En Provence Mystery Quilt 2017

En Provence Mystery Quilt 2017

In a recent blog post I shared that I was going to be completing the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt that started on black Friday 2016. When I started I thought I might be over my head because I have never made a quilt this large or with this much piecing. I learned so much making this quilt. It has several mistakes but overall I am pleased with how it turned out. It was supposed to be a "scrappy" quilt, and for the most part I tried to keep to those rules. (I also have never made a scrappy quilt- I have never been able to overcome my OCDishness) I will be making more scrappy quilts in the future. This week I will be piecing the backing. I found a beautiful fabric that is a black background with sprigs of lavender all over. I found it at a local quilt shop but they only had 4 yards (which I bought) but it is not big enough to cover so I will be cutting it into large blocks and piecing it with a solid dark purple and a solid lavender. Then it will be making a trip to the long arm quilter. This quilt is much too large for me to quilt on my machine. So drum roll please...................

Ta-da!!

I cannot wait to put this on my bed. 

  

Mystery Quilt 2016 Clue # 2

Well it has been a busy week at this house- it is amazing that I even found time to quilt. Everyone in our family is involved with out local ballet company, either dancing, doing sound or props for their productions. Last week was our performance of the Nutcracker. We move in to the theater, set up the stage, two dress rehearsals and five shows later we pack it all up again. Add to that three parties, one birthday and a choir concert on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the same week....phew is all I can say. So naturally I relaxed on Monday by starting clue number two of my mystery quilt. 

This step involved more neutral fabric, which I had run out of, so first thing Monday I was off to hobby lobby to buy more fabric! While I was there, found a seam gauge tool. I have been reading about these and thought it might be helpful keeping my seams allowances right. My sewing machine foot is a 1/4 inch foot but sometimes I get off track feeding the fabric through. I was very pleased with this little tool. 

I began cutting the strips of neutral fabric using a set of templates called the Tri-Recs. This block is called a triangle in a square. You cut the larger triangle from the neutral fabric and then two mirror image of the smaller triangle to sew on each side. This step was a little trickier than it looks but after the first mess up I got the hang of it. 

   
I made 100 of these little beauties! Clue number three came out today- I'll give you a hint- it will be in my favorite color!

Bonnie Hunter did a beautiful job choosing colors for this years Mystery Quilt. (Her quilts are all stunning). You can find her instructions on her blog here.


Dan's family is coming in for a family reunion this weekend so I won't be able to start on clue #3 until Sunday afternoon. I might go into withdrawal!

Completed blocks for Clue #2

Mystery Quilt 2016~ Clue # 1

You may or may not know that one of my passions in life is quilting. When I went back to school two years ago, I had little or no time to quilt. However, since graduation, I have been making up for lost time!  A few months ago, I found a group on Facebook for quilters called Quiltville Open Studio. It was through this great bunch of ladies that I learned about Bonnie Hunter, a nationally known quilter/teacher, and her awesome blog. For the past several years, Bonnie has done what she calls a "Mystery Quilt". I love a good mystery so naturally this intrigued me. This years quilt was inspired by Bonnie's trip to Provence France. At the end of October, Bonnie posted on her blog this years inspiration and color pallet, with directions to search our "stash" for fabrics we would use in the quilt. The "mystery" is that we do not know what this quilt will look like. Bonnie will give us a "clue" each week instructing us which fabric to use and what block to make. 

Now, those of you that know me well, know that I am a planner and like to know all the details before I start doing ANYTHING...including quilting. I have also never made a "Scrappy" quilt. (Scrappy quilts are just what it sounds like. Using scraps of fabric from other quilts you have made, or fabric from your stash, in blocks to complete the quilt) 

Amazingly, this sounded really fun to me and in the spirit of trying new things, I decided to jump aboard this Mystery Quilt train. As soon as the color pallet was posted, I dug through my fabric choosing my fabric. (would you believe that the queen of purple had NO purple fabric and actually had to buy some? Yeah- go figure) 

While everyone across America waited for Black Friday sales to begin...we quilters anxiously awaited for our first clue to be posted.

Clue 1: make 221 four-patch blocks from the neutral fabrics we chose.  

I began sewing strips together and then cutting them into 2 inch blocks. The instructions said to make the four-patches as naturally scrappy as I could. There is no "naturally" scrappy in my nature, so I decided to try a tip that one of the ladies on Facebook posted. Put all of the 2 patch blocks in a bag, draw out 2 and sew them together for a four-patch block. 

So....into the bag they went. I did, for the most part, sew the blocks together that I drew out. It took me a few days, but all 221 blocks are finished...and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how scrappy they turned out. On top of that, I learned several new techniques. One of them was how to "spin" my seams to reduce the bulk in the center of the four patch. 

 Above are the 2 patch blocks cut from the strips. To the right is a picture of the "seam spinning"   

Now to wait for Friday to find out what clue number 2 will be! 

Four patch blocks all finished.

The Big Reveal

Well..........it seems like forever ago that we began the renovations to our home, but today,  I'd like to take you on a tour of our project, from start to finished.  

Inspiration

A few days after I graduated in May, I rewarded myself for all my hard work by "binge watching" the home improvement show 'Fixer Upper'. I love Chip and Joanna's farmhouse style. I immediately wanted to transform our home. After mom and I visited a friends beautiful new home, we started talking, and you know what happens when two women start talking about re-decorating their home don't you? The ideas start flowing and the walls come tumbling down! 

I started the changes one Saturday afternoon by buying a gallon of paint and in a few hours, my bathroom had a new look. The picture below shows what the bathroom looked like before. The walls were a light sage green.

This is the after............

I love the cocoa walls with the white trim. You can see in the top photo, the old enamel topped cabinet that I found in the basement and painted a few years ago. It matches the walls perfectly now. 

Two days later we started the kitchen. The very first thing we did was.....

Set up a coffee station, of course! 

Seriously, though, here is a look at the kitchen before we began. When we bought the house 10 years ago we removed the wallpaper and painted the walls a warm cinnamon color. You can see it was basically a "U-Shaped" layout with the fridge opposite the stove and the sink between.

After choosing paint colors etc. Mom and I started painting cabinet doors and walls. Dan and Kate (the daughter of a dear friend who is like a niece to us) started taking cabinets off the wall and moving the fridge, re-routing electric, and moving the water lines. Then it was time.......

Left: Abi takes a shot at it. Top right: Britni takes over Middle: Kate takes a whack. Bottom: Little Belle with a little hammer.

Demo day!

 The wall is finally coming down! Even little Belle got in on the action. The wall we took down was the wall that the fridge was on in the "before" pic. We all worked tirelessly.....making and installing a base footer( to sit upper cabinets that were on this wall under a new counter-top), putting up bead board ( I settled for this, I really wanted shiplap) installing new lighting and tile back-splash (guess who learned how to grout it all by herself...thank you Youtube!)........and after weeks and weeks........Here is the moment we have all been waiting for..................

Now you know, as Dan was working his magic in the kitchen with the construction, I couldn't just sit around doing nothing, so the living room and dining room got a new look as well. Mom & I started by painting the walls a steel grey color and painting the trim a crisp white. We painted two armoires, six chairs, and a piano black. We re-arranged all our art-work etc. and came up with this.............

This is the foyer

These pictures from the living room don't really do it justice but you can get the idea. There was a pass through over couch, but it was only half of this opening. We extended it up to the bulk-head and removed a shelf that stuck out into the room over the couch.

And last but not least, the dining room. I don't think the pictures give the full effect that you get in person. We love the new look and are looking forward to entertaining over the next few months so we can share it with family and friends in person. 

Thanks for touring our home.

Summer Blog Series Begins~Pantry Organizaion

Summer has finally begun! Yes, I know it is the second week in July and most people have probably been celebrating summer for a month or so, but we had a crazy May and an even crazier June ending in our second "vacation trip" over the 4th of July weekend. Phew! Now that all that is over with I can get down to business with my summer blog series. I am not a fan of hot summer weather at all, so while the temperatures creep up over uncomfortable, I will be busy inside. During the past two years while I was working full-time and going to school full-time, things around our home have gotten a little unorganized, to say the least. My mission       (whether I choose to accept it or not) is to get this place organized and simplified by September(ish). With my trusty side-kick, mom, by my side I decided that my first(and most needed) place to make-over was the pantry. After searching Pinterest for several days, I found some great ideas for organizing a pantry. Early Friday morning, mom and I schlepped to the dollar store to purchase a variety of containers to use for storage...And...you can't beat the price! 

As you can see from the before shot this pantry definitely needed an overhaul! We began by emptying the contents and grouping everything into categories like baking, canned goods, pasta etc. (We needed 3 tables, two snack tray tables and the floor to fit it all. How it fit in the pantry before I will never know.) Once everything was out we took off the shelf liner and wiped down each shelf. Next, we fit each "food category" into a storage container and added a label. I found some pretty labels at the dollar store too.

From start to finish, including shopping time, the entire project took five hours. I think you'll agree that it was five hours well spent. (I even used power tools to screw the bins on the side to the wall! This might not be impressive to some, but to those who know my skill level in this area, they will be amazed) 

Total cost: $ 20.00 ~ OCD issues fulfilled: Priceless!

I pity the fool who messes this pantry up!

Homeschool Treasure

One of my favorite subjects to teach my girls has been poetry. I am not talking about an English unit study of poetry where we learn the different types of poems and how to write them, but learning to read and memorize poetry. I absolutely love to use the book "Poems For Children, A Delightful Collection for Boys and Girls" complied by Kate James. I love the poems. I love the Art work. I have loved this book so much that it is literally falling apart at the seams.  It is not an expensive book- I have found it on Amazon for around $10 used, sometimes more, but I have put off ordering it for one reason or another for years. Today I was spending the day with my Mom and Sister in NJ and we decided to go Antique Store Hopping. In the first store I found a creamer and sugar bowl set that goes with a set of Liberty Blue transfer wear that I collect at a steal for only $7.50 for the pair. In the next shop I was delighted to see a perfect copy of "Poems For Children..." sitting on the shelf. It doesn't even look like it has ever been opened. I was even more delighted when it was only marked $5.00! I can't wait to bring it home so Abi can pick out a poem to work on this coming week. Years ago, we were in a wonderful co-op that was very Charlotte Mason style in  structure. Both the children and the moms chose poems to memorize and share with the group. My little Abi, only two, memorized this poem from the book:

Little Things

 Little drops of water,

Little grains of sand,

Make the mighty ocean

And the pleasant land

Thus the little minutes,

Humble though they be,

Make the mighty ages,

of eternity

Ebenezer Cobham Brewer

I wonder what she will choose at almost eleven? I can't wait to find out. 

A Path Unknown

May 11, 2016

In August of 2014, I started down a path with an unknown destination. At the time, I had been working in bookkeeping for 14 years and I thought that it might be helpful to take an accounting course to put some formal learning behind the experience. Dan and I talked and prayed about it and, with his encouragement, I was able to pursue a grant and register for three classes. I still remember how surreal it was purchasing my books and walking into my first night class. (praising God for the grant...my first accounting book was $450.00!) I arrived early, and as I was sitting in the room alone, reality hit me and I remember thinking "what on earth are you doing? How are you going to work all day and keep up with three classes? What about my family?" and immediately I heard a still small voice say "be still and know that I am God." The semester progressed, I was amazed that I was actually understanding what I was learning, and fourteen weeks later I took my first set of final exams in almost 30 years. A year and half and 50 credits later, I am 1 week away from walking across a stage and receiving an A.A.S in Accounting. (I won't receive the actual degree until 8 weeks later) 
I could never have gotten this far with out the help and support of my family, Dan who undertook overseeing Abi's homeschooling, Mom who cooked and cleaned and kept the home-fires burning, Britni & Zack for driving Abi to dance classes and keeping an eye on her for us when either Dan or I were not home, Abi for being patient when mommy couldn't be home or had to spend every night and weekend studying. Many sacrifices were made for me to accomplish this feat, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all. Most of all, I thank the Lord for leading me down this path, calming the anxious moments with His peace, and enabling me to remember what I needed to not only graduate, but graduate with high honors and a 4.0 GPA. 
It was very difficult for me to walk down this path, I constantly questioned was I doing the right thing? Even though it meant sacrificing much of the life I was used to, I had an underlying peace. Like I was supposed to keep going. What now? I decided to stop working full time in February and I am looking forward to returning home and taking over Abi's homeschooling once again. I am also praying about a few options that would allow me to use my degree to work from home. I am still not sure where this path is ultimately leading but I know who does, and He will make my path straight. 

Finally--I'm Back

I know I have been absent from blogging for way too long but I didn't think that I would have an issue finding my blog on my dashboard or signing in to blogger when I decided it was time to pick up my "blogging pen" again. Wow- was I wrong. It took me two days but finally after many attempts at resetting passwords and hours of frustration, I somehow stumbled on to the solution. I only hope that I can remember how to get back on in the future!

What have I been doing with myself since my last post in January of 2015? Well- I have been going back to school and will be graduating with my A.A.S. in Accounting on May 11th 2016. Until February, I was also working full-time.

I am now hoping to start my own bookkeeping business so that I can work from home. I am most excited to return to homeshooling Abigail full time. I am thankful that Dan's schedule allowed him to oversee Abi's schooling while I worked and went to school so she didn't have to leave home but I am so ready to be a full-time homeschool mommy again.

So for the next few days I will be busy with final exams but after that I will be back to regular blogging.

Mother~Daughter Book Challenge

My daughter Britni extended a book reading challenge for 2015 and I accept!  Each year I attempt to do the "Read 52 books in 52 Weeks" challenge but with working and going back to school I need a more reachable challenge this year. Britni and I have agreed to stick to the following list to make our book selections this year. I am going to post a book review after each book I read. Any other mother/daughters that want to join us- feel free. Here's the list.

2015 Mother~Daughter Book Challenge

A book you've been meaning to read

A book published this year

A book in a genre you don't typically read

A book from your childhood

A book your mom loves

A book that was originally written in a different language

A book "everyone" has read but you

A book you chose because of the cover

A book by a favorite author

A book recommended by someone with great taste

A book you should have read in high school

A book that's currently on the best seller list

To follow Britni's challenge click on her picture in the side bar.  

My Journey Begins...........Again

Well....I see it has been since August since I last did a blog post..oh my! I have been up to several things that have kept me busy....1) I started working full-time in June and 2) I started going back to school in September. Lots of changes in 2014 but that is not the journey I am beginning again. This one is going to be difficult and I believe it will require accountability and transparency. Neither of which comes easy to me, I tend to keep personal things personal. Many of us make New Years resolutions only to feel guilty when our resolve isn't as strong as we had hoped. So I am not going to make any resolutions on my journey this year, only goals. So here goes....

My journey this year is going to document my weigh-loss. There...it's out. (Deep breath inserted here) I have struggled with my weight all my life in one way or another. I have lost weight only to regain it. Some of you know the cycle. There are several things I will be sharing on this journey, not just pounds lost, but books read, helpful tips I find, and recipes. 

Today I am going to share the method. As I said before I have been on this journey many times and have taken several different paths. For me, I have been most successful on Weight Watchers. That is the program I will be following. Yes, it does cost money. This year the budget will more than comfortably afford the monthly online fee, praise the Lord for that. There have been times when that has not been a comfortable budget expense but still one I felt was very worth it. In the past I have attended weekly meetings but this time around I am only going to use the online membership. In the past, I have always had a "buddy" doing the program with me. This time I will be going it alone. That is what will be one of the hardest parts, but if I am being transparent, necessary. I don't know where this particular path on this lifetime journey is going but as I write I am finding encouragement. Almost excitement. I say almost because I am not a risk taker by nature, in fact, status-quo is a synonym of security to me. I am not thrilled about being transparent either. I find it difficult to share my inner thoughts with anyone. 

I am hoping others who are headed on this type of journey will find encouragement. For those of you who have never had weight struggles, but have loved ones who do, maybe you will see a glimps of something that will help you better understand. 

So for today...the journey begins........

The New Girls Get Names

Well the girls are all grown up now, so today was the day we banded them and gave them names. Here's the roll call.....

Nadia got her name because as we were watching her after the banding she walked across the roosting bar and balanced on one leg while stretching the other leg out in front of her and repeated this with the other leg with exception of stretching it behind her- she looked like she was preforming a balance beam routine.

Helen is a rather flighty bird. She made the biggest fuss when she was being banded.
We don't know any fussy Helen's but Dan felt that she looked like a Helen so the name stuck.

Lizzy, of course is named after Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudiced. She is not proud or prejudiced but I love the name Lizzy. Too bad she will never meet her
 Mr. Darcy.

Ethel got her name because of her BFF. She is usually found hanging around Lucy!

Bertha is the biggest of all the girls. Big Bertha just seems to suit her.

Guinever's band color is white and for some reason she just kept reminding me of
 Lady Guinevere so the name stuck.

Little Lucy actually got her name when we brought her home. She was is the smallest of the girls and always came running to me when I would peek into the brooder. She usually is one of the first ones to get to me when I go out to the coop- that is if Claudia will get out of the way!

And last but not least...Gertrude...Dan picked her name. 

Guess who would not leave me alone until I took her picture?
Claudia the photo bomber!(by the way...she rules the roost!)

So there you have it. About three weeks ago we combined the "Three French Hens" with the new girls. They are getting along as good as can be expected. They were 20 weeks old on August 7th and we found the first egg  from the new girls, laid in the run, on Sunday the 10th. There were two more today, one broke in the nesting box and the other was laid in the run again. Both were small really small but we are thrilled that they are starting. I know production will increase as they get the hang of it. The next project is to increase the size of the run and finish painting the coop. I am also not happy where the old coop is placed so we have plans to move that again. When it is all done I will give you a picture tour....or stop by and see them in person. 

God Is Holding The Umbrella

I am sure you have heard the phrase "when it rains it pours". I have heard it all my life. Something told me when I woke this morning that it was going to be a gully gusher kind of a day, and there was nothing on the local radar forecasting rain! 

It all started with me oversleeping...(you don't need the details)...racing to the bathroom to get ready...calling out to number 2 child to hurry up and get dressed, take the dogs out, feed the dogs....the phone rings....it's the husband...."have you eaten yet? I want to take you out for breakfast." (He has been on out of town trips all week, bless his heart, and wanted to do something fun with the family)....but it's a school day......Oookay...we'll go out to breakfast...child number 2 is still not up, no dogs have been out or fed and dad is pulling in the driveway..."why aren't you ready?"...(Let's not go there)....number 2 child is finally dressed, dogs have been out and fed...pile into the car and on to the restaurant...after we are seated I notice that number 2 child's hair is making Einstein's hair look professionally styled...

And that was the calm part of the day.

After "breakfast", we had a few errands to run, so it makes sense to just do them while you are out right? While driving hither and yon the check gauges light on the dash comes on..."no big deal" I thought...husband had the mechanic at work test the alternator and battery last week when it did this and the voltage read fine...husband thinks it is a malfunction in a computer chip....(you do need the details on this one)...sometime during the morning rush husband tells me he is going to go to a computer customer after work so won't be home until late...call number 1 child and arrange to have her bring number 2 child to her house after youth meeting for husband to pick up on his way into town...(sounds like a plan)(insert distant thunder rumble here)...rush home just in time for husband to go back to work...phone rings..it's number 1 child..instead of picking number 2 child up pack a bag so she can stay the night to help with grand-babies on Saturday...(thunder is a bit closer now. Why? you ask...the laundry isn't done yet for the week and who knows if number 2 child even has clean clothes at this point)...call to number 2 child to pack a bag....with the hour left before we need to leave for dance class(I decided to run to Walmart before dropping her off)....load the car with props to drop off at the dance studio for a performance tomorrow...realizing I hadn't eaten since "breakfast" I decide to do something that my OCD self has never done...ever... throw a few sweet potatoes in the oven at 275 for the hour(at the most) that I will be gone so that I have something ready to eat that is on my new eating program when I arrive home.(Note: at this point I am not really hungry and can wait until I return so I don't even grab a small snack)(insert flash of lighting and large clap of thunder here).....rush out the door and notice that number 2 child has on a ratty pair of flip flops...oh well she is just going to youth after class and will be inside and the weather is nice....not paying attention, I miss the first road I was going to take and had to go down the more crowded highway(insert large raindrops here)...the check gauge light comes on..not to worry it's been doing this...a few seconds later the airbag light comes on...not wanting to scare number 2 child I think to myself "what does that mean?... I have no air bag?...the airbag is going to deploy?...what do I do if it does?"....stopping at the light to turn into the Wally-world parking lot, all sorts of bells start going off..every light on the dash is flashing yet I have no turn signal or any dash lights...as I pull up to the car in front of me I see that my head lights are barely visible... I pull down the first parking isle and coast into a spot.(thunder, lightening, rain) I call the husband and leave a voice message that the car broke down and call number 1 child, who is on her way to work at the dance studio to come and help. Number 1 child doesn't have a voice-mailbox set up....great.....decide to go into the store to get the things I needed...forgot one of them...and while I am at the self-checkout husband calls and says "here I am going to hand the phone to my bus aide..tell her what happened."...trying to insert the right amount of cash into a self-check register and having a second party conversation with your husband while low blood sugar is setting in is not all it's cracked up to be....walk back to the car with a slightly hysterical child when number 1 child calls back.."did you call me?"....explain what happens...she can't come because she has to open the studio....great...low blood sugar hits hard and triggers my memory of the baking sweet potatoes in an oven I never leave on while I am not home! I send an emergency text message to a friend to swing by my house, look for the hide a key and turn off my oven because I don't know when I will be home...(insert loud stomach rumble here) Across the parking lot is a McDonald's. I can't eat at McDonald's(not on my new eating plan)...(louder stomach rumbling and shakiness sets in) I have to eat something so number 2 child and I walk to McDonald's, get something to go and walk back to the car to wait for husband to arrive...while walking back number 2 child cries "my shoe just broke". 

How is God holding the umbrella? My normal reaction to a situation like this would usually be one of complete panic and although I had one moment of snappy words due to the low blood sugar, I had the peace of the Lord that everything would work out. Not only did He give me the presence of mind to get the car to a parking space, food when it was needed, and Walmart's shoe department, but there was a service center that checked alternators and batteries across the parking lot. Husband arrived, we jump-started the car, brought it over to the repair shop just before it closed and it was fixed within the hour. And..my wonderful friend got the text message and turned off the oven. Most importantly, I was able to show my little girl how God cares about us and provided for needs we didn't even know we had yet. 

Psalm 73:28

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

    I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

Thank you, Lord, for holding the umbrella today.

Chicken Littles.......not so much

Three weeks ago I posted here about the 10 baby chicks we added to our flock. I was amazed at how quickly they outgrew their first little home. At two weeks we moved them to their new digs.....

We cleared out a space for them in the garage and my handy man Dan rigged up this baby pool with chicken wire and netting and voila'........instant chicken brooder!

Today, they outgrew their waterer. (who knew chicks drank so much!) It was almost a full-time job trying to keep it full. Thankfully, a few weeks ago, I bought another large waterer with the anticipation of needing it for the new coop. I don't even want to talk about the amount of chicken feed they are going through! Here is what they look like today, at three weeks old. 

Abi found a long, thin piece of bamboo on our walk through the park the other day and it perfectly spans across the brooder as a roosting bar. Some of them just started to use it a few days ago. You can see how they are loosing their chick down and getting their feathers. Their new coop will be going up next week and as soon as they get all their feathers, and if the weather will finally cooperate, we will introduce them to the Three French Hens.

This is a picture of what a full grown Buff Orpington hen will look like.

52 Weeks Book Challenge

For several months, I have been slowly savoring the pages of a book after my quiet time. That book is....

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

by Ann Voskamp

Between the pages of this book, Ann shares the struggles and hard places of her life that brought her to ask and answer these questions:

 Where is joy in the midst of cruelty and chaos, duties and despair?

How does one slow down enough for the soul and God to live in sync?

How in the world do we learn to find God and live fully?

Through piles of laundry, homeschooling kids, and everyday routine, Ann finds the one motivating key that will answer all of those questions. I really enjoyed this book. I am beginning to practice Ann's ideas in my own life, taking one small step at a time, trying to discover for myself, how to live fully right where the Lord has me.  

52 Weeks Book Challenge

Well, it has been a while since I have posted a book review for my 52 Weeks Book Challenge. You are probably wondering at this rate will she even make her goal to read more books this year than last? The jury is still out on that one. ( I am reading the second book in the Song of Ice and Fire series- they are over 900 pages each! Does that count as two books?) Anyway, I have also been reading some other books as well. I am the kind of reader that can have more than one book going at a time.

 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Unabridged.

 I have enjoyed the movie versions of this book for years so I thought that it would be a great thing to read it aloud to Abi. While some of the events of the book are found in various films, there is are many differences. The book follows the journey of Dorothy and her three companions, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion as they make their way to see the Wizard of Oz to see if he would grant them the things they wanted most. After following the yellow brick road to the Emerald city, each of the sojourners met with Oz, who appeared in a different form to each. Oz says he will grant their wishes if they will kill the wicked witch of the west who rules over the western Winkie Country. Once the Witch realizes what is going on, she tries many different ways of disposing with the travelers in hopes of obtaining the magical silver shoes that Dorothy was given by Glinda, the good witch of the North. When all efforts fail, the witch resorts to using a golden cup to summon the winged monkeys to capture the four friends. The witch forces Dorothy to do house work around her castle, all the while scheming for a way to get the slippers. When she tricks her into giving her one slipper, Dorothy grabs a bucket full of water and the witch melts. The winged monkeys fly the friends back to the emerald city but their journey does not end there. The three face many more obstacles before Dorothy ends up in the land of Glinda, who tells her she has had the power in the silver shoes to go home to Kansas all along. Abi and I both enjoyed reading the original and comparing it to not only several movies but also the stage version, which she had the opportunity to be a part of last spring, that our community theater group performed.  

Welcoming Our New Arrivals

Life has been rather crazy here so there has not been much time to "blog", which I have very much missed. I knew earlier in the week that I would have several hours to myself tonight, with Abi out with her special friend Miss Kate and Dan driving a trip, but I had the hardest time deciding on what to share. Then, this morning, we welcomed our new arrivals. 

It began last night.............

Preparing the "brooder"

Then bright and early we picked up our friend, who knew more about selecting than we did, and drove to the next town an came back with a "Munchkin"-looking box ......

Our box of munchkins

If you haven't guessed, we have added 10 Buff Orpington chicks to our flock. 

We had planned a space in the garage to keep the brooder because the temperatures have been more mild here lately but, this being the crazy winter from I don't know where, the temperatures are going to dip down into the teens again tonight. Even after leaving the heat lamp on all night last night the temperature in the brooder was still only 60 degrees when we came home with the chicks so we had to move everything into the laundry room until the cold snap snaps! They are the cutest little things I have ever seen. If you would have told me years ago I would be raising 10 baby chicks I would not have believed you. Abi is thrilled with her new little fledglings. She has chosen two names (8 more to go) but I told her to wait until we can actually tell them apart before she assigns the names. What are the two names, you ask?  Greta, named after one of Mr. Popper's penguins, and Isabelle, after her niece. Not sure how big sis is going to like that but, oh well. I am planning on posting pictures each week as they grow so you can see the change. Now....to build the new coop!