I'm sitting here under a blanket

with Sean across my lap...wishing someone would turn on the tea kettle and make me another cup of coffee. It's a grey, damp, chilly day today. But it's a GREAT day! NO ONE has to go anywhere! Michelle has it off from work, the kids are home from school and Tom has the day off from work for Veteran's Day. Well Tom is on call so may have to leave at a moment's notice and for that I feel sorry for him. But me, I don't have to leave! YIPPEE!

I originally had planned to take Jake to buy new sneaks. The soles of his sneaks had come undone and they flopped when he walked. He stayed home yesterday and went with me when I dropped off Michelle so we took care of it then. One night we were fooling around with his sneaks, making them talk. Sean got ahold of one, pulled the sole from the top of the shoe and put his head between the two pieces...like a lion tamer at the circus. We all started saying OH NO!!! The evil sneaker is eating Sean! He just stood there with this huge smile on his face, laughing. Another funny man...I'm in trouble! lol

UB just came in the kitchen and said it seemed like a Walmart chicken day. Walmart sells a huge 50pc box of greasy yummy chicken for about $30. It's enough for us to eat as much as we want for dinner and still have enough for lunch and snacks. As much as I like it and know how everyone else likes it (not to mention a meal I don't have to pay for!) I refused to be talked into going into the city and buying it.

I think I'm going to try to get some help in the basement. I want to do a ridiculous amount of laundry, clean up the laundry room, get rid of some things that got ruined by the leaking bathtub faucet, clear off and clean up some wooden shelves down there and make it into my pantry. I've been building up my pantry again and it would be nice to have it there. It's closer and more accessible to the stairs and it's sturdier then the old metal ones I'm using right now. Of course I've also been wanting to get my sewing machine moved back into the living room, tuned up and ready to start sewing. I was hoping Liz would be agreeable to doing that for me, especially since it will also allow her to do some projects. :o)

I'm trying to convince Tom to throw up a piece of plexiglass over the coop window. It's getting way too cold for them to have that window open all the time. Thing is he has his own todo list going, including trying to get the van running again. It's still parked on the side of the road and now has the fuel tank out of it. They think the fuel pump is bad and it's INSIDE the VERY full tank. (had put over 28 gals in the tank the day before it died) So it might turn into a "do it your own self" job.

As far as Chick Inn news goes....the girls are starting to give up the goods! Yesterday was a SIX egg day. Unfortunately one of them was a green egg that was laid on the floor that I stepped on. :o( One also was found under the roosts in the icky bedding. I'm not sure why that happens every once in a while. I can only imagine it's a first timer that has no clue what's happening and it gets dropped where they are. But I could be wrong. I also got a huge green egg (so more then one EE is laying!!!!) that proved to be a double yolker...our second. I was also happy to see that someone used the other nest boxes we have set up. So far they were only using one certain one. When I found the floor egg I became concerned that there were too many layers for the one nest so they were dropping them on the floor. I'd still like to make a few more boxes that they seem to like (rubbermaid tote laid on the floor with a hole cut in the lid that's bungy corded on). I certainly can't ask or expect Tom to get the permanent boxes built now. It's getting too cold and he has too much to do. The temp ones will be ok until spring.

I'm also starting to wonder if two specific hens are wanting to get broody. One is an almost bald one that the boys seem to be especially lusty for. They bug the snot out of her so she spends a lot of time on the roosts (where they won't bug her). She also is very easily handled, hangs out with me in the coop when I'm working and likes to "sneak" into the small room when I'm getting feed out. I always manage to "drop" a few tidbits for her to enjoy. :o) I just worry I'll accidentally close her into the room one day. So I have to start thinking of whether I want to encourage them to be broody or not. And set up an area for them if I want to. I personally would love it but Tom....he's not so gungho on the idea. But then again, he readily claims they're my chickens (not what I intended to happen when we started this thing lol)

OOPS! Jake turned the tea kettle on for me. When I went to give him my cup so he could make me a some coffee, I found it 3/4 full still! Thanks anyways Jake, guess I should've checked my cup first.

Well, coffee is almost gone. I've managed to slide Sean off my lap without waking him. I guess I should go do something before he wakes up. Hmmmm a shower or the dishes or head into the basement. Maybe a quick side trip to the coop to check out what the girls have been up to first. Eeny Meany miney moe