Hi everyone,
I went out to take care of the hens this morning and check on the baby wrens and WAAAAAAHHHHH…😭😭😭 the nest was empty. I took a picture of it and was just going to show that, but there isn’t even a picture on my phone right now.
It was our neighbor’s cat.😠 I saw it sitting out by the bricks near the tomato plants. He probably heard the momma bird chirping and it caught his attention! I am SO sad. That was the bright spot in my morning routine! 😭😭😭
Okay, so let’s all stop crying and see what Laura has to share that will cheer us up!
Hi Jeanne,
I have some photos to share, please.
First, we must start with the most important subject – KITTIES!!
(If you click on Laura’s pictures they will enlarge)
Here is Doyle (Sir Doyle Tippytail) defending the castle. And then a photo to show off his tippytail.
Next we have Ollie (Sir Oliver Knightley) my black Bombay with Doyle, and both of them with Teddy in the background.
The metal tin holds crochet thread and it, along with the ivory crochet hooks belonged to my maternal great grandmother (grandfather’s mother). It dates to the 1870s/1880s.
The next item is my maternal grandmother’s wooden darning mushroom. The handle unscrews to hold the darning needles.
Lastly, are pictures of the dollhouse my grandfather made for my mom’s 3rd birthday in 1945. He made from what he had on hand as it was the end of WWII. The roof comes off in two sections and then the front pulls up and off.
A family friend went and purchased the Renwal furniture, mother, and baby.
The final picture is the little brass candlesticks, saucepan, double boiler, and dog paperweight. The dog was an advertizing items.
Thank you for letting me share.
Blessings!
Laura
Thank YOU for sharing your treasures with us. There is lots to look at and see all the details.
See everyone tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, Jeanne, I’m so sorry about those baby birds!! Such is life in the wild, I’m afraid, even if the “wild” is only your yard.
I’m happy to report that, of the three fires in the Spokane area, two are 53% contained each, and the third one is 73% contained. I was sure happy to hear that!
Laura thank you so much for sharing your wonderful pictures. I love the names of your cats–they sound like something Beatrix Potter wd name some of the characters in her charming little stories. They look like very sweet cats.
I love the pictures of your sewing notions. I am wondering if the crochet hooks might be bone, or possibly even ivory? And the mushroom for sock mending is delightful, and pretty good in size, too. I have a darning egg, but it is a little more modern, and I don’t think the handle comes off to reveal a storage compartment for needles. You have a real treasure there!
And that dollhouse!! Oh, gosh, it’s just wonderful. Lucky you to have such a beautiful one, and made by your grandfather, too! I have one thing that each of my grandfathers made for me–a little piano, which really plays somewhat (sadly out of tune now) and a small cradle for the very small dolls. But you have a whole house! I love the furniture pieces, too–so charming!
Thank you so much, Charlotte. That is good news that the fires are being contained. So horrible that someone would do that on purpose.
I love to think up whimsical names for the kitties. Of course, they have some nicknames they answer to as well.
Yes, the crochet hooks are ivory. I found out how to tell. I remember watching my grandmother darn my grandfather’s socks and I do know how it’s done because I got to try on that mushroom.
I actually have three more things my grandfather made that I will be happy to share soon.
Oh no, Jeanne! Not “our” baby birds! I was wondering how high the nest was because for sure it wasn’t up high in a tree, and seemed to be awfully close to the ground to me. None of my cats ever got to a bird, but we had a vole, grasshopper and even a baby bunny brought into the house, and yes, the grasshopper and bunny were fine! The grasshopper jumped all over the place while I was trying to catch it, and the baby bunny,got caught in my son’s bedroom, which took awhile to catch!! Boy, are tney strong!
Laura, your three kitties look so regal, sitting and laying there! Doyle, well, what can I say, has a lovely name! I like his whole name too, so cute! Teddy looks a lot like a cat I used to have,, my Alexander. And Sir Oliver, what a name for a beautiful black kitty! They certainly look well fed and very relaxed, plus dare I say it, spoiled?😊
I loved seeing your treasures, especially the dollhouse your grandfather made for your mother. The Renwal furniture in the living room is exactly what I have in my metal dollhouse, same colors too! Did he make furniture for it too, or did you buy it? I see some of it is more recent, so wonder if you or your mother bought some. Do you keep it out like I do mine?
Anne, thank you for your compliments from yesterday, which I did not get to acknowledge until now. That was interesting to hear about winter skirt uniforms down to their ankles! Can’t imagine girls doing that here, slacks seem easier and warmer . However, it seems that these skirts that they wear now a are so short, that shorts are a must underneath them! In my day, crinolines and full skirts were the thing!
Thank you so much, Linda! No, my kitties couldn’t get to anything because they are always inside or only outside in a carrier or stroller.
No all the furniture is Renwal except the blue bunk beds in the bedroom. Everything was bought either in 1945 or a bit more for my mom’s 4th birthday in 1946. Nothing was ever added later by either of us.
Yes, the dollhouse is out, but it ‘s now stored in the basement.
Jeanne, I can hard to write about the birdies, I am so sad. Did you see that the cat got them? I wonder that the cat would have eaten them all? Maybe they were ready to fly??? You didn’t say if you saw any of what happened.
On to Laura’s lovely photos to see happy thought. I loved seeing all the things you have saved from your family. I have some of that too and just wonder if anyone would want them. I have sons and it seems to take daughters that care about things like that. I am not a kitty person but I do love to see one that others have. Yours are so sweet and have such cute names. We used to visit a dear man once a week for Evening Prayer and his big orange cat would always come and sit next to me on the couch. He loved having his ears ruffled.
Your doll house is such a treasure, made by your grandfather for your mother! Thank you so much for showing all the lovely things!
Charlotte, I am glad to hear the fires are getting better and hope they get some rain.
We have to go to a funeral today and sing in the choir. His mother was in our choir years ago until she died. He has been in bad shape for years so it is really a relief for him.
Hope y’all can send some happy stories today.
Thank you so much, Sissy! No, it doesn’t always take daughters to care about family things. My grandfather had two sister and a brother and it was he who saved and valued the family items the most. Lucky us because of that.
I love to say that someone is not a kitty person because they have never had one. We had three dogs prior to the first kitty. I love both!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed seeing my treasures
Hi Sissy,
I didn’t actually see the cat get the baby birds, but he was hanging around the bricks right next to the tomato plants and we are pretty sure it was him who got them. They weren’t ready to fly yet, but were getting there. I feel so sorry for the momma bird. She must be in shock that her babies are gone. My hubby said he thought about me moving the nest to a higher tree, but it was an afterthought…
I still keep thinking they are out there… and I had to fight to not go look just one more time and see if they had somehow returned.
Blessings, Jeanne
Nope, those birdies were not ready to fly off on their own. Oh my, nature is brutal! Recently one of the baby bears at Brooks Falls in Alaska (they have 5 cameras) was killed by another female bear. very unusual. Nature is very cruel.
Naughty kitties. I know Kitty Princess would not do that either!
Yes, the nest was tragically too low. 😱😭 Little tiny baby bird angels
Laura, your picture presentation is wonderful and perfect for today.
Your kitties are cuties. I LOVE KITTIES!! Your three boys look like snuggle bugs.
I love all of your family treasures. The metal tin is lovely, does it say where it was made (underneath?) I have many made in England! That darning mushroom is really neat! The doll house is spectacular! Hand crafted with Love!
Yesterday at 4:00 we had the loudest soppiest thunderstorm and rain. The thunder felt like earth quakes and the lightening seemed like it was right next to the house.
I think we might have another storm this afternoon. Rain is good.
Today I am doing the same as I did yesterday, sewing and doing chores. I will bake a little banana bread (I only have one banana and found a tiny bread recipe 😝)
I hope all of you have a pleasant calm day.
Laura, thank you for these sweet photos.
Jeanne and George, prayers continue for restful days to recover.
Thank you so much, Rosemary! No, my kitties would never do that. Our Collie Mix once encountered a baby bunny in the yard and she just sniffed it.
Yes, all the boys are snuggle bugs!! They love to sleep with me.
No, the crochet tin doesn’t say where it was made. The bottom is darkened from age.
I do have a Daher metal tin made in England that I got as a child.
Thank you for the compliments.
Always such a pleasure to hear from Jeanne, even though the “Birdy Nest Disaster,” episode did not have a happy ending. I’m so sorry to hear about what happened.
Laura’s kitties are so welcome to see. Love their names and wow, such beauties. Please give them some pets from me. 🙂
Loved seeing the antique tin and crochet hooks. What a wonderful family treasure. I love the vintage darner too. Can’t you picture a basket of items needing repair by your great great sitting by the rocker in the glow of candlelight? Well, at least the relative with the crochet hooks. I’m sure Laura’s grandmother had an electric light from which to do her work.
Laura’s mother’s dollhouse from the 40’s, is a beautiful work of art. I love the design layout and of course, the Renwal furniture and accessories. I wish that I still had all of furniture from my dollhouse. I really enjoyed seeing all of Laura’s photos today. So fun. Thank you Jeanne and Laura for sharing.
Not so sure if the tomatoes are ever going to fully ripen around here as we’re in for some much cooler weather. Have to get going as our neighbor is going to have some bushes that hang over the fence taken out this morning. Going to be noisy. She’s trying to get her house prepared for fire prep. A good thing. The block below us had a visit from the fire department who told everyone that they had thirty days to get the plants removed from the perimeter of their homes within five feet. Kind of threatening that if they didn’t, the city could come in and remove them and then charge the owner for the removal as well. If not paid, they could put a lien on their home. Yikes. As I see it, those homes visited are the ones, from the fire map, that border the cemetery and are a last stand effort before any fire hits the flat part of town. The fire people didn’t visit the homes across the street. Up here, a block away, we would be toast, I guess, while the fire department defends the border homes. Most folks don’t know that though. Our place is pretty compliant, with some more work clearing to be done by me in the back. Just more worries to add to the pile. 🙂
Thank you so much, Joy! I will happily give them some pats from you. Thank you for your sweet words about them.
I so glad you enjoyed seeing my family treasures.
I’m so sorry to hear about all the fire worries. It’s so stressful, I’m sure.
Very sad to hear about the baby wrens. The mother didn’t pick the safest location.
Even though I proofed it twice I see I typoed advertiSement wrong. S not Z, of course!!!
I did hope the baby birds would make it, but the nest was so low that survival was unlikely. Robins nested on my front porch in a place that nearly invited cats, and the eggs were destroyed before they hatched.
Two years earlier, sensible robins chose a place on my back porch that was cat and squirrel proof, but visible through the window in the back door. I felt horribly guilty whenever I had to go through the door. The robins just froze, pretending they weren’t there. Baby robins are very ugly but fun to watch, though they do nothing but demand food. Finally, one day they looked like small robins, and the next day they were gone.
yes It is always fun to witness a robin nest.
40 years ago, we had a tall bush on the side of our front door. from the living room you could see all of the robin nest and everything! It was incredible. The little babies grew and did look adorable. There are a lot of nest cameras on Youtube.
One year when Peyton and I went to Helen, GA in the spring we had a Robin that had made her nest in the boards above the outside door. Every time we walked in or out of the door she just sat there if she was on the nest. We never got to see the babies, they were still in the nest when we left.
Jeanne that was so sad about the baby birds. Unfortunately it is what cats and other predators do! We did have a guy in NZ who was campaigning to have all outdoor cats banned but it didn’t go down well. I have taken two or three birds to the local animal hospital when I have caught Luna trying to catch a bird. Usually it is butterflies she catches. I don’t think she will be catching any these days, she only ventures out on to the deck when there is a sunny spot but only to sleep and stretch out in the sunshine. Snowy, our white cat has always preferred indoors only Pearl, our tabby, and Kai’s cat Pluto are outdoor cats these days. None of them like each other either, even though three of them have been together for 5 1/2 years!
There are a lot of feral cats in NZ, cats that have been abandoned and left to make their own way in the world. Some areas are completely overrun. The local SPCA’s often catch them and neuter/spay them then return them. If they took them all away from their area then other cats would simply move in and claim the territory. I wonder what would happen to the mice and rat populations if all cats became indoor cats? Did you see any of the photos of the mouse infestation explosion in Australia last year? That would make anyone get a houseful of cats!!
Laura your very aristocratic cats are gorgeous. Sam thinks so too. She is definitely a cat person, so is Kai. They would have as many as their budget would allow! They have a dog as well! Love your cats’ names.
How wonderful you have so many keepsakes from the past. I have very little, it is what happens when you move around the world (and when you have earthquakes!), you can only keep certain things. It is very special.
I plan to go to the pool today, but whether it will happen is anyone’s guess!
Have a good day everyone
Thank you so much, Anne! Please tell Sam and Kai thank you as well.
It really is very sad that so many cats are abandoned as they certainly do not prefer to be outdoors. I can absolutely attest to that fact from the homeless ones I’ve adopted , including my sweet three featured today. They have never wanted to be outside beyond a carrier or pet stroller. I’m happy you love their names.
Thank you for the compliments on my keepsakes. I’m sorry you don’t have many.
Awe… poor, sweet baby birds!! I am so sorry, Jeanne 🙁
Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful pictures, Laura! Sir Doyle Tippytail has such a remarkable face! He is looking very gallant with his sword and shield. It is neat to see what your cats look like again. I like to watch ours explore and move around. She is graceful and sweet and even licks us. She lets us pick her up without complaint each time. It is so neat that you have your grandfather’s mother’s metal tin and the ivory crochet hooks! I love that the wooden darning mushroom’s handle can hold the darning needles. The wooden dollhouse that your grandfather made is such a special treasure! The little candlesticks and saucepan and double boiler are a treat to see, too! Thanks a lot for sharing, Laura and Jeanne!!
We were just in a tornado warning, but I think it is just back to a floodwatch. The thunder sounded creepy.