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!

ahh Monday on a 3 day week

The weekend was pretty uneventfull for the most part. Saturday I got the coop addition finished and will be getting the other chickens today or tomorrow after work, all depending on when Lisa gets the car cleaned out. Yesterday was a trip to Tractor Supply to stock up on layer feed, cracked corn, oyster shell, another feeder, and wild bird seed.
The dr's Lisa works for have 4 offices, and they all decided to start doing some charity work this fall & winter. Last month everyone donated cash to the local independant Humane Society, and this month they're donating to the homeless shelter (Haven of Rest). The back of the new Pontiac is loaded with things from her office, and today she is going to the other 3 to pick up what they have. We'll drop it all off when I get off work around 4pm. Just her office alone has 3 boxes of canned goods, a few winter coats, and a bunch of baby clothes. Imagine what the other 3 offices will have.
At home, we've had a guest since last Tuesday. My bosses brother is staying with us till this weekend. ( I knew him before from a week-long salmon fishing trip with his brother in '99) He's gone thru a bitter divorce and his company went bankrupt. He had a rough summer, some of which he spent homeless with nothing but his Harley and the clothes on his back. He's been working with me at that close jobsite, but all he has now is his motorcycle. He was fine till last Monday when we got the first snowfall, then was stuck with no way to get to work from the hotel he was basically living in. It took a whole day of convincing to get him to stay here, but he decided it was for the best. He's just waiting for a check from his attorney on some old business matters,which should be Tuesday, and will be catching a greyhound this weekend to start a new life in Wisconsin. He's not paying hotel costs or eating fast food twice a day, so he's saving that little bit for his trip as well. The bike is in storage, and he's set to go Saturday at 6am on his journey. In a way I'm jealous....leaving it all behind, going to a new state with nothing, and starting from scratch. I honestly don't know if I would have the courage for that big of a move. It's been fun having company here, and Lisa has loved cooking for one more person with an appetite. Yesterday she even taught him how to make homeade bread and noodles since he had asked how to do it; she really enjoyed that. It'll be sad to see him go this weekend, but he's making his big life change, so thats a wonderful thing for him.
Beyond that, there's really nothing all that eventfull going on here. I'll spend the next few evenings digging out all the christmas decorations since we have so much. Everything will be put up Friday and Saturday as always, even our cattle proof tree fencing. Yes fencing. With 5 dogs, we have to fence in the tree. Presents get chewed/eaten, ornaments get broken, lights get pulled....heathen hounds anyway, lol. So a few years ago, I made a 3 foot tall picket fence that hinges around the tree to the wall, making it as dogproof as possible without going to chain link with barbed wire and a mine field, hahaha. We tell people the tree keeps trying to escape when they question the fence...those damn artificial trees are pretty rowdy when cornered!! Luckily with the fence and being teathered with the lights plugged in, we keep it under control.