Helen has the bloat.
For the last couple of days she has looked quite round and uncomfortable. I have felt the same way at times so I felt really bad for her. The calves get a small ration of corn and all-stock feed along with hay and we think that maybe it was too much protein or the corn. Art put some baking soda in the water (just like alkaselzer) and has been giving them only hay- last night she seemed to be doing much better. Cows are meant to eat only grass so she's not missing out on any nutrients- think of them as vegetarian cows.

Best Home Improvement So Far!

This item was so amazingly important it needed its own blog entry.

We have a dining room table that we bought at a consignment store- at one time I'm sure it was a beautiful oak or walnut color...but somewhere along the line someone thought it would be a good idea to paint it green. Apparently they didn't like the color they picked and so painted it again with a different green. Over time the paints have faded and have actually made the table quite charming and since I hate to refinish wood (as there is a lot of detail as well as a matching green hutch and six chairs) I am going to leave it as is. My only complaint was the veneer had had some water damage and was peeling on one end. I didn't know how to re-do a veneer and I also had no idea how I would match the perfect blend of green paint and faded wood. One day I was sitting at the table, idly peeling off strips of veneer (hey, it's better than picking my nose) when I thought "what about tile?" so I googled "mosaic tile" and a gazillion websites popped up. After a few weeks of sifting through tile schemes and printing out color prints (to do a mock layout) I finally decided on a color scheme that would match.

The whole process is a bitch and I wouldn't recommend doing it on anything but a flat surface- since there was an outside border of wood that I wanted to leave, it created issues of even depth, tile spacing, etc. But I will say the end result is fantastic.

Before you think I'm amazing and full of patience to place each individual tile, let me tell you I cheated. The reason I chose the website I did was because they offered tiles in 12x12 sheets that I placed face down and, after 30 minutes or so, removed the backing. It's mosaic tiling for dummies!

Before

After (ta daah!)

More Home Improvements

I was so impressed by how the entry way turned out I decided to try the same with the dining room. This was, by far, the ugliest room in the house. Not only did it have a hideous folk art horse border but the walls were painted what I like to call diarrea brown (it's really more of a beige but disgusting nonetheless). Unfortunately the border came off as easily as the other horse border that was upstairs; that is to say, it didn't. I decided to sand the bottom edge and the paper jointes and just prime it before I painted it (whenever sanding inside your home, be prepared for the mess). The room turned out beautifully but I think I'm going to take a break from home improvements for awhile. The living room has a folk art house border with dingy white walls but that will just have to wait because I'm tired.

The hideous horse border with diarrea walls

(the brown was darker than in the picture)

The green looks much darker in this picture
(maybe I should get a better camera...)

What's in a Name?

I decided that we should name our farm. There is really no purpose for a name other than we could put a sign up at the entry to our driveway- how cool would that be?! My mother suggested 'Green Acres' but that's been done; Art suggested 'Art's Bitch Farm' but I just don't think the neighbors would appreciate a sign that says "Welcome to Art's Bitch Farm!"- there are a lot of old people that drive by our house everyday and it might offend their sensibilities. Don't get me wrong, it would a really funny sign, but I was hoping for something a little classier...maybe even quaint. The more Art and I discuss it the more inappropriate the names become (we're no better than children laughing at fart jokes) so I am enlisting the help of my readers...I know there are at least three of you out there.

Change Has Come

After several years of looking at the hideous border in our entry way I finally took the bull by the horns and did something about it. After hours of peeling wallpaper, sanding and priming I erased any evidence of the sundial border and pinkish white walls. I'm all for painting walls white- it's simple and utilitarian but if you use anything other than a real white, the walls just look dirty; You could get away with an egg-shell, but anything else is borderline. So please, be smart when choosing your whites.
Art and I have been periodically standing in the entry way just staring- it's like a completely different room and I love it!
I also sanded and primed the dining room and will be painting that room sometime this week (I will post those pictures when it's finshed).
This was more work than I have done in awhile and am pretty tired and sore but very satisfied.

The red looks much brighter in this picture- it's really more muted; Fancy, is the word Art uses.

The offensive border- who would look at this and say "I need this in a place where it will be seen by one and all"? It was hideous.

Tonight we got the smallest egg I have ever seen (well, from a chicken, anyway). It could make a very small omelet, or a very small amount of scrambled eggs... perhaps it could have been the Worlds Smallest Chicken and I could have made millions marketing it.

Is it? Could it be?

Today it feels like spring. It's a beautiful 48 degrees and rising- pretty nice for February. I'm trying not to get too excited about the nice weather because I'm sure there is a bitch slap from Mother Nature coming next week. I thought I would take advantage of the warm weather by hanging out the laundry- I absolutely hate using the dryer and the highlight of spring is when I can finally hang it outside again.

The Newest Additions

Art bought eight laying pullets today. A pullet is a laying hen who has just started or is about to start laying eggs. We had 11 chickens but we had to get rid of 3 of them because they were so fat- which means that they weren't expending any energy in laying eggs, they were just eating. My neighbor told me I should make chicken soup out of them, but I don't really like chicken soup nor do I want to make soup out of a 5 year old chicken. The rest of the chickens are getting older and out of the 8 left we are only getting about three eggs a day when we should be getting one egg a day from each chicken. We decided to spend a little more money on laying hens versus chicks because chickens are six to eight months old before they start laying and I'm not patient- I feel like I lose time and money feeding them for eight months before they start doing any work.

Normally one would get a box, crate, or cage to transport eight chickens; Not my husband- he just put them in the back of his jeep. He said one even sat on the passenger seat on the way home. Cute, huh?

On a side note- we have a lovely rooster (I wanted him because I felt like we should have one, but now I wish we didn't) if anyone would like him- he's very nice (not in a cuddly sense, more of a won't-come-at-you-with-his-talons nice) and very pretty. He even crows when the sun comes up (and in the afternoon, evening, and sometimes even in the middle of the night)

Let There Be Fire!

It's finally done! We have our wood burning stove up and running- I love that our house is cozy with warmth and the smells of a camp fire. The chimney is braced on the house versus going through the roof for two

reasons: 1) A majority of wood stove fires are caused when sparks land on the shingles and catch fire, and 2) I spent a lot of money on a new roof last summer and the last thing I wanted to do was cut holes in it.

I went to Chicago this past weekend for a lovely (and much needed) girls weekend/shopping trip. I detest shopping so this weekend was a big deal for me as my clothes are getting pretty ratty- did you know that there are only so many time you can sew an inseam before the fabric just disintegrates? I was able to get some nice sweaters and shoes (those weren't really needed but they are super cute all the same) On a side note- when re-dyeing pants black, use an old bucket and NOT a large stock pot like the RIT box says. I'm also considering buying one of those de-pillers for my sweaters....

The weekend was a great success, much thanks to my friend Emily, who hates shopping and large crowds as much as I do. She had the genius idea of hitting the stores at 7:30 Friday night when there are no crowds and the sales people are too busy planning their evening to bother us. We did make an attempt to hit some department stores Saturday, but I almost had a breakdown in the middle of accessories so we left. I did find a new down winter coat- my old down jacket had several holes in the sleeves and I was constantly stuffing the feathers back in but I still had feathers flying around the inside of my car as I drove down the interstate.

I am pretty sure that between my new purchases and the aid of a de-piller I shouldn't have to go shopping for several more years. Hallelujah!