Mystery of the Missing Bird Seed.....SOLVED!

So for the past few weeks, the weather has been warming up, and we started to fill our backyard bird feeders again. I couldn't believe that 3/4 of one would be gone overnight! At this rate, I'm going to be poor from buying bird seed...even though we get a huge bag from Costco! I've only seen the little birds come and eat at it...and sometimes they can be quite picky. I think that they only go for the sunflower seeds, and the rest goes onto the ground. I didn't think that was too bad, since the little chipmunks can collect the seeds off the ground, along with the squirrels. We have the feeders on hooks and not hanging off a tree branch, so the squirrels cannot get to it that easily (unlike one of the other houses close by....they hang theirs off of a tree branch, and we watch as the squirrels try and get at it, and leave their feeder in a mess...hee heee). So anyways, we were trying to figure out how the little birds can really go through that much seed so quickly.....in the meantime, I just kept filling it up at every opportunity...I love seeing the birds and chipmunks in the backyard.

Early this morning, Husband woke me up and asked if I wanted to see a deer in the backyard. Of course I couldn't pass up this opportunity!! Since we've been here, I've only seen 2 deer, and we back onto woods, so I thought that I would be seeing them more often. I look out into the backyard, and the deer was licking at the bird feeder!!!! So THAT'S why the feed has been disappearing so quickly! Upon closer inspection, I see another deer! It was still quite dark outside, and the deer still had their greyish winter coat on, so it was difficult to see...that and I couldn't find my glasses this morning, but I didn't want to waste the time looking for them in case the deer ran off. So there they were, a big deer and a little deer. The little one was licking from the bird feeder while the big one was eating a lot of seed off the ground. They wandered back into the woods when they were satisfied...not running off, just a gallivanting back to where they came from. After my morning routine, I went out to check the feeders, and sure enough, one was completely empty, and the other only had 1/5 left. The deer left me some of their winter fur in the grass...maybe that's to thank me for the seed. I'll have to fill it up again for them, since it's cooled down this week. They are probably struggling to find food. Hmmm...that reminds me...I've wanted to try dipping pine cones in peanut butter and then rolling it in bird seed. Maybe this is the perfect time to do so. That might be the project I take on for tomorrow.

Thomas and Friends

So my little nephew decided that he wanted some Thomas and Friends cupcakes for his birthday this year. He also decided that he wanted pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. So of course, being the awesome auntie that I am, I go and search out Thomas and his one hundred friends. Since they wanted 30 cupcakes at this party, I decided to do 14 different characters, and the number 5, since he was turning 5. I think they turned out pretty well :)






Next on the list: making cabbage rolls, and Christmas baking!!!

Thanks for the Socks, Mom

My mom came up to visit me earlier this week. She wanted to come see our new place, and bring me some stuff she bought for me. My mom is a great bargain shopper. She is always able to find really great deals on things. I think that a lot of it has to do with all the time she has on her hands. She is able to go out browsing at stores a few times a week, so when there is a bin of bargains, she's right there to sort through it. Unlike the majority of us who work throughout the work-week, and only have the luxury of 'shopping' on the weekends when it's more crowded and things have been picked through by those who go during the week. Anyways, the score this time was a package of 5 socks -- regularly priced at 12.99, and marked down to 7.00. So this is not bad...I wouldn't consider it to be a great deal, since socks at Dollarama cost around $1.25 a pair. Then my mom tells me that everything in the bin that day was marked down to....$2.00. Now, that's a deal. That works out to be forty cents a pair! How awesome is that? And what's even awesomer?? What I did with the socks. Thanks, Mom.

Saying Goodbye

So the day has finally come for us to bid farewell our first beloved home. I'm glad that I had a lot of time to get used to the idea of moving, and even this past week, things worked out better than expected. We will have many good memories of our first home, and I am looking forward to making new memories and new adventures in our new house.

We were off to an early start this morning...we packed up our cars and headed out. Who knew that we could accumulate so much stuff in just a few years! The movers could not take any liquids with them, so we were left with quite a truck load of cleaning supplies and our stockpile of liquids from the kitchen. Of course we also took as many of our house plants as possible...but we did have to say goodbye to Papy and Aloe. They are in trusty hands though--our wonderful neighbours adopted them.

So here I am, at the hotel, with husband's collection of alcohol, the turtles, and a cooler of stuff from the fridge/freezer. Monday can't come soon enough!!!

Thankful for Hot Water :)

So the past few days have been full of frustration and head shaking. We had a leak in our hot water tank, which we discovered Friday night, so we called Direct Energy since we are on a rental contract with them. They had a bunch of problems on their end saying that they could not find our contract, and that they have no record of us renting a hot water tank from them. Good thing I save and file every single bill we get -- I have 4 years of proof that we've been paying a rental fee to Direct Energy Home Services for the hot water tank. In the end, they said that they would send someone out on Sunday to have a look at it, and we'd have to show them our bill as proof that we are paying the rental fee.

Sunday rolls around, and in the 4-hour window that they said a technician would show up, one nice technician came to our door to look at the leak. We mentioned the issue we had with Direct Energy not having our contract, and with one look at the tank, he said "This is definitely one our ours". He cuts and caps off the pipes and says that we need a new water heater. Since we are on contract, we'll get one switched with no charges...and since it was Sunday, the department that deals with this is closed, so I was told that I would be getting a call after 8am on Monday, and they will have it switched out Monday evening.

Monday rolls around....I keep my phone with me all day in hopes of receiving the phone call. Unfortunately, my phone did not buzz once. I ended up calling Direct Energy when I got home from work, and I was told that there was nothing in their computer system saying that I had an appointment. They ask for some information, and then proceed to tell me that they cannot find a contract, and the water heater is not theirs. Are you kidding me? They sent out a technician just the day before, who did some paperwork and said it was theirs. Now, all of a sudden, we don't exist in their system? What kind of communication system does Direct Energy use? Where do they store all of their customer info? I was beyond mad, being transferred between people, who need to talk to their supervisors because they cannot find our contract. Not only did they not call back when I was told I would be called with an appointment time, I was also promised to have the replacement tank Monday evening. After talking to many people who kept telling me that the tank does not belong to Direct Energy, I decided to file a complaint. Am I really paying $14.99 a month for nothing? Do you as a company not keep track of your funds? Because if I am paying a monthly fee to not have your tank, then you should have an overage of 14.99 every month....since you are so adamant that the tank is not yours, then I should be reimbursed for 14.99 per month for 4 years, with interest, right? Long story short, and 4 hours later, I finally managed to get an appointment for Tuesday.

So Tuesday rolls around...and at 1030am, two nice guys come to my door all ready to switch out my hot water tank. About 20 minutes after they finish and leave, I hear a knock at my door. I opened it up to see a technician who is here to check on the leak of my hot water tank....because they always send out a technician to look at it before they do any switches. Great company. What kind of computer systems do they use? They seem to lose important customer information, and they also double book their appointments. Ugh. I hate dealing with these companies. Why do I have to rely on them so much???

I have to say though, I enjoyed a nice run in the beautiful weather, followed by a nice warm shower. I am very thankful for hot water.