More chicken stories :)

Okay, you know those chicks that I thought were going to be golden laced? Well, it turns out that they are actually partridge! I was a little dissapointed at first but not now. The partridge coloring is also very lovely. And... OMGosh... those are turning out to be BIG chickens. All except one who is a BIG ROOSTER! Yes, a rooster. He crowed for the very first time this morning. I sure hope he masters that crow soon. He sounded as if someone was choking him... really.
(PICS PENDING).

turning my HOUSE into a HOME ~ PART 2

Well, after talking with Dillon today I learned a couple of things. First, I learned how to post a video on my blog. Second, I learned which program to use to edit my videos. Very exciting stuff! Sooo... to continue the saga of the renovations to my home, here is a little tour :)

turning my HOUSE into a HOME

I moved into my little house in October of 2001... almost 7 years ago now. I had many BIG PLANS but just couldn't seem to reach my goals. Less than a year after moving into my new place I was laid up and lost my job. Living off of credit cards until I was able to start work again brought my plans to a screeching halt. I have spent the last 5 years trying to recover physically, emotionally and financially. For the longest time it seemed that every time I started to get ahead something else would happen to pin me down... the 2 steps forward and 3 steps back syndrome. Thankfully, I have great kids who have stood by me, encouraging and uplifting me when I felt particularly down, (even though they have problems of their own). Now, finally, I am starting to realize some of my goals. Almosta Farm is still very much a work in progress but I'm loving it.

I got started on my barn by building the main part to use as a hay shed. It is a great structure and I am looking forward to adding on to it next year. This year it has already proven to be a great asset.

When I visited Sasha at her new home in Anchorage I became inspired by her creative style and productivity and I decided to upgrade my house a little. It is amazing how the few changes I have made have made such a difference. Now when I come home I feel like I am really coming HOME. There is disarray with the shuffling of my furniture and belongings from one room to another to accommodate the construction stuff that is in progress but my place already has a more cozy and grounded feel. "What construction?" you ask.

I had all the carpets pulled up as well as the vinyl in the kitchen. Then I had a closet built in my bedroom taking about 3 feet out of the living room (which I don't miss at all). I had the island which was between the dining room and the kitchen taken out and replaced it with a new alcove for the fridge. This also allowed for more wall space in the living room. Then I painted.

I have been a white wall girl all my life but no longer. I went out on a limb and painted color on my walls in the living room, dining room and hall... LOVE IT! I plan to paint every room with color. But first I want to finish the major stuff like the laminate flooring which is replacing the carpet throughout the entire house.

The floors are finished in the 3 guest bedrooms, hall, living room, dining room and kitchen as far as the office. Next, the furniture from the office and my bedroom will have to be shuffled so the floors can be done in those two rooms. The contractor still has to finish up some electrical plugs and light switches in the otherwise finished part of the house. The finishing touches have to be put on my new closet as well (I LOVE MY CLOSET!). My old closet is going to become a closet for linens and other storage, (can you believe that this house was built without a linen closet!?). I am having a door put in between my old closet and the laundry room so the closet can be accessed from the laundry room. Pretty neat, eh?

My contractor is doing most of the work. He is letting me lay some flooring and do all the painting so I can stretch my dollar. He is a great guy. He lets me use his tools and supervises me while teaching me the right way to do things. This is drawing out this whole process though. When I work at the hospital I seldom do anything extra at home. I relish my days off so I can move forward with my projects.

Well, since a picture is worth a thousand words...

Wall down between the living room and my bedroom and the new wall waiting to go up.

Very funny story... when the wall was knocked out the dogs didn't know what to make of it. They would stand in my bedroom, look into the living room, go out my bedroom door and around through the kitchen to the living room, look into my bedroom from the living room then go back around through the kitchen to get back into my bedroom. Even though I tried to get them to walk through what once was a wall they just would not do it. They were very happy when the wall got put back up. Funny pups. Heaven only knows what was going through their minds. This much is for sure, they do not like change.

Furniture shuffling from the LR to the den... dust on everything! No room to walk!

The island is gone and new walls going up.

I don't know how to edit videos so what I post will be just snippets of what I have actually recorded and will seem disjointed. But if a picture is worth a thousand words a video must be worth billions, (tee hee), so here we go...

Okay, someone has to teach me how to download videos... ARGHHH!

Bird brain ...

Back toward the end of June through the beginning of July I witnessed an odd ritual by a tiny little bird. I would see this pretty little bird on the side of the road each day as I went to work. After the third time I saw her I slowed down to take a closer look. When I did she puffed herself up beyond recognition and started spinning around in circles. I was certain that this little bird had some sort of neurological disorder. I stopped the car and started to get out and she immediately took flight. I thought it odd but shrugged it off and went about my business. The very next day I saw her again at the same place at the side of the road. I slowed again and this time she started flapping and falling over as if her wing was broken. "That does it" I thought to myself. "Something is wrong with this bird and she must be helped!" I stopped the car and started tracking her down the side of the road. I was almost within striking distance when she stood up, looked over her shoulder (as if to say 'so long sucker') and flew away... again! I was totally perplexed and just a little irritated. The next day I saw her again at the side of the road, just sitting there. I thought to myself, "This time I am not going to get involved". So, although I was watching her, I didn't slow down... and she didn't budge! Hmmm... then the thought came to me... "I wonder if that crazy bird has a nest at the side of the road!" I investigated on my way home and sure enough she had a nest with 4 speckled eggs in it. The next picture is of the area where I found her nest. If you can see it, the blurr to the left of my side view mirror was the bird flying off.
here is a close up although not a good picture you can see the blurr I spoke of in the right upper corner...
Well, I could hardly believe my eyes when, right there... right on the side of the road... I saw a little gravel nest with well camouflaged eggs in it. Just one car or tractor swerving just a little would have put an abrupt end to the whole thing. CRAZY! Can you see the eggs in the next pictures? Still not good pictures but it was the best I could do at the time (from a slow moving car).
































After talking with some of the locals I learned that the crazy little bird was a Killdeer. I also found it very interesting that it was the Killdeers' nature to build nests in open areas, preferably in gravel (heaven only knows why). The farmers are used to this and keep a look out and try to protect these goofy little birds. We all watched attentively for the eggs to hatch. I so wanted to see the little babies. But, once the babies hatched they all headed into the brush. We stopped hearing the beautiful song of the Killdeer and never saw her or her babies again. If she returns next year I am going to try to get some better pictures :)

Internet ...

I have been avoiding trying to blog anything because dial-up internet service drives me crazy! I have tried a dozen different ways to establish a high speed internet service but have always run into dead ends. Well, with the help of Dillon, I am now trying out a satalite internet service that promises to be "all that and a bag of chips... (snap)". So now I can catch up on some of the things I have wanted to blog about :)