Simple Man....

I haven't properly introduced John yet. He's my husband of ... um, well.. Mason is almost 13, so I believe me and John will have been married 11 years this coming October. We met in the military and were somewhat "forced" together by fate I suppose. I am a believer in everything happens for a reason so for lack of a better word I'm going to go with fate. We have our ups and downs, we have our fights and we have our moments of utter frustration. But through it all we sustain and remain...
We are about as different as oil and vinegar. I almost think this is how we have survive the test of time. In one breath we will fight and yell and three minutes later talk about what we will be doing together and making plans for 15 years

from now.
Its weird~but I dont feel like I need to explain it, it works for us and the way I see it we are the only two whose opinion counts in our relationship.
This past weekend John and Mason went away for a boys weekend in Pittsfield, Mass to do some quad riding and camping. Although he did not think to bring the camera with him, someone was nice enough to share two pictures taken with someone else's camera. They had a blast. John enjoys the more simple things in life and i love that about him. He's a country boy~refined.
When John calls my phone the song Simple Man by Shinedown plays. I actually love the song, i think its a triumph to who he is...and I happen to know he too loves the song. But for some, my song choice is a reason to talk shit about our relationship. But now that I think about it, the person who used the song as a gossip session is the same person who talks shit about little kids and will always find the negative in everything. HMMM....as i said only John and my opinion count anyway...

Forget your lust for the rich man's gold

All that you need now is in your soul

And you can do this(oh baby)if you try

All that I want from you my son is to be satisfied

Simple Man by Shinedown

Naturalism in a nutshell...any questions?

Farewell dear Rooster Friends

So today I made the decision the roosters had to go. Now for anyone that knows me...knows that where animals are concerned I think with my heart and rarely with my head, so for me this was a very "Big Girl" decision. I have this false sense of truth that my home is always the best home for any animal--even when its not. For three large roosters, this was not the ideal situation. They would eventually become more of a problem then their original intention...which was to supply eggs. How many of you out there were not aware that Rooster's do not lay eggs? Well, i did know that...but apparently the girl at Tractor Supply Co was misinformed when she told us that the lighter the chick the more likely it was to become a hen someday. I have done ALOT of research since buying these guys and I can assure you that were Golden Comets are concerned

LIGHTER IS NOT BETTER unless you ARE looking for Roosters. Maybe I should go get a job there and help them learn. INTERNET PEOPLE! It will teach you most everything you never wanted to know...and then some. I suggest the folks selling the chicks at TSC do some light reading and then start educating folks on hens vs. roos. It would save alot of dumbasses such as myself the trouble later on.

The kids actually took the whole situation quite well considering they had grown to love these feathery friends. As a final "sorry" and in hopes of being forgiven we let them out into the tree next to their run. Daisy and Little Red quickly made their way up

on to some of the high branches. Sunny quickly became jealous and jumped up as high as he could... he was able to get about a foot off the ground and seemed quite satisfied with being "taller" than the other roos'! He sat proudly on his branch for a little while. In fact their new free status did little to excite them when about 20 minutes later Little Red went into Rooster Protection Mode (RPM...lol) and began crowing her(his) combless head off to round up his flock. He crowd and crowd...and one by one the roosters all retreated into the coop!
I am thoroughly amazed by the power one little roo posesses. He speaks and they go running.

I couldn't see the threat, but apparently he saw or heard something I couldn't. He spoke and they listened. After he rounded them up into the coop he sat at the door blocking their exit and continued to crow... perhaps warning whatever was out there. I have to admit I was thoroughly impressed by his prowess and even more glad to have made the choice to keep him. Note the random photo of Stanley hanging out with his chicken friends in the bottom photo. Stanley is a scaredy cat...but loves to watch the chickens--and clearly they like to watch him in return!
Anyway, the happy ending to the story is that we gave the roosters to a nice young couple who lives in Northfield...a beautiful quaint Connecticut town (population 12 i believe) about 15 minutes from here. They had 12 chickens already...only 5 of which were hens. They also purchased theirs from TSC...and didn't seem all that educated on the needs of a rooster...I suppressed the urge to tell them technically for every one rooster you should have 8-10 hens. They seemed to be working backwards, but were so happy to take them off our hands FOR FREE! and I didn't want to argue.

Today I was able to locate a couple hens about one year old this month in Burlington...they began laying in December. Hopefully we will be able to pick them up this week (or she offered to drop them off...probably in hopes of getting a peek at their new home). As soon as the ladies arrive I will be clicking or is it clucking away with the camera and posting their pics. I know one will be a Plymouth Rock hen...I have chosen the name Maddy for her...for no reason other than it seems like a good strong hen name!

Factoid: Most standard sized Hens start laying around 20-24 weeks old...and only lay eggs until they are 2 or 3 years old... BUT they live until they are about 5 or 6 years old. Which means they only work half their life and get to relax the rest! Ah~life is sweet.

Fun with Colors...Part 2

Here is on photo of a drying tank top and Abi's little purse. The purse was a steal at $1.98 I dare you to go purchase a post-dyed item for less than $10 at its suggested retail. You can see the tank has nice spiraling on it also. Next time we know to put more dye on to keep the white to a minimum...but i still think it came out great. I'll add pics of Garrick's and Mason's t-shirts after I have taken some.

Fun with Colors

So we had some free time and thought we would try something new. Abi is on like a PEACE loving TIE-DYE wearing frenzy these days....so what better way to pay tribute to the 60's then making our very own tie-dyes. We hoped into the car drove out to Michael's craft store and picked up the essentials....$21 later we were back home with two t-shirts, a purse, and a tie-dye kit thoroughly reading instructions on "how to" make perfectly beautiful tie-dyes...just like Gramma use to wear! LOL. Ok, so maybe my mom really never got into the whole tie-dye attire but she probably would've if she could've!

The top photo graph is my tie-dyed hands. If you are going to use a tie-dye kit I suggest you actually use the plastic gloves that come in the kit because this stuff DOES stick to your skin...even if it doesn't always stick to the fabric! The second photo is the "unfinished" products. We tried the bundle method, the spiral method and the rolled up method.

I will post pictures of the finished products tomorrow or later this week (they came out pretty nice i have to admit!).

Anyway...the point of my story is...we had alot of fun and I was so excited by the results I started looking around to see what else I could dye. I think I will resist the urge to over do it though, and we'll try this trick again for Abi's b-day party again in a few weeks!

Relay for Life June 26-27th...well for me and Abi June 26th!

Here are a few pictures from Relay for Life. It was probably one of the most uncomfortable nights of my life between the rain, my wet jeans and sneakers, and my inability to control any of it.
Here is a picture of Abi getting a peace sign painted on her face by Ms. Mary...Abi is very much into peace signs these days. It must be a generational thing, I remember the peace phase when I was in high school...and who could forget the 60's!
Here is Abi fixing one of the signs that was literally washed away in the midst of the most ridiculous storm I've seen in a long time (next time i know to use paint when rain is expected). I was beginning to question if it was a hurricane as me and Abi were huddled under the overhang of a tent watching the hail/rain/ and electicity pound the ground all around us! I was slightly scared and couldn't take the risk of making a run for my car...as we would've had to cross a field to get there...we stayed put until I felt it was "safe".

This is a picture of most of the team...well, not even most but whoever was handy when I said "hey guys let me get a picture of the team". In order from left to right: Alyssa, Heather, Dawn, Erica, Brittany, Abby, Abi, and Ashley. I think this photo is missing about 12 or so people.

Below you will see a picture of our tent. It was an 80's themed Relay (did you know that I think the 80's styles all sucked!). We did 80's Movie Madness. And I think we may have had the most exciting tent there. We ran 80's movies all night on the projector screen set up just outside the tent...

You can see the Rubix cube... our movie directors cut sign, Christmas lights strung inside, and Posters of Various 80's movies hung inside. We sold glow necklaces, chocolate pops, and did face painting to raise more money for the cause.

HOPE is made of luminaria bags which were lit for the Luminaria Ceremony. Everyone carried a lit candle and walked in silence for one lap in honor all those affected by Cancer.

By 1am, Abi's feet were soaked, her socks had been removed hours earlier and her sneakers were rubbing which started to create blisters. I know she wanted so badly to try and stay the night. Next year she can go better prepared and I know she will be able to do it! She's a little young to even understand why she was there...she just goes where the dancers go...but it does make me feel good to know that I am raising a little girl who will someday understand what it means to "work for a cause".

She made the grown up decision that she couldn't do it...we hopped in the car and drove the 15 miles home to our nice warm beds. We'll be back again next year... I'm just hoping the weather will be better!

Irish Happenings Around Fisher Elementary

And authentic Irish Castle designed by Garrick

Garrick reading his lines educating all the parents on the Castles

He has just finished an Irish jig...How I wish John had gotten a picture of that!

He's ready to start as the parents pile into the tiny seats provided! (I think they were seats of the leprechauns)

This is Garrick's Irish self-portrait...notice the Irish skirt... WAIT WAIT... I mean kilt! I asked him if he had undies on under that skirt and the look on his face was PRICELESS! :o)

Our trip to Ireland....Second Grade Style

On June 22, 2009 we were invited to travel across the great ocean and land safely in Ireland where we were escorted through time by a group of second graders. They taught us about Castles in Ireland, the Potato Faminine and how it affected the Irish, we learned about Irish Religion and the culture in general. I know now that it rains ALOT in Ireland which gives it its rich green colored landscape. I guess I dont actually have to visit Ireland now because it would seem that Connecticut shares in Irelands wet climate...now that Connecticut is far wetter than Seattle ever claimed to be.

At any rate, here are a few pictures of Garrick joined by his class taking us on this journey. In years past we have journied through Mexico with Mason's class and Greece with Abi's class. These have all been exciting adventures that I will never forget.

And the seven day forecast calls for....

MORE RAIN! CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT? Last night me and Abi did Relay for Life with her dance studio~Reach for the Stars. Initially, we sat sheltered by the overhang of the high school watching lightening crash down on the nearby hills. My mother called to make sure that we were safe and not walking fearlessly amongst the tornadoes...as much of the state was under tornado watch!
We were wet, we were cold, and i have to admit...I was miserable.
There was FINALLY a break in the storm and it allowed us to go back to the field, set up camp and commence the Relaying Ceremonies! We dredged lap after lap through muck and mud. By 1:00am my daughter, defeated by exhaustion and soaking wet sneakers decided it was time to call it a night! We packed our beds and headed home with the heat on high warming my thoroughly frozen toes!
Next year, we'll bring extra shoes and plenty of band-aids to ward off those blisters brought on by the dampness.
I will post pictures soon. ;o)

Irony....at its best

This picture hangs in my kitchen by the back door. These days' I would rather throw the damn thing out into the rain then ever believe there could be the need to conserve! Conserve???? That's just not right, I wish I had a reason to conserve these days! The seven day forecast....still calling for rain. OOOOH but wait, it will 90 degrees on a few of those days. So rain and heat all neatly wrapped up in one sweet package.

I was reading the news yesterday and realized that there were tornado's in Michigan this past week...

MY SISTER IS IN MICHIGAN...or was in Michigan, and from what I understand she was sleeping in a tent in someone's yard in Michigan!

I have not received a text from her concerning her tornadoeous adventure, I believe the last message I got from her was to say the internet connections was bad (or was it the phone reception?) and it was a strange message...nothing i would expect her to send...even with a bad connection. Either way I hope she's ok and ready to get the hell out of there and head back to sunny California. Perhaps when she gets there we will have some sunshine shed on us here East side. UGH!

Rain Rain...Go AWAY!

It has been months, literally since Connecticut has seen a week without rain. The Hartford Courant said that we have not seen a rain free week since April...its nearing the end of June. I need the sun to function... and am getting ever closer to insanity with ever drop of rain that falls. I remember a time when Connecticut had seasons, we had an honest to goodness Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Part of the reason I decided to move back after spending 4 years in South Carolina. Our chickens are wishing they were ducks, and the dogs wish they had life vests as they maneuver the treacherous waters of the back yard. Me, i am just wishing I lived in the desert at this point.

Typically I love the weather, specifically rain. I love electrical storms and the fact that man has yet to control the weather. Man works to improve or control everything that this earth (and universe) has to offer...so I often appreciate the way you cannot stop the weather. But this is getting ridiculous. My plants have bugs...and trees that would normally thrive with a daily watering are starting to droop unable to hold all the water made available to them.
The smell emitting from the chicken coop is almost unbearable due to the amount of water accumulating around the chicken poo~keeping it 'uber wet. Not to mention the compost pile, which should remain damp (not drenched) all summer long, but is instead rotting inside of itself, unable to "bake" properly in the sunshine...which is a much needed resource to keep it "composting" rather than ROTTING.

The garden we planted about a month ago is nothing more than a mud hole, with the occasional weed popping through. And the rain barrel set up to harvest mother natures tears...has become far less essential than I could have ever imaged. If we had set up 200 rain barrels this year we still would not be able to keep up with supply. It sits full...and useless...overflowing with every passing storm.

I am incredibly visual and rely on the sun to bring me my own sense of peace and wellness. Without it I'm sure to lose myself into some great depression. I remind myself that the rain is here washing away all the dirt and assisting in the much needed breakdown of humanity. But my reminders are futile...and leave me feeling sad.

Unfortunately, at this point all I can do is hope and wish for some drier days ahead.

The Dogs and Stan

Here you have Remy...He's a two year old mutt. He's small enough to not destroy the house, but big enough to not get stepped on in our chaotic household. Part beagle, shar pei, and pug....Remy became a welcome addition to the house after our black lab Jake passed away.

Here are Bella and Stanley. This is not the best picture of Bella, she is Remy's sister and has quite a unique look to her. Anyone that meets her is somewhat intrigued by her form (she's got a fat pug body) and her smile! She's incredibly loveable...in a very laid back way. The fuzzy cat next to her is Stanley, who joined our house in October of last year. Stanley is basically rotten, but you can't help but love him....and as you see he loves the dogs. There are days when I think he believes he is one of them.

The chickens...

This is Sunny, this chicken has the most personality of the three standards sized. Sunny actually started out the smallest of the three and has since gone and caught up--and taken on the more "roosterly" role and squares of with our dog when he nears the fence. Sunny jumps to grab what's in your hands...as he is very impatient...but I have to admit I love this chicken he's got as much personality as a dog or cat!

This is Sunny...with Rocky in the background and Delilah in the way back. Rocky was originally the most aggressive of the chicks. He would knock the others out of his/her way...thus the name Rocky. If it is determined later he is a hen I will rename him Roxy~but for now he remains Rocky.

Little Red and Daisy...with Delilah's rear end in the corner. Little Daisy, after some investigation is a Belgian Bearded d'Uccle. With a fuzzy face and some lovely shoes! She's quite unusual...and not what most people think of when they think "chicken"...she's adorable though. Maybe I can post a close up of her fat face later.

Little Red again (named for the red head she sported when she was just a chick...she has since grown some lovely back head feathers) Little Red is the first of the chickens to crow...which is leading me to believe she is a rooster. Either way she's quite attractive~but not as friendly as I would like her/him to be.

This is Delilah, she's a little more shy than the other two standards...and I am pretty sure is a Rooster at this point...but wont know for sure for about 4 more months. Delilah has been known to crow periodically...although I swear she's just complaining that she's hungry. She does not demonstrate the "ideal" characteristics of a rooster, but has thin pin feathers around her neck which is standard to a rooster. More to come on her/his sex later.

Anyway, we made the quick decision to buy the chickens for the purpose of someday having eggs....at the rate we are going I think we may end up with 5 roosters. Call it luck, call it karma. Either way, I have to admit chickens are way more interesting than i would have imagined... and if they didn't smell so bad, I would probably let them live in the house..>LOL....ok, that's a joke but they are very fun to watch.

The Kids...An Introduction

I am going to take a quick minute to make introductions...after all you may not know everyone who resides here....and it is a full house! Really, you didn't actually think it was all about me and the chickens....did you?

That is Mason on the end..born Mason Nash Webster on August 9, 1996. He is my first born who entered into existence at Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia South Carolina while me and John were serving time in the USAF. He was a less than ideal first birth; causing me and my body much distress in my last four days of pregnancy. He was lazy to come out...and after 4 days of labor, I was lazy to push. Regardless, he was born...without a cry...and has remained somewhat shy and quiet ever since. I actually find it interesting that how children are born into the world has somewhat of a reflection on who they are or will be as they grow up. He plays soccer, he loves motorized vehicles...and he's the kind of child that if you show him once...He can remember how to do it forever. He's very hands on and incredibly caring. He's the love of my life and actually, I do believe he saved my life (although that is story to be told another day). In short, if it weren't for him I may have neve chosen to grow up and be responsble. He is my strength in a very hectic home. Who needs a husband with a son like Mason around. :o)

Next we will meet Abigail Marie (in the middle), born on July 7, 1997 at 1:17am. She is, needless to say, a night owl and the epitomy of a middle child. She was born at Bristol Hospital in Connecticut. Her birth was very easy...I was not even sure I was in labor when I finally decided to go to the hospital that night. Anywho... she was born, she slept through the night, it was all very easy with her thankfully, as her and Mason are a mere 11 months apart. Abigail... nicknamed "Abi" is 10% girl and 90% spunk. She's a dancer, a cheerleader and somehow the most spoiled of the bunch. Although to hear her tell it...its Garrick that's spoiled (you'll meet him later on). Anyway, me and Abi dont always see eye to eye, but this is due in part to me creating the "perfect" strong woman that I always wanted to be. She doesn't hesitate to question "why" and she never follows the crowd because its the easier thing to do...yet I do admit she will sometimes follow the crowd because the excitement brings her there. I do worry that she will end up like me...and I am working very hard to prevent that from happening. A good time is not always the better time. I just hope she will grow up realizing that before its too late.

Now its time to meet Garrick...born Garrick John on July 20, 2001. He's the smallest of the Non-Furry Crew members. But please make no mistakes about it, he's certainly not the meekest. This little man has fire in his gut. We have dubbed him "the little prince" on occassion, as my mother and father played a major roll in helping to raise Garrick when he turned 3...up until he was 4...or was it 5? At any rate, as Grandparents will be with their grandkids they were somewhat lenient with his discipline. I don't blame them...and he's a very good kid, he just takes a little more persuading than the others when it comes to getting a job done and believes that we were put here to serve him. He was use to my mom waiting on him hand over foot. Serving his every need. Garrick chose to follow in big-brother's footsteps and also plays soccer. His basic refusal to play or even TRY other sports leaves me and his father somewhat baffled. He's quick like lightening and can run like a gazelle. But he is sticking with soccer and doesn't want to hear anything else. He too likes his motorized vehicles....but him and Mason are nothing alike outside of their favorite activities.

The Universe....

HELLOOOO OUT THERE! Taken inspiration from my little sister's blog I have decided to keep her updated on the progress of our own life here in Rural Connecticut. With a little help from my kids we can hopefully keep her current on how we live and what we do. Stay tuned for future posts...and pictures.