Be Right Back

Hello All in blogger land. I do apologize for being short on the posts.  My life has gotten crazy busy and I just find that I have no energy to blog.  My days have been filled with working my full time job, doing crazy amounts of chores (and the list gets longer) and volunteering.  It's increasingly clear I need some professional help with the chores so I am seriously considering hiring a housekeeper, lawn mower and on some occasions a handy man.  One person can only do some much and although I do have a husband he is just gone so often he only makes a small impact.  I hate paying for things I can do myself, especially when the budget is tight but its that or go mad crazy from all the responsibility.

Not to worry, I am also thinking of ways to make things easier on myself too.  Things like automatic dog waters, drip systems and functioning equipment can help relieve my panic.  I am also going to try and develop a reasonable daily chore list so that all the fun stuff is spread out across the week.

I do promise to pick up the pace here shortly.  This weekend I get to go on a farm tour of our CSA farm, Morning Owl Farms.  I am really excited and promise to take lots of pictures and share the experience with you all.

I will also be on a trek back to Tucson for a few weeks and know there are some fun things to share on that journey.  Hold tight and I will be back soon.

I need a vacation!!!!!

I haven't been on a real vacation since 2008!  I almost want to cry thinking about that fact.  Sure I have traveled but for work or weddings, but never just me and Scott going to a place we want to visit with absolutely no agenda.  No wonder I feel so exhausted and frazzled about life right now.  No matter how hard I try I cannot seem to recharge my batteries.  And I keep getting slower and slower until I am just going to give out. (or at least it feels that way)

I would give anything to sit on a beach or in a forest where my day can be comprised of sleeping in, eating yummy food, reading, maybe some walking or hiking and a long hot bath to cap off the day.  Repeat for 5 -7 days and I just might start to feel like myself again.

Although I love my life and I am excited for some of the big changes ahead; I also feel trapped by all my responsibilities.  How does one strike that perfect balance of living a full life but not so full so that you feel you cannot getaway?  I feel that maybe my balance is off.

My last real vacation was my honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  It was two weeks at the Rose Resort and it was wonderful.  We slept in every morning and spent the day at the pool and then walked along the beach.  There was no plan.  Just fun in the moment.  If feels like it almost happened in another lifetime.

I am hoping that maybe Scott and I can whip something together, but I am not holding my breath.  Life is super busy and crazy and I just don't see how we could fit it all in, but I suppose that's not being very positive about life.  Fingers are crossed.

Honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas 2008

Delilah the Dulcimer

It finally happened...I bought a dulcimer on Saturday!  It was the only one listed on Craigslist so I am convinced it was meant to be.  The people were super nice and it was a screaming deal.  A McSpadden dulcimer with a case and a book for only $149 when they normally retail for about $350-$400! (I might add I even had the money for this because Scott sold his mountain bike on Craigslist!  Gotta love the Craigslist circle)

I was uber excited to get home and play except that it was out of tune and I didn't know how to tune it.  Thankfully, my music teacher Karen said I could drop by this afternoon and she made it sing.  She told me I had to name my dulcimer because all instruments had to have names.  I decided on Delilah.  I like the alliteration of the d's.

I hope Delilah can forgive me because even in tune I somehow find a way to make it sound not so pretty.  I have so much to learn and it feels so overwhelming, but there will be 30 seconds where I play something well and its awesome!  I had to break down and add the blue painter's tape under my frets so I could reinforce where each fret is located.  Makes me feel so silly, but you do what you have to do to learn.  I still do math on my fingers.  Oh well!

My first song I am tackling is Pretty Betty Martin.  I think its a sweet song and is pretty easy because it repeats a lot.  Its amazing how a little less than an hour of playing and my fingers feel funny.  I guess I will have to break them in but I have a feeling it will hit a painful period before everything becomes normal.

Welcome Delilah...its going to be a bumpy ride!

Chicken Coop 1.0

After a few days of hard work, Scott has finished with the necessary improvements to our dog house turned chicken coop.

This story begins about two months ago when Scott and I decided we weren't going to do chickens this year because our lives were (are) crazy and did we really want to add one more thing?  But then I got all inspired by my urban homesteading blogs and books and couldn't imagine not doing chickens.  I started patrolling Craigslist hoping to find a cheap coop so my dream could come true.

And then suddenly there was the perfect dog house to convert into the perfect coop!  It was only $80!!!  I was sold!  It turns out this dog house was custom built by an engineer who got bored one weekend.  Only engineers!  His boredom is my gain!

Of course, this was a dog house built for a dog not quite fortified against racoons or other dangerous creatures just waiting to eat chickens.  Modifications will have to be made.  Step in Scott, the reluctant handy-man but so willing to try for me-husband. (Scott will be the first to admit he isn't a handy man.  Although he is able to fix ALOT of things his skills have limits.  It's ok.  Mine do too.  Its a reason to learn something new or if necessary call in a professional)  We disscussed and decided that we would have to add a front door that latched and cut in a back door that would allow for easy access to eggs and help with cleaning.  We stumbled on a good tip and added vinly flooring to help with faster clean up.  Toss in a pre-fab nesting box, some wood bars for roosting and we have ourselves a chicken coop!

Front Door

Then we (as in my man) had to pull out the power tools...

We are planning on fitting in 5 hens to this little cozy place.  It's strictly for them to sleep in, as in the morning, they will be freed to run around the yard or be sequestered to the chicken tractor which I mention in an early post.  You can read about that here: Chicken Tractor.  Scott and I both recognized that we will probably want to upgrade the coop next year to allow the chickens some more room and to add on a chicken run that connects to the coop.  Big chicken dreams we got brewing here.  I am also sure we will discover improvements that could be made to make the coop work not only better for the chickens but better for us.  

Oh I should mention that I will be painting the chicken coop hopefully this weekend and will make sure to post a final pic.  We are also scooping out the best place in our yard for the coop.  So many choices, all with good and bad options.  Wish us luck...this puppy is heavy and will not be easy to get into the yard.

Now I am sure you are wondering how much this adventure has cost us so I broke down the costs for you.  We have had our chickens since May and neglected to keep all the receipts so these costs are all estimates.  Once the chickens start laying I will start factoring in monthly costs vs. costs of eggs and see how we come out.  Everything I have read about chickens basically says you break even.  I am not necessarily doing this as a cost savings, plus there are all the intangible savings like weed and bug control and fertilizer that the chickens provide.  I think we come out as winners!

Item	Cost
Starter Feeder	$3.00
Starter Waterer	$3.00
Oyster Shells	$8.00
Cracked Corn 40 lbs	$10.00
Heat Lamp & Bulb	$10.00
Adult Feeder	$12.00
Chickens	$12.00
Bedding	$14.00
Chick Starter Feed 60 lbs	$30.00
Adult Waterer (2)	$50.00
Supplies & Tools for Modifications	$63.00
Chicken Tractor	$80.00
Chicken Coop	$80.00
Total	$375.00

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my amazing husband, Scott!  Although I do believe I could have done all of this myself, it was nice that I didn't have to and it was fun to plan this out with someone.  I appreciate you jumping a little out of your comfort zone. Flying a plane would certainly be out of my comfort zone and yet you do it without blinking an eye.

Mountain Dulcimer Lesson No. 1

My first dulcimer lesson was last night!  I was so very excited and even though I was so dead tired (damn morning workouts at 5 am) the minute I walked into Karen Smith's studio I was awake and ready to begin my music journey.  Of course, it didn't hurt that her studio is painted a bright orange and has such a fun eclectic feel that makes you want to be awake, ready to take on life!

I stumbled upon Karen's information off the web site: Everything Dulcimer.  She is the only music teacher listed in the state of Idaho.  I was praying she was good.  Karen is quirky in all the was music teachers are and her passion and raw love of music was oozing from her and infusing me with such glee and excitement that I had a hard time sitting still.  To say Karen is good is probably an understatement.  She was awesome!

She, too, was excited to have a new dulcimer student since its not a common instrument for most people to learn.  She had a wide array of dulcimers for me to mess around with but I truly loved her dulcimer.  It sounded so beautiful and just felt right in my lap.  Karen jumped right in teaching me about the different frets and the strings and how to place my fingers in all the right places.  I even had a chance to strum out of few tunes and although it felt awkward I know with just a little practice it would feel comfortable and smooth.

Although I was only signed up for a half hour, Karen ended up spending a little over an hour with me (she is a generous person!).  She recommended I hunt down the Three Rivers Dulcimer Society in Washington.  Its a bit of a drive for me to get over there, but it would be great to meet other dulcimer lovers.  Karen says there is a group that is itching to form here, but it hasn't quite come together yet.  Maybe I can help change that?

My first order of business is to hunt down a dulcimer of my own.  No easy task.  Karen suggested I checkout a place in Nampa called Unicorn Woodworks, where they build dulcimers.  I checked out their web site and I am way excited, except these dulcimers might be out of my price range for a bit.  And so the search continues.

I am dying to be playing right now so hopefully the search won't last too long.

Chicken Tractor Time!

Yes it's chicken tractor time! Since the weather has been warming up nicely I decided it was time for the chickens to get there butts outside. They will still be sleeping in their box in the garage until the coop is completed but for now they can have some time out in nature.

Scott and I picked up this chicken tractor off craigslist for $80. It was built by the guy I bought it from. It looks weathered but is otherwise of strong construction. I love finding deals on craigslist!!!

We settled the tractor into a sunny spot in our yard and moved the chickens out. I was all excited thinking they would be thrilled to explore their new found territory but disappointingly they huddled in the covered end. Completely anti-climatic! I get it, they are still young and its a whole big bad world and wouldn't you huddle in the corner?

We are going with an unusual setup of having a chicken coop that completely closes up for the chickens to sleep in and then for their daytime use they will be in the chicken tractor. This means every morning I have to get them out of the coop and shoo them to the tractor. And come every evening we will go the other way. I have a feeling this might get old, but it was the faster (not necessarily cheaper) route than building on a chicken run. But I believe that will be on the agenda next summer.

Before you worry, the chickens (when they are older) will get some free range time too in the mornings and evenings and during the weekends while I am working in the yard.

Chicken Condo 2.0

The chickens are growing like weeds! I swear every morning I go to say hello they have grown exponentially. There are more feathers, the waddles look bigger or they seem taller. Its quite the experience to watch an animal grow so quickly. Not quite the same experience I have had with puppies.

Unfortunately, the chickens grew right out of their condo (aka brooder). So we found some bigger boxes (if you are wondering they are uhaul wardrobe boxes) and went into constructing chicken condo 2.0. I am sorry to say I didn't take detailed pictures again of this assembly but I think this is the web site I found the idea from: Community Chickens

Condo 2.0:

Basically it all looks the same but is just bigger. I think the chickens can appreciate the additional room, although they have been a bit flighty with the change of scenery. I am a bit baffled by this because the cardboard is the same color, we are using the same kind of bedding and the temperature has stayed the same. My chickens are just super sensitive.

I have also purchased new feeders and waterers that can hang since the chickens are making a mess of their current set up. They have gotten bored and decided to play "Queen of the Watering Can" in which they are try to jump on top of it. This of course makes it dirty and I have to change it more often. I don't like this game, although my favorite chicken, Glinda, keeps winning. I am secretly proud of her. :)

Here's a picture of Glinda (Plymouth Barred Rock):

This week Scott and I will be working on modifying the dog house we bought off craigslist to become the Chicken Coop 1.0. I will make sure to take pictures of the whole process in case you feel inspired to keep chickens of your own.

The Rest of the Ladies:

In front is Millie (Buff Orpington), right behind her the black chicken is Vivian (Black Sex-Link), next in line is Red Sonja (New Hampshire Red) and finally huddled in the back is our VERY flighty Rhonda (Ameraucana).