Busy Week

This week has been busy with a little bit of everything.  I know I said I was done making things for the Avant-Garde show, but I changed my mind.  I had all the materials to make more fabric bead necklaces so I went a little crazy and made a bunch yesterday:

Some are duplicates so I'm listing those ones in my Etsy shop; they should be available sometime later this evening. 

When I wasn't obsessively sewing necklaces during Charlotte's naps, I was working as much as I could on the landscaping project.  So far I've succeeded in getting about half of the weeding done.  It's not much, but it's a good start.

The majority of my time spent outside should have been to make more progress on the landscaping/gardening but instead it was devoted to Gilbert control.  Let me back up a bit.  We have a groundhog living under our front porch who has dug an extensive tunnel and generally made a mess of things.  Chad named him Gilbert, despite my urging not to name him because then he'll get attached and feel badly if something bad happens to it.  Gilbert is actually really cute, but he's also enormous in both size and in how much of a nuisance he is.  I'm not kidding when I say he's bigger than Howard (I was worried "he" was pregnant but it's been months and months and no babies, and Gilbert's the same size: huge).  I got advice on how to get groundhogs to vacate and tried that--soaking rags in ammonia and laying them near his entrances and placing moth balls around the areas he frequents.  I falsely believed he was gone when I hadn't seen him for a few days and noticed him running under someone else's porch several doors down.  Then, earlier in the week, I was pulling into the driveway and he came bolting across and dashed underneath the porch.  That groundhog can really move, considering the weight he has to haul.  On Tuesday I had another Gilbert sighting at his second favorite spot--the high school track & football field.  I've caught him out there in the past, sunning himself on the high jump mat.  On Tuesday he was hanging out in the long-jump sand pit, leaning over the side and snacking on grass.  I tried to get his picture, but as soon as he heard me he ran off.  Howard, who typically hates just about everything, has zero interest in Gilbert.  He's seen him, but he turns the other way, as if he and Gilbert have some sort of agreement not to get into the others business. 

I contacted Orkin--they said they would take care of him, but that means setting a trap and then euthanizing.  Our city no longer has an Animal Control department, so no help there.  I'd like him to just move away peacefully, so I'm giving him one more chance to do so before getting Orkin involved.  I could buy my own trap and catch him, but I have no idea what to do with a freaked out rodent the size of a small cow thrashing around in a cage.  I went to the store and picked up these rodent repellent pellets and an economy size box of moth bolls.  I applied the entire contents of both to every possible place he could get into, and then I stuffed bricks down the tunnel opening.  In the match between me and Gilbert, I will win.  Gilbert, you've been warned.

One thing I didn't consider when placing approximately 4,000 moth balls around the foundation of my house: the smell.  That evening the heat came on and we almost fell over from the scent of moth balls.  If you walked in my house you'd expect to find residents who were at least 103 years old with  50 year old shag carpeting at at least two dozen cats.  It's bad.  It's faded a lot by now, but I'm still worried that I'm just used to it and it actually still smells just as awful.  On the plus side, no sign of Gilbert anywhere since Tuesday evening.  I am cautiously optimistic.

I have to include this video...granted, it's a beaver and not a groundhog, but I found it fitting.  This video made me laugh until I cried the first time I saw it (ok, the first dozen times).  

Ok, enough about my unwelcome houseguest.  While I was gardening I found these flowers along the side of my house.  We've lived here 6 years and this is the first I've seen them:

Any idea what these are?  They kind of look like hydrangeas, but it seems too early for those and the shape is a little different.  There's a big bunch of them and they are so pretty.  I hope they keep coming back!

Aside from sewing and yardwork, I've started to plan and get things together for Charlotte's 1st birthday party.  I found these invitations:

I thought they were cute, and I love the banner and cupcakes on the front (both of which I'm planning on making for her party).  I can't believe she's turning one in 6 weeks...

See that little doll next to her?  That's Stella, her new favorite toy.  If you tell her to give her baby a kiss, she stuffs the doll's closest body part into her mouth and then wraps her chubby little arms around and squeezes it as tight as she can.  It's incredibly cute, but we'll need to tweak her system a little before she practices on real humans :)  Also new this week is the "where's your belly?" game, where you ask and she'll drop whatever she's doing to enthusiastically pat her belly with both hands.  She's also taken an intense interest in a collage frame we have in the hallway upstairs.  Every time we pass it we have to smile, wave, and she asks who everyone is by pointing and saying "oos ssat?".  Every time.  At night, even if she's exhausted and crabby, she will pause long enough to lean over to the picture and wave goodbye as we pass.  Love her.

If you're interested in bead necklaces, check the Etsy shop later tonight or tomorrow!  Also, if you can please come to the Avant-Garde Art & Craft show next Sunday, 4/29, at Wagner's in Westlake from 10-5.  Admission is free, and you'll get to see my lovely face along with 135 other vendors.  It'll be a good time.

Have a great weekend,
Stacy