The answer to an age old question......

There are some things in life that are just too good to pass up.

So when Christine mentioned that she'd like to thin her flock of chickens,
I mentioned it to my girlie who is know around these parts
as "The Chicken Whisperer"

Girlie begged and pleaded
and promised that she would take good care of them
and waited ever so patiently for a reply from Christine.

Christine was very sweet about offering us her bantam
chickens and there was just one catch....
come and get them....no worries...

what capable 9 year old boy can't read a map...Lewis and Clark crossed
the country without GPS and we could easily manage to make
it from Wisconsin to Lafayette, Indiana.

Those of us who weren't busy reading maps or driving
were lucky enough to sleep through most of the noon traffic
in Chicago on Friday...who wouldn't love a two hour
nap, only to awake and discover that you haven't really
missed anything exciting and you are only 15 miles from
where you first fell asleep.

What happens in the Jeep...stays in the Jeep,
but I am certain that my boy child will never in his life
forget just where I-65 intersects I-94....love you buddy!

So the answer to the age old question,
which came first the chicken or the egg?

Even girlie knows the answer to that...

it was the chicken, but the egg was a close second!

problem solved

A couple of weeks ago, I told my husband that a blogger
was looking for a new home for some of her chickens
and she said I could have them.....he said,"Great! There' s
only one little problem...we don't have a chicken
coop for them!"

Problem solved...

Do you realize that you can buy absolutely anything
you can dream of on the internet and they will
bring it right to your door? AMAZING!

Ok, so it was the end of the
driveway...but that's close enough.

The only thing that was not included
were the two smiling Amish guys shown in the photos
putting the chicken coop together.

The child inside the coop was full of smiles...
the guy with the ball cap...not so many.

The only thing waiting to be finished is the ramp for the chickens
to get in and out of the little door, a coat of paint or two
and the little flower window box.

And my end of the deal....driving 5 hours one way to
pick up the chickens.....I'm starting to wonder...
exactly how much noise will these chickens make
on the way to their new house
...and how long will my Jeep smell like chicken sh@t?!

She Was Somebody's Mother....

While blog hopping this morning, I stumbled across

Margaret's Hope Chest and fell hard.

There are numerous projects and causes

that a quilter could chose

to donate their time, fabric, quilts or services to.

This one has struck a cord with me and perhaps it will

for you as well, because she was somebody's Mother.

(Click on the logo to visit Margaret's Hope Chest)

Somebody's Mother

The woman was old and ragged and gray
And bent with the chill of the winter's day.

The street was wet with a recent snow
And the woman's feet were aged and slow.

She stood at the crossing and waited long,
Alone, uncared for, amid the throng

Of human beings who passed her by
Nor heeded the glance of her anxious eye.

Down the street, with laughter and shout,
Glad in the freedom of "school let out,"

Came the boys like a flock of sheep,
Hailing the snow piled white and deep.

Past the woman so old and gray
Hastened the children on their way

Nor offering a helping hand to her
So meek, so timid, afraid to stir

Lest the carriage wheels or the horses' feet
Should crowd her down in the slippery street.

At last came one of the merry troop,
The gayest laddie of all the group.

He paused beside her and whispered low,
"I'll help you cross, if you wish to go."

Her aged hand on his strong young arm
She placed, and so, without hurt or harm,

He guided the trembling feet along,
Proud that his own were firm and strong.

Then back again to his friends he went,
His young heart happy and well content.

"She's somebody's mother, boys, you know,
For all she's aged and poor and slow.

"And I hope some fellow will lend a hand
To help my mother, you understand,

"If ever she's poor and old and gray,
When her own dear boy is far away."

And "somebody's mother" bowed her head
In her home that night, and the prayer she said

Was, "God be kind to the noble boy,
Who is somebody's son, and pride and joy!"

Mary Dow Brine (1816-1913)

could she really ....

have grown this much in just a few months....really?!

outdoor chores resulted in grumbly tumblies....

we planted popcorn this Spring.....no joke!
and after a miserable growing season,
were lucky enough to harvest two ears that have
been laying on the kitchen counter drying for the longest time...

they were the most delicate pieces of popcorn I've ever enjoyed!
next year we will plant the entire packet of seeds.
you should try a row or two...

outdoor busyness with chores left spare moments to work
on a bit of this and a bit of that....but mostly this.

a friend is in need....

Please be so kind and head over to her blog and leave
kind words, thoughts, hugs, love and prayers in
this difficult time that she and her family will be facing.

haunted by a memory....

When my sister was in jr high she learned to crochet in home ec

class and I begged and begged her to teach me to crochet.
She delighted in being the older sister and held it over my head
that I was too little...and she refused to teach me.

I can still see her curled up on the sofa in our family room with
her yellow, orange and brown yarn tucked in a basket
and the blanket she was working on heaped in a pile on her lap.

It has taken some thirty odd years, but after spending hours
on the end of the bed of a sick little girl Friday night....


I am on the way to my own blanket....it's not the colors
that are important........but the journey getting to
this point and believing that I could.

you can have summer....

but I call dibs on Fall and Winter....

there is something about living in a log cabin that makes me long for
cold days with a fire burning and a pot of soup on the stove...

...if only these grapes weren't twelve feet off the ground...
oh! the things I could make...

...so instead I stick to the knitting I started for my school girl.
The shawl can be pattern can be found here.


It left the house this morning and is on it's way to
live at school where it will be hung in her cubby....good-bye shawl!

and what about the little bit of pink wool left over...
some things never change....
I'm still trying to work up the courage and skill to
take on making the likes of this blanket....someday!