I just wanted to tell you, Joy emailed me again and she was doing a little dolly talk… so “maybe” things are starting to get back to normal for her. I certainly hope so!
Guess what? I now have a rug in my living room! It’s a pretty big one too… almost 10′ x 8′. I was in Ross’s and saw a rug that was kind of grayish looking and glanced at the price tag… $69.99! Not bad… but I looked a little closer and the tag under the plastic wrap said $39.99! Much better! A manager just happened to walk by as I was looking and I asked him which was the right price. He said they would honor the lowest price! OKAY… I think I may have just found my living room rug! He carried it up front and then even carried it out to my car… My hubby carried it in and when he heard the story, he decided I did the right thing by buying it. We unrolled it and it sort of had these ridges where it had been rolled up. But by today they are almost gone! It’s not anything really fancy and it would be nicer if it was all plushy, but my hubby says it’s wonderful to him when he’s on the floor with Reuben.
These pictures were taken right after we put it down… Reuben liked it and so did Rebecca!
Saturday we left early to go up past Springfield, Illinois. My hubby wanted to see a man about some birds… Old German Owls to be exact… They are from the pigeon family. My hubby was given his first pair of fancy pigeons when he was in second grade and just loved them. We’ve had birds of some kind most of our married life… It was only when we first moved here that we got rid of them…too much to do on the house!
Anyway, recently my hubby started “longing” for some Old German Owls (I wonder if that’s the same kind of longing I have when I see a doll I like???) He had never had this kind before but was very intrigued by them. He did some research on them and decided he’d like to give them a try. He worked on his shed, making room for them, and hoping he could find some somewhere. Long story short, he found a man just up past Springfield, IL, (about 4 hours away) who was selling his whole flock of birds because he was getting too old and his health was deteriorating. He had 29 birds! Yep… 29!! (What’s a wife to do?)
Well, he fell hard for them as soon as he saw them in person. They are pretty cute and quite friendly too. We took them and I have some pictures of the trip home… talk about weird looks… we got them… cages stacked on top of cages in our car with the same kind of birds in them all. The ones with the gray wings and black strips are called Blue Bars and the reddish wings with the reddish strips are called Red Bars. Makes sense right? Then some have solid black wings and they are called Shields and some have red wings… We were serenaded with lots of cooing on the way home…
We had to do some scrambling and planning to accommodate 29 birds. We thought we might get 3 or 4 pairs… We had to move the chickens into a new smaller coop. We sold several of them on Craigslist and are now down to 6 hens. Then we turned the white chicken coop into the “Mated up Pairs” quarters, and put the rest in the back of the shed. When my hubby found out he was getting this many birds, he had to do lots of rearranging to make it work. He’s very happy and I actually overheard him talking to the man… the conversation went like this…
“So, is your wife on board with all these birds?”
“Well, you see, I think she’s wanting some kitchen cabinets, so this is our compromise.. I get the birds and she gets the cabinets!”
Works for me!! :o)
So how about some pictures of the birds…
Oh, I forgot to tell you, on the way to Springfield, we stopped at another mans house and he had a pair of fancy Fantails. These are the kind my hubby was given in second grade… They strut around like this all the time..sort of walking on their tip toes… their tails spread out very beautifully and when it’s laced it’s even prettier.
When we were heading into Springfield, IL, to pick up the birds, my hubby said, “right up here is Wiedlocher Island” but I couldn’t get my phone out fast enough to snap a picture. I decided on the way home I’d be ready. I can’t believe it, but I actually got a pretty good shot, across my hubby’s chest, with his window down and us going pretty fast, across the lane of traffic, and no cars in the way.
It is an island named after his family. They had a feed mill in Springfield and it was where they went to relax and play cards… There was a club house on the island and they called it “The Shack.”
My hubby found the old photocopy of the newspaper clipping when Wiedlocher Island was dedicated to his uncle Frank on Memorial Day, 1941.
I know it’s hard to see anything, but maybe if you click on it you can see it better.
This is a picture of “the Shack.”
Well, that’ll have to be it today… There was no time for sewing today as it was Rebecca’s 27th birthday and we took her to Paducah, Kentucky for a birthday road trip. We just went to some consignment shops, Goodwill, Salvation Army Thrift shop, a few other places and ended up at a great Mexican restaurant. We found a few treasures, but nothing really to share…that’s why I brought you this “wonderful” post on rugs, and birds and islands! :o)
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
The other day when I wrote you about an image that popped into my mind of you coming home with a load of kitchen cabinets, you said George was looking at birds, not cabinets. I thought a pair of birds, no more than that. I can’t believe he got the whole parliament, the word for a whole bunch of owls, believe it or not. I feel like Marilyn, looking up words on Wikipedia. What beautiful birds! Glad they found such a good home. Great find with the rug. And what a great story about the island. It’s a very interesting life story you share with us.
Hi Susette,
My hubby isn’t planning on keeping all of these birds but the man wanted to sell them all in one lot. We will be selling some of them. I’m not sure how many my hubby wants to keep…but certainly not 29…actually 28 now…we lost one night before last. George said it was probably stress related.
But I do think he was serious about me getting cabinets. I’ve been stalking Craigslist looking for something that will work for our kitchen layout. I’m hoping to find some nice oak cabinets that I can paint a creamy white. My hubby was doing some measuring in the kitchen this morning to see if the dishwasher could be moved to a different spot.
So…I think it’s gonna happen!!!!
I’m glad you don’t think the birds are stupid… I was just out in the coop and they really are fun to watch. :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
Good news — this is a great post. First, it’s wonderful to think Joy and her collection of dolls may be safe. We might even hear more by the end of the day.
The Old German Owls are certainly pretty. I can’t wait until they’ve all been named and you get to memorize them all. The Fantails will be easier to remember, since there are only two.
If the pigeons are the price of your new kitchen cabinets, that’s great, though I’ll bet we’d all agree that George can have chickens or pigeons or falcons or whatever he likes, cabinets or no cabinets, but we are all very happy to hear that new cabinets are coming and a rug is already there.
Tomorrow I’ll be glad to hear a report on your trip to Paducah and Rebecca’s birthday. Maybe by the end of the week, we’ll hear about your first cabinet shopping trip. It’s been a wonderful, productive week, and it’s not yet half over.
Hi Marilyn,
Joy did post a comment below, and things do seem better for them. I am so grateful and I can’t even imagine how she must feel.
I don’t think we’ll be naming all these birds, but it would be sort of fun to think about names for them. My hubby is out there right now working on their pens. He’s trying to decide which ones he likes best before he starts culling them. He us as happy as I am when I get a new doll…
His birds were certainly less than what I’ll have to pay for cabinets but I’ve been looking on Craigslist just waiting for the right set for us to pop up! :o)
There probably won’t be anything about the Paducah trip to share. I found 2 pairs of pants, a top, some paper flowers for my doll hats and some pretty stickers for when I wrap up my doll dresses in boxes. George found some clothes and a few things for Kristoffer’s birthday on Sunday. Rebecca found some kitchen things and some things for her car. It wasn’t that exciting of a trip but we all had a good time and came home with a few treasures.
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Here I am, a bit late too, trouble with the computer helped with that! Goodness, those are owls? They don’t look like regular barn owls, how is it they are called owls? What do they eat? Regular owls eat mice, snakes and small rodents. Surely yours don’t do that, or do they? That’s crazy, what Marilyn said about naming them all! 🙂 That could be an entire day’s blog! Well, at least you can now be assured of new cabinets!
The rug looks like a perfect match! For a minute there, I thought George looked quite feminine laying down on the rug with Rueben, before I realized it was Rebecca!! A cute picture, and like father, like daughter!!
Wow, an island named after the family! There should be a sign, or make that a billboard, so everyone can see from the “mainland”! One of these days you can row over and have a mini vacation all to yourselves!
Oh, and Happy Belated Birthday to Rebecca!
So good to hear that Joy has contacted you and dolls are the topic, not something way worse than that!
Hi Linda,
Well, they are called Old German Owls, but they are just fancy pigeons….and no, they don’t eat mice and snakes…they eat pigeon feed.
Yep, I think my cabinets are really going to happen. George was doing some measuring in the kitchen this morning…yippee!!!
I’ve been looking on Craigslist for something that will work for us. I’ve seen a few things but wasn’t sure it was going to happen so I passed on them. Fortunately, it seems like LOTS of people are replacing older …and sometimes almost new cabinets…with different ones and sometimes the appliances are included as well!!!
I Google “Wiedlocher Island” and nothing came up, but George said it’s in some kind of historical registry. I’ll have to find out more about it. If we hadn’t had all those birds in the car, it would have been fun to check it out.
Blessings, Jeanne
Such a fun post today, Jeanne. You’ve shared a little bit of this, a bit of that….I felt a thrill knowing that George’s heart is happily content with these lovely birds he’s retrieved and the upcoming kitchen cabinets to make your kitchen’s heart content….ahhhhhhhh….homey bliss! And, how wonderful to be able to share Rebecca’s b-day with her. Blessings abound.
Hi Becky
Yes, today’s post was a bit of a hodge podge today, but still glad you enjoyed it.
My hubby IS very content and so excited over his new birds. He’s out working on their pens right now. They really are sweet when you walk in the coop. They turn their heads sort of cockeyed and check you out.
Oh yes, “homey bliss”….that’s what I’ll be in when I get these cabinets replaced. :o)
Thank you Becky,
Blessings, Jeanne
Happy Birthday Rebecca!!!!!
Your rug looks to fit really good and blends in well. What a bargain too! That had to be a plus.
Oh, the birds are so neat and very interesting. The birds probably all have different personalities and for George to work with them or get to know them, will be interesting.
The Weidlocher Island is cool and the newspaper articles are treasures. Does George know if the island is owned by someone else or is The Shack still there? I remember you telling me about their mill in Springfield – Did George ever find its location? I can’t remember what you said about that.
Have a great day, Jeanne.
Hi Paula
Our rug is nice looking in the living room, and yes, I’m all about a good bargain!
Thanks for Rebecca’s birthday wishes! I can’t believe my baby is 27!!!
I know you love birds so I thought you’d like them. They are fun to watch and George is liking them very much. I love to walk in the coop and hear them coo!
The Shack burned down in 1980 I think and I’m not sure who the island belongs to now. My hubby heard the feed mill was supposed to be torn down, so he called someone in Springfield and they were supposed to let us know when it was happening and save us some bricks….but that never happened… :o(
George has a nephew that lives up there closeems to Spfd…I’ll have to see if he knows anything.
Thanks Paula,
Blessings, Jeanne
Sorry to be so slow in responding but want to thank you especially for the Saturday side shots–so many beautiful and creative things. Loved the Halloween outfit colors, fabrics and accessory–what a fun combination! Would love to know about the doll in frame 34 and several after that–sunflowers, black, pale pink and green strawberry, oriental with wrap front and cherry blossoms. I fell in love with her sweet face, brown eyes and strawberry blonde/ brown hair. Just wanted to give her a hug. Would love to know more about her. Thank you for the bright spot you make in my day. May God richly bless your many avenues of service.
Judy
Hi Judy,
I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures of my girls on Saturday. I’m thinking you might be talking about Katie Effanbee… she is the doll in the sunflowers dress. I had her for quite a while but her popularity sort of waned, so there wasn’t much money to be made when I sewed for her. I sold her a little while later. The other Katie Effanbee I had is the one seen with the short black bob.
If you check ebay for Katie Effanbee, you may run across one. I think she was 17″ tall with a hard vinyl body. The light brown haired Katie I has was call Mommy’s Garden Party Katie, or something like that. If you Google that and hit images, she might pop up.
Thanks Judy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Well, we finally deemed it safe to unpack the car. I was able to hook up my computer again yesterday. After yanking all the plugs out as we hurried to pack up, I wasn’t sure I could remember what went where. All is now good. Fire containment for our fire is getting close. We still do not have natural gas, but they may be able to get to us today. Ten days without hot water is a very long time. Pacific Gas/Electric tested the lines yesterday and there was a leak so they couldn’t relight until the leaks are located. Since all new gas lines are plastic, they may have melted somewhere. It is going to take awhile to clean this place. Everything is covered with fine ash. They are saying to replace car air filters too. But, we were so lucky as some heroic people were able to stop the fire near us using swimming pool water and generators. They pumped two pools dry. Others lost their homes and many lives too. So many stories to tell.
Love your new rug Jeanne. Perfect color. Looks just like the Costco one and the price was great. I might add, perfect placement too. Everything looks so rich.
My father also raised pigeons/doves as a boy. He told me stories of going to the railroad depot warehouse and crawling under the dock. Then he gathered grain that had spilled through the wooden floor cracks to feed his birds. Depression time. No money for feed.
The latest dress is perfect. Love the warm fuzzy cape too.
So fun seeing the island! What wonderful family history.
Took me a minute to remember what day this is, but happy Wednesday!
Hi Joy and welcome back!
I am SO glad you and your home are okay…relatively speaking. I’m sure cleaning up “ash” is better than “ashes!”
Was the house (your hubbys parents house?) you were fixing up close to the fire. I certainly hope after all your hard work, that it’s okay…
When I saw the rug, I wondered if thus was close to the Costco one you mentioned to me…
Well, if your father raised birds, I hope you enjoyed seeing these pictures of ours.
It was wonderful to hear from you Joy. Take care of yourself and stay safe.
Blessings, Jeanne