The Dilly Chronicles - Part Three - What's in a Name?

What's in a name?  Would a rose smell as sweet by any other name?  I doubt Shakespeare ever contemplated naming a duck but his sonnet was the first thing to come to mind once I decided to name "my duck".

I was surprised that the first thing people asked when I told them I had rescued a day old duckling and was raising it in my back yard was "What are you going to name it?"  I tried to explain to everybody from my dad to my neighbors that I was not naming him.  He was a wild duck.  I was trying to limit my contact with him.  Finally my husband pointed out that the duck would not know if I named him.  I think he was just tired of me referring to her as "the duckling".   So I figured there would be no harm in naming him.  It's not like she would recognize her name or come when I called.  So now I had to decide on a name.  Everyone had a suggestion and they all were specific to gender.

If you are an observant reader you have noticed and no doubt been irritated by the fact that I have been bouncing back and forth between he and she and him and her.  No, English is not my second language and yes, I understand the use of personal pro-nouns.  This too was driving my husband crazy.  Not that a duckling was floating around and pooping in our pool but that I could not decide on a name or whether to refer to duck as he or she. 

But my midnight forays to the internet had made me a virtual walking encyclopedia of duck facts and trivia.  One of those facts is that it is impossible to tell the gender of a duck until it has gotten its adult feathers at about nine months of age.   Maybe the ducks can tell but I couldn't.  So it was possible I might never know the gender of  "my duck" since it was still my goal to return this duckling to the wilds of our neighborhood pond.

Being a big fan of the Saturday Night Live skit "Its Pat" I decided to choose a unisex name.  My husband, also a SNL fan, voted for Pat.  Not.  Since this post is titled "The Dilly Chronicles"  you might have already figured out I named the duckling Dilly.  I'm not sure why, it just came to me.  And in case you are wondering, yes, Dilly does recognize the name and yes, Dilly does come when I call.

P.S.  If you want to know if  Dilly is a male or female make sure to read the next installment of The Dilly Chronicles because now I do know which pro-noun to use.
Thanks for reading,

How do you feel about webbed feet?

As many of you know I have been trying to improve my photographs.  So when I read about this link party I just had to check it out.

Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry hosts a weekly party to help her readers stretch their photography skills.  This week's assignment is "Feet".

Because this week is all about my duck Dilly I decided to post a picture of Dilly's web feet.  I just loved those little webbed feet and it took me some serious time to capture a tiny duck foot moving swiftly under the water.

Dilly is currently the subject of a series, The Dilly Chronicles, that I am featuring on my blog this spring.  It is a great story and I would love to have you follow along.

Thanks for reading,

The Dilly Chronicles-Part 1- The Rescue

I have a very special spring event going on in my life right now and I wanted to share this true story with all of you. 

There is a current trend in decoration now that many people are flocking to.  There are bird themed pillows and napkin, bird oriented artwork,  little faux nests struck into every bowl or candle holder in sight.  And of course there are ceramic birds, metal birds, glass birds, feathered and bejeweled birds.  There are even plastic birds for the garden as well as birds showing up on t-shirts and purses. 

I think it is safe to say many of us are googoo over the birds. They herald the arrival for spring, especially for me and my family.  But does that googoo transfter to real birds, in this case a Mallard Duck?
For the last few weeks I had been anxiously awaiting one significant harbinger to spring, the return of the Mallard ducks to our neighborhood pond.
I am of course happy to see all the ducks but I wait with uncertainty about the return of "my duck".  I never meant to have a duck but fate stepped in I was playing mommy to this duck before I knew what hit me.

By the time late June roles around most Mallard ducklings are already a few weeks old. Our neighborhood that surrounds the neighborhood park has long been choice nesting places for lesser experienced females ducks. These females sometimes nest in the nice front or backyards with bushes for cover and a sparkling pool awaiting her future ducklings first swim. Unfortunately these intelligent birds don't always realize that cats may also be attracted to such a paradise nor do they understand that once in the pool ducklings are not strong enough to get out on their own. One of our neighbors has had 6 sets of ducklings parish after drowning in the pool or being taken by local wildlife.
And this is where our story begins during the summer of 2009. 

A mother duck and her only remaining duckling start toward the pond at about 2pm.  The mother knows to take her young to the nearest water but there is no direct route and there is no other source of water in the front yards of the homes on my street.  This is where I was to become involved.  My friend and neighbor Lisa called to let me know there was a lone duckling in my front yard.  And sure enough there was a duckling and her mother hiding in the bushes.  At that time the temp. was 106 degree F and climbing.  We tried to herd the two ducks down to the pond but the mother duck, blind in one eye, kept running out into traffic and the duckling was right behind her.   We were seriously concerned about what to do next, the temps were rising and the ducks did not look good.  Our next plan was to trap both mother and duckling at the same time and transport them to the pond.  But the mother was having none of our plan and flew away with out her baby.  We sat out in the yard for hours guarding the duckling and waiting for the mother to return.  The baby duck was too weak to call out for her.  By dusk we had given up hope that she would return and I took the little duckling into my backyard and misted him lightly with the hose and he seemed to perk up quite a bit. This little duck was so small that it fit in the palm of my very small hand and I could close my fingers around him.  I had taken care of water and shelter, the duck would spend the night in the bottom of our aviary safe from cats and other predator.  Only food was left on the list of essentials for life.  I did the best I could at 11pm on a Sunday and fed the duckling bits of whole grain bread. After the duck had eaten his fill I went to bed to read up on how to raise a baby duckling,  After about an hour I realized that I had done abosulutely everything wrong,  But I figured what ever happened I knew that his chances were better off with me than they would have been left alone to follow is mother into traffic.  I went to sleep that night thinking about "my duck" but I was too tired to contemplate how all of a sudden it had become "my duck".

On the next installemnt of the Dilly Chronicles - our baby duckling  learns how to swim.

When the next installment in the series is posted this chapter of the Dilly Chronicles will be posted to the page entitled "The Dilly Chronicles.

In a few days we will catch up with what Dilly is doing this spring as she goes through the  procress of finding a mate and adjusting to her life in the neighborhood pond.

Please leave me a comment if you like the true story of my duck Dilly.


Thanks for reading,

Giant Thank You!

As of today the dogs and I have 40 new friends who are brave enough to attempt to follow me as I learn to navigate the crazy blog world. 
I started blogging to help with the symptoms of a chronic illness that has taken up residence in my body and mind.  I really just wanted to be a follower.  To think about something besides illness and doctors and the things I can no longer do.  (I don't mean to be cryptic about my illness, I am just not ready to commit it to paper or in this case blog space yet.)  Blogging was to be my DMZ (demilitarized zone) where illness and pain did not exist.  That did not last long, I wanted to participate.  Working on my blog and following your blogs has helped more than I ever imagined was possible.  On days when I am able I am so motivated to finish a project to share and I almost look forward to the hours or days when I must rest because then I can catch up on all your wonderful archived posts.  Your posts remind me of things long forgotten and help to add perspective to my life. 
So I want to say giant THANK YOU to all 40 of you who clicked on the button to add yourself as a friend of my site. 
 
Always...
Thanks for reading,

Am I The Only One With A Crush on Mike Holmes?

Am I the only one with a crush on Mike Holmes?

My standards have changes in the last 20 years.  No more empty headed eye candy for me.  I like a guy with substance.  And who among us doesn't want a contractor who 1) knows what he is doing, 2) cleans up after himself,  3) fixes things you didn't even know were broken, and 4) uses his super powers to help people who trusted some unknown contractor.

Thanks for reading,

Questions Not So Frequently Asked About Me and THE Dogs

Here is the second installment of the information from my "pages". I loved the comment from Marla after she read the first installment, "Now I get it". Obviously Marla was wondering the same thing some of you were wondering. Why is a blog dedicated to Home Decorating and Furniture Rehabilitation named for the dogs of the blog author? Mystery solved.
Hopefully this second installment will answer any lingering questions you may have.

So Here are the questions not so frequently asked about me and THE dogs.

Question:
Who are the three dogs at home?

Answer:

Zoey is our 4 years old Chihuahua.  She sleeps snuggled up to me every night and misses my husband desperately every time he goes out of town. Predictably she loves Mexican food and has been know to beg at the Taco Bell drive thru.  I try to sneak in at least one photo of the dogs in each posts.  Since Zoey is the only one of the three that likes to have her picture taken so she appears on the blog frequently.

Bella is our baby. She was rescued from the local SPCA. She had been loose on the street during the cold holiday season.  Not only was she very skinny but she was suffering from a horrible cold.  Apparently she also had a sore throat and we didn't know she could bark for two week. Now she "talks" all the time. Being the typical baby of the family she is bit of princess.

Tasha is over 12 years old which is an advanced age for a dog her size. She was also rescued from a shelter. Squirrels and birds don't have a chance in our yard as Tasha lives to chase them out . Thankfully she doesn't have a  hope of actually catching anything.  Normally she doesn't want up on the furniture but occasionally we find her sleeping peacefully on the couch when she thinks no one is home.

Question:

Who am I?

Answer:

My name is Traci, I am a 49 year old mother of two college students.  My wonderful husband indulges and sometimes even encourages my passion for both dogs and decorating.  Due to a neurologic condition I can no longer work or walk for too long and I tire very easily but I just love finding something old and turning it in to something useful and beautiful. My husband and I are in the process of fixing up our third home.  Progress has slowed due to my condition but we love working together and are getting used to the much slower pace. 
And yes, I have children not just dogs.  Both of my kids are attending college leaving me with lots of time but considerably less money to fund my various projects.

Thanks for reading,

Home in the Dog House

Maybe it is my background in marketing, but I love to watch how many people view which pages on my blog and one of the things I have noticed is that the information on my "pages" are not viewed that often. So I decided to copy the pages to my "posts". I hope you enjoy reading them.

I think that the titles we give ourselves say a lot about how we see ourself or how we would like others to see us. So I would like to explain how the blog title "Three Dogs At Home" came to be. My oldest daughter was leaving for her first year of collage and she was happy to be more than a few hours away. But when the first chick left the nest all of the sudden the only thing people wanted to talk with me about was how would I be handling the empty nest syndrome. First of all my daughter's birth was quickly followed by that of her brother and all assumed they would leave in the same way, one right after another and I would be one of those empty Nester's, This of course has not happen. Our son is in no great hurry to leave the nest. And why should he be. He has it pretty good and he knows it. His day starts out with Momma made waffles and warmed syrup. But the day will come when he leaves as well.

But one of the good things about dogs is that they don't go to college, nor do they get married and leave to pursue their own lives. You see I have been planning for the empty nest for quite a while. I have been dreaming of my days filled with relearning old arts and learning new ones. I have not had even a single moment to "Oh what will I do with myself." I am very rarely alone these days, I have three dogs at home. They provide all the companionship anyone could ask for and yet the ask very little in return. Zoey sits at my side or at my feet no matter what I am working on. Bella is never far and talks to me through out the day, we have named her the teenager of the group as she often disagrees with us and will let us know how she feels. Tasha, our large, white, fluffy, dog is getting older and the other dogs are challenging her while taking care of her at the same time.

Both Bella and Tasha were both rescued from animal control along with many of their predecessors. I know that many of my friends secretly wondered if I would become the crazy dog lady after the kids left home.

But no, while I had spent the last few years rescuing dogs now I want to do a different kind of rescue. Rescuing and re-inviting furniture and accessories would allow me to exercise my creative muscles and to still help the planet by keeping useful things out of the land fills.

So why the name, "Three Dogs At Home." I used to hear people say they could not have nice furnishing or decor in their homes because "we have three kids at home." At many times in the last 5 years not only have we had three dogs but also a few birds, a cat, 2 teenage children, and the assorted friends that came with each child. We have always had a nice home and have not let a full house get in the way. I do pick out furnishing and materials with the dogs in mind. I have a white mattelesse coverlet on our bed and yes the dogs sleep on it. I picked it because I knew it would wash very well but it is still somethink I love.

So I don't think it is impossible to have a beautiful house while still having "Three Dogs At Home".


Thanks for reading,

From Prom Dress to Pillow

Okay so how long do you keep your prom dresses?  Mine are long gone but somehow I ended up with my sister's junior and senior ball dresses.  I even managed to move them to our latest home five years ago.  My sister gave them to my daughter during her dress up phase along with the dress she wore to my wedding.  I spied them all hanging out in my husband's closet a few weeks ago.  I thought about using them as material, but my first reaction was no, that seems wrong, almost sacrilegious.  They were expensive dresses back in their day.  Today they are fodder for the Goodwill.

While making a matching pillow for Miss A's poke-a-dot bench,

I decided that it needed a little embellishment.  It was of course 10 pm and I was in my pjs.  And the fate of the prom dresses was sealed.  My original idea was to make fabric roses to add to the pillow so I cut a strip out of the black dress.  But the roses did not seem young enough for Miss A so I decided on a loose camellia like flower.  Then I needed a center for the flower so I took the scissors to the aqua dress. 

This ended up being the cheapest pillow I ever made.  I already had the pillow form and the poke-a-dot material was left over from the bench project.  I found the cording in my sewing box apparently purchased for another project but not used.  And of course the flower was made with material pilfered from the prom dresses. 

I am linking up to

Thanks for reading,

Shop the House for Stuff

I am in the process for having a garage sale, or should I say the garage sale is in the process of having me.  But I have tried to contain it in our daughter's room.  My daughter no longer lives at home but this will always be her room.

When I was cleaning out my utility room I realized I had parts that could go together and become something unique.  Others just need a good coat of paint. 

These are a combination of simple black metal candle holders and glass globes.  These globes are the original glass covers from the light on my ceiling fan in the breakfast room.  I changed them out to match the kitchen light fixture but I could not bring myself to throw them out, they were new.  So I glued the covers on to the candle holders and covered the seam with some ribbon from my craft drawer and voilà!  Hopefully they will sell at the garage sale.

I linked up to a site I just discovered.



Thanks for reading,

Unique $2 find at the GW Clearance Center

I was supposed to be looking for fabric today but I could not just drive by the GW  Clearance center.  It would be only a quick look around.  And I was right, it took me only a few moments to find my most recent treasure.  Here she is in all her glory.

I have always want to luggage stand for my guests.  And now I have one.  Can't beat $2 at the clearance center.  She only needs a little spray paint and a little elbow grease.  Then I want to do something special with the strapes.  Maybe the rain will hold off and I can paint her tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed for clear skys and a warm day.  After all this is southern California. 

I am going to link up to

Thanks for reading,

And the Winner Is. . .

I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the

Three Dogs At Home

and would like to thank the academy. . .

Oh no, it is not THAT award. 

But I am just as honored. 

I started blogging as a type of therapy and did not know that I could have or would have anyone reading what I posted much less "following" me.  I am tickled pink each time someone comments or joins up to follow. 

And now for the hard part.  Picking only 15 of my favorite blogs to honor with this award.  And then I have to figure out how to link each site to it's name on the list.  This is something I know I need to learn how to do but have been avoiding like the plague.

And now in no particular order, 15 of my favorite blogs.

1.  Modvintage Life - And not just because she bestowed the award upon me.

2.  Twice Remembered

3.  33 Shades of Green

4. One Cheap B*tch

5. The Painted House

6. Cottage Instincts

7.  Make Mine Beautiful

8.  Mustard Seed Creations

9. Savvy Southern Style

10. Domestically Speaking

11.  Room to Inspire

12.  Nesting Place

13.  Thrifty Chick Decor

14.  The Lettered Cottage

15.  Transforming Home


And now that's over all I have to do is reveal seven things about myself that you may not know about me.

1.  I can't bring myself to type numerals for the numbers under 11, gotta spell them out. 
I am an old school rules girl.

2.  Other people eat without knowing while under the influence of Ambien, sometimes I send
interesting e-mails.

3.  I love the TV show Criminal Minds

4.  I love the fall, it reminds me of my grandmother.


5.  I have children not just dogs.

6.  I lived in the South Pacific on the island Kwajalien when I was a child.

7.  I am happy with my life.

Thanks for reading,

Changes are Afoot

Yes changes are afoot.  I am in the process of trying (I must emphasis the trying part) to change to a three column format.  I would love to hear any comments on the changes as they take place so please let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading,