Talented People

I am always amazed and thankful when I meet talented people. This summer in a quest to replace my favorite Vy & Elle bag which is on its last leg, ahem I mean strap, I found a super talented bag maker through etsy. I emailed Carol and solicited her help in recreating my beloved bag. Carol far exceeded my expectations and even continued to work with me after I botched the original dimensions and had her make a bag that wasn't even the same size as what I wanted. OOOPS. I learned a lesson: Never trust a website and Always measure for yourself!

Carol made 2 bags, I picked the one I loved and she has another listed on Etsy.

Carol's billboard bag.

Take a look at all she makes and buy a bag made from reclaimed materials. :)

Have a green day.
d

Amazing Song

I am in a 60s mood lately; soulful R & B makes me happy. I was listening to Pandora while grading papers today and came across and Aretha song that I don't ever remember hearing before. I think it might be one of my new favorites. Subject matter is R & B heartbreak and cheating, but the bluesy sound is AMAZING. Sing it girl.

I Never Loved A Man The Way I Loved You

You be the judge.

dw

10/10/10--350.org

Check out 350.org

Thanks President Obama!

On Tuesday, October 5, we received news that President Obama will be installing a solar array on the White House Roof in 2011!

The announcement came just in time to give the Global Work Party on 10/10/10 a White House-sized boost. They are going to put solar panels on the First Family’s living quarters, returning to a tradition begun by president Jimmy Carter and abandoned by Ronald Reagan.

It’s a great win for your efforts over the last months–everyone who wrote letters, signed petitions, and turned out for the Solar Road Show as we rolled down the east coast from Unity College towing one of the Carter panels. We were disappointed that day that the White House wasn’t prepared to go solar, but very happy that they took our suggestion to look into the matter seriously.

Solar panels on one house, even this house, won’t save the climate, of course. But they’re a powerful symbol to the whole nation about where the future lies. And the president will wake up every morning and make his toast by the power of the sun (do presidents make toast?), which will be a constant reminder to be pushing the Congress for the kind of comprehensive reform we need. And remember, President Obama’s not alone: tomorrow, Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed and a crew from Sungevity will be putting solar panels on their official residence. It’s a trend!

The first account of the day’s news, from Associated Press reporter Dina Cappiello, noted the efforts of 350.org to make this happen. In particular, we salute Jean Altomare, Amanda Nelson, and Jamie Nemecek, the three young women from Unity College who made the trip and who made an impression on the White House.

They remind all of us why we’ll be working hard this weekend–and why, when the day is done, we’ll be putting down the hammer or the shovel and picking up the cellphone to call our leaders. You never know what will happen when you ask for change.

Tuesday Morning

I had the most difficult time waking this morning. The combination of things to do, lack of motivation, cool weather and late bedtimes have been working against me each morning. I was running late and I was CRANKY. My husband stumbled out of bed, and sweetly washed my travel mug and thermos so that I could tote my liquid energy to school.

I got to school and realized that I needed to turn it around.

I was reading about Emerson and came across the following which I believe sums up my new awakening to the day and leaving my frantic self behind.

"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new."

I think that this also applies to my husband, who is in fact, my friend.

humbled
d

Blogging Sabbatical

So sorry to my followers...I took a bit of a blogging sabbatical this summer.  


Exciting details from the summer:  
The chicken girls went from 3 to 2 in the great raccoon attack of 2010.
We went to New Mexico and it was AMAZING.
School started. 
Harrison had sinus/nasal surgery.
The chicken girls (not sure which) laid an egg. 


More to come!!!

DW

Hilarious Cousin

Scott told me to check out my Aunt Robin's facebook update, there was a video there starring my cousin Jen and her cousin Gina.  HILARIOUS....check it for yourself.  For those of you who don't know Jen, she is the one in glasses.


Bieberfarts from Captain Hippo on Vimeo.

So Tired...

We had HD in the Emergency Room from 1:30-3:45 this morning. Yesterday morning he complained of a sore throat which progressively got worse and turned into a bad cough over the course of the late night. He woke up screaming at about 11:45.

He has this horrible cough, sore throat, and was complaining of not being able to breathe (lungs and nose). ER doc said there is a huge polyp in the nose (great, thanks allergies) and that there was a different sound to one lung versus the other. They x-rayed his chest just to be sure that he was not in the beginning stages of pneumonia and gave him a breathing treatment. The breathing treatment seemed to help, but we have had a ROUGH night/morning. We are working on little to no sleep. UGH...Man I didn't realize how much I don't miss the asthma nights.

Send healthy thoughts H's way.

sleepy d

Last Day of School!

HD and Lena went outside this afternoon for a little last day of school/birthday celebration. Lena turned 1 year old yesterday. Everyday we learn more about this silly girl and she is maturing into a sweet dog.

HD and Lena ran through the sprinkler to cool off.



Now HD is coming down with a cold. Cough, runny nose, tickle in the throat. DANG IT!!! Hope for the Viamin C Immune Support Gummy Bears and Centrum Kids and Homeopathic cough syrup to start working! SHEESH.

d

Goodbye Roo...

Today was the day that we took Blanche aka Bernard aka Buddy aka Nugget back to Jenny the Chicken Lady. We traded a black australorp roo for a black australorp hen. So...we have Blanche again.

Here was H.D.'s goodbye to Buddy.

Kick Ass

I love this song...see what you think of Mika.



Lyrics surprisingly clean!

Chorus:
We are young
We are strong
We're not looking for where we belong

We're not cool
We are free
And we're running with blood on our knees

We could rule the world
On a silver platter
From the wrong to the right light
To an open stream

With a crash and burn
We could make it better
Turn it upside down
Just you and me

We are the dream
No other way
To be

Chorus

I could change the world
I could make it better
Kick it up and down
Take a chance on me

When you fake a smile
And you think you're better
Gonna put it down
Rip it at your feet

No bridge to burn
Nowhere to turn
For me

Chorus

What do they know about us?
Are they thinking of somebody else?
Are they wondering what we might be?
Are they thinking of you or of me?

Chorus

Tuesday Nonsense

This post should probably be called Monday shenanigans and other nonsense.

Yesterday I took Sophia the Chicken to visit the 4th graders at Loveland. She traveled so well in her little pet porter that I told my mother, aka Oma, on the phone that I should reconsider my traveling companions...Sophie the Chicken, #1 traveling girl! The 4th graders loved her, HD beamed and was very informative, a great day was had by all. I finished off the afternoon/evening watching the "girls" (I used quotes because remember Blanche is not really Blanche anymore) in the yard sun and dust bathing. I planted in the garden and weeded a bit and longed for early summer mornings and evenings to come.

Today, I sit at my desk trying to get motivated to grade the remaining freshmen papers I have waiting, but all I can do is think about how much I want to be sitting in my lawn chair in the sun watching the "girls" play in the yard, eat blades of grass, chase bugs and participate in other chicken silliness, putter in the garden, or read a book under my tree.

Hurry up May 28th...


d

Boo Hoo, a Roo.

We found out that Blanche is really Bernard. And we thought Bernard was a Barred-Rock, as it turns out he was a double surprise. A Roo and a Black Australorp.

We will be taking him back to Chicken Jenny's (our chick supplier) and exchanging him for a her.

Here is an update on the "girls" though. Let's pray no one else starts looking masculine.
We have all the lumber, and now we just need to put that chicken ark together.

*prays to the gods of carpentry* Please look over my measurements (don't laugh family) and please watch over my fingers!!!

D

What's up my PEEPS?

Meet chickie, chickie, and Sophia aka Sophi. H.D. named his girl Sophia aka Sophi, not sure why, just because he liked it. Sophi is the little vanilla girl looking at the camera.

Sophi is a Buff Orpington, to her right is chickie #2 a really sweet Barred Rock (Plymouth Rock) girl, and in front her in the middle is a Silver Laced Wyandotte who is the bossy butt of the brooder box. When you take one of the other girls out she cheeps and cheeps and hops and flaps until they come back.

Sophi is hilarious. When she does her "bidness" she makes the loudest cheep. I think she is going to be the gal who loudly celebrates an egg when she lays one.

Tonight we took the girls to the garden while we cleaned their box. They were cheeping, scratching, jumping, running, flying. The funniest moment was when the Wyandotte decided that a dust bath was a good idea. She laid down in the dirt and WENT TO TOWN! H.D. was laughing so hard!

Since H.D. named his chicken Sophia I was thinking we should use the other Golden Girl names Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche. LOL...I still want to name my chicken Nugget, but that might be kind of wrong.

What do you think...what are some good chicken (hen) names?

d
More to come...

WTF...What The FRIDAY!

So this morning I woke, was in a daze, stumbled to the bathroom to do my business prior to a shower. It might be TMI, but I like to get that "business" out of the way before my shower...feels so much fresher for the day. Anyway...I was sitting on John P. Orcelain when the back of my legs felt itchy, really itchy, more than dry skin itchy. I investigated...I am COVERED in hives on the backs of my legs, my derriere, where the waist band of my pajamas has rested, and under my bosoms. The majority of the concentration being lower body, waist down.

Fast forward 30 minutes.

COVERED! My underarms, the underside of my biceps, the top of my foot, my back, my forearm. Sitting is painful, they don't just itch they sort of burn.

WHAT THE FRIDAY IS GOING ON!!! I called the allergist's office well over 45 minutes ago and so I sit in a towel on the couch on my burning itching bottom, waiting to swell into one giant red BLOB!

Take a look for yourself. What the legs picture does not show is my BUNS which are like 1 GIANT hive, (for those of you that know me) I might actually have a butt for a few hours today.





Wish I had a better camera, or maybe I don't!!! Sorry for the pit shot, the toes that need a pedi, and my grotesque mid section but I wanted to document the crazy hives. I have had small localized hive break outs before but nothing like this!

Hope you are having a better Friday than I am...

DW

Spring Clean Up

Since we moved in to this house almost 11 years ago I have always wanted to pull out the bushes that lined the alley at the back of our property. This past Sunday, I finally got Scott to agree. We had to pull them out to prepare for putting up wood fence, but I thought it would be smart to do it prior to the bushes leafing out so that they would not be as much of a mess. I think it was a smart move on our part. We had a great hard work day in the sun, yep I said SUN on Sunday (what irony).

Here are some of the pics of our labor. Before and After.

Finally my garden space looks AWESOME...I think I gained about 2-3 feet at the back of the plot by taking those bushes out. Now to do some research about stump dissolve. I won't put it on the stumps if it has the potential to contaminate my garden, but as you can see there is still a cluster of the biggest stumps that was really almost impossible to get out.

This was stage one. Stage two is replacing the fencing with the wooden panel fence, and planting!!! I cannot wait.

Goodbye Sweet Girl

Bijou (Summer 1999-March 12, 2010)

We love you Bijou...

 

The Edge...

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? I have hit a funk the last week or so and to cope today I wrote the following poem.

Disclaimer: Poets sometimes use strong language (uh-duh) so ear muffs if you don't like it.

Beast

Feed the Beast
your nay-saying ways.

Feed the Beast
your gloomy fucking days.

Feed the Beast
your negative vibes.

Feed the Beast
your trumped up lies.

Feed the Beast
your bullshit fears.

Feed the Beast
your elephant tears.

Feed the Beast
your pointless facts.

Feed the Beast
so I can relax.

Feed the Beast
your annoying voice.

Feed the Beast
so I have the choice.

To starve the Beast.

Chickens? Are you Crazy?

Ok, so I am a little embarrassed to admit that I have a current obsession with chickens. Many of you know that over the last 5 years or so I have become very environmentally minded. Not just from a "Save Mother Earth" standpoint, but also from a personal health perspective. One of the things that really concerns me is how much JUNK (aka antibiotics and steroids) is in our food.

On to chickens...

I have always said, "Someday, when I live on a little plot of land I will have me some chickens." Alright...I have never said it in such a red-neck way, but I thought it would sound funny. At any rate, I started questioning why I thought I had to live out of town to have chickens and started doing some research. Apparently, it is fairly common to have backyard chickens in the US. There are lots of people, in Omaha even, with backyard chickens.

Let the research commence...

If you know me, you know how I love me some research.

I think Scott is wondering if I am completely insane.

I have found a set of plans for a very cool chicken ark. It is movable, allows for the chickens to forage and eat bugs, has a coop up top, and is supposedly pretty easy to build. My friend Jordan offered to help the building impaired. :) I talked to my dad about saws the other day and he offered his miter saw, so that he could upgrade. My initial intention was and is to finish the quarter round that has been in my basement for about 5 years. HD's room needs quarter round, my kitchen needs a repair, and the living room needs some too. I think though having a miter saw will be really handy in making this coop happen.

I saw a listing for Black Copper Marans chicks on craigslist, and I think I might pursue a couple of those. My chicken wishlist includes a couple of Araucanas/Americanas (aka Easter Egg chickens) and maybe a Red Star.

I think that people are allowed 5 hens in the city, no roos for obvious reasons.

My goal...eggs. I would be willing to barter, trade, or sell my eggs to neighbors or others. With 5 hens...eventually I should have about 2 dozen eggs a week. I do not use eggs EVERY day so...plenty to share.

Sound off folks...what do you think.

Marans Hen

EGGS PHOTOGRAPHED BY HARLEY SOLTES

The eggs above are Marans eggs (the dark ones) and the other eggs pictured are Araucanas/Americanas.

Sick Day

I had to get H from school yesterday. Poor guy is congested, has a sore throat, a cough, and super stuffy nose. He was a little feverish yesterday when we got home and the rule at school is 24 hours fever free. We are home today. I actually woke this morning with a really sore throat and headache. I think the sore throat for me was just sleeping with my mouth open, but the headache persists and I have a little cough. I am going to fetch some Aleve in a minute with a refill of coffee.

H has been bugging me about wanting to learn to knit. I decided I would try to teach him and see how it went.

See what you think.



Don't mind the crazy hair (mine) it is a sick day, darn it.

Jackson 5

Everyday for my seniors I hold the door, greet them and play funk or disco, loudly, as they are entering the room.  I think it might be more for me than for them, it really gets me pumped up.  Freshmen can't seem to handle it.  They always complain about the music, why don't I play rap, why don't I play their music, blah blah blah.


Seniors...seem to love (most of them) funk and disco.  They MOVE!  Some kids do little desk dances, sometimes random passerby kids dance in the hall, loads of the passerbys comment on wanting to be in THAT class.  I love the atmosphere it creates.   Pandora has been really useful, as I have some disco and funk, but not an unlimited supply.  I think I might use my grant stipend to buy the subscription so that I do not have to listen to random advertisements, $36.00 per year seems really really reasonable!  At any rate, yesterday I was playing my Pandora funk channel and the Jackson 5 came on.   A song I don't recall ever hearing.  Some of the kids knew it because it is part of the show choir's montage this year.  It is Blame It On the Boogie.  It is such a catchy, upbeat, fun song.


It was written by Mick Jackson, no relation to the Jackson 5.  The lyrics from the chorus are so darn catchy...

"Don't blame it on sunshine
Don't blame it on moonlight
Don't blame it on good times
Blame it on the boogie" 

I wish I could post it here for everyone to hear.  This is a must have for everyone's ipod, or other music device.  

d

Debate

Monday afternoon I got the opportunity to see H and his class have a debate.  The debate was about the town of Rocksburg building a dam.  There were citizens for and against.  H was for the building of the dam, and his name was Need A. Job.  Each student read a statement they prepared about their character and why they were for or against the dam, then the debate began.  They held cards in the air with their names on it and the city council president Judge N Jury called on the students who asked questions, responded to each others statements, etcetera.  It was so cute and H did an AMAZING job.  I was so proud and it was awesome to see him doing something academic since I have only been to school for parties previously. 


I was thinking about how he is growing up so fast.  Wow...where did the years go.  


We shopped goodwill and got a navy wool blazer $4, a blue oxford .99, and a Tabasco tie .99. He was stylin'.

 

I think this last picture is hilarious because of the little nose wiper in the front.  LOL.  To me the picture is also adorable because of Mrs. Stevens look of pride.  She emailed me to tell me how proud she was of H.  Me Too!

Knitting Success!

So yesterday I finished my first knitting project, a scarf for H.D. Then I started my first dishcloth. I did half last night and the other half tonight.



I guess I am officially a knitter!!! I can't wait to learn how to do more stitches and make afghans, cardigans, and socks.

d

Great Blog

I think I have posted this before, and it is on the list of blogs I read, but it is worth a seperate post. I know that different regions of the US and even the world with much more well developed neighborhoods have a lot of pedestrians and dogs. I love how this blogger has a unique spin on blogging and captures dogs being dogs. His comments are humorous and usually spot on.

Check it out.

http://www.automatedredemption.com/flavorcountry/dogblog/

Try to create a Dog Blog caption for this one...I dare ya.
d

Snow or freezing fog

I am not sure which we really had today, snow or freezing fog. Yesterday we had frozen fog and it was gorgeous. I still do not really have a digital camera (looked at one today while buying chicken at Cost-co), I still need to roll pennies to get a good camera. Thankfully, Scott's phone has a pretty darn good one.

I took some shots of H and Lena playing and having a ball in the snow, and some nature pictures. Enjoy.

It was snowing in this one.

Snowy Tug O' War

"I declare this snow mount H"

Kids @ Christmas

Another snow day today, well inclimate weather. It was blowing, drifting, and dangerously cold today. We will have another tomorrow because it is supposed to be again, dangerously cold. I had to go in to school today (don't tomorrow wooohooo!), but had a lot of stuff done today. I even cleaned out my desk a task normally reserved until about May.

I was cleaning up the files on my computer this evening and saw this Holiday picture.

Here are all the kiddos. H.D. holding E2 and E1 holding R.V.

A darn cute bunch don't you agree?

E2 spent all of Christmas running around in nothing but a diaper. She really reminds me a lot of Dink when she was that age.

d

WORMS and SNOW?

I got worms for Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I didn't say I have worms.

I bought a worm farm some months ago. I set it up and then vowed to wait until I had extra cash to buy the worms. It seems like that day never comes, so I asked Santa (okay Oma and Papa) to bring red wiggler worms for Christmas.

They came in the mail today, after a little shipping snafu. The first batch was accidentally shipped to my mom and dad's house. Luckily, Oma and Papa are going to keep them in worm bedding and well tended to until they see me again.

We decided to chronicle the set up for all the people who think worms in your basement are a weird thing to WANT.

While H and I were getting the worms' bedding ready, Lena was frolicking in the snow. Yep...more snow... :o(

So the first batch of worm bedding that came with the worm farm is coconut coir. I took care of moistening that and H brought the worms down to the basement. Here they are tossed on their bed.
The light brown is the coconut coir and the darker brown is the bedding that the worms were shipped in with a half cup water added to moisten them after their trip. Hard to believe there are 1000 worms in there.

Next we prepped a little food for these guys.

I won't add much more in for a few weeks until they are established, but the menu for worms today was...


Banana peeling, a moldy tomato (just bought those...DARN IT), a crust of bread, and a lone bean. Where the heck did the bean come from??? Additionally we threw some coffee grounds with an unbleached filter in for fun. Notice the food chopper in the first food picture? The food scraps are processed faster by the worms if chopped up a bit. I wanted to make their first meal especially easy!

Doesn't it look delicious?
Scott thinks so...
Ewwwwwww

Tonight the worms are all snug in their bed. I shredded some paper bag (with no print) and tossed that on the top of their bed to give them a little more cover because it didn't seem like the bedding was very deep.

So begins the Wegener vermicomposting experience.

More to come.

d