A new cage for Daisy and Josè

A few weeks ago Henry came up with the bright idea to take his built-in desk space, (which is mostly unused since he has another desk) and turn it into an aviary for his parakeets, Josè and Daisy. He designed and built the whole thing himself, including the framing, chicken wire, and wooden tray, but also the 3D printed door and perch brackets. (I need to do a separate post on all the things he's designed with his printer.)  Henry also added an Alexa controlled light that turns on and off at programmed times of the day.  Ahh, kids these days.  Always keeping their old parents in the loop, amirite? Anyway, D&J went from a smallish metal cage to this large, cool space, where they have lots of room to flap around and chirp at the top of their little bird lungs (you think I'm kidding about that haha).  Very cool, Henry!

 

What's up Wednesday

Hiiiii!!! What's new? The biggest news around here, at the moment, is we are back in school! This is a different year for us because H & H are at different CC campuses.  This wasn't an easy decision, and honestly, we're still not adjusted. Sniff sniff.  Another fun development is Henry has started working on dual credit.  He's currently taking Western Cultural History.

Jon has been working SO hard on our kitchen!  He's closing in on building an enclosure for our vent hood, then we'll order our open shelving, then begin work on the pantry, which is the final step!  I am thrilled to have a working, functioning kitchen again after 4 years of working with a 2 square foot section of countertop, and all walls torn down to the studs. Yuck.  I'm on cloud nine, y'all, and can't wait to share more in the coming months.

December 15 - Tradition

This sweet boy was a Christmas kitten in 2010, and every year his favorite sleeping spot is under the tree.  An unintentional tradition, for sure, but one that immediately became a household favorite.

#2017Christmasmoments

A Boy and His Kitten

Henry has wanted a kitten for a looooong time. We've looked at cats and kittens here and there, mostly at the pound, but never really felt that the time was right. (is the time *ever* right??) Anyway, on a whim, last April I was looking at the pet ads on Craigslist and found one for kittens. After some back and forth with the owner she said she had a new litter and did we want to come and take a look? We did, Henry picked one, and a month later we brought little 8 week, 1.5 pound Chip home. Poor Holly just about had a heart attack, and for weeks would have nothing to do with Chip. In fact, we were actually worried that he was depressed. Ha! But, gradually Chip won him over and now they are best brothers. This little cat, felt like a big risk at the time, but like all pets (or at least most) has made our home that much more special.

This kitten has a million nicknames, among them, Chippy, Chiparoni, Chippity Cricket, Chiparoo, ChipChip, Chipito, Chipster. He's so much fun, full of life and love, and I'm so glad he's ours.  :)

Kitten Crazy

Meet Chip.

We are kitten smitten over here, with all two pounds of this little darling boy.  If you need me, I'll probably have a kitten in my lap (if I can get him away from H & H, that is).  :D

white statue

Grieving

Saturday night we, unexpectedly, had to say goodbye to our handsome boy, Decatur. When we returned home in the afternoon from taking my sister and niece to the airport, Decatur was lying in his bed, awake, but unresponsive to us. After about an hour of pleading and coaxing, trying to get him to sit up or show any sort of normal behavior, Jon finally took him to the emergency vet where, after a lots of tests, learned that Decatur had blood vessel cancer. In the short span of the afternoon, his spleen has ruptured and he was bleeding internally, absolutely draining him of any of the life that he was so full of. Our last moments with him were absolutely excruciating as we tried to reassure him with lots of love and comforting phrases he knows so well, while feeling like our own hearts were breaking. As I took the kids out of the room, I said to him the words that I've used every single time I've left him to run errands, or whatever, during the day: "You wait, Decatur, Mommy will come back."

We bought Decatur as a 2 month old puppy in 1998, having wanted a Weimaraner since falling in love with the breed having seen one on Decatur Island in the San Juans. Our hope was that he would be good with the children we planned for our future, and he was. Oh, sure, in his 100 lb dog way, he occasionally bumped into one of the kids, but he had a very gentle disposition and tolerated whatever they threw his way. He tolerated us too. We thank God for you, Decatur.

He loved this little girl from the moment he laid eyes on her. The day we brought her home from the hospital, he trotted right over to her infant car seat and placed his beloved stuffed animal right in her lap and sat waiting, wagging his tail. As if to say, "it's about time you got here!"

We made him put up with several other pets along the way, and he rolled with all of the punches. He was our Decatur, Mr. Handsome, and Sweet K.

Havalah loved to sit and read the Bible to him.

He was the boy who literally wore his (white) heart, right on his chest. How we are going to miss this velvety soft chest and sweet soft face.

In our last moments, he couldn't even lift his head, but oh, did he try. Such a loyal and strong boy.

saying goodbye...

Decatur

March 4 1998- April 3 2010

You have filled up our hearts, all these years and we will love you forever Sweet K.

***I'm planning on uploading more photos of Decatur on my Flickr account, as well, as things comes to mind that I'd like to record about Decatur, I will be updating this post.***

Meet Bella

So, we recently added a little dog to our family. A Scottish Terrier. Once a week for about the last two years the kids and I have visit the Humane Society to pet the dogs, love the kitties and just generally get our animal fix. A few weeks ago, when we were there, there was a little one year old Scottie dog that had been a stray. I'm almost positive that she had I BELONG TO YOU written across her forehead. After talking it over it was a unanimous decision that she should come home with us. Because Scotties natually look so masculine we decided to give her a feminine name. The kids named her Isabel which evolved to Isabella and finally, to Bella. So in case you're wondering, no, she isn't named after Isabella Swan. Everyone who meets her gives me a knowing smile, wink and elbow jab to the ribs and says, "from Twilight, right?" To which I reply, "To the best of my knowledge, my kids haven't been reading Twilight, so....no." Henry's drawing of Bella


So here she is in her pre-groomed stage. Before her haircut, Jon swore she was a cross between a muppet and Yoda! Poor thing.

So. Much. Better.

As every girl knows, a good haircut can make all the difference.

A before bed walk.

Decatur's big day

We celebrated Decatur's 10th birthday this week. I know, we're nerds, but any excuse for a party, right? When I mentioned to my kids that Decatur was turning 1o years old their first response was: "let's have a party for him!" So...their planning began. H & H made a cake (for us) and then after singing happy birthday they gave Decatur, first a spoonful of peanut butter (their idea), then a new toy (also their idea and much less gooey). Mission accomplished.
What? Are we boring you, Nora? Your day is coming. I think I've heard mention of a cat sized party hat...