Birds & Growing Stuff

 

I caught sight of Spring today.  Out on a feeder there was a goldfinch in mid-color change.  You can see that it's shedding the avocado green winter feathers in favor of summer yellow.  The house finches are looking pinker these days too.






In the front yard micro-climate up against the brick front of the house crocuses are blooming, the hyacinth is getting ready to send up that flower, and more bulbs and lilies are sprouting.



 
Speaking of lilies, this yellow and burgundy version flung itself into my cart at Home Depot today when I went in to pick up touch-up paint, Frog tape, and a slanted brush for getting the last rental side chores done.





 

Unfortunately, HD was out of eggshell in their sample/touch-up size jars so I could only get the semi-gloss to paint the 3/4" gap between where the old countertop backsplash ended and the new one ends.  *sigh*  So I wire brushed the place

where the old one ended and the paint began, wiped it clean, let it dry while I tried Mr. Clean Magic Eraser-ing the remaining stain on the living room wall from the previous tenants' couch (didn't work, still need the touch-up paint), screwed in a curtain rod bracket more securely, and then painted the gap.  In between coats, the neighbor loaded up the old countertop, the cutout, the cheap metal bathroom shelf unit they left behind, and the replaced hanging light fixture into his pickup and took it and me to the ReStore... where they declined to take the countertop.  So he drove us to the city bulk waste yard, which was pretty much on the way home, only to find that it closes at 3 PM and it was 3:30.  *sigh*  He said he'll dispose of it tomorrow.  What a nice guy.  I came back to paint on another coat on the wall, put the shades on the hanging light now that the countertop's installed and the glass shades won't get hit and broken, strip off the tape which worked great (no edge bleed through), and spread oil-dry on some garage floor stains on my way home.  Tomorrow the plumber comes to install new kitchen faucet, caulk the bathroom sink, and check on a leak in the main drain cleanout in the basement.  Then on Wednesday HD should have the eggshell paint in so I can get that last bit done, the new renter comes after supper to go over the lease agreement, and I give her the keys.  One HUGE thing off my to-do list.  Whew.

 
Now that we're talking about eggshells, we ordered some Egglets (as seen on TV) and got around to trying them out today.  I visited the grand-chickens over the weekend and made off with 2 eggs so it was only right that we use them to try out the Egglets.  They worked great.  You just crack the egg(s) into a small dish, pour it into the Pam-ed silicone cup, screw on the cap, and lower it (them) into boiling water for 16 minutes, cool them in icy water, then slip them out with a spoon.  Perfect.  Durwood was so pleased.  He loves hard-boiled egg on toast but we suck at making them that are easy to peel.  This way, no peels!  Perfect.  Well worth the money.

March 26--Girls of the Marion Morgan School of Dance in L.A., Performance in the Snow, Central Park, New York City.  The snow burned their bare feet like hot coals.  The five young women wore only black silk tunics and they were barefoot.  Even getting to the spot from the car had been an adventure.  The closest street to the meadow wasn't cleared so they had to walk three blocks, then find a place to put their coats and boots.  The photographer's assistant was too occupied with keeping the film the correct temperature to be any help at all.  Finally Annalissa got them together and started taking photos.

That was a crazy picture.  After supper I added a couple rounds onto O's Packer Barley hat but, to be honest, I fell asleep on the couch almost immediately--and woke myself up snoring.  Time to write a quick blog post and hit the hay.
--Barbara