The passing of Henrietta

We had a sad day yesterday.   Tina got off work and came home and was tending to the babies, feeding and watering them.   They do the usual when she opens the door the all jump out and graze in the yard.   They just love it and the dogs love to play with them too.   When Tina went to put the back in their pen she noticed that she didn't see one of hers Henrietta.   The searched all over and didn’t find her, she finally looked in their roost and found her in the corner dead.  It just broke Tina's heart!   She was such a nice chicken and very affectionate.   She will be missed!   Here is a few photos of her over her fairly short life.

traveling experiences over the last few months.

Today I made it back home for my weekend around 6am this morning.   Currently this has been my crazy schedule,  I drive up on Monday morning to work and stay up there for the week and then leave to come home on Friday night after work and get home early in the am on Saturdays.   I have been doing this for a little over 2 months now, I am finally getting used to it I think.  

I have had a few interesting situation over these last few months at some hotels and though I would share a few with you.   

To try to keep cost down I started to stay at a Super 8 motel.   I started to stay there mostly because of the cost.  The rooms were sure not anything to be excited about by any means but for the most part it was quiet.   However one night I was coming back to the room on night and stand just outside next to my room was this guy with his shirt off smoking.    I went into my room and latter on that night he was outside smoking and talking on the phone and with a person that was with him and he was for sure part of the KKK.   Oh my gosh, I was freaking scared!   I was sure happy to know that they left the next day. 

My next experience was even scarier.   I saw the cute hotel that had pretty reasonable weekly rates and it looked nice from the outside so I thought I would book it for a week and try it out.  I drove up Sunday night and got in at around 2am on Monday morning and checked in.   I unpacked the car and got into the room that was marginal at best.   However the price was right though.   As I was unloading the car 2 guys walked by and I didn't think too much of it.   This room was on the bottom floor and had a window in the bathroom area with privacy glass to you couldn't see through it.   I happen to look up and I saw someone peering through the window.  That freaked me out and I turned the light out and shut the door to the bathroom.    Next thing I know someone was banging on the door and blocking the peephole.  Told them to go way, but they persistent and kept banging on the door.  I started to calling the front desk and while I was talking to the front desk clerk they started to pushed the window in trying to get in.   The front desk clerk scared them away!   I keep some tools in the car so I grabbed a hammer and knife that I slept with all week.    That night is one of the few times in my life that I can truly say I was scared.  I will never go back to that hotel for sure.

Those two bad experiences prompted me to continue to find better places to stay.  This brings me to trying Airbnb.com   My 1^st experience I really didn't know what to expect in the booking process and how things work but it was really an easy site to use.   The first home I stayed at was so cool experience.  They welcomed me in and I was made to feel so welcome there.   The first night we talked and shared life’s experiences and it was such a cool experience.  In the morning I love to have coffee and conversation before work was such a great way to start the day.   I really enjoyed that week.

The next 2 weeks I tried a different place and again I was taken aback at how welcoming my hosts were.   They made me feel so at home and like a part of the family.   This last week they made me dinner every day.  It was such a cool experience.   I will be staying a few weeks next month with them again and am so looking forward to it.   They are cool people and I am hoping that I will be able to cook them some dinners.  

What I have really learned from these experiences is that I really am more of a people person than I ever thought and that having a good conversation and learning about someone’s experiences in life is very important to me.   

Unrealistic Expectations

I was talking to a friend yesterday and he was asking me how I was doing in my new job.   I said that I was pretty discouraged in that there was so much that need to be done to make it a proper running facility.   He looked at me and asked how long have you been at this job, I was like well right around 7 weeks.   He smiled at me and said don't you think it unrealistic to think you can change it around in that time.    He was so right and I needed those few words of wisdom!  

I have to admit I also had expectations that things would just fall into place as well for our family.   They have but not in the ways I thought though.   Brenna is doing very well with her school and very happy.  Christa is doing very well in her school too.  Her school is very wonderful and she is fitting in well this year.  Tina is doing very well in her job as well.   So for the family things are fitting in to place so much better than the last few years.    My expectations of moving the family up to a new state just for my job is very realistic.   So it looks like it’s going to be commuting for a while longer for me.  

I do feel blessed that I have a job.   It’s in the aviation field, challenging and pays ok, so I can't ask for much more at this point.   

Fresh Eggs

One of our babies is laying eggs! 

When I was home on the weekend she had just started.   They are so cute and small.   We are not 100% sure which one it is but Brenna’s one is a lot smaller than the others so we think she is the one laying them.

I cooked one of the eggs over the weekend when I was home.   It was the best tasting egg I have had.  I have heard from many people that there is no comparison to store bought eggs and it is so true.     Over the weekend I had to add a nesting box for her to lay them in.    This was one of those things that I had been putting off over the last few months.      When I was building their new addition to their coop I got bit so many times on my feet by ants.   When I had moved their cage I had put it on an anthill and didn't know it until I was building.     I think I ended up with close to 20 bites on each foot.   The chickens sure love eating them though.   

Brynnes ramblings

The other day I was talking to a friend and we were talking about being open to talking with people.   I had to confess that I am really not good with being open and sharing what I think.   What I really noticed though is I am very open to sharing what I am feeling here on my blog page though.   Maybe it’s because I am not face to face.   I have always been one to keep my relationships with people at a arms length distance.  I have always been afraid that if they got to know me they would I guess not like me.  Maybe that’s why I am so guarded in sharing or talking one on one with people.   So I have decided that I am going to make an effort into changing that area in my life.

The other day I was really thinking of how I missed working my last job.   It is so interesting I remember when I first started traveling I really was apprehensive.    I was pretty sure that I was not going to like all the traveling and being away from home.   After a few months I really started to like the traveling.   As I look back on it I met the coolest people and made some of my best friends through the traveling.   I think that’s what I really miss about not working my last job.    There still is that part of me that feels lost because I still have not found a job yet.   It is funny how we define ourselves a lot by the job we work.   It is forcing me to have to redefine myself a little.   Sometimes it is hard to take a good hard honest look at ourselves.  My may not like what we see.

Our babies are getting pretty big.   The sure have not been enjoying the hot rainy weather that we have been having lately.   Tonight they were enjoying the cooler evening weather after I moved their coop to fresh grass. 

After all the rain we have had the last few days I finally was able to mow the yard that so badly needed it.  People probably think Im crazy when they drive by and see me smiling while I mow.   I really enjoy the mower and it just puts me in a happy place when I mow.

Finding the peace once again.

It has been a little bit sense my last posting.   The chickens have gotten big.   They are no longer our little babies although I still call them my babies.    I struggled to find the right design for the outside coop for them.  Because of this I procrastinated until it was time to get them outside.   I went to the hardware store and go a bunch of 2 X 4’s and chicken wire and set out to make them a new home.   I intended on building something small enough to move around easily so they could be on fresh grass every few days. However I ended up with something that we could walk in easy so the family could interact with the babies.   So it is a lot heavier than I anticipated, but it fits for everyone’s needs though.  In another few months the babies should be laying some fresh eggs for us, I can’t wait!

My baby Pat

Today I was chatting with a good friend on Facebook today and she really brought to light something I have lost sight of the last few months.   She had just recently has gone through a similar situation that I had been through.  What she reminded me was the true peace and happiness of the that situation.   It got me thinking, over the last few months I have really let life take all over that happiness and joy that I once had.   It is interesting how easy it is to be caught up in life and its problems.   I am so glad I talked with her so I could put my life back into prospective.

New mower

 On Monday the new mower that I purchases was delivered to our house.   I had been researching them for a while and finally settled on the one that I wanted and got it while it was on sale and got free delivery to top it off.   I decided to get a Sears Craftsman mower because of the price as well as the last mower I had in Summerville before we move really was very reliable.   I had it for 2 years and I only had one small part that I had to replace.

Our new yard that we have is a lot bigger than the yard we had in Summerville so I chose to step up to a 46” mower with automatic transmission and it also has the tight turning radius as well.

About 4 hours after it was delivered I couldn't resist the temptation to try it out on our lawn.   I have to admit I love it.   The way it rides and cuts and turns is so much better than my old riding mower.   

  

Just as I was almost finished the happiness came to a sudden stop.   I was down at the bottom end of the yard and it suddenly stopped moving.  As hard as I tried to get it to go forward or reverse it just wouldn't go.   I noticed that there was a small plastic fan that was laying on the ground behind the mower.   I shut the engine down and pushed it up the house.  I was mad for sure only having it a few hours and then it stop working!   I got on the internet to find a phone number to call the Sears warranty, I found that they had a online area to chat with someone.   I was shock and happy that they were able to schedule a repair person to come out the next day.   The repair person came out the next morning and took a look at it and knew exactly what had happened.   He pulled out the battery and box to expose were the fan had broken off.   The fan is supposed to help cool the transmission but more importantly it is designed to also keep the drive belt from jumping off the pulley.    He thinks that either during shipping or at the factory the belt got stuck between the pulley and the fan, he said that this was the 2^nd time is a week that they have seen this happen on our area.   He put the belt back on so that it is able to drive while the new parts are on order.   I was very happy with the service that he gave; he even walked me through some of the special futures that the sales person didn't show me.  It makes me glad that I bought it from Sears.