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Showing posts from 2013

one last look

We briefly talked about doing a Christmas letter again this year. I did look through my pictures to remind myself of what all happened, was quite shocked, and then never got back to the computer to make that happen. So I'm limiting myself to one photo for each month and recapping 2013. January a day of freezing rain where we were amazed at the number of cardinals that bombarded our back porch and dog pen     February - Bobby Retired!   March - a new quilting/sewing machine! :) Happy, Happy, Happy!    April - my nephew and niece were saved and baptized! :)    May - first visit to the Confederate section of Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, and the opening of Garner's War Memorial   June - our first ever dolphin tour, a mini-vacation with family, and an 80th birthday party for the matriach of the Bob Bryan clan. A very happy but busy month!   July- The church's annual Family Fun Fest was rained out, family toured the Garner War Memorial

a childhood food

My husband does not prefer green peas (what my family calls English peas). I happen to like them, especially with mashed potatoes. After being sick on the medicine the Urgent Care Clinic provided, my parents immediately started making bland foods in hopes of getting something in me so I could take yet another round of meds (yeah, rah). Mom had been in and asked if I would try some mashed potatoes and peas, and I nodded yes (no voice on my part and no hearing aids in on her part...a really interesting combination the last 24 hours at home and only my nieces were getting my hand signals and my nephew made squeaking noises every time I tried to talk). Bobby came in a littler late to check on me, and with a bit of confusion and concern on his face, told me they were making a plate that had mashed potatoes and peas on it, that everyone thought I had asked for it, and they were mixing the food together. At this point, I actually laughed. (Well, at much laughing as I could do without a voice

a bit unusual Christmas

I have to confess, I was expecting the normal hand-drawn Christmas card from my niece this year. Imagine my surprise when I opened the card, and read "In Memory". Yeah. For whatever reason, she took two Gideon donation cards from church, scribbled out the inside, and wrote our name on the blanks inside. I'm assuming she doesn't know what "In Memory" means, and that she liked the picture on the front. For whatever reason, she was quite pleased with it, and I can honestly say I've never received a Christmas card like it. It's now in my drawer of momentos. While Bobby's wheelchair was a work in progress, one of the things we attempted to do was send pictures of the broken parts to Orthopedic Services, in hopes they could possibly order the parts before everything shut down for the holidays. (Which turned out to be a big failure.)  This might sound like no big deal, but my parents's house has no internet service, and most people struggle to ge

brithday celebrations with the "youngest"

Growing up, I was blessed with many siblings in cousins on both sides of my family. I don't ever remember not having someone my age to play with at family gatherings; it was more an issue of who to play with or finding someone I knew the best. That's not the case for my nieces and nephew. My oldest nieces are in college. My nephew is 13, my other niece is 9. They also have lived very far apart all their lives, so most holidays they don't see each other. With my birthday coming immediately before Christmas, my birthday has become something of a "tradition" to be celebrated with the two younger ones (because they live near my parents who we are visiting at the time).  Carly has taken it upon herself the last two years to "plan" birthday parties for everyone. She discusses it with her Mom or my mother, and designates who is buying, baking what. She doesn't always get what she wants (like last year for my 40th when she just KNEW I wanted a fancy cake wi

a week ago today

One week ago today we headed out for Nashville, TN to see the Moffitt clan (Bobby's youngest sister and her family) for a day or two before heading on to be with my family. En route Bobby's chair refused to be budged from its lock-down position. At all. If you've ever lived with a disability and needed assistance, you know that holidays are NOT the time to have an equipment malfunction. No one is open, and if they are, you're almost always going be charge holiday time when it comes to the labor portion of the repair bill. Mechanics do have families, too, you know.  Thankfully for us, they happen to be in my family. We arrived in TN to find a friend of Susan's there, and Matt and David (my bro-in-law), began dismantling the back of Bobby's chair in order to leverage the chair into an upward position so we could ease it out of the lock. It took a while, but they were not only successful in getting him inside and settled, but also in strapping the wheelchair back

a pain in the neck

Yesterday a good friend had a spell during church. We still don't know what happened, but it scared a good number of us. We could tell she was starting to improve, was getting better (starting to argue with us), but I was very concerned about her slurred speech. I've never been so thankful that our church is blessed with so many nurses! When we finally ruled out sugar issues, one of the nurses agreed with me that she needed to head to the local CVS minute clinic and get her blood pressure checked. My friend told us it would no longer be low because we were all being a pain in the neck and driving it up. Being the kind, considerate person that I am, I told her we could also be a pain in the butt if we needed to be. Thankfully she laughed. There's nothing I hate more than being sick and having an audience. I had a migraine once that triggered other problems and resulted in at rip to the ER. An extended family member came over to "help out" and I remember wishing s

politely rude

Monday night we attended a political function. I'm not a huge fan of political events. There always seems to be an excessive amount of posturing, extreme positions, and lots of bandwagoning. Political events in the rural areas are a little bit nicer as everyone talks to everyone, and people actually talk about things other than politics. Unfortunately, this one was in Raleigh. Despite the location, most of the people were very friendly, even though neither Bobby nor I are adept at talking to strangers or working a crowd. The room was small (wheelchairs are a lot easier to manuever in open spaces) and people seemed to hover near the drinks, making it impossible to get to anything without interrupting a conversation (it was like watching one of those animals shows that sets up a camera near the watering hole), and I was more than a bit baffled when two of the classiest dressed ladies in the room, fixed their plates, then stood in the middle of the buffet line, one on each side, to

two up; one down

Earlier this fall I bought three books to give one of my nieces for Christmas. (Before you gasp in horror, this is for one of the nieces who enjoys reading as much as I do.) Two of the books were based on recommendations from World Magazine. One of them I haven't finished and I'm quite appalled by it (I won't be gifting it); the other, Letters to a Young Progressive , I actually enjoyed reading and am happy to gift it. The third book I picked up out of curiosity in a Christian bookstore. A college friend of mine works in Afghanistan, and has for the last 13 or so years, and several of my high school classmates have spent time serving with our military in Afghanistan. Needless to say, their viewpoints and experiences are very different. It has taken me a while to work through the book, but In the Land of Blue Burqas has to be one of the best Christian non-fiction books I have read in a very long time. So many times I interrupted Bobby's reading to share a passage with

non-Mom status

The first time I worked with small kids, ever, was the summer after I turned 18. I volunteered to be an assistant to an older woman as she taught the 3&4 year olds for Vacation Bible School. I was excited. Monday rolled around, and about 2pm (VBS started at 6pm), Mom got a phone call that Mrs. Evie was sick, and I'd need to take the class. Her daughter was dropping all the supplies, ready to go, at the church and would have everything ready for me. Did I mention I had never really worked with small children before? I had three 3year old boys, all by myself. After the night was over, I told my Mom how impossible it was to teach the lesson. They were ON the table, UNDER the table, sitting BACKWARDS in their chairs, EATING their crayons, coloring the TABLE, the CHAIR, and asking me five questions (and almost none of them related to the lesson) for every one sentence. In short, it was chaos. My Mom looked at me like I was crazy, and laughed. "Well, that's three year olds

Christmas book #3

Another book I read several years ago, but it's also one of those books that never quite leaves you. Grisham's main characters attempt to do what so many of us adults have longed to do at one point or another: skip Christmas. The whole book is hysterically funny, and the ending is pathetic and yet heartwarming, but it also made me evaluate how pointless so many of our the holiday traditions truly are. Ever since reading this book, it's made me want to boycott the things that aren't truly important (and several of those things I can't because those traditions are so important to other family members), and yet has also helped me realize that I too have traditions that are sentimental to me but have no intrinsic value.  If you're looking for a fun read, like the Best Christmas Pageant Ever, this is one that will have you laughing out loud, and yet thinking about its contents for weeks afterward.

Christmas book #2

  Singer's book is different from most run-of-the mill Christian books. While a work of fiction, it addresses some of the political issues surrounding the holidays, but has a very unexpected ending. Some of the stereotypes in the characters bothered me early in the book, but as the story unfolded, I had to admit that I could identify several people who could adequately be the person the story's character was based upon. (So maybe it's not so much stereotyped after all!) This book is one that leaves you thinking and pondering many issues, from the fine line between freedom of religion and government-sanctioned religion to the age-old debate of when to obey government or what prinicples and doctrines are truly worth fighting about. This book would be an awesome read for any group that loves intense discussions.

Christmas book #1

I read this book as a teenager, and I have read it several times since then. It is, in my not-so-humble opinion, one of the best Christmas books on the market. I like this story so much that I even considered its play version as a script for a Christmas play at church. After reading the copyright requirements of the play, I decided it wasn't the best match for our church. But that doesn't stop me from ranking this as my all-time favorite Christmas book, and I think it should be a must read for anyone who teaches Sunday school.

a good kind of crazy

Wednesday night we took an internet sabbatical as I began sanding down the floors in the study (meaning we couldn't get to the computer), restaining the wood, and then putting on a sealer. (It was quite funny being in Lowe's on Black Friday purchasing polyerathaune and Liquid Plummer while everyone was buying gifts and Christmas decorations.) This morning we headed to Staples to see about getting a rubber mat to place under the plastic floor cover we had (the plastic allowed dirt to get underneath and simply ground it in the floor), but they only had door mat type things. The salesman suggested getting expensive shelf liner to try, but Bobby decided we'd go with the doormat instead. I'm pleased with the space it covers, and if we can get one end to finish uncurling, I think (hope) we're going to be very happy with it. My goal is to sweep/vaccumm there every night (or at least every other morning?) in hopes of keep the floor in a better condition. But judging by the

accounting

A few days ago one of my aunts posted something on Facebook about how holidays were very hard times for many people, and we didn't need to forget about those people. And as I thought about the struggles they were facing (she's out of work due to health issues and working on getting disability, Uncle Don lost his job at the mines, her daughter has been diagnosed with MS, four years ago at this time her mother was murdered by a nephew on drugs, etc) I couldn't help but think about the number of people who are grieving during this holiday season when everyone around them is rejoicing. I have so much to be thankful for. I have been blessed in so many ways. And yet I recognize there are those, while just as blessed and loved by God, are deeply hurting when everyone around them is festive and ecstatic. A friend of mine recently wrote a post on that subject: When Sorrow Begets Gratitude . A young girl left a comment, stating how she found nothing to be grateful for in the unex

telephones

Most Saturdays we get a 15-30 minute from two of our great-nephews. They're about 3 and 4. Today they "discovered" the telephone (yes, we still have a land line) that is in plain sight on the kitchen bar. They've walked by it multiple times, but maybe it was too close but yet still too high from their eye level. But for whatever reason, they saw it today, were greatly puzzled, and wanted to know "What is that?" Within five minutes of that conversation, the telephone rang, which it has never done in their presence before. Their eyes got very big, and widened even larger when I picked up the receiver and said "hello."  And then things got a little interesting. It was for Bobby, who had been playing in the toy room and was trapped there by all the toys scattered around his chair. I asked our pastor to wait a minute, told the four year old "Do NOT touch that" and left the room knowing he most likely would. Within the few seconds it took to

not quite an epic failure

I ventured out on a limb this afternoon and tried to make fudge for tomorrow's now-not coming company. I've never been very successful with fudge. Today's batch was one of the two I've made that solidified correctly (it didn't break the bowl and it's not too soft). But it's still not Aunt Pat's fudge. Every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, Aunt Pat made fudge with walnuts. I love my Mom and Aunt Linda, but nothing held a candle to Aunt Pat's fudge. It was heavenly. She died during my second year overseas, and I miss her hugs and smile and...yes...her fudge. It seems so trivial, but it's always like there's a tiny something missing.  But I do have her recipe now, so hopefully in a few weeks I will bravely stand in front of the stove and attempt yet again one of the foods that my memory holds high on a pedestal. Meanwhile, I've still got a little cleaning left to do.

my cup overflows

Tuesday is election day for Wake County.  Even though two of my precincts will be closed tomorrow (only my Garner city residents are voting, what we'd call "Garner proper" back home), I'm still very thankful to work with a group of people who care about the voting process and are willing to put aside party differences and opinions for a day and a half to ensure who have a totally fair election.  While I'm not crazy about the long hours (we get up at 4am so I can head out the door 6am and I won't be home until around 9pm tomorrow night, provided we don't head to Waffle House for supper then), it is nice being able to work four times a year at something I think is important AND get paid for it. Monday marked the day that 15 years ago a certain someone asked me to marry him.  And I must say, Part III of this life has been quite wonderful. I love and appreciate him more now than I did then, and I would have never dreamed that was possible. And...I love my

cows

Not too long ago I learned about this thing called miniature cows.  I've teased Bobby that if he wants cows, then that's what we'll get. The reality is, the last thing I need or want is something else to take care of, and I do think he's right that the cost of the animal upkeep probably would cost more than you'd make in sale price. But we got to see some of the miniature Herefords during the competitions at the state fair.  The above photo is of a Momma cow. The girl was having a very hard time getting it to go where she needed it to be (the cow wanted its calf and OUT of the ring!) and the judge behind her had to give her a hand.  I have a hard enough time maneuvering Buster's 57 pounds. I can't imagine having to herd or corral an animal that weighed 250. (And if you've never been around real cows, this full grown miniature heifer is 1/2 of the size of what a normal cow would be.) I think miniature's grow to be about 36" tall.    Thi

our new excitement

When my sister-in-law was in high school, a boy once commented that the most exciting thing happening at Susan's house was when the family went to the porch to watch turtles cross the road. While my in-laws have never watched turtles cross the road, it's true there's not a lot of city excitement happening in or around the farm. Our latest entertainment at our house has been: squirrels. Buster has finally discovered them, and at least once a day we see him freeze, creep forward like a cat, and then breaks into one of his "you're going to die because I'm throwing all 57 pounds of me in your direction at 150 mph" runs. The squirrels have learned to look before leaping, and flatten themselves against the ground even if they don't see anything around. But if they see him, it's an all out race.  Today Buster tried a new move and cut one off as it reached the pine trees by the pond. Except pine straw and screeching stops don't work too well, so he w

difference of opinion

A few weeks ago the News and Observer ran an article by a designer about the proper way to decorate your bookcases.   Included were two pictures, a before and after, (I think on the web you have to click on a thumbnail to get the before shot), and I like the BEFORE picture better .  Maybe that says I don't have good taste, but I just think that picture looks overdone and cluttered. That big vase on the right side? It's too big to be up there. It's almost touching the ceiling. And that picture from straddling the two cases? That's a collapse waiting to happen the first time a person starts to exercise or a wheelchair drives by at 45mph trying to get to the phone. And that bust sticking out in front? That belongs between the bookcase and the wall, and those pictures on the floor need to be hung somewhere or stashed inside a shelf. I put things on the floor because I don't have time to get to them. Trust me. That's not an artistic statement. Granted, I don't

unexpected blessing

I expect kids to act like kids. There will be times when they get upset, have hurt feelings, don't want to participate, argue over who is going to sit where. They are people, just with pint-sized problems, though to them those problems are bigger than the world. But there are times when something happens, and it almost takes my breath away. Last night as the kids were practicing Christmas music before church, we were in a different seating arrangment (again). One of my little precious ones was most concerned that we weren't going to have enough chairs. There's at least one natural administrator in every group; they worry about the schedule, what we're doing next, and then after that, and will next Sunday be the same format, and with a suggestion or two about how they would organize things. :) (Yes, children after my own heart!) So as I'm trying to assure my precious worry-wort that we still have three empty chairs and there are more stacked in the corner that we

luxuries

Last Thanksgiving my 9 year old niece introduced me to a catapault game on her Mom's ipad. It was quite intriguing, and a bit fun, though I had to ask for help quite a bit. When we went home later in January, they (my niece and nephew) were flabbergasted that I didn't get an ipad for Christmas "because I needed one so I could play that rock game".  This weekend while driving the 2 hours from my parents' house to the Huntsville area for the wedding, my niece again had the ipad, and taught me how to play Angry Birds, as well as showing me a few of her many other games. She still doesn't understand why I don't have an ipad. The reality is, I don't see a need for one at this point.  Other than the two cool games she has on her computer, I can't sense that my life would be all that more advanced by yet another gadget to keep charged or keep up with. And the reality is, I don't have time to get hooked on any more games. I tend to keep myself busier

strange tastes

Yesterday at the fair they were advertising the Krispy Kreme cheeseburgers in several different places. Evidently the new thing this year is bacon added. My mind still refuses to even attempt to wrap itself around the concept of two distinct flavors merging into one. I know longer feel my stomach tighten when I see it or hear it, but it still has no appeal to me. So imagine my surprise when I scrolled through my blog reader, only to see that one of the recipe blogs has this listed as their recipe of the day. These twins normally post things like soups, healthy stuff, cakes, gourmet breads, etc. So it was quite a bit out of their normal category.  But I still have no desire to try it, whether I make it myself or pay an astronomical amount at the fair. But I did eat something tonight that twenty years ago I thought was disgusting. One of my healthy-eating friends did something unthinkable that evening...she smeared peanut butter on top of her apple slice. She offered me a bite, which I

and the fair starts today!

  This is it! The front of my first ever NC State Fair Quilt! I was SO excited the week before I started sewing through the sky panels to find Bernina World of Sewing sold material that transitioned from dark to light. (They also have it green and yellow and oranges..sound like a cool way to make a quilt that looks like crayons!) So if you go to the fair, which starts today, now you know what to look for! :)    

medical overload

This past week my Dad has several strange "episodes" that prompted in a visit to the doctor. There's a large possibility that the arthritis in his shoulder has spread to the chest (which other than pain would actually be a good thing). He's waiting to be scheduled for a stress test and is still experiencing rapid heart rates in the meantime. His only living sister, my Aunt Pat, will be seeing a pulmonary dr tomorrow around noon to discuss a mass in her lung and other issues. The wedding we're going to this weekend? The bride's grandmother (my aunt and my Mom's only sister) had a heart procedure today. After being at the hospital for 12 hours, they are now leaving, knowing that she has 6 blockages, two of them at 90%, and will have a bypass Monday morning. At this point it's anyone's guess whether or not she'll feel up to attending the wedding. Meanwhile her daughter is having health issues, as is her son-in-law and other granddaughter. My

on this Monday...

My cousin gets married this weekend! It still seems like yesterday I was waiting to hear the news that she was safely born and her Mom (who is my first cousin and 2 months older than me) was doing well. I'm happy and excited for her, though it does seem strange to watch this generation transition into adulthood. Sometimes I think one of the downsides to being childless is that time slips away faster. Our lives are marked by the seasons and gardening/animal responsibilities, which simply rotate, and not by the changes of sports categories and divisions and homework levels. I think as you live the growth of the child, the passage of time seems a little more real (or surreal) than just merely observing from the sidelines. Though I'm certain if I called her parents today, they would be wondering where time has gone as well. This isn't turning out to be the trip I had hoped. I had thought with Bobby retired we would be able to take some extra time and do some sight-seeing in

gross alert

I know most of you prefer a heads up whenever I post something gross, so consider this your warning. Buster's bite marks are healing. They've quit sagging and have healed enough that we've let him back out in the yard.    Obviously there's negatives whenever something(s) come in your yard and destroy half your flock and attack your dog, but there's been a few positives, too. Buster is still skittish about things, but he has become very much an alert guard dog. The smallest change in our neighborhood brings about excessive barking and growling, and we've seen his hair go up on end more times than we care to see. Last night he barked for an hour, and we could never find or see anything. This morning he barked at a van parked outside the neighbor's gate, and barked for another five minutes as it went up to the house (a repairman). He's quit barking, but he's still watching. And when a friend brought their tiny dog to the house, Buster was

happy, happy, happy!

I told Bobby I felt like the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and it was time to start dancing. He reminded me that it was overcast, the only birds we'd seen were crows in the pecan trees, and he'd never felt like breaking out dancing, even before his wheelchair days. But that's okay, honey. I've got enough excitement for the two of us. :) This afternoon, I made a delivery to the Education Building at the NC State Fair. The idea started three years ago when I saw this newly released fabric and made fun of it on Facebook. A friend (Carroll Burt) dared me to buy some and make a quilt with it. She said I could display it at the fair. I laughingly declined. But then Bernina World of Sewing sponsored a bus trip to a huge quilt fair in Virginia, and I went. THREE different vendors had almost all of the animals in the Backyard Bandits series. Did I mention we rode a bus there, and had at least five hours to browse/shop? And I started this quilt, and ga

something is wrong with this picture

Today was Buster's follow-up appointment at the vet. He's feeling a lot better, meaning he's sitting and laying down without too much protest, and last night he even pawed/grabbed at my feet when I tried to come inside. A BIG change from 6 nights ago when he refused to lay down and whimpered all night. I'm thankful he's feeling better. But in the process of taking him to get his open wounds checked, I was scratched in three places, while at the vet trying to hold him he threw his head back into my nose (which is still throbbing an hour later), and then he peed on me before we left. Nice doggy. It wasn't the same doctor we saw Monday, and he had a different take on the quarantine/rabies possibility issue. All said and done, we may be taking down his prison gates this evening. Now if we can just survive ten more days of trying to get his meds in him, I can relax. This whole ordeal has been absolutely crazy.

steady rains

...for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ~ Matthew 5:45 The last two weeks I have been very bothered/baffled/flabbergasted/disgusted by the amount of postings and comments I've seen on social media from other Christians. Enough so that I've seriously considering taking a fast from Facebook and Twitter just to keep my head in place.  I don't want to be a friend of Job and start telling them how wrong their theology is when they're down and out. But I also don't like having such insane thoughts running around in my head all day.  Example A: My sister is very sick from the chemo and is already losing her hair after the second treatment, but we know she is going to overcome this because she is a dedicated Christian.  Say WHAT? Where do people get the idea that just because we are saved we are protected from dying? Yes, there are stories in the Bible where God grants people more time (or even bro

If I only had garage doors....

Sunday there was the tiniest of blurbs in the paper about a German company that makes garage door covers. I had seen a few of these online a few years ago and found them hysterical. Not only does this company sell garage door covers, but they also sell door coverings and fake window decals/wall art as well. One day when I have money to spend and have garage doors, I am so going to do this. If you have 15-20 minutes to spare one day and want some laughs, check this site out! :)

high alert

Last night I pulled in the driveway after church and saw a pile of feathers outside the small hen house. NOT a good sign. And the more I looked, the worse it got. Most of the carnage was outside the dog's fence line, but there was one bird inside the fence line, which made me yell at him. Of course, he brought the dead chicken to me. I could only see the bantam rooster and three hens inside the large hen house, so I thought we'd had lost 2/3 of the flock. Once I realized the fence was still working, I knew there was no way Buster could have killed them. This morning, the main rooster and two white hens showed up, so we only lost 1/2 of the birds. The big rooster is hurt, but I think he'll heal. What we didn't realize until this morning is that Buster is hurt. After a visit the vet, I got to spend the afternoon taking apart his pen and closing off the back porch, as he is now in quarantine there for the next 9 days. We return to the vet Saturday to see how his bite

tick, tick, tick

One week from tomorrow. Five blocks, a border, and the binding. Eight days. Five days, if I take into consideration a friend is coming over to teach me how to do binding the right way next Tuesday. I've watched the youtube videos. I've had a friend show me how before. But my binding corners still come out crooked. And I'm starting to get very, very nervous. I know I'm not an expert quilter. I know every spot of my quilt that will cause a quilter's eyebrows to gather or spike. And I'm okay with that. I am still a beginner, after all. I just want this quilt to be done, satisfactory (is satisfactorily a word? It doesn't sound right.), and safely delivered the day after elections are over. Then I can breathe. I can rest, knowing that this challenge from a friend and to myself are over. I will tell this voice in the back of my head to SHUT UP! I am not even going to think about a quilt for next year's fair, even if I did go and photograph my okra pl

heat frenzied thoughts

There's nothing like feeling hot while cutting grass, especially while weed-eating or using a push mower. All kinds of crazy thoughts run through your mind, like downsizing to a house with a tiny yard, a town home that only has enough room in the yard for a tiny "city" garden (what my Mom in law calls container gardening) and a patio, or an apartment complex that's super nice and has its own laundromat and swimming pool, both indoor and outdoors.  Don't get me wrong. I love our fruit and nut trees, our garden, our chickens and pond (and sometimes I even love my crazy dog). But when I'm hot and tired and the work seems endless, it can be more than a bit overwhelming. And during these times, thoughts of adding another animal or produce/fruit bearing thing is paramount with insanity. And as each year passes, I'm slowly starting to comprehend with a small ounce of compassion the old people who mourn on television that they've lost everything they'v

gross

Last night I closed up the hen houses as it was getting dark, grabbed the eggs, and immediately felt something squishy. I looked to make sure there wasn't a frog or something in the nesting box. Nope. It was an egg...without a shell. If you can see the egg on the right (with the dirt), that's the egg that has a shell-less membrane. So I've been online trying to figure out a) why and b) what to do about it. We've had this happen once before, and the problem seemed to take care of itself. I'm hoping that will be the case this time, but if we get another one in the next few days I'll have to start adjusting their feed.  On the upside, our egg count was up today, which was very good indeed.

grapes

Step One: Wash the grapes and pull off any remaining stems. Step Two: 5 cups of grapes to 1.5 cups of water. Simmer. Step Three: Smush their guts out and strain into a jar.  Which leaves you with juice. Step Four: Dump the guts. Step Five: Make jelly.