My New Jewelry Cabinet

Just had to show off some of my latest handiwork. I've been accumulating a lot of jewelry since I've had a couple of Premier jewelry parties for my friend, Rhonda. I really enjoy having some pretty things to wear some days, but found it hard to find what I was looking for when it was still in boxes. 

Igot the basic plan off Ana-White.com couldn't decide how to finish the cabinet. I thought about staining and finishing, but that takes a lot of steps and I wanted something that would add a little color to my room, so I remembered I had some sample jars of paint from Lowe's...  And colorful is what I got. I liked the stormy blue color, but wanted something inside that would pop, so I painted the inside a color called "swiftly green."  After adding some cup hooks, radiator panels, a door knob, and a magnetic catch. So far I've been loving it. I need to swap out the heavy duty magnetic catch for a regular one because you really have to pull hard, and one of my pair of earrings tends to fall off when it finally opens up. 

By the way, please excuse the mess of my life. I mounted it on the side of my makeup vanity. I thought about recessing it into the wall studs so it would barely stick out, but then it's a permanent part of the house which makes it harder to move or change, so I figured I'd live with it and see if it works, then if I want to I can change it up later. It was pretty cheap to build, so I could do it twice without feeling to bad about it. I wish I had a place to make it open on either side (like between a bathroom and closet). Maybe someday when I build my dream house. 

The babies!

Just he to tell you my peeps are doing great!  We ended up with 27 bouncing baby ...chickens. I have no idea what they are because it's crazy trying to tell what they are, and even if I could tell, how would I  sort them out to make sure I keep some gals. Oh well, it was an awesome experience. My oldest daughter has told me "thank you so much!," like 3 times. She has really enjoyed the experience. 

This is them today, 8 days old.  We have sent a few to new homes, since we couldn't even come close to keeping that many. I'm hoping we still have some pulleys left that we can keep. We have 13 right now, so I'll be happy if we still have 4-6 hens left. 

They're here

So last night I went to bed a little discouraged since we were hearing lots of peeping and a few pips in the eggs, but no real progress. I read it can take unite. While for them to finish, but was worried they might all die in their eggs. So I said a little prayer for my peeps and went to sleep. 

I was rudely awakened at 1 AM by someone with a puppy with parvo...and maybe a drinking problem. **Please don't call me crying about your cat having worms...or screaming about your sick dog...or anything else, unless you are sober, have money, and/or actually want to do something about it. Otherwise, it can wait until morning.  I am not a miracl worker who can diagnose and treat your let without examining it. I can perhaps give you some good general advice and offer to examine and treat the pet either right then or the next morning, but the longer we talk doesn't make the animal get any better. ** I really love my career, animals, and my patients and clients, and would usually rather treat an animal sooner than later, since they have a better chance of surviving that way.  Please don't take this as a rant about not enjoying what I do. I just get frustrated when an animal has been sick for a week and suddenly it's an emergency at 4:30 PM on Friday.  And most Fridays there are 3 people who have put it off that long!

So back to my peeps.  Since I was already unite awake, I figured I should go check on my brood of eggs. Finally I could see an eggs zipping. That's when they start pecking around the whole egg to open it up. There was only one, and things seemed a little quieter than when things were going on around the house. I was woke up again at 5 when my husband's alarm went off, and low and behold- 2 chicks!  By 6:30 we had a third.  Things really sped up then, with 9 hatched by 8 AM, and plenty more in progress. Sorry pictures don't take very well, but here's one for you to see. 

Incubator update

So here we are on day 21 and there are no baby chicks yet, but I am hearing little chirps coming from inside the incubator. We are trying to be patient as the temperature can affect when they hatch. I've read that if the temp is just a degree too high they may hatch a day early. Since I've tried to be conservative and not let them get too hot, they could hatch up to a day late. Keep in touch for more updates. 

New kid in town

We have a new face that is actually in my backyard right now. Please don't tell anyone or animal control will be coming by!  I know this from experience. We really don't intend to keep her here long. We actually were going to take her to the pens last night, but with this storm blowing in we thought she needed an extra day of TLC. We are feeding her like this because her mama didn't claim her, and we couldn't tell who her mother is. We suspect she is a twin. This set of cows are grazing some wheat, so they all look tight-bagged (good food makes lots of milk, so they look like they need to be nursed), and nobody claimed her. It was 95 F on Saturday, and without nursing, she was dehydrated and weak when he found her. We immediately got some colostrum replacer in her belly and gave her a little medicine to try to keep her feeling well. It's taken a few feedings, but she is starting to nurse the bottle better and getting brighter and more active. I think she'll make it. A lot of them don't. 

That's one of the great and terrible things about our lifestyle. Our children get to experience the miracle of new life, and the sadness of loss.  They have been there when I delivered calves and puppies, and love the newborns. They have also asked me why the baby calf isn't moving after it comes out, as well as burying our beloved pets. Some of them have passed away naturally, some with more drama.  It has provided them with a glimpse of life and death that most kids their age don't understand. We have read Ecclesiastes 3 many times. We haven't settled on whether or not dogs get to go to heaven. We explained they can't get saved since they have no souls, but also assured them that God cares for each of his creatures, and since he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. If those herds extend into heaven,  He no doubt might need a little red and white Border Collie to take care of them. What tender hearts little girls have. 

Notice she has her nose to my daughter, not my husband. She and that dog were best buds from the time we got her. We miss you Cinco. 

Here's one more flashback, while we are at it. This is a bottle calf we raised about the time I was pregnant with Miss Priss, the 2nd. The first was about 16 months old. How I miss those days, though I wouldn't trade today for anything.  The calf was huge compared to her. She wasn't easy to wrestle while pregnant!  She actually was easier than the 2 others I had that year, though!

Incubator update

I really intended to tell you more about our incubator experience, but the first 20 days of incubating really aren't too exciting!  We candled the eggs at day 11 and found 34 to be developing. Actually we couldn't see very well into 2 of the green eggs, so we've left them in and are hoping for the best!  I didn't actually throw the extra eggs until day 14 when there was still nothing happening. I forgot to take pics on day 11, but did take a couple on day 14 that show some development. It is actually a little easier to see more when there is more fluid and less chick in there.

Sorry, it's hard to take picture of this. Hopefully you can see a little shape coming out of the darkness that is filling up the left side of the egg.

If you forget to turn off the flash, it looks like this. You can see my ancient egg candler that my aunt had  given me when I was a kid as well.

Thanks, aunt Barbara.  I miss you. She passed away a little over a year ago. 

Well, just a few more days until they should start. Hatching. I'm hoping it goes well.  I have gotten my chicken pen out, but didn't want to set it all up until I am sure they are going to hatch.  Hate to jinx anything...because we all know "you shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch!"