A birdie flew into my window...went and checked on him..he was the strangest looking thing...almost a varigated black and white..don't know what he was..but he flew off!! Only stunned, thankfully.

@Jayme - It just seems so incredibly lazy; don't you know what you like better than a bunch of strangers on the internet? Know your budget & space better? Know how you & your family live better .. formal, casual, etc.? So how practical is it to show 2 pieces of furniture, and ask which one is "better" .. better for whom?!

I prepared sugar water for the hummingbirds today, but there were so many other birds on the feeder, I didn't want to frighten them off .. I'll put the hummer feeder out later.

@astraea...Sometimes I think people have trouble visualizing things...and also some truly have no clue how to begin a project, how to find colors that work, etc. When I was in my 20's I was fairly clueless..but I did seek out things.

Astraea, did your birds train you? mine seem to think I work for them. they make all kinds of noise until I go outside to fill their feeders and birdbath, then they are quiet. I put out netted bag of dryer lint for them to use for their nests too. I am so well trained!!! :)

book group last night and no one care that my house wasn't spotless!! we had a nice time and it just didn't matter that I didn't dust very well :)

mousemaker - Birds are amazing; I used to think it was just the bird store's sales pitch, to sell suet .. but I put it out, and the woodpeckers started to come. I never saw a hummingbird either, but I put a feeder out, and occasionally they show up too. Here, I began to see a hummer regularly at the end of the day. That was also when the rest of the seed was gone, and no one else was at the feeders. Expensive hobby!!

@Jayme - I think you're too kind; I think a lot of people are LAZY. How can you tell how comfortable a chair or couch is, without actually sitting on it? How can you tell quality, without looking behind, underneath & pulling draws out? It takes a little effort, and some people just want someone else to tell them what to do.

The hummingbirds love my honeysuckle...which has devoured the obelisk that is supporting it!!

Astraea...some people want to know what color or pattern is better I think....
and I know it annoys you as far as the original poster is concerned, but my problem is with the posters answering the questions afterwards, who do not read ANY details or comments previously.
And the people who just get on there and are trying to sell their crap, also never having read the original question to begin with.
Some poor girl on a tight tight budget wanting to know about a couch and low and behold....there is some twit trying to sell their art.....number one, wasn't the question, number two has no money for furniture hardly. I think art may be later in the grand scheme of things. Ask about trim colors on a house and suddenly a poster says nothing about trim colors that may work, but says they need a curvy sidewalk and flowers planted along the side of it! Makes me want to scream too sometimes. Trust me!

mousemaker, what was the book?

I only have one hummingbird feeder but the red colored sugar water fades so fast! I'm going to have to do something else I guess. I have a terracotta bird house that's shaped like a fat bird! I have birds there this year!! I'm so happy. AND I saw another birdhouse at Marshall's that I want BADLY!!!! It's turquoise ceramic and I LOVE IT! Bird feeders outside kitchen window that is a constant area of activity. Even Dali is enjoying watching them! :) Oh yea forgot to tell you guys....she now wants to sit in the barstool all the time now so she can see out the window and act like a human.
I have 2 other birdfeeders in the backyard as well hanging from trees. And then the natural birdfeeder, the big fig tree!

MP - do you buy the nectar for them? I make it myself .. 4 cups water to 1 cup sugar. Aren't birds just so nice to have?!

ASV I have some Lily of the Valley just ready to put into plant pots this weekend! Such a lovely smell. It was my mothers favourite flower and reminds me of her.

I love honeysuckle. I had a huge one that crawled up the side of my deck lattice in the other house but I lost it when we tore the deck down and rebuilt it. It just never grew the same on the opposite fence.

Hi busylady - love lily of the valley and will be getting some tomorrow (by hook or by crook) ... more likely by crook!

Astraea, I have some left that came as a gift with my feeder still....Do you put red food coloring in it to attract them, or is your feeder red? My feeder is glass and beautiful, but clear with a few bits of color. Not much to attract them except for the red in the sugar water. :(

MP - They actually tell you not to put any food color into them. It's the top shell that's red, sometimes with yellow "flowers" around the holes. Sometimes I think those pretty glass ones aren't as practical; imagine if it fell!

Mine is a cheap plastic thing.

the hummingbirds love certain plants too, as do butterflies..that's great you feed them!!!
oh lily of the valley!! sorry to say I dug up a bunch of it last year because it was overtaking everything!!! it was rampant!!! I gave several buckets away!
my mother loved it too, busy lady..oh the sweet memories of our mothers. I got a big one today..unexpected..
judyg, the book was Cutting for Stone, it's about Ethiopia. a wonderful read. I recommend it. I have not wept reading a book in many years. I read a great deal of Holocaust material and I don't cry somehow, I read it with a certain mind set so that I can learn and not be swallowed up.

Made it home and boy did my debit card get a workout. Lol! Kitchen faucet, trim for the stairs (hopefully), a pair of sweats (who knew it'd be hard to find a pair of sweats in April), a few things from Costco, and a few other misc stuff. But I forgot to eat. :(

@Robin -- Uh oh. Gotta eat. I forget too sometimes. Sounds like a successful shopping trip!

@Eztia -- sounds lovely! If I can find a place for a honeysuckle in my new yard, I will definitely keep your fence in mind. Thanks for the idea!

mousemaker - lily of the valley also brings back memories for me! We didn't have any gardeners in my family, but the irises & lily of the valley grew wild and smelled so nice!! When we moved to NJ, Mom uprooted some of the irises, and replanted them at her house, and then gave me a few when I moved out on my own.

I wish I could have that mindset for Holocaust material; I need to bring sunglasses with me, when I go to a live program!

Uh oh. I think I might really love this a little bit. But yumpin' yiminy, it's spendy. I would need one this big, but still...

oh Astraea..don't make me cry! I love irises too. my mother gave me some crocus that come up every year as if I needed a reminder, you know?

my mother gave me nothing! i don't even think she likes me to be honest...the more i'm thinking about it. how horrible is that!? and mother's day is coming up!!! oh boy!

kimdee the light fixture is pretty...but there are sooooo many cool ones out there! I actually just saw one that made me think of you. very cool...modernlights2011 on ebay has a pretty good selection of modern chandeliers. Or just type in modern chandeliers on ebay and take a lookey!

@mpoulsom -- I will look, thanks for the lead!

Well my crew on my way to the airport. Wish me safe travels

safe travels friend!!!!!!!!!! let us know when you get there! :)

Morning all. Sorry if I sounded cranky last night, I wasn't really, I just have a habit when I am really tired of trying to talk in shorthand, so I guess it comes across a bit abrupt.

Where is Angela off to??

Talking about lights - remember those floral lights I got for the lounge room with the 388 pieces that required "some" assembly but I needed two boxes to get enough pieces for one light? Can't believe it but the store is still advertising and selling them!!!

mp - I have a terrible habit of getting very enthusiastic about doing things, always have heaps of ideas, but never think about the time it takes to actually get anything done, to the point I totally overwhelm myself - so once again I just want to get so much done before DD arrives to show all the renovations at their absolute best but the time is just flying by. I'm just nibbling away and hoping I will wake up one morning and find I just have final touches to put to things and it WILL be all done.

Is it ok feeding the birds sugar water? That is a big no-no here. Many years ago a Bird Sanctuary in Queensland set out plates of bread soaked in honey and water for people to feed the lorikeets so everyone then started feeding any native birds with this but they discovered it led to a lot if debilitating dietary problems in the birds and they were developing physical deformities from it so this sort of feeding is banned. There is a huge difference between sugar and nectar because of the way sugar is processed.

Astraea - I wonder how much websites like this and glossy decorating mags contribute to people's uncertainty about decorating. You even see and hear decorators and designers quote "rules" - who actually made up the "rules". All the staging you see is definitely geared for impact and not necessarily geared for comfort, practicality or actual living, but people don't seem to stop and think about that. If "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", then anything and everything is beautiful to the person who loves it and happily lives with it. I really feel so many of the dilemmas are caused by people trying to be "correct" with their decorating because of things they have seen, heard or read but the problem is they have no idea what "correct" is let alone what they want to achieve or how to achieve it. It is like people are becoming confused because of TOO much information and wanting to do the right thing to impress others rather than themselves.

I was looking through a magazine yesterday, that showed one room (a lounge with dining adjoining) decorated 4 different ways using furniture and furnishings from
a large furniture department store,
a more upmarket Ikea type store,
K-Mart
and a designer made to measure outlet.

The upmarket Ikea one appealed to me the most, it was very homely and comfortable looking, but the K-Mart one really surprised. The room was done in terracotta, soft yellow and cream but they had taken some leopard print throws and made swags by draping them over the curtain rods with rich cream curtains, a matching throw on one lounge and a couple of leopard print cushions, and quite a few indoor plants tied it all in. This is the sort of thing it would be great to see on Houzz but of course they only have photos of actual homes so can't play around like this.

Well, that was fun! The builder brought some people over to see my house, since they don't have a show home built. It was kind of nice to have people come through and comment on the way the house is looking so far. Makes me feel like I'm on the right track...!

I hope you have asked for a commission!!!

Haha! I should! But I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a gift. There are a set of three sculpture things I've admired in the other showhome and I think they'll be mine before they bug out of here!

Yeah, they're going to be coming around looking for missing bits and pieces from all the houses along the lake in the next few days. I've added it to my list of fix-its so I don't forget about it.

i have the hummingbird mixture recipe if that helps?
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
bring water to a rolling boil. take off heat and cool. fill feeder when cool. no food coloring, not good for birds.

I agree olldroo, that's why I don't look at those magazines :) after all, we need to live in our homes. they aren't showpieces. they are homes, right?

When my builder's sales rep announced last night that I am now in charge of decorating their next showhome, I realized I need to get some personalization into my house.... erf.

hey gals...jayme opened up today's post under design dilemma instead of other...fyi olld 5-1-13

not sure if she can delete it and start over in other or not? BUT...today is her 47th bday...so wishes to her please over yonder!! :)

well kimdee...don't take it like that entirely...everything looks in very good taste to me in your crib! but yes...DO put some personal photos in some of the frames! ha! It's a compliment that you are so neat and clean and tidy too! I love the way my house looks, but it def looks like someone lives there! not the best suzy homemaker!

and in my defense.....i do have a puppy right now..who finds paper towels or catalogs or anything paper she can find and shreds it in a matter of seconds. I don't even know where she gets half of it.

Oh! I was wondering where everyone was this morning!

mpoulsom -- Thanks! I do have stacks of frames I've yet to fill with... something! I'll get to it eventually. And I've got some very old pen and ink lettering work that my great aunt did in the 1930s... its very cool, so we're going to make a gallery out of that and some of my work, and some other things that are typographical. It'll look great, when I get around to it.

There is only me and the dog, so it's pretty easy for me to keep things tidy. I was never much of a bed maker before... but now that the master is on the main floor and visible from the main hall, I have to do it every day.

i like getting into a fixed bed at night. it makes me feel civilized :)

happy birthday to jayme!!!

mpoulsom, I agree about the postings where others seem to post without reading the previous ones. I post suggestions and then other people post the same things after me! not that I know everything :)

Sorry I didn't know to put it under "Other"...:(

No worries! I was just feeling lonely without my new Olld friends :)

no worries jayme ..... prob a good thing it happened, in case anyone else ever wants to start off the day. Whoever is up first, can start it. Those are the rules, if you call those rules??!!! :)
Everyone will know now that it's in "Other"....just so we don't bug people with a design dilemma or people seeking to help others. You know what I mean I'm sure. And I say, go look at the boat! Looks fun!

Roo – Sorry I’m getting to Houzz so late .. the old “day late & dollar short”! I have held my tongue a couple of times, both with professionals & the wannabes; wanted to ask who died & left them in charge .. “God of Decorating”! I don’t pretend to be a good decorator at all, but if someone can explain why things do or don’t look right together, I’m certainly open to learn. “Because I say so & I’m a professional” doesn’t impress me as an “explanation”!

I’ve seen articles like that in specialty magazines, where they’ll show a kitchen renovation, at 2 or 3 different budget ranges. All of them look great, but one may have fully custom cabinets & high-end appliances & finishes, while the others have more stock & mid-line items. It just proves that you can have a beautiful room at ¼ the cost of the top-of-the-line one (which is probably the one featured on Houzz).

Mousemaker’s recipe for sugar water is right .. 4 to 1 ratio of water to sugar; I made 6 cups of water the other day, because you’re also supposed to replace it & wash the feeder out every 4 or so days.

Jayme – Happy birthday!!

I was out of the house early today, for a spring service of my car, and then I didn’t get back online until a little while ago.

I was just going to go out and plant some stuff and what??? it's RAINING!! oh well, at least it isn't snow lol.
this way I don't have to water all the other things I just planted, right? but it's dark and wet and cold today..
I posted before but my post didn't post.