Finally! Our Bodacious DIY Birdhouses Are Coming To Life...

Lisa has been on vacation this week. We are loving our combination Staycation Workcation. Lisa has spent a lot of time in her Bodacious Woodshop building awesome creations. I've been a happy Dog Mom in my Bodacious DIY Dog Mom Project Workshop. After almost a year, Lisa finally started on a project she's been wanting to do for quite some time.

Witnessing This Corner Of Mom-Hood Was Quite Amazing

I've published a few blog posts about Moms. The topic skirted around my motto that it doesn't matter who or what you're the Mom of...you're still a Mom. The word Mom isn't just applied to the human Moms who give physical birth to tiny human beings. Lisa and I are Dog Moms. We're real Moms. I know people who are Cat Moms, surrogate Moms, foster Moms, adoptive Moms, etc.

We Began The Process Of Making Coco's Birdhouse Today

 

We began the process of making Coco's birdhouse for our Rainbow Bridge Memorial Garden today. Lots of tears. We decided the colors should match the blanket we bought him in 2012. Burgundy and black. 

It Is Not Always About What You Sell Or The Money You Make. It Is About Making Connections.

Last weekend, Lisa made a couple of Bodacious DIY Birdhouses. She wanted to make more, but we had some custom orders to finish and wanted to get a jump start on some slat signs and garden slat stake signs. I've been working on getting those painted, detailed, and varnished over the weekend and beginning of this week.

I Added Birdhouses To Our Upcoming DIY Dog Mom Projects List

A couple of years after we moved here, during the late Spring, Lisa and I strolled through one of our favorite indoor/outdoor flea markets. While inside, one particular vendor caught our attention. He was an elderly gentleman. In a wheelchair. Putting the final touches on his rustic handcrafted birdhouses. He had several shelves filled with his creations. Lisa and I purchased a birdhouse.

A Patrick Murphy Quote And Mama Bird Put Things Into Perspective For Me

Earlier this year, I retired from certain services. One of those services was providing Independent Living tutoring. If you're new to this blog, you can read about why I retired here and here. It's been almost 6 months since I made it public that I was retiring from providing that service. Throughout that time, I've received a few dozen emails and private messages from parents of teens and young adults. Most are from the parents who have hired me in the past. Some are parents who are hoping that I will reconsider my retirement from Independent Living Tutoring.

There Is A Difference Between Arts And Crafts And Being A DIY Enthusiast

For a little over 20 years, my Mom ran a professional daycare out of our family home. She was fully licensed and was a leader in the Professional Childcare Association. She put her heart and soul into her daycare and made a name for herself within our community. When she received her college degree in Early Childhood Development, she closed her childcare and ventured onto another successful career path.

The Baby Tufted Titmouse That Could. And, It Did.

Lisa took a couple of vacation days last week. Yep. A 4 day weekend. Early Thursday morning she ventured out to do grocery shopping. After we put the groceries away, she relaxed for a bit before heading outdoors to mow the lawn and add more flowers to our front yard. While she tackled outdoor work, I prepped a gourmet meal and dessert for Carol's visit the following day. 

We Finally Got To Meet Carol. What An Incredible Evening. We Made Memories.

Yesterday I mentioned that we'd be sharing our table with a very special guest this evening for dinner. That happened. I'm exhausted. It's shortly after 11 p.m. I should be trying to fall asleep, but I'm still elated from our fantastic evening. And, well...we're getting a bad thunderstorm right now and there is no way I can fall asleep until it passes.

Our Bodacious Birdhouses Are Coming To Life

 

The past 6 months have been a whirlwind of changes and difficult decisions. Shifts and shimmy shakes from the Universe. Trials and tribulations. Discoveries. Eye-opening experiences. That is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Once Upon A Cherry Tree

Shortly after buying our house back in February, I was chatting with one of the old owners. We were discussing the yards and the landscape and the abundance of fruit trees and bushes. That's when we learned that one of the fruit trees was a cherry tree. It's located in one of our backyards. The small one. Rather close to our screened-in back porch. As in less than 2 feet away. It is taller than our house and quite large.

Turning Something Old Into Something New

We recently ripped down some wall shelving in our bedroom. There was quite a bit. This room originally belonged to a teenager. The color theme is vibrant green and black. It's a cool room and a lot of work went into it at one point. However, it's not our choice of colors. We're eventually going to repaint it and add a couple of rustic bookshelves.

Let Us Embrace The Motto Of, "Great Things Are Done By A Series Of Small Things Brought Together."

The weather was absolutely gorgeous this weekend. Warm. Sunny. I did housework while Lisa did yard work. Our kids enjoyed plenty of time outdoors in their playground. Lisa built another birdhouse in her woodshop for me to detail in my Bodacious DIY Dog Mom Project Workshop. I decided to make a gorgeous, decadent cake to mimic a Hostess Chocolate Cupcake.

I No Longer Dread Spending Large Quantities Of Time In Our Home Office

We have rearranged our home office at least a half dozen times since we moved here in July of 2012. My desk has been up against several walls, facing out towards the living room and kitty-cornered. At one time, we switched our bedroom with the home office. A year later, we switched it back. A couple of years after that, we added a rocking love seat so our home office was more of a combination second living room, home office. Earlier this year, we got rid of the love seat.