but we are super cold and already missing the warmth that is usually associated with Arizona.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend, and that if you are out and about trying to get ready for Thanksgiving stay warm.

Who is bigger?

Don't hurt me Kiki, originally uploaded by torri_g.

Since shooting pictures of animals last night, I have had a difficult time picking which one to use for this post today. I ended up with a lot of good shots yesterday, but it is the funny one's that I kept being drawn to. This picture of Kiki the Cockatiel vs. Trinity the Coonhound is my final winner, if you click on the picture you should be taken to my flickr and be able to see my second choice.

Anyway, of the four birds in the house there are two that can be handled and get out of their cages a couple times a day. Kiki and Puff enjoy their time out of their cages and spend the time with their humans. Okay so Puff spends a good share of his time flying around and lands for brief moments with us. Kiki on the other hand can not fly because of wings that were clipped before we got her. So for her safety cats have to be rounded up and put in the back of the house and dogs either have to go in their beds or have muzzles put on. Trinity's response to the time of having her muzzle on is to lay on the couch and pout, but deal with the fact that she just isn't going to be allowed to put a bird in her mouth. Kiki last night though didn't want to stay on a lap or anywhere near a person. She was more interested in checking things out and wandering on her own, which took her right over to where Trinity was laying down doing her very best pouting. Kiki showing no signs of fear walked right up to Trinity to get a closer look. What went on between the two of them had the whole family laughing watching them. The more Kiki complained at Trinity the more she put her face down into the couch as if to hide her face. Trinity weighs a good 65 pounds, Kiki weighs in at a mere few ounces, but looking at the picture who would you guess has the bigger attitude? I have to give my Trinity girl kudos though, one swipe of her paw and Kiki is no more, but she is a great girl who just wanted the bird to walk away and leave her to do her pouting.

It is time for Feline and Furball Friday over with Steve and Pickle. Once again I'm throwing in some feathers into the mix just for some extra fun. If you want to play along all you have to do is post your own and leave a link in comments. I hope that everyone has a great weekend.

Steve's Feline and Furball Friday