New chickens and others

Today I got some more chickens home from Tammie's. I left work a half hour early to pick them up, get them home, and still have time to pick Lisa up by 5:00.We planned on only 3-5 more, but when I was there, I called Lisa at work and we decided to go ahead and get 7, making our total bird count 10. My point was that we just simply couldn't have an odd number anymore...she just laughed and said to go ahead. I only got to briefly talk to Tammie through the screen door, so honestly I'm not sure what kind of birds I have now, lol. Silly I know, but I don't care and neither does Lisa. I e-mailed her to find out what they are, and when I get a response, I'll post here what the birds are. They settled in fairly well, I expected the little pecking order scuffle which they had, but the last I checked, they all seemed to be doing fine.

Thanksgiving will be the usual dinner here at home with the kids, then off to Lisa's sisters, then my folks for pie later in the day. We tend to eat here early, normally around 2:00, so it won't be a late night, and I can get a good nights sleep before the rest of the weekend. I'm off Thursday and Friday paid, so I'll be doing my best to catch up on some things around here. My main goal is to drop the cigarettes. This slowing down gradually just isn't working for me...when I get bored or idle, I smoke. So when I'm busy, I can ignore it, but when I'm idle, it's right back up to where I was. I'm tired of it and it's time to just do it. Now just to let the kids know they can't smoke upstairs on thanksgiving...... If my friend Frank can pack up one duffle bag, leave everything behind, and leave for another state, surely I can muster up the self control to stop smoking.

Besides catching up on the to-do list this weekend, I plan to catch up on some reading. I have several books I want to finish, and another I want to start. Last week at my normal Goodwill stop, I picked up a copy of the Boyscout handbook for 50 cents. It may sound silly since it's a scout book, but that book is PACKED with usefull information on survival and other techniques. Most of it I know, but there is a lot that I don't. I've always wanted to know more about wild edible plants, and it's in there. Buidling small shelters-in there.....more info than some new survival guides. Let me re-phrase that-"more USEFULL info". Most modern books cover the basics, some more extreme than others, and some are just plain silly. Some of the books out there must be written for the types that lose it when the local Starbucks loses power and they can't get their mocha-java-choco-latte whatever, lol. I see this book being one of the ones in my little library with the torn & beaten pages from re-reading so much. Aside from that, I want to finish one on Outdoor stories, then start reading through the natural/herbal remedy books my sister gave us. I'm fascinated lately by wild edibles and medicinal plants and herbs. I see a winters worth of reading leading to a much larger herb garden next year...like I need more to do around here!