Small Cheerful Things

JohannaH

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Does anyone know where I can get flamingo legs?

I've built up a collection of yard flamingos over the years, but have lost most of the legs. I now have more flamingos than legs. This thread has inspired me to get them out and into my front yard. However, my current best options are to lay them on the ground (dead flamingos) or jam them into the shrubbery. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 

Ari Meermans

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Would rebar work for you? If it would, some Home Depot stores have pre-cut lengths of rebar. Your local hardware store might carry it, as well.

(My sole piece of yard art is a white concrete egret with rebar legs.)
 
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Liz_V

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You should be able to get either wooden dowels or metal rods (in the "metal stock" section) at your local hardware store. Take a couple sample flamingos along to make sure of the sizes. (Trust me, they've seen weirder things come through the door. Hardware worker here.)

If you don't have a local hardware store :e2cry:, Home Despot/Menards/Lowes will likely have the same things; it'll just be less fun.
 

JohannaH

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Thank you! I hadn't thought of that, but it's been a while since I've been in any part of the hardware store other than the gardening section.
I'll go once it's safer to venture outside again. (Yesterday, CNN called my county a hotbed of the virus.)
 

Liz_V

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/*sending you some virtual flamingo legs to tide you over*/

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Maryn

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That made me laugh. First time today.
 

MaeZe

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Youtube: Dolphins swimming with the Orcas yesterday on the Orca Explore Cam, Puget Sound.

https://explore.org/livecams/orcas/orcalab-base

I'm so glad someone recorded this. I was watching at the time and these fast little guys started darting around the Orcas. I wasn't sure they were dolphins until someone else confirmed it. The first one just flashes by and you go, 'what was that?' Then a bunch of them are there.

I've been keeping the sound on waiting for the Orcas to show up, then I go to the tab. It's fun just listening to them. It's possible they'll be back in a few hours.

I mute it when a loud boat goes by and keep the sound down until I hear the Orca calls. The cam-operator will switch to the full screen when they show up. By watching four screens they can use one cam-operator, a needed budget cut for the moment.
 

MaeZe

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The Orcas are here! 14:41 Pacific time. They are calling to each other. It gets picked up by different mics. They aren't in front of the cameras yet.

They make the most hilarious sounds. And sometimes they will startle you with a very loud call close to the mic.

Edited to add: If you log on and don't hear them, rewind a few minutes back.
 

AW Admin

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I hope you don't mind if I use some or all of your ideas in my next blog article ( first one in months! ). They are fun and so true! :)

If you use them, remember that you not only need permission, you need to cite your source.
 

Vic20

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I've given a family friend not one but two home-baked apple pies.
 

Chris P

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Making hummus from scratch for the first and it came out great!
 

Gatteau

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Our dog has never been allowed to hang out on our bed, but while we were gone for two weeks and had a friend house/dog-sit, it seems vacation dad let him do all sorts of things, one of which is hop up and nap on the bed. Since we've been home, I can pretty much guarantee that any time I can't see him out in the rest of the house, he's back there on the bed.

I just took a writing break and walked back in the bedroom to find him (all 70 pounds of his lab/pit self) curled up in a ball, with my top blanket completely bunched up into a ball itself as a pillow under his head. I can't even yell at him to get down any more, it just makes me laugh and warms my heart to see him so cozy.
 

Maryn

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I have made an awesome discovery that needs sharing.

Without noticing I was doing it, I must have licked my finger to open the bags for produce at the grocery store, because now that I'm masked to shop, I can't get the #$%^&*! bags open. But yesterday, I solved it.

I bought leaf lettuce first, and it sits under one of those timed sprayers keeping certain kinds of veggies damp. While my fingers were a little wet, I opened three more produce bags, but of course that wasn't enough. So I re-opened my lettuce bag and touched the lettuce to open more.

About then, the lightning bolt hit and I realized that slender leafy greens, broccoli, and carrots sold by the bunch all fit quite nicely in the cart's cup holder. I set my lettuce there, the top of the bag folded over, and opened it to re-moisten my fingers every time I needed a bag. I was amazed how much faster it went without me spending at good ninety seconds opening every damned bag.

You're welcome.

Maryn, who loves her fruits an veggies
 

MaryMumsy

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You would think we were 2 years old, based on the amount of joy we get from the wild cottontail sightings in our back yard.

MM
 

Liz_V

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So the wind has finally done for my giant plywood flamingo (it's fine, but the fencepost it was bolted to is no more). It was time for something more seasonal anyway, right? So... plywood turkey!

Rather than fight with my image hosting restrictions, I'll just link to the journal post: Plurkey!

The full display is a little schizophrenic at this point, but it makes me smile.
 

Gatteau

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Liz, your plurkey is wonderful! He looks very happy there. :D

The dog has now also decided to take over the couch, another forbidden zone unless he's been invited up. I came out of my office to see him all curled up comfy, looking up with those big ol' brown eyes, because he knows... and it turns out I am not a terribly effective authority figure around the house if I'm laughing that much, so... :Shrug:
 

Maryn

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Plurkey! I think I love your yard, for the record.

Gatteau, make sure the dog doesn't know where you keep your car keys. That's all I'm sayin'.

Maryn, knowing he's taken his inch and then some
 

Lyv

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My neighborhood association keeps organizing walks for parents so they can take their children around to stop stuffed animals or fantasy-themed items (that one was weird. They wanted sparkly, magical things like unicorns, castles, mermaids, but didn't give enough notice). It's been fun. I've gotten to watch kids get very, very excited about seeing my stuffed goat and hedgehog placed strategically in my yard.

This is a different kind of small, cheerful(ish) thing and it needs a bit of set-up. In 1971 or 2, my school brought a local poet, Diana Der Hovanessian, to teach my fourth or fifth grade class a series of lessons on poetry. She was wonderful, so warm and generous. She and me eldest sister instilled and nurtured in me a lifelong love of poetry. On her last day, she gave each child a card with a personal message.

My family moved to Florida not long after, but thirty-one years later, I moved back to my hometown and saw a poetry reading organized by a local poetry club. Diana Der Hovanessian was listed as an organizer and would be attending. I went (Mary Oliver!) and showed Diana the card, which I'd always kept on my writing desk. I told her how much the lessons had meant to me, and that I was getting my MFA in Creative Writing and had a few poems published. She was as gracious as I'd remembered.

She died in 2018. I didn't think of this sooner, but Wednesday, I emailed the poetry club, with the above information, and offered the card to any of Diana's family or friends. A club officer forwarded my email to Diana's daughters and will forward the card.

After my beloved eldest sister died, I searched her AOL handle (it was 1997) and found messages she'd posted in a group for long-term Type 1 diabetics who had complications because of the infrequent testing and impure insulin used in their youth. She was dying, but every message was about helping others. It was her spirit, the older sister who'd been my best friend. I knew that was who she was, but I cherished those messages because they captured the loving, generous sister, I knew. I hope the card and story give a hint of that feeling to Diana's daughters.
 

Liz_V

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To be honest, my yard isn't normally this much fun; I've been making more of an effort this year. But it does give a better idea of the people who live here, this way; I think I may continue the trend.

Gatteau, LOL. Is that the dog in question in your avatar? He's adorable.

Lyv, *sniffle* (in a good way).
 

TeresaRose

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You would think we were 2 years old, based on the amount of joy we get from the wild cottontail sightings in our back yard.

MM

Totally relate. I often verbally greet the daily hummingbirds at the feeder. And, by the way love that Mae West quote!
 

TeresaRose

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lYV v. - Sorry for your loss. Your sister must have been a very special human being.
 

Bufty

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Just realised all radiators are not hot anymore. Checked, and seems our boiler has decided to pack up so now we wait while the house cools down. :snoopy: Engineer to be in touch within next 24 hours so we should survive. Lots of folks worse off than us.

Small cheerful things? Not snowing and no obvious leaks anywhere- :hooray:
 

Maryn

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Plus a valid reason for hot tea or "adult beverages," cuddles with humans and/or pets, and fluffy sweaters paired with slippers and socks both.