Guilt is a Beautiful Thing

Misty Belle and Mr. Quinn:  Mom, we're glad you decided to get a fresh tree and that you decorated the pencil tree in the living room.

Me:  Aww, you're welcome pups.

Misty Belle and Mr. Quinn:  Are you glad too mom?

Me:  Yes, I'm glad I was able to put my vintage French postcards on the living room tree, and I know I will love having all of the family ornaments on the live tree in the family room once I am done putting on the lights.

Misty Belle:  This postcard with the roses is my favorite!

Me:  This one is my favorite, the people are all dressed up like they are going to a holiday soiree!

Mr. Quinn:  I like the Bingo card that Linda sent you last year!

Me:  Me too Quinnie!

Me:  And I love the old felt stockings my mom made us, this one was for my Nanna, she would have loved you guys!

Misty Belle:  Mom, you said you felt guilty not decorating this year, what is guilt?

Me:  Well Misty Belle guilt is...oh nevermind, guilt is a beautiful thing this year!

Me:  Misty Belle?

Misty Belle:  Yes Mom?

Me:  You better take another look out that window and see if Santa is on his way!

Update:  A live tree, new stand, and new lights (though not enough) now grace our family room, so tonight's project will be getting more lights and trimming the tree.  Though I don't say this often, ok, never, the guilt which led to us getting a tree really will be a beautiful thing when it's all said and done! :)

A Dog's Life

I think Misty Belle missed her calling as a movie actress.  In the photo above she looks as though her whole world has fallen to pieces, but the truth is she was just zooming around underneath the Japanese maple tree and had stopped just long enough to see Mr. Tide coming outside.  

The best I can tell, the only sadness this pup knows is not having free access to her food and other treats, not being petted 24/7, and being forced to come inside when she still wants to play a little bit more!

Ahh, to live the life of a well loved dog! :)

Talking Turkey

I'm so glad you all liked my Fatty Breadkins post from yesterday...I think she would be pleased to know that her legacy lives on through my feeble attempts at silver polishing.

I awoke this morning at 4 am, and could not for the life of me fall back asleep for over 3 hours!  In case you are wondering I watched a little bit of the movie Babe and realized that it's not the happy go lucky story of a pig that I remembered...at least the part I saw had a much darker tone when I was watching it pre-dawn.

I also can tell you loads of info about Lewis and Clark's expedition, the show I found on PBS, which I opted for once the sheep dog in Babe was muzzled and drugged and I realized I had probably traumatized my children by letting them watch that movie when they were little and we had herding dogs like we do now!

It turns out that as the sun is coming up there is a heck of a lot going on in the field next to my house which I can see outside my bedroom window.  None of the pictures in this post are what I saw then, these are all from later in the day, but I'll give you a rundown of what I did observe at about 5:30 this morning.

Eagles were flying, 2 deer were chasing one another, bats were flying (which would normally freak me out if I hadn't been so exhausted), songbirds were flitting about, and the neighbor's cat was doing a balance beam routine on our fence...which would normally drive our dogs nuts, but they were exhausted because I had been awake half the night.

When I did finally get up around 10 am, after just a few hours of actual sleep, I was greeted by turkey vultures sitting on our fence, hmm should I consider this a bad sign I thought?

Then, as I mulled over the possibilities of why turkey vultures would be sitting on our fence when they never have in the past, my attention was drawn to a juvenile eagle making his way across the field.

His mottled head feathers made him look almost vulture like I thought.

Turns out they weren't here for me, they were just feasting on something dead in the field, so that's a relief.  They aren't the prettiest birds in the world, but I know they serve a purpose and who am I to judge right?!

English Shepherds are not fans of interlopers in their yards or on their fences, so after taking a picture of the 3 vultures on the fence through the french doors, I slipped outside and took a few more pics of the two remaining before letting Mr. Quinn and Misty out to inform the trespassers that it was time to move on.

All was quiet for a few hours until our resident wild turkeys showed up...

Accompanied by some deer.  I think it may have been a party of sorts, or maybe with the rain we've been having I could say that in this picture they may have been looking for an ark.

Whatever their purpose for being nearby, it wasn't good enough for my ever attentive watch dogs.  Misty Belle says that her work is never done, and she thinks she and Quinn deserve a few extra hugs and treats for their very full day!

Thank you to those of you who left comments yesterday, you guys make me smile and I just think I have the smartest and most amazing readers on the planet!  And for those who asked, I did try the foil, soda, salt thing for removing the tarnish, but it was no match for my tarnish, though it did help a lot.  I ended up using Twinkle silver polish and then using a special polishing soft cloth, because when I tarnish, I tarnish big! :)

Also, Phyllis is an eagle eye, because my chandelier is by Solaria!

Oh, and I read this quote on Pinterest today and thought, how perfect for my sleepless night...I wonder who was dreaming of me?!!!

(source)

The Eyes Have It

They say that black faced dogs are the hardest to photograph...that the eyes of the dog often get lost among their black fur.

I would have to agree that dark faced dogs are more difficult to capture, because the expressiveness of their eyes is more easily hidden, but I love the contrast between dark eyes and dark fur.

And when you do capture those eyes...well you may just melt!

Over the River and Through the Woods

Wishing each of you beautiful weather

Time for one more pass with the vacuum and dust cloth

Lots of yummy food

 

Good company

 

 And a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The World According to Misty

Every day is a good day, especially if you have something stinky to roll in or a stick to chew

Looking cute will get you very far in life

If you lay close enough to someone they will pet you and pets are almost as good as food

Blueberries aren't just full of antioxidants, they are also pretty darned delicious

Wag your tail, it makes people happy and it's contagious

Run and play with wild abandon, it's good for the soul

Drink from a hose, you'll feel like you're living dangerously

Be careful about barking too much, sometimes it will be appreciated, but most of the time it will just be considered annoying to those around you...choose wagging your tail instead (see note above)

Have a wonderful weekend because weekends are meant for sleeping in, playing more than usual, and for fun car rides

xoxo Misty Belle

I Wouldn't Be...

I wouldn't be the same without flowers, beautiful spring days...

Puppy dogs, my family, good friends, grilling out, and good music! 

(song by Brooke Fraser)

I hope you all had a wonderful day! :)

Time Marches On

Today was absolutely glorious...70 degrees, clear blue skies, and a lovely breeze all made it as close to a perfect day as anyone could wish for.

Not only is it the 1st of March, but today it just felt like spring had finally arrived.  You could sense the world coming back to life.  There are nests being built...

Lawn chairs are waiting at the ready.

The pups sense it too, and want to be outside all of the time now.

The water seems more blue somehow...

And little birds perch on nearly every branch singing their little hearts out...

Smells that haven't been smelled since last year at this time are emerging and curious noses need to breathe in the promise of renewal...

And branches are unable to hide their new colorful springtime attire.

But better than all of that was seeing the sun still high in the sky even though the clock said it should be getting dark...oh how I love you sunshine and long, light filled days!

Happy March Everyone!!!

Life at My House

Finding your place in the world, a comfy safe place where you can grow and thrive is so very important.

Finding that place, the one where you are loved, accepted, supported, and even pampered a little is what we all want and need I think.  And when you are cute, you can even get away with taking up all of the available foot room underneath the desk of the hand that feeds you!

The World in Black and White

I don't often voice my political or religious views on this blog, it's something I'm just not comfortable doing.  I believe that each of us is entitled to those views, to live our lives in a moral and just way, but sometimes things seem a little bass ackwards to me.

I had planned to chat about my new dining room chairs that I got for a steal yesterday at the Restoration Hardware outlet.

Regale you with tales of how, after a 3 hour drive each way, I lucked into a Pottery Barn outlet closing where the already reduced merchandise was another 40% off.  How I bought a beautiful ticking striped duvet cover and this pretty white platter for a song.

I wanted to tell you how delicious these organic honey crisp apples are, and how they are totally worth the long trip to Whole Foods to buy them.

I planned to go on and on about these pretty white napkins, also found at the Pottery Barn closing sale.

How I've been looking for some nice white napkins at a good price and how these were like a match made in heaven for my new dining room.   But...

Last night, as I sat down to catch up on the day's emails, do some blog reading, and skim through the online news sources, I was confronted with something that makes all of my great purchases seem more than just a little insignificant.

You see, sometimes we like to paint the world as black and white, but there is so much grey area in this world of ours.  Sometimes black and white is a good thing, like in these two photos of Misty Belle and Mr. Quinn, but sometimes, when it is used in a way that is hurtful, it's anything but beautiful.

As a blogger, I now have a sense of fellowship that only other bloggers can know.  Especially bloggers who use their blogs to share a little bit of themselves with each of us.  Those who put their heart and soul on the line for the world to see, the good, the bad and even the ugly that comes with living a real and authentic life.  So when one of us is having issues, I feel like we need to all step in and help out, even if that just means moral support.

Such is the case for Mark and his blog, entitled Our Simple Lives.  Kind of an ironic name for his blog, because life has been anything but simple for Mark and his partner Fred, and their 4 children.  You see, Mark and Fred are a gay couple who have adopted 4 children.

Now, some of you may be running for the hills right now, and that's your prerogative to do so, I surely can't, nor will I try to stop you.  But if you have a moment I'd like to say what I think about their current situation.

You can read much more about it on Mark's blog, and on CNN, where it made front page news yesterday.  Fred is a French Citizen, while Mark is an American citizen.  The two fell in love, got married when it was legal in the State of California, and have adopted 4 beautiful and thriving children.  They have been together longer than many couples seem to be able to make it these days, I believe it's 20 years, and the love they share for their children is undeniable and real.  As in the life is messy kind of real.

Because they are a gay couple, Fred now faces deportation, because even though they legally married in California a number of years ago, and Mark is a US citizen, our federal government doesn't recognize their marriage.  So now Fred must return to his home country after living her for 2 decades.

To those of you still reading, those who haven't unfollowed me, or made snap judgements, or turned away in disgust at the thought of a non traditional family, thank you.  You see, I would much rather see a family like Mark and Fred's, one which has contributed to society, worked hard for everything they have, and given 4 beautiful and innocent children the chance at a wonderful life, than I would half the people I see in what is deemed an appropriate marriage, dragging their children around Walmart at 11 pm.  Cursing at them, threatening them, but given the rights denied to Mark, Fred and their 4 children.

You have to ask yourself, why is it that our society rewards people who misbehave like Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Kim Kardasian with multi million dollar contracts for doing nothing to help society, while it penalizes people like Mark and Fred who kept 4 children from possibly knowing the instability and often horrors of the foster care system?!

As a magazine writer for beautiful homes, I have lots of gay friends, it just comes with the territory my friends.  So I can say that my world is a richer and more wonderful place because of those friendships.  So while you peruse the latest designs and heap praise on many notable designers, who just happen to also be gay, but then turn your back when you see the injustice of it all, well I would have to say that in my book that would be the definition of hypocritical.

You don't have to support gay marriage, or want marriage redefined, but when people like Mark and Fred's family will be torn apart because the world doesn't operate in black and white, I would hope you would at least try and support them so that our society could have one more stable family to help keep this country's future bright!

If you would like to learn about more ways you can support Mark and Fred, please go here.