Chicken Fights

What are these little ones doing running around like chickens with their heads cut off?

Fighting over pincher bugs, that's what!

It's fun to watch but I will surely be on PETA's hit list this week...

See a blog theme going on here?

Mallard Filmore by Bruce Tinsley

A Good Craw-Dad's Day

Look what Jason discovered in our creek... he found one, then Vincent found one, and a friend found another. They made for some interesting fun on Father's Day. Vincent expecially enjoyed chasing the girls with these crawdads. PETA would've had a hissy fit if they were at our Father's Day celebration!

Besides the crawdad excitement, most of the men spent some time wine tasting at a few nearby wineries. They came back pretty happy. Then we enjoyed our usual Pray and Play craziness including swimming, chick holding, eating, and praying.

Gramps and Vincent encouraging the crawdads to pinch...

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! You're so much more important than the world wants you to believe!

St. Joseph

A bug's a bug no matter how small...

PETA has gone even more nuts! Want the proof? Here I am defending President Obama... for killing a fly! Recently Obama was caught on tape where he impressively swatted an annoying fly with his hand during an interview.

"We support compassion even for the most curious, smallest and least sympathetic animals," PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said Wednesday. "We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals."

I prefer Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who words:

"A person's a person no matter how small."

Got my chicks!

Jason delivered on my birthday present... I got some itty bitty chicks and some teenager chicks. Below are photos of the teeny ones... soon I will post photos of the girls currently in that "awkward stage"... they are a little camera shy.

Here are the babes... 4 Rhode Island Reds and 5 Plymouth Barred Rocks.

They're chilling out on Zack's bed... looks kind of spacey in there, a little out of their element.

The one on the left is "Vince". There is also a Barred Rock named Vincenzo,

and two B.R.'s named after Zachary.

Not sure if this is Vincenzo or one of the Zachary's or a poor little no-name.

Vince visiting the city.

Vincent hasn't been this excited since we got the wii!

His God-parents suggested looking into 4-H. I think that's a good idea.

Sleeping Beauty

Francesca Jumping

Fun on the Grass

The kids and Buddy had some fun on the backyard lawn this afternoon.

Vincent giving Francesca a crawling lesson...

She's catching on, getting close!

Tuscan Inspiration

My house is in dire need of some interior (and exterior) designing. We've always been interested in Victorian style but this house just doesn't quite fit the bill. I've been considering transforming it into a Tuscorian Villa! Ever since I discovered that exposed beams are common in Tuscan homes, I thought, hey, I have 3 rooms with those beams... maybe we're on to something here. I am a quarter Italian and love the food...

So I surfed online for Tuscan ideas and checked out some books from the library. The library didn't offer any books dealing solely with Tuscan decor. I did find one with a charming story packed with beautiful photos, of a California couple that restored a Villa in Tuscany. Bringing Tuscany Home isn't about the restoration but about the different aspects of the Italian countryside they fell in love with. They have their villa in Tuscany and Mediterranean style home in Marin that is heavily influenced by their love of the Tuscan life. The author, Frances Mayes, is the author of the popular novel and movie, Under the Tuscan Sun.

I like just about every major feature to Tuscan style. There's the textured walls, old world style fixtures and furniture, warm - earthy colors, wood accents, tile, rich fabrics, Trompe L'Oeil, etc. The major structural disadvantages I face are lack of high ceilings and arches. And the only Tuscan accent I'm not crazy about is wrought iron.

This week I will tackle a gnocchi recipe

Maybe next week I'll paint my living room with a faux textured look with the ragging off technique. But then again tackling the plant eating pest in my garden may be the priority over my Tuscan living room.