Hectichousehold

Grandfather Tree

2011-04-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

So...every year it rains, pours and storms on my birthday. This year was no exception...huge storms blew through just after midnight. The first pic is the view from my kitchen window a couple weeks ago, the second is this morning. Eeeps!

Turkey Poults

2011-04-19T17:32:00.001-07:00

We decided to try out raising turkeys this year. We got 4 one week old poults. They are the most inquisitive little buggers. They want to interact with you so much. They have totally imprinted on us in the 2 days we have had them. I still have not decided exactly how I feel about encouraging imprinting. Who knows. We are really looking forward to watching these littles grow up big. We are unsure at this point what sex they are. We are very sure that they are very fun and very cute.

Spring Mini Quilt in 3D

2011-04-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

For a few years I have been sewing up a mini quilt a month to send off to a partner. There is usually some sort of theme. I think we have all decided to swap every other month now instead. The theme this month was 3D. My friend Shruti lives in India and she is my partner this go round.

Funky Chair for a Friend

2011-04-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

A very good friend of mine has inspired me to finish all the projects I always wish I had done. About 12-15 years ago I found this awesome chair, I have always wanted to paint the legs and add funky fun pillows. So I unearthed the chair and liberated it from the farthest dark corner of my garage...followed by a very sunny day, I painted the legs, then quickly sewed up some funny little pillows. One pillow for the funky garage liberated chair and one pillow for a chair that already exists in my friend's living room. As a surprise I brought the chair and pillows over to my friend. I think it was a very appreciated giftie. I am thankful for the inspiration to complete yet another project I have had on my mind for years.

Doll Quilt Swap 10

2011-04-09T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have been participating in a few swaps over on flickr. I was lucky enough to get into the tenth round of the Doll Quilt Swap .

My partner lives pretty far away and I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the package I sent her. I made her a Cathedral Windows quilt with lots of glass beads and shell buttons. It was great fun to make. I hope she loves it.

Sunny Spring Days

2011-04-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

The anticipation and magic that fills the atmosphere in Spring time makes the hairs on my neck stand up and a tingling fill my soul. The excitement is so full of amazing energy and possibility. I spent the day out in the forest, watching as the mystical forces played out in a one pocket of woodlands. The day was so outstanding I really expected to see small faeries, elves and imps carefully at work preparing for the upcoming growth.

Yummy Treats for Gallery Walk

2011-04-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

We had a good opening on Friday evening at John's gallery. The artist was energized and the crowd was enthusiastic. I chose the menu and made food and desserts for the event. It went over really well. I had a great time blending up all the chic peas into hummus. I made garlic hummus and basil/garlic hummus.....a gallon and a half total....I think I should have made 3 gallons. A recipe for Lentil and Barley stew was found in blogland( http://dreamaboutfood.blogspot.com/2011/03/cumin-lentil-barley-stew.html ), so I quadrupled the batch and made over 4 gallons of the yummy warm stew. We resurected a recipe from John's old restaurant, made a huge batch of Quinoa Salad. We also had trays of crackers, veggies, pita, and olives. I baked 3 apples pies for the dessert table...I think I should have baked 9 or 10..seriously...they were so good and everyone loved their deliciousness. As an added bonus...it was all vegan.

can music exist where there once was none?

2011-03-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

I have this revolution occurring in my head recently. I guess the last 2 years or so, maybe a little longer. My husband and I have some pretty different opinions about music we listen to for enjoyment. So...I spent much of my teenage years following my fave bands and hanging out with that scene, and hooking up with friends on weekends to listen to their bands belt out tunes in funky music halls, basements, houses, and small retail establishments. Much of that fun ended when John and I realized we could not stand the others choice of recreational music. So stagnant we became. John has a fairly decent musical background, where mine is pretty much void of any personal musical expression. Anyway, my story is this...we have not listened to much music, until my daughter started listening to her own music. I mean I guess my kids have always known a few...Johny Cash, Crosby, Still, Nash and Young, Sting, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, etc. I am really rambling here. Anyhow, about 3 years ago Lexi started listening to a pretty nice group of country music tunes. I have previously shied away from that genre, but I listened and realized I liked most of it. So...that in itself opened the house to some new sounds. My whole life growing up I never learned to play an instrument..who knows why. My parents never shared any music of their own creation with us...I think at some point my sisters tried something. We always had this old guitar languishing somewhere in the house...oh how I longed to be able to pick it up and really know what to do with it. Many years ago, I finally decided it needed a face lift. So I sanded it down and stripped it of all its glossy sheen and hardware. I started painting it. I guess it never really looked the way I wanted it as I packed it away in the back of the garage years and years ago. My daughter, the country music fan, has been asking for years to take guitar lessons, so she finally found a teacher she likes. We bought her a guitar and she is knee deep in learning. So, this has renewed once again my interest in painting a fun guitar, with the hopes of someday figuring out how to plunk something out on it. So, I dug back into the dark recesses of our treasure trove of a garage and found the guitar...once again I have started over painting it. I think this is the 3rd or 4th time to have a go at this, since I was about 12 years old. Here are the paintings from this week. Maybe someday I will finish this guitar, reinstall the hardware...wonder where that is....and finally learn the skill of playing guitar. We shall see if this dream ever comes true.

Our cute miniature horses

2011-03-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

In mid December we brought home 4 miniature horses, 2 young fillies, Daisy and Rose, and 2 geldings, Diablo and Patches, that are a couple years old. We had our work cut out for us as we were not quite ready as my husband was sick all Fall. So, in single digits we built their stalls, and now that spring is here we are building more fencing. They are getting quite used to us and continue to trust all of us more each day. Soon we will hopefully have great tales of carting for everyone. Here are a few horsie pics from this week. Enjoy!

Building Fences

2011-03-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

We have been busy building fences for the miniature horses. We started with their dry lot and have moved on to pasture fencing. In 2 weekends we have put up 86 feet of fencing and a 4ft gate. The kids enjoyed the fire we had burning both weekends and provided musical entertainment for us. We are separating the pasture in half, so there will be 2 halves. We are only trying to fence the first half right now...keep something accomplishable in sight, then go for the next stage. The horses have loved their freedom so far, it will be nice when they have 100% use of the whole pasture. Freedom sure beats me taking them out to exercise daily on a lunge line. The fence is 48"tall, post and board, and in between we have strung wire fencing with the 2"x4" rectangular openings. With this fence we can accommodate all sorts of things. We will not have to worry about our dogs running to China when accompanying us to work with the horses, and we will be able to keep the turkeys in. Lexi will be getting 4 turkeys this spring. The sole purpose for the turkeys is food, but I think it may be fun to just have them for show as well. I think this stage of the fencing still needs 200 feet or so, and a couple of gates, so busy we will continue to be.

'Tis the Season for Sugarin'

2011-03-06T14:51:00.001-08:00

I spent today with a friend of mine and her poultry flock making yummy Maple Syrup. She is a novice and still learning tricks, but it is a fairly simple, but time consuming activity. She has been collecting sap from her Black, Silver and Red Maple trees this week, 50 gallons of sap was collected from 5 trees. A fire was started and the boiling process began . She made her first small batch last weekend. I got a small taste and wow was it big on flavor. I may have to get my own taps, technically called spiles and give it a whirl. The whole process is so relaxing. She has a very simple set up that works very well, so I thought I would share before I go take a shower and wash off all this fantastic cold spring day warm fire smell.

Free Pieced Letters

2011-03-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

I have been having a very scrappy time lately making all sorts of things out of the scrap bin. I love making these free pieced letters, they are so definitely my style. The organic feel they have to me as they are being created really appeals to that side of me who craves no rules. We had a couple birthday parties to go to and a friend who needed a couple gifts to make them smile...so these are a few of the things we have come up with lately.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

2011-02-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

Carmen's class performed a wonderful celebration of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream last night. The kids rehearses, built props, rehearsed, gathered costume pieces, rehearsed, painted sets for the various scenes, and rehearsed some more. They did a wonderful job, every child should be very proud. I had the honor of helping the children organize their costumes and sewing like a madwoman. I am very thankful that we have been able to keep our kids at the school they attend over the years. I am always happy with the great stuff they are being taught.

Have a great day!

2011-02-19T05:47:00.000-08:00

Fairy Costumes

2011-02-17T05:53:00.000-08:00

This year Carmen's class is performing Shakespeare's Mid Summer Night's Dream...so I am helping make costumes. What better way to have fun than a great costume?!!! So, I have been making shoes for all the fairies...and are they ever entertaining to create for each child. I also made a few fairy costumes and a set of donkey ears.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T04:51:00.000-08:00

Our most favorite holidays are Valentine's Day and Halloween, what better times to use your creativity and come up with something wonderful. All the kids came up with very thoughtful tokens for their pals. Carmen folded a bunch of paper cranes and strung them with beds and cloth scraps to make wonderful ornaments. Anthony folded paper boats and added lots of colorful hearts. Vincent made crazy hearts with all manner of scrap bin finds. Isabella made cards with Love Bugs on them, while Francesca made Valentine Fairies. Gianina in her usual sparkly way made Cupid Wands for all her friends. Emilia was cute, as always. Hopefully you all had a meaningful day filled with love from the ones you hold dear.

Miniature Horses Have Arrived

2010-12-12T11:20:00.000-08:00

We picked out 4 miniature horses in August, 2 weanling fillies and 2 geldings. We brought them home today. We have spent the last couple weeks in this freezing weather building mini sized stalls for them in our barn. So we would like to introduce you to Cedar Drives Diablo, Cedar Drives Patches, Cedar Drives La Bella Margherita, Cedar Drives La Bella Rosa.

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

A pair of ghosts, a gnome on a toadstool, a skeleton, Little Red Riding Hood, Dorothy of Oz(and Toto), Max-King of the Wild Things, and a very small very sweet witch went out to haunt the neighborhood....they came back with bucketfuls of yummy sugary deliciousness. All is well on Halloween...one day of the year you can be anything in the entire universe. To all the kids and kids at heart...Happy Haunting!

Chickens and coops and runs

2010-07-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

I keep trying to separate our chickens into groups that make sense.

*We have our big coop that John, the kids and I built last year. We still need to do a few things to it, but only finishing kinds of things. In the big coop we have our layer hens (Plymouth Barred Rocks, Dark Brown Leghorn, Black Leghorn, Black Australorps) and a couple fancy roosters(Black Australorp and Black Sumatra). The roosters need to be pulled out and given their own little rooster huts, but I haven't quite organized my ideas on this yet. We are getting plenty of eggs from these ladies, so I am quite pleased with how it has worked out. I am a little ready to thin the Barred Rocks out and get a few more new birds in there. But since the Barreds are the first chicks we ever got, this is a little more difficult for me to do, they are almost like pets to me.

*We have the bantam coop which houses 6 little bantam birds of various breeds(white rock, partridge brahmas, buff brahma, mille fleur belgian bearded d'uccle, black silkie). This coop is perfect for the kids, none of the birds are aggressive, the coop is small and all things can be handled by the kids, they do 100% of the feeding, watering, cleaning, egg collection, run raking..all of it. All of the birds in this coop are super sweet, 3 of them are about 6 years old, so this is just a coop for fun and kids to enjoy their poultry experience. Last summer, the boys even built the run and gate themselves out of welded wire and J clips. I always love when you can give kids materials, let them know what you have in mind and walk away.

*A few years ago Anthony and I built an 8 foot by 8 foot pen for the kids to sit in with their rabbits and be able to play with them, with out worrying about them running away, or any predators. We only have 4 rabbits left now and they don't really try to run now when they are handled, so we turned the pen into a run and used the dogloo that came with one of our dogs for a coop. Our dogs are not outside dogs, so a dog house is useless at this point in our lives. Anyhow, we are using the dogloo with a modified door for our silkies we have them in black and white. Until the fair, our broiler birds, Dark Cornish, a dual purpose breed are living in with the silkies as well. We do not much care for the temperment of the Dark Cornish, so hopefully the kids will sell them at the small animal auction after the fair.

* This weekend we finally finished putting together our coop and run for the Black Copper Marans. It has been one of those we will get around to it projects, a few minutes here and there, no big hurry and a grouping of dog crates to fill the gaps in the interim. Black Copper Marans lay dark brown eggs, and have a wonderful
disposition.

*Carmen has 2 little BB Red Modern Game Birds that she adores. They stay inside when it is cold, but during the summer they have this cute tiny little coop they stay in.

*And I am working slowly on "The Beach Cabana", made solely out of recycled materials. It eventually will house the silver phoenix trio we have.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

Cathedral Windows

2010-06-08T04:21:00.000-07:00

I like to try new things and see if it is a project that I have the time to whip out. If it is something too intense, I do not have time for it. So I have been rolling around the idea of a Cathedral Windows quilt top. I seem to have a ton of fabric scraps that have something of interest on them, so I was thinking this would be a great idea. I read a bunch of online tutorials and what not, usually I need something to motivate me, light a fire under me you know. One of my online friends was also thinking about it and shared a list of her fave tutorials on it. The Sometime's Crafter made sense to me... http://sometimescrafter.blogspot.com/2009/10/tutorial-cathedral-window.html So away I dashed to the sewing machine...and this is what i came up with about a half an hour later. There is room for lots of improvement, but the basics are all there. If you have ever rolled around the idea of trying these, but felt it was too difficult, go try it, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Spring Soccer is Nearly Over

2010-06-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Everyone in our family loves to play soccer. The youngest 2 are not yet old enough to be on a team, but the love of the game and the super ultra competitive drive are definitely there. I think we live and breathe soccer, soccer practices, and soccer games from early March until mid June, then again from early August until late October. This Spring season is coming to an end, so I thought I would share a few pics of the kids with the teams they spend every weekend and many week days with.

Action shots of Lexi playing at a recent soccer tournament

2010-06-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the Arts on a Friday Night

2010-06-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

Gallery Walk was last night. John had a great new show opening, featuring Jim Sampson and Sammye Dina Smith. Of course, the prints and painting were fantastic. There were also several potters, a metal mobile artist and a photographer with works on display, as well as a couple sculptors. We decided to make it a family affair. We all joined John for an evening downtown. The kids were fascinated by our favorite local folk singer, Mitch Rice, who has been enchanting each and every child since birth...and to sweeten the deal, his friend brought Charlie the dancing parrot. The younger kids sprawled out games on the sidewalk for some extra kid friendly entertainment. With a gallery full of new art, excellent food, beer, and wine, sidewalk games and live musical entertainment, the evening was quite a success.

More Blooms Blooming

2010-06-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

And a few more flower bloom pics to share from today. The Stella D'Oro's are opening as well, pics on those tomorrow. I hope you enjoy seeing what is blooming, because there is a lot more to come. Summer is upon us!

A little sewing

2010-06-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

Recently I won a fabric giveaway from Marilyn of SpicedCoffee, so with that fabric I am making the little girls a quilt with cross blocks. I made up a few and I like how it is going so far. Then I had a few block swaps and mini quilt swaps to do, so here are some of them. The purple blocks are for a Black and White +1 color 3.5" block swap. The green and black and white block is one of the 2 blocks for The Fussy Cut Love Bee that I am in as well. The mini quilt here with the yellow prairie points is for The Mini Quilt Trading Swap. Others I will reveal only after they reach their destinations!

Roosters

2010-05-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

I took pics today of 3 of our roosters. They are looking good, so I thought I would share them with you. The colorful rooster is a bantam Partridge Brahma, the black with the red comb and wattles is a Black Australorp, and the black one with the black comb is our Black Sumatra. They all have such remarkable personalities, I am so glad to know each one of them. Pics of the other roosters and hens soon.

Another Owl Bag

2010-05-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

I started another bag. I like it, roomy and bigger than the other one. It matches the owl quilt a little more closely. One of the kids wants it to be a pillow, but bag it shall be. I need to make a strap for it and put the top and zipper in as well. Perhaps I should clean my house next...maybe.

Milkshakes!

2010-05-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

We went for milkshakes the other night, John and Emilia shared. She had so much fun doing this and loved that she actually got the same treat as the big kids.

And more blooms

2010-05-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

What is blooming right now

2010-05-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

Summer is here and the flowers are once again in bloom. No, I have not weeded, who has time for that...certainly not me, but the flowers still bloom. Here are the latest pics for your enjoyment.

Variation on a theme

2010-05-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about cleaning up in one of the rooms of my house where I put together the owl quilt. As I started folding up leftovers and organizing scraps, I realized an owl bag/purse was definitely in order. I don't like to clean anyway, so I began sewing, using up scraps of this and that as I went along. I even had a zipper laying around, so I put a fun boxy top on the bag. Finished dimensions were 13 1/2" wide by 14" tall and 5" thick. This thing is so roomy and holds all manner of my crap...and I take a lot of crap with me everywhere. I included 2 big pockets inside and a loop to clip my keys to, I am always dumping out the entire contents of my bags to find my keys...which are always hiding on bottom. I think I may be stuck on these owls for quite some time, they are just so fun for me.

OWL QUILT FINISHED

2010-05-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

I finished the owl quilt today. It took less than a week from dream to reality. I am very excited to show it off. This quilt pretty much made itself. I just love all aspects of it. Finished size is 58"x66 1/2".

The Owl Quilt Comes Together...free motion quilting

2010-05-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

I have been working in all my spare time(hahahaha) on this quilt, I would really like to get it all finished up in less than a week. Things that take too long have a way of not getting finished up around here. So, the top is completed, and now I are quilting and sewing on the binding. I am pleased with how the whole thing is turning out. There are some wonky places, but I am the queen of wonk. This is the largest item I have quilted with my machine, and it has been quite fun.

The Best Ideas Come From Dreams

2010-05-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

Around Mother's Day I had a dream about my husband and I asleep in bed. The quilt that was on my bed was so fun and amazing. I just had to make it. So I woke up and sketched out what I had seen in my sleep. All the fabrics it was made of were fabrics I already had right here at home, so I was able to start right away. This is the most fun quilt top I have made. I thought you might like to see the progress shots.

Today I feel so much better

2010-04-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

I finally gave in and started taking allergy meds. Boy has it transformed my spring life! I have energy back. I am no longer sneezing at least 7 times per minute! My red itchy watery eyes are no longer. I am able to function again. Whooooooooo hooooooooo!

I am also a neurotic pacy mess, my little sweetheart Buttercup is being spayed today. I know she will be just fine. She is such a sweetie, I get so worked up!

ok, i need to get better pics of her. I will put that on my list!

My birthday breakfast

2010-04-20T13:36:00.000-07:00

Carmen and John got up super early this morning to bake me a breakfast pie. Carmen and I recently read, A Long Way From Chicago. In the book there was a sour cream raisin pie. So...Carmen worked it all out with John and this is what I was served in bed this morning. A sour cream raisin pie and lots of notes from the kiddos.

My birthday present to myself

2010-04-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

I have decided to lose some weight. I know I know, it is about time! I have been working on it for a little bit. I lost 16 pounds so far. So...33 left to go. So in order to help me out, I got a new pair of running shoes. Hopefully between Sally and I, we can jog until my inner thighs quit touching each other-totally grosses me out. I really let myself go this year, no more. Anyhow, here are my new weight loss partners...and the lilacs are blooming..so gorgeous! Hope you all are having a great sunny spring so far!

silkies chicks then and now

2010-04-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

We got a dozen white silkie chicks in the fall, here some pics when they were 3 weeks old, and a few from last week.

A doll sized quilt for DQS8

2010-04-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

I got paired up with a super cool partner for DQS8 on flickr, who happens to really appreciate her chocolate lab, so I decided to draw from that passion for her pup. This is what I came up with for her. She received this from me and she totally loves it! That makes me so happy!

a few mini quilts from the last few weeks

2010-04-12T11:38:00.001-07:00

My projects lately have been small. There has just not been tiem to stretch for anything big. So here are just a few of the mini quilts, they are so much fun!

Time for a Revival

2010-04-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

Life got very busy around here and i have neglected to keep everyone up to speed around here. So...hopefully over the next few days you will see some new pics and smiling faces...and of course as usual, some animals of some sort of another. As you all well know, I cannot turn down an animal and to me the more the merrier. A house without pets is a lonely one. So, here are a few shots of our latest acquisitions. Anthony got 3 hamsters for his 4H Pet Pals project. These are 2 of his, the 3rd one was camera shy. Hopefully in the days and weeks to come we can bring everyone up to speed on current and past events in The La Bella house!

Sugar Skulls

2009-11-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

The older girls made sugar skulls in celebration of Day of the Dead. They are so bright and colorful. I just love these every year.

Happy Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

We had a haunting good time! All the ghouls came home with bellies full of sugar. A success once again this year.

Emilia and Carmen celebrated their special day together

2009-10-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

The girls share the same day as their birthday, so we had 2 good reasons to celebrate. Sweet Emilia is one now, and Carmen is a big 10. Time just keeps passing us by so quickly!

Things from one felted sweater

2009-10-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this sweater and it felted up nicely. I made a pair of mittens and a pair of woolie pants for the babe.

Chicken Pincushion

2009-10-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

This fun chicken will be making it's way to Florida to live with a crafty lady down there. Check out SmallTownLiving for fun discussions and swaps.

We made rainbows

2009-10-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

Now you are 7!!

2009-10-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VINCENT!!!Vincent so loved our trip to McNabb that he wanted his cake fashioned after Uncle Brooks' corn fields,.

McNabb in October

2009-10-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

We started out our October with a fabulous day trip to McNabb. We got to visit a lot of John's family. All the kids had a ball! They roasted marshmallows and made S'mores with John's uncles, shared Halloween treats with John's aunts, and celebrated Vincent's birthday a few days early. A great time was had by all.

Made a DQS7 angel

2009-10-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

I made an angel quilt for DQS7, I think it was appreciated.

Fun with wood blocks

2009-10-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

The girls and I had a blast with the wooden blocks today. It was fun to just see what everyone created.

So.................what did we do for John's Birthday?!!

2009-09-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

Well, the kiddos and I scurried home after school, did a quick pick up of the house, tended to all the various animals, as swiftly as could be done, in the pouring rain, threw together and baked a cake, painted a piece of muslin for the center piece of their DADDY quilt, practiced spelling words, decorated the back door with drawings and letter magnets, and made some dinner. The best part is because of the pouring rain, we all got to be home instead of running 1, 000 places for soccer practices. What was on the menu... roasted pork tenderloin, extremely sweet corn, and garlic bread. The cake was lemon with lemon frosting. After dinner we all snuggled in on the couch and watched a movie, The Call of the Wild. The kids seem to enjoy the movie and the bonus was that they got to stay up until 10pm.

just so that everyone understands this drawing...the "F" word Carmen is referring to is the word FORTY...since next year he will be forty. Here is the center piece for their DADDY quilt, that the children will be working on for the next few weeks.

YUMMY PORK ROAST

Lemon Cake with Lemon Frosting!

Today is John's Birthday....

2009-09-24T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what to do for him...I keep thinking and thinking and it is just not coming to me. I thought I knew what I was going to do, but never did it, so here I am at the 11th hour scratching my head. Soooooooooo........any suggestions, send em my way!

block #5 completed

2009-09-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

I just finished another block for my quilt, some more fun bird embroidery!

Dog Bed for My Friend's Poodle

2009-09-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

My dog trainer has become a good friend of mine. Her recent request was a dog bed for her new big poodle. Although Flirt is still a puppy, she will be big soon enough, so a 24"x36" doggy bed was in order, winter is coming. I really want to put bows on it, but since she is still very much a puppy, they would only get chewed off! Emilia found it very cozy to sleep on last night!

The Pups...Sally and Buttercup

2009-09-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

Now that the pups are getting older and have successfully completed some obedience classes, we are trying to let them out to roam the house a bit more. Today The Golden Girls and I had a lot of fun just hanging out. Of course, I could not get a pic of Copper because she always sticks so close to my side. So here are today's pics of Sally and Buttercup. Sally is 16 months old and Buttercup is 10 months.

New Outfits for Picture Day

2009-09-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

So...at about midnight the night before picture day I realized the twinnies needed something new to wear in their picture, so here is what I came up with...

10 1/2 months old!

2009-09-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

She is so sweet!

Manicures and Pedicures

2009-09-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

After 13 years together and 6 daughters, I saw my honey do something I had never seen him do before. John was busy all morning last weekend painting nails...30 fingers and 30 toes....the girls loved every minute of it. I think John had a great time as well.

Fun Bugs in Our Garden

2009-09-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

As our harvest is coming to an end, I no longer worry so much about what is eating at the remains. We have found several very cool bugs lately in the garden. The kids are trying out different camera angles and setting to capture these critters in pictures. As the next few weeks pass we will be putting the veggie garden to bed for the winter, and we will be keeping our eyes open for more fun garden dwellers.

An apron

2009-09-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

As it seems, many moons ago, I swapped aprons with a friend in California. She of course sent hers right away, it is amazing and gorgeous, all bedecked in chickens and rick rack, complete with pockets to die for. I made her one as well, to her specs, she likes blue floral prints and full aprons, and not bib style ones....so here is the one she received from me about a month ago...oh and it has a matching napkin in the pocket.

Thank yous

2009-09-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

We made up several thank yous for poultry related things. Here are a few. We are still seriously behind on them for things that we are so grateful to have been gifted. Hopefully I can keep chipping away at my pile and get everything finished up, packaged up and mailed out.

A cloth bag for a birthday

2009-09-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

The little girls have a new friend. His birthday party was last week. We made this fun sturdy cloth bag for him. It has fleece sandwiched in between the dinosaur and plaid, to give it extra strength.

Batik disappearing 9 patch and bird embroidery

2009-09-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

I am spending a lot of time these days running kids from hither to yon, so I am trying to always keep one block with me that needs embroidered...since waiting is always on the menu. These bright batiks have just been calling to me lately. I originally thought this would be for someone else, but I have decided that I love it so much that I will just try to keep it for me. We will see if I can see this through to completion.

a few more blocks and a halloween top swap

2009-09-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween. My favorite holiday. I am in a round robin swap. Here are my blocks, and the top I pieced together.

More wonky stars...6"-12" mini swap

2009-09-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

I really love these batiks with black, so for my last mini quilt swap I made this modern amish rendition for my partner. It left a couple days ago as well, hope she likes it.

My Doll Quilt Swap 7 is complete

2009-09-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

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My partner for this flickr swap said she likes red and aqua together, so I learned how to make wonky star blocks for this one and some prairie points. It was mailed off a few days ago. I hope my partner loves it when she gets it.

Fun in the mornings before school

2009-09-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

The little girls and i have been enjoying our time with the older kids at school in the morning. We have been going for walks, bike rides, and walking the dogs. A few times we have even managed to convince John to eat lunch with us!

School is back in full swing

2009-09-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

It seems the kids are back to school. All 7 who go for some portion of the day are all at the same school this year. We are pleased to have one location we feel confident in this year. The kids all seem to be doing well and adjusting to their school routine. The reading program Anthony did this summer seems to have paid off well. If we can get him on track, we will be all set. Vincent is loving first grade and is very much in charge of his domain. Gianina is so happy to finally be old enough to start preschool, so she has been thrilled that everyday she can be what she calls a "school bird." Lexi is very happy with her decisions this year regarding school, so we are at peace with this. Carmen is trying very hard to smoothly transition into the older classroom. She has several researches and creative writings in various stages of rough draft and final draft. The twins are happy as usual, going about their day in a very busy fashion. John and I moved the little girls out of the big girls room and started making their own spaces for them. So everyone has their desks empty and full of their work for the day. When everyone has their own space, the house is so much more peaceful. Although the move is not complete, the basic stuff is all in place...now only teh mess is left behind. Where is the time? I need time to clean this place up and the days keep marching right into the nights! Whew!

Carmen's new additions to our flock!

2009-08-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

During fair week Carmen was gifted a young pair of Modern Game birds. She has been spending a lot of time with them lately. We will begin their cottage construction next week. They won't be outside in winter months, but during warmer seasons they enjoy the outdoors. The male will need his comb and other facial skin dubbed soon, so he can be shown. This is as big as these 2 get, so cute!

Bantam Chickens

2009-08-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

So you have seen our bantam coop, it houses 7 little birds right now. A Black Silkie hen, a Mille Fleur Bearded Belgian D'Uccle hen, a Buff Brahma hen, a White Rock pullet, a Partridge Brahma pullet, a White Rock rooster, and a Partridge Brahma cockerel. Right now they are all getting along quite nicely, we hope this continues, and all the kids are in love big time.

The bantam coop...remodel in progress

2009-08-09T15:46:00.000-07:00

Our bantam coop got a fresh coat of paint, I believe Sprinkles of Summer is the color. It now matches our big coop and our house. The inside has only been partially repainted, it is hard to get too much done when they still want in to lay eggs and such. I moved the roost higher, hung the feeder, cut a piece of vinyl flooring to fit the floor, put a hasp and lock on the back doors, put hook and eyes on both sides of the egg door, and changed the egg door handle. I put the old egg door knob on the chicken door, like a door knob. There are a few more things I would like to do. I need to add a little strip of trim to the inside left back door to keep out drafts in winter, finish painting inside, glue down the vinyl floor piece I put in, and caulk the seam where the floor meets the walls, and add some vinyl flooring to the floor of the nest boxes, and a strip of trim to the front edge of the nest boxes. So, next weekend I will do those things.

The boys built a fancy run for me out of 1"x1" opening welded wire that is 33" tall, they used 1"x2" welded wire for the roof of the run approx 9 feet long by 4 ft wide, and 2"x3" coated welded wire for the floor. We are hoping this should be fairly predator proof. They cut a door in the run the size of the chicken door of the little coop, screwed screw eyes into the front of the coop in 6 places and ran long I bolts through the screw eyes to hold the run securely to the coop. They used J clips and put a gate in to cover the hole they cut for the chicken door, should we ever want to use the enclosure free standing. They also cut a bigger opening in one of the 9ft sides with wire cutters, carefully bending down every sharp wire with pliers. Then they cut another piece of wire and made a gate out of it, so the kids can very comfortably get in and out of the run to visit with the little bantams. That reminds me, I do need to get a few clips to hold those 2 gates shut, right now they are just wired closed.

Anyhow, we are having a lot of fun with this tiny pint sized coop, so hope you like our progress. I should have taken a before and after pic..

Happy Birthday 85th Great Grandma

2009-08-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

My grandmother turned 85 this summer. We happened to all have the Sunday before her birthday free, so I made a few phone calls and by the time Sunday rolled around, one of my aunt's organized a small get together to celebrate. My grandmother was totally mesmerized by the twinnies and Emilia. Francesca shares the same birthday as my grandmother and coincidentally was named after my grandmother's middle name. Although my grandmother has no memory of the day, I think she enjoyed the attention.

Sugar cookies made from our eggs

2009-08-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

YUM! Lexi is coming home from a week at camp today, so we baked her a batch of sugar cookies as a welcome home! It was our intention that he whole family would go to pick her up and make it a weekend event, but Carmen was invited to a friend's birthday party, so the boys all went to pick up Lexi and the girls all stayed here.

Carmen went to a birthday party today

2009-08-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

We made an outfit for Carmen's friend's birthday today. It was fun to make. Carmen was in a hurry to get out the door to the party, and we were in a hurry, but I made her model it before we gave it away, wet hair and all! So, Francesca modeled the matching hair band. Conveniently, we stole the basic outfit pattern from a pattern our friend Anne(Thanks Anne!) gave us last weekend when we were at her house for a butchering how-to party (don't worry I won't share pics.) Anyhow we added ruffles to the bottom of the shorts, cut the shorts a bit long ,and added a cuff to the shirt sleeves and ruffle to the shirt waist. Voila...a cute outfit. Bonne, do you recognize this fabric?

EGGCITING(sorry could not resist it) NEWS AT OUR HOUSE!

2009-08-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

Our Barred Rocks have started laying! We got the first egg on July 25th as we gathered our birds for the fair. Hopefully soon we will be finding 15+eggs a day between the Barred rocks, Dark Brown Leghorn, the Black Australorps, and the bantam coop.

Here are pics of eggs from the first 2 weeks. It is hard to believe that these are all from the same breed and age of chicken. The really big one we cracked open today to make sugar cookies, it had 2 yolks! It must be hard to get the egg laying skill down to a daily habit. I am really hoping that the girls get all the kinks worked out and next month we are over flowing with fresh eggs!

Open Class Fair projects

2009-08-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

The kids collectively had 22 Open Class projects. Carmen had 6, Lexi had 4, Anthony had 3, Vincent had 3, Isabella had 2, Francesca had 2, and Gianina had 2. This is one of my favorite parts of the fair, you don't have to be in 4H, you don't have to sign up months in advance-you just show up on a specified day with your items and make sure they make it to the right category.

Another new arrival

2009-08-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

We bought this funny little red frizzle at the small animal auction after the fair. My hens all seem to not be amused by it, but I bought it because she reminds me so much of John's old receptionist. I just think this chicken is hilarious, might not last long here, but has cracked me up for a few days.

Poultry Olympics

2009-08-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

I did not get too many pics of this series of events, but let me tell you they were a hoot and a half. Runner Duck races, candy corn gobbling, don't break the yolk, chickens walking the plank, gummy worm eating, and show cage set up relay. I wish I had more pics to share. Anthony won 3rd Place in Candy Corn gobbling!

Francesca loves Gunner

2009-08-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

I cannot tell you how many times during fair week we had to go find Gunner. Gunner is a tiny little horse. He is owned by a 9 year old. He won Grand Champion under 50". Francesca could stand on the edge of this ring and watch Gunner work all day long if I let her.

More Chickeny Fun at the Fair

2009-08-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

Fair week was a whole lot of fun for kids and parents alike. We spent a ton of time in the poultry barn, letting lots of people hold and pet our birds. Chickens are not mean, not scary, not evil, not filthy, not bad for kids, and do make excellent pets. So any myths any of you are out there thinking about, just chalk it up to urban legend. We tried to get a family pic, but Gianina escaped before the shutter could catch her.

Our New Bantam Coop

2009-08-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

On the first day of the fair, Lexi found out a friend of one of our 4H leaders was giving away her small bantam coop, with 3 little bantam hens, a black silkie, a buff brahma, and a mille fleur bearded belgian d'uccle. So, Lexi and my good friend Maura who was in visiting from Connecticut got on the phone and arranged for us to pick this little coop and it's tiny occupants up the next morning. So we got to meet a sweet couple and help give their little hens a new place to rest their roost. We got them home and set up immediately. We pulled out the primer, primed it white, built a predator resistant run, installed locks on the doors, a new handle for the egg door, and painted it yellow to match our house and our large coop. I will have to get more photos, you must see it in yellow and with the run. I have to say that the boys are mostly to thank for the fabulous run. I started it, they did the rest. They are great with wire cutters, pliers, and J clips! At the end of the fair our 3 bantams returned home to this new coop to meet their 3 new flock mates. Pics of the painted coop and run, and the new bantams will be posted soon! Thanks to Kelly and family for a great little coop.

Anthony and his 4H poultry entry

2009-08-07T19:10:00.001-07:00

We are very proud of Anthony for the work he did this year. He and his little bantam White Rock pullet, Rosie, won first place in caring for his chicken. Way to go big guy. Her cage decorations won Second Place, also.

Vincent and his 4H Poultry entry

2009-08-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

Vincent has always been larger than life, proving to us that "Small But Mighty" will always be a slogan especially coined just for him. He showed a very small bantam Partridge Brahma pullet, Tigerwing, as a Mini 4Her, he got First Place for caring for his bird, First Place in Showmanship, for knowing lots about his little chicken, and First Place/Most Surprising for his cage decorations. Way to go Vincent!

Carmen and her 4H Poultry Fair Entries

2009-08-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

Carmen entered 4 chickens in the fair and one poultry poster for 4H. Carmen's birds did very well also, her Dark Brown Leghorn pullet won First Place, Best of Variety, her Black Australorp pullet won Fourth Place, and her cage decorations won First Place/Most Interesting, and her pair of Plymouth Barred Rocks that were her broiler pen project alsoreceived an exhibitor ribbon. Her poster about the different types of combs on chickens won 3rd place.

Lexi and her 4H Poultry Fair Enties

2009-08-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

Lexi entered 5 chickens in the fair and one poster for 4H. The birds she entered did very well. Our Black Sumatra cockerel won Grand Champion Large Fowl(which is a pretty special thing), our Golden Phoenix cock, Fawkes, won First Place, Reserve Best of Breed, his cage decorations won 2nd place, our bantam Partridge Brahma cockerel won Third Place, and a pair of our Plymouth Barred Rock pullets that were a part of the broiler pen project just got an exhibitor ribbon. Her poster did not do so well. Our name label in the corner is not quite in the most bottom right hand corner as it should be and is a few inches short of 3x5...so exhibitor ribbon once again, better luck on follow the rules next year I suppose.

A Day at the Spa!

2009-08-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

I know everyone has a list. A list of things to do before you fall off the planet. Well, mark this one off my list. I learned how to bathe chickens and get them ready for show. Each bird we took to the fair(we took 11) got a full bath, rinse, towel dry, foot scrub, foot massage, pedicure, comb massage and moisturized, and beak trimmed and filed. The truth of the matter is, Chicken Spa is super relaxing for both chickens and their bathers. The kids loved doing this. Oh and by the way, chickens float.

Swimming Lessons

2009-08-07T17:59:00.000-07:00

The oldest 6 kids took 2 weeks of swimming lessons at the local city pool, all kids learned a ton and enjoyed every minute in the water. They all passed their current class and get to move up to the next level. Whoooooo hooooooooooo!

How does our garden grow!

2009-08-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

The big garden has been ravaged multiple times by various cute furry woodland creatures gone urban pests, but we still manage to get a lot of yummy produce.
Sunflowers, cherry tomatoes, beets, red peppers, turnips, brandywine tomatoes, big boy tomatoes, early girl tomatoes, and one other heirloom variety that slips my mind, giant sugar snap peas, pole beans and eggpplants. I will have to get pics of the cukes, asparagus, gourds, and fruits.

The twinnies turned 5!

2009-08-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

The girls turned 5, so we had 2 days of celebration! Isabella wanted a pyramid of donuts as her cake, and Francesca wanted a purple diamond with a red 5, with triangle faces. So, that is what they got! Happy Birthday Twinnies!

6-12" mini quilt (JULY)

2009-08-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

Here is another mini quilt from this summer, went to my friend in Florida. Only a few swaps left outstanding to catch up on, whew summer has flown right by me!

Chicken quilt blocks

2009-08-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I joined a farm themed block swap, these are the blocks I sent. I recently received all the different blocks back and they are so cute, I will have to get pics of those as well to share. Thanks to my friend Carrie for organizing this swap.

john and kids and a few chickens

2009-08-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

Francesca and Isabella both have a loose tooth, the same one, so here are some baby teeth pics. Gianina and John. Vincent and Emilia. Vincent and a Black Australorp. Francesca and a Black Australorp, and a sleepy Emilia and a smiley happy Emilia. And a Barred Rock pullet.

6-12" mini quilt for Nay (june)

2009-08-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

For my June swap with Nay, our theme was houses. I sent her this, and the one she sent me was marvelous, gotta get pics soon!

Cinco de mayo 6-12" mini quilt

2009-08-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

So for May our theme was Cinco de Mayo. So, I sent Nay a mini pinata quilt. She sent me the prettiest Senorita, I need to photo her to share with all of you.

Birthday 6-12" mini quilt for Nay (April)

2009-08-07T12:08:00.001-07:00

My friend Naomi and I both have birthdays in April, so we gifted each other with 6"-12" mini quilts in a birthday theme. She sent me the cake and I sent her the mushroom.

Russian Doll Tea Cozy

2009-08-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

I made a tea cozy for my friend, Sheryl-lyn. It turned out cute I think. All my swaps this summer have been late, such is life I suppose, the greatest of intentions I always have.

More flowers bloom and a Lincoln Log house

2009-08-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well, lookey here, more flowers....I think Carmen took these pics. The boys have built several house out of Lincoln Logs, here is one, and a pic of the silly boys as well.

Veggies were planted and flowers bloomed

2009-08-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

The veggies went in the ground at the beginning of summer, here we have a pic of where the peas, green peppers, and some sunflowers are now growing. A couple flowers we had bloom this summer, of course we have tons now, so just a couple pics for some color.