5-29-03: Home Haiku

Thursday, May 29 2003

9:20am   While showering, had an idea for a poetry collection "Home Haiku" with haiku about normal at home living events. My first idea:

Red Leaves and Berries

Pressed Against My Moistened Skin

Pictures On A Towel

2nd idea:

Tray By The Bedside

Water, Tea, Glasses, Remote

All Necessities

This is either a really good idea, or really dumb.

We have an appointment at 11:00 am today with a building owner in Galion. We're going to look at the location that would be affordable & sized right to hold our future business. David is downstairs at the computer crunching numbers, while I play with words...

[J] & [A] came over for lunch yesterday. Nice visit. They really seemed to like our place and they looked at every nook & cranny. The barn was a hit, but the house was really to their liking. Also, they loved the view and the shape of the land around us. 

David got the sense that [A] still isn't emotionally ready to part with the Pond House, so we have a few years (if he's right) to figure out how to keep this new place we love and buy up the old place to keep it in the family.

Talked to Dad on the phone yesterday @ 5:30pm (11:30pm their time). Brief call since it's probably extremely expensive, but it was good to hear they're doing well after all their travels. Elsie landed a $330 fine at the airport for an overweight suitcase!


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Memories of Tessa - Part I

Memories of Tessa

Part I

When I first saw Tessa, she was in a cage at the pound and her name tag read "Samantha Marie". You might be expecting me to say it was 'love at first sight', but thankfully it was not.

Why thankfully? Because that day I was on a mission to find an adoptable playmate for Vince. We had recently lost Luc, our beloved Doberman (our first family dog together), and I was so heartbroken that I vowed to never love a dog again the way I loved Luc. We still had Pavoratti, the greyhound, but he was not the playful kind and we wanted more action for cutie-pie Vince.

So, on my second visit to the animal shelter in Kent WA, I strolled the aisles with a cold heart and calculating eye. Mid-size dog, not too small, not too big, not too old, short hair, friendly. And one that I DEFINITELY would NEVER love.

I saw 'Samantha' watching me through her cage door, and she was one of the few not barking. Visually she fit all my parameters, and the tag listed her age as 8 months old. The troubling news was that she had been returned to the pound twice after being adopted but no specific reasons were listed.

An attendant helped me get her outside for a short outdoor/leash trial. I watched the dog, felt nothing, and knew it would be a good match. David got a chance to see her before all the paperwork was filled out, and since he liked her we went ahead with the adoption.

Before bringing "Tessa" home (we had preselected the name: it means 'third' and she would be the third dog), she had to be spayed at the shelter. The day I picked her up was a few hours post-surgery, and she slept all the way home in the back of our old Volvo wagon.

Next up:  Part II - Tessa's New Life

Custom Built Aviary

Our current finch family includes Andre II, Corky: son of Andre II, Sparkling: mate of Corky, and Edie (for 'Extra Dry'): mate of Andre II.

Edie joined our family after the tragic death of Flute, and her trademark move is standing backwards in the food dish. She is small, but a fast flyer, and really likes to jet. She was recently involved in a bit of excitement, but more on that later because I'm writing today about their custom built aviary.

During this past snowy February, David worked hard to turn my wish into reality. I had sketched out some ideas, and we had hemmed and hawed over possible designs that would be practical, look nice, and be affordable (David had been laid off in February). We decided that altering an existing piece of furniture would simplify the process, and he started tracking CraigsList.

The winning piece was an entertainment center he spotted at St Vincent DePaul. After he first saw it, he described it to me as being in good shape except for a few dings and a detached front door. I gave him the nod to go back the next day and buy it with my Christmas cash, and when he got there it was on sale for $20 because of the damaged door! To top it off, turns out the door was fine, just the hinge needed some tinkering.

Anyhoo, following are some of the pictures I snapped during his project. I didn't capture all the stages because he worked on it while I was at work, but I think these will do.

Cut-out door section that will be replaced by plexiglass

The side panels will be replaced with wire mesh.

This is how the wire mesh is anchored to the backside.

Backside complete with plexiglass and wire

To accomodate bird food/water dishes without reinventing the wheel,
we repurposed a panel from a small bird cage.

Closeup of the panel anchored to the wire mesh.

Beautiful! Finished outer shell.

Support rails for the bottom shelf inside.

Slide-out poop tray goes under the rails...

...removeable  mesh-covered frame goes on top of the rails.

All the comforts of their former home
plus so much more!

Obstruction-free viewing through the clear doors.

Drop-down blind allows me to open the doors to reach items
or clean the cage without the birds flying away.

Every zebra finch couple appreciates mood lighting!

Next post, I'll have pictures showing the birds enjoying their big slice of aviary heaven. It's been a great source of fun for me, too, and I wish every domesticated bird could live in such luxury.

Thank you, David! Once again, you've impressed me with your talents, and amazed me with your ability to sift through all the dreams and clouds in my head and create exactly what I want.

5-27-03: Memorial Day Weekend

Tuesday, May 27  2003

7:02am  Yesterday was Memorial Day Monday. Leslie & family came to visit Friday afternoon and departed Sunday morning. Her hubby & the boys were visiting relatives elsewhere. It was a little chilly while they were here, as most of May has been. It's nice if you're working outside, but too cool when we were trying to walk around at garage sales. Didn't stop us from trying to wear shorts.

Leslie & Em watched me put Vince & Tessa through the agility course, and Em was especially enthralled by the chickens. Her nicknames for our dogs are 'Barky Dog' [Vince], 'Licky Dog' [Tessa], and 'Soft Dog' [Pav]. She was afraid of Vince, but handled Tessa okay and loved Pav. Also liked petting Tig & visiting him in his room.

Leslie liked the garden, and was very helpful identifying some of the plants in the flower beds. She also blew the cover of a few weeds that were masquerading as flowers. It was fun playing hostess to her & Em and giving Leslie a break from her chores at home. 

Haven't talked to Dad & Elsie yet; so far, just the phone message they left on the 21st. Hope all is well. This morning is sunny & dry after last night's shower. The dogs are snoozing out here in the sunroom with me. So many birds out & about!

[J] & [A] are coming for dinner tomorrow, so I'm working on a grocery list and our 2-week menu. Time to bake up some new treats for David! We made brownies Friday morning and they were gone by Saturday night thanks to Leslie & me & Em. Oink, oink...

9:49pm  After David got up & had breakfast we went to town--Home Depot, Sam's Club (small list), Krogers and Lexington Library. We're all stocked up now, and ready for our visitors. Returned @ 2:00. David mowed the back yard while I finished putting groceries away and tinkering on the computer (email, etc).

By 3:00 I was outside weeding the garden and playing with plants in the barn. David started making the clam spag @ 3:30, and at 6:30 we had a terrific meal. After dinner I made the apple cake recipe from the Ohio cookbook, and just pulled it from the oven a little while ago. Slightly increased the amounts, so it took @ 50 minutes to bake through.

I'll roast 2 chickens tomorrow morning to serve for late lunch with [J & A]. [J] sent an email today confirming the visit & thanking David for the directions he sent. Seems that [A] has a bad back and [J] has a sore knee, so they'll be "hobbling around".

Took lots of documenting pictures today in the yard & garden.

3-bin compost system.
David built it from a picture I found on the internet.

An efficient compost bin with class!

Small red shed is earmarked to be my new potting shed.

Hostas and ferns on the NW side of the sunroom.

Young poplar tree

Vince adds perspective to a willow tree.

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