"Remodel and jail time for empty nesters!"

So, a lot has been going on in the Battreal household since the last post! Easter weekend or just around then on a beautiful Sunday afternoon I found a pretty hanging basket of geraniums while doing the grocery shopping at Kroger. Knowing it was a little early in terms of Arkansas weather to make this type of purchase I decided to heck with it...it was a beautiful day and after all it was already Spring if just barely! The basket was a lovely addition to our porch and I enjoyed watching it bloom and was anxious to see how full it would get! I soon learned that an unsuspecting Robin had other plans for the new addition of pink petals! Not a week after I came home with this basket we found a nest in it! A perfectly round, well planned, beautiful nest. I will admit that my first reaction was annoyance because I just bought the thing but that disappeared after I saw the eggs the mommy Robin laid. I could see 3 perfect little blue eggs but looking was not easy! Of course I didn't want to disturb the nest but my curiosity got the best of me and I checked the thing every day from inside the house. This required that I step on the couch and then balance on a entry way table we have just inside our front door and peek through the top of the blinds! Luckily I never fell! I can't remember the exact timing of all of this but I have lots of pictures to document the growth of these little birdies. After they hatched I noticed not 3 but 4! ugly little baby birds in the nest! Yes, they were ugly! Not for long though...as they got bigger they obviously began to resemble birds more than little aliens. We had the best time watching these little feathery friends grow and when I say grow I mean they grew FAST! I serioulsy think they nearly doubled in size each day! So, as living creatures generally do, one by one our little birdies left the nest leaving us a bit sad. Now we are "empty nesters" and I've really missed watching these little fellas grow up!

Sad, empty nesters with a dead geranium...







Also, happening in the Battreal household is a minor remodel! We apparently have had a slow leak in the roof over Jim's bathroom and this caused some damage to the ceiling over the years. This is being fixed and a new shower is being installled as well as a new vanity top! It's going to look really nice! We've also painted what we call our "back room" and we are having cabinets installed in there. Sadly, I didn't take any before pictures but I'll be sure to post the afters! With all of this going on poor Zoe can't have run of the house during the day because she'll be in the way...so, we have to put her in "kitty jail". She lives in our bedroom during the day and I'm sure she's not impressed!

Poor Zoe...