Thursday, June 23, 2016

WHAT A SURPRISE!

Here we are four months later, and we do not have any farm produced eggs.  Jim and I were in for a disappointment when we discovered that three of our four surviving Rhode Island Red chickens were roosters.  We have done such a good job taking care of them; they have grown into beautiful chickens, three of which have very large, bright red combs and big, floppy waddles.  If only we had them to look at, everything would be wonderful; but we wanted them to lay eggs.

 So what did we decide to do?  Our choices were to give up on the whole idea of raising chickens for eggs or to buy more chickens making sure this time that they are hens.and not roosters!!  We made the decision to dress and eat the roosters, and later buy two more hens.  I really don't like the idea of eating any of our "peepers;" but after sinking money into feed and dedicating much time into feeding them, cleaning their pen, and moving it around every day or two, we decided this was the logical way to proceed.





Monday, February 8, 2016

Getting Ready For Some Real Scrambled Eggs--Country Style

Jim and I just finished putting together my Christmas present--a chicken house.  Now for the chickens.  We haven't done our research on what types of chickens we will be getting or just how to take care of them, but that comes next. (Jim just added this, "I KNOW how to take care of chickens!" We hope to have it fully operational in a few weeks.





This house will accommodate six to eight chickens, which is all we need to produce the eggs that we would like to have for personal use.  We purchased it at Tractor Supply, and hopefully it will serve our purposes.  It has a litter tray for easy cleaning, and as you can see a roaming pen.  What I really like is the cute little flower-box under the window.  Now I don't know if the chickens will care to have flowers, but I think it's a great idea.  Let's see how well I maintain the chickens, then I might be able to grow a few flowers in the window-box!!

I'll catch you up after we get this operation in full swing.


Friday, February 5, 2016

Yesterday, I started on a new sewing project for the American Girl doll. The stash of Lycra fabric that I have accumulated over the years needed to be used, and I found the perfect pattern for it. This panties and cami pattern by Love U Bunches uses a stretch fabric such as tee shirt knit or the Lycra that I will be using. It also uses fold-over elastic (FOE) to enclose the edges of each piece of the outfit in order to yield the perfect fit and ease of putting on and taking off the doll. The little iron on embroidery embellishments that I have been needing to find a use for added an extra little touch to the panties.

I finished only one outfit today because I spent much time setting up my serger for a cover stitch. Now that this is done, I will be able to finish the brown outfit in no time. Here are some pictures of this project.
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My daughter, Rachel, found this realistic-looking paperclip holder during one of her shopping expeditions.  She thought it would be a great addition to my American Girl doll house.  I agree and here are some pictures of my "new piece of furniture."  What so great is -- it's ceramic and not plastic!!!