Where have I been?

It's not snowing anymore!! We're having normal spring weather. Actually, we're having above average temperature weather but there's still lots of rain which is good.
Dan and I moved last Saturday and we aren't hooked up to the internet there yet (soon though) or have long distance phone service yet (which is why I haven't been calling some of you). I have one paper and a final exam to do yet and that will be all finished by Wednesday. The Beer Store that I work at now said that if I stay there they will train me to open so that I get whatever hours I need to be able to car pool with Dan as long as I don't transer (I'm so wanted!!). So on thurs. I sart my 8-4 shifts. I think that will work out great.
I've noticed at the new house how much of an extrovert I am. This doesn't mean that I'm all hyper and centre of attention but that I get my energy from being around other people. I need other people. The first morning I woke up in the new house Dan was gone, I had no car, I was in the country and I wouldn't see Dan till around 6:00. AAACKK. I freaked out a little bit and called a friend that lived close by to see if she wanted to do something. Unfortunately she was busy and I had to just deal with it. After 3 days like that I started to get used to it but still can't wait to see my grumpy Dan when he gets back from work. Evenings are fun though. It's been so warm and light out that we stay outside doing odd things around the property. I've got lots of pics too. I pulled up my tulips that I planted last year and was going to miss if I left them at the apartment. I wasn't sure if they would bloom but....




I think it's gonna work. They aren't the happiest looking tulips but i think they might bloom yet.









I also ordered my chickens. I'm getting 5 ready-to-lay chickens on Wednesday. I'm super excited about them. This is where we're going to keep them.




It's a lean-to on the back of the barn. All that junk has to be moved (it's got a place. yes we are keeping the junk... just in case we need wood... sometime...). The chicken wire at the front there was chicken wire that I have seen in the same spot, rolled up, at Redeemer for the last year so I thought, hey, I'm gonna take that, maybe it'll be useful. And I think it will be. Here's a question. Can I just stretch out the chicken wire in front of the lean-to or do I have to give them some space outsite too? A foot or two?
I have posted lots of pics on our flickr site. I don't know if others can see it though. Here's the url but I'm not sure if it will work for everyone. Tell me if it doesn't and how to make it work if you know. Enjoy!!!

It's snowing!!

I knew it would happen. The first few flakes looked like it might just be a fluke but, nope, we have a full blown snow fall. It's actually collecting on the ground. I knew this was all too good to be true but I'm sure it will melt soon. I'm not to be put off. I'm in full production mode.
SO.... my garden. I can do this right? I mean, I had one last year (a very sad attempt but did yeild good veggies). Chickens will be fun and I do remember having them as a kid. I've since gone to the new house and ... guess what?! There are two perfect places for the chickens. There is a big lean-to off the side of the barn that could easily be fenced in and even has a door to go into the barn from there. There is also a small little shed in the yard that looks like it could house over 10 chickens. There's a door going into it but I could make some sort of ramp for them to go in and out of and then just shut the door at night. So, what about GOATS?!!! At first consideration I said no because the point of all this is to get production. What good are goats when you've got a great lawn mower and a husband who has been itching to mow the lawn for the last 3-4 years? But then, they could be fun. I hear they can get quite the personality. And we could breed our and sell them at the market. I doubt you would break even but it wouldn't all be costs. And then I thought... hmm... goats... that reminds me of that great goat cheese recipe that mom and dad make. yum. how do you make goat cheese? Well, here it is. I've actually been to this website once when I was trying to figure out what this buttermilk was that a recipe called for. Even if we don't get a goat and I don't learn how to milk it, then pasturize the milk and all that stuff, maybe making some yogurt from store milk would be fun. My mom did that for a while when we were growing up too. All I remember was the strict warnings not to touch it or let it move AT ALL. Dan loves his plain yogurt and its good for you right? Am I going crazy or what? What's with this farming urge?

Growing

I can't believe how happy spring and growing things is making me. Maybe its just general spring happiness but is accentuated after all that winter blues. Really its the growing the garden and planning my chickens that is making me excited. Even growing a puppy is making me happy. I've been inside all day (except for the odd jaunt out to the garden so Chloe can dump off her load there) and from the inside it looks pretty cold and grey out. Well I sure was mistaken. Or was I? I don't know. After I made Chloe whine for a good hour, I finally took a break from my spring cleaning (I'm spring cleaning!!?!) and go for a walk. I wore my winter coat but when I got outside it was soooo warm. The wind was a really warm summer breeze in my face. Yet the sky looked cold and grey. hmm... A few minutes into my walk, I noticed that the breeze was a cool refreshing temperature that I would expect it to be. Then, I noticed that really, I was getting two different breezes. It was soooo bizarre.. I actually commented to Chloe and I hate talking to animals (It feel sooo stupid). It was like someone opened a giant oven every once in a while, you know, like when you check the cookies and you get a quick breeze of hot sweet air. This wind even was a bit sweet. It was awesome! Of course this also meant that I was in for a big storm. Sure enough, I got stuck in some rain half way through my walk but.... I LOVED IT. It was soo nice. It wasn't too cold and it just made my heart all happy knowing that my tulips and everything else is growing. The grass is getting greener and everything is growing around me. I love thunder storms. I look forward to spring partly for the display that we get. As I'm typing, the window (the only one we have) is open and the thunder is booming and the odd lightning is flashing. I love it.
In 2 hours Dan is coming home and we are going out to help some friends move out. They are the ones whose house we are actually going to be moving in. We'll be moving in the rain!! We'll see how this goes.

Congratulations Wes & Kathryn!!

So, a good buddy of mine from the early university days had a baby. Well, his wife did. But good for both of them. They had a baby boy, Jayce. Wes thought the whole time that it would be a girl but I'm glad he has a son. He's a bit of a workaholic so I hope that doesn't get in the way. I want to see him with a 3 year old, toddling after him in overalls and a hat that has the company logo on it and a hammer in his hand. That's my vision. Until then, this is him at 1.5 weeks.

Chickens!!

I want to have a garden and chickens at my new place. A garden is going to take some work, planning and advice that you are all going to have help me with (at least the advice part). The chickens are a project that I'm really interested in. My family had chickens when we were growing up and I always feel nostalgic about them. My first reason for wanting chickens was the nostalgia but also, I thought maybe I would save some money, be economical. Well, after thinking about it for a while and doing lots of research I know that they probably won't save me any money but I'm still super excited about this. I want to buy about 5-6 chickens that are ready to start laying. At first I was going to buy super cheap chicks and raise them but by the time they would be ready to lay eggs most of the summer would be gone (right? I think so). So I'll buy the chickens ready to lay. Good chickens will lay an egg every 24-36 hours so that means almost an egg a day. I definately don't need 5-6 eggs a day but my plan is to use more eggs (pickled eggs, deviled eggs, baking and lots of omelets with garden produce) and then also be able to give cartons away to family and friends. It might seem like a silly thing to want to do considering it will cost me money in chicken food but this is one of the funnest things I think. Another major attraction for owning your own chickens for most people is the knowledge that the chickens that produced these eggs are living in good conditions and eating good food. This is true, and is nice to know, but for me, it's just the feather in the cap. And, I hear the eggs are so much better than regular store-bought eggs.
The property that we will be living on has an old barn on it that is used right now for storing a few peoples boats. We were told that we could use the barn for whatever we want. I want to section off a corner and make some nesting boxes. If it's possible, I want to remove a few barnboards that would be replaceable and make a door for them to get outside and scratch around. We would have to wait to see when we get there how that would work.
Hannelle, a friend of mine, was telling me that her grandfather would go to the grocery store everyday and ask for all the old veggies that wouldn't sell anymore and would feed these to his chickens. I also heard that they will eat any kind of kitchen scraps you give them... another good incentive. I know that they need the special food to lay good eggs but I figure I might be able to save some money on food if I'm giving them fruits and veggies. Any other hints or tips? Does this all sound right?
In the next post I will tell you about some of the types of chickens I want.

I want to say thankyou to everyone who has been praying for me this semester. You have probably all gotten the feeling that my thesis hasn't been going very well and that it has been too stressful of an issue to talk about. Well, yesterday I made the decision to drop the thesis. I feel very good about this. This means that I will still be graduating with two degrees, a religions and a psychology degree, but my psych. degree will not be honours. I called Tyndale first and asked them how this would affect my application. I was told it wouldn't. I need a 65% (which I definitely have) to get in. I don't need an honours degree or a thesis. This was something that I wanted to do since I thought I needed it for grad school. It was also a bit of a pride thing for me. Me? An honours student?? I'm not the best or smartest students so this would be a feat for me. I do feel a little bit disappointed that I am not accomplishing the honours degree because of that pride but I know that I did all the other courses at honours level marks!! That's huge for me. And I don't regret taking those courses either. They were some of my favorites and really will make a difference for me in grad school. At first I was also worried about regretting this decision. Will I? Ten years from now, will I look back and regret not doing that thesis? Answer: probably not. Once I'm in grad school, that is what will make the difference. I still feel very good about my chances for getting into Tyndale. I am also able to write my thesis at anytime and still change my undergraduate degree to an honours degree. I actually do feel very good about this. I really could not finish the thesis with any kind of self-control that I could force in the next week and a half. I am excited. I'm graduating. I'm happy about that and soon life will be moving on!!!! Yeah!!! And I feel REALLY ready to leave Redeemer. Don't get me wrong. It was a great university. I'm glad I stayed the extra year but I'm really ready for it to all be over now.
The last concern that I have about all of this is... I'm worried about other people being disappointed in me. I know that this is my own decision and that only I can make it but I feel that my family and friends' opinions are important. I wouldn't change my mind because of them but I would like to know that you all still support me.
Thank you again for the prayers. It really is a blessing to hear that you have been praying. Thank you Thank you Thank you.