Birds of Paradise

The chicken coop is built.  Well, the yard anyway.  The animals will have to wait until Dad gets back home from work to have a little shelter.  A tarp is serving the purpose when needed, right now.  Time to pressure wash the carport since we are free of that mess again.

There's a chicken in here somewhere, but the ducks seem to have the best amenities.

I think they quite like it.
                                    

**NOTE**

The next morning after this was built, Clayton and I walked out to check how they were doing.  We didn't find the chicken anywhere.  There were no feathers or signs of anything, really.  She was just gone.  After discussing it with the girls, Allison and Morgan realized the wire hooking the gate closed, was on the ground and the gate was shut with a shoestring.  They also found bread in the pen.

Now, I'm not one to accuse anyone of anything without the facts, but here are the facts:

1.  We were out of bread for two days prior to this.  Even if we weren't, we wouldn't have given them bread.  Where'd the bread come from?

2.  What's the deal with it being shut with a shoestring and not the wire?

3.  The chicken roamed free with the ducks for about a week before the pen was built.  Before, they were in a cage behind the house.  No predator got her then when she was out in the open.

4.  Our neighbors got a rooster about a week before we got our hen.

Who would steal a chicken?  Furthermore, where we put the pen is in the back corner of the house.  It can't be seen even from our driveway.  She was in the pen just for the rest of the day after being built and throughout the night (or whatever time she disappeared).  The only reason I wouldn't think she was stolen is because no one can see what goes on at our house, much less know we put the pen up.  I'm just confused about it all and it upset Emily because it was hers.

So, what did we do?  We bought 4 more. :)  Yes, we are quite the little farmer family now.  Only problem with these, we don't know what gender they are.  I'm so hoping we didn't wind up with 4 roosters. 

By the way, we did find out the gender of our ducks.  Male and female.  Their names?  Daisy and Duke.  (Daisy Duke, not after Daisy Duck)

The girls named the new chickens without caring what the genders were.  We now are proud owners of Sonny and Cher & Romeo and Juliet. 

Room of the Week

Ok, so with promises of befores and afters of my house (a year's worth of promises), I've decided to do it like this.

Each week, I'm going to post one room.  I'm giving myself a week for each room because there are a few little odds and ends I'm wanting to finish up before posting and a week should give me enough time to finish those areas.  A few of them will still be works in progress, but you will get the idea. 

Here is a teaser for the first ROW (Room of the Week...obviously)...

So, check back soon for these postings.  I'm thinking it will get me on the ball with finishing the small details  that are keeping me from posting them.

Getting Our Ducks in a Row

I never thought I'd ever own a farm, but these days it's beginning to look like one around here.

The ducks are grown, although not fully matured.  The chicken is well on it's way too.  They have all three shared a little cage since we got them and have now outgrown it.  Allison got brave and let them roam free during the night.  They did great!  They didn't wander at all, which means they haven't been back in the cage since.

We found a mess they left behind under the carport yesterday.  If you are unfamiliar with these animals, they are quite the mess makers.  We found them sleeping on our dog Angel's bed last night.  Angel is obviously female (the name) and is very protective of all the animals we have.  So, she let them have her bed.  I had just washed it too.  It will not go back into my machine after this.  Eww.   (*note* I edited out the majority of the mess on her bed for easier viewing purposes.)

So, today my father-in-law and Clayton are going to build a chicken coop.  I think Clayton said something about just a fenced in area for now until he comes back from work next time.  (He'll be leaving soon)

I'll be so happy.  With the plumbing that was done the first part of this month, I haven't smelled stinky when I walk into my home.  These little mess makers have now allowed me to smell it just before I walk into my home.  I don't think so.  They have really taken a liking to Angel's bed, so I guess the coop will work out great for me.  We are going to put it at the far corner of the property.  I don't want there to be a "fowl" smell before entering my home. ;)

A Little of Everything

We FINALLY got RAIN last night!  I've never been so excited about rain in all my life.  The last time any precipitation fell from the sky here was April 4th, which was a tiny bit.  I remember we needed it then too, so hard telling when it fell before that.  It came down hard last night, so hopefully the burn ban has been lifted.  There are no puddles, but the ground is still wet today.  YAY!

The garden is looking good.  Plants are shooting out really fast.  I find Clayton outside looking it it quite often.  I think he's proud of his accomplishment.  My flowers are growing too.  I still think they will be taller than the hedges before the season's over, but oh well.  Maybe by this time next year, my hedges will be filled out quite a bit.  Hopefully, anyway.  I tried to fight fever today, so I went out and planted some more things on the side and back of the house.  I cleaned up in the back a bit, making it look a little better.  At least I got that finished, somewhat.

Right now, I'm suffering from an abscess.  Second one this year.  I felt it coming on and was in pain the night before last.  I woke up yesterday with a swollen jaw, so I headed to the ER...again.  He gave me antibiotics, of course, but I asked if I was going to get a shot as well.  He said no.  Ok, that's fine, as long as the pills will work.  I slept all day yesterday and woke up around midnight.  My entire neck and side of my face was swollen, so I head back to the ER to get a shot.  As soon as I walk in, I see the same doctor and he tells me that he'll see me, but he won't change anything.  I asked, "What about a shot?"  He shakes his head, "No", then looks back down at his paperwork.  I walked out.  This hospital is nothing but a bandaid clinic anyway.  I know these things are nothing to sneeze at, so I was very upset.  I came home, cried a little more, threatening to go to a better place and get something in my system immediately, but was too much in pain to want to do anything but sleep.  It has gone down a little, but only because it has spread out a bit more.  Can't wait for it to go down and get this junk taken care of.  No more putting things off!

Easter Sunday, we went letterboxing nearby.  We searched for 5, only found 3.  It wasn't as fun the second time, but that's only because I was starting to feel sick and the girls just weren't in the mood.  It was still fun, just not as fun.  Maybe I'm the only one who feels that way, though.  Still looking forward to many more.

Until next time...

Happy Easter!

Yesterday evening we went to Clayton's parents' home in Jasper for an Easter egg hunt for the grandkids.  Not all of them were there, but we still had fun.  I don't guess my kids will ever grow out of hunting them.  I had two teens out there having as much fun as the babies.  I can't blame them, though.  Clayton has ALWAYS made Easter very special for them. 

Clayton's not a mushy type of dad, but if there is any holiday that has to be recognized, it's Easter.  I'm not talking about for the true reason we celebrate it either.  I remember in our first years of marriage, the kids may not have gotten much for Christmas, but they were going to get a basket and a chocolate bunny for Easter, even if we were flat broke.  I didn't even think about Easter baskets or chocolate bunnies this year.  Maybe because I just felt like they were too "old", or maybe I just didn't get into the spirit of things, I don't know.  He took off yesterday morning, though, by himself, and brought back Easter baskets filled with goodies.  He did a great job picking them out to fit the personality of each girl.  Way to go, Dad!

Last year, Clayton being the fun Easter dad that he is, played a game with all the kids once the eggs were found.  He had a few eggs left over, some with money in them, some with candy, and some empty, having each of them gamble on trading one of their eggs for one he had.  Yes, teaching the kids to gamble, but it was truly fun to watch them try to decide what they should do.  This year, he stuffed and hid three eggs as prize eggs with more money than I would have agreed with, had I known.  Luckily, our teens found two of them.  (that's my girls, knowing where the cash is stashed!)  ;)  He also stuffed some with Brazilian money, which I thought was pretty hilarious.

Even Grandma's goat wanted to join in!

Happy Easter, everyone!  Let's not forget the true meaning of Easter.  Thank you, Jesus!

Our First Letterbox

As I was looking up more information on geocaching, I ran across letterboxing.  I skimmed through it at first, not really getting into it, thinking geocaching was enough.  I don't feel that way now.  I looked again and found how interesting this could really be in addition to geocaching.  I found a few here in our little town and one of those were in a location I was very familiar with.  I took off to see just how accessible it would be.  When I found it, a childlike thrill consumed me.  I had located it, but didn't touch it.  I wanted to save that for the girls.

So, we headed out just a few minutes ago and had them go on their little search.

I read there are some photos that are frowned upon to post on the internet when it comes to this type of thing.  I'm new, obviously, but I think it may be things like spoilers and such.  In that case, I'll leave those photos for the girls' log books.

The kiddo that thought all this was for people with no lives....she was all up in it!  In fact, she sort of took over and wanted to be the one to grab the box.  Even wound up with battle scars from it...

I don't care who you are, this was fun!  Looking forward to many, many more.

Geocaching

I've wanted to try this out for a while now.  I didn't know enough about it and never got around to really digging deep into it until a few days ago.

We were at my in-laws' house, visiting, while a friend of my father-in-law's saw the girls' prom pictures.  He said, "this looks like that place out at such and such".  I told him that's exactly where it was.  He said he has done a lot of geocaching out there.  Of course, I was surprised about this, so asked him more details about it.  He said there were loads of them in the area and told me to go to geocaching.com.  I did.  Now, I understand it a little better. 

Our gps is out of date with maps, so nothing will display.  Ok, let me bring out my handy dandy ipod touch and see what I can do with it.  Well, after downloading a few apps on the subject, I found only about a trillion treasures to hunt down.  There's quite a few only a mile from our house! 

I told the girls about it.  Allison wasn't thrilled.  I tried to convince her it would be fun, but she just didn't seem to understand, saying that it was for people without lives.  Teenagers.  Morgan and Emily, however, are all for it.  Allison just wants to search for treasure if it's something of value she can keep.  She still didn't quite get it. 

I looked closely at one of the places on my map and realized exactly where it was.  I didn't need coordinates for this one.  Super easy.  Our Wal-Mart here is built behind McDonalds.  There is a big deep ditch with a few culverts separating the two parking lots.  I told Allison about it.  Still, no sign of light in her eyes.  Not until we went to Wal-Mart today.  As I drove right beside that big ditch, I was reminded.

"Look, Allison, there's a cache somewhere down in that ditch, probably hidden in one of those culverts."

Allison's head pops up as she looks down toward the ditch...with a grin on her face.

"See, it's exciting to know that, right?" 

A bigger grin spreads across her face as she continues to look at the ditch while we drive on.

Uh, huh.  For those without lives, huh?

Lookin' Good!

Not finished, but here's what's been done today.  I still have to plant a few more, add mulch, and so forth.  Mulch doesn't go a long way, and it's been so long since I've planted anything, I had forgotten that.  I love the black mulch though, especially with my black shutters.

I'm going to get some more boxwood shrubs.  I love these shrubs since you can shape them into any form.  I just don't know how long it will take them to grow.  This is a slower growing version.  (didn't see that until after I purchased them)

Should have done this before planting anything, but I now have to add edging and a sidewalk.  I'd love to have an actual front porch/patio, but that's not happening right now.  The front of the house is just too straight for my liking.  I want one with a roof, but for now, I'm just going to have pavers or something to form a patio.  About a decade or longer ago, we bought one of those walkway molds that you fill with concrete.  I bought another one today just to save money and get a sidewalk faster than if we'd buy concrete pads or pavers.  May just use that for the entire patio too. 

Can't wait for this to really start filling in!

Curb Appeal

Our home has zip landscaping.  It's bittersweet, though.  Glad I don't have to work around someone else's previous plantings but having none at all has left me with an eyesore the past year.  That's changing as we speak, though.

Clayton tilled some more for me today.  Just a small patch in front of the house from edge of carport to front door.  That's enough for this week.

I didn't have much of a choice of plants and shrubs to choose from at our Walmart.  I'd go to a nursery, but I did it as a spontaneous thing tonight.  I think I purchased the only plants they had left that were actually alive.  Such a shame.

So, here's what I got, for now.  Getting more later.  I love the colors I chose to contrast with each other.

New windows are in order...in time.

Allison loosening the root ball.  Another bath and change of pjs now.  Glad she wanted to help, though.

More tomorrow as we finish planting.  The shrubs are in but it got too dark to do anything else. 

I thoroughly enjoyed all Clayton's hard work!

Pioneer Days

Ok, so Pioneers had a mule and plow, not tillers, but as lazy as these days and times are, tillers are still hard work.  Or so it looked to be anyway ;) 

Clayton tilled a garden this morning.  It's small, but it's all we need to get started with.  He didn't buy plants, so we are starting with seeds.  We will see how that goes.

He bought organic seeds.  I was glad for that, until I saw the Miracle Grow being sprinkled on the entire garden.  Purpose defeated. ;)

Back to the Basics Family Time

After yesterday being so dreadfully dull, we all decided we were going to get out and go do something today.  There were mixed ideas about where to go.  I wanted to go as far as Houston, Clayton was settling for the movies, the kids wanted to go to a family entertainment center.  After a while of pondering what to do, mine and Clayton's energy was drained and we just wanted to take a nap.  Instead of the nap, I suggested we do something at home like we used to do in the earlier days.  No money spent and memories made.  That's the best anyway.

We are under a major burn ban here.  Our little area is still fighting a wildfire that took off a few days ago.  Everything is entirely too dry to have even a tiny little weiner roast.  Now, we can have them if we had a little firepit outside, but we've never broke down and bought one.  As I said out loud how I wish there wasn't a burn ban in effect, that we could have a weiner roast, Clayton and Allison both suggested we just use the fireplace.  Of course!

We took off to get a couple new movies and some more weiners (I've been on a daily hotdog binge lately).

Clayton chopped some firewood for us and we started our little night.

This was perhaps the best hotdog I've ever had.  Seriously.

Time for movies.....

They made me stop taking pictures after this.  Something about trying to watch a movie???

We watched "127 hours".  Great movie.  Too much gore for me though at one point..and some choice words I don't choose.  It wasn't at all what I was expecting.  It's worth a watch.

Oh, I almost forgot this picture.  Allison was roasting a marshmallow when the log fell and made a really loud noise along with A LOT of sparks.  It even made me jump.  She just jumped halfway across the room.

Haha.  Good times.



My New Workspace

I have been completely worthless today. Totally bored out of my mind. I almost cried due to being so bored. I have plenty to do. PLENTY. Energy, nada. Now that it's time for bed, I'm getting much better. Figures.

There was one thing that was accomplished today. Totally out of a "Just Do It" thing.
About a year ago we took a door down that lead from our laundry room to our kitchen. It was an exterior door so it had to go. I've tried burning it a few times before, but Clayton has always stopped me, saying he'll use it for something one day. Well, today was the day. It's a solid core door, so I knew it could be used for something. It just saw it's last "in the way" day today.

I know, it's not an original idea, but I used it anyway. We cut about 6 inches off the length and now it fits perfectly in my craft room as a desktop. Where the knob and deadbolt holes are, that's where the wires and such will go for my computer and other electrical items in there. I'm loving the workspace it provides for me.

I was going to paint it, but decided not to right now.  I may decoupage it with my lomography, I don't know.  I will paint the edge that shows though.  I also wanted to just lay it on top of Clayton's aluminum saw horses, but he wouldn't give them to me. :( Oh well, would have probably limited my storage space that way anyway.

I have it piled high with everything that was on the floor around the perimeter of the room, but it's holding up. I'll get around to cleaning it off once I get out of this slump I'm in. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

This room is still not painted, obviously still not organized, etc. One day, one day. This is just a little room off of my laundry room opposite the kitchen side. It was first used for Cameron's room when he'd come to stay but after the water heater went out and flooded that room, it ruined his bed. Since then, it's just been my craft room, catch all junk room. I'm about to make that all go away. Anyway, the tin on the wall was an effect I was doing while it was Cameron's room. I was going to take it down, but decided to keep it. I think I'm going to like it once it's finished. I do have a vision.

Notice the floor.  That's what was under the carpet that was ruined when it flooded.  It's not pretty, but right now, it's not a priority.

Dirty much?  Nope, stained.  I scrubbed.  It'll be ok though.  Trust me.

Here's all the stuff that is now off the floor.  All my other stuff is in my laundry room at the moment.  This picture makes me laugh though...notice the Container Store bag? 

 

I'm beginning to get enough energy flowing to go in that room and start on clearing off my new desk.  I'd better go to bed now before that happens.



Lomography...my new interest

I know.  Another interest/hobby to add to my collection.  I can't help it. 

Honestly, I've never even heard of it until a few months ago.  Well, not even then, actually.  I just have an app on my ipod for camera effects and one was called "lomo-fi".  So, with me loving that little app, I decided to look up lomography and found myself sinking into the very depths of the art form.

I can't tell you why I love it.  I just do.  I remember when my mother would get film developed and if any of them were "ruined" it would be heartbreaking.  Double exposed, over or under exposed, etc.  Anything that would get in the way of what you were trying to capture would just ruin the photo.  With digital being unheard of other than in watches and clock radios, it was always a guessing game.  I was always told to load film in the darkest area possible, never open the door to the camera before the film was all used up, and of course, don't put your camera or film in the heat.  That would just be tragic.

So, what is lomography and how did it get started? Well, I say Google it.

The app I have on my ipod is nothing in comparison to what lomography is all about.  Not in my eyes anyway.  It completely steals the joy of not knowing what was shot until the film is developed.  I remember film.  I remember after getting my photos developed, I would stand right there at the counter of the place I'd get them developed and have either oohs and ahhs or uh ohs.

Either way, those are emotions that are missed.

I will still shoot digital, of course.  Lomography is just something that I'd like to really take a crack at and see what pictures will be "ruined". 

So, next item on my wishlist:

These are just cheap plastic cameras that shoot 120 film and I want one. 

Until I decide exactly which lomo camera I want to start off with, I've got some 35mm film left over from YEARS ago that has been left out in the heat, beat and banged around and a 35mm camera that's been collecting dust.  I think I'll give it a "shot".  Pun not intended.  Of course, I know it won't be what I'm looking for, but may as well do something with it.