Ode to the New Year

You better be as great as your sister (2009) was!**

End of Ode.

Blessings to all my beloved readers -
Wishing you much love, health, prosperity and success for the next round!
See you next year! :)

**She was amazing! Saw me get married, buy my first house that ended up being a farm, quit the working rat race, renovate the property and learn to garden, get a 3rd dog, acquire a flock of chickens and develop a passion for this new hobby, start my own business then shut it down due to not liking it when it took off, make new friends and discover the joy of country living, launch my photography career, and most importantly she let me be happier and more fulfilled than I had ever been before. Thanks to 2009 for ending my 30's with a BANG!

Snow? We gots it!

And plenty of it!
(partial view, back of the house)

Hope you're all snuggled up nice and warm, where-ever you are!

Post #2,363

Just thought I would point out how bloggalific I am.

Or I just talk a lot.

Today was a day of reckoning with Mother Nature. There was a helluva snow storm here yesterday, apparently more snow fell in a single day than normally falls all winter - of course, this has to happen the only year we have a mile-long driveway and no money for a snow blower or snow removal services.

Of course.

Our kind neighbor from across the street came by with his machine and helped clear the driveway though, so that was really sweet. Yey for friendly grandpas! We still had to manually shovel a crapload of snow, digging paths between buildings, clearing the deck, etc. Oh well. C'est l'hiver!

Did I mention it's -26C (-15F) with the wind chill?

And oh, there are brutal winds, many brutal winds.

In the afternoon we drove to the next town over for errands and the fan/heater on our 20-month old Mazda decided to kick the bucket. So no heat in the car and the inside windows all frosted up - brilliant!

Silver lining: Vegas snagged an appointment with the dealership for tomorrow, last open day before New Year's holidays and all that. Yey! I assume the broken part is under warranty since it's still relatively new and has low mileage.

It better be.

In other news, the little roo Sunshine that has been in the house and on meds the past 10 days is showing zero signs of improvement. His lungs are fucked. If he's not better by the weekend, it's very possible that he is genetically weak and will have to be culled :(

I have two other girls in the coop that are also coughing, two of my best layers, so I have to bring them in too and start them on antibiotics, what HELL! They're older and stronger though and if I cured Antoinette in the fall, I can cure her sisters.

No more chickens allowed in the house as of mid-January, so they need to hurry up and get better. PLEASE!

This is ridiculous, am fed up with all the drama - if it's not one thing, it's another.

Am I cursed?!

Kay, time to dig through the leftovers and watch some House with hubby, although I'm tempted to sit in a hot bath to warm these cold feet first.

I wonder if I can eat dinner in the bathtub?

/end of Silly Ponderings post/

A snowy day in TechnoLand :)

'Tis a perfect winter day!

Tons of fat white snowflakes are streaming down, covering the land and trees with a thick blanket of winter, it's very mild and there is no wind so the snow is sticky, a snow fight's delight! Of course we'll be cussing like sailors tomorrow when it's time to shovel the mile-long driveway but oh well, thems the breaks...

I had forgotten that we had access to trails in the woods backing our property since you can only go there in the wintertime (summer is a nightmare of marshes, brush and bugs), so we decided a snowy walk with the doggies was in order.

First, had to make sure the flock was well-fed, dry and toasty:

The two Technos all goofy-like n'junk (to quote Prin!):

The snow was coming down hard but the fatheads ran harder!

Vegas: "Wheeeeeeeeeeee!"

We are so going to enjoy these trails the next few months! YEAH!

There were happy hunting girlies:

And happy fatheads aka Snow Eating Machines:

Find the furries...
Oh, this should SO be a 2,000-piece puzzle for masochists!

BoooYeaaahhh! Behold, the Mysterious Forest Tongue Beast!

You know life is good when Brits wear the Hat Of Canadia!

If you ever see something like this approaching at a fast clip...

Be prepared for THIS to happen:

"I'm so gonna get you on the head with a snowball..." :-o

I don't know what went on here.

The 7-month old, 99 lbs snow-catching machine! Watch!

There he gooooes! ShehZZZAM!

Everyone gets a well-deserved cookie (can you spot Mr. Oh JOY JOY?)

The Technos got Christmas cookies and hot tea:

While the storm rages outside and the xmas light shines in the window...

Hope you enjoyed spending the day with us! Right now I have some pizza dough is rising in the bread machine, we're making "personalized pan pizzas" for dinner tonight to round up this lovely day :)

Oh, in a fit of despair and heartbreak yesterday, I went on a retail therapy rampage - yey Walmart - and found a super-duper squishy soft leopard-print blankie for snuggling on the couch. We still have a ton of House episodes to watch (my stepmom lent us all the boxed sets!) so yeah, life is good.

/end of What Has Your Day Been Like? post/

Warning: graphic pic below

I just put Blossom back in the coop, at day 25 all hope is lost for any chicks to hatch.

I had to open the eggs to see what happened and confirmed that yes, four chicks were developing, three of them were very close to hatching when they died in the shell.

I don't know what happened.

My heart is shattered, I feel sick with grief.

RIP sweet babies...

So much sorrow to deal with and no outlet... I can't help but feel like a failure, to lose four babies like that isn't normal - logically I know it's not my fault and things happen but does the heart ever listen to reason?

I'm a blubbering idiot, crying over shit like this.

Fuck I need to grow up.

Where did it GO?

Christmas, I mean - first it was miles away and now it's gone! It would have helped mark the event if only ONE chick had made it to hatching but I guess it just wasn't meant to be...

Still swallowing bitter disappointment but I'm focusing on the future now: we're starting a new year in less than a week, and then it'll be my birthday a few weeks after that and my reward for not crying as I enter a new decade will be a glorious incubator! For me it signifies new life, new adventures, new beginnings.

Everything for a reason.

Vegas and I spent a quiet xmas eve watching our favorite movies (Flash Gordon, Bad Santa, Spinal Tap), we exchanged gifts and drank non-boozy bubbly - it was good! - while listening to cheesy Christmas music, very quaint :)

This is my favorite prezzie, the Rooster of Luck And Happiness:

So far it's the only chicken art item I have in the house, hope to collect more pieces over the years to commemorate events! This roo sits on the windowsill above the kitchen sink so I can rub his belly for good luck every morning - LOL!

Christmas Day afternoon was spent at my brother's place with family, we set out loads of food on the table and had a buffet-style meal to ease the pressure of cooking and cleaning in a small house with a 2-year old in a leg cast. Yes I stuffed myself and no, it's not going in the "junk food watch" box! Some things have to remain private... shameful things.

Once a year it's all calorie-free, you know!

We had a fun gift exchange with my mom acting as MC, she put a lot of time and effort into making it memorable and for that I thank her from the bottom of my heart. She's the heart glue of the family!

After that we drove home and my mom, stepdad, sister and her BF came to sleep over, we had a nice breakfast together and now they're on their way for more family visits, hoping to make their way home before the predicted storm settles in. Not sure if it's snow or rain or a mix of both that's heading our way but I hope it's not a mess.

All is quiet in the house now... Vegas is watching his beloved soccer football game, I'm fighting off a headache, the dogs are napping and the flock is flocking about in the coop, I suppose...

Dante aka "minge" can pull such unflattering faces sometimes... to whit:

Yep, ain't a pretty thing!

Today's for resting, and I mean it. The lack of sunshine is a drain on the system, it's dull gray days after dull gray days and all the Vitamin D supplements in the world aren't helping.

Mmm, naps... hot tea... a play in the snow with the doggies and that'll be it. Leftovers for dinner and perhaps a movie tonight, if I can stay awake that long.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas, please do tell me about it!

/end of Happy Boxing Day, Peeps! post/

Message from Santie:

Do these boots make me look fat?

Happy Festivus, everyone!

The coal in my stocking

There will be no chicks this Christmas.

My heart is broken and I'm choking back the tears... been looking forward to this moment for over a month now, poor mama hen has been sitting on two different clutches of eggs forever and there won't be a thing to show for it.

I know things happen for a reason, but this SUCKS.

And then last night I sat my fat ass on my new wireless mouse's usb stick that was plugged in my laptop, it snapped in half. I'm stuck using the finger pad thingie and that SUCKS too.

It looks like Sunshine, my only promising blue-egg layer who has been in the house on antibiotics for four days to heal a pneumonia, is a roo. That would put my total roo count to five, which SUCKS. Of course they all have a forever home here with us unless the racket becomes an eviction notice. I need more hens, this is ridiculous.

It's been snowing for 24 hours so today is for shoveling... The only nice thing about the new white covering is that it hides all the yellow pee stains so I guess it only half SUCKS.

The Christmas cookies I made last night (Vegas helped decorate) came out pretty nice, so there's at least that:

I also made a pan of Rocky Road, it came out tasty. Today is for finishing the butter tarts, cooking the ham and preparing the pasta salad. My brother's table is going to be pretty loaded with food on Friday!

Anyways. Not the best of days right now but I'll get over it.

Let's hear about your holiday plans and joyful moments, may happiness be shared and multiplied! I'll do my share in a bit, I promise :)

/end of Never Count Your Chickens Before They're Hatched post/

The big divide

There was no respect for youth when I was young,
and now that I am old, there is no respect for age -
I missed it coming and going.
~J.B. Priestly

I love the awesome!

Vegas had a brilliant idea yesterday: the chicken coop needed an extractor fan of some sort to pull out the dusty moist air and bring the humidity level down, that way the flock wouldn't be fighting off respiratory infections of excessive proportions anymore.

Our awesome contractor stopped by today to help and pointed out that I should just take the little fan I bought at the hardware store yesterday, make the coops's wall ventilation hole bigger and secure the fan in there, facing outwards. Problem instantly solved for $16 (cost of the fan)!

OMG I am sooo relieved... I can't handle any more sick hens and I'm sure the flock is really grateful for warmer, drier air, too.

The coop humidity was 100% two days ago, 96% this morning and 88% this afternoon. I really hope it keeps going down to a normal level because that, my friends, is a HUGE stress and worry off my shoulders!

*happy dance*

Only two days 'til Christmas Eve, I have to get a move-on with the baking (we have a family potluck buffet-brunch at my brother's on the 25th). Prin gave me a super recipe for butter tarts, I have to also make a batch of rocky road squares, a cold smoked maple ham, a pasta salad and a loaf of bread.

At least I know to NOT make those hockey-puck cheesecake brownies, LOL!

Still smiling from Prin's visit on Saturday, my gosh had I ever missed that girl.

Can you imagine having a friend who drives 4 (or was it 5?!) hours to see you and bring you Victoria Secret bras that fit so perfectly, you wonder if she has your body double (ok breastesses double) at home in blowup form for practice? Yeah, she's that awesome! I also loved seeing her two black furries, thems so sweet and funny - if only more dogs were so loved in the world, the shelters would be empty.

Then Saturday night we went to my chicken breeder friend's place to return Miss Pixie aka "Screamie", she was just a very bad fit for the coop and she was glad to return home so all was for the best.

He spoiled me with an 8-week old dark brahma girl from champion stock, I was sooo touched and awed... I have her sister here so having a pair is just splendid! If you saw how stunning the parents are you'd understand my glee, LOL! They are going to be very big, beautiful, cold-hardy girls who should lay a nice brown egg next summer. Yey!

Eggs! Eggs! Eggs!

I had to BUY a dozen for Christmas baking, I'm so pissed... Two weeks of tossing out eggs after the flock's annual deworming, UGH. Store eggs give me the willies, they don't look or taste real. Mleh.

Yesterday was a miserable waste of time, let's pretend it never happened.

Today's happy! Got bank papers signed, did two loads of laundry, fixed the coop(!!), prepared the pen for the chicks' arrival on Wednesday, cleaned out my email inbox and now it's time for popcorn and a book, then xmas baking. Maybe a hot bubble bath later on, we'll see.

Christmas gifts ALL wrapped and ready to go, I think I broke my own record by getting it done this early, LOL.

Puuurrrrr!

Anyhoo, that's that for the crazy chicken momma.

Bored yet? ;-)

/end of My Dogs Are Smelly post/

The "I" post (used a hunnert times!)

I know I should blog more, I want to blog more - not just about problems and worries and laundry lists, but about real things that touch my life and *mean* something...

But then there's the wall.

I'm kinda private about some things and have difficulty expressing what I really want to say, so I divert to the easy stuff (ranting, cussing, talking about the weather and what's for dinner... well, if you read this blog then you already know all of this).

Um, I sure I had a point in here somewhere. Oh yes:

I'm blessed to be surrounded by incredible people.

I really am.

I don't go out much and avoid the phone like the plague (yey for innernets though!), but my heart is full of love for those of you patient and kind enough to see me through the highs and lows of the past years and decades.

I often say stupid things I don't mean because it's easier to be mad than to be sad.
I take days and weeks to return phone calls and emails because I have so much to say I don't know where to begin and when I do, there's the blockage again.
I'm lazy and imagine people know what I'm thinking so that should be good enough.
How do you tell someone how much they mean to you without it coming across as silly, needy or out of place?
I'm a loner. I know I need to make an effort to get out there and see people, to catch up face to face, to experience life in 3D! I am trying, just taking baby steps. So thank you for being patient and accepting this is how I am, that doesn't mean I don't care - promise.

I don't know if this post makes any sense whatsoever to anyone except myself, it was a fumbled attempt at gratitude and I think I need to scrap this and start over.

Bah I'm hitting the post button, let it fall where it may.

Something like that!

/end of This Was Lame post/

Let it be

Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals "love" them.
But those who respect their natures
and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more.
~Edwin Way Teale, Circle of the Seasons, 1953

Well!

Today wasn't so bad after all!

Got great news from the bank, possibly very good news from the gov'ment, did more xmas shopping and found a superduper gift for Vegas (yes I was DONE shopping but what the hey), found out that one of my brother's two dogs that he had to give up got adopted today by a very nice lady, the water pipes in the stable are frozen solid but don't seem busted, Vegas is officially on vacation for the next two weeks and all my chickens have so far survived the ongoing, brutal cold spell.

Yey, dat's good :)

Now if only the freaking mice would get the hell out of our bathroom...

Oh, didn't I tell you?

A couple of days ago I opened the bottom drawer under the bathroom sink and found it littered with mouse droppings - gross! What the hell are mice doing in our bathroom?! Every single drawer and cabinet had chocolate sprinkles in them, the little bastids!

Then we found holes in a tube of toothpaste - Crest, to be specific.

Guess the little critters wanted to improve their dental hygiene?

I finally got a bucket of bait today, cleaned everything out and set the poison. Hope it works cuz we can't afford a house extermination... Haven't see any evidence that the mice went anywhere else but we have to kill the nests before they spread.

This is a new problem, too, since we got an exterminator in here about 2 months ago to check out the attic (we thought there were bats in there) - it was all clean. Now there's vermin.

So. Disgusting.

Tomorrow's supposed to be a tad warmer, well less siberian cold at least - let's hope so cuz momma needs a break from hauling buckets of hot water out to the coop for the flock. Ah, the things we do for love!

I baked a pan of cheesecake brownies tonight, don't get all excited they're not all that great. I must have messed up the recipe cuz it just would NOT cook in the middle! The taste is ok, a bit strange in places - I won't be making that recipe again. Hope my special guest doesn't mind...

Vegas said they were "lovely, nice and creamy, brownies are usually hard to eat and dry but these were really good" - so maybe it's just me being fussy.

I'll try to divert my guest's attention with hot chocolate, fresh eggs and a couple surprises :-D

Off to bed goes this old arse o'mine, am very pleased with this day despite swallowing half a pound of dog fluff during the grooming session (hey! free fiber!) since both akitas take it upon themselves to blow their coats each and every Christmas season...

G'nite peeps, are you dreaming of santie yet?

/end of More Stuff, Less Fluff post/

Extra whipped cream, please!

I doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise
than the first adventure with ice cream.
~Heywood Broun

I'm so cold and it's not even winter yet

What the HELL is wrong with this climate!

It pissed rain half the summer and now we're locked in a deep freeze that normally only happens in January or February, if at all - my chickens are freezing their tails off despite having a 175W heat lamp on in the coop 24/7 (super expensive to run), their water freezes within 30 minutes and so does any food I put down.

Now I just heard the stable's water pipes are frozen and we have one pissed-off renter on our hands. I insulated those pipes as per the hardware store's instructions and I can't do more, she wants us to buy a heater and blast it on the pipes about 10 hours a day - is she crazy?

She can take her horse elsewhere yesterday, with my blessing.

Never wanted her around in the first place, it was just as a favor to her and now it's a headache and a wallet drain.

It'll be a miracle if I don't lose any chickens, two are coughing wetly from the coop's humidity and high dust/ammonia factor (no fresh air circulation the past few days, it's too bleddy cold) and everybody's just plain miserable.

Please remind me why we live here again?

*cries*

On a happier note, I did get to dress up tonight for Vegas' office xmas party and had a lot of fun pretending to be a chic girly-girl for a few hours! We didn't stay long though (he felt ill, I think some of the snack food didn't go down well) but it was nice to see some familiar faces and chat for a bit.

I'll admit it was reeeaaally nice to come home and slip into warm soft jammies though :)

Time for bed, tomorrow is another day full of trials and tribulations, am bracing myself for bad news from the bank and bitchings from the horse tenant, store mobs, finger-numbing trips to the coop to try and apologize to a flock of freezing birds that I love with all my heart and can't warm up.

I just hate feeling helpless.

Fcuk this week of siberian crap!

/end of But What Can Ya Do? post/

Life lessons

We're all born brave, trusting, and greedy,
and most of us remain greedy.
~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

Whirlwind!

I know I should take the time to blog properly but man, I'm just not seeing the hours nor the days fly by! Zaaaaaah!

Let's see, in a nutshell:

I'm finally getting a much-needed haircut today, yey! Last one was in the city before we moved so you do the math. Gonna feel good to look a bit more put-together. Plus tomorrow night we're going to Vegas' office xmas party, he can't be dragging along some frumpy chumpy country wife now, can he? I thought not!

Got some xmas shopping done yesterday and will finish that up today, gotta mail the holiday cards and all that fun stuff. I usually don't bother but since we're not seeing many people this year I figured I ought to be nice :-D

Oh, guess what! Miss Coco Chanel, my gorgeous white sultan hen, finally laid a first perfect egg for me yesterday! The breeder said she was laying before I got her but she needed time to settle in and de-stress, and now it finally happened: it's the small, pointy white egg to the far right:

How cute is that?

And this morning she laid another beautiful egg! I am so thrilled! Sultans are supposed to average about 80 small eggs per year and normally egg-laying is halted or slowed down during the winter, so this was really a nice surprise.

The only dark cloud is that I had to de-worm the flock this morning, so that means no more eggs until December 31st. Yep, every single egg has got to be tossed out for 2 weeks after treatment - what a waste, eh? Sigh :(

My mom's not gonna be happy, she had reserved two dozen for xmas... I'll have to make it up to her in January. I didn't choose the timing, I have a little sick 8-week old cockerel in the house who needed the treatment and you can't ever do just one bird, you must do everyone at once to prevent any cross-contamination.

Ah well. Everything for a reason, I suppose.

Four baby chicks due in a week, if all goes well - please send good chick joojoo for a successful hatch!

Oh, did you notice my "junk food watch" box on the right-hand side of my blog, at the top? Yep, I thought to maybe motivate myself to eat less junk by publicly monitoring the crap I put in my mouth (get your minds out of the gutter), let's see if that works.

No pointing and laughing, please.

Right, I need to get some laundry done now, hoover the house, make a batch of fudge, call the bank and all that fun housewifey stuff.

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

/end of Yaddi Yadda post/

They call me chompers

Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like
and let the food fight it out inside.
~Mark Twain

Much-awaited update on the abduction

OK, spoke to the family tonight and there is good news and bad news:

The good news: the daughter has been found and is safe at her mother's.

The bad news: You guessed it, she is in deep trouble with "very bad people", I didn't ask but it sounded like gangs, or drugs, or worse. The individuals who made the threatening phone calls are wanted by the police for many things so there is a search warrant out.

The family had NO idea any of this was going on, the daughter is very distant and had last been in contact in August. Neither she nor her mother (the ex-wife) are apparently much concerned or worried about what just happened, while my friends didn't sleep a wink last night after the police told them they should evacuate their house. They did not leave and chose to stand their ground, in shock and in dismay.

The police are patrolling every hour as threats were made against them.

So, while I am VERY relieved the daughter is safe, nobody knows how this will end.

Times like this, I'm so grateful I don't have children...

I must thank you all for your support and prayers, I relayed the message of all the well-wishes and my friend started to cry on the phone.

They are really good people, now stuck in a horrible situation.

Please keep them in your hearts and hug your loved ones tonight!

Pandora's box

Fear makes us feel our humanity.
~Benjamin Disraeli

Need your prayers, dear friends...

Vegas and I drove to my favorite breeder's place this afternoon to pick up a new little hen, I phoned this morning to set up the visit and all was fine.

We got there around 2pm and the poor man was shaking like a leaf, kept apologizing for his state of utter nerves:

30 minutes before we arrived, he got an anonymous phone call from a guy shouting expletives and demanding a ransom for his daughter if he ever wanted to see her alive again.

WHAT the HELL?

The provincial police were on their way, he was waiting and just about to have a heart attack from stress :(

Poor man, he and his lady are such sweethearts, I cannot imagine anyone wanting them harm??? They keep to themselves, have no money and live in the middle of nowhere raising chickens, wth?

His daughter lives near the city with his ex-wife, who owns a bar... and the daughter works there. She was last seen this morning on her way to work (to clean the place or do book-keeping, I don't know). He had to call his ex-wife to tell her about the kidnapping call, she knew nothing about the situation.

So the police force is on it, it's a crime to utter death threats and oh, I can't believe such things HAPPEN! If I hadn't been there and heard things for myself, I would have thought it was a joke.

But it's not.

In all of this he gave me a beautiful bantam pullet (japanese mix, I think?) and refused any payment, can you believe it?

I told him I'd call tomorrow night for news, I'm worried sick for him. He was on the verge of tears the whole time we were there.

Great way to spend a cold, snowy Sunday before Christmas...

Please send any spare prayers his way, I really care for this kind soul and am petrified to get bad news.

People SUCK!!

/end of What A Nightmare post/

A happy to balance out the sad

Well, two happies first:

Today is Christmas Prep Day!

All the "mystery boxes" have been dug out from the basement storage room (they're mystery boxes because I have no recollection of what we crammed in there before the move, plus we inherited lots of stuff from my cousin before his move to Paris last summer), I caved to the pressure and bought an artificial tree yesterday - I know, I know! It sucks! It's not really Christmas without a real tree!

But oh the real thing is so damn messy and a lot of work to maintain then to get rid of, plus we have a little ginger-colored beaver on four legs in the house now who would no doubt have had many a midnight snack with the real thing...

Bah. I just hope the stupid thing's not too ugly, we haven't unpacked it yet.

I couldn't find my Christmas music so I bought a new CD kit, hope it's not too cheesy. Some cheese is good, but in moderation please.

Hot chocolate is on standby, let the decorating begin! Lord knows it's finally white and cold enough outside to set the mood... Oh and I almost bought one of those DVD's that play a crackling fire on your TV? With holiday music piped over? But that would've been Lindberger territory.

However, knowing Vegas, he'll probably send me back to Walmart to fetch it.

$4.96 bargain! :-D

Second happy: this awesome Domino's Techno Chicken video!

Seriously, two of my very favorite things in one glorious package! Bliss!

Wow, in two weeks it's boxing day... yet another Christmas come and gone. We're having a family get-together at my middle brother's place on the 25th, that should be nice. Only it's going to be a little hard for me to look my younger brother in the eye because of The Sad And Terrible Thing he's done.

I've just learned, not from him of course but through a friend, that he's gone and dumped his two beautiful dogs at a shelter.

After having them for 4 long years and being their 2nd home, this is what they get. He had promised me not two weeks ago that he would exhaust all possible avenues first but I wonder how hard he really tried.

I'm so pissed at him right now - fucking take responsibility! You chose to adopt these dogs in the first place, live up to it! Yes OK circumstances change and I get that, however if you absolutely must re-home your dogs then do so. Don't just toss the hot potato on someone else's plate. Deal with it!

On that note, I'm going to decorate before I fry my brain on this nonsense.

Happy Holidays, abandoned doggies. :-(

/end of People Are Stupid Including Some Family Members post/

...and man wisheth...

Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing.
~Walt Kelly

TD's shallow xmas wish list

1. Health, and lots of it. Otherwise I'm screwed.
2. A Brinsea incubator (for hatching chicken eggs)- OK it's scheduled for my birthday in January, yey!
3. A new bra that fits well. Girls, you'll understand what I mean.
4. Seeing that flab around my midriff disappear, all by itself.
5. Financial freedom
6. Fat-free cholesterol-free salt-free bacon, mmmm bacon!
7. A new winter coat.
8. World peace, an end to famine and disease, bla bla bla.
9. A spa day with massage, facial and pedicure.
10. Those AquaGlobe thingies so I don't have to water the dang plants anymore.
11. Because you always need a list that goes to eleven, this wish I already have: the best husband in the world whom I love with all my heart and soul. You rock, baby!

I guess we'll start with buying a Christmas tree tomorrow and see what magic it conjures over the next few weeks or so! Are you all set up for the holidays yet?

/end of Brain Purge post/

My rule on insomnia

If you've been tossing and turning for over an hour with no sleep in sight, get up and do something else.

In my case, go downstairs to get my slippers peed on by the stupid puppy (6.5 months old FFS! Get over the pissing!) and have a nice fat slice of cake.

Let's hope the sugar kicks in soon.

/end of Tired Of Sleep Eluding Me But Not Tired Enough To Sleep post/

A helluva blizzard!

Well, more of an arctic wind storm than anything else... Other places are apparently getting lots of snow but there is only a dusting here, the wind made sure to sweep it all into other counties LOL!

See? No shoveling, yey!

I hope the house won't lose too many shingles or pieces of vinyl siding... it's blowing HARD out there, rattling and howling, the kind of wind that freezes exposed skin in under 30 seconds - I know this because I bundled up to go play in the park with the doggies and almost lost the only piece of cheek that wasn't covered!

The thermometer doesn't register any wind-chill factor:

Ah well, it goes with the territory when you live in such a climate and it's December. At least I got inspired to lug up the boxes of Christmas decorations from the basement, put a loaf of bread to bake in the machine and fire up a lovely broth for tonight's winter soup dinner.

Down to six eggs being sat on by my broody hen, she broke one overnight - luckily it was a dud so no damage done, I would have had to cull it next week anyways. Can't wait to candle the clutch again this weekend to see how many chicks we're getting!

I'm crossing my fingers for two, please lordy at least two!

Oh, we got our property appraised yesterday and the verdict will arrive mid-January... In the meantime I'm working on some painting and minor room adjustments to get maximum dollar potential, most staging & pics are done so I've got lots on my plate. We're stuck here until end of June next year anyways so it's one process at a time...

...and holy hell is it ever windy outside! Brrr!

The chicken coop, despite all my efforts, is really drafty and there's nothing I can do about it. Temp is registering below freezing in there... Hope the flock will be ok :-(

/end of Slow Day, What About You? post/

Limber UP!

There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves.
You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb himself.
~Andrew Carnegie

Wow, that was weird

My body decided to quit on me today.

Woke up feeling normal, still a bit blue but the weather's been terribly heavy lately - the sky a cold gun-metal gray shedding frozen dandruff over soggy land - it just makes the soul ache, you know?

The flock was happy to see me, as usual, but NOT happy to be stuck inside all day on account of the freezing wet weather. I was kneeling down, petting the baby silkies when I noticed some blood on the fresh bedding - uh oh. After inspection, it was my little Angel who had somehow nicked her toe on something and was bleeding quite badly, as evidenced by the patch of blood on my jeans and smeared all over my coat.

Great.

I brought her inside and as I stood at the kitchen sink in coat and hat, my girl in one hand and a wet paper towel in the other, trying to clean the wound to see what the problem was and applying multiple coats of styptic powder, I began to feel pretty weird.

Hot, dizzy, nauseous, sweaty, shaky and jello-y.

What the heck??

I took off my hat and unzipped my coat but it got worse, the light started to dim and my vision blurred.

Thoughts that zipped through my head:

Great. Low blood pressure.
I'm going to faint.
With a tiny bleeding chicken in my hands.
And three big curious bird killers loose in the house.
Must. Protect. Little. Angel.
Faaaaaaaaaack!

I made it to the dog crate in the corner of the dining room, put her inside and locked the door before collapsing, rolling on my back and sticking my legs up on a chair like my mom had taught me to do years ago when this happened.

No idea what brought this on.

After about 10 minutes I was OK to get up, fetch Angel (who had bled all over the dog's white blanket) and bring her back to the coop in the hopes that she would settle down and the bleeding would eventually stop (it did).

The rest of the day was a struggle to stay vertical, care for the dogs and the flock and get big house chores done, it was a pig sty in here.

The property appraiser is here at 9am tomorrow so it's not like I could put things off, you know? Before you all yell at me! LOL

My camera also goes off to the shop for a major re-haul on Thursday, so I need to get this place spotless, staged and photographed before then. Upstairs is all done, just need to get the main floor under control tomorrow afternoon to wrap things up...

...and then...

Our house goes on the market.

GULP!

Exciting times, busy times, happy times. Except for little dramas, like my favorite tiny rescue chick Faith spraining her leg today so she might have to be brought into the house if she's not better tomorrow (waaaah!).

Speaking of chicks, last night I candled the eggs my little Blossom is sitting on and there is ONE definite embryo so far and a couple more that are "possibles", we'll know more in a week. Eeeeeek!

I need a bigger coop.

Yep, time to sell this place and move on.

/end of Must Remember To Take Vitamins Every Day! post/

A journey

I love capturing moments in life, if not to share then just to remember things by. Here are a few snapshots of the trip to my dad's.

Thursday, there was a long trip to the city's bus station (thanks for driving me, Vegas!):

Sat there for a while, admiring the various warnings to travellers:

Got accosted by a happy drunk sipping coffee, he was quite entertaining:

Yey, finally sitting in the bus, we're off!

Drive drive drive...

It was a dreary, rainy day made doubly icky by the insipid city infrastructure:

So I read my book:

And tried to ignore the ugly scenery whipping by outside:

Then there was another bus station, tempting my parched throat with fizzies:

To whit: limp holiday cheer and public toilets, yey!

Finally arrived at my dad's, where my stepmom's xmas decorations always abound:

Every year there are new pretty things to admire:

Everywhere is about celebrating, although I'm not sure WHAT is being celebrated:

There was good food, there was a movie or two, there was Trival Pursuit on the Wii, there was a nice photo session where I snapped happy smiles, there were crisp walks around the neighborhood and interspersed through all of that was a shitload of dramah caused by people who don't have a grip on life.

How children can cause that much anguish and how parents can have that much patience, I will never know. Thank god my side of the family is... normal. Waaay normal.

Anyways. I'm back home sweet home now, Vegas did a superb job at keeping the fort and I'm very grateful for his support. He's my best bra :-D

I'll try to shake off the blahs and see what this day brings, so far it's zero holiday cheer so the tree and decorations will just have to wait. There is no snow on the ground and the thought of fighting the mobs at the store give me the willies. At some point it'll get done, screw getting dictated by the calendar. Life's too short.

Belly tickles!

/end of Last Photos Until Camera Is Fixed post/