Rabbits and baby chicks

Most women are happy when their husband's buy them diamonds or pearls. But I am thrilled that my honey bought me these...

I have been wanting some barred rock chickens for some time now and have kept my eye open for anyone who had some for sale nearby. We decided that when Tractor Supply got their shipment in this month we would buy a few to start a small backyard flock.

Their shipment was due in on Monday or Tuesday. I called on Wednesday and they were sold out. I called around to several other places and no one was getting any in for at least a month. I decided to search Craigslist for someone that might be selling chicks. I ran across someone in a town about an hour north of here that was advertising various chickens. So I called the number and he told me that he didn't have barred rocks for sale, but did I know about the "flock swap" that would be held the following day. Of course I knew nothing of such a thing, so he proceeded to tell me just what the "flock swap" was all about.

Andrew was outside working on his new project; redoing his dad's old boat; so I stepped out to tell him about the event that would be held the next morning starting at 8:30 in the morning. I would have gone myself but because of Megan's piano lesson at 10:30 the next day, I knew that I couldn't go before and it would probably be to late to drive the hour up there after her lesson was over.

The next morning, Andrew got up and left the house before 7:00 and drove the hour to Sanford to the "flock swap" in search of some barred rock chicks. All because I wanted them.

What a great man he is! When I returned home from Megan's piano and a little grocery shopping, my sweet husband had come home, built a warming box filled it with shavings, hooked up the warming light, filled the food and water dishes and had them waiting in the garage for me.

I know this man loves me, and I love him so! Can't wait until the chicks get their colors. This is how they will look once they are grown.

In other news, Megan got a rabbit a month or so back. She and I drove two hours south of here to a farm where they raise various types of rabbits. We had of course already decided on the Holland Lop. That was the type we raised when we lived in Arkansas. She chose a nice white and gray color. He was also the tamest one of the litter. He has turned out to be a good choice. He is pretty docile and easy going. He enjoys getting under my feet while I am on my computer.

Lauren and I are on spring break this week. But Noah isn't. I really wish he had spring break with us so that I wouldn't have to get up and go somewhere every day of my break, but I suppose I will be glad for the break when it comes in April.

So far this week, I have bought some plants to put into my early bed. I am getting only one bed ready for planting this month. I am putting in some lettuce, cabbage, spinach, onion, broccoli and some greens. We are also building a potato bin to plant potatoes. I hope to get what I have put in the ground tomorrow.

Well there is more to tell, but I will hold off on some of it for another post.

Snow day

Happy New Year! Yes I know it is the 11th of January, so I'm running a bit late. Today is a snow day for us, the second this week. We had about six inches of snow and now a layer of ice on top which makes the conditions very messy.

We had about six to seven inches of snow the day after Christmas as well. Both snows were beautiful. I enjoyed sitting by the window and watching the silent snow fall to the ground and blanket us with white. Walking into the back yard was so nice. Something about the snow covering the ground that makes everything so quiet and peaceful. Like an insulator from the rest of the hustle and bustle of daily life. It was completely quiet. Normally you can hear the roar from the distant highway or the military planes going overhead. But for a time, everything was quiet. Almost as if I were in a cabin deep in the woods. Nice little winter break from the normal routine of life.

Inside the house is warm and toasty. We are all home together. A rare thing now days. Andrew sits at his computer, I at mine only a few feet away at the kitchen table. Noah is in the living room playing Star Wars Lego on the Wii. The girls sit across the room from one another each on her own laptops. The modern day family time. At least we are all together and we share a laugh or a story every once in a while.

On the stove is a pot of Zuppa Toscana ready for a warm, hearty lunch. All seems right in the world. At least in our little part. No one has anything pressing to do or work on. Just a few extra moments of leisure given as a gift to our otherwise busy lives. In a day or two all will return to normal. Noah will go back to school, Andrew will return to the business of building and scheduling and deadlines. Lauren will go back to work for what will be her last week at her current job. More on that later. Megan will resume her school work and I will return to the chores of cleaning house, washing laundry and transporting Megan and Noah here and there. But just for a couple of days, we are free, suspended here together in one place just enjoying a chance to just relax and do nothing of much consequence, but just to enjoy.

So back to Lauren's job issue. She has finally decided to return to college! For which I am so thankful. So she will be leaving her full time job and seeking part time employment while she attends classes. She has an interview tomorrow afternoon for what I hope will become her new work. She will be taking classes on Tuesday and Thursday's. This semester she has enrolled in three classes. Her major; Criminal Justice with Latent Evidence Technology. She hopes to work in a crime lab. She then plans to continue her educational pursuits in the field of psychology, possibly going on to get a masters in psychology. But for now, one step at a time. I am thankful she has decided to take the first step.

Speaking of first steps, I have enrolled in a class this semester. I have for years considered going back to school to pursue a Radiography degree. I currently have a BS in Social Science with a history minor. I taught school for a short time, but have never really used my degree for any other gainful employment. To be quite honest, I have no desire to work in that field anymore. At one time I suppose I did, however, with time I have found that is not really of much interest to me. I have been attracted to the medical field in some form or fashion.

Seven years ago I checked into the program, and even went as far as doing some of the pre-req work of shadowing in a Radiology department. During that time, Andrew and I decided to try to have another child. Not long afterwards, I got pregnant. But it was not to be, I had a miscarriage at twelve weeks. At that time, the company Andrew works for moved us to Little Rock, Arkansas. Within three weeks I was pregnant again. This time we were blessed with our wonderful gift from God; Noah. What a great and awesome gift! So for the next few years I was busy with more important things than going back to school. I did however, during this time think of possible entering the nursing field at some point, and I continued to entertain the idea of radiography. Like with everything else in my life, I find that if there is something that you really want, if you are patient, God will bring the opportunity back around later on down the road of life. So many things in my life has shown this to be true.

So here we are several years and two states later, Noah is now in pre-school and I am offered the opportunity to pursue this option for my life. So one step at a time. I have a couple of pre-req classes that are required that weren't required for my first degree. Those being science. Chemistry and Biology specifically. The chemistry class wasn't offered at a time this semester that I was able to take it. Noah's school is only three hours a day, so I was working within that time frame or an evening class. But the Biology was offered on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. So I am taking Anatomy and Physiology I. I am very excited about it, however, a bit nervous at the same time. I haven't been in a classroom setting since graduating nearly thirteen years ago. I have also been told that Anatomy and Physiology is a pretty tough course. But I am sure that with God's help, I will manage to do fine.

I am excited by the new doors of opportunity that are opening. It will take some time, but like the Earl Nightingale quote goes :

"Don't let the amount of time to do a thing hinder you from doing it. The time will pass anyway, so you might as well put that passing to the best possible use."

So the journey begins. One step at a time and eventually I will get there. The journey of a thousand miles...

Christmas trees and such

Getting ready for Christmas again! Can't believe how quickly this past year has gone. Seems like it just rushed by. Hard to believe that March will be two years since we moved to North Carolina. That just seems impossible to believe. The time has just whizzed by.

We put up our Christmas trees this past Thursday. We usually put them up the first weekend in December, but since Lauren is working most weekends these days, we did it on her day off.

The first one is the living room tree and the smaller one is in our dining room.

Now comes the hard part. Putting presents under them. I haven't done any, zip, zero shopping. Andrew did get one major item for one of the kiddo's but other than that, nothing... Can you say Last minute shopper! Yes that would be me. I just can't seem to get into the spirit of shopping early in the season. I suppose it is because I am not a shopper. I don't like to shop, so I put it off until the last minute. Not only that, but the gift list hasn't been completed yet. Megan has changed her mind a couple of times so far. Today she said to me that she didn't know anything that she wanted! Can you imagine that! Fifteen and she can't think of anything that she really wants! AMAZING!

Well, the weather outside is frightful and you know how I dislike cold weather. I am trying to start training for a 13.1 in the spring, but it isn't going to well. I can't stand to run in the cold, and every time I go to the Y to use the treadmill, I get a headache. I finally decided it was the cleaning supplies they use. The cleaning lady is always there when I go and the smell of the cleaner is so strong. I am very sensitive to those kind of things. It smells like pine-sol and I have never been able to stand pine-sol. The problem is, I go in the mornings while Noah is at school. That is really the only time I can go, so unless they would be willing to change their cleaning schedule or cleaning supplies, I guess I will have to let my membership go...

I want a treadmill for Christmas, but to get a good one, they are expensive and I just can't see spending that kind of money right now. So I suppose I will try to find some place else to get a run or two in each week.

Not much else going on, just the usual day to day living. Right now I am to tired to try to think of something clever to say, so this will be all for now.

One Saturday in November

I just love the colors of fall. The bright reds, yellows, and oranges are so vibrant that you can't help but stop and look at them. There are so many of these beautiful orange/red trees around and I have wanted to pull off the road to photograph them. Today as I was driving home a different route from the library, I passed a school that had several of them across the front. Since it was Saturday, I pulled into the parking lot and stepped into a beautiful afternoon and begin walking around the tree taking various shots with the camera on my iphone.

I chose this one to add to my Daily Eye Candy project. After I got home, I begin to think about the name of this project of mine. Maybe I should change the name to Daily ICandy, considering that all the photos are taken with my iphone while I am out and about on my daily routines. These are definitely not planned shots, but things that catch my attention as I drive past them. They are often spur-of-the-moment shots, or the best-I-can-do-while-driving shots. I know what your thinking, but no, I don't put anyone in harms way while I take the photos.

I named this shot, Daily Eye Candy #13. Not because I have been doing this thirteen days, but because today is the 13th and I don't know how many shots I have done so far. So #13 sounded like a good number to me.

Well., today is the eve, of the eve of the beginning of my forty-fourth year on this planet, and I am not quite sure how I feel about that yet. Not that I have any influence on the matter one way or the other, it is what it is, I can't change that. But my feelings and attitudes are within my control, and at this point, I am not sure where I stand.

This getting older does bother me some, as I am sure it does most people. Aging is a scary prospect for me. I don't want to get to the place in life that I can't do things I want to do. I don't want to be limited by my body, my mind or my health. Getting older almost insures that at some point in the future those things will begin happen. I will reach a place where I will have to deal with those limitations. But thank God, at this point, I am healthy, in control of all of my mental facilities and have no physical limitations. For that I am extremely grateful.

At 44, I feel that I am perched somewhere between my youth and old age. With each passing year I teeter more to the other side. I am old enough to let go of the unimportant things that so often plague us in our early adulthood, but not yet to a place where I am looking back and wishing for the past again. I suppose I could look at this time as the best years of my life.

One thing I do know for sure is that these are the years that if I am ever going to do something, I need to do it now. With this knowledge in hand I am working on that list of "One of these days I'll get around to doing that," things. Losing weight, getting into shape and becoming a runner were on that list and I am currently in the process of doing just that. I have many other things on that list as well, but I will save those for another time.

For now, I am going to sit back and enjoy the rest of this day, because I will never again have the gift of another Saturday as a 43 year old woman. This is the last one and I want to get everything out of it I possibly can, so that when I look back on this day years from now, I will not have regrets. Well, there might just be one regret. I might regret that I didn't get up and drive to Tuttimelon and get that delicious cup of Dulce de leche gelato that I am craving. On the other hand, years from now I suppose whether I did or didn't won't be of much consequence in the whole scope of life.

Daily Eye Candy

I am working on a little project that I have entitled :

Daily Eye Candy

365 Days of Beauty:

Photo's of Everyday Things

Here is a small sampling for you to view.

My Chair

I love this chair. I think I have told the story of the chair before on here but I think it is worth telling again.

When I lived in Little Rock I did quite a bit of thrifting, junking, yard sale-ing...whatever you want to call it. One of my favorite places to "shop" was Mid Towne Antique Mall on the corner of Markham and Rodney Parham. Not necessarily because the prices were "thrifty" but because they always had great stuff. Most of it was more than my budget would allow for "junk" but I loved to go and look.

While out alone, enjoying some "me" time, I stopped in to see what was new. I found this great chair on the back side of the store in a little booth that was hardly big enough for the chair. I instantly fell in love. At the time it only had the seat cushion in it. I sat in it and put my legs over the arms of the chair and knew I had to have this chair. However, the $60 price tag was more than I like to spend on one thrift item. So I reluctantly walked away.

After leaving the store I drove home, which happened to be just down the street. I couldn't get the chair out of my mind. I had the perfect spot to put the chair and I knew that I would spend long hours in the chair reading. When I got home I told Andrew about it and he said, "buy it." How could he be so casual about such a thing I wondered.

I just couldn't be so haphazard about such a purchase. I had to have time to think it over; read: Talk myself out of it, tell myself all the reason why I didn't need to spend that much money on something that I really didn't need.

But instead, I decided to throw caution to the wind. I called the shop and ask if they would take less for the chair. I was told that if the purchase was under $100 they couldn't call the booth owner, but they could give me 10% off the item. So that meant the chair would only be fifty-four dollars. Only six dollars difference, but a world of difference in my book. Well enough that I decided to go right then and get the chair before someone else came along and snatched it away. So I told them to hold the chair I would be right there.

That is how this lovely chair became part of my life. I went to target and bought the two throw pillows. But other than that it looks like it did when I found it. I love the fact that it has had another life, somewhere else before I found it. It has a few scratches and nicks that show wear. It has a past, one that I will never know. I prefer used things to new, because they have a story, they have a past hidden in them. It makes things more interesting and appealing just as it does with people.

When we moved to North Carolina we put the chair in the living room in front of the front windows. I sat in it as often as I could. But at Christmas time we needed the front window area to put up our large Christmas tree, so the chair was moved into the master bedroom. I know it is September but the chair still sits in the bedroom. Actually Andrew has enjoyed the chair more than I have since it was moved. I rarely sit down in the bedroom. Mostly when I do make it upstairs to the bedroom, it is after a very long day and all I want to do is fall into the bed and sleep. When I do have time to sit, I usually do that at my desk or the kitchen table, but rarely in the bedroom. Andrew often goes into the bedroom to watch a game or do a crossword and he can be found sitting in the chair.

But today, being a long, lazy, carefree Saturday. I had nothing pulling at me; very few chores that needed my attention, so I decided to come into the bedroom for some alone time and sit in MY chair. And that is just where I have been most of the afternoon. Enjoying again this wonderful chair that I bought on a whelm without to much deliberation on my part. I am so glad that I did decide to throw caution to the wind and be spontaneous for a change. I think the chair looks great in its new location so I will have to find something to put downstairs in the front window for eleven months out of the year. Anyone know any great thrift stores in North Carolina?

Critics, Critics...everywhere!

To appease the critics...

News from the homefront:
Noah started to school three weeks ago. He is in a half day program and is really enjoying it. Today he starts playing soccer. Their first practice is this afternoon. I am anxious to see how he likes it.

Mom and Dad have been visiting for a few weeks and will be heading back south next week.

Lauren is still working as a photographer with a national portrait studio and is entertaining the company of a young man...I will say no more about that...

Megan is doing school and may be starting piano lessons soon. We tried to get her into school where Noah goes but they were at capacity.

Andrew is finishing up the job in the next few weeks and will be starting another job here. So we will be staying here for at least another year or so. We were glad to hear that. Not that we are just crazy about this area, but we are settled in and enjoying the house and our garden along with Noah in school and Lauren employed... And to be honest, we just weren't ready to pack and move again. So this will give us a little more time of being settled. I am sure by the time the next year passes, we will be ready to move on to a new place. The "little gypsy" is appeased for the time being.

This weekend Andrew and I are going on a trip to the mountains for a late twenty-second wedding anniversary trip. We will leave tomorrow and come back Sunday evening. Saturday morning we are running in the Asheville Citizen-Times 5K. I am excited and looking forward to our first run. We had planned to run one last month, but I got sick and was unable to train like I needed to. So when I saw that Asheville was having this one, I jumped at it. I love Asheville. I remember the fall of about 1986 when I attended University of North Carolina in Asheville. The campus was so beautiful. The air was crisp and cool and the leaves were turning and falling across the campus. I can close my eyes and go back to the spot where I use to sit in the grass between classes enjoy the pleasant weather and the smells of fall. Now twenty-four years later I plan to go back and visit those places that I would frequent. The race is downtown and although I am sure that it has changes a lot in the years, I am sure that I will still be able to recaputre the same feelings that these places evoked in me so many years ago.

Well, not a whole lot more to say right now. I am pressed for time. I need to get packed and start supper so it will be ready when I get home from soccer.