Thursday evening

• took middle daughter to dental school for 2 fillings today
• she'll have to have wires put in next visit, after having 2 extractions
• they'll pull the teeth together to fill a gap
• one extraction is a canine baby tooth
• the dental student was amazed at that baby tooth
• i told him that i had 2 other kids at home who had the very same so-called imperfection
• he took a photo of it
• apparently he found it surprising
• will be glad to be at home tomorrow
• no errands
• needing grounding sorts of things to do
• full of angst about my relationship with my mom
• this is mother's day weekend and we're still, i guess, estranged
• how weird
• i just don't get it
• funny how a person's attitude can change so quickly
• must be i'm not always paying attention
• gary says nobody really understands how overwhelming it is to have 8 kids
• unless that person has over five or six of their own, most likely
• really enjoying this apple ad
• would like to know the tune so i can play a longer version of it
• praying for the Lord's provision 'cause i'm about outta money
• it's always interesting to see what happens when i pray for basic needs
• thankful God still answers our prayers no matter what
• there are times when i feel so unworthy (most times) but He's always attending to my needs
• must go check the brownies in the oven that the least one mixed up 
• will eat one when they cool down, or maybe two
• need to chill a bit (funny how sitting in a waiting room is so exhausting)
• 'course 3 hours is sort of a long wait, but normal at the dental school
• after brownies we'll play with the chickens
• take care

Chicken living

Listening to the girls feed the chickens a roach they stepped on.  I know what you're thinking, and I agree.  Gross.  But everyone's happy (except the roach), so we all win.

This week we've made a boundary of sorts in the backyard using the top and bottom of the box our treadmill came in---putting the boxes on their sides so the chicks can't fly over them, with our Oak tree being the other border along with the wooden fence. Huge box, and perfect to set as a fence so the chickens can play out back.  We have to stay with them, though.  They're crafty little beggars.  Milk got away from me yesterday and she could RUN.  Finally got her hemmed in against the wooden fence and picked her up as quick as I could.  My goodness.

Gary's deadline to make a hen house of sorts is coming closer and closer.  Oh, and I do have a video I took of us playing with them last night on the kitchen floor.  They pooed all over the place.  Must've been all the worms they scratched up yesterday. Milk (I see a pattern here) even did it in my shirt pocket, while she was sitting on my shoulder.  Not a good idea---not so much the sitting on the shoulder part, but the pooing bit.  Again I say, "Gross."

Well, must go.  Time to play with the pooing machines once again.  Sure does keep a person's sense of humor in use.

'Hand-Knit Your Home' by Melanie Porter

This is the perfect knitting book for lovers of retro art and the rest of us, children of the seventies.  Melanie Porter has created knitting projects in her book Hand-Knit Your Home for items I'd never have visualized.  I have never seen a lampshade covered in yarn, or even a chunky knitted rug, much less a cable knit clock.  The book is charming, and full of fun items to make.  Her instructions are clear and the photos showcasing her work are beautifully done.

And if you get especially passionate about the book, you could have a fully knitted home---chairs, lamps, cushions, flower pots, wastebasket and table runner, and that's not the full list.  Really, Porter's imagination is open to any possibility.  Truly a delightful book.

(i received this book free to review from cicobooks)

'Chasing Francis' by Ian Morgan Cron

As a new Anglican who is somewhat sympathetic to the Catholic faith, I enjoyed Chasing Francis so much.  Ian Morgan Cron tells the story of Chase Falcon, a burned out Evangelical pastor who doesn't know which way to go as he slowly seems to drift into a nervous breakdown.  In frustration he talks to his mom's first cousin, Kenny, who is a Baptist turned Catholic.  Kenny's also a Franciscan priest who's worked as a spiritual director, and after a lengthy talk with Chase on the phone, he invites him to visit him in Italy to recuperate and think things out.  The only problem is that Chase has left his church under uncomfortable circumstances.  His behavior as he descends into a breakdown give every indication to his congregation that he can't be relied on anymore.

In the course of the rest of the book Chase lets go of lots of mental and spiritual baggage in terms of what he expects of himself.  He gets to the heart of what he wants his church to become, since he left it in some disarray by running off to Italy.  He wants to get away from the materialism that his congregation has taken for granted as being important, and he moves toward a simpler faith, one that embraces the individual and their needs, and incorporates some aspects of the ancient church.

As he heals, he grows close to a small group of Franciscans who are colleagues of Kenny's.  And there's such an appeal with these men who embrace Francis of Assisi's lifestyle and beliefs.  Francis wasn't just the Saint who graces people's lawns with animals crawling over him.  He was a believer who desired a faith that reached out from the heart.

My only hesitation in reading the book is that while I'm not a tree-hugger, I was uncomfortable reading about saving the environment and caring for folks I'd prefer to allow someone else attend to.  Chase seems to believe that self-sacrifice is the route to reaching others for Christ.  Bottom line is, maybe he's right.

Read the book with a pencil at hand.  I underlined so many wonderful phrases.  I've yet to work on the 'pilgrim's guide' at the end of the book, but will in time.  This is a book I'll refer to again; it's just that sort of story.

(i received this book free to review from thomas nelson/booksneeze)

Chicken coop giveaway

• just entered a giveaway at Mother Earth News to win a chicken coop
• well, entered 2 contests for chicken coops
• one is neat, the other one looks a bit odd
• but they're free for the entering, so who cares?
• husband is skittish to build one
• go figure
• he can build amazing things, but show him screen wire, wood and roofing and he's a bit befuddled
• the negative at one contest is that they supply the winner with chicks
• oh my
• in our city, you can legally have 6 chickens
• we have five
• see, sounding like i'm actually going to win
• well, we're all entering in this house, and since the least one is the only one without an email address, we're entering 9 times
• should be enough, yes?
• would be so cool
• we keep having to bring home larger and larger cardboard boxes
• would be convenient if chickens were like fish, who only grow large enough to fit their aquarium
• least that's what i've heard
• at the rate these birds are growing, i'm hoping the coop contest ends soon!
• gary's not going to have an option, but to build
• but as he says, it's like the cobbler's children who go without shoes
• after a day of making sawdust at the shop, making the same here loses its appeal
• enjoy your day :)

Saturday afternooon

Last night fourth son and I ran errands including a trip to the store so I'd not have that chore today.  So love it when I do that.  So, for that brilliant move I've been able to stay home all day.  Dress like a gypsy and be lazy.  And the sun came out for a couple of hours earlier, which was a real treat.  We've had LOTS OF RAIN, really more than in ages and ages.  Drenched.  The backyard is a squelchy mess.  The route from the backdoor to the clotheslines is wet enough to suck the shoes right off your feet, and I wear clogs most of the time.  A couple of dry days would be nice.

As it is, I did hang out some sheets which I'll have to go back out to grab in a minute. More rain coming.  And I cut some pink azalea branches, roses, pansies, violas, dianthus and chocolate mint.  The mint is being taken over by the black-eyed Susans, and I'm going to root what I picked today.  Put it in a pot later on.

And the chickens are well.  They got chilly yesterday afternoon, so had to turn on their heat lamp again (as I have today).  I picked up Piglet, since she looked uncomfortable, and she just snuggled right in the crook of my neck.  They go to sleep so quickly when you cozy them next to you.

Now will rest for a bit.  Tuna casserole for dinner, chocolate chip cookies to bake and a house to tidy up just a smidgen.  Laying low.  Gary's at work, oldest daughter is out with sweet Indian boyfriend (hence the bit of tidying to do for later), 2 sons at the restaurant, middle daughter recovering from an infection, and the rest of the bunch here taking it easy.  Restful.  Will watch a movie with Gary after dinner, and church to plan for clothes-wise.  All good.

Chicken night

Every night the girls get the chicks out of their cardboard box and let them run wild in the kitchen.  First we have to put down a layer of newspaper, because those girls are very messy.  Let's just say that their digestive systems must be extremely uncomplicated. What goes in, must come out.

The older girls weren't in the mood to play with the chickens tonight, so I got down on the floor with the least one.  She was on one side of the room, and I was the barrier on the other side, with the kitchen cabinets and appliances on the long sides.  We pinned them in.  After a bit, after they'd attempted flying around awhile, they began to light on my skirt.  And Madelyn and Milk would get on my shoulder---so sweet to feel those feathers against my neck.  They're not afraid at all, though a bit skittish when there's rapid movement, but are so tame at this point.  Such little loves.

After about 15 or 20 minutes, the chicks began to get tired.  They'd nestle down on my lap, sometimes four of the five.  So sweet.  Their little tummies were so warm against my skin.  Almost hot, their feet included.  Little feathered ovens.

Getting them was just the thing to do.  With all that's in my tattered mind lately, a very good thing.