Help!!!

What type of snake is this? It was on my walkway.... it is now on my porch.

<3

I can't help but visit this site and wish I could take home every single sphynx that needs rescued.

Thanks Ohio Sphynx Rescue for all the work you do finding loving homes for such special needy cats.

:)

To be formal or not to be?

What about this dress from David's Bridal for the bridesmaids? It is chocolate brown, even though in this picture it seems a little darker than that.

I still think I like the shorter, less formal dresses for the bridesmaids... but if I for some reason should go the other route, I think this is pretty.

Add to the list

3 raccoons.

We accidentally left a bag of birdseed outside last night and when we woke up this morning it looked like it exploded all over the patio. We thought it may have been the squirrels, because we have a lot of them.

Tonight we spotted (well, Kitsch spotted) three raccoons eating birdseed right in front of the glass doors downstairs. They weren't scared of the lights when I turned them on to see them better and they weren't scared if I tapped on the glass. I think they must be the most fearless wildlife I've seen yet.

I love having them around and certainly don't mind them in the yard... but I do worry a bit about having them so close to the house. I read somewhere that if they associate your house with food and then don't find it there one day, they will tear their way into the house... I don't want anything like that to happen. The same website suggested feeding them, but doing it a distance from the house. I think we will start leaving a little spread of treats for them on random days, down at the bottom of the hill, away from the house. Two of them were youngsters and one was a big fella.

We also have a skitterish groundhog in the yard.

For the birds...

Today I received my teaching schedule in the mail today. It is actually pretty nice - I'm really satisfied with the lineup, even though I will be teaching from 3:30pm until 10:45pm two days a week.

I also was able to get a batch of submissions put in the mail this week now that we are moved in. I want to get some more out next week.

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We hung two wild-bird feeders and a woodpecker feeder and now the yard is one large song. It's so nice. We bought the woodpecker bar because we had a woodpecker in the yard for several days before we got it. Now we have one male woodpecker and a female woodpecker (who I think may have a nest in one of our trees). We also have a bluejay, some blackbirds, some robins, some ducks have drifted by on the river and a few geese have been spotted overhead.

Other birds in the yard: two house finches

What we think is a goldfinch

We also have a couple mourning doves.

I hear:

Really loud creaking noises outside the house... I'm sure it is the antenna swaying in the rainstorm. But it's kinda freakin' me out a little.

I see a whole lot of lightning... and while it is beautiful out over the river, paired with the loud creaking noises it also freaks me out.


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Today I made brigadeiros a really yummy dessert that I haven't made in a while. Making them made me think about my future retirement dreams... I would love to open an International Bakery and market the various desserts, cookies, cakes and candies that I've learned and will learn to make.

This past year I haven't cooked "from scratch" nearly as much as I would have liked to... I think I'm going to get back into that habit now that Nick and I are finishing our move -- Today's dessert was just the start. I love to cook almost as much as I love to eat, and with all the counter space at this house I should have no trouble making anything.

Right now... I'm going to eat some of the aforementioned brigadeiros because I'm getting hungry thinking about them.

How is Kitsch taking to the new house?

He definitely thinks he's the king when he's laying under the skylight...

What he doesn't know: He's getting a bath tonight.

Pictures of our house

Here is the view from the top deck:
















This is a portion of the great room/living room area:




There is another sliding glass door and picture window on the other side of the wood burning stove.








The beautiful ceilings:















This is a view of the back of the house from outside at night:
















And a picture of the backyard at night:















More to come... :D

Where do I begin?

We now have our first house. And it's simply amazing... I can't even fathom that I am living in this place -- it's like a dream. I still need to get the pictures formatted so that I can post them, but I will try to do that later today. For now, I will just describe it.

The Outside:
We are just outside of a beautiful little town, Grand Rapids, OH (our address is Grand Rapids). Across the street there are NO houses, just fields... and on the other side of the house, there are NO houses, just water -- that's right... We live right on the river. To our left you see only trees and to the right, more trees. There are houses behind those trees, but we can't see them... it's so private. We have a decent sized yard and TWO decks... One big wood deck on the top level and one small stone deck below, both face the river.

The yards are beautifully landscaped with daisies, tulips, lilies, lilac trees, red bud trees, walnut trees, chestnut trees, and more trees that I just down know the name of... The walkway is beautiful stone.

Great Room:
The large great room has cedar cathedral ceilings and a cedar front wall. There are two picture windows above two large sliding glass doors, two skylights (I know... I was pretty psyched about those too) and four other regular sized windows. There is a working wood burning stove front and center which is going to be wonderful this winter. However... we don't need the stove to keep warm because there is heat and central air throughout the entire house.

The kitchen is open to the great room and has a good deal of counter space. There is bar storage, stove, refrigerator, garbage disposal and dishwasher.

Downstairs:
There are two bedrooms downstairs and a bathroom. Both of the bedrooms have large sliding glass doors that lead to the lower deck/patio area. They are carpeted with nice new carpet. And... the topper... the bathroom has a washer and dryer that we purchased and can take with us when and if we ever leave.

Oh yeah... and there is a garage.

This house is amazing. I almost can't believe that I am really living here. We have all the furniture moved in but not all of the little things (ie. papers, guitars, etc.)

I promise to post pictures... very soon.

Long time no speak...

Sorry that I haven 't been around lately, but I am moving into the most beautiful little cabin on the water. I promise you an update shortly, with pics...

:)