eggs!

(l to r...ethel, etta, winifred)

 winifred has laid her first egg yesterday!

(so much for waiting)

we didn't manage to get a blue egg layer out of our three girls...

but i LOVE the different shades of green that we get.

our little girls (maggie, henry & ruby)

will be 17 weeks old on saturday...

so, they should be laying in the next few weeks as well.

then we'll have some brown eggs to mix things up a bit.

have a wonderful friday & a superb weekend...

xox.

chickens are funny

proof.

(top to bottom...ethel, maggie & henry)

they lined up for little chicken pats & scratches.

it's crazy...

usually they just push each other out of the way.

they were quite the civilized little ladies on this occasion.

ethel & etta are laying eggs like champs.

just went out to check for said eggs and found fred in one of the boxes.

maybe she's going to lay sooner than i thought as well.

hope you're having a fabulous wednesday.

xox.

pumpkins

well, not yet...but sometime in the near future...

i LOVE the little curlicues all over the place...

& the flowers are awesome...& such a pretty color...

hope you're having a nice day wherever you are.

xox.

etta's first egg

look at that cute little thing!

other than a couple of tiny bumps...even the speckled area is completely smooth.

this one is tinier than ethel's eggs and much more of an olive color.

such a great first egg.

this is so exciting. 

i thought etta was at least a few days away from laying...

surprise!

fred is the last easter egger we're waiting on...

and i think she may take her time.

ruby (who is only 16 weeks old & shouldn't be ready)

is all red and large combed already...

while fred is just enjoying her tiny pea comb with a hint of pink...

should be interesting to see what happens.

~~~

we've had a busy few days around here...

this is the first day i even got on the computer since my last blog post.

munki did incredibly well at her 4H judging!

she relaxed after the first couple of minutes.

her robot performed flawlessly & she was giddy!

this pictures makes my heart want to burst with pride.

she was accepted to the state fair, but due to some poor planning

on the part of the new robotics program & the final decision being hers...

she won't be going.

in her words...

"i'm excited i was chosen, but this is my first year

& i think that may be a bit too much, momma...

i think it sounds overwhelming."

oh, my girl.

so...perhaps next year...

though it sounds like she wants to take archery next year...

we'll see what happens between now & then.

have a wonderful rest of your weekend...

xox.

reminiscing...

was thinking about the road trip from ohio to california
that munki & i made with my mom & dad...

(in october of last year)

i wish we could all just drop everything and do it again...

the only thing i would change is being able to bring matt with us.

the above pic is a sunrise somewhere near the texas/oklahoma border

(if i recall correctly)

home sweet home.

california...

the pacific...

i miss it.

i'll always miss it.

but i don't think i can ever imagine living in california again.

it kinda breaks my heart.

but what i wouldn't give to be able to see my niece & nephew every day...

& munki would be ecstatic, to say the least.

sometimes i wonder why things are the way they are...

how much of it is this way because we make it so

& how much of it is because somehow, that's just how it's supposed to be.

i love my family so very much.

i think life would be nicer if we were all a little closer, geographically...

but i can't have everything.

& that sucks.

i am, however, incredibly thankful that we got to do the road trip last year...

~~~

today is munki's 4H judging.

sadly, today is supposed to be in the high 90s - low 100s

and we have to be at the fairgrounds...

outside...

at 4:30pm.

wish her (us) luck.

have an amazing tuesday.

xox.

the crane wife

 this is still one of my favorite songs (even though this is parts 1,2 & 3)

...has been since i first heard it in 2006.

i cannot recall where i first heard the story of the crane wife.

it's a japanese folk tale & i know i heard it when i was fairly young.

i remember the vivid imagery that the story brought to my head.

i'll pull a quote from wikipedia...

The Crane Wife is an old Japanese folktale. While there are many variations of the tale, a common version is that a poor man finds an injured crane on his doorstep (or outside with an arrow in it), takes it in and nurses it back to health. After he releases the crane, a woman appears at his doorstep with whom he falls in love and marries. Because they need money, his wife offers to weave wondrous clothes out of silk that they can sell at the market, but only if he agrees never to watch her making them. They begin to sell them and live a comfortable life, but he soon makes her weave them more and more. Oblivious to his wife's declining health, his greed increases. He eventually peeks in to see what she is doing to make the silk she weaves so desirable. He is shocked to discover that at the loom is a crane plucking feathers from her own body and weaving them into the loom. The crane, seeing him, flies away and never returns.

today, the decemberists and colin meloy's voice 

have taken me to back to that vivid imagery.

i'd love for someone wonderful to make this story into a tattoo for me.

although i have a few incredibly talented artist/tattoo friends...

i think what i picture in my head would be difficult to grasp

and unfortunately could probably never be captured on my skin anyway.

♥

ethel's first egg!

look at that beautiful thing!

the white and brown eggs are faux eggs that were in the nesting boxes

to let the girls know what they were for...just in case.

ethel didn't need any encouragement though.

i walked out to the coop yesterday (saturday) morning and she was in the nesting box...

she didn't come outside when i gave the girls their morning treats...

but she came out about 30 minutes later.

there was no egg at that time...i went out about an hour and a half later

and ethel was out in the run...

but i thought i'd check the box anyway.

i squealed like a little kid.

i was expecting some tiny first attempts...

but this egg was perfect!

a teeny bit smaller than your average store bought egg, but perfect.

and try as i might to capture the exact color, i never really could.

it's the loveliest shade of pale green.

now to see when the next one comes...

look at that beautiful girl.

her comb grew really fast and turned really red in a matter of days...

one of the reasons i knew she was close to laying.

hope you're having a nice sunday.

xox.

it's in my blood...

that would be my grandmother (on the left)

what can i say?

this picture is SO full of awesome...

and so is my grandma.

again...have a lovely weekend.

xox.

frank

she's staying here.

i know this doesn't mean much to my non dolly friends & family...

but it means SO much to me.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

have a wonderful weekend.

xox.

bullseye

well...if there was an actual target there

it would have been a bullseye...
and look at that grouping.

i shot these yesterday.

|) + ➳ = ♥

bahaha.

that bow is dumb...but you get the idea.

craziness.

well, i don't have a better word to sum up yesterday...

so, let me take you on a whirlwind tour.

matt had the day off.

i did typical errands for a tuesday...groceries, feed store, etc.

came home to matt setting up an archery target in the backyard.

oh, yes...as in bows and arrows.

matt's dad just recently gave me a new bow.

matt & are even making some new arrows for as well! yay!

 i have been kind of sad for a few days 

because i'm selling a doll that i really love.

i know most of you won't understand that...

just know that i have shed many tears over it...

but all will be okay...somehow.

so, i have been trying to stay occupied.

cleaned out the chicken run & coop...

came back inside...

checked a few things online and heard a LOUD scream/howl/?

and then heard munki say what was that?...

as i am sprinting out of the office.

okay...whew...not munki.

what/who was it?

i then find kisu in the kitchen all hunched up...foaming at the mouth...

gagging...tongue sticking out...left eye closed.

i pet her, check her eyes, check her gums,touch her stomach...

(thank goodness for working as a vet tech & having some animal knowledge)

she seems ok after a few minutes...so i let her be.

she keeps randomly gagging though.

i tell matt, we're both thinking it's some hairball issue.

she's just acting kind of funny, but finally falls asleep and seems ok.

so, we all go about continuing our day.

matt & i went out back and shot some arrows!

i love archery.

LOVE.

now of course we need to get a munki sized bow as well =]

we have dinner...we settle in for the evening.

kisu has been sleeping...no recent gagging.

headed to the bathroom for nightly bedtime routine...

pick up my palmer's scar lotion (for my neck) which i put on every night.

well, under that jar, we keep a sharp needle with a thick piece of thread on it...

for splinters, (which our household seems to get a lot of.)

mind you, this is up on a shelf above the toilet.

it's not there.

i always see it, on a daily basis...

(and i check for it when i pick up the jar & when i put it back)

instantly i remember the howly scream that kisu made.

i dropped everything i was doing & went to find kisu.

i tell matt the needle is gone and he hunts through the bathroom.

i just have a sinking feeling in my gut.

i pick up kisu...

take her in the bathroom and set her on the counter.

(we have super bright lights in our bathroom)

i separate her jaws and look in her mouth

and sure enough...

jammed into the roof of her mouth and almost up into her nasal cavity

is the needle. 

it's at an angle and the threaded end is pointing down her throat...

that would make most anyone gag.

first i panic.

then i realize it's 11pm at night.

i am going to try this myself before i make an emergency vet visit.

time for a kitty burrito.

a move that i think most vet techs know

& if they don't, they should.

cats are gnarly, squirmy, scratchy, bitey sorts of creatures

when you try to pin them for any length of time.

so, i wrap a huge towel very tightly around kisu, 

so that her legs are all wrapped up, she can't scratch or get away...

(picture swaddling a baby, only much tighter & around something that wants to run away)

just her little kitty head is sticking out of the kitty burrito.

matt gets the lucky job of holding her.

i try to hold her jaw open...

i grab my needle nosed pliers...

just when i thought i had my thumb back far enough to keep her jaw open...

she twists and contorts and closes her jaw...tight.

on my thumb.

ouch.

still, i have to get the needle out.

pry open her mouth again, pull my finger out.

blood.

damn.

quick thinking...run to the kitchen...

grab a wine cork, wrap it in a washcloth...

roll it up tight and shove it in to the side of her mouth to keep her jaw open.

the bathroom is getting hot...

(had to close the door, the other 3 cats were quite upset with kisu's howling)

matt & i are sweating...i'm on the verge of tears...

my thumb is bleeding.

this would have been much easier if it was someone else's cat.

kisu can't be held this tight for much longer.

her breathing is getting funny...she's panting.

this is my last shot.

holding the cork in her jaw with my thumb...

i wrap my hand behind her head so she can't move...

i stick the needle nose pliers into the back of her throat...

grab the needle...

pull it down towards the back of her throat so that nothing tears...

and then pull it straight out of her mouth.

holy. 

crap.

we unwrap kisu so she can try to relax.

she just lays on the floor.

poor baby.

that was so damn traumatic for all of us.

after about 5 minutes, her breathing returns to normal.

she is pooped though. 

so we took her to the bedroom and closed the door 

so no one else would bug her for awhile.

i go into the bathroom to clean my thumb before anything closes.

cat bites are nasty and can turn very bad, very quickly.

i ran hot water on it to open all the holes...

3 on the bottom...2 on the top...

not that bad.

peroxide...

hand sanitizer...

ouch sting ouch.

but it doesn't look too bad once it's cleaned up.

then matt & i  headed to bed.

wow.

once the adrenaline stopped rushing, we both crashed.

kisu is fine today...her mouth looks great.

she's back to her happy little kitty self.

so, just a couple more days of watching her to make sure nothing is infected.

but i think we may be in the clear.

& my thumb (while swollen and really sore)

should be just fine...

how was your tuesday?

today, munki is finishing up her robotics stuff 

so that she can be ready for the fair judging next tuesday!

have a stellar wednesday

& thanks for reading the novel i wrote today.

xox.

p.s. there are no more needles in the bathroom.
& we still have no idea how she actually got it. 

clouds...heat...storms...

i have seen some of the craziest clouds ever, since this heat wave has hit.

these are just a few of my favorites.

no tweeking, no adjusting, just straight out of the camera...

other than the obvious collage, which i did over at picmonkey.

today is supposed to be our last super hot day for awhile.

but today is supposed to be a whopper.

105-109 degrees

with a heat index of 115.

ugh.

stay cool, people.

xox.

georgina

some of you knew that munki was in 4H...

you may or may not have known what her project was.

she chose robotics.

yes, robotics.

this all started with a box filled with itsy bitsy pieces.

and once she built a base...she was able to attach larger pieces.

she spent a lot of time building this little robot.

then she got to attach it to the computer and program it.

she has her robot moving forward, backward and in circles.

she has programmed the screen to have different faces 

and her robot even talks.

my little 9 year old has built and programmed a robot.

that's kinda crazy.

i'm so very proud of her.

and even better than that...

she's proud of herself.

the other day, munki told me...

"someday i'm gonna change the world..."

she never ceases to amaze me.

her county fair judging and interviews are on july 17th...

then the fair is august 17th-25th.

her project poster will be on display
(since her pricey paid for by the county robot can't be)

but she will be doing a daily presentation on her robot & the 4H robotics course.

*beaming proud momma*

~★~

it's still HOT...

it's still HUMID...

(104 degrees right now...one hundred and four!)

but we're supposed to get a bit of a reprieve starting sunday.

i'm thinking the high 80s they're calling for will actually feel really nice...

have a great friday & a wonderful weekend!

xox.

phew. (or... then friday happened)

well well well.

my parents arrived safe & sound at about 6:30pm on wednesday.

it seemed like forever since i had seen them.

thursday, we went out to lunch and then went to see...

it was so awesome.
munki was already interested in archery...this movie put her over the top.
so next year, she wants to add archery to her 4H projects.

surprise, surprise.

the heat while my parents were visiting was ridiculous.
in the 90s & then over 100 degrees
 with humidity to boot makes for some misery.

but we were having a blast despite the heat!

then friday happened.

we were having a nice day...

went to munki's 4H meeting...

had a nice lunch...

went for a bit of a drive then headed home to wait for matt,

so that we could do our friday night pizza & a movie.

he got home a bit early (yay!) but had a few things to do in the garage.
at about 3:45 the sky got dark & we started getting a little bit of rain...

the winds knocked the temperature down about 20 degrees though...nice!

then the wind started blowing...

i mean blowing. 

like really blowing.

like "stand outside and darn near knock you on your butt" blowing.

mother nature had a little temper tantrum.

turns out the winds were clocked between 90 & 100mph.

at exactly 4:09pm

the lights flickered 3 times and then everything went out.

and stayed out.

within hours...
ohio was declared in a state of emergency.

there were branches of all sizes strewn everywhere down our street.

we were incredibly lucky that all we lost was our power.

we had a lot of wonderful meals at some great local restaurants...

thank goodness they had power & a/c.

the temperature didn't stay low for long.

i'm not going to detail every day...

(trust me, you don't want to know the gory details 

of how pleasant i can be when i have no way to cool off.)

but there were more movies, 

air conditioned drives in the car whilst surveying damage in our area...

& looking at crazy skies...

(note the traffic lights are out)

...and eventually matt taking a trip down to his parents house

so that we could pick up & borrow their generator.

(which saved us all in more ways than one)

we had gone grocery shopping friday morning

& had quite a few things that wouldn't have survived 

without that generator to run our fridge.

or the fans and window a/c unit which cooled us down a bit

(and saved a wee bit of my already threatened sanity =] )

we had been told 5-7 days before our power would be restored...

i lost track of days & storms and weirdness

as it all seemed to blend together.

we had more crazy skies 

(these below being some of the strangest clouds i've ever seen)

mom & dad left early monday morning
(which was their plan anyway, regardless of our power situation)

thankfully, yesterday at 5:45pm we were one of the lucky folks that got power back.

oh, the daily things we take for granted.

i'll end this for now & i'll write more about time spent with my mom & dad, 

which was awesome even through all of this...

and they're awesome because they dealt with my

"i'm hot and sweaty and things aren't going the way i planned" mood swings.

i just had things i wanted to do during their visit that never happened & it makes me sad.

hopefully they'll come back soon and mother nature will be a bit gentler on all of us.

one thing i do know...i miss them...a lot...

& so does the munki. 

have an enjoyable tuesday

& let's all hope that mother nature settles down...

she's been moody all over the u.s.

xox.