A Tiny Fuzzy Walnut...

OK...I think I have said this about a million times before here in 'Bloglandia' ..."Things happen for a reason..."... well we had another yesterday.

I think I may have mentioned that things on Bali Drive have been Hectic and Torn Asunder for a few weeks now with all the New Sewer/Street work that is going on...each day is filled with the sounds of loud booming noises , the roar of trucks, water trucks spraying our now dirt streets every 5 minutes (water + dirt = MUD) ... I am ok with this... really I am, these inconveniences are called 'Improvements' and we each must endure them ...and I do realize that there is 'light' (or quiet) at the end of the tunnel...soooo, I just keep on keeping on....and so does Nature!!!

Birdies sing as if nothing is amiss, hummingbirds sip nectar on a regular basis as if at a peaceful spa...and Babies are 'hatched' on a regular schedule with no amount of noise or disruption keeping them from entering the world. But sometimes 'disruption' causes things to go a little awry...such is the case for this little precious baby quail...or Fuzzy Walnut!!

Yesterday was a particularly loud day...our driveway is being jack hammered, holes half way to China are being dug and workers are buzzing here and there in trucks that whizz up and down the street at an even faster pace... a perfect storm of disruption for natures presence.

Towards the end of the day I stepped out into our front yard to see the work they had finished in our elderly neighbors front yard (a New Tree Planted...very nice)...I had no shoes on so didn't go to the edge of our wall...I went in to get Richard so he could identify the tree that was planted...he did have shoes on and went to the edge of our 6 ft high wall, within 2 seconds he was over the wall...that man can move FAST!! I had no idea what was happening....but when he comes back with his hands cupped close to his chest...I always know that he found something (I always pray it is not a snake!!) ... As I mentioned...things happen for a reason...and I believe with all of my heart...that Timing was perfect that he found this little 'very alone and lost' Baby Quail...peep peep peeping as he was running around our neighbors driveway...5 seconds later and he would have blended into the rocks. It was cold yesterday in Havasu...and very windy... and this baby was lost and cold. Richard searched all over the wide area to see if he could find the Mom and Dad, brothers and sisters... but we fear they were long gone...and were probably separated in all the street commotion. F.W. looked to be born that day... was very scared, cold and confused... actually ran towards Richard and welcomed his warm hands...

Sad when they get separated from their family...but we were so pleased that timing was right...no way he/she would have survived alone overnight... not with all the very hungry Ravens, Hawks, Mockingbirds and Roadrunners we have around...

This has happened before to us a few years ago...then we tried to raise it as our own until we found out they are Highly Protected in AZ... and there is jail time involved if caught with a quail....gulp!

So we called a local Vet who specializes in caring for 'desert critters' found...from tortoises to bunnies quails to skunks... she is great! Then there is another lady here is town that is licenced by the state to care for wildlife until they are able to be released back into the wild....

Of course before heading out... We popped a few pictures...now tell me that little Fuzzy Wuzzie does not look comfee in Richard's Hands....

We felt great that timing was perfect ...and we were in the right place at the right time...

Hugs,

Jodi

Some little Ditties on ETSY

I am once again starting to list some little pins etc.... on ETSY...

Starting off with lots of different 'Happy Sun' Faces cause it is how I am feeling at the moment ...and one Fun and Funky Skull...cause I miss Halloween..so am getting a 'jump' on the season...lol. Thanks for taking a peek.... http://www.etsy.com/shop/creagerstudios1

Hugs,

Jodi

Popping On to Say "Hey"....and that I am still here...

I Always feel bad when I have not been here in a while....my favorite place on the Internet...My Blog. I think of it daily and try like heck to get to it all the time...but it is that old devil time that keeps me tied up! I pop on Facebook and write little bits here and there ...but my Blog...I like to 'linger' talk up one side and down the other...the only place on the Internet where I feel the freedom to chat longer than 1-2 sentences and people actually listen...or not...does not matter...I just like to ramble if only to myself!!

Richard and I have been seriously tied up on our newest piece and the focus level has been really put to the test with our torn up street and loud trucks, backhoes, grinders, smoother's, blenders and any other kind of 'ers' there are out there...they are on our street... I have been trying to tun most sounds out...with Jazz, Blues and Ella...always Ella! Working pretty good...as we are making good headway.

This morning there was actual quiet...thought for a brief moment I had gone deaf...but then heard birds chirping...so knew all was well...but the Birds drew me outside on this lovely spring morning ...only to see the beauty that I almost over looked in my backyard.... Blooming Blooming Blooming!! Our Opuntia's are going nuts...and this is just starting, Jasmine and Bougainvillea are over the top and the front yard Agaves are after all these years Flowering...providing delightful little individual cups of sweetened Agave Syrup for the Hummingbirds to feast on...and feasting they are!! When finished flowering and providing nectar...the plant goes bye bye...very sad that such a large plant dies...but all the joy it gave to human and critter kind is quite a legacy....more will follow.

The Cutter bees are going nuts on the opuntia flowers... almost drunk with ecstasy while wallowing in the Pollen Joy... and the hummingbirds dart all around almost pushing you out of the way to get to their sticky gold....

It is funny.... I have been so focused on work lately...that I almost let these little moments slip by...I am so glad that today was quiet...a quiet that drew me outside thus introducing me once again to nature happenings in my own yard... made me smile, happy, rejuvenated and fulfilled....

Still Smiling!!

Hugs,

Jodi

What a difference a day makes...

What a difference a day can make ... ya just wake up and say to yourself...SELF.. "ain't Nobody gonna railroad me...don't try and tell a lady she ain't Free" (lyrics from one of my fav songs) Woke up singing it and will proceed through the day smiling, singing and pushing on with it.

OK...I am Not truly, mortally or emotionally wounded... I just get myself in a mental dust bunny mode once in a while... giving waaaay to much power to what others think and say... I seem to function much better listening to ONLY the little voice I have inside... sometimes I wanna 'whack' that voice around and say "snap out of it" but most times it guides me in the right direct...

OK...so I lost a week because of 'life's little 'Get in the Ways' but I have gained strength and a more clear vision ... The pathway is swept, obstacle's are removed and I feel like I have on brand new tennies that can take me anywhere...

Back to work on our latest piece...it has my undivided attention and I shall not stray from the goal I have set...

I hope everyone who has them....can sweep away the mental dust bunnies and step firmly onto the pathway ...see you there!

Hugs,

Jodi

Can it actually be Thursday already??? REALLY???!!!

Time keeps on Slippin Slippin Slippin into the future...gotta love Steve Millers profound song and words...and today I feel like I am in the middle of one of them. Ever have a week disappear?? I mean literally *POOF* you blink and it's at the end of it!! Where did the first part go...and what about the middle, wasn't there supposed to be a middle?? This seems to be happening to me more and more lately... I find that if I don't get a serious 'grip' on things on Sunday or Monday....the week runs free and wild... much like a cowboy lassoing a steer...if you don't get that rope around the horns and neck first try... they run amuck and you chase it till ya do!! and then there is always that chance of the steer blending into the rest of the herd ...what I like to call...'weeks into months'!! Well my 'steer' got away from me and has 'blended well'!!

All I can do now is set my sights on next week and give it another go!!

I am one of those that when I work...I NEED to dedicate ALL of my time to the effort...with no straying off the pathway...one toe out of line and it's like I have developed A.D.D (Artistic Deficit Disorder) ...anything can pull my attention elsewhere... kittens need saving from a mine cave in...I AM THERE, Vaccinations needed in outer Mongolia ...COUNT ME IN!! You need someone for a 24 Hour 'Stare-A-Thon' ...I AM YOUR GAL!!! Sick really that I so easily get distracted ... and lately life has been throwing me straight down the middle distraction balls that I don't see coming.

When I am on my game the skies the limit...I can achieve anything in record time.... but I feel like I have been sitting the bench a lot lately and inside I am screaming "SEND ME IN COACH"!!!

In my defence, I have been talking with several friends that claim to have the same malady ...so it is either common, normal or contagious!

My table is filled with projects each waiting for me to sink my teeth into them and finish the job ...but those darn days "keep slippin"

I think today (reason I got up so early this morning 3:30-ish AM) I shall dig in my heels , don the blinders and ear plugs , duct tape myself to the work table and make weeks end progress...so that by Friday (tomorrow...GULP) I can wave that victory flag of *** YEA BABY...I got Something Done this Week*** Wooo-Hoooo....

Hmmm...maybe I should design 'Flags'...hmmm ....BAD JODI BAD...NO BISCUIT!!!

Hugs

Newest Commission..Molly Weasley!

Well the commission is complete and ready to be shipped off to her new home. This, for those that don't know the character, is Mrs. Molly Weasley ...wife to Arthur Weasley and Mother to several Weasley Children including Ron, Ginny, Fred and George. She is from the Harry Potter Stories and just happens to be one of my favorite characters... she is sweet and dear, and a wonderful Mother and wife...but what I love is she can be every bit the strong and forceful Witch when someone she loves is in harms way...

This doll setting is Miniature (1:12th scale) ..Molly stands approx. 5 1/2 inches tall ...so that gives you an idea of what size the chair is. The wonderful chair Richard made...I adore all the colors and patterns he chose...I know in the movies The Weasley Home is all comfy and down home basic...and the 'chairs' are covered with slip covers etc...but this is what 'we' imagine a favorite Weasley Home chair might look like under the cover...lol! Richard made the chair with a wooden frame and then covered with fine batt and then the fabric and trim....I want a Big one like this!!lol

The 'magical' knitting in the chair seat is the little tiny knitting I was ripping my hair out over...UGH!! although I must admit, by the time I got to the end of it...I think I was getting the hang of it and starting to enjoy it!! Molly's shoes are sculpted and painted to look like leather... her over apron is the 'mini' fabric I was working on...all trimmed in 1/8th inch silk ribbon. Her sweater is hand dyed and pieced together vintage tatted doilies I have had in my collection for years... there are about 8 different ones in each sleeve...

She was so much fun to work on...

Thanks for taking a peek...

Hugs,

Jodi

A Tail of Two Ears...

Happy Easter to one and all!!! Though I no longer received an Easter Basket after the age of 17...it did not stop me from still dressing the part!! This picture is Easter 1975 Richard and I are not yet married yet I still convinced him to 'hop' into one of those 5 shots for a buck fifty photo booths and don some paper rabbit ears and 'teeth' that I made...what a sport!! and Cute too!!!

Hugs,

Jodi and Richard