One of my favorite things about Saturday mornings is that I get to watch Gardening with Ciscoe. He is such a strange person but gets me excited about getting outside and dirty! He has some great idea's and teaches me about various places to go check out in the greater Seattle area!
Thomas and I had the opportunity to go to Flower World in Maltby, near Snohomish this past weekend and we got some great flowers. It is so funny how as the seasons change our focus on where we are decorating or making improvements changes. In the winter we focus on the inside of our house and in the spring/summer we focus on the outside of our house. I guess it makes sense because when its dark and rainy outside we don't want to be there and things don't grow very well. So its cozier to stay inside. In the spring and summer its so rare to have those hot sunny days you have to take advantage of it. Anyways back to what I where I was going, we got to plant our little treasures this week. I am so excited for when they start growing and flourishing. We got a 'Money Plant' hopefully that will help us out during these hard economic times along with a lot more perennials. I have an eye for annuals but we need to start looking towards perennials so that the flower bed is more substantial and costs less each season.
While I was watching Gardening with Ciscoe, he and Meaghan were at the W. W. Seymour Conservatory at Wright Park in Tacoma. We decided to venture there on Mother's Day with my wonderful Momala. It looked like it was going to be a lot bigger on T.V. than it actually was but it was beautiful as was the park. My family and I had such a fun time honoring our mom and spending the day with her. We are so blessed to have her in our life and that we are able to have her as our MOM!! I love you so much!
Pictures of the garden are going to come soon. Here is a list of what we planted: Columbine, Zinnea's, Money Plant, Geraniums, Purple Alyssum, Hollyhock and then some Peonies I got at Costco.
In the veg patch we have Lettuce and Sugar Snap Peas. Hopefully they will start to sprout soon!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Project
Have a wonderful night!!
May you have many blessings and wherever your path may wind may every day that's coming be the bright and happy kind.
Ode to the Caribbean part 5
Did you know that President George Washington only went out of the country one time in his life? And the only place that Washington traveled to was: Barbados. The city of Bridgetown, Barbados was our third port of call.
Thomas and I had decided that we were only going to go on one excursion on our trip, that was going to be in Dominica, so again we decided to do our own thing. We were thinking about renting a scooter in Bridgetown but we waited in the line for about 15 minutes and no one was coming to the counter. We changed our minds and walked the 20 minutes into town/city. We walked into a fish market and got cat-called and were offered to take a picture while holding a little shark, I declined. No way are you going to get me to hold a dead fish with my bare hands. Onwards we walked and found the boardwalk along the canal. We found a really cool old church that had hundreds of birds (I think they were pigeons) living in it and there was poop everywhere. I had to dodge and run into the church because I was afraid that I was going to get pooped on. We looked inside a furniture store, but not that impressed. We stopped at little restaurant and had fries. (on our last foreign vacation to Mexico we ate off the resort and both got food poisoning so I was afraid to eat off the boat, so this was a big step for me). I drank water and Thomas had one of their local beers. On our journey back to the boat we decided to go a different way and came across info boards that told the story of George's visit to the Caribbean and many Plumeria trees.
We went back to the port shops because Thomas wanted to get some little shot bottles from the duty free and sneak them onto the boat. While we were picking out our alcohol I looked at my shoulder and noticed these little boil/blister like things all over my shoulders, arms and stomach. I started to get really mad because I was having an allergic reaction to something, either something I ate or the soap I was using from the boat. So we had to hurry and buy our alcohol and then get our artwork that we had picked out in another shop before we went on our little trek to town and get on the boat so I could take some allergy medicine and a shower. The blisters burned a little bit but mostly went away after I dried myself. Eventually I deduced that since it was so humid and hot, the top I was wearing did not breath very well, and I had a terrible sunburn that my sweat got trapped under the dead skin as my skin started to peel immediately after my shower.
It turns out that it was a good thing that we didn't rent a scooter. The drivers on the island were crazy. We were walking down the street and we were passed by a motorcycle going almost 60 in the city!! It was crazy and I guess that children getting hit by cars is a daily occurrence. Plus there were hardly any road signs. We had a map to help get us into town but could not find where we were since there were not any street signs. Very confusing.
If I were to travel back to Barbados, I would wear a better more breathable top and go see the estate that George Washington stayed at.
Ode to the Caribbean part 4
Our second stop in the Caribbean on this trip was to Basseterre, St. Kitts. The island of St. Kitts was founded in 1627 by the French, however the center of the island belonged to England. Basseterre quickly became the Capital of the French West Indies colony. The buildings are inspired by Georgian architecture. The scenery of the island is green and I have since learned that this is a beautiful island.
When we got off the boat we were greeted by locals with the cutest little monkey's wearing diapers and on a leash. They kept asking us if we wanted to take a picture...no way was I interested in getting some sort of disease on our trip so we declined. We were also harassed by a taxi driver who wanted to take us on a tour of the whole island he was just looking for two more passengers. We decided to do our own walking tour again, this time it was not a guided one. We walked around and took pictures of the churches and cemeteries and other architecture. Again when we got back to the boat we grabbed a brochure about the island and it showed a map of things to see in Basseterre, we got all of them on our short walk around town!! At the shops near the boat, they had mechanical Zombie's outside of the shop doors. We did not ask of their significance but I think it was to just get tourists into their stores. They were a little nerve wracking and I was sure that I was going to have a dream about them in some way or another (luckily that did not happen). Overall we were not too impressed with this island, I am assuming that this is an island that you SHOULD do an excursion on.
Ode to the Caribbean part 3
On our first stop on our Caribbean cruise we stopped at Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. In the 18th century this island was the center of Pirate Culture with Blackbeard and Drake traded stolen wares. Overlooking the bay is Blackbeard's Castle and Rum Distillery. It is now known as the commercial trade capital of the Caribbean, with a plethora of duty free shops.
When we arrived to the island we briefly looked around at the port shops and then got a taxi to town. We could have walked the mile and a half into town, but I do not recommend this in such hot weather when you are a Seattle native. Charlotte Amalie was a beautifully historic looking town with old buildings and streets. I loved that there were wild chickens roaming around everywhere. But we were not too impressed with the shopping as every other store was a jewelry store. Now don't get me wrong, I can appreciate jewelry but after working in the business for 4 years, I am a little burnt out with all the jewelry stuff. I am sure that the prices were great and that it is a wonderful place if you are into that sort of thing. We stopped in a few cool looking stores but I was more interested in the "tent market" in the taxi parking lot where locals were selling their goods and cheap knock offs of designer bags.
Thomas and I visited the Amber Museum (and Waterfall see above), Blackbeard Castle, and period homes while we were there and it was a great little tour that we found on our own. We only paid $15 a person to go on this tour on our own (when we got back on board we found out that it was a "real" excursion and would have paid close to $60 a person to go through the boat). The period homes were great and they had people dressed up giving little stories about the homes and the furniture and such. Then we saw Blackbeard's lookout and even got to go inside. It was so cool to see the whole city and bay and all the boats that were ported. We got to taste various rums in the distillery for free so that was really fun.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Lesson Learned
I have heard of this happening before, but me being the optimist I am and well lets just say that I don't always think things through, I didn't think that it would/could happen to me. Bring brand new sunblock with you on any vacation to the Sun.
Before I finished college and living in Ellensburg (December 2007), I thought I would use up all of my "food card money" on things that I could take with me. That entailed of cases of Starbucks Double Shots, cases of bottled water, and a butt-load of sunblock lotion SPF 15. It was a great idea as I had many plans of sitting out in the sun all summer (I was getting married and needed to be tan!) and with two trips to Mexico I was going to be stocked up! Needless to say, I didn't use all of it up. And as my life has been hectic since we came home from our Honeymoon to Cancun that stockpile of lotion has been sitting in our linen closet in our bathroom just waiting to be used.
On our recent vacation to the Caribbean, we brought our stockpile of sunblock. I knew that it was old, but it had worked last summer for the 30 min I spent outside on one of those hot days, just that one time. On our first day in the sun I wanted to make sure that my face was protected and my shoulders since they always seem to get burned, the rest of my body I thought would be just fine. Plus I wasn't planning on being in the sun too long and I rarely get burned at home (in Washington). Well the Caribbean is a lot closer to the sun, I fell asleep and just plumb stayed out in the sun a lot longer than planned. And guess what happened? Yep. You guessed it. I. Got. Burnt. Bad. I had the worst and strangest looking burn marks on my shoulders from the little bit of protection I got from the sunblock. Embarrassing. My body hurt so bad, we still had one more day at sea before our first stop to get more sunblock (it was going to be a lot cheaper off the boat). Not to mention that my backside was just as white as when I arrived, though it looked even more so with the comparison to the chile red pepper sunburned front side of my body. So the subsequent days of our trip I tried to even it out a little, using brand new sunblock that we got in St. Thomas and laid on my stomach to tan my backside. Even still by the last day of our trip my front side was still darker (and more red) than my backside could even hope to be...Oh well.
Lesson Learned. If you are going somewhere sunny for vacation and you haven't purchased sunblock in the last 3 months. You. Have. To. Buy. New. Sunblock. For. Your. Trip.
Has this ever happened to you? What is your worst burn story? Become a follower and leave a comment!!
Thanks!
Before I finished college and living in Ellensburg (December 2007), I thought I would use up all of my "food card money" on things that I could take with me. That entailed of cases of Starbucks Double Shots, cases of bottled water, and a butt-load of sunblock lotion SPF 15. It was a great idea as I had many plans of sitting out in the sun all summer (I was getting married and needed to be tan!) and with two trips to Mexico I was going to be stocked up! Needless to say, I didn't use all of it up. And as my life has been hectic since we came home from our Honeymoon to Cancun that stockpile of lotion has been sitting in our linen closet in our bathroom just waiting to be used.
On our recent vacation to the Caribbean, we brought our stockpile of sunblock. I knew that it was old, but it had worked last summer for the 30 min I spent outside on one of those hot days, just that one time. On our first day in the sun I wanted to make sure that my face was protected and my shoulders since they always seem to get burned, the rest of my body I thought would be just fine. Plus I wasn't planning on being in the sun too long and I rarely get burned at home (in Washington). Well the Caribbean is a lot closer to the sun, I fell asleep and just plumb stayed out in the sun a lot longer than planned. And guess what happened? Yep. You guessed it. I. Got. Burnt. Bad. I had the worst and strangest looking burn marks on my shoulders from the little bit of protection I got from the sunblock. Embarrassing. My body hurt so bad, we still had one more day at sea before our first stop to get more sunblock (it was going to be a lot cheaper off the boat). Not to mention that my backside was just as white as when I arrived, though it looked even more so with the comparison to the chile red pepper sunburned front side of my body. So the subsequent days of our trip I tried to even it out a little, using brand new sunblock that we got in St. Thomas and laid on my stomach to tan my backside. Even still by the last day of our trip my front side was still darker (and more red) than my backside could even hope to be...Oh well.
Lesson Learned. If you are going somewhere sunny for vacation and you haven't purchased sunblock in the last 3 months. You. Have. To. Buy. New. Sunblock. For. Your. Trip.
Has this ever happened to you? What is your worst burn story? Become a follower and leave a comment!!
Thanks!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Ode To The Caribbean 2
Our last stop on our cruise vacation was to the island of Saint Martin or Sint Maarten depending on what half of the island you are on. The island is divided 60/40 between France and the Netherlands. On the French side you would be in Saint Martin and the capital is Marigot, on the Dutch side you would be in Sint Maarten and the capital is Philipsburg. This island is unique as it has been owned by two countries who have been able to carry out a treaty to share the island, there is no border between the two ownerships so no need to bring your passport with you as you travel around the island. The most populated city is Marigot but the Dutch side has more people than the French. They have two different currencies used on the island, but like most countries I have traveled to they accept the US Dollar as well.
This is a beautiful island full of great people! Thomas and I chose to spend most of our time in Marigot, it was about a 20 minute taxi ride ($7/person) from Philipsburg to Marigot. We walked their street market, ate a delicious restaurant La Vie En Rose and visited Fort Louis. While the Fort is not well preserved with crumbling walls, you can tell that it was a great vantage point to help defend the island from attacks. The French side of the island is known for clothing optional beaches, we didn't go to any because probably those who choose the clothing optional option are not those that you want to see. We did spend time on the beach in Philipsburg and were offered many times to rent lounge chairs and umbrellas, we denied each offer and in one beach mans dire attempts to get some money out of us he asked "well if no loungers how about some weed, its legal here"! The water was so salty that Thomas was able to float on his back for almost 10 minutes without have to kick or wave his arms. This island was very different from Dominica as it was very urban. We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to our next trip back to Dominica and St. Maarten.
This is a beautiful island full of great people! Thomas and I chose to spend most of our time in Marigot, it was about a 20 minute taxi ride ($7/person) from Philipsburg to Marigot. We walked their street market, ate a delicious restaurant La Vie En Rose and visited Fort Louis. While the Fort is not well preserved with crumbling walls, you can tell that it was a great vantage point to help defend the island from attacks. The French side of the island is known for clothing optional beaches, we didn't go to any because probably those who choose the clothing optional option are not those that you want to see. We did spend time on the beach in Philipsburg and were offered many times to rent lounge chairs and umbrellas, we denied each offer and in one beach mans dire attempts to get some money out of us he asked "well if no loungers how about some weed, its legal here"! The water was so salty that Thomas was able to float on his back for almost 10 minutes without have to kick or wave his arms. This island was very different from Dominica as it was very urban. We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to our next trip back to Dominica and St. Maarten.
Teaser Pics from our Vacation
Dominica
St. Thomas
St. Thomas
St. Thomas
Enjoy!! more info and pics to come!!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Ode to the Caribbean part 1
What an eventful 3 weeks! Thomas and I were blessed to join my family on a Caribbean Cruise on the Celebrity Equinox. We got to travel to 5 different Islands in the Southern Caribbean. Our favorites were Dominica and St. Maarten. The other islands we visited were, St. Thomas, Barbados, and St Kitts. I will post about our trip on a few different posts since there is a lot to cover. I will start out with our favorite, Roseau Dominica (Dom-ih-nee-ka).
Dominica is a beautiful Rain Forrest island getting over 250 inches of rain a year!! Luckily it did not rain while we were there. We went on an excursion to visit the Trafalgar Falls and the Emerald Pool. Our tour guide Cynthia was wonderful and she gave us such interesting information regarding Dominica and its people. We learned the long process to roasting cashews takes up to 6 months! and we learned that as soon as your child can walk, talk and use the toilet they are old enough to go to school. Most of their children are potty-trained by 7 months to 1 year and begin school at age 2, which is hard to imagine since children in the US don't start potty training until they are close to 2 years old! Along our tour we got to go through the Botanical Gardens and saw many new and interesting plants and trees. There was even a tree that looked like it was growing giant peanuts the size of two Volleyballs stacked on top of each other!! We went to Mont Bruce which is a lookout point high above in the city of Roseau, giving us a wonderful view of the city and ocean. Cynthia also told us that most people on the island only eat red meat 3 times a year, at Christmas, Weddings and Birthdays, their diet mainly consists of fruits, vegetables and fish with some chicken. Most everything is grown on the island and their main export is Bananas. We learned about their unique health care on the island. Each resident gets one free visit to the health clinic each week and if they need to go to the hospital they must pay about $100 for their visit. Dominican's do not really believe in Western Medicine, if they have an ailment then they make a tea out of their natural resources. The other really cool thing about Dominica is that they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean there. We had such a fabulous time at this island, we now know where we are going to retire to...if only that were to happen in the next couple of years.
On another note, Cooper loves the sun. He follows the sun in our house when he takes naps. This afternoon it got a little chilly so I turned on the heat. I looked around for the puppies and Cooper was laying next to the slider door, odd because it is on the wrong side of the house for the sun...then I realized that he was laying next to our floor vent and enjoying the warm air blowing out. What a cutie!!
May your pockets be heavy -
Your hearts be light
And may good luck pursue you
Each morning and night.
Dominica is a beautiful Rain Forrest island getting over 250 inches of rain a year!! Luckily it did not rain while we were there. We went on an excursion to visit the Trafalgar Falls and the Emerald Pool. Our tour guide Cynthia was wonderful and she gave us such interesting information regarding Dominica and its people. We learned the long process to roasting cashews takes up to 6 months! and we learned that as soon as your child can walk, talk and use the toilet they are old enough to go to school. Most of their children are potty-trained by 7 months to 1 year and begin school at age 2, which is hard to imagine since children in the US don't start potty training until they are close to 2 years old! Along our tour we got to go through the Botanical Gardens and saw many new and interesting plants and trees. There was even a tree that looked like it was growing giant peanuts the size of two Volleyballs stacked on top of each other!! We went to Mont Bruce which is a lookout point high above in the city of Roseau, giving us a wonderful view of the city and ocean. Cynthia also told us that most people on the island only eat red meat 3 times a year, at Christmas, Weddings and Birthdays, their diet mainly consists of fruits, vegetables and fish with some chicken. Most everything is grown on the island and their main export is Bananas. We learned about their unique health care on the island. Each resident gets one free visit to the health clinic each week and if they need to go to the hospital they must pay about $100 for their visit. Dominican's do not really believe in Western Medicine, if they have an ailment then they make a tea out of their natural resources. The other really cool thing about Dominica is that they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean there. We had such a fabulous time at this island, we now know where we are going to retire to...if only that were to happen in the next couple of years.
On another note, Cooper loves the sun. He follows the sun in our house when he takes naps. This afternoon it got a little chilly so I turned on the heat. I looked around for the puppies and Cooper was laying next to the slider door, odd because it is on the wrong side of the house for the sun...then I realized that he was laying next to our floor vent and enjoying the warm air blowing out. What a cutie!!
May your pockets be heavy -
Your hearts be light
And may good luck pursue you
Each morning and night.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Trying to Keep Up
Ok so I am a week late posting. Last Thursday, I celebrated my 27th Birthday. I was ok with 26 but 27 just seems so old and that much closer to 30. I am no where near where I thought I would be at 27, but God has his own plan for me. I must keep reminding myself of this. For my birthday, as usual, we celebrated at FX McRory's in Seattle. I love their Roasting Box Beef Prime Rib....it is always so delicious and is part of the reason why I look forward to my birthday. Also as usual, they were out of the burnt cream dessert (they are always out of it on my birthday, doesn't matter what time we have dinner) so my plan for next year is to order it when we make the reservations OR as soon as we sit down!!! I am determined to try their Burnt Cream (but now that I think of it, maybe God is sparing me because its not as delicious as I am hoping for...I may never know). It was a wonderful night spent with Thomas and my parents, I am so thankful for my family.
Since my birthday was on a weekday we decided to do my family birthday on Saturday. We had a wonderful meal prepared by my mom and sister, a meal that has long been forgotten (we haven't had the food served in at least 6 years maybe more!) including the cake. I love gifts, I love giving them and receiving them. This year I got a sewing machine from my in-laws and I got some framed artwork that I did myself once upon a time in high school and Our Wedding picture framed. (I had my mom hold onto it until it was time to get framed, no way was I going to be responsible for such a precious picture...Thanks Mom!!!)
I have been trying to keep up with Soup Sunday's but I am beginning to think that maybe it should be called Supper Sunday's (soup can get redundant each week even if its different each time). We made Philly Cheesesteaks this past Sunday and they were so good!
The goats as always are entertaining, the chickens are continuing to produce eggs, the horses still make wonderful lawn ornaments, or should I say MUD ornaments due to all the rain lately, and the puppies are the best in home companions! I am so excited that it is finally spring and I can look towards working in the garden again. Its so much fun to learn each year for what works and what doesn't work. And improving our growing skills. Hopefully we can get some raspberry bushes this year so that they can begin producing!! I planted a rhubarb plant last year, I was so afraid that it died this winter (even though its winter hardy here) because it just all broke off and disappeared, but it survived!!! Its started to bear more stalks albeit only an inch long but its working!! I love rhubarb and I am hoping to harvest enough to make at least ONE pie!! I'll let you know how it goes.
With the first light of sun - Bless You. When the long day is done - Bless You. In your smiles and your tears - Bless You. Through each day of your years - Bless You.
Since my birthday was on a weekday we decided to do my family birthday on Saturday. We had a wonderful meal prepared by my mom and sister, a meal that has long been forgotten (we haven't had the food served in at least 6 years maybe more!) including the cake. I love gifts, I love giving them and receiving them. This year I got a sewing machine from my in-laws and I got some framed artwork that I did myself once upon a time in high school and Our Wedding picture framed. (I had my mom hold onto it until it was time to get framed, no way was I going to be responsible for such a precious picture...Thanks Mom!!!)
I have been trying to keep up with Soup Sunday's but I am beginning to think that maybe it should be called Supper Sunday's (soup can get redundant each week even if its different each time). We made Philly Cheesesteaks this past Sunday and they were so good!
The goats as always are entertaining, the chickens are continuing to produce eggs, the horses still make wonderful lawn ornaments, or should I say MUD ornaments due to all the rain lately, and the puppies are the best in home companions! I am so excited that it is finally spring and I can look towards working in the garden again. Its so much fun to learn each year for what works and what doesn't work. And improving our growing skills. Hopefully we can get some raspberry bushes this year so that they can begin producing!! I planted a rhubarb plant last year, I was so afraid that it died this winter (even though its winter hardy here) because it just all broke off and disappeared, but it survived!!! Its started to bear more stalks albeit only an inch long but its working!! I love rhubarb and I am hoping to harvest enough to make at least ONE pie!! I'll let you know how it goes.
With the first light of sun - Bless You. When the long day is done - Bless You. In your smiles and your tears - Bless You. Through each day of your years - Bless You.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Girls
People say that having goats is like having a permanent 2-3 year old. While I do not know what that is like, I do know what it is like to have goats. They are curious creatures and are either making trouble or getting into it.
We have been working on our chicken coop, trying to help it be more water resistant. This will be our big project as soon as the weather gets nice or we are done with school. Our current coop apparently is a temporary one as it is proving to not fit all of our needs. The extra chicken feed is in a metal bin inside the coop that the chickens roost on (and therefore poop all over the lid) so when we either need to feed the girls or add more food we get poop. The goats love it when the chicks need new food. We have to take the bin outside, take off the lid and then poor the chicken feed in and leave the bag on the ground while we mix it up and take it back inside the coop. The goats love to play with the feed bags. They crawl inside and get "stuck", they jump on it, they chew on it and drag it around the yard. It is definitely a sight to be seen.
The chickens love to get out in the yard and peck around. It has been so much fun watching them grow from little week old chicks to adults. It amazes me how much they already know at a week old with no mother to teach them. Of course if you get day old chicks in the mail you have to wet their beaks so they know how to find the water and food, but other than that they can fend for themselves. Their little personalities are already developing and the ruler of the roost becomes apparent quickly. My favorite thing was watching these little tiny chicks scratch around in the hay looking for bugs and they were only 1 week old. Since little ones need warmth to stay alive you usually have a heat lamp shining in one corner. This tends to be the favorite corner and the closer you are to the light the better, so the chicks pile on top of each other (I feel bad for the ones at the bottom). Now that the chickens are 1 year old they are able to self sustain. They know where they like to lay their eggs, their favorite spot in the yard to sunbathe, and where they like to dig holes for dust baths. They all have their sleeping spots and get angry if someone else is there at bedtime.
The chicks only get to go out in the yard when we are home, so we can keep an eye on them. Most of them roam all over the place, except one, Silver. She stays close to home and lays down most of the time (it might be because she is blind). Whenever we open the gate into the back yard the chickens come running to meet us, even Silver though she is pretty slow. They follow us all over the yard and all we have to do is tell the girls to go home and in they go to the coop. The twins, as I like to call them, like to stick together. The rulers, Bella, is dictating to the others where they should go, and the followers putz around if they find something good Bella is right there with them taking over. They are so much fun and bring a lot of smiles and laughter to our lives. I love it when they get spooked or really excited and try to fly across the pasture towards home.
We have been working on our chicken coop, trying to help it be more water resistant. This will be our big project as soon as the weather gets nice or we are done with school. Our current coop apparently is a temporary one as it is proving to not fit all of our needs. The extra chicken feed is in a metal bin inside the coop that the chickens roost on (and therefore poop all over the lid) so when we either need to feed the girls or add more food we get poop. The goats love it when the chicks need new food. We have to take the bin outside, take off the lid and then poor the chicken feed in and leave the bag on the ground while we mix it up and take it back inside the coop. The goats love to play with the feed bags. They crawl inside and get "stuck", they jump on it, they chew on it and drag it around the yard. It is definitely a sight to be seen.
The chickens love to get out in the yard and peck around. It has been so much fun watching them grow from little week old chicks to adults. It amazes me how much they already know at a week old with no mother to teach them. Of course if you get day old chicks in the mail you have to wet their beaks so they know how to find the water and food, but other than that they can fend for themselves. Their little personalities are already developing and the ruler of the roost becomes apparent quickly. My favorite thing was watching these little tiny chicks scratch around in the hay looking for bugs and they were only 1 week old. Since little ones need warmth to stay alive you usually have a heat lamp shining in one corner. This tends to be the favorite corner and the closer you are to the light the better, so the chicks pile on top of each other (I feel bad for the ones at the bottom). Now that the chickens are 1 year old they are able to self sustain. They know where they like to lay their eggs, their favorite spot in the yard to sunbathe, and where they like to dig holes for dust baths. They all have their sleeping spots and get angry if someone else is there at bedtime.
The chicks only get to go out in the yard when we are home, so we can keep an eye on them. Most of them roam all over the place, except one, Silver. She stays close to home and lays down most of the time (it might be because she is blind). Whenever we open the gate into the back yard the chickens come running to meet us, even Silver though she is pretty slow. They follow us all over the yard and all we have to do is tell the girls to go home and in they go to the coop. The twins, as I like to call them, like to stick together. The rulers, Bella, is dictating to the others where they should go, and the followers putz around if they find something good Bella is right there with them taking over. They are so much fun and bring a lot of smiles and laughter to our lives. I love it when they get spooked or really excited and try to fly across the pasture towards home.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Goats
When the goats first arrived at our little farm, they were to be secluded and left alone by the dogs. This decision was justified after a few tense occasions between the four of them. All have recovered and we are moving on to living in harmony.
This harmony all started in the early fall when I thought that I might be able to control Cooper vocally (he does go into time-outs as aforementioned). It started out with Cooper in the goat pen, being very excited to meet the goats face to face, and resulted in Annabelle head-butting him in the ribcage. Cooper is not one for confrontation, even though he loves to growl and bark at people, so he has continued to be "fearful" of the goats. Success! On another occasion as it proved that the three of them could get along (no Sakari at this point) they were all out in the pasture together. I told Cooper it was time to go "inside" so he ran to the gate. This action caught Annabelle's attention and she went in for the kill (what I would do to have this on camera) charging at full force towards Cooper and pinning him in the ribcage between her head and the fence. He yelped and cried. He is even more fearful than before.
Meanwhile during Cooper's adventures with the goats, Sakari was either abandoned inside the house or forced to watch on her hind legs from the little back yard. We had tried several times, separately, to let Sakari get to know the goats with a leash on, but she always got a little too excited and nipped at their ears. Resulting in a scolding and sent to be inside, away from the fun, to sulk in her misbehavior. Recently both of us decided it was high time they all get along as it was inconvenient to lock up the goats so the dogs could run around. So, the two of us let Sakari loose with the goats in their pen and kept a close eye on her. Annabelle had built up her confidence from her encounters with Cooper, she had no fear of Sakari, she reared up and worked hard at headbutting Sakari. Let me say, it was entertaining. Sakari was very well behaved and I think that she was able to connect her behavior with the goats and her getting scolded as well that Cooper got to hang out with the goats as he was not aggressive with them, so if she wanted to play with the goats she had to be nice. It is so neat being able to see animals rationalize like that.
Harmony is really coming to our little farm. The dogs and goats can be out in the pasture together, Sakari chasing, Annabelle headbutting, Penelope and Cooper both fearful. They do need to be supervised but all listen very well to vocal commands.
"May your troubles be less and your blessing be more and nothing but happiness come through your door"
This harmony all started in the early fall when I thought that I might be able to control Cooper vocally (he does go into time-outs as aforementioned). It started out with Cooper in the goat pen, being very excited to meet the goats face to face, and resulted in Annabelle head-butting him in the ribcage. Cooper is not one for confrontation, even though he loves to growl and bark at people, so he has continued to be "fearful" of the goats. Success! On another occasion as it proved that the three of them could get along (no Sakari at this point) they were all out in the pasture together. I told Cooper it was time to go "inside" so he ran to the gate. This action caught Annabelle's attention and she went in for the kill (what I would do to have this on camera) charging at full force towards Cooper and pinning him in the ribcage between her head and the fence. He yelped and cried. He is even more fearful than before.
Meanwhile during Cooper's adventures with the goats, Sakari was either abandoned inside the house or forced to watch on her hind legs from the little back yard. We had tried several times, separately, to let Sakari get to know the goats with a leash on, but she always got a little too excited and nipped at their ears. Resulting in a scolding and sent to be inside, away from the fun, to sulk in her misbehavior. Recently both of us decided it was high time they all get along as it was inconvenient to lock up the goats so the dogs could run around. So, the two of us let Sakari loose with the goats in their pen and kept a close eye on her. Annabelle had built up her confidence from her encounters with Cooper, she had no fear of Sakari, she reared up and worked hard at headbutting Sakari. Let me say, it was entertaining. Sakari was very well behaved and I think that she was able to connect her behavior with the goats and her getting scolded as well that Cooper got to hang out with the goats as he was not aggressive with them, so if she wanted to play with the goats she had to be nice. It is so neat being able to see animals rationalize like that.
Harmony is really coming to our little farm. The dogs and goats can be out in the pasture together, Sakari chasing, Annabelle headbutting, Penelope and Cooper both fearful. They do need to be supervised but all listen very well to vocal commands.
"May your troubles be less and your blessing be more and nothing but happiness come through your door"
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Valentines Day
We had a very nice and calm Valentines Weekend. In the years that we have been together we have only celebrated Valentines at a restaurant once (well now its been twice). The first occasion was when we were both living in the dorms at Central Washington University and did not have access to a kitchen to be able to cook. Our second time was this year, we have been craving Indian food for a while and Thomas thought that this would be a great occasion to go out for it. It was delicious. We usually prepare a meal at home; either Steaks or Chicken Parmesan have been our meals of choice.
I remember our first Valentines, we were at school in Ellensburg. Thomas was living in Timothy Park and I was in Green Hall. We wanted to "surprise" each other for the holiday, so Thomas cooked and I brought the wine. Thomas made is specialty, chicken parmesan with pasta and Uncle Dan's Potatoes. I went to the store and bought wine glasses, ribbon (to decorate the stems since they didn't have red/pink ones) and a bottle of wine. I am not a wine drinker and I think I probably got the cheapest wine I could find and it proved to be disgusting, but we drank it anyway. The meal was great and the company was even better. Somehow we lucked out with Thomas's roommates being out of the house so our evening was uninterrupted.
This year on Friday, I needed to stop at the store on my way home to get a few things and was craving, what my family calls "Brown Rice" so I got the ingredients. While I was there I decided that we needed to have more than rice for dinner so I got some steak and a loaf of bread. I don't know what I did to the steak that night but it was the BEST steak I have ever made or ate in my life. I cooked it to perfection, it was deliciously seasoned and was just the right amount. So our whole meal was; Steak, Brown Rice, Celery Au Gratin and Rosemary Potato Bread. Delish!
For Valentines, we went to Sumay Indian Cuisine, its also known as KARMA in Puyallup off of Meridian. We are so happy and lucky to have such a wonderful Indian Restaurant near our house. We enjoyed our meal and then came home to have a Red Velvet Cupcake that my Mom made on Saturday. What a wonderful evening.
I love my Valentine and He loves me!
"May you never find trouble all crowdin' and shovin'. But always good fortune - all smilin' and lovin'"
I remember our first Valentines, we were at school in Ellensburg. Thomas was living in Timothy Park and I was in Green Hall. We wanted to "surprise" each other for the holiday, so Thomas cooked and I brought the wine. Thomas made is specialty, chicken parmesan with pasta and Uncle Dan's Potatoes. I went to the store and bought wine glasses, ribbon (to decorate the stems since they didn't have red/pink ones) and a bottle of wine. I am not a wine drinker and I think I probably got the cheapest wine I could find and it proved to be disgusting, but we drank it anyway. The meal was great and the company was even better. Somehow we lucked out with Thomas's roommates being out of the house so our evening was uninterrupted.
This year on Friday, I needed to stop at the store on my way home to get a few things and was craving, what my family calls "Brown Rice" so I got the ingredients. While I was there I decided that we needed to have more than rice for dinner so I got some steak and a loaf of bread. I don't know what I did to the steak that night but it was the BEST steak I have ever made or ate in my life. I cooked it to perfection, it was deliciously seasoned and was just the right amount. So our whole meal was; Steak, Brown Rice, Celery Au Gratin and Rosemary Potato Bread. Delish!
For Valentines, we went to Sumay Indian Cuisine, its also known as KARMA in Puyallup off of Meridian. We are so happy and lucky to have such a wonderful Indian Restaurant near our house. We enjoyed our meal and then came home to have a Red Velvet Cupcake that my Mom made on Saturday. What a wonderful evening.
I love my Valentine and He loves me!
"May you never find trouble all crowdin' and shovin'. But always good fortune - all smilin' and lovin'"
The Dog House
No worries, no one is in the dog house. Actually we don't even have one of those, our house is the dog house (they spend more time here than we do). But I wanted to post about the pups.
I have to say that Cooper is the most adorable little dog anyone could ever meet or imagine, I am pretty sure that I am not biased. He has a little bit of a challenging personality, he doesn't like strangers and it takes a long time for you to be considered NOT a stranger. He loves to bark and alert us of any noise (threatening or not). He loves his toys; Pig, Bear, Bunny, Ball, and Penguin. He knows them by name and will usually retrieve one if we ask him to. My favorite is watching him leap around the house with Pig or Bunny in his mouth as they flop around and trip him up. He chases after his ball as long as we have the energy to keep up. He also loves all things soft, he insists on being on top of a blanket or pillow when on the furniture and he LOVES his bed. It's actually his second bed (he got a little too excited with the first one and chewed it up) and he spends lots of time there. It also happens to be his "Time-out" spot. Yes my little adorable puppy as cute as he is, does have to go into Time Out from time to time. He responds very well and stays there until you tell him he can leave. He loves to snuggle and cuddle and HAS to sleep under the covers. Once he lets you into his "circle" you too will agree that he is the cutest dog with the best personality.
I cannot post about the pups and not mention the "little girl". Sakari is one of the best behaved Huskies I have heard of. While she has had some ups and downs (which dog hasn't?) she has definitely grown into a beautiful, well trained, loving and caring dog. For a Husky she is very calm and naps a lot. She does have a lot of energy and loves to be outside in the cold. She too loves her toys, but is not as apt to share them as her brother. She is the opposite of Cooper, she doesn't make a sound, unless she is growling to let Cooper know that it is HER toy. He obliges and is very polite and doesn't take her toys. However, if Cooper has a toy she wants she hunts him and as soon as he takes his eyes off it, she takes it. The other way we know that she has a voice is when we tell her to speak, even then it can be a challenge. I think a lot of her calmness comes from her ability to run around outside (Cooper chases her), but also because she chases Cooper inside the house and they rough house a lot. She is a little cuddle bug and her favorite place in the house is on the foot of our bed. If we leave the bedroom door open and Sakari is inside and we can't find her she is most likely to be on the bed curled up, doesn't matter the time of day.
Our pups are the cutest and without a doubt have enriched our lives in so many ways and our love for them runs so deep. We look at them and talk about them all the time and cannot come up with what is so special about them or why they are so adorable. They just are.
I have to say that Cooper is the most adorable little dog anyone could ever meet or imagine, I am pretty sure that I am not biased. He has a little bit of a challenging personality, he doesn't like strangers and it takes a long time for you to be considered NOT a stranger. He loves to bark and alert us of any noise (threatening or not). He loves his toys; Pig, Bear, Bunny, Ball, and Penguin. He knows them by name and will usually retrieve one if we ask him to. My favorite is watching him leap around the house with Pig or Bunny in his mouth as they flop around and trip him up. He chases after his ball as long as we have the energy to keep up. He also loves all things soft, he insists on being on top of a blanket or pillow when on the furniture and he LOVES his bed. It's actually his second bed (he got a little too excited with the first one and chewed it up) and he spends lots of time there. It also happens to be his "Time-out" spot. Yes my little adorable puppy as cute as he is, does have to go into Time Out from time to time. He responds very well and stays there until you tell him he can leave. He loves to snuggle and cuddle and HAS to sleep under the covers. Once he lets you into his "circle" you too will agree that he is the cutest dog with the best personality.
I cannot post about the pups and not mention the "little girl". Sakari is one of the best behaved Huskies I have heard of. While she has had some ups and downs (which dog hasn't?) she has definitely grown into a beautiful, well trained, loving and caring dog. For a Husky she is very calm and naps a lot. She does have a lot of energy and loves to be outside in the cold. She too loves her toys, but is not as apt to share them as her brother. She is the opposite of Cooper, she doesn't make a sound, unless she is growling to let Cooper know that it is HER toy. He obliges and is very polite and doesn't take her toys. However, if Cooper has a toy she wants she hunts him and as soon as he takes his eyes off it, she takes it. The other way we know that she has a voice is when we tell her to speak, even then it can be a challenge. I think a lot of her calmness comes from her ability to run around outside (Cooper chases her), but also because she chases Cooper inside the house and they rough house a lot. She is a little cuddle bug and her favorite place in the house is on the foot of our bed. If we leave the bedroom door open and Sakari is inside and we can't find her she is most likely to be on the bed curled up, doesn't matter the time of day.
Our pups are the cutest and without a doubt have enriched our lives in so many ways and our love for them runs so deep. We look at them and talk about them all the time and cannot come up with what is so special about them or why they are so adorable. They just are.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Lately
Well it feels like January took forever to complete but it also went by so fast and then here we are 3 days to Valentines Day!
Soup Sunday's have been successful in the New Year, I may have missed one week but that isn't too bad. So far I have made:
-Spanish Chicken Stew, this was pretty good. I made it with Chicken Thighs but forgot to take
of the skin so it got a little greasy but the flavor was good.
-Spinach, Sausage and Tortellini Soup, this was really good and I would be interested in
making it again. It had some of my favorite things in it, Italian Sausage and Tortellini! There
is something about tortellini that makes me happy. I am looking forward to trying this one
out again.
-Lentil, Chicken and Spinach Soup, I enjoyed this one too. I added some hot red pepper flakes
as it needed just a little bit of spice. The lentils were great, they have a way of making the
dish seem hearty.
-Mexican Chicken Soup, this one was really good it had cayenne pepper and tomato with
carrot and onion. I used a roasted chicken from the store to "speed" it up and it also had
cumin and cilantro. I added fresh avocado when serving and that added just the right touch.
It has been a lot of fun making all of these different soups. I have become accustomed to cooking with onions and I think that I am able to eat them now, well at least in soups since I chop them up so small, but if I can pick them out I think I probably still would. The most fun part is that the past two Sunday's my parents have made the trip down to partake in it and we have had the opportunity to spend time together.
My mom got a new dog, he is a Peekapoo and is considered an apricot color his name is Miracle and he is adorable. She has brought him both times they have come down. Sakari loves to play with him and she has "thrown" him a few feet away with her paw as they are playing. Cooper is the referee and gets worked up and nervous, I think that he is probably the most tired after everyone leaves.
I went down to Hilsboro, OR a few days ago to "The Junk Salvation" it is a Flea Market of sorts at the Washington County Fairgrounds and there were a lot of vendors with all their antiques. It was so much fun and I saw some great things and got really good ideas. My few purchases were these great Bark Cloth Curtains with an adorable farm scene in bold colors (going up in my kitchen) this cute green cart (displayed with my tea things) and a great little bench (just need another one for the living room). They are having another one of these in Puyallup, WA in May. I learned that you HAVE to get there early to get the good stuff. I was only about 30 minutes after opening and there were already a lot of great buys with "SOLD" stickers on them.
"Wherever there is happiness hope you'll be there too. Wherever there are friendly smiles hope they'll smile on you. Wherever there is sunshine, hope it shines especially for you to make each day for you as bright as it can be."
Soup Sunday's have been successful in the New Year, I may have missed one week but that isn't too bad. So far I have made:
-Spanish Chicken Stew, this was pretty good. I made it with Chicken Thighs but forgot to take
of the skin so it got a little greasy but the flavor was good.
-Spinach, Sausage and Tortellini Soup, this was really good and I would be interested in
making it again. It had some of my favorite things in it, Italian Sausage and Tortellini! There
is something about tortellini that makes me happy. I am looking forward to trying this one
out again.
-Lentil, Chicken and Spinach Soup, I enjoyed this one too. I added some hot red pepper flakes
as it needed just a little bit of spice. The lentils were great, they have a way of making the
dish seem hearty.
-Mexican Chicken Soup, this one was really good it had cayenne pepper and tomato with
carrot and onion. I used a roasted chicken from the store to "speed" it up and it also had
cumin and cilantro. I added fresh avocado when serving and that added just the right touch.
It has been a lot of fun making all of these different soups. I have become accustomed to cooking with onions and I think that I am able to eat them now, well at least in soups since I chop them up so small, but if I can pick them out I think I probably still would. The most fun part is that the past two Sunday's my parents have made the trip down to partake in it and we have had the opportunity to spend time together.
My mom got a new dog, he is a Peekapoo and is considered an apricot color his name is Miracle and he is adorable. She has brought him both times they have come down. Sakari loves to play with him and she has "thrown" him a few feet away with her paw as they are playing. Cooper is the referee and gets worked up and nervous, I think that he is probably the most tired after everyone leaves.
I went down to Hilsboro, OR a few days ago to "The Junk Salvation" it is a Flea Market of sorts at the Washington County Fairgrounds and there were a lot of vendors with all their antiques. It was so much fun and I saw some great things and got really good ideas. My few purchases were these great Bark Cloth Curtains with an adorable farm scene in bold colors (going up in my kitchen) this cute green cart (displayed with my tea things) and a great little bench (just need another one for the living room). They are having another one of these in Puyallup, WA in May. I learned that you HAVE to get there early to get the good stuff. I was only about 30 minutes after opening and there were already a lot of great buys with "SOLD" stickers on them.
"Wherever there is happiness hope you'll be there too. Wherever there are friendly smiles hope they'll smile on you. Wherever there is sunshine, hope it shines especially for you to make each day for you as bright as it can be."
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