Hot Chicks and a Trip to the Park

Wow, our chickens from last Spring are HUGE. They are kind of crowded in the coop we have, and I think there is at least ONE rooster. Oldest DS says so, because his room is near the coop and he says there is some crowing going on out there.

In 2 weeks, the kids will each take 3 of their nicest hens to the 4-H Fall Show and Sale. They have to donate the chickens to the auction, but they get $20 each for entering it.

I went to the feed store Saturday for feed for them. I am a sucker for little peeping things. The chicks shown here are Blue-Laced Red Wyandottes. They are a rare breed, which comes in two colorways, both of which are called Red (a mystery to me). The little chick that looks a like a chipmunk will be the darker color, the pale chick will be the lighter color.

Next to and below are some pics of adults and the plumage. You can plainly see that the edge of each feather is outlined in a cool blue color. The body of the feather is either dark red or a cream color.

Monday (oh was it only yesterday?) Richard and I had a date in the morning. We went out a couple places and had breakfast. When we got home, the older kids and I went walking and to take a jack to Allen, who got a flat tire. Richard and the younger kids stayed home and built about a 10 ft. square chicken run on the side of the coop. We can't let the chickens totally free-range because our lot isn't fenced. But the girls seem to like their new "freedom," and it will relieve their crowding a little, until we thin them out.

Des called and asked if we would like a trip to a local park. She and another friend and Des' two kids and Tara's three (a son, Riley, Jeremiah's age [4], a daughter Micah the same age as Hannah [18m], and a 5 month old baby Savannah) were there playing when we got there. This is Hannah, who managed to face-dive off the slide, and Micah, who has wonderful Queen Elizabeth the First hair.

Diantha is holding Savannah, whom they call Banana, and who looks JUST like her daddy. Des says Banana is so cute it could "almost" convince her to have another kid. But not yet.

Veronica peered out at the world through the eyes of a Knight...

And Josiah did too... with the company of Fair Damsel Beverly of Ross.

Beverly, who has been a bouncer since we watched both her little feet kick out repeatedly at the same time, in her 12-week Ultrasound, took an opportunity to bounce in the sand, in the shade.

After the park, we left off the kids at Des with about a TON of fish sticks and fries in the oven, and went to visit with our small group from church. After that and driving back 15 miles to get the kids, and driving home 30 miles from Des' house, we were tired. But it was a nice end to a nice day.

Today I have been a total stupid head. I didn't get my primary objective accomplished for the day. In fact there was a project I wanted to tackle that I didn't even start. Beverly was feverish with a runny nose, and I am feeling about the same, so that didn't help.

But I got a recycled yarn done, called Sonoma Harvest, which is available in my My7kids etsy shop, here. And I dyed some fiber for Diantha to use in her shop, the wrong color, and immediately misplaced the rest of that ONE color of dye we needed. [sigh] Maybe tomorrow. Helped Artemas with some new items for his Got Wood 4 You shop, did 4 loads of laundry, and made a good Lentil Stew for supper (recipe in previous post, here). Diantha doesn't look mad about the fiber. Isn't she gorgeous?

Over the weekend I cast on a little baby beanie for a friend of mine's new grandbaby girl. I was gonna do a K2P2 rib and then a diamond pattern in K and P stitches. Cast on 68 st, no problem. Knitted my first round, didn't have enough stitches. Picked out 1st round, cast on 2 more st, knitted a round, had one stitch too many. ARRggh! I figured, just knit it together with something, won't even show on the 1st round. Knitted 2nd round, found out that I had done a K1P2 at one point early in the 1st round, that's why I had one extra stitch. Picked out round 2 and most of round 1, stopping occasionally to mutter under my breath.

When I got to the pattern, I became a total knitting nah-nah. AND, I broke one of my vintage nylon knitting needles in the process. I have picked out as much of this hat as I have knitted. I am finally down to the bind-off, and so glad. Here is a pic of the Pretty Diamond Baby Hat from hell.

One last pic to leave you with. Des took this when she was down on Sunday. Josiah and B were playing in the fallen tree that serves as Artemas' source of wood for his shop. Beverly doesn't seem too bee too concerned by what appears to be (just off-camera) a swinging metal something in her brother's hand. But she's young yet. And nobody ended up bleeding... so probably it was a good day.

Just Totally... Oh, Look! A Chicken!

I get the Bad Blogger of the Year award, because it has been 8 days since I posted. I have been totally uninspired. Or perhaps rather, completely overwhelmed and exhausted. Yes, folks, even Wonder Woman needs rest sometime.

Ok, I guess first on the list. In 23 years of homeschooling, we have never had lice. I don't know how people whose kids go to school cope, but the little public-school girl next door unknowingly gifted us with lice, and despite treatments every 4 days, cleaning bedding, etc., meticulous combing and picking, I am still finding *a* nymph or two every time we treat, after 6 weeks. The kids have been good natured and patient about it. The boys shaved their heads. The rest of us, with hair ranging from 6" (Beverly) to 2 feet long (me), are just about sick of lice treatments. Maybe next time will be the last.

Did I say something about a chicken? Can't remember if I posted this or not. But our 7 week old chickens are now in their coop, and they are very happy. Don't they look happy? And I am happy that they are no longer in a large box on my front porch, in the 95-degree F heat. Whew.


So we had a yard sale. Des and Tony hauled all their stuff from moving, down here over 30 miles from their house, and I cleaned out stuff, and stuff, and stuff. We cleaned and ticketed and sorted. Put out signs, put up a tent, sat in the 95-degree heat Friday (I was out from 7:30AM to 5 PM). Saturday did it all again. I made about what my dh makes in one day at work, in the air conditioning, $100. Told my dh I could have made that on my back in 2 hours. He said "Yeah, but it might be hard to find 20 willing guys. Har, Har. (or should I say, "Ho,Ho"?) Des and I were both struck with heat prostration (mine hit on the way to church to keep the nursery, and I had to come home). If I never have another yard sale again, it would be fine.

Diantha went to auditions for a Christian modeling agency Friday evening. Saturday she got her callback. So from now until January she will have a coach, and in January she will make a trip to Orlando FL for a scouting convention from major agencies like Ford, Nickelodeon, Mattel, etc. The trip will cost $3600 so from now until then, all our Etsy profits that aren't going to the Youth Center, will go to fund-raise for her trip.

I bought some beautiful stone whorls to make some spindles out of. There are 3 or 4 more that aren't shown here but I love these. Clockwise from left:

Blue Dumortierite 50 mm

Purple Mookaite 40 mm

Dalmation Jasper 50mm

Black Onyx 40mm (very light)

Pink Rhodonite 50mm

Pink Onyx 50 mm

Center: Orange Mosaic Flower Turquoise 50mm (very heavy for it's size!)

I also got a gorgeous spindle in the mail. I will try to get pics of my surprise package tomorrow and post them. Wonderful stuff!

So, as if two days in a row weren't enough in the heat. Sunday my little grandson Jeremiah turned 4. Big boy!! Looks *just* like his daddy too! So we all trooped to Clinton to a really nice little park which happens to be just past a rock drainage ditch across from the back yard of the house Des and Tony are buying. Hung out for a couple hours having pizza and pasta salad and cake, then retired to Des' house for the afternoon/evening where eventually I pried myself out of a really good book and made pancakes 'n' cheesy eggs for dinner and helped Des pack up a few more boxes of stuff. A week to go to Moving Day.

Beverly held up alright in the park, but looks sleepy and sweaty here. Precious though!

I made some Ugly yarn. I hand dyed this formerly pink to a cantaloupe color. Nice cotton-blend summer sock weight, but not quite enough for a whole pair of even short socks, unless a toe and heel are added. So I was going to put this skein of green/blue recycled sock weight that I actually BOUGHT at one time with it, like cantaloupe and rind(?), add the pattern for these socks that I did for Diantha, and sell it as a package. (Pic of the socks has been paled out for color comparison to the yarns. The real sock is hurt-your-eyes orange-red and deep turquoise, LOL) But I think I am too chicken to put it up and never see it sell. So whaddya t'ink? Should I list it? Or should I hold a giveaway on the blog and give it to someone creative? Make it conditional that they have a month to send back pics of something interesting made of it? Comments, Please!!

More Than a Day Behind

I am more than a day behind, so let me see if I can sum up.

Monday was More Chicks day. When my kids got their 4-H chicks on the 26th of May, we ended up losing 4 of them. They were so disappointed. And I had been disappointed to begin with, that we couldn't get 2 of my favorite breeds: Americaunas, which actually lay eggs in the olive-green to blue-mint-green color range, (eggs and range of color of the hens both pictured here), and Barred Rocks, which are striped-looking, full-bodied, docile chickens that lay beautiful brown eggs.

So off I went Monday to take a walk and pick up chicken feed. Lo and behold, the man at the feed store had BOTH Americaunas AND Barred Rocks. So I bought 2 Barred Rocks, and a "Wheaten" and a White Ameraucana. I put them in with all the others we have, and though smaller, one of the Barred Rocks immediately let it be known that she was going to be a Peck-ER, and not a Peck-EE.

Yes, city dwellers, the term "Pecking Order" comes from chickens and is absolutely true... the "top chicken" pecks everyone below her, the next one pecks everyone except the top one, the next one down pecks everyone except the top two, and so on. How they decide who is who, is completely up to them, but it really does work for them.

Sometimes I think that one of my problems is that I am a Peck-ER in a world that wants me to be a Peck-EE instead. LOL.

Ok yesterday was Tackle-it Tuesday. I am trying to pass a very bad kidney stone, so I didn't tackle just about anything. Though in the evening I did go in the girls' room and sit on their bed in a lot of pain and supervise the cleaning that was going on. Diantha had decided that their Tackle-it Tuesday should be their bedroom. I, being the bad Mom that I am, am posting the "before pictures" on the internet. LOL. This was Veronica's side of the room, between the bed and the wall. The Left picture is BEFORE, and the Right picture is AFTER. I think she did well. There is still one leeeetle pile of about 10 items of clothing to go, and the vacuuming.

On to the end of the room by the dresser and closet. Diantha says that Veronica dragged most of this stuff out of the closet, which is just as well, since it gave them a chance to actually HANG things UP (gasp!) instead of just THROW them IN. Again, Before on the left, and After (before vacuuming) on the Right.


Lastly, the first walkway into the room, on Diantha's side of the bed. In all this cleaning, we boxed up a huge box of seasonal clothes for next winter and got rid of about a trash bag of other clothes that were outgrown. Off to the local thrift store. And, bagged up a kitchen-size bag of trash. This was a HUGE Tackle-it for Diantha and Veronica to take on, particularly without any real help from Mom.

Good job, girls!

Just a couple more. Had to share this one! It is the Ball n Chain Scarf for the Groom (or anyone you know who has the balls to wear it, LoL!). I knitted it out of a handspun art yarn sent to me from Japan. The approx. 60" long, 10 chain scarf has merino, sari silk, cotton, and glitz in it, in black, steel blue, rusty brown, and pale gray. The 4" balls are knitted from 100% recycled cotton/acrylic blend and stuffed with polyester fiberfill. Available in my Heart Felt Fun Accessory Boutique as part of the "I Do 2009" Etsy Knitters Street Team Challenge.

Also Diantha listed a beautiful red/black/white/sparkle handspun in her Fluff 4 Ewe shop. Stop by and see other new and wonderful items too!

Ok, So a Bunch More Pics

Today Beverly wanted her hair put up. Rare indeed. And she left it that way long enough for me to take a picture.

I had a monumental fail today, and the kids made me take a pic. See I am in the habit, if somebody drops food in the car, of rolling down the passenger window and PITCHING it quickly out at the vegetation on the side of the road. This is a triple benefit: it is completely biodegradable (so therefore not pollution), the local fauna (raccoons, opossums, and skunks) LOVE finding little sticky bits of banana or hot Doritos, and it completely unnerves the person in the passenger seat, for sudden bits of something to go whizzing past them out the window.

So when I dropped a chunk of Dorito down into my quart-size insulated mug of Mtn. Dew today, I hit the window button, FLUNG it toward the grass, MISSED the window by a good 6" and splattered Spicy Nacho Chip ala Mountain Dew all over the dashboard. FAIL!

Alright, I also enjoyed a modicum of success today. I got my CCW (Carry/Conceal Weapon) permit in the mail today. I am officially Legally Armed, until 2013. And don't THINK I wouldn't be serious to give an attacker a choice which nut to keep. I really AM a good shot.


I took pics of our chicks today, just because they are cute.


We lost 3 of them. It happens; they succumb to the Marek's vaccine if they were weak to begin with, and from past experience, we probably expect to lose about 1 chick per dozen. You can see they are beginning to get their wing feathers already. In 2 weeks they will be SO ugly, as the stems of their hackle (neck) feathers will start to come in, making them look something like porcupines. In a month, they will be feathered, little miniature chickens.

Alright, as promised, here are pics of Diantha's project that I got from UFO Administration. This was called Cuff Too Small. Someone had started, I think, a pair of socks. ONE sock. All they did was the cuff. First thing, Diantha claimed the yarn. Secondly, we divided it into 2 equal balls, for making a real pair of socks. Then she decided to make this tam. The pattern called for almost the whole lot of yarn (320 yards out of 400), but for some reason she got the entire tam out of one ball.

It was the first time Diantha ever followed a pattern of any kind, and it does have a few mistakes. But she likes it, and wants to make another one out of the other ball of yarn. Bravo, Diantha!

Here are flat pics (these are really NOT boobs, as one of my kids suggested):
I also got Etsy orders mailed today, from THREE shops (yippee!), got the kitchen cleaned, my room vacuumed (again), some laundry done and some folded, and a batt carded for Diantha's shop. She is feeling puny. I am going to card another batt like it, and hopefully in a day or two she will feel well enough to spin that one and sell the yarn ready-made. This will be White Wedding, for the Etsy Knitter's Street Team June challenge, "I Do 2009." We will list it in the morning, as soon as we can get some natural-light pictures.

New Yarn, New Blocks

Well yesterday I didn't really do my block. Oops! Well first of all it was a stupid, paper-pieced Teacup. I don't do paper-piecing, I don't like tea, and I don't do teacups. So there. What I did do yesterday, was spend the day spinning the rest of the Spiderman Meets Obama yarn. I am really happy with the turnout and I have it up for sale in my Etsy shop. I have 7 Obama yarns up, and I am offering free shipping on them until midnight on Inauguration Day.

So today I made a block to make up for yesterday. These are the LOWER setting triangles for the Monochromatic quilt top I am making (the operative color being ORANGE). So the top setting triangles were brights, like a sunrise, and the lower ones are darker orange to orangey-browns, like earth.

Today's block was stupid too. It was a lil' bitty Diamond In A Square that finished to 3". I mean really. Like what am I going to do with that? And if I make it finish to 9" like the rest of the Chicken blocks I have been doing, it would look just dumb. So I made it a 9-patch Diamond Square. Nothing like complicating things for myself. Here is a pic of the block, and below I will give you directions, just in case you are a quilter or piecer and want to try one on your own. And below that, I will give the math, so if you don't care about that part, you can glaze your eyes over and skip a paragraph.

Cut 2, 5.5" squaresof a rather dark fabric. Halve them diagonally. If your print is directional, halve one upper right to lower left and one upper left to lower right. These are your outer setting triangles. Cut 2 squares of a light or medium tone fabric to 4 3/16". I know this is an odd measure but just trust me. 3/16" is just shy of 1/4" on your ruler, so measure to 4 1/4" and back the ruler off a hair and you will do fine. Halve them diagonally as you did the 5.5" squares. Then cut 5 dark and 4 light, 2" squares.

Assemble the 2" squares into a 9-patch. Press and square it up to 5" exactly. Next take the triangles that were 4 3/16" squares and sew one to each side of the 9-patch, letting a *leetle* corner of each one extend evenly past the edge of the 9-patch. Press and square this up to 6 7/8" exactly. Then sew the larger, dark triangles to the sides as you just did the light triangles. Press and square up to 9.5". Tada!

The Math: The Total square will finish to 9" plus seams. So half that, for the outer triangles, is 4.5". You add an inch in order to compensate for having to halve the squares diagonally and make a seam. So the outer squares are cut to 5.5". The next square will be the hypoteneuse of 4.5" (4.5" x 1.414) which is 6.36". The nearest common measure we would use is 6.375" (or 6 3/8"). Half that is 3 3/16" inches. You add an inch for making it into triangles and adding a seam, 4 3/16". The hypoteneuse of 3 3/16" (3.187" x 1.414) is 4.5" which gives you your finished size of the 9-patch. 4.5" divides evenly into 1.5" finished components. After adding seam allowances, the pieces must be cut to 2" square. Easy as 1, 2, 3, 5. LoL

Richie was off today so he got some stuff moved in the back porch and otherwise we goofed off, went to the post office and the store for trash bags, wheat bread and sugar. Tonight we are going to watch the new CSI (I can't stand that Grissom is leaving) and a movie, I will read to him and call it a night. Goodnight!

What Vacation?

Richie has been on vacation this week. Typically, a vacation for him is not a vacation for me.

Usually, when we go on vacation, I make reservations at the campground, or motel on those rare occasions. Though we don't do a motel very often, because they make us have 2 rooms because of all the kids. That gets expensive pretty fast.

I map out a route. I make lists of what we will need for food (in the car and cooler and camping, if we are), lists of what each person needs for clothing, grocery shopping lists, what needs to go in the car (especially if we are camping).

Then I shop, do laundry, pack a food box, mark refrigerator food for the trip, pack duffel bags, clean out the car, pack the car in a reasonable manner so that we have feet room and can reach the cooler, food box, coloring/puzzle book bin, pillows, towels (in case of spills or someone throwing up). The day of the trip we get up early, I make sure the kids are dressed, everyone uses the bathroom, and nothing is left out of the car. Richard goes around turning off lights.

Then we get in the car and drive 600 miles. While we are driving we magically have food to eat and stuff to drink and books to read. And when we get there, Richard magically has all his clothes.

While we are gone, I make sure everybody keeps their things together, has all their shoes, puts wet clothes in a special bag, cook (if we are camping), and at some point go do a load or two of laundry. We drive home and Richard magically has clean clothes to go back to work.

Having him on vacation at home is not much different, with the exception that I didn't have to pack a small version of all our belongings into the car and go somewhere else to use them.

~~ sigh~~

Anyway this week he is working on finishing the shower in our bathroom, and on cleaning out the back porch. Or not. In four days, he goes back to work.

Today I made 2 new yarns for my my7kids recycled yarn shop at etsy. And, I made the block of the day, which is called something I can't remember on the calendar page which I can't find, but I know the block to be called Swamp Angel. It is a modified Ohio Star, with Half-Square Triangles (HSTs) in the corners.

And chickens, if you are lucky.