Chicken update....

Hi there peoples! How ya been? Me? Great!!!

Thanks to being utterly spoilt by these two and cheered up the two 

above them...

.... I've also been cooked for....

(crispy Salmon on a bed of Spicy Cranberry Couscous)

(creamy poached eggs from our girls - check out that happy yellow yolk dudes!)

... treated like a queen on a couch...

... spoilt by friends and family....

... utterly spoilt!...

Little Ed had to go and get his annual shots at the vet and I went 

for acupuncture ... which. was. AMAZING.

So with all this bubbling energy and healing happiness I thought I'd give you 

a quick update on how my chicks are going...

We are sure that Fay is a Wellsummer but not too sure whether 

Cassandra will be a Barnevelder, a Rhode Island Red or a New Hampshire.

So kinda lucky dip there. Either way though they're all from a brilliant chicken farm called

Henley Brook Chook Farm in the Swan Valley - aka Gallus Gallus Domesticus HEAVEN.

Roz is still proving to be an amazing Mama Hen. Allowing the chicks to eat first,

summon her to bed well before sunset and even ride on her back!? 

(I've been trying to get a shot of that... hilarious)

We are so proud of her because she sacrifices all the best 

bits of scrap - no matter what the treat

and she watches over them like a hawk....

... Justin jokes that these two are our "veloceraptors" because they're keen 

to get in and make a meal of the chicks (gruseome but true) and we still have to wait

at least another week or two before we can introduce them all together.

I know this is a blurred photo but it cracks me up everytime I look at it.

They really are such curious critters.

So there you have it.

A quick catch up before I head into the garden to give 

orders to my boys since I'm still under strict instructions...

NO lifting, 

NO driving, 

NO straining, 

NO vacuuming 

(meh that one I can live with)

Ironically I'm still allowed to do the ironing....booo.

We may be off to the chook farm tomorrow to pick up a 

a Light Sussex or two (Yay!!) ... but if I'm going to be truthful

that's my idea and I have yet to convince Hubby.

So I wish you all THE BEST weekend ever.

Next post is about my handmade Christmas wreath using vintage book pages.

Intrigued?

Good!

♥♥♥♥

PS - Apologies for the redundant use of exclamation marks

peoples but when your health returns after such a long struggle

you cannot help but be just! so! darn! happy!!!!!!! :-) 

A Jaunt....and the truth.

Frustrated and moody, irritable and challenged. I'd rather be honest than tell blogging fibs and post about a cosy existence that does not (at least for now) exist. 

Health issues are still lingering and even though there is most certainly "light at the end of the proverbial tunnel" I am forced to dig deep for patience and optimism. Hubby decided a day out and about might help lift the spirits and I'm happy to report that although we only managed a "half-day" adventure ....

... it was exactly what I needed.

It's no coincidence that I chose black & white to capture the day... I think when you feel a little disconnected it affects most of your choices and there was something strangely comforting about viewing images that reflected the way I'm feeling ... the way I'm seeing... the way I'm thinking.

We went to Fremantle and sat on the main street eating a tapas style lunch in the brilliance of a Perth Spring day. The atmosphere was upbeat and touristy ... as it almost always is in Freo. Oktoberfest had begun and so there were a number of events being held up and down the main stretch. (I think it's pretty tacky celebrating a very NON-Australian tradition here but I suppose local business would argue that any gimmick pulls in a crowd) 

I'm not really forcing a smile... by this stage I was truly grateful to be venturing away from the couch and soaking in some much needed Vitamin D. What this photo does not reveal is the hideousness of the busker hired to entertain with what can only be described as really bad "german folk music" with blurred cultural interventions (Shuduppayaface??? - have you heard of this song? ... Oh Dear) 

Still it's nearly impossible not to feel burdens lighten when everyone around you is basking in the first real Spring weather we've had all year and before long I found myself perking up & feeling truly grateful. I have the most amazing Husband who tends to my every need (no small feat when you consider the frightening unpredictability of a hormonal female whose stubborn attitude has yet to be defeated) I have a son who has championed me through some of the worst of this "crisis" and I have a family, friends (and you dear fellow bloggers) who have helped me tremendously. 

“In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

You have left such intuitive, kind and caring comments and I want you to know that EACH and EVERY one of them has touched me deeply. Just the fact that you take the time to fill in that "annoying spam decoder" thingy is a compliment in it's own right! I sit with Kleenex reading them to my Hubby who smiles, hugs me and tells me "I deserve your well wishes" ....

.... again THANK YOU. I am going in for am operation at the end of this month. The only reason I choose not to detail the specifics of my health issues is simply because we are all so very individual in our needs, bodies and medical experiences. What may have been a cause for alarm with me would not blip on anothers radar and what may be easy for me may be challenging for someone else. I have learnt of the health challenges of a few fellow bloggers (some privately and others publicly - some in great detail and some vague) and I feel that the essence of each story always brings about the same moral...

... gratitude, love, hope, friendship... these are what count. End of story. Period. Fact.

Hubby and I pondered all of these truths over our chocolate treats ... we savoured each delicious bite and reflected on the fact that even when life presents a stumbling block we are blessed to have human hands who reach out and lift you up, cheer you on and celebrate your victories with you.

Yes... a jaunt with a loved one, a few rays of sunshine and some chocolate ...was far better than ANY of the Doctors orders. 

We are smack bang in the middle of school vacation here and I'm blessed to have my Young Prince with me ... most days ...

(teenage social calendars... methinks the President of America aint this busy!!) 

...and I hope to enjoy a walk in the park with him later today. These casual dates often lead to deeper things as we chat, laugh and ponder life's very important issues - although can anyone really ever say which cross species would make for the best super hero powers??? 

On another note I'd like to introduce you to the two newest members of our family....

Welcome to Fay & Cassandra - a spritely Welsummer and a plucky Rhode Island Red. 

We ventured with friends on the weekend to help them choose a new feathered family... 

(they recently lost ALL six of their gals to a Fox frenzy!) 

...and ended up with two of our own. As you do. 

Method in our madness though. 

Our dear sweet Roz became broody three days ago and so last night we snuck 

these two darlings beneath her while she slept ...

(we've done this before with great success)

... and woke early this morning to find them following her dutifully and nestling as though 

she'd been there Mum all along. Oh how I love chickens!

Updates to follow I promise.

I've had a few people ask about their names and (although it may seem cheesy) we have chosen to name all our chickens after female characters in the American sitcom Frasier. It was a show that provided emotional/comic relief in a time when we were nursing a loved one through Cancer so we have fond memories attached. So far there has been Roz, Daphne (RIP) Lillith and Maris... and now Fay and Cassandra. We have at least twenty more names to choose from too... my favourite being Mrs Moon.

Well peoples... I wish I could say I have a day of marathon running, cartwheel turning and dancing ahead but alas I am forced to choose from activities of the slightly more docile nature. Today will consist of reading, light tidying, crafting & creating and checking on two little chicks at regular intervals. 

I promise though that my next post will not contain a stitch of self pity and I will make a concerted effort to include colour filled images of creative ventures, cute animals ... and so forth ... and so forth.

For now though... a sincere thank you for indulging me in my woes and pondering life through a colour  drained lens. In truth I think it adds to the poetic irony of the day... ♥♥♥

Wishing you bundles of fun for the week ahead!

I'm going to put the kettle on now - steep a delicious brew and catch up on all your adventures... 

...which I'm sure will be even more tonic for my soul. 

Aaaah... I feel better already :-) 

Peace....

Peace, my heart, let the time for
the parting be sweet.
Let it not be a death but completeness.
Let love melt into memory and pain
into songs.
Let the flight through the sky end
in the folding of the wings over the
nest.
Let the last touch of your hands be
gentle like the flower of the night.
Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a
moment, and say your last words in
silence.
I bow to you and hold up my lamp
to light you on your way. 

~Rabindranath Tagore 

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last post

Sweet darling Daphne passed on, in my arms, 

only a few short minutes after I published that post.

My gratitude extends well beyond the 

limitations of my selfish

heart. 

Having lost so many loved ones I know

full well the grief that can seep in and the memories 

that are dredged up every time I part ways with a soul

 that I've come to love. 

It's ok.

It's life.

It's what makes us so very specially, indescribably,

mystifyingly... Human

I wish you all a very very special day.

Remember ... every breath IS our life.

The Blues....

My darling Daphne is very ill. 

(She's one of my feathered friends)

I know I have to let go but it's so hard (you know?)

Facing up to something that hurts and sucks and makes a day just yuk.

My sadness led me to my camera and my camera led me to the colour blue.

Please say a prayer for a teeny tiny life that has brought me so much joy.

(If that's not your thing that's cool - maybe just a wish then?

Or go and cuddle your animal friends, or light a candle or play a song....)

If she has to go then so be it - I would just like it to be peaceful and painless.

I love you Daphne.

Chilly Chicken Love...

Had an operation on Monday

(nothing serious)

but it has required that this week be tackled

a whole lot slower...

... So I have been nursed by Hubby in a fashion that makes 

Florence Nightingale look mean and uncaring...

... tending to my (rather odd) needs, requests, 

whims and of course ...

... tea addiction - as it turns out no operation

can cure this affliction ...

Still - who cares about that when you know that Autumn 

is lurking (which means I'll be wearing my woolies soon!)  and ...

... that tea does in indeed taste better ...

... the cooler the weather. Yes Sir.

I was ecstatic to find myself in slippers and a jumper

this morning due to an overcast sky and a definite chill in the air.

You know what this means don't you?

That's right!! Autmum is here which means ....

(All those crazy summer lovin

 people block your ears now)

Winter is around the corner!!

Whoop whoop!

My meteorological proof lies in the very obvious lack 

of greenery on the branches of our Almond tree.

When she sheds she SHEDS and, although the adjacent Poplar has 

hesitated to affirm the cooler season's approach I find that 

our dear Prunis Dulcis can be trusted.

It's funny that certain plants in the garden bare such testimony to a dry 

and warm summer whilst others 

... look rejuvenated and ready to burst forth into bloom.

Speaking of rejuvenated ...

.... look what I had for breakfast this morning!

It starts off looking like the above photo....

... but then ends up looking like this!

And yes ... I know, I know... looks rather dodgy, but let 

me assure you it's quite yummy.

Papaya, Banana, Lemon, Mint and Kale.

In a blender with filtered water to achieve a "smoothie"

consistency - most nutritious and just what the

body needs right now.

So with liquid breakfast in hand I head

off to the chicken run to collect eggs.

My beautiful girls are always so happy to see me.

This is Lilith - she loves a cuddle.

I love you Lilith.

Here she is with Maris - who does NOT like a cuddle - 

but who does apparently LOOOVE Papaya.

Tropical chooks .... go figure.

Dear sweet, rather daft Daphne ... (but Shhh I never say that in front of her!)

... is still broody - here she is giving me the evil eye

because I need to get Lilith and Maris's eggs out from underneath her...

Once I've managed that she usually comes off the nest for 

a quick catch up with her sister Roz ...

(and just in case you're wondering - Yes... our chickens

are named after all the ladies in Frasier)

... and then a quick feed of oats (her favourite)

before heading back to the nest to keep her (now missing)

eggs warm - should they hatch... which they wont because we

don't have a Rooster. Try telling this to Daphne... Hah... all she does

is cluck away frantically until she is back in the laying box.

I love you Daphne.

And I love you Roz...

And even though you don't like cuddles - I love you too Maris.

What's your week been like peoples?

Your weekend? Any plans?

Mine - Blues and Roots Festival in Fremantle - sans any alcohol...

(should be VERY interesting!!)

Have a good one peoples!!