§ Let the Sunshine In....

BEFORE PICTURES here. Our house sits on the property at an angle. Which is good...warm sun in the winter and well shaded in the summer months. The nicest time in our diningroom is late in the afternoon! I must admit that I said long ago, I'd never do all white walls again. I wanted color. Well, after nearly 20 years of color, I now wanted white! And I'm liking it. Of course doing the rearranging of photos and frames on all the walls to "unclutter" helps. lol

...close ups...

Of course I'm sticking with it all being my bird sanctuary! I 'heart' birds! To explain a bit of what you see:

Top left of close up images...I made four curtain tie-backs out of Christmas cardinals, I have several collage frames of birds I've photographed! Then...the black swans were seen many years ago at Laguna Madre [mother's lagoon] shores here in Corpus Christi...they are indigenous to Australia!! A long migration to South Texas. A couple of years ago, two other black swans were spotted, but so VERY RARE --the rarest bird seen for me in my home area. The last two are of a print [and close up] of a piece of artwork that I bought from a co-worker's artist husband...Ron Salter. He gave me pointers on sketching and lighting many many moons ago...before I retired [Colorado].

PART I -kitchen

PART II -family hall

§ One More Comment Request...

...this time it was Rose from Time Stand Still. In a comment from the framed bird photos in my dining room, she asked:

Rose11/15/2021 -"Oh, wow! I LOVE the way you did this. I have never hung anything on the wall except a couple of Lorelei. Next, please show your sketches, etc. I so would like to see them on the walls."

Your wish, Rose, is my command. :-)

I'm in the middle of rearranging living room furniture to make room for the Christmas tree which is decorated, traditionally, during the Dallas Cowboys' game and while the turkey is roasting.  I thought since after I decorate the tree, some holiday stuff will come out of the woodwork and the ceramic birds will disappear for the holidays...I'd best get them photographed and posted here.

I have acrylic paintings framed, pencil sketches and ceramic birds here and there. I'm pretty sure I've shown all the paintings and sketches in past blogs, but I will share some along with the small ceramic pieces:

Then, some of the sketches and paintings. Which, I am pretty sure are posted prior to this, today. And, Rose, thanks for the interest. I appreciate it.

Yesterday was my cardiologist 6 month exam. All is okay. Cholesterol numbers are great which he was concerned about last time. Before next appointment in May I have to have a metabolic blood draw/liver testing, etc. because of statins. oh goodie!!

§ They've Been FRAMED!

A blogger, Steven [who has shown some of his grand skills in photography by the way] from Left-Eyed View recently asked me this in one of his comments:

What a gorgeous sunrise that you've captured!
Have you ever had photos printed and framed?

My answer is this...I have framed only my bird photos. And most of my frames are on the dining room walls, which has now been dubbed my bird sanctuary. Within this room I have some of my bird sketches, paintings, ceramic birds, and of course many many collage framed birds and 8X10s. So, without further ado, I share only some of what you'd see if you step up to the dining room; just some of it all. The photos are shot at such an angle that they may seem out of proportion - only 'cause I tried to get them without sunlight or artificial lighting in the 'frames'. Oh and please, ignore the dust...

The following four images are -top left to right- 1] Very rare white morph red tailed hawk, aka: Krider's Hawk 2] Belted Kingfisher 3] Another extremely rare bird for the U.S. -a Jacana from Central/South America and 4] the Burrowing Owl [the only owl active in daylight!]

- - -

...from floor to ceiling throughout...

There are more, but stopping here for loading speed.

§ From the Sunken Living Room Into the Dining Area...

Okay...stepping up from the living room [it IS a sunken lving room with cathedral ceiling], we enter the dining room area. The room is open floor plan where you can also see the kitchen. It's hard to explain, but it has a few touches of Halloween. I've shown the dining room hutch already, but there are witches on the divider, the end tables, and even an owl witch as part of the centerpiece on the dining room table. Also, this is where I put the small black tree that I decorated. I am not pleased with the tree, but it's there and will be there 'til I take it all down after the season ends. In the meantime, here is our dining room...

Around here, the shoe fits; snug and tight!


Of course I have a long standing, life-time membership!!

The dining room table centerpiece...


Black and purple roses with touches of hoarfrost and gold
With additional ghost lights inside the orange vase at night.


A corner table with a witch lamp I made years ago. Following the lamp photo is a line of witches [new one with the gray hair and hood] along the divider wall between the dining room and kitchen.




Next up the disappointing Halloween Tree...

§ We All Have Our Sarcastic Side....

Months, probably years ago, the short conversation went like this:

Erik:  "I'm surprised you don't have piped-in bird sounds and  the sound of waterfalls tumbling down a steep cliff, to surround us in a tropical atmosphere here!"

Bud:  "Oh God!  Don't give her any ideas!!"

Anni, sitting between Erik and Bud at the table....thinking to herself...."Hmmmm, wonder if that's possible?"

Here is my bird sanctuary dining room [and it over-flows into the kitchen]:















Then, just yesterday, I said to Bud:

Anni: "Y'wonder just how I could pipe-in birdsong?  This room would not only be my sanctuary, it could pass as my meditating room also!"

Bud: "You've been locked up with this coronavirus way too long!"

Anni : : :holding my finger and thumb together chanting...."Ohhhhhmmmmmm": : :

...and that was the end of the conversation.
Bud walked away into another room for a bit of sanity.