Reggie Likes Corn

Signs of Summer

(tally got a summer hair cut and now thinks the air conditioned house it too cold)

Good Saturday

Today was great. I usually have appointments on Saturdays but everyone canceled so I didn't have to got into the office. (Mind you I'll still need to put in some home hours this weekend - so I'm not totally off the hook...) But! I finally got to do 'saturday' things! Went to my first Farmers Market of the season - got rhubarb, Apricot goat cheese, and a Crumb Brothers Danish.

We then helped Shebly and Steve de-roof their new duplex. What is a Saturday with out good hard labor?

B and I took an after noon nap watching Batman Returns. Easy to nap through :)

Did a little fathers day shopping...

Saw Toy Story 3 with Ben's Mom. SO GOOD. I would highly recommend it. I'm NEVER throwing away another toy.

For dinner we got to go to California Pizza Kitchen FOR FREE! A new place opened by my office and we got a special email invite to go for a 'training night'. I would also highly recommend California Pizza Kitchen.

Finally one of my favorite Lauras asks how we keep the heat out of our west facing windows:
Tin Foil. Yeah it's not pretty (oh - is it not pretty) but the reflective tin foil plus some heavy curtains in the evening has helped tremendously. (and we have a swamp cooler :))

Oh! Chickens are growing up nicely. They'll be outside permanently next month. See video of 'Chicken Play Time' HERE.

Because it makes my Mom laugh....

Art

Yeah, I'm 27 - but don't yet feel 'grown up'. I occasionally will have 'grown up moments' when it hits me how old I am.... and I might actually be an adult. I'm consistently hit with reality when I think about my BFF having 2 kids or when Ben and I go to Home Depot for tools or parts.

Today I had that 'adult' moment when I got my first piece of Art. Art I chose and chased and I am real excited about. I have many awesome wall hangings that have been given as gifts or inherited... all very good.
This was painted by my Granny many many many many years ago and is precious to me as a Sharples/Child/Nelson family heirloom.

This was painted by my mother in law for a wedding present! Not bad huh?At work we had a 'family and friends auction' as a fundrasier and silent auction. We bid and won a bunch of stuff including give certificates to ihop, leatherbys, Kimball art center classes, etc. But from the beginning I had my eye on this 'Ireland Poppy'. It's about 2' across and 4 ' tall.... so pretty big and BEAUTIFUL! I did have to bid up over the top of my co worker a couple of times -- but it all paid off and is right at home above the couch. :)

Home is where your mop is.

I've been asked a number of times if our new place feels like home yet. Well, today as I was mopping our huge kitchen floor, for what seemed like the 100th time... I realized that I am feeling more at home. And the more time and effort I put into CLEANING and putting it back together... the more homey I feel.

Introducing - the Duplex!

This is our bedroom. My Mom made that awesome bed spread - it's called "Logan Roads". No I don't like the mirror and I'm still looking for the right wall covering...

Next in our HUGE kitchen - this is pointed north...

...and this is pointed south. I love the natural day light and our sturdy kitchen table. See those cool tall flowers Ben got me from the farmers market? :) Also note the great and terrible bonsai project...This is the front room. New couch, lazy boy, dog bed, and globe lamp. The windows are west facing so we had to put tin foil on the outside and heavy curtins... Sharples don't survive well in heat.

This is the view from the other direction.Very comfyThis...sigh.... in the 2nd bed room. Right now it just where I've been throwing junk that we use on a regular basis and I haven't figured out how to store it... or what to make this room into? Storage? Office? Not sure. There is also a pretty big 'basement' room + wash room which is in worse condition then 2nd bed room (wood room as I call it because it has wood floors). The basement still contains unpacked boxes, tools from the painting job, and chickens :)
Looking forward to putting it all together. Not looking forward to talking it down in a year...

T

News

GOOD NEWS:
Comcast finally showed up and the wireless is up and running.
BAD NEWS:
Camera broke. So no new chicken pictures.

GOOD NEWS:
Got a new cage for the chickens - an old rabbit cage
BAD NEWS:
Had to get a new cage because they're big enough to FLY.

GOOD NEWS:
Made Martha Stewart cupcakes with york patties in the middle
BAD NEWS:
Don't have the calories to spare for them. blast.

GOOD NEWS:
House is clean :)
BAD NEWS:
... still not totally unpacked.

More Good Ideas and Bad Ideas.

Toys, Tools, and Testosterone.

Off to a good start for summer - This weekend I rode 15 miles with Dad and Mike along Legacy parkway and then spend the night at a family-friend's cabin in Oakley. Nice to get away and have those mini vacations.

I want everyone to know that Ben is awesome. He works hard at school, he works hard at work, and he works hard at home. As we speak he is on the roof with cousin Chris in 200 degree heat trying to fix our air conditioner.
In other awesome Ben news :
Do not be deceived! This is not a toy! But a pharmacy knowledge tool (with games, music, internet and movies). :)


Last saturday we felt like grown ups buying our first hose, spout, hanging plant and drill at home depot. Our new apartment has washer and dryer hooker ups - and AFTER we get those - we'll be getting a decent grill. Ben is a GRILL MASTER. Here he demonstrates the art of grilled pizza.
Speaking of grilled - I've got to run. Grilling burgers with the in laws tonight. :)

6 Souls in my home.

Well - we are settling down in to our new duplex in West Valley. It's turning out to be a really nice place! I've got (what feels like) a miles of more space. I haven't located my camera cord yet but found out that ben's computer has a card reader! I've got a million things to show 'you' - but we'll start with the LOUDEST thing.

We got chickens! Everyone asks why - and I just tell them that Ben is a farmer at heart. He's been talking about chickens (not as pets but employees) for ages! He did all his research and these little blackie chicks will grow to give us about one egg a day. It's been fun to watch them grow up! They were cute little fluffy chicks when we got them --- but now they are turning into some ugly adolescents. (I think they're still pretty cute now - but I'm sure it'll get worse...)
Dogs are surprisingly okay with them. I'm sure that if I left Reg to his own devices he'd chomp on them - but he's too old to do anything about it. So he just gives glares like ..."....if I were a younger dog....."


Tally on the other hand is totally freaked out by them. This picture is the closest I've see her get to them. Every time she makes an effort to sniff them she gets pecked or they pull on her fur --- then she turns and runs for her life. Still very curious though....
Because we have been talking about getting chickens forever - a long time ago we decided to name them after world leaders. ... below is Winston - call her Winny - after Winston Churchill. She is the smart one (if you can call chickens smart). She's the one that figures out how to jump over things and seems to think more then the other (usually in an effort to escape).
And this is Benito - for Benito Mussolini - who is the brave one. She is the one that pecks tally on the nose or runs at her when she's getting to close. Benito is the reason Tally is scared of chickens.
Still so many things to show you - but I'm going to try and spread it out a bit. Don't want to overwhelm ya....