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Friday, May 25th, 2012
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8:39 am - It's A 50's Horrible Sci-Fi Come To Life!
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So I've got some Spring mystery volunteer plants coming up in my front yard...
That's right, Triffids. I've got a nice ol' crop of Triffids coming along.
If they start to make that weird trilling sound and walking around I'm outta here.
current mood:  anxious
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| Thursday, May 17th, 2012
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11:59 am - Where IS That Pot Of Gold...?
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Yesterday we had a sudden, unexpected thunderstorm, and had a nice double rainbow to go with it! The view out in the front yard was quite different from the back:
You can just see the secondary rainbow to the right of the main one.
...and the end ended in my chimney!
And from the back yard:
...and once again, it ends on my house!
current mood:  amused
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| Sunday, April 1st, 2012
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1:54 am - April Fools, In A Variety Of Ways...
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The other day I had to make a mad run down to southern California and then back again the next day, and as I always do, stopped at the Coso Junction rest stop along highway 395 in the Owens Valley. The ravens were out in force as usual, croaking at each other and begging for goodies.
OK, so we always feed the ravens here. As a matter of fact I packed along some peanut butter filled pretzels just for them, which they heartily approved of. But being ravens, they can't just hop up and grab the goodies--goodies must be approached in a flighty, ninny-hammer manner, though with an element of style.
If you can manage it. Otherwise, just run up and awkwardly grab the food while practically lying on the ground in a retarded manner while your buddies look on in saddened dismay at being even remotely associated with you.
Also, today being what it is, we pranked the kid a bit. The hatch is supposed to be a week away, but around noon we set this up and started asking loudly and excitedly, "What's that noise? Do you hear peeping?!" and got her to go over to the incubators, where she found this:
Well, she bought it for about half a tick, then started to laugh.
She's used to us messing with her by now and isn't fooled easily.
current mood: amused
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| Monday, March 26th, 2012
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1:42 am - Easter Origami...
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Been folding some special little things in honor of Spring, some fancy tied bows and Easter bunnies in Easter egg colors. I may fold some baskets later on if I have more time, but these fold quickly.
I think the Easter bunnies look very dapper all dressed up for Spring!
Yesterday at the grocery store we found pre-dyed, hardboiled Easter eggs. Talk about taking all the fun out of Easter! 'Sorry kids, dying eggs is too messy and I'd have to actually spend time doing something with you. Have these nasty, depressing factory eggs instead!' Boo.
Also, facial pain not improving, gonna have to go to the dentist and get my face x-rayed to see how badly my teeth/maxilla are broken. Fairly sure my two front teeth are history, which will be bad since when I smile I show everything in front. On the plus side, maybe living in the country and keeping chickens calls for two missing front teeth. Hmm.
current mood:  blah
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| Tuesday, March 6th, 2012
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12:04 pm - Attention, Historians...
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...the most hated person in history is NOT, in fact, Hitler.
It's me.
At least, going by the chickens' reactions to me lately. They really, really now how to lay on the guilt with a freakin' trowel.
See, chickens are NOT big into any kind of change in their routine or surroundings. They want everything to stay just as it IS, thank you. Even if it's a change for the better, changes are viewed with unhappiness and distrust, and they'll look at YOU--in their minds the occupier of the position of Head Roo and Giver of All Things Good--to fix it, and fix it NOW.
So when we moved, and subjected our flock to various and sundry (and repeated) offenses and indignities of relocation, stuffing them in carriers, making them live in cramped quarters, etc. we found ourselves apologizng over and over again and trying to make it up to them with extra attention, cuddles and treats.
Food goes a long way in chickenland.
But this morning I went out to check on them and got a dose of heavy duty ChickenGlare from at least 6 of the oldsters. The chicks from last year's hatch were blithely out in the run, dashing about in the 25 degree weather with the wind & blowing snow, not really minding the chill. Youngsters are notorious for being kinda brain-dead and naive, and as such are more flexible in their thinking.
The dignified old ladies of the flock were another story. Their expectations are set in concrete. You don't mess with the ladies' dignity and sense of balance. They like to know what to expect in life from one moment to the next, and moving from southern California to northern Nevada in winter, haha, is NOT condusive to friendly human/poultry politics. They'd huddled in silent groups at the back of the coop. This is what I got from them.
The Stare has the power to drop lesser creatures in their tracks. The Frizzles especially contrive to look extra pathetic, as if those curling feathers only serve to allow the cold to get directly to their skin. I'd unwittingly compounded my sin by forgetting to go out there with goodies in hand to make up for the weather. The piteous looks, Lordy--the whining about their poor miserable condition was truly heartrending. The repeated loud and vocal appeals to me to DO something was undending. You'd think I was twisting off their toes.
I got out of there as fast as I could. Besides, it was cold out there!
I sense a large mealworm order in my future.
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| Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
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2:53 am - How To Spend Two Weeks...
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...on behalf of a bunch of chickens.
So we're in the new house, but the chickens aren't here yet, and we're feeling bad that they are still living in the barn miles away and it just doesn't feel like home yet without them.
So as soon as we get ourselves settled in enough for our day to day needs, we go hammer and tongs at building the new coop & run. We are fortunate enough to have two sheds in the back yard, one of which will become the new coop--the one without the roof on the left:
Only problem is, it's in the wrong place. It needs to be moved over towards the middle of the yard and back about 20 yards. This is soon accomplished by pulling it loose from it's moorings and dragging it with lots of nylon rope and the Jeep. We also rent a trencher and dig the trench for the run posts and the buried wire--vital in areas where predators know to dig under the coop wire to get at your birds.
In this pic the coop used to be on the left where the chunk of plywood is lying on the ground. The framework on the ground is the carport pipe structure that was the old run, moved from the old house.
One thing we have here in SPADES is rocks. This area is an old glacier field and when it left, it left all kinds of damned rocks. Dig down two inches and your shovel will hit a rock. Or 12.
The run roof going up. This was quite harrowing to raise, by the way. It swayed and did the hula in such a way as to have you fearing for your life.
But go up it did, yay!
A better look at the trench where the wire will be buried at least 6 inches below ground, bent outwards to foil digging predators.
The run posts were seated in cement, which got a field test with 65 mph winds the very next night. None of it ended up in the next county the next morning, so we must have done good.
The run roof goes on, just in time for a light snow.
The first course of wire goes up on the right side! We use 1/4 inch welded-wire, also known as hardware cloth--NEVER chicken wire!
More wire on the other side, and the doorway is framed in...
Because we now live in an area that sees much colder temps and higher winds than where we used to live, we're adding insulation to the walls & ceiling of the new coop. It will also have a heat lamp for REALLY cold nights.
The courses of wire are overlapped by about 4-6 inches and secured with UV resistant zip ties, which will seal out rodents that may try to slip between the wire edges. Chickens and their food attracts such things.
Unfortunately for me, while I was cranking down on a zip tie with a huge pair of channel-lock pliers, it broke and I smacked myself in the face with the damned pliers. Cut the Hell out of my upper lip and I'm fairly sure I've got two fractures in my maxilla and may lose my two upper front teeth. Time will tell.
The doorway framing is done and the roof goes on the coop.
The plywood coop roof is overlaid with tar paper, which will in turn be sealed with Henry's and given a final covering of shingles.
Remember all those damned rocks? They go into the trenches as a digging predator deterrant. JUST TRY AND GET AT MY CHICKENS.
It's getting there...the trenches are topped off with dirt.
The door is on!
Time to go inside--this is the coop before it gets insulated.
The insulation goes up...
...and the walls are then sheathed with plywood. Except for finishing touches, the coop and run are finished, yay!
But I still feel like something is missing...hmm...
I know!
Pissy, carsick chickens!
I swear when they saw me coming at them with those carriers again they nearly wept. But at least this time it was a shorter drive. Plus they got a small amount of revenge in me getting my arms all scratched up from hardware cloth edges.
Aaaaanndddd...they're IN!
Temporary roosts in the form of some moving boxes, our garden bench and a ladder.
Also temporary are the nest boxes, repurposed moving boxes with new, smart-ass labels.
Pompadour inspects them...
...as do Fran and Pong.
The next day sees the flock cruising their new digs. Sadly they are confined to the coop & run for now as we still have some fence repairs to do on the rest of the 1/2 acre before we can let them roam it.
Weedcat the splash Giant Cochin roo in the middle.
But they're here at last, and waking up to roosters crowing and hens clucking finally makes it feel like home. Sadly neither Phoenix our Head Roo nor Millie or MilleFleur Belgian d'Uccle made it, both passing away at Christmastime. But they are here in spirit, as one of the first things we did was to bury them in a special corner of the yard.
Today it's snowing, and the chickens are getting to enjoy their first experience with that. After the weather clears in a few days we'll be able to finish the roofing, add real nest boxes, roosts ladders and roosts, and get them settled for good.
Then I can go back to unpacking and painting!
current mood:  exhausted
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| Thursday, February 9th, 2012
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11:05 am - Chickam!
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On the subject of chickens, we're planning on having our annual event--Chickam--on Easter weekend in April--the 7th & 8th. We'll set the eggs in the incubator on March 17th and 21 days later should have chicks hatching! We haven't chosen the breeds we'll hatch yet, but I'd like some MilleFleur Belgian d'Uccles, plus some chicks from our own hens. Several folks around our neighborhood have chickens and sell eggs, so I may get some eggs from them to add to the mix. We'll be web broadcasting the hatch live, with sound, then we place the cam in the brooder box 24/7 for the following 8 weeks so you can watch the chicks grow up. It's been VERY popular in the past and is fascinating and educational for adults and kids alike! See my website for details, here, scroll down to 'Chickam': http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickLinksChickam.htm
current mood:  excited
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| Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
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11:41 am - Yay!
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I don't have my copy yet so I haven't read it, but the 'Chickens' magazine article I contributed material for, 'The Basics of Behavior' by Cherie Langlois, has been published! If you wanna read it, it's in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue: http://www.hobbyfarms.com/chickens-magazine/chickens-january-february-2012-table-of-contents.aspx
It was fun to participate and the lady who wrote the article was very nice, fun and knowledgable. Also, the little booties & hat on the hen standing in the snow on the cover are freakin' adorable.
current mood:  accomplished
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| Sunday, February 5th, 2012
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11:13 pm - I Swear I Didn't Plan It This Way...
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But it's kinda amusing just the same. My new kitchen paint matches some of my hen's eggs.
The view from my back yard looking towards the nearby mountains...
We had a lovely sunset last night.
current mood:  content
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| Sunday, January 29th, 2012
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11:00 pm - Let's Play, 'What The Hell Did I Pack?!'
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Unpacking boxes you packed nearly 5 months previous can be fun! Play along and try to identify What The Hell That Thing Is!
Uhh...baseball bat?
Oh, Gallileo thermometer. Yeah, that woulda been my second guess.
A moment's panic as I tried to recall if we'd ordered pizza the day I packed this box.
Ah. Hello, fun Atomic Era clock!
...
Of course, the important stuff got packed!
Club Flamingo lives.
current mood: tired
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| Thursday, January 26th, 2012
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10:42 pm - Moved In, Mostly...
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So moving day has come and gone.
The living room started out like this:
Pretty quickly ALL the rooms filled with boxes. Kitchen/Dining room:
The kitchen is a right horror, and I'm planning to remodel it in a year or so. For now it'll get a coat of paint.
Den:
Kid's room:
Yes, of course my garage is carpeted. Isn't yours?
Back to the living room. When my husband leaned on the wooden fireplace mantle it fell off, as did one of the folding closet doors in the kid's room. Added their repair to our 'To Do' list...
Here you get to admire the vintage metal blinds, reminiscent of a 1950's-era government Social Security office and all the warmth and charm THAT provides. The den sports them, too.
You know, the living room doesn't look all that ba--
AAGGHHH!!! Dear God in Heaven--!
Even the birds weren't happy, tucked into a corner of the dining room temporarily.
But by 4AM, I had the living room Great Wall of Boxes tamed. Dawn found the living room wall looking much better.
Next, to set the kitchen to rights, ha ha.
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| Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
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10:28 pm - To Quote Dad...
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"If it moves salute it, if it don't, paint it." An old Navy adage.
So I've started painting the walls which will have the heavy furniture against them, so I won't have to move it again.
Since thanks to previous home tenants, I've really, really come to embrace Spackle before the paint can go on, I've had to patch, sand their previous patching attempts and wash the walls before I can paint them. The tub of spackle took one for the team when I knocked it off of the ladder--it made a swan dive to the floor, turned a neat 180 and was summarily executed, speared by the putty knife.
It was a catastrophic kill.
The kid got to make the first ceremonial start to her purple walls.
The paint at least goes on easily.
My bedroom, icky 50's eyeshadow blue being covered by a lovely light sage green.
The rest of the painting will be on hold till moving day is over and all the boxes are unpacked.
current mood: amused
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| Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
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10:27 pm - Faces Of Death, Moving Style
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Here is just ONE of my projects, this is what 16 gallons of interior paint looks like:
I like the way it appears to stretch out into infinity, damned stuff nearly has a vanishing point. Also, this does not include paint for either bathroom.
current mood: blank
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| Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
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1:11 pm - I Are A Homeowner!
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Finally--!
Our home purchase closed a few days ago. We were aiming for Friday the 13th, but it was ready before that so we went ahead. Since then we've been setting up utilities, cleaning, patching walls, scraping off the previous owner's half-assed gloppy paint mess...cleaning more...cleaning...
It's supposed to snow in the next day or so, so painting will be suspended and actual moving in of our stuff will become the prime job. Pictures will be forthcoming!
Fair warning: we promised the kid she could pick out the paint for her room (within reason). She's 12, so one guess as to what color she wanted!
And yes, we stood by our promise, dammit.
current mood: exhausted
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| Thursday, November 10th, 2011
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9:40 am - Visited By The Wrath Of Cadillac
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See this thing?
It hates me. Hates me with the fire of a thousand suns. Hell, in this picture it's even scowling at me.
A wonderful gift from my sister, who was getting something newer, we got the Cad just before we moved. When it was my sister's it was a lovely, perfectly running machine that purred along in typical Cad style for many years. She pampered it and took great care of it so it lasted.
Since coming to live with us it has endured a *slight* fall down the social ladder and several less-than-elegant projects. Moving, for one thing--and that meant the Cad got to haul all manner of things, right down to junk from the garage. In the trunk, the back seat, you name it. It also got to transport bags of feed and some of our animals. It has flown up and down highway 395 so much in the last 2 months that we've worn a groove in the roadway between here and our old place. Climbing mountains is especially hard on the old girl, and she does NOT like doing it at all.
So she decided to fight back. First on the list was multiple organ failure--but in odd ways. The heater doesn't work. In winter, tra la la. The speedometer suddenly started to either rapidly flip back and forth between 20 and 70 while you drive or just stick at 45. The hood won't stay up on it's own and the trunk light burnt out. The trip odometer ignores requests to reset.
Then she upped the ante.
The driver's side electric window will only go up and down at a snail's pace--and an old, slow snail at that. Two of the window buttons on the driver's side have come off completely and got stuck in the glove box until we can have them repaired so they STAY. Both back window buttons have failed and the things can only be rolled down from the driver's seat. The lock on the driver's side door whimsically only unlocks with the key when IT wants to, which is 'seldom'. The front passenger side window failed completely in the 'down' position--one day before a snowstorm--and J. had to dissect the door to get to the switch and get it to roll up again. Since then it fell down about 3 inches and the open window is now stuffed with newspaper until the weather clears and J. can take the door apart again to fix it, again.
Every time we figure a work-around for the latest auto tantrum, she pops off with a new one. The other day the kid complained that the passenger side back door was refusing to open. I tested it and she's right. The passenger side sun visor suddenly landed in my lap the other day. I stuck it back on but I could see it was only temporary. The map lights on the ceiling like to suddenly come on--whether the car is on or not-- and remain on until you thump them enough times to beat them into submission.
Mechanically though, it runs great. It's just kinda slowly dissolving. I just hope it lasts long enough to get us settled in our new home, when we'll have the time to take it in and get all these little weird things fixed.
current mood:  irritated
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1:02 am - More Origami and Odds & Ends...
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Some new stuff...doily doves in various colors & sizes...
And some cute little tied bows!
Both the doves and bows will be great for Christmas.
Also, during our house hunting we came across this oddly-shaped front entry. It bothered me that it reminded me of something until I figured out what--
It looks just like the doorways for the long-vanished Krell race from the movie 'Forbidden Planet'! Hmm, I wonder if the Krell ever got to Carson City...?
Also, we got a chuckle out of these taxi cabs which are all over the Dayton/Moundhouse are...where the legal Nevada brothels are. These guys run back and forth from the Reno airport to the brothels, that's all these particular ones do. Although riding in a bright screaming yellow brothel bus with huge ads on it isn't exactly inconspicious.
Anyway, we got a giggle out of the license plate on this particular one.
current mood: amused
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| Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
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10:28 am - In Which Our Flatlander Poultry First Experience Snow
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OK, we've been waiting for the first snowfall. Even though the chickens are in the barn and so cannot experience white stuff actually falling out of the sky on them, we still thought their reaction to it would be fun. So the kid and I scooped some up and took it into their indoor run.
At first it got the hairy eyeball, like anything new and different does.
But then they had fun with it, climbing through it, standing in it and pecking it, shaking their heads after in confusion.
It wasn't the complete bewilderment I expected from them, more of a 'What's this...? Meh.' reaction. But just wait till they are out in their first snowfall!
current mood: amused
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| Monday, November 7th, 2011
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10:02 am - Yerington, Future Ghost Town
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Today we went out to look around Yerington as a possible place to live. I remembered it from years ago as a cute, small community tucked back out of the way.
It still is today, but since the HUGE, old, open-pit abandoned copper mine got designated a SuperFund cleanup site years ago, Yerington has been slowly dying since then. It's a shame too, since it was a lovely valley with agriculture all around--mostly cattle and alfalfa fields. It struck us as so odd the day we were there, and the home prices so low, that we checked it out online.
Wow. Literally every superbad, toxic thing you can think of is polluting Yerington. Right down to about 6 different kinds of radioactive horrors. It's in the ground, water and air. They even have to have bottled water shipped in for some of the residents.
Move there with a 12 year old child? Thank you, NO.
But our trip there wasn't entirely wasted, we got to see the town in it's not-so-arrested decay and the few people still there, and at least it gave us information on where NOT to look for a home.
The city water tanks...
The old drive-in...
One of the doors of the concession stand was kicked open, we didn't go in but I stuck the camera in and snapped a couple of pics. My guess on the age of the popcorn maker and freezer unit would be about mid-1960's.
Further into town was this awesome old abandoned brick building with two old gas pumps still standing--we were astounded some jerk handn't made off with them yet.
People had even carved their names into the old, soft brick on the front of the buil--
HEY! Now that's just plain uncalled for.
We were puttering around, checking out this cool old building and telling the kid how the old gas pumps worked (marveling at 49 cents a gallon), when a man in the little park across the street called out to us, "Don't forget to check out the lady in the window!"
Huh? We looked up. And damned if there wasn't a lady in the window!
She is a happy accident, formed by the way the window broke. Very cool!
The corner sidewalk, still with it's street name inlaid.
We wave our thanks to the man and continue down the street.
Nothing on this old place is square anymore.
The last thing we see is one of those houses where the people have created weird and wonderful yard art. I can't decide if I like SpiderTurkey or RailroadDeadCowGhost best.
All in all, a fun day, even though it left us sad for Yerington.
current mood:  melancholy
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| Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
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12:46 am - How To Make A Zombie!
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While I was making up the kid for Halloween I took some pictures of the various steps. The costume goes on first. Then the two-part rubber prosthesis is stuck to her face--in this case a fake pencil positioned to look like it was rammed through her face. Also I added a homemade prosthesis made out of latex and paper towel shreds, which looks nicely like her throat was ripped out. What can I say, middle school can be tough.
Next comes the first layer of makeup--shadows around the eyes, bruising around the wounds.
The trick to makeup is thinking about what real wounds look like--they are never just one color, they are shades of red, purple and yellow. And blending. Lord, do ya ever have to blend and blend and blend.
More detail, with white pancake applied all over and some veining on her forehead. By now she's getting into character and hamming it up a bit.
Final makeup touches, finished with white powder to set the makeup and some fresh blood--after all, zombies gotta eat.
My lil' zombie!
We drove into town to take her trick or treating, and decided that we would skip being zombies ourselves...we could just see getting in a traffic accident and scaring the crap out of the emergency responders. We did go to a casino coffee shop for dinner afterwards though, where the kid drew all kinds of attention. As we were getting ready to eat an older couple stopped by our table on their way out, the husband dropping a five dollar bill in front of our daughter and saying cheerfully, 'That's for scaring my wife so badly she almost threw up!' His wife stood behind him, nodding energetically and laughing. We all laughed and thanked them.
Yay, zombies! Next year we have to find ourselves a good zombie crawl and attend. Or heck, if we can't find one, we'll start one...
current mood:  artistic
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| Monday, October 31st, 2011
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12:09 am - Happy Halloween!
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We love Halloween in our family, and since this year we were unable to do our annual Halloweencam thing, we settled for gussying ourselves up in our zombie best and shuffling over to the school carnival. Also, jack o' lanterns!
The kid and her loving father:
We had some time to kill (hurr) before the carnival started, so we went down to the local cemetery and crept around a bit.
Afterwards we went out and shambled around in front of the high school for a while, moaning and reaching towards cars as they sped by on the highway. People's reactions ranged from shocked stares to pointing and hysterical laughter. Heck, gives them something to think about and reinforces the 'small towns can be scary' thing.
We had a great time at the carnival and even won first place for 'Scariest' in the costume contest!
current mood: amused
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| Friday, October 28th, 2011
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11:05 pm - Road Trips & Stark Terror On The 8th Floor
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Had to make a quick trip down to southern California to see my doctor, also to grab what I could from the storage unit. On the way down I stopped at the Coso Junction rest stop to toss some pork rinds to the resident ravens, which they LOVED. They hopped around jamming as much as would fit into their beaks. Also wandering amongst them in fine 'Which Does Not Belong' style was this little guy:
He completely ignored the ravens and the people who glanced his way and then did a double take. He just dashed around grabbing bugs out of the grass, perfectly happy.
Further down the road at Kramer Junction was this poor Arco sign, twisted and thrashed by the wind.
Somewhere along the line I left this little guy, who's crazy eyeballs were a happy accident and go with the quote perfectly.
I finally got into town and checked into my hotel, where I stayed on the 8th floor. Driving for 10 hours is tiring, so I was sleeping like a dead thing when I awoke to the clock radio's alarm, I'd drawn the blackout curtains so the room was full dark as I groggily sat up and reached for the radio.
It wasn't the radio making that noise.
Only one other thing in a hotel shrieks like that. The fire alarm.
As soon as I realized what it really was, and remembered that I was on the 8th floor, all my best cuss words started flowing. It's 5AM and I was more irritated than anything at first, griping, 'Of course. Of COURSE this would happen now' as I stumbled around trying to do all the right things you are supposed to do in a fire.
Looked out the window and listened. I DID hear a fire truck siren wailing, great. But don't see any flames or smoke. OK, that side of the hotel is likely not involved, that fact filed away in my head. I went to the door and felt it--it wasn't hot and no smoke was issuing from under it. I stood behind the thing and gently cracked the door, ready to slam it shut again. Nothing except the hallway fire alarms also screaming their brains out and the strobe light flashing. The hallway is murky with something hanging in the air, which is good enough for me, I'm outa here. No one else is around. I go to the phone and press the 'emergency' button...and get a recording which says cheerfully, 'Your session has expired' whatever the Hell that means in an emergency. When you think death is threatening you, 'expired' isn't the first word you want to hear.
So I break the world record for getting dressed and cramming my few things into my overnight bag. I grab everything and go back into the hallway, which by now is quiet and there STILL aren't any people around. Either everyone else is already out or they aren't bothering to evacuate. I decide to get my tail downstairs and after looking out the two hallways windows for signs of fire below, decide to chance the elevator, which works fine.
The lobby is quiet and no one is running around on fire and screaming, so I go to the front desk and inquire as to whether there is REALLY a fire on the 8th floor.
The guys actually laughs and says casually, 'Oh no, that's just the fire alarms in room 820 and 825--the steam from the showers sets off the room alarms and then if it gets into the hall the entire floor goes off.'
Oh. Ha, ha. How perfectly droll and amusing. Someone a few doors away from my room takes a hot shower and the fire system goes batshit.
I'm not laughing, and by now the adrenaline has well and truly kicked in and I'm shaking. I ask him how often this happens and he says that he's worked there for 6 months and it happens 1-2 times each and every week. He says, 'We're working with the fire department' because he can tell I'm NOT pleased and he's seeking to placate me at this point.
Since I've already had a middle of the night, honest-to-God fire scare in my own home, complete with a house full of smoke and having to haul my unresponsive child from her bed, I'm FAR from placatable. They hadn't even sent an employee up to check and see if it was just the fire alarms crying wolf, they just assumed it was the steam causing it again. The guy tells me I can go back up and go back to sleep. Ha, ha. Noooo, I think I'm up for the day.
Suffice to say that when I returned home I emailed the hotel chain and let them know what was going on at this particular property.
current mood: shocked
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| Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
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11:06 pm - New Models!
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Spent the last week working on some new origami models; a tom turkey and a dove made out of a round paper doily. I folded these, plus some spirals, to donate to my mom's Red Hat's craft booth this weekend at the Corley Ranch pumpkin patch. Unfortunately she decided at the last minute not to go, so I'm undecided what I'll do with these--either incorporate them into my 'Found Origami' project or I'll use the doves & spirals as package toppers at Christmas.
The turkeys are pretty cute, I used papers in fall colors.
I didn't make any real changes to these, just made sure to round out the tail a bit to make them more three dimensional.
Some spirals, large and small...
Lastly the doves, which I really like. The only doillies I could find were some cheap ones that weren't very lacey, but I like these so much I'll for sure be looking for better doillies to make more. The only change I made here was to curl outward & fluff the wings & tails so the doves looked more 'in flight' and realistic.
These are standing on their tails for the photo but are strung and ready to hang, I think they'd look nice on a Christmas tree!
current mood: artistic
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| Thursday, October 20th, 2011
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2:16 am - Pumpkin Patch Time!
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Last weekend we went out to Corley Ranch, the local pumpkin patch. Back when I was in high school, we used to buy hay for our horses from this place, but then it was simply a residence and not the operation it is today. We spent hours there and had a great time, they had all kinds of fun stuff and everyone was very relaxed and friendly.
Not only tons of varieties of pumpkins, but weird & wonderful gourds, too. The kid's eyes popped and she kept wading into the vines and emerging with more strange gourds.
We got a ride on the horse-drawn carraige, pulled by a 32 year old fella named Chance.
Chance was a chill dude.
We told his handler that hands down, she had the best job on the farm.
The secret to making the pigs run that fast is out--Oreos!
They had a little train for the kids...
...which strangely, had a pig's face with, um...steer horns. I swear this thing watched me all day.
Milkweed plants were growing near the irrigation ditch and sending out seeds like mad.
On the way out we stopped at the shed that held all kinds of stuff. We came away with some kick-ass pumpkin butter and a jar of pomegranate-cranberry jelly. I offered to get J. some of the one on the right, but surprisingly he declined. We were amused by how similar they looked, and briefly toyed with the idea of switching labels.
OK, cue juvenile giggle:
Our haul for the day...
The photo doesn't do the biggest one justice, it's a monster. We may go back with grandma this weekend, her ladie's group is going to have a craft booth there, I made some origami turkeys and spirals to donate.
current mood: amused
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| Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
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1:51 am - Alien Life Form!
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Today we decided to get the chickens a little treat, thinking they'd dig it and feeling guilty that they've been in the barn for more than a month now. So we got them a GIANT compressed block of seed and other things near and dear to a chicken's heart. We figured it would take them several days to work on it, and it'd give them some entertainment.
But at first it was NOT well received.
Minimum Safe Distance was kept at all times, and even ever-hungry Sora, the white Leghorn, was cautious. Moet the buff Frizzle Cochin and Boots the partridge Cochin, both fearless bantams, were in the vanguard and took point on Operation What The Hell IS It.
Eventually they relaxed a bit and moved in, Sora and Gloria, our two main foodotropic girls, trying an experimental peck. Phoenix the roo is getting closer, but still keeping an eye on The Thing.
Hurrah, The Thing is found to be food and therefore is wholly approved of! Peepsquire moves in to claim King of the Hill rights.
But what we expected to last at least one day was GONE in less than two hours. I blame the Brahmas, who eat like a cloud of 50,000 locusts and are the size of small horses.
current mood: Amazed
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| Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
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5:09 am - Some Things Defy Explanation...
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...in a rational, sane universe, anyway.
Like the tile we saw in the kitchen of the last house we toured--I've formed the hypothesis that the previous owners lost a bar bet. What else could explain not only the color of this tile, but the wooden edging, complete with little buttons to knock loose, never to be seen again? Wood edging, on a kitchen counter?
It's like they skipped off to the hardware store and chirped, "We'd like to see the tile that looks like dried vomit, please!" It doesn't get any better up close.
Nasty. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the 70's era was a time of cultural tastelessness throughout America. Despite the kitchen tile the rest of the home is lovely and we've made an offer on it. Luckily for me I both own a hammer and know how to lay tile.
current mood: Horrified
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