Here Chick, Chick, Chick, Chick!

Well, here they are. You can see most of them in this picture. If you click on this image, you'll get a bigger one. The larger white chicks are Lydia and Isabella, my Easter egg chicks or Ameraucanas. The smaller dark ones are French Marans, which lay "chocolate" eggs, as in very dark brown. The yellowish one in the back is Tatiana, our Rhode Island White. And you can just see our little Partridge Cochin, Mei Hua. She will have feathers on her feetHere you see Ariel reading to the chicks. Yes, that's what I said - reading to the chickens. I asked her why she was reading to the chickens, but she didn't really have an answer.This is Julia, our Rhode Island Red. She is going to be a hefty hen! I saw her parents. The cockerel was absolutely gorgeous and he had a harem of four beautiful hens. That is Mei Hua with her.That is Tatiana, the Rhode Island White, looking at the camera. You can see Lydia in the foreground as well as Mei Hua. The French Marans (Babette, Colette, Monique and Veronique) are in the background with Julia. Tatiana already wants to be the hen house boss.And this is Lydia again. I keep looking at Lydia, thinking that she may well turn out to be Louie. Hmmm. We tried to get hens, but you can never be 100% sure unless you have a professional chick sexer on hand. Oh well, we'll take our chances. That's one of the Marans in front of her. The only one we can really identify right now is Babette, because she is the smallest. Lydia is very curious and very outgoing, but also very protective. I picked up the other little Cochin (Huan Yue -- the only one who was camera shy) and startled her. Lydia ran over and pecked at my hand until I dropped Huan Yue! These little birds love to go outside, but I have to wait until the temperature hits at least 70. Right now they are in their box in the living room. happily chattering away. Casey put her paw in there the other day and got pecked. She hasn't tried that again.And lest you think my life is all about chickens, cats and beads here is a pink evening primrose. These grow all over my yard, mixed in with bluebonnets, blue-eyed grass, buttercups, and tons of other wildflowers. I'll more pictures as the bluebonnets become fuller.

The sleep study doc told me I qualify for a CPAP mask. Yippee. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself. I get to hook that baby up tonight. Woo hoo, sexy! Yeah, right. Anyway, we give see how this works out for six weeks and go from there. Maybe I'll get some sleep. We'll just have to wait and see.

Today is put aside for more typing and stitching. That first sale is closing in fast, but I'm not going to rush. I'm liking this new attitude. I'm not rushing around like (please forgive me) a chicken with its head cut off! Oddly enough, I'm getting quite a bit done this way. We'll see if it holds.

It's beautiful outside. I intend to open all the windows and let the fresh air in while I work. Have a beadiful day!

Just Another Manic Monday

Wow, what a busy weekend we had. We went to my in-law's on Saturday. T-man's grandma is down from Pennsylvania. We get to see here about once a year. T-man's mom is trying to talk Nana into moving down to Texas. We'll see how that goes. We spent most of the day there visiting and had dinner (less cooking for us!) Yesterday morning, T-man build a temporary pen for my cheepers. They really enjoyed being out in the sun. I found one little worm to give them, which caused quite a fracas. Then there was the bug that bit me and promptly got fed to the nearest chick! Oddly enough, the cats are not interested in them. Then we went to my folks' house, where T-man finally got the mower working (third time's a charm). It seems that the teenaged part-time help at the big box home improvement store (the red vests) kept giving them the wrong belts! Oh well, it works now and that's what's important. And my dad told us stories of when my grandfather used to raise fighting cocks, and his winning one-eyed rooster. And yes, it was illegal then but, as Dad says, only if you got caught. Evidently Grandad made a bundle with the one-eyed rooster. Rest assured, beadlings, mine are here strictly for the eggs. And again, we stayed for dinner (yippee!).

Today, as soon as it warms up some, I'll take the chicks outside again. I'll probably take some beading out there to sit and keep an eye on them and I'll take the camera to get some pictures of the little puff balls. Until then, I'll be sitting here typing my fingers to the bone! And remember, bead kind to others and they'll bead kind to you!

SSDD?? Not Today!

No, these are not mine, but they show you what some of mine will look like. These are Cuckoo Marans chicks. They are a 200 year old breed from France, and they lay eggs that have chocolate brown shells. The eggs are also fairly large and are supposed to taste wonderful.

This is what the Rhode Island Red chicks will look like. They will be our big producers starting around September. They'll lay nice, big, brown eggs. These and the Marans will be our big layers. I also want to get some of the "Easter egg" chickens, or Ameraucanas, which lay blue or green eggs! That's the shell color, mind you. I'm not raising any Dr. Seuss chickens. And, let me tell you, T-man can't wait. The man loves his eggs! And look at these little egg cups and salt and pepper shakers I found at My Pet Chicken (yes, really). If you have quiche recipes, please start sending them! No mushrooms, no shellfish please. Everything else is A-OK!

Margot Potter (The Impatient Beader) has a new vlog about the creative process! I've missed her vlogs, and I'm so glad she got the camera working again. Go watch (it's short) and remember, the journey's the thing!

I did finish the first rendition of the newest pattern last night. I started the second one when I was way too tired, and had to pull it all out. Let's just say that by next week, I'll be itching to do something other than peyote stitch for a while! Have a wonderful weekend, beadlings!