HashTag is officially off the "worried about him" list. He's just fine. He's doing so fine that he has an early case of spring fever going on. I almost feel like I need to cover my eyes when I go out in the back yard.... He starts by doing a little whirling dance in front of whichever of the girls he's decided needs his attention. When he has her fully hypnotised by the whirling, without breaking rhythm he whirls right on top of his chosen love. By the time she figures out whats going on..... its over! As soon as we are settled in the new place ( or know for a fact that we are staying here for a while) I am going to try and incubate the, obviously, fertilised eggs. Yes, I know, the results will be mad max looking chickens. They should have good temperaments like Hash , lay decent eggs and be broody. Most of your modern laying hens have had brooding bred out of them. It interferes with egg production since the hens don't lay for two months while they are setting and then mothering.
Sadness, sort of ,this week. The last of the winter garden was officially eaten this week. I know its only January and I have another month to go before I can start any gardening.... But I am really itching to get my fingers in the dirt. I'm pretty twitchy right now with this house thing going on. I cant start any projects, cant work on anything that takes any time or space. Oil paints take forever to dry so I cant do anything in the studio and the mortgage Gods have proclaimed 'spend no money' until this process is over. This 'process' started the week before Thanksgiving. I am so bored! Pay attention because it is likely you will never hear those words from me again. Yes I have the fabric paints and I can crochet or sew or work on my weaving, but really there are only so many tea towels and pot holders one can make! Textile work is fun and rewarding and its great when you are snowed in but, relying on it to keep me busy AND engaged for 2 months is asking a lot. In an attempt to try some new things that don't cost money and can be completed in a short period of time..... I almost set the house on fire. I have been intending for some time now to learn how to render fat both for soap making and cooking. My 'country living skills' book has a nice page on how to clean your cooking oil so it can be reused instead of thrown out. A couple of things here : #1. It boils over like milk (fire hazard...guess what I did!) #2. It stinks to high heaven! I will never do this in the kitchen again. This, like soap making, falls into the outside activity only category. After that almost disaster, I broke into my cash stash (which has dwindled to almost nothing) and went over to goodwill and bought a bunch of cheesy, historical bodice rippers. I calculate I have about 10 days of reading fodder. That should take us up to the deadline.
Before I end this blog entry I would like to thank everyone who has invited me to do things over the last few weeks. Please don't forget about me. I will be allowed out of this mortgage imposed Guantanamo .....eventually.
Sadness, sort of ,this week. The last of the winter garden was officially eaten this week. I know its only January and I have another month to go before I can start any gardening.... But I am really itching to get my fingers in the dirt. I'm pretty twitchy right now with this house thing going on. I cant start any projects, cant work on anything that takes any time or space. Oil paints take forever to dry so I cant do anything in the studio and the mortgage Gods have proclaimed 'spend no money' until this process is over. This 'process' started the week before Thanksgiving. I am so bored! Pay attention because it is likely you will never hear those words from me again. Yes I have the fabric paints and I can crochet or sew or work on my weaving, but really there are only so many tea towels and pot holders one can make! Textile work is fun and rewarding and its great when you are snowed in but, relying on it to keep me busy AND engaged for 2 months is asking a lot. In an attempt to try some new things that don't cost money and can be completed in a short period of time..... I almost set the house on fire. I have been intending for some time now to learn how to render fat both for soap making and cooking. My 'country living skills' book has a nice page on how to clean your cooking oil so it can be reused instead of thrown out. A couple of things here : #1. It boils over like milk (fire hazard...guess what I did!) #2. It stinks to high heaven! I will never do this in the kitchen again. This, like soap making, falls into the outside activity only category. After that almost disaster, I broke into my cash stash (which has dwindled to almost nothing) and went over to goodwill and bought a bunch of cheesy, historical bodice rippers. I calculate I have about 10 days of reading fodder. That should take us up to the deadline.
Before I end this blog entry I would like to thank everyone who has invited me to do things over the last few weeks. Please don't forget about me. I will be allowed out of this mortgage imposed Guantanamo .....eventually.
