Some People's Kitchen Project Installment #1 (Before Photos)

Some People have ceased in their elaborate procrastinations & diversions. Some People have begun the kitchen project in earnest. Before Some People get into what is being done (and what has already been done) let's share some "Before" pictures. Don't laugh. Some People can hear you all the way over there.

Some People's Kitchen BEFORE

(a prodigious collection of photos taken beginning in the West, moving counterclockwise)

West wall with built-in cabinetry & sexy linoleum.

South wall with built-in, plus areas where beadboard has 

been removed, exposing built-in shelving in dining room.

Southeast corner w/doorway to dining room.
Note the fabulous plasterwork & very safe-looking wiring.

Northwest corner.
Lovely, lovely carpet. So clean too!

Let's take a closer look at the awesome storage in this corner.

Ah, ceiling, plaster, carpet... a thing of beauty! Who would want
to fix this? How about that electrical staple job to the stove? Nice.
Especially nice is when the mice in the attic drop stuff thru the
ceiling onto the stove. Delish!

Mouse portal. I mean, ceiling lath &... oops, no plaster.

Northeast corner. Loving the patchwork carpets.
Feels like Raggedy Ann & Andy's house! Cute!

Northeast corner ceiling.
So glad they scotch taped that wallpaper back up.

Expertly mounted track lighting.
That's the key to making this kitchen so bright & airy. 

This is how Some People feel about this project.
(note more expertly placed electrical in the foreground)

So there you go. Bet you feel super good about your kitchen after reading this. It's like Jerry Springer therapy. Feeling down? Let's go laugh at Some (other) People's condition! See... things could be worse! Stay tuned for the next installment of Feeling-Better-At-Some-People's-Expense Therapy! 

Some People (Can't Keep on Task)

Some People really cannot prioritize.

Some People cannot keep on task.

Some People have bird brains. Or, alternately, have birds on their brains.

Some People's kitchen project was once again waylaid by other more compelling ideas. Like birdfeeders. Not just any birdfeeder, however. A crow feeder... Nay, a Marvelous Elevated Crow Feeding Platform!

How did this diversion happen? How could they find themselves so off course? Well, Some People found themselves faced with two choices:

1. Buy an air rifle & start popping the neighborhood dogs in their asses. 

OR,

2. Build a Marvelous Elevated Crow Feeding Platform!

Do you have packs of dogs loitering outside your window, wolfing down all your breadscraps & pasta while they fraternize & chit-chat about stupid dog stuff? Are your precious Corvid friends losing out on tasty snacks because some Other People don't give their dogs enough Milk-Bones? Well, here's the how-to solution to remediating the problems created by Other People's pesky, poopy, pilfering pets:

Step 1: A Post

You'll need a post. A big, tall one. Some People opted to lash together three with fencing wire, like this:

2. A Friend with an Auger. 

Better still, a friend with an auger who does not even flinch or look at you askance when you ask him to make a hole for your... Marvelous Elevated Crow Feeding Platform! (Note: If you are really on-the-ball, you will only need a post-hole digger because you will have opted to proceed with this project in the summer, instead of the dead of winter.)

3. A Platform. Build One.

Some people are too lazy to give you all the ins & outs of making the platform, so Some People will just show you a couple of pictures of platform-making instead: 

In lieu of building a platform, Some People considered simply using a metal trashcan lid (sadly, Some People seem to have had all their garbage can lids stolen by lawn gnomes, or something). Garbage can lids would probably work very well & certainly add a touch of class & mystique to your Marvelous Elevated Crow Feeding Platform!

4. Post + Platform = 

4. a.  Marvelous Elevated Crow Feeding Platform! 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to view & photograph your Marvelous Elevated Crow Feeding Platform! in sepia to give it that rustic, old-tyme look. Whenever you look at it, make sure you look at it in sepia. 

A Final Note: You may find that the neighborhood crows watch your activities with great interest. They are wondering what you are doing making all that racket on the spot where they usually find the cheese tortellinis... the cheese tortellinis the greedy dogs have miraculously missed. 

A Final Final Note (on mistakes & ornamentation): Some People thought it would be festive to add last year's gingerbread Hexenhaus to the platform. Some People thought it might pique the curiosity of the Corvidae in the neighborhood. This was not helpful at all. Perhaps it was Rowan's cleverly rendered icing Cthulhu on the side of the house that really killed the crows' motivation... But Cthulhu or no, the crows considered the ornament very, very suspect. No need to make this mistake on your own because Some People have already done it for you. 

If you are wondering where the heck Some People got this bird-brained idea, well look no further. The answer is here: 

Food and Feeding Habits of the American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos.

NICU: A Memory in Film.

One of our Facebook friends is the spectacular Lactation Consultant for the Dixie Regional NICU. Back in December, she posted the following video which features some of our NICU team in action. All the memories came rushing back.

Dixie has a remarkable team & we were so blessed to be placed in their caring, competent hands. Nearly every single person in this film (along with many more) helped us, touched us, somehow during that long month which seems so far away now. (A few of you might recognize some of them.) 

The birth situation in the film is obviously somewhat different in its details, but the setting, emotions, experiences, technology & medicine are extremely familiar. We thought it might be enlightening, helpful or of interest to some of you.

I cried through the whole thing. Chris & I both agree that this is a beautifully produced, very accurate & sensitive portrayal of the NICU expereince. We also both agree that we have no real desire to ever watch it again.

More Bird Spam

A great day to you! From our front yard to yours!

Photos of Baby Just Being a Baby. (Plus Update)

Well, our Changeling baby seems to be missing a kidney.

Yep. They couldn't find it. Of course, that does not mean conclusively that it is not there, but usually kidneys stick to one place. 

It took us a couple of days to work that out in our heads & hearts, but move on we must. Besides, all the testing shows that the other one is working perfectly. Hopefully we are done with the testing for the forseeable future & we can focus on growing, learning, loving... you know, stuff like that.

In light of all the goings-on, I thought it might be nice to just share some photos of Baby just being a Baby (instead of being a patient). I say, Hooray for Babies Just Being Babies!

Makin' bubbles.

Standing.

Gnawing on handy & delicious body parts.

Friends with Fowl ❤

Wait, what year is it?

Some People have friends who raise & butcher their own chickens. More recently, they decided to distribute some of those feathered fowl to build up their daughter's college fund. Kessie gifted us with one & we cooked it up last night (...or was that back in 1975? The kitchen confuses me sometimes...). Can you say, YUMBO? (Even after I overcooked it a wee bit because I was trying to bake Roasted Butternut Squash Bread at the same time... Maybe I need to go drag that double oven set with the "FREE" sign taped to it off my neighbor's driveway & install it on my porch or something.) 

Anyway, not only was the chicken awesome, but our friends are the awesome. Especially in their efforts to live here in the boonies, making it work, raising a family, providing for themselves by living simply & off the land whenever possible, etc. Better still, every blue moon or so, mom-friend gets a chance to blog about it (her blog is beautiful, btw) & there happens to be a great post about the chickens! You really should go see: 

To Be Like Grandma B: I Raise Meat!: I raise meat! We processed or harvested our first round of chickens! I raised livestock my whole childhood for 4-H but we always sent our ...

If you live in our neck of the woods, keep an ear to the ground for another round of poultry. It's so worth it & besides, Some People's friends' kids need to go to college. ;)

Some People's Draperies (for Grandma Liz)

Some People's grandma's wanted to see the much discussed but never revealed formerly-known-as-bedroom-drapes, in situ. They now reside in the living & dining rooms which (if you have not visited our high desert, work-in-progress abode) are conjoined. This necessitates a certain amount of consistency between the two. Hence, one drape in each room. 

Anyway, I took two shots. Of course, this may or may not be the permanent arrangement -- certainly the saggy tension rods are not part of the long term plan, nor is the unfinished window sill, etc. As for Some People's bedrooms, we did not find the answer to our dreams in the City to the South, so the blah creme tab-tops remain for now.

Good Morning Beautiful! (Bird Spam)

Just now, here on the homestead. How blessed we are.

Good morning, from our backyard to yours.

10 Months Old! (plus updates!)

Whoa! 10 Months!

All we have to say to that is, Hooray for Baby!

Good Morning, Mister 10 Months!

Today we will be headed to the Big City to the South to make our appointment with the Urological Folks. "Urological Folks?!?" you may ask (with much warranted incredulity). Asking this means either a) you are wondering what bladders have to do with seizures, or b) you don't even know about the seizure stuff. In short (very short), The Changeling had a seizure on the morning of New Years Eve & took a little ride w/Moma & the EMTs to the ER. Neurological testing was ordered. 


BUT. There was this little issue of bacteria... 


Labs came back a few days later & apparently a bacterial population to dwarf all of China was partying down in our Changeling's urinary system. (This explains a great many things actually.) Our pediatrician said he thinks the seizure was febrile (we say "Whew!" to that if it is accurate) & he ordered testing for the UTI. He said, "You can still go see the neurologists... if you want..." but he said the urological testing was a must.

Irony of ironies: Rowan had the same set of tests after a UTI at about the same age. Makes you think, doesn't it?


Anyway, off we go. Too bad for Baby, he is going miss his favourite chew toy for a day... our headboard.

Mmmm... IKEA.

P.S. I bet you thought I forgot about sharing Some People's bedroom linens. Nope. It's just that Some People got an eye-twitch over the drapes & the duvet. Then Some People decided the drapes were better in the dining/living rooms so they traded the old creme tab-tops  from the dining/living rooms to the bedroom. The result? BORING. The dining room? FABULOUS! So, while Some People are visiting the Big City to the South, they will revisit the Pottery Barn castaway store & see what just might improve the situation. 

Sunsets on the Homestead...

Nothing better. 
Okay, maybe families are better, but that's about it.

...and no, I didn't edit or enhance this photo in any way. Promise.

Through a Child's Eyes... (Episode #1)

As I mentioned in the Hazy... I mean Hoppy Harrah's Daze post, Some People (of smaller stature) received a camera, (a gift of dubious judgement) from one disturbingly ebullient, air-borne, fat man who somehow keeps up the gift-giving despite an exploding, planet-wide, human population.

There is now a folder titled "Rowan Las Vegas Christmas" in my iPhoto files. This folder contains FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN (...ok, 409 as of right now because I already deleted a few... they were giving me an eye-twitch) images offloaded by Some People who seem to think themselves the new Annie Leibovitz or something. He documented everything. I really had to draw the line when he came into the bathroom to document my shower-taking... Even if he was Annie Leibovitz, that imagery's just not for public consumption, not now anyway.

Ranting aside, I must confess I did find myself amused & a wee bit sentimental as I looked at the world through my 5 year-old baby's eyes...

Ah, so that's what Daddy looks like when you are 5... not his best angle.

Peering over the ledge. A pretty nice shot of the courtyard at our timeshare.

Who are these clowns? Oh, wait... that's right, his parents. Nice... Not.

Ah ha! A real live elf! The other side of the coin: see Hoppy Harrah's Daze.

There's those clowns, er, parents again. Makes you wonder where he gets it.

Gingerbread houses. Unlike Daddy, they look better from his angle.

Oh, snap! Right. Up. The. Nose. Ha! Guess it's not my best angle either.

So. There you go. A few samples from the first 50 shots taken. If you were wondering, I would guess they were all taken within 1-2 hours of the camera coming in to his possession... Bet you just can't wait to see more. ;)

No Room Left for Catfood.

Stuffed. Just how we like him.