Help Wanted

As you may or may not know, I design and spend many, many hours compiling stories, creating ads and putting a magazine together for Sleepin' Bear Lodge and Farms annual Dove Hunt.  

I have three covers designed and would love your input on which cover to go with.  Please leave your comment and choose either cover A, B or C. 

A.

B.

C.

Eager Beaver!

Howdy Doo.  I am knee deep in yet another book by Edward Eager.  I'm stuck in the juvenile section and stuck on this author!  It's just child-like imaginative fun and has really sucked me right in.  After the second book, Half-Magic, I sought more on the library website and currently have two in my possession.  One of which I am reading now.  I was so utterly excited when I started reading this one, The Well-Wishers, because it is a continuation of the first book of his that I read in the beginning of this little book journey of mine. 

I am having fun with these books and can't wait to see what I'll pick up next.  The books I have chosen are fun, fast reads.  And so far, the Eager books have peaked my imagination. 

After popular request, not really just my lovely friend Stacy, I decided to creatively save my book journal page as a picture and post it here.  Feel free to blow it up, right click and copy it, print it or whatev!  So here it is.. have fun!

Product Review Time!

Time and time again while working in my kitchen I reach for one of my very favorite items... my herb scissors.  Herb Scissors operate just like regular scissors except the have five blades instead of one so chopping fresh herbs is easy as pie. 

This morning I was making potato salad for the big FDC 2011, (Father's Day Celebration) I popped out to the garden, cut some green onions, came back inside, washed them and cut them in to perfect slices in no time. 

My memory is foggy when I try to think of where I first saw a picture of herb scissors.  It must have been a magazine or maybe a kitchen website that I used to get emails from and on occasion a look book.  However I came to find them I do remember my jaw dropping and my eyes getting wide.  I actually got mine for free through my rewards on my credit card.  They aren't expensive at all so I had enough points to buy them.  I received them within a few days and have enjoyed them ever since. 

I know you can use a cutting board and chop the with a real sharp knife but truthfully, unless it's serrated, I'm not that good with a knife.  I like to hold my celery up and fhump the knife through it letting the ends fall into the sink.  I use my Pampered Chef food chopper to chop nuts.  I like my kitchen gadgets to an extent and if I were P.W. I'd have five pair of these hunnies to give away right now.   But I'm not so I can only pass on where you can get them for a very fine price. 

Herb scissors are a very handy kitchen tool to own.  They even come with a little friend that helps slide leaves and pieces from between the blades.  Here's where you can find a pair of your very own.

Casa de Pollo

Our second wedding anniversary was last Monday, June 6th, and as time was leading up to this day Shaun kept asking if there was something that I wanted.  One thing that has been on my mind for a while is to have a couple of chairs re-caned that are in desperate need of it.  There is a lady over on 41 in Greenbrier that does it but neither of us has had the time to drive over there and get her number.  I wasn't real sure if she was still in business or not.  The closer the day came I decided to think of something else and while I was at lunch one day the thought hit me.  I was actually driving back from the library and saw a fella on a small motorcycle with an old milk crate strapped to the back with freshly bought potted herbs in it and a bag of potting soil under his feet.  The guy was on a mission (where's the camera when you really need it?)  Why this made my mind jump to chickens I've not a clue but I called Shaun to let him in on my big idea for our weekend. 

We have been throwing the idea of getting some chickens back and forth for a while and I thought our anniversary would be a good occasion to welcome a handful of them to our farm.  We spent the whole weekend preceding our anniversary together building our chicken coop.  We used Miss Pepper's dog pen which she doesn't use anymore so she said it was OK.   

We built a house for them to get in out of the rain and cold. We hung chicken wire around the bottom and onto the ground, wiring it to the fence and hooking it into the ground to try and keep predators from digging under the fence. 

Shaun put boards and tin across the top of the fence and placed several heavy tires on top for that Sanford and Son look.  Naw I'm just kidding.... again to keep predators out.  However I do sometimes mouth the theme song out loud... wadom wadom, wadom wadom wadom wadom waw, wadow wadow.  You get the picture. 

We added an old metal nesting box that Shaun's Dad had and a couple of roosts for them.   

What we didn't finish over the weekend we worked on when we could during the next week and finished up this past Saturday.  After my Granddaddy's 91st birthday party on Sunday we drove to our friend's house to chase down chickens.  My husband is quite the chicken catcher I must say.  He caught four and we had them in the carrier box and then decided that we thought we had three roosters and one hen.  Mind you they are still pretty young so to us it's hard to tell the sex.  So he went back in and fetched us two more making sure to get what we think are the hens.  So we came home with three of each... we think.  

They are  enjoying their new home so far.  They've been on top of the nesting boxes, on the roosts, on top of the house.. you name it.  They are eating and drinking very well.  I am looking forward to our first egg, and the second, and the third!  Happy Anniversary to us! 

P.S. He also got  me a nice pair of farm work boots and some socks to go with.  Ain't he just the sweetest!  I needed them badly!  I can't keep wearing my rain boots all summer.. they're hot!