Officially Done

Feb29

Many notable things happened today ranging from new poultry arrivals to capoeira demos but they all pale in comparison to this little piece of floor.

If I may direct your attention back in time approximately six years and six months ago you will find a blog post titled Please Hold. In that post you will read amongst other things that we were living in “cardboard box hell” after moving to our new house.

A number of those boxes landed in the corner by the bookshelf and spent the last 6 years alternating between functioning as a perch for cats and the most inconvenient end table ever to throw a book/hat/flashlight/blanket on as you went by. The problem being that not only did this always annoy the cats but it ensured that it would take twice as long as normal to find the object. This is because a stack of cardboard boxes that should really be unpacked actually becomes invisible after a certain amount of time. So that once an item is set on top of it, it also disappears and your only hope is to rely on a grumpy cat to alert you to the item’s presence.

But no more! Thanks to the Herculean efforts of John (it’s super hard to move invisible objects) they have been unpacked and put appropriately away.

That’s right. It’s official. We are all moved in!

The Tale of the Perfect Little Chicken Coop

Aug21

Once upon a time a wonderful family built a girl the Perfect Little Chicken Coop for her birthday.

And the girl loved it.

Then the EVIL DOT swooped in leaving a trail of chaos and stress in it’s wake and the girl was forced to move away from her Perfect Little Chicken Coop.

Fortunately, the girl’s family was so wonderful and generous that they offered to move it to her new home for her.

So, they came and they blocked it up high enough to drive a trailer under it.

And the girl looked at it and thought it was a bit bigger than she remembered.

Then the wonderful, generous family put the coop on the trailer and drove it to her new home and there was no doubt about it.

It had grown.

As they drove through the neighbors orchard it continued to grow…

… and grow!

The Little Chicken Coop grew so big that by the time they reached the pine trees a little trimming had to happen…

… and then a bit more trimming.

But the Quite Large Chicken Coop kept growing until the wonderful, generous, hardworking family was forced to hook it up to the tractor to navigate the tight turn through the trees.

And it was still a very…

…tight squeeze!

When they were through the pine trees the wonderful, generous, hardworking family rejoiced – but it was too soon.

The Little Chicken Coop had become a Giant Enormous Chicken Coop and the wonderful, generous, hardworking and intelligent family had to come up with new ideas to squeeeze the Giant Enormous Chicken Coop down the trail to it’s new home.

Finally the The Giant Enormous Chicken Coop reached it’s resting place and began to shrink back to it’s normal size.

But it was still a Quite Large Chicken Coop!

Inch by inch the wonderful, generous, hardworking, intelligent and patient family lowered the Quite Large Chicken Coop down to the ground.

As the coop was slowly lowered to the ground the girl had to leave and take her children to swim lessons. When they returned home, and all ate dinner, and said goodbye and all the little ones were tucked in bed, the girl went out in the dark to look at her chicken coop.

And there at her new house, just where she wanted it was her Perfect Little Chicken Coop.

The End.

While you may be inclined to believe that the above was a fantastical fairy tell let me assure you that it was all true. Except that if you read this to Clara she would point out that it is actually the brooder house. And, while the ducks are going to be temporary tenants, true chickens rarely grace it’s hallowed walls, they have their own perfect coop.

Animal Update

Aug15

Moving to the new house has been an adjustment for everyone, animals included.

While the chickens walked out of their coop into the middle of the apple trees, took in the fallen apples and bugs and were convinced they had gone to chicken heaven, the other animals have been a bit more reserved in their feelings.

Louie (the under-appreciated dove) was the next to recover. Happy to be out in the living room and no longer stuck behind piles of boxes (you can see his cage in the background here) he’s happily cooing and taking in the activity around him.

Fiona had been spending her days hiding in the bed but some kitty drugs have worked wonders and now she’s out, about and nearly back to normal.

Trip spent the first day wondering why we got so mad when he ran under the gate in the backyard to explore his new home turf and then frustrated by the fact that he now has a normal large sized yard to run in instead of a five acre field.

Then he discovered chipmunks.

Now he’s practicing his digging and climbing skills. Since I routinely warn people about his holes and have recently found him on top of a round bale I figure it’s only a matter of time before he excavates the entire yard, climbs the willow tree or both.

Storm was a little longer settling in. Chipmunks weren’t doing it for her. She was busy doing her best attempt at becoming John’s shadow when she discovered the apple trees.

More specifically she discovered the apples.

Now, think of an apple, how it feels when you hold it in the palm of your hand. Smooth, roundish, firm. Some apples are shaped to fit the hand so perfectly that if you were to sample it and find it not to your liking you might just throw it off into the bushes and find a new one. Yes, what I’m saying is that apples are like balls and sometimes, without thinking about it, we throw them.

If the horror of this situation has not yet occurred to you go read my post on Storm’s Sticks. Substitute the word “ball” every time you see “stick,” realize that Jane is now old enough to throw apples and you will understand why Storm is a very happy dog… …and I am wondering what on earth we were thinking moving to a place with a small orchard!

Please Hold

Aug12

We are in the new house.

We are exhausted.

We are unpacking.

We are eating apple crisp.

We request that you please hold and enjoy some previously written posts until we find our way out of the cardboard box hell we have become mired in.

I’m taking pictures.

I’m planning blog posts.

A virtual tour is being contemplated.

But right now all I’m ready to share are these roses.

They are pretty.

I’m still working on the house.

Please hold.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreshadow

Aug7

Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreshadow

I bet you don’t even need three guesses to figure out our weekend plans!

We Need Ice Cream!

Jul31

This morning we bought this house:
YAY!

This afternoon I was in a moving funk.

UGH!

I’m sure it was brought on by the conflicting emotions of the day.

The excitement of the new house.

The dread of leaving the old place.

The bored children.

The underlying panic every time I look at the amount of packing and moving that still needs to be done.

UGH!

I’ve decided there is only one cure for such a problem.

Packing can wait we are going out to celebrate with ice cream!

YAY!

She Picks Up An Item…

Jul25

She picks up an item and puts it in a box.

A kid shows up.

That item has never looked so interesting before! In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. And now, now, that it is half wrapped and buried amongst the rest of the contents of a cardboard box, it’s AMAZING! So why, does Mother insist I not touch it? Clearly she can not realize how amazing this never-before-seen item is! Probably if I took it out and showed to her she would realize – No… she does not realize.

She picks up an item and puts it in a box.

A kid shows up.

Panic! It’s a favorite-almost-forgotten-haven’t-seen-it-for-the-last-six-months-best-toy-ever! Why would she take away the best toy ever?! I haven’t seen it in ages and now it’s being packed away and it’s going to get lost again! Mother doesn’t care. This is an injustice of the highest order. No other more played with and previously favorite toys will ever do! I need the toy! Mother packs it anyway. I tell her we will never speak again!

She picks up an item and puts it in a box.

A kid shows up.

It is a boring item, it is her item. But wait! Why is mother not packing our things? Will we leave them behind? I know she said we are bringing everything but I also know we are not bringing the chewed on recliner or the refrigerator or the trees so what if my things are getting left behind too. Wait! ” Are we bringing my toys? Are we bringing my books? Are we bringing my toothbrush? Are we bringing the dogs?” Phew! Everything is coming.

She picks up an item and puts it in a box.

A kid shows up.

It’s a boring item. Packing is boring. Nothing is fun. I’m not getting enough attention. NO, I don’t want to pack my own box. NO, I don’t want to pack your box. NO, I don’t want to clean my room. NO, I don’t want to go play. I just want your attention! I shall stomp to my room so she understands the full depth of my hatred of this packing.

She picks up an item and puts it in a box.

No kid shows up.

Concern.

Search.

Find.

But I just wanted to play with the stuff in the box! I NEED these things! I’ll pack it again later!!!

The mother is unsympathetic.

The kid is upset.

The Dad goes to work.

She picks up an item and puts it in a box.

A kid shows up…

Written in response to Prompts for the Promptless Season 2 Episode 11 -Qualia hosted by Queen Creative

The Problem With Packing…

Jun10

The problem with packing is that things always look so – much – worse before they look better.

I find this to be true of packing to leave the house for the afternoon, the day, the weekend, or, as we have started to do, for forever.

After spending a some time packing up our office I was feeling good about my progress so I took a little break.

When I returned I was shocked to see what my work looked like from the outside:

Look, even Louie is peeking out of his cage horrified at my “progress.”

Only ten rooms and four outbuildings left after this one…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Escape

May20

Weekly Photo Challenge: Escape road

Back in February I wrote that the line had been redrawn and that the highway construction on our road would also involve the demolition of our home.

Since then we have had, as expected, many meetings, phone calls, e-mails, appraisals and offers but we are severely lacking in the decision department. As of today, we have 88 days (not that I’m counting or anything) before the DOT buys our and house we need to start deciding.

But, weighing the options of something we never wanted to do in the first place has been hard. Do we buy, build, rent, stay local, move away? We talk ourselves in circles everyday and leave our conversations with a vague feeling of nausea but no closer to a real decision.

Today, after a morning of looking at properties and an afternoon of feeling ill when faced with the options and decisions before us John called me from work and told me we needed to think positive. Then he told me a very long paragraph worth of stuff that he is going to remember when he gets frustrated. It was all nice, happy stuff and I’m sure it will do wonders for him.

As for me, I had spent the afternoon cleaning up cheesy, toddler puke. My attention span is short and I’m much better at, as John would say, “mustering the hate” than thinking up long, flowery, positive statements. I needed something a bit more concise and it didn’t take me long to come up with a nice, short, memorable phrase of my own.

No matter what, we are escaping the road, life will be good.

Not only is the road the source of our current trouble but ever since the first Monday we lived here and the shock I had when the first semi’s started flying by I have hated it. I have hated the cars, the trucks, and the semi’s. I have hated the man with the barking dog that used to go by every day at 3:30, the way we live in the country yet are always on display, the heart stopping feeling of seeing any of our animals out on the road, and the fear that the semi behind us isn’t going to stop and wait as we turn into the driveway- again. I have been mustering the hate for the road for a long time.

So, when I am next faced with the overwhelming decisions before us I believe that I will have no trouble remembering…

No matter what, we are escaping the road, life will be good.

Then John called back and told me a confusing story about a 50$ bills in a urinal and how he should buy me a goat to make the move easier.

Yeah, I didn’t get it either.

But, I’ve always wanted goats and so I’m not questioning it. I just told him a goat always needs a friend and changed my phrase a bit…

No matter what, we are escaping the road and getting goats, life will be great.