Contemplating the Compliment

I am not always so good at receiving compliments.

Unless it's about my cooking.
I can say without conceit that I do that fabulously!

Some days I just feel like people are just telling me what I want to hear.
Unless it's about cooking.
Did I tell you I do that fabulously?

The one and only compliment I remember getting from my mother as a teenager was about my pie crust.
What an odd thing to get a compliment about.
But, it's true.
I do a great pie crust.

I am smart.
I am reasonably attractive.
I can refinish furniture like nobody's business- unless that is your life's work, than never mind.

But, I don't always feel completely comfortable hearing it.
They make me feel great.
Who doesn't love a compliment?

I know.
The weird people.

But, since that's not me.
I love compliments.

So go ahead.
Shower me with compliments!
I promise not to feel uncomfortable.


I would like to thank all my new followers.
I'd also like to thank Sylvia at Word Doodles for awarding me the Stylish Blogger Award.

The One About the Birds

As you may or may not know, I live out in the sticks.
As a result of being out here, we get all kinds of animals coming around.

The glorious, but somewhat stinky, skunk.
The beautiful, but pissy, mink.
Cute, wittle bunnies and big beautiful deer.
We've even found tracks of coyotes in the yard.

Sometimes we are lucky enough to get some pictures of the animals we see.

I thought I would share some of the bird shots we have gotten.

Here is a sea gull just hanging out in the backyard.

Here is an bald eagle taking a break in one of the trees out back. I took this from our bathroom window.

Bobolink out in the pasture.

These are a couple wood ducks that decided to pass some time in the tree right next to the back door.

Close as I can tell, this is a tufted titmouse.
Not too up on my birds, but I looked it up and it looked pretty close.
There were a bunch of these right in the frontyard.

We used to have barn swallows build a nest on our front porch every year.
Than they just quit.
Either something happened to them or they were displeased when the porch got painted green.

That's OK.
Nice to see babies hatch,
On the other hand, no big piles of bird shit on my porch.

We used to have a pair of barn owls in the trees.
They didn't live here- just came at night to hunt.
They haven't been here in a while.

One day there was even a turkey buzzard in the backyard.
Those things are HUGE.
Alas, that was before my digital camera so no photos.

One year we had a dove that loved to strut to music.
Put on the rock tunes in the garage and he'd come out of the tree and go back and forth across the driveway bobbing his head to the music.

We've had so many kinds of birds, I couldn't name them all.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

Aqua, Aqua!

I have embarked on a journey of health and hydration.

Lots of fruit and fiber.
And the all important water,i.e. aqua.

I have been drinking aqau almost exclusively for the last couple of weeks.
Frankly, I am about all aqua-ed out.

I used to drink tons and tons of iced tea.
With sugar.

And than I got to figuring out how much fluid I was taking in and deciding I needed to drink more.
And to be healthy, it has to be straight up aqua aka watah.

No caffeine.
No sugar.
No flavor.

Just boring water.
Excuse me, aqua.

I have tried putting in lemon juice.
Is it just me or does the lemon juice sink to the bottom?
I stir and at first it's OK.
Than I hit the bottom 1/8 of the glass.
And Ew!

Plus, now I am wearing a path in the floor between the computer and the toilet.
Maybe I should just move to the bathroom.

I have an outlet for the computer.
The toilet.
A sink to get more water, ahem I mean aqua, to drink so I can use the toilet again.

Fool proof plan.

Except for no food and no bed.

I was hoping to see a bit of weight loss from drinking all the aqua.
So far it just ain't happenin'.

But aqua is good for me so I will keep drinking and hoping that it will make me thin and fabulous.
Skin radiance is supposed to be another benefit, isn't it?

OK, I want that too.

Cheers!