Happy Halloween

It's time for scary ghouls and carving pumpkins. This year I went with a dog that looks rather like a mouse. My husband carved a lego guy for our son.

 At school the kids have a literary parade and each dress as a story book character. I made this Max from Where the Wild Things Are costume which turned out pretty cute.

Have a happy and safe Halloween full of wickedly wonderful fun! 

Thinking Chickens? Part three- choosing your girls

     Now that you have established a house for your girls, found food and gathered medical supplies it's time to start deciding on which chickens you'd like to own. There are many kinds of chickens available and some do better in cold and hot than others. There are also eggs to be considered. Some chickens lay blue/green eggs, pink, brown, dark brown, white, etc. So, now is a good time to start thinking about egg basket variety and if that is important.

     In our home, we decided to raise Heritage Breed Chickens, meaning breeds that have been long established from original lines, naturally mating, have a long outdoor life span and a slow growth rate (not accelerated growth for quick meat, etc.) We currently own a Delaware (Mabel), a Barred Rock (Maude) a Jersey Black Giant (Ethel), a Buff Orpington (Dorothy), an Australorp (Gertrude) and a Rhode Island Red (Harriet). All of our girls provide medium brown eggs a day, one per day in warmer months and one every couple of days in winter. Use websites like My Pet Chicken's breed finder for help selecting climate appropriate layers.

     Lastly, decide what age you'd like to start with. While six weeks chicks can be purchased from pet shops and breeders and are fully feathered out, you might enjoy the experience from the beginning. You can order day old chicks delivered to you from a variety of hatchery websites. Check out Craigslist.org for local chicken raisers, mingle in the forums on chicken related websites and ask questions to help you determine just how young you'd like your chickens to be when they arrive.

Antiquing on the road....

     What do you get when you mix California sunshine with some free time? The perfect day for a 300 mile antiquing road trip. Away we went to find a giant antique store (The Depot)  we'd been to seven and half years ago on our honeymoon. After a few stops to check out tarantulas in the wild (our son has a tarantula as a class pet) we arrived at our first stop.

     We found a great little local restaurant called Charlies in Los Alamos to eat lunch. One jalapeno burger and I was ready for some more open road. Our next stop was Ventura for some thrifting and a trip to American Home Antiques where I found this amazing bird cage. Just wait to see what I have in store on an upcoming blog post....

Next was a ride through historic downtown Fillmore to stop off at this great little antique shop in an old house. I don't know the name, but I've been shopping at this jewel for years. I picked up this great stool for my office and this amazing German wall clock. All in all it was a blissfully perfect day with my family!

 

The studio makeover part two....

     Now that the studio has been transformed from dull brown to vibrant barn red I had to change up the trim. Since white wouldn't go with our mountain house I opted for dark brown trim to match the trim on our home as well as our garage door. Now it's chocolate and cherries and looks so much better. Soon the door will be replaced and I can add some more decorative elements to the exterior.

Interior pictures are coming soon! I'm thinking of adding a great vintage find, a wrought iron plant holder to the front wall. I'll keep you posted! 

Vintage transformed.....

     Sometimes all it takes is a little paint to turn a tired, worn, and discarded piece of furniture into something useable and fun! This sturdy 1960's dresser was found at my local salvage yard/thrift junking spot. This particular thrift shop is "name your own price" so I donated $20 and had help loading it in the car. Not bad!

One of my favorite haunts

     Once home I found a spot for this in my studio where it can hold any number of supplies. However, I wanted a color that was more fun. I chose a Valspar orange and applied two coats of paint. Now the dresser serves a purpose, gives a pop of color and won't end up at the dump.

Previously a brown, dull cabinet turned dazzling orange

Small Town Living- The library....

     I haven't posted about our small town in a while though there have been many exciting changes. No change as exciting, however, than the grand opening of our new library this morning. Prior to this 10,000 square foot Craftsman style library opening we checked out books from a single 1000 square foot room (if that) and had to order most books from the larger libraries, waiting for them to come in.

     My son and I took the new paseos to the library opening, which proved to be a teary eyed moment. The new library is beyond words beautiful. We live in a very tiny town. Our grocery store is the size of most Hallmark stores, we have little in the way of retail (besides some great little thrift shops) and we are limited in restaurants though that is quickly improving. This library is such a huge stepping point for our small town. I'm excited to share.....

Main room

Entrance to the children's room

one of many places to sit

windows to the children's room

Not seen: Teen center, private study rooms, multi-media room, lobby with statuary and local art, etc. 

   

Thrifting Adventure... home base....

     Yesterday I took some time to go thrifting with my friend Cindy. We hit up three of our local shops on the hunt for anything we couldn't live without. At the salvage yard/thrift shop we browsed through boxes of records that seem to keep growing. I found this awesome vintage Walt Disney Haunted Mansion album with some great spooky sounds. What luck as it will be great for Halloween! At just $.50 it was a wonderful score.

     We popped next store to the nicer antique shop where I found this baby sitting outside freshly delivered. The 1960's aviation looking Panasonic turntable/receiver and matching wood speakers were a little bit dusty, but oh so cool. I've been on a mid century kick lately. I went inside and immediately asked the price. Since the record player was untested the price was $10 with the speakers. I eagerly dragged this puppy home and hooked it all up and....... perfection! The speaker quality is great, the turntable spins and plays beautifully and the dials have a great green glow. I'm totally stoked!

     What did you find this week?

Thinking chickens? Part two- supplies

     In the previous installment of Thinking Chickens I discussed the importance of shelter. Hopefully this has inspired your creativity in dreaming up an affordable and adequate shelter for your future backyard flock. The next step in preparation are the supplies your chickens will need once they arrive.

My Maude cooling off on a hot day

     Will you start with baby chicks or fully feathered out six week old pullets? I have started a group of chicks both ways. The benefit of starting with the younger chicks is that you'll be able to get them used to you from a much earlier age. However, if you do decide to start with baby chicks you'll also need a brooder and will most likely need to keep them in the house or in the garage with a heat lamp for the first four to six weeks. I'll discuss brooders in the next post.

     Chickens don't require a lot of supplies, but there are a few essentials you should have on hand. A good quality waterer and feeder are a must. Our current waterer is a dog igloo bowl and our feeder is a galvanized 5 gallon feeder for our six chickens. A quality feed will also be imperative. You should decide if you'd like to purchase organic feed or regular, medicated or unmedicated. Check with local feed stores and online to compare prices. Cracked corn, often sold as chicken feed, is more of a treat than food and can be kept on hand for luring your chickens almost anywhere.

     Just as your family has an emergency kit so too should your flock. Keep your supplies in a readily accessible place. A good pair of latex gloves, some vaseline, apple cider vinegar and  feeding syringes in a few sizes are a good start. You might also consider having wound powder, food grade DE (I highly recommend this), teramycin ointment (for the eyes) as well as a supply of antibiotics on hand.

Until next time....

Garage sale Saturday......

     Usually I don't go to garage sales. Either I'm not wanting to leave the house, or I talk myself out of needing any more stuff. However, this morning's paper advertised a sale I've been to before and as it was literally around the corner from my house I couldn't resist the urge. So, 7:30am found my son and I bundled up and out for a walk.

     My finds were well worth the delay of coffee. Take a peek at what I found.....

Enamelware, six pieces for $3. The tins are great for storage and the bowls will make charming bird feeders. 

A tin of old Christmas lights and a bird dish towel for $1. The towel will make a great pillow. The lights will be cute in a bowl for the holidays. 

Old store paper rack with cutter. These used to hold brown paper for wrapping up packages. I think I'll use this for it's intended purpose out in my studio. ONLY $5

A house that functions...

     My biggest rule for decorating is: A house should function for the family that it serves. What does this mean? In the simplest explanation it means that it doesn't matter what a room's intended function was, it doesn't matter if something seems unconventional. What matters most when decorating and filling your home, is that the home makes your daily life livable and enjoyable.

     Take the classic formal dining room for instance. If you have one, how often do you use it? The truth is, most guests seem to linger in the kitchen and informal dining has become more the norm. If I were to have a formal dining room I'd probably use it as an office or a library, but I would have no purpose for a formal dining room. Make the dining room into a playroom, a second sitting room, a craft room, but make it function for you!

     Today I decided that our small wall calendar from a previous post was ready to go grand scale. I found a great spot at the bottom of our stairwell to showcase our family's calendar. Some might say this is unconventional but why hide the inner workings of our household? By marrying style with function our house works better for us, and aren't we the ones who live here?!? Don't be afraid to convert an unused space to better suit your needs. Don't be afraid to take out a piece of furniture that serves no purpose and infuse more storage. Your house is YOUR castle and I encourage you to embrace that fact.

Thinking Chicken? Fall preparations....

     With so many people raising chickens these days it's hard to escape notice. Have you thought about adding a small flock to your backyard? Don't get information overload and don't be overwhelmed, it's easier to keep chickens than you may think. Also, you may have much of what you need already at hand. This week I'll be discussing the basics of chicken keeping so check back each day for more tips.

     Today, let's start with the very first thing you should consider when electing to raise chickens: Shelter! There are literally thousands of options for chicken shelters from the top of the line custom built, ultra modern to the modest budget friendly project. What is most important are insulation, ventilation, sanitation and safety. A budget friendly option for a couple of chickens would be a large wood doghouse. You'll have to make a few modifications, but chances are you can find a doghouse for free.

     If you are more time pressed you may consider the coop I chose, the Eglu. The Omlet Eglu is a great option for easy cleaning and comes ready to assemble. It's plastic body and insides make this an easy to clean option and it's also pretty stylish. However, you'll be limited in your flock size if you do choose either of these two options so consider carefully the number of chickens you'll be keeping when researching your house. Of course, a lot of your decision will be space dependent.

Craigslist is an excellent resource for local custom coop builders and the internet is littered with free coop building plans. Remember that you can, and probably will, upgrade at some point. So, it doesn't hurt to start small and learn a little as you go.

Five great links for chicken housing-

For design inspiration- http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html
Omlet Eglus- http://www.omlet.us/homepage/

For ready made coops- http://www.mypetchicken.com/default.aspx

Slow down week!

Frankie and Roman tuckered out after TDI testing

It's been a super busy week which has meant I haven't been blogging as I should. I'm happy to announce that my Golden Retriever, Frankie, has passed her Therapy Dogs International testing. She will now be able to go to hospitals, elder care facilities, veterans hospitals and more with me to bring joy to those who need it most. I'm so elated.

Last night I attended a great Guide Dogs of America meeting with my friend Jerri. Now we have both guide dog puppies and therapy dogs in common which is a ton of fun. I'm wondering if Jerri will be tempted to take home her next furball soon? Hmm. It's mighty tempting to raise those puppies.

With Moxie turning 14 months soon it won't be long until turn in day. We have a lot of practice to do, but Moxie is coming along nicely. Yesterday we did a visit to the mall to practice with some elevators and walking in crowds. We hadn't been to the mall with Moxie in a while (we try to stay away from the mall in this household) and I was a little worried about how he'd react as last time we went he seemed nervous. However, Moxie seemed to enjoy our outing with minimal pulling on the leash and only one lash out licking. Thankfully his target was a mannequin. Labs and their tongues!

Inspired by Gandhi.....

     One of my favorite quotes of all time reads, "Be the change you want to see in the world." It's a relatively simple phrase and yet so profound at the same time. I think of this quote every time I'm a little tired from working with my guide dog in training or a little tired from volunteering at my son's school, etc. However, I really believe and try to live by this quote.

     This morning my rescue dog Frankie, Golden Retriever, and I will be taking the Therapy Dogs International testing along with my good friend Jerri and her former guide dog puppy in training. The truth is, I don't have a ton of time to spare. However, if I'm diligent in my scheduling and manage my time well I'll be able to help one day a week at a hospital or elder care facility with Frankie. One day a week isn't that much when you think about it, just a few hours a week, they don't add up to much. However, for the person who might have their arduous hospital stay interrupted by a soft ball of cuddly puppy, an hour can make the difference.

     Dogs are amazing creatures with so many gifts to offer their human companions. Working with dogs is my chosen method of "being the change I wish to see..." Helping others, volunteering, doing good come in many forms. I challenge each of us to do something for others with no thought of payment or praise. Your reward will be a smile on someone's face, the gift of mobility and freedom, a listening ear and hope. Truly, there is no better gift you can give of yourself than your time.