I may have mentioned in passing that I joined the Interior Design group here.  I enjoy design.  I don't necessarily practice it in my own home as we always seem to be tearing things apart around here but I enjoy the concept of it.

This is one of the best under-stair storage ideas I've seen.

Since joining the group I get inundated daily with pics and ads from all over the world for layouts and products.  Some interesting ... some__well, lets just say I'm puzzled by the current retro trend of back to the 50's/60's. Most of that molded plastic furniture wasn't attractive [or comfortable] the first time around, why bring it back?

But if you're going to go retro this reminds me of the 60's/70's.


Then there's the new non-color scheme. White.  Everything is white. Oh, you can have accent colors, but the predominant, hit you square in the eyeballs and send you into migraine as soon as you enter a room, is white. Can one say Glare?

 But I do like this bedroom. The dark wood saves it. And I like shutters.
Here is another example of the white scheme__

Anyway, I thought I would go through and pull a few of the more interesting photos [interesting to me, at least] and post them for any who might find them of interest, too.

Yep__white

I

And this __ have you ever seen such an elaborate foot bath?

And I found this different and therefore interesting. Very masculine. I like the curve of the bed frame.

It is the hour of nearly sunrise. I've abused the exercise bike. I'm contemplating floor exercises. I'm swilling coffee and ignoring the pitiful begging coming from the animal members of the family for sustenance before they all disappear into oblivion from immanent starvation. I have a plan to capture the elusive yet ravenous Sari and lock her in the cat condo so we can spray for the dreaded stinkbugs this morning and the only way to catch her these days is with food.

Speaking of stinkbugs our local legislature has decided to take action on something. Yes. The stinkbug. Not guns. Not human rights. Not__well, nevermind.
http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2013/06/stink-bug-bill-passes-through-congress.php

Given that it's been raining non-stop for the last week and a half there's mowing to do and that has to be done today, too as it's going to rain tomorrow. And the usual stuff of the w/e around and about.

And I really don't want to do any of it.

Watched a fairly entertaining movie last night on Amazon called The Guard. It had me giggling from the beginning all the way through.

I woke up from a ghastly nightmare this morning.  I don't have them often. I have what one could call interesting dreams more often than not but outright nightmares are uncommon. This one qualified. Probably one of the top 5   [shudders] .  I have to pick these things up out of the ethers. There is no way I could conceive of this stuff on my own. I don't know how anyone could conceive of this stuff. It's going to take days to shake it off.

Oh, well. That's about it from the Blue Ridge. At least for the moment.

The Thirthteenth Chakra __

The 13th Chakra and The Acceleration of Healing
by Eileen McKusick

http://www.ofspirit.com/eileenmckusick1.htm

Just to start the week off in grand fashion I think I'll blog about things around here and scare you all into a state of boredom and stupidity... just to get you in the mood for the rest of your week. Never accuse me of being inconsiderate.

First off__the wren. She built a nest in a bucket which I had hanging from a post on the porch-rail. This proved problematic as it began to attract every predator in the neighborhood when she laid a large clutch of eggs.

I love wrens. They're cute, hard-working, tenacious, curious, intelligent. They're just neat little birds but they are not up to defending against an entire forest of attackers. So, how to move the nest w/o damaging it, scaring off the mother, allowing her to find it again__etc., etc.  This actually became a large obsession, and when one is retired obsessing in general can become an obsession, if you get my drift. Well, I finally buckled under and hefted the ladder around back, gently [oh, so very gently] lifted the bucket off the post and carried it sideways up the ladder and perched it into a small Honey Locust tree just off the back porch. The tree is not much more than a sapling but is strong and I am hoping it will work through the nesting season. And after looking around and calling frantically for an hour she did locate the nest. Waiting until some of the chicks had hatched turned out to be the best idea as a barometer for timing to move it as she could hear them. Apparently smell isn't a sense most birds can rely on but sound is. Then I went down to the rose-briers and cut swaths of thorns and wrapped the trunk of the tree to try to keep at least some of the nasties from getting up to the relocated nest. So far, so good. They've been up there for a couple of weeks now and she's still carrying in bugs so at least one or two chicks have made it. And at one point she came down and landed next to me while I was sitting on the steps on the porch and just perched and cheeped. I took it as a thank you.

Then there is the ongoing kitchen reno. This is a very big deal. We started building this house back in the late 80's. We had saved and bought the materials we could afford and then the recession hit. We only got part of it finished. I have never had a completed kitchen. For nearly 20 years I cooked for a family of four on a 2 burner hot plate or on an open fire. We had a tiny frig and no oven, no cabinets just shelves. I haven't had a dishwasher since, well it's been a very long time. Yesterday Matt finished installing the last of the wall cabinets, and putting in the new kitchen sink and installing my new DISH WASHER!!! I really never thought I would get so excited about a dish washer but my hands don't work too well any more and to be honest, it made me cry when he turned it on for the first time. This is how my son spent his vacation time. And he really needed to relax. But instead I am getting the kitchen I haven't had in 25 yrs. Wow. I get so blown away by the generosity of loved ones sometimes__it leaves me speechless. Oh, and a micro-wave/convection oven which I said I didn't want/would never use. Well, he got one and I use it. I have only boiled/blown-up a couple of things so far but give me time...I may turn the Blue-ridge into __well maybe we better not think on that too much.

There's more. I've been a busy old bat. But I'll bore you with all that stuff later when you think you're safe.

__*Critical Thinking*__ This is something you find taught in the higher grades and throughout the colleges and universities. I believe it is time to start teaching it in grade school ... maybe start at the third or forth grade level and tailor it for those ages. And I believe it should be continued all the way through the lower and middle school years and up through high school. Why? Because we are sending our children out into the world unprepared. They do not have the skills to reason. We tell them What to think but not How to think. This is entirely backward and doing them absolutely no favors.

Open the debate__for them__between them. It dismays me to see them falter when asked the most basic of questions. And often it's not knowledge that throws them but the ability to reason an answer. We don't have to turn out huge numbers of brain surgeons but we do need generations of people who can reason.

How would I start? With a program that is simple. Simple is best...as often is the simplest solution to a problem...if you can arrive at it. Ask a question. Pose a problem that would typically face a third grader. Find a solution. Let them debate. Don't offer a solution of your own. Let them reason it out. It's a complex world, yes, and becoming more so each day but often times there is a simple solution and children are very adept at seeing through the fog of obfuscation if encouraged to do so.

http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/a-brief-history-of-the-idea-of-critical-thinking/408

I dedicate this Mother's Day post to the one I consider the true mother of us all, The Ocean...The great encompassing Sea. That from which we emerged and to which we shall return.

I could get more personal and dedicate it to my mother__my poor mother, who got much more than she ever asked for when she gave birth to a daughter far beyond her ken in giving life to me, but I've told those stories before and I'll give her a day of rest instead as a gift.

I always felt the Ocean was the source. It's a power of such magnitude and beauty.
More than any other place when I walk upon her shores or into her waves, I feel embraced, encompassed and whole.

Happy Mother's Day.

The Mountain Bluebirds are here.

This may not be the exact species [there are a few] but close. We have a red breasted bluebird that stays within the range but this little guy migrates so when you see him it's really spring. They usually show up right around the time the blue violets are just starting to go away. But then the day flowers will show up if you look for them.

They are tiny__about the size of a pencil eraser on the end of a stalk of short grass. Cool to find, tho.
Just after these guys show up the goldfinches usually appear.

They come when the coltsfoot has come and gone

But the Dandelions are in full bloom

Then we should start seeing the scrappy little purple finches

And the wild geraniums