WA holds own in Arnold Regional Semi-Final!

Go Washington! Our quarter has what it takes, apparently...at least against states with what appear to be talking horses depicted on them. Illinois is going to be a tough one to beat, what with Honest Abe and all. For my taste, I still think that for pure design goodness, WA is the better layout. Just look at it: proportion, clarity, representation of the essence of the state. How can it not win?

Happy Valentine's Day!

I picked up a fancy suit just for the occasion....in my virtual life, anyway. Oh, and, yes, that's Gimli on my shoulder.

My Magazine covers...

This is such a time-waster....but kind of a hoot, too...!

I just love the text on the Vogue cover with Gordo's picture: "Dressing your Age" (Yeah! The golden age of Piracy!) "What Works for Work" (lots of weapons) "Red is the New Black" (No quarter!) "10 Perfect Coats" (Let's see: the surtout, the frock, the justacorps, the roundabout, the cassock...ack, that's only five....).

Chicken Fashions

Fellow critter enthusiast friend of mine sent this link to a cool story about chicken rescues in the UK. Production egg "factories" are unhappy places, especially for the chooks. One of the side-effects of cramped and crowded conditions is that the birds often peck and pick at each other, resulting in some pretty naked critters. What to do with these girls who are past their prime and for some reason not destined for a can of soup? Rehoming and little knitwear until they grow their feathers back. Very cool.

Eggapalooza!

This may not be front page news, but my chickens are going crazy laying eggs. For those not familiar with poultry, most hens scale back or stop laying altogether during the Winter, due to the shorter days. Some people force the issue by turning on lights in the henhouse. I do not. Chickens, like everybody else in the egg business, only have a finite amount in them, so why use them all up in a hurry?. Anyway, I have ten hens, and right now I'm getting 4-8 eggs a day! Family and friends are taking some, but I think I'm going to have to make another batch of pickled eggs and do some serious baking. Maybe I'll make cookie dough and freeze it! Hm, good idea...

Washington Wins Round 2...!

... of Round 2 of the Arnold Regional Most Awesome State Quarter competition! It was a close-run thing, but Wisconsin's offering is merely quaint and iconic as compared to our mighty volcano and dangerously gargantuan leaping salmon! Wooo!

Sadly, Oregon lost to Kentucky, which is totally lame. How can a giant water-filled caldera with a cinder cone in it named "Wizard Island" not beat out a horse in a paddock saying, "My old Kentucky home." Horses do NOT say things like that. I know from experience, trust me. Most of what they say is food related, unless it's panicky inquiries about puddles or plastic bags, either of which are purported to devour horses whole, apparently. Still: WA! Yay!

Week Old Weather Report

It snowed exactly a week ago. Here is photographic evidence. I'm slow getting these up because I've been switching computers and everything is topsy-turvy.

We don't often get actual fluffy snow, usually just wet glop, due to our residing at about altitude 200' and adjacent to a large body of salt water, so this was noteworthy.

For the concerned amongst you, I knocked the snow off of that twisted willow (and the dogwood and other fragile shrubs/trees) right after I snapped these pics. It was just too painful looking. Even so, I love a morning with fresh snow: silent, clear, cold, and clean except for the smelly horses staring holes in my back because I'm taking pictures and not feeding them RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE'RE DYING! After they were saved from starvation and turned out, they immediately rolled in the snow and looked like quadrupedal yeti.




Actual photo of Gordon working in the yard! Well, on the deck. First time we've had to shovel snow since we moved here almost three years ago. The snow lasted for almost five days, which is very surreal for the above reasons.

Domino Effect

Now that I have working heat in the garage, I've no excuse to keep putting off setting up my sewing room/studio in there. The giant chest freezer is gone (yay Craigslist!) and so the scrap lumber and tent poles are gradually going in the alcove where that sat.

The biggest domino I have to shift is the pile of military surplus that I was supposed to eBay for a friend. It's just not going to happen for lots of reasons, so now I have to bite the bullet and start weighing it so I can figure what it's going to cost to ship it all to LA: ugh. It will feel good to get that gone, though, so I just need to do it.

Oh, and I need to go photograph my old truck canopy and the old lock box from the back of the big truck so those can go on Craigslist as well. I'm starting Spring Cleaning early, needless to say, and it feels good.

Some of the oak paneling in the garage is going to finish the inside of the henhouse. Why didn't I think of that before? Duh. I have two trim pieces to cut and nail on and the south wall of the henhouse is pretty much ship shape. Well, it will be after I scrape of the "Neighborhood Watch" sticker on the door window, attach the handle and latch, and paint the door spruce green. Right now it's electric blue: bleh.

That's just the house. I still need to finish the actual run, versus the rinky-dink half-size thing they have right now if I don't want to let them into the yard (see photo of annoyed chicken in the snow eating catfood, right). As soon as I get that together I can transplant a couple of climbing roses to the south side of it so they'll have shade in the Summer...and we'll all have more privacy from the neighbors to the north.