Hello my chicken friends,
As the title says I am so behind on everything, including up-dating this blog like I should. It seems ever since Thomas left this time I just can't get all that I want done....Some days its all I can do to tend to the chickens, thank goodness they are easy to please.
Macy Gray had her 5 kittens July 13th & within 2 weeks I lost 4 to fleas, talk about super heart ache......I was bathing them every other day in a herbal flea bath but it just wasn't enough & the vet kept saying no to any chemical flea meds for them...the only reason I still have Monkshood (aka Monk) is someone told me to put just one drop of the flea meds on him & that is what I think saved him...
He & momma will be going in next week for their shots then hopefully soon after that they will both be fixed so I have no more new kittens coming. I must say I have enjoyed having a new kitten in the house, its my first time to have a newborn & to watch it grow...the ankles aren't too happy since he thinks climbing & chewing on them is fun...like right now...OUCH!!!
Also I have 6 new chicks, Prudence & Ginger both hatched the eggs they were nesting on & they are so cute to watch. I just took them off the medicated chick feed yesterday since they are more interested in the stuff the others were eating & the hens were getting into the medicated stuff... which was alright but had to throw out all the eggs for the last month or so.
I had minor surgery the beginning of August & my little sister came in from Arizona for 9 days to be with me. I really didn't need a nurse, but boy was it nice to have her here with me. I forget how quiet it is here & how the chickens & cats are the only ones I talk to. She got up every morning & let all the chickens out so they got used to her & when I got up I would check them for food & water. She also had a wonderful time with Monk, they would be together in one of the big chairs in the living room him napping on her while she watched TV.
She & I were able to get up some 4 foot tall horse fencing in the back yard for the in-door chickens so they won't have to deal with that nasty chow chow getting to them...Oh by the way they are moving, well actually they got evicted from their place. I guess the landlord got tired of the police & animal control being there & decided enough was enough. Can't say I am sad to see them go.
I have been trying to get a few things done, but am slowing down to the point it takes days now instead of hours to complete things...lol...I got a load of firewood in & am slowing getting that stacked for the winter because I have another cord coming in in the next week or so once its cut for me. the front porch roof is slowly getting repaired on nice days.
Leno who is rebuilding it for me took me to a neat old fashioned lumber yard where everything is done with very old machinery.....I must say it was really cool to see & smell all the sawdust...We were able to get 20 rough cut 2x4x10s for $50 to replace all the braces that are rotted. while out we also stopped at a salvage store & I got 70feet of old ceiling tin tins for $50 also...there are areas near the front of the house & sides where if we remove the wood it will look really bad so I though why not leave that wood there since its not rotted but cover it with the old ceiling tins...they are all painted white that I will sand to age more, then spray with a clear coat before I put them up...this way it will add a bit of character to the ceiling area plus I have a ceiling fan I am putting in for a more southern feel that will go well with the tin tiles. I miss my southern roots up here & this house being stucco I can do this country southern feel with & not have it look too odd...not that I would care but the neighbors may be unhappy if I go too crazy...
I have decided to also paint the cement floor & trim a turq/teal color to give it a bit of life. & maybe put a very light wash of it on the tin ceiling tiles to bring it all together.....this just depends on if I have the energy to get it done before the winter hits...right now I still have to build the other coop inside the shop for the basement chickens & part of the in house chickens so I can get them out there before it gets too cold. but I must admit its getting so hard to try & do all this on my own.
a few years ago I fell down the stairs 2 days in a row & knew I had hurt not only discs, shoulder blades but shoulder joints also...well they have now decided to start acting up...the shoulder sockets that is, I can't even hang laundry very well without it hurting so it makes it hard to do some of the building, lifting ect that I need to do right now. So that will mean a doctors appt in my near future, not something I want to do but if I can't use my arms I guess I will have to just get it done.
With all the rains we have had my garden didn't do too well this year but since I am by myself that was alright, but I sure missed the fresh tomatoes. I actually dug up a few potatoes so that was nice. next year the Farmers almanac says we won't have the rains like we did this year so I am hoping I will get the tomatoes I missed this year. It will be nice while its snowing to sit & design my garden for the spring.
thomas has decided when he gets back from Afghanistan to try & go back for 2 years as a civilian working for a computer company that is there setting up stuff for the military. so that means he may be home all of 6 months before he leaves again... Not sure what I think about it but he & his dad decided it was a good thing to do without telling me so........
Plus he has also decided he wants me to pay off all our bills, buy a house back home (Missouri) & move us while he is gone plus sell this house.....So if his plans go the way he wants I will be very busy while he is away for the 2 years. In a way its better that way since we do not do well moving together....he gets pissy, then I get pissy & what should be easy becomes WWIII around here....this way I can do it the way I want & make it easier on me. I have decided that if this happens I will buy a old van so that I can put all the 'kids' in it so they are with me while I drive back home....Yes I will have to have cages set up, nesting boxes, tarps ect but at least I will know they are with me & safe...should be interesting with the cats in there also....
Yes I could sell them all & get new chickens once I get there, but these are my kids & most are crippled or have medical problems so no one would want them or they would butcher them so I refuse to give them up. Plus I do have earplugs so I am sure with those or a head set of music I will do fine......
I have been teaching myself to needle tat, bobbin lace & battenburg lace making this last month....I have had the bobbin lacing stuff for at least 2 years & just could not figure it out until I found a website where they showed how to do it......Its actually quite easy like the needle tatting but I can't see myself making yards of lace or tatting anytime soon...lol.....the battenburg lace I just wanted to say I could do it, but I now understand why its all done on machines no a days....lots of thread & time to do one small piece but still very cool.
Well my dear friends I had best go for now bu just wanted to let you know I am still kickin'
have a wonderful chicken day...M'
As the title says I am so behind on everything, including up-dating this blog like I should. It seems ever since Thomas left this time I just can't get all that I want done....Some days its all I can do to tend to the chickens, thank goodness they are easy to please.
Macy Gray had her 5 kittens July 13th & within 2 weeks I lost 4 to fleas, talk about super heart ache......I was bathing them every other day in a herbal flea bath but it just wasn't enough & the vet kept saying no to any chemical flea meds for them...the only reason I still have Monkshood (aka Monk) is someone told me to put just one drop of the flea meds on him & that is what I think saved him...
He & momma will be going in next week for their shots then hopefully soon after that they will both be fixed so I have no more new kittens coming. I must say I have enjoyed having a new kitten in the house, its my first time to have a newborn & to watch it grow...the ankles aren't too happy since he thinks climbing & chewing on them is fun...like right now...OUCH!!!
Also I have 6 new chicks, Prudence & Ginger both hatched the eggs they were nesting on & they are so cute to watch. I just took them off the medicated chick feed yesterday since they are more interested in the stuff the others were eating & the hens were getting into the medicated stuff... which was alright but had to throw out all the eggs for the last month or so.
I had minor surgery the beginning of August & my little sister came in from Arizona for 9 days to be with me. I really didn't need a nurse, but boy was it nice to have her here with me. I forget how quiet it is here & how the chickens & cats are the only ones I talk to. She got up every morning & let all the chickens out so they got used to her & when I got up I would check them for food & water. She also had a wonderful time with Monk, they would be together in one of the big chairs in the living room him napping on her while she watched TV.
She & I were able to get up some 4 foot tall horse fencing in the back yard for the in-door chickens so they won't have to deal with that nasty chow chow getting to them...Oh by the way they are moving, well actually they got evicted from their place. I guess the landlord got tired of the police & animal control being there & decided enough was enough. Can't say I am sad to see them go.
I have been trying to get a few things done, but am slowing down to the point it takes days now instead of hours to complete things...lol...I got a load of firewood in & am slowing getting that stacked for the winter because I have another cord coming in in the next week or so once its cut for me. the front porch roof is slowly getting repaired on nice days.
Leno who is rebuilding it for me took me to a neat old fashioned lumber yard where everything is done with very old machinery.....I must say it was really cool to see & smell all the sawdust...We were able to get 20 rough cut 2x4x10s for $50 to replace all the braces that are rotted. while out we also stopped at a salvage store & I got 70feet of old ceiling tin tins for $50 also...there are areas near the front of the house & sides where if we remove the wood it will look really bad so I though why not leave that wood there since its not rotted but cover it with the old ceiling tins...they are all painted white that I will sand to age more, then spray with a clear coat before I put them up...this way it will add a bit of character to the ceiling area plus I have a ceiling fan I am putting in for a more southern feel that will go well with the tin tiles. I miss my southern roots up here & this house being stucco I can do this country southern feel with & not have it look too odd...not that I would care but the neighbors may be unhappy if I go too crazy...
I have decided to also paint the cement floor & trim a turq/teal color to give it a bit of life. & maybe put a very light wash of it on the tin ceiling tiles to bring it all together.....this just depends on if I have the energy to get it done before the winter hits...right now I still have to build the other coop inside the shop for the basement chickens & part of the in house chickens so I can get them out there before it gets too cold. but I must admit its getting so hard to try & do all this on my own.
a few years ago I fell down the stairs 2 days in a row & knew I had hurt not only discs, shoulder blades but shoulder joints also...well they have now decided to start acting up...the shoulder sockets that is, I can't even hang laundry very well without it hurting so it makes it hard to do some of the building, lifting ect that I need to do right now. So that will mean a doctors appt in my near future, not something I want to do but if I can't use my arms I guess I will have to just get it done.
With all the rains we have had my garden didn't do too well this year but since I am by myself that was alright, but I sure missed the fresh tomatoes. I actually dug up a few potatoes so that was nice. next year the Farmers almanac says we won't have the rains like we did this year so I am hoping I will get the tomatoes I missed this year. It will be nice while its snowing to sit & design my garden for the spring.
thomas has decided when he gets back from Afghanistan to try & go back for 2 years as a civilian working for a computer company that is there setting up stuff for the military. so that means he may be home all of 6 months before he leaves again... Not sure what I think about it but he & his dad decided it was a good thing to do without telling me so........
Plus he has also decided he wants me to pay off all our bills, buy a house back home (Missouri) & move us while he is gone plus sell this house.....So if his plans go the way he wants I will be very busy while he is away for the 2 years. In a way its better that way since we do not do well moving together....he gets pissy, then I get pissy & what should be easy becomes WWIII around here....this way I can do it the way I want & make it easier on me. I have decided that if this happens I will buy a old van so that I can put all the 'kids' in it so they are with me while I drive back home....Yes I will have to have cages set up, nesting boxes, tarps ect but at least I will know they are with me & safe...should be interesting with the cats in there also....
Yes I could sell them all & get new chickens once I get there, but these are my kids & most are crippled or have medical problems so no one would want them or they would butcher them so I refuse to give them up. Plus I do have earplugs so I am sure with those or a head set of music I will do fine......
I have been teaching myself to needle tat, bobbin lace & battenburg lace making this last month....I have had the bobbin lacing stuff for at least 2 years & just could not figure it out until I found a website where they showed how to do it......Its actually quite easy like the needle tatting but I can't see myself making yards of lace or tatting anytime soon...lol.....the battenburg lace I just wanted to say I could do it, but I now understand why its all done on machines no a days....lots of thread & time to do one small piece but still very cool.
Well my dear friends I had best go for now bu just wanted to let you know I am still kickin'
have a wonderful chicken day...M'
