This morning, Wyatt and I worked on weighing baby chickens.  For their meat pens this year, the children are working on three types of meat birds, Cornish Cross Broilers, Red Broilers, and Delawares for a project Wyatt was wanting to compare side by side in terms of quality, overall health appearance and meat with the different meat birds.  Bailey thought it was worth helping him with for their two sets of meat pens this year, especially with their mutual interest in sustainable farming, so today the ones large enough to be banded were banded and weighed.  This little one was posing in the scale bucket!

After chores and today's 4H poultry meeting, where a few of the children developed an affinity for one another's birds, we came home and packed up for a family party.  Vicki has been really developing her cactus gardens and has beautiful cacti and potted gardens throughout their property, and even does shows and sales now!  It is amazing what she and David have been up to!

Wyatt was playing football  with Joey, and Jasmine jumped in!  We have all been really missing our Remington, so it was fun to spend time with her.  She even came to cuddle with me and David promised to bring her by our place for a visit.

Now that we had all that fun, it is time to buckle down for a week of school, doctor appointments, and much more!  Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Life Skills and Chores

Okay, so anyone looking at this photo knows it was set up after the repair was done.  I sent Bailey back out to get a picture.  I admit it, but I thought it was one of those moments I am glad to be raising my children with practical life skills rather than only book skills, and also glad Charlie was in town to help!

Yesterday, while doing chores, this water pipe was broken.  Thankfully, it broke off in a way that made for a simple, above the ground repair.  So this morning, Charlie set about to teach the kids more than just how to isolate the water problem and capture the loose water, as we did last night.  They repaired the line under his direction.  They field tested it a while later, and all looks good, though they will add a length of rebar this afternon to make it less likely to break in the future.

As exhausting as the commute is, and as much as I am dreading the current promise of even higher gas prices, I am thankful for the normalcy and grounding of our life here.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Adventure for the day: chores and errands, minor catastrophes…

With school out for rodeo break, one of our traditional stops is: the dentist.  Excitement in the extreme, right?  Well, when you spend as much time commuting as we do, and with all of Bailey’s doctor appointments, we have to squeeze the dental appointments into whatever breaks we have.   After that, off to another long overdue stop- pass and ID at Charlie’s unit.  Both Bailey’s and my ID cards were expired, and Wyatt needed to get his first one.

As we left pass and ID, we ran into a young man who recognized me, but I drew a blank.  He and Charlie laughed, and Charlie told me to read the name badge.  It still didn’t go anywhere, and he said “Syvel’s boy.”  Whoa.  They weren’t kidding when they said think young!  He was about Bailey’s age the last time I saw him!  It is so crazy to watch the kids growing up around us.  He has matured and filled out, and with his Dad’s confident smile.  A young man taking well to military life.  His folks must be very proud.

With Bailey still getting over being sick, no makeup allergy shot for her, and we came home.  Wyatt relaxed and Bailey and I took naps.  I slept for two hours; definitely have my work cut out for me getting healthy before the week starts.  Lots of chores left to do, I headed to the greenhouse to water.  Regardless, things out there are doing beautifully.  The cantaloupe seeds I started in the box outside the greenhouse aren’t up yet, but with the freeze last week, I am just hoping they aren’t lost.  I used all of the water in the buckets and was wishing for rain. 

Well, that was quickly taken care of, as the water hose source by the main garden was sheared off.  It broke right below where it froze and ruptured last year, this time with a little help of a certain someone trying to wash down houses in his chicken coops.  But at least when having to shut off the water after 5pm on a Friday, I am glad to be doing it with my husband in town this time!

I need to curl up in bed with the computer to get work done, and also help Wyatt weigh his baby chickens for his broiler experiment.  Life here is full of adventures.  I am looking forward to Charlie fixing the water in the morning!  All told, today’s catastrophes are minor- just a part of life.  Would I prefer life a little less crazy?  Sure, but I also wouldn’t want to miss it!

This morning's story for good

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/22/147186116/when-theres-more-to-winning-than-winning

I teach yoga, so sometimes you hear me call it Karma.  I am also a parent, and at a 4H practice I once listened to a parent and leader discuss her expectations that any of her youth had better help out a fellow competitor who was having issues, with good sportsmanship and a smile on their face.  And I was raised in a family where your work ethic and how you treat others, not your win-loss record are the measure of who you are. 

This morning I managed to get out the door without my cell phone.  So I got to make the long drive home.  Turned out to be a good thing.  Got a few moments in of catching up with Charlie as he was beginning his day, and helped him study for a board he has this afternoon.  He told me a good friend had broken his leg earlier this week.  The first thing I thought was ouch.  To both of us, his is such a dear sweet guy with a smile and a hug for everyone, who manages to have all the dumb luck.  But still a great guy.

Along the road home, I was listening to NPR, catching up on the goings on.  There is a weekly commentator there, Frank Deford who has such wonderful perspective to his thoughts.  He has logged in commentaries about people wanting to remove the national anthem from sporting events because people behave so poorly and his thoughts about athletes as heroes.  Today was a wonderful piece about what makes them famous.  And the role of the coach in making youth into good people.

Well, I hope you check it out, and leave your feedback.  I hope that for you, like it did for me, it is one little lift in the step and reminder of who you want to be and how you want to be remembered.  Have a great day everyone!

Hi Everyone- I am not one for chain emails and the like, but my mom forwarded this to me at a time when I am sitting and thinking about the values of the world we live in, and how to mold Bailey and Wyatt into being people with the values we espouse, and who give to the world around them rather than suck the life from it for their personal gain.  I have watched such bullying and heartbreak and seen burnout in wonderful people, and want to remind the children that we can always make this world better.  So I am sharing this story in the hopes that they - and we all- remember to be the change we wish to see in the world...

AN IRISH BLESSING

His  name was Fleming, and  he  was a poor  Scottish farmer. One day,
while  trying to  make a living for  his family, he  heard  a cry for help
coming from a nearby  bog. He   dropped his tools and  ran to the   bog.

There, mired  to his waist in  black  muck, was a  terrified boy,
screaming and  struggling  to  free himself. Farmer Fleming  saved  the
lad from what could have been  a  slow and  terrifying  death.

The next  day, a  fancy  carriage pulled up to the  Scotsman's sparse
surroundings. An   elegantly  dressed nobleman stepped out and  introduced
 himself as  the father of  the boy Farmer Fleming  had   saved.

'I want to repay   you,' said  the nobleman. 'You saved my  son's   life.'

'No,  I can't accept  payment  for what I  did,' the Scottish farmer
replied waving  off the offer. At  that moment,  the  farmer's own son
came to the door of the family  hovel.

'Is that  your  son?' the  nobleman   asked.

'Yes,' the  farmer  replied   proudly.

'I'll make  you  a deal. Let  me provide him with the level  of  education
my own son will enjoy  If  the lad is  anything like his  father, he'll no
doubt grow to  be a   man we both will be proud of.' And that  he   did.

Farmer Fleming's son  attended  the  very best schools and  in time,
graduated from  St. Mary's   Hospital Medical School in London,  and  went
on to become known  throughout the  world  as the noted Sir Alexander
Fleming,  the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years  afterward,  the same  nobleman's son  who was saved from the  bog
was stricken  with  pneumonia.

What  saved  his life this  time?   Penicillin.

The name of the  nobleman?   Lord Randolph Churchill ..  His son's   name?

Sir  Winston    Churchill.

Someone once said:  What  goes  around comes  around.

Work like  you don't  need the  money.
Love like   you've never been  hurt.
Dance  like  nobody's  watching.
Sing  like nobody's listening.
Live  like it's Heaven on Earth.

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH:

May  there always be work  for  your hands to  do;
May  your purse always hold a coin  or   two;
May the sun always shine on   your  windowpane;
May a rainbow be  certain to   follow each  rain;
May the hand of a   friend  always be near you;
May God fill  your  heart with  gladness to cheer  you.
and may  you be in heaven  a  half hour before the devil  knows  you're
dead.

Fun new soap shapes and recipes...

Introducing Oatmeal and Honey Soap!

We are excited to unveil another carefully formulated soap for soothing the skin- Oatmeal and Honey.  Made with oatmeal, honey and a blend of natural oils,but no added scents, this soothing cleaser is a wonderful new way to care for your skin.  And a new special mold- smiley faces and peace signs.  Because the smiley faces and peace signs are a but smaller than the hearts and bars we usually make, each package contains one smiley and one peace sign together.

Next up in the soap lab- Wild Irish Rose, and back by popular demand: Coconut Lime.  Got a favorite Spring scent you think we should move up on the list?  Add it to the comments section here or on Facebook.  Have a great day, and Happy Sudsing!

Maiden Voyage of the Cookie-bot

OK, so Mr CRUSH Cookie-Bot made a maiden voyage tonight.  He was in disguise, though, as a cake-bot!  Had to try things out, and get the better of how it would work before the even next week.  I also had this recipe I wanted to make from the Cooking Light magazine- Texas Sheet Cake. 

Have you ever tried it?  It is a chocolate cake with some cinnamon in it, and a fudgy frosting similar to the family standard- the Mississippi Mud Cake, though without the marshmallow layer of the mud cake. And I felt that, with their birthday celebrations being held off for when Charlie's Uncle Steve comes in another week or so, Bunky and Camille needed a special treat of their own.

So the answer?  Here it is!  I made the Texas Sheet Cake, or a double of it, to be exact, and used the cookie-bot to cut out the shapes.  Here is a photo of the results:

What do you think?  A robot good enough to eat?

By the way, CRUSH even has a blog.  You can follow the youth and Yoshime the robot there, and see how you can support these kids as they expand their horizons.  Have a great night!

New little friends...

Wyatt is doing a side by side comparison of meat birds as part of his 4H project this year for fair.  There is a lot to it, and over time I am sure we will post about the issues that have led us to see genetically modified white broilers to be farming choice we would like to steer away from, and the black and red broilers to be a better choice that just usn't sustainanle, and therefore wish to find a standard bred heritage breed we can not only use for our own family, but also for our customers.

Research should be apples to apples, with all the birds being fed the same and beginning at the same date, so we ordered in birds which were all hatched last Wednesday, February 8th.  There are white broilers, red broilers, and Delawares.  To fill out the order, we brought in a few Black Australorps and California Greys for our laying flock.

So this is the beginning, and the culmonation will be in April for Pima County Fair.  But baby pictures are the best!  This is a little red broiler who wanted to sleep in the food dish...

And tried to get a better shot...

These are several of the little chicks together...

Kinda fun to play guess the breed, isn't it?  They change so much from this age to maturity.

Well, follow this project with the blog label broiler project.  And have fun!

Saturday Sillies

After a morning at the shooting range with 4-H, Bailey , Wyatt and I came home to do some chores before Science Discovery Night at SSA.  I dealt with the usual Mama chores, and worked a bit in the greenhouse.  The cilantro is coming up...

So are the tomato seeds I just planted earlier this week...

The kids cleaned out waters and tack and feed areas and fed their animals.  Then we headed to SSA.  We dropped off Bailey to help in the CRUSH robotics lab for a bit before the discovery night, and Daddy, Wyatt and I went walking on paths near the school.  For those of you curious about the new hair, Charlie took a photo of Wyatt and I...

Soon the gym opened up, so while we were waiting for the telescopes to see Venus and other cool things, as well as the presentations from the zoo, we peeked at Bailey's science fair project on display...

I think the camo fabric background was a nice touch for her archery themed project.  Wish she didn't have to downsize her poster for county fair!

The little happy face in the corner of her poster means that hers was a winning project.  The exact standings?  We don't know.  She will hear on Monday in the awards assembly.  Great job Bailey!  Wyatt can't wait to see this week whether his project will advance in his school.  For as much as he didn't want to stand for those interviews before, after he aced his in-class presentation he came home wanting to stand for those interviews!

Wyatt really enjoyed the zoo presentation.  They even showed how they train the animals to do certain behaviors so they can stand on scales or participate in health exams better.  The waay theyshowed was with a chicken.  You know Wyatt loved that!

Among the other presentations were the robotics teams.  This is a video from the CRUSH kids, of which Bailey is a part...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzSmTTRf4jY&feature=player_detailpage

Mr CRUSH CookieBot, the only automated cookie man...

Yesterday, I went to pick Bailey up from CRUSH after work. They are in the last two weeks of build season, and some of the youth were even staying the night at school for it.  I had offered to make cookies for a community demonstration and sponsor event coming up in another week, and the artistic members of the robotics team were going to make a stencil so I could put robots on cookies.  Instead, they made me a cookie cutter in the same shape as the robot they have painted around the door of the robotics lab! I am very excited.

Today, as you may have seen if you follow us on facebook, Mr CRUSH CookieBot went missing.  He was apparently hiding behind something on the kitchen counter.  Aunt Heather had agreed to put out an APB for it, and offered to send down her cookie- tracking hound.  But just in the nick of time, here he came…

It's only hair... really

A few years back, Bailey was attending the first of the schools in town we tried.  She was going through bullying issues, and had a rough first year with kidding.  Bailey was wanting to cut her hair in preparation for county fair, and I got called in to the school for a meeting.  It was not a pleasant meeting, and on the way home, I thought we needed a pick me up.  We stopped at a little haircut place along the drive home.

Walking in, I asked Bailey what she really wanted to do with her hair.  She said, "Donate my ponytail."  This was going to cut it pretty close on the mandatory 4-H ponytail for county fair.  After a discussion, she let me know she had been thinking about it for some time.  The stylist told her they could make it work and give her just enough hair for the ponytail, or at least to get the front back.  So what did I do?  I donated mine, too.

Wyatt stood nearby and took photos of us (the camera is almost always in my purse,) then helped package them up to go to locks for love. 

Last year, I had my hair grown out enough to donate again.  I was going through some health issues, so it seemed better to wait. So after Christmas, a haircut went on my to-do list. 

This morning, I dropped the kids off at school and went to a drop in haircut place.  I asked them if they could cut my ponytail for donation.  They said yes, I asked about having it cut so it would still be a few inches below my shoulders.  They felt it was healthy enough, and that still gave them over a foot of hair to send away, so mine would still be long enough to get out of my way. We agreed to cut it right above the rubber band shown here...

So she braided it to keep it together for sending off, and out came the scissors.

After that, it was time to even my hair out.  That's when she got a bit too happy with the scissors, and another 3-4 inches came off- oops.  Once it dried, it was wavy and well above this...

That was a bit of a shocker.  After I got done calling my mother to tell her I was officially bald, I took a deep breath.  After all, that braid should be heading off to be a wig for someone with far less hair than I have now.  And it is only hair.  It will grow back- really, it will- in time. 

I may not be able to change the world, but adding my little ponytail to the mix is one positive thing I can do.  So I am sharing these photos for fun, and to remind myself to give what I can of me to make the world even a little bit better.  And maybe that will remind me of the person I want to be.  Have a great night everyone.

Just another day in paradise...

Charlie volunteered to take the kids and their science projects to school this morning- YAY!  Yay to the part about Charlie giving me the morning at home, and definitely yay to the science fair being all turned in and off our to-do list!

With Charlie off running errands and managing the morning commute, I settled in to chores and tidying up.  Of course, I never manage to get in as much as I would like.  While carrying the paper cutter out to the shed, I was swarmed by the chickens, who wanted an early lunch.  I ended up giving in, but along the way I picked up little Fly By Night for company...

We went to check on little Aggie.  She is holding strong after something got her buddy last week, and making a place for herself in the big pen.  Looking forward to when she gets past the gangly stage...

Fly By Night wanted to play hide and seek around the trailers.  Here, he was pretending I couldn't see him...

So I went to water the greenhouse.  Not quite enough time to plant while I was working on other things.  I figure one more round of greens before it gets too hot- at least I hope!  The bottom right are the ots where I put seeds in for jelly bean tomatoes last week.  Sometimes this really teaches me patience waiting for things to come up!

These are the strawberry baskets I keep running my head into.  Hopefully they adapt quickly, and are ready to produce soon.  Wyatt loves to sneak strawberries from the greenhouse!

This goofy chicken felt the need to stand on a light fixture to make a statement.  I think the statement had something to do with this place being run my the animals...

Goofy bird!  Since Monday is allergy shot date, I gave the goats a snack to hold them over until we got home.  Olympia says the food bowl is her nap spot, but she did get up for me to put the snack in.

After teaching two classes, picking up the crazies kids, and getting Bailey's allergy shot (which after last week's reaction required thirty minutes with a monster ice pack), we headed for home for dinner, homework and chores.  Vegas got tired, so he slept with the green shopping bag I accidentally left on his double bed.  What a good green military dog.  Not just ready to shop with a reusable bag, but the one from the commissary!

Well, on to another busy day.  Today has a special adventure logged on for first thing, and ends off with 4H Community Club night!  Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Chore Day Saturday

After spending two hours on the phone with HP technical support, I learned that the problem seems to have been software related.  Boy, do I love that Windows 7.

Today I spent a good bit of time in the greenhouse.  I amended the soil for today’s work, prepped and seeded pots for the Roma tomatoes.  If all of the tomatoes I have seeded into nursery pots grow, we will have a lycopene rich summer here!   Or, maybe have some for our farmers’ markets- both plants and fruits.

I split one of the strawberry plants, and then transplanted them all into hanging baskets.  The root systems were doing beautifully, so hopefully they will catch up quickly from the transplant and be ready for spring strawberries.  It would probably help, though, if I could quit walking head first into the hanging baskets.

Little Fly By Night had to move in with the bucks a week ago, as we were hoping to wait until spring show before deciding about wethering him.  He is not transitioning very well to the living situation, but his half-brother Obediah is trying to help.  Huey is pretty mellow, and likes having his sons as pen mates, so hopefully a few changes will help him settle in more positively.  He is such a cuddly sweet boy, and truly loves his Mama.  Sister Olympia has decided her favorite napping spot is in the doe pen feed bowl.

I sure love those little baby cuddle moment!  Now that Bailey and Wyatt are almost as tall as me, I sure look forward to the baby livestock for my baby fixes.  Unlike Bailey, though, you will not find me with her sweet cuddly market doe on my lap!

I spread compost out in the big garden, since Charlie volunteered to till it for me this weekend.  He even said he would bring home more chicken wire so that I can finish enclosing it this week.  Guess I have my farm chores cut out for me!

The rest of the day and evening was spent on Science Fair posters.  Charlie and I believe in the kids doing their own work, as we wish more folks did, but that can be painfully slow when dealing with a fourth grader with an intensive project.  It is nice, though, to compare his more limited instructions geared for simpler projects with Bailey’s High School instructions to help him lay out the larger project and keep it from getting jumbled.

Now that everyone is off to bed, with snoring coming from several directions, and the coyotes in the wash having noise-making competitions with the roosters in the northernmost trees, I think it is time for me to head for bed too!  I will hope to add some photos to this tomorrow- they are always far more interesting!  Have a great night, world.  Sleep well, and allow your spirit to mend and take flight.

Happy Friday!

Friday morning!  YAY!

It has, thus far, been a week of ups and downs.  But the weekend is almost here, and it should be a productive one with less driving than most (now that’s a big upside already!) 

I had my last day for the spring in the lab with the other jewelry folks.  While I love getting to go play in there, the Spring will be too busy to get to continue with my weekly playtime, so I will look forward to seeing them all soon.  I was able to finish a neat little shadow box heart; set with a locally mined Azurite on a winding copper collar which I am excited will be displayed at the gem show next week.  I didn’t get a chance to photograph it before submitting it, but will get a photo up once I get it back after the show.

I am making slow but steady progress on my class for this semester, and learning how the tests will go so that I can perform better.  One foot in front of the other, life is never dull!!!

It has been a week of missing y Remdog, too.  Remington was my partner and buddy, and when life is stressful, her gentle ability to just be and accept me is so missed.  Old man Vegas and goofy Hopper Spark are trying to fill the gap, but they missed a predator visit, and we lost a young hen again, despite their efforts to fill in for the missing guardian.

CRUSH has almost made it through week four of the build season.  The kids are working so hard, and it has been a truly positive learning experience for Bailey, learning animation, CAD, and other programs and expanding her welding and machining skills.  Still, we are down to two more weeks of build before competition, and I am looking forward to less driving!

Well, off to see what Friday will bring!  Have a great day, everyone!