I came home today to a pretty gruesome site — a disemboweled bunny.  Yuck!  Apparently a hawk had been snacking on it and had some leftovers.  Chuck came to the rescue and tossed it out  for the rest of the scavengers.  Don’t worry, we didn’t take a picture.

Here are some wildlife pics from Easter.  (I know I’m late in posting them.)

Isn’t that a gorgeous bird?  He’s been hanging out in our dead tree.  Don’t get me started on the dead tree.  I’m so sick about it.  Hopefully in the coming weeks we can get a new one.

I love this little budgie.  She’s so chubby and cute!

This is our Easter Bunny.  Don’t worry, the hawk didn’t eat him.  He’s a lot bigger than the one this afternoon.

Check out the gorgeous card that Mom sent to us!  It’s so pretty.  I think she should open her own Etsy shop.

So not too much has been going on in the Gibson-Rice Household.  After six months of procrastinating, we finally finished painting our room.  Once everything is back in its proper place, I’ll be sure to take some photos.

I got the latest Somerset Memories and was sad to learn that it is going to a bi-annually publication.  I guess the economy has hurt everyone.

As I was reading the Letters to the Editor, I stumbled across some familiar sounding words:

It didn’t register with me until I came to the line about a “teary-eyed husband.”  I thought, “Holy Cow!  This woman has an emotional husband just like me!  And Oh My Gosh, she works with seniors and — hey wait a minute!”  Boy did I feel foolish.  Foolish, but honored to have my letter in the publication.

Another magazine that I adore is Victoria:

Mom got me a subscription for Christmas and I love receiving it in the mail every other month.  This month they had a very interesting article about Wedgwood.

One of my residents gave me a piece last month (my first) and I enjoyed reading about the history.  I think it’s an ashtray, but I’ll probably use it for buttons or some other small crafty trinkets.  Thanks Mom for the magazine and thanks Evelyn for the gorgeous dish!

I finally finished a submission for Somerset Holiday.  I have no idea whether or not it will be published, but I am very pleased with the outcome.  I’ll just give everyone a teaser:

If you can’t tell already, it’s a Valentine’s Day project.  Originally, I wanted to do a Halloween piece, but it transformed into this.  I’ve discovered that art has a mind of it’s own.  It’s going to be whatever it wants regardless of my intentions.

Hope everyone is well and happy!

While we have been busy working on shows and painting our room, we noticed this weekend that our yard is completely out of control. It is so bad, we have hawks circling above waiting to pluck the unsuspecting mice, marmots and bunnies from their hiding spots. Despite this, our bougainvillea is gorgeous.

Isn’t that color beautiful?

So I have lofty aspirations for our backyard. At Christmas time, I purchased this fabulous book:

Do you know Magnolia Pearl? I adore Robin Brown and all her beautiful creations. I discovered her quite a while ago in Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion and have been smitten ever since. Alas, her work is out of my price range, but it’s fun to imagine. She has a wonderful section in her book on outdoor living spaces. The possibilities are endless.

She and her partner built that gazebo. If you notice, the gate is an old iron head board. Awesome!

Wouldn’t it be decadent to have an outdoor bathtub? It reminds me of where a fairy would bathe.

I want the area off of our bedroom to look like the above. Okay Chucklebutt, get too it!

Here is another book I discovered recently–

It’s super cool and as soon as I actually start doing any housework, I’m sure it will come in handy. hahahahahahaha! (That’s probably what Chucklebutt is thinking.) Do you like the pretty dish rag? Oh yeah. I made it. How crafty is that? One of my residents taught me the pattern. It was the first complicated knitting piece I have ever done. Chuck always seemed to want to talk to me while I am counting. Go figure.

The lemon dust cloths sound really neat. We have dust like you wouldn’t believe out here in the desert. It’s out of control! Chuck hates Pledge and always pitches a fit when I use it. (He’s a bit melodramatic and launches into coughing fits.) The lemon/vinegar concoction sounds like a great alternative minus the chemicals.

Here are some more rags that I have been working on. The ladies at work introduced me to Sugar ‘n Cream. I love this yarn. You can bet that all my friends and family are going to be receiving pretty dish cloths in the mail.

Every Friday at 10am, a group of us get together to work on different projects. I’m also learning to quilt. Thank you Vera for all your patience and time!

I’ve had these little girl dresses for a few years and was waiting for just the right project. Once I learned the hexagon pattern, I took my seam ripper to the dresses and got to sewing. I’m sure this is going to be a long term project.

This was taken after a long day of painting. We were pooped. So too was Daisy — but then again, she’s always pooped.

And finally, we have one lone bloom hanging on to the Christmas cactus. So pretty.

I discovered this today and laughed my booty off.

Chucklebutt discovered something amazing in our garden:

Is that a leprechaun?

One of the many joys of working with older adults and young people is that you get to dress up for every holiday and nobody things it’s weird. Mind you the folks driving on the freeway definitely bowed up and took notice, but I just waved and smiled.

This weekend we continued the task of painting our bedroom. Chuck has to work, but in between phone calls, he managed to slap on some primer.  You can’t tell, but it’s a light blue.  I was a bit bummed at first and wasn’t really thrilled with the color.  It’s growing on me, and once I get my girly things up on the wall, I’ll be a lot happier.  Chuck is very tolerant of my girly things as long as I don’t mess with his garage or office.

Yes we’re wearing the same shirt. I told Chuck we are just a few years away from this:

Or this:

Is it too late for us? Ah who cares! We have lots of fun!

If the girls had opposable thumbs, we would have put them to work. As it was, they snoozed in various places.

This is Scooter’s favorite spot — Chuck’s seat. She stalks him, waiting for him to get up so she can ooze into his chair.

Daisy loves the bed. You can find her there anytime day or night. I’m a sucker for pink noses and pink foot pads. I just want to eat them up!

Happy St. Paddy’s to everyone.