Cooking Day and my kitchen window

I spent most of the day cooking for company coming tonight and to cover my absence all day tomorrow.

My sister and daughter are coming tonight to spend the weekend with my mom. My husband and I are going to Philadelphia tomorrow with friends to see a museum exhibit on Cleopatra. It will be a fun day with friends, eating out, and a once-in-a-lifetime (at least my life time) museum exhibit. But it can't happen without some preparation on my part. Yes, I did do alittle house cleaning but mostly I needed to cook.

I have house-dog sat at my sister's house in the past. The fun thing about house sitting (or mother sitting like this weekend) is that the sitters can just sit and do whatever they want. There are no chores and no cooking either. When you are hungry you just go to the fridge and open to door to wonderful dishes already prepared that just need heating. So I made some meals today - one for tonight and one for tomorrow. And for those who know me well, cooking is not fun for me. But today it was different. I did pick new recipes for me - I'll share them next week as they were easy and very tasty. But what was very special was the company I kept while I cooked.

You see my kitchen window is right over my sink. I looked out frequently while I was cooking (looking for distractions I guess - and finding it). I couldn't believe just how busy my bird feeder was. And the variety of feathered visitors was great! I had no idea that many different kinds of birds graced my deck. I was constantly picking up my camera and taking pictures. Here are a few a the best ones. And as you can see not all the visitors had feathers.

I am thrilled to see the Blue Jay is back - at least I think he is a Blue Jay. I included 2 pictures of him: one where he takes center stage all by himself and one where he is sharing the feeder with another bird. I thought the comparison of size was pretty amazing. Mr. Blue hasn't let such a small perch get in the way of getting at the seed. I have never seen more than one Blue Jay. I can't believe he is the only one around.

And then there is this little cutie. I think I can take credit for that round belly.

And at one point the feeder was full and other birds were flying around like there was something given out for free. Oh wait, it was free!!... I couldn't capture all the action.

And then there was this little guy who seemed to be waiting his turn at the feeder. Some visitors had better manners than others.

Let us not forget the other guest I usually see. He is quite a looker! Don't you think? He seems to be just looking over his shoulder at me.

Yes, this afternoon was pretty great having company while I cooked.

And thankfully I have an abundance of great things in my life:

• Wednesday, November 3 - I am fortunate to live next to a watershed area - a wooded location that is the perfect home for birds.
• Thursday, November 4 - I am very fortunate to have the company of these beautiful animals - so near my home.
• Friday, November 5 - I have one pretty great point-and-shoot camera.

There. I think I am caught up there. :-)

PS - Sorry I have been gone for a few days. My car has been in and out of the shop several times this week. Currently my Maxima is in the shop and has been there for several days. She is getting older - 2003 - and hasn't really been a problem until now. And I don't think we are ready to buy another car. We want our pup-taxi back.

It has been a frustrating week trying to balance our planned schedule with inconsistent transportation. Some stuff just dropped off the calendar, like all the Tai Chi. I wasn't in the mood. But I am fortunate that the auto repair shop we deal with has given us a loaner every time, but it is frustration to not have your own vehicle.