a flock of nine

Our one Silkie, Macaroni Girl, in a bunch of Buff Orpingtons

the set up for our chicks while they are growing

Takin the chicks out for sunshine

We got our chicks a few days ago. They are staying warm in the downstairs bathroom until they have their adult feathers. They have a nice set up. A full bath tub and 80 degrees for now. We have 8 Buff Orpingtons and 1 Silkie. We are hoping for all girls because we just want layers but we don't know yet. Undoubtedly, we will have to trade some roosters out for hens. The woman, Josie, that we got them from is happy to do this.

Johari was so excited to drive home with the chicks. She has decided to name them after "food groups". It is hard to tell the Orpingtons apart at this point. The Silkie seems to be called Silk sometimes or may have been named Macaroni Girl. (Let's hope she is really a girl.) Others have been called Squash, Green Bean, Noodle, Broccoli, and Cauliflower.

We brought them outside one day to play in the sun. One caught a bumblebee. It is fun to watch the whole crew when one catches something or even thinks that they have caught something. The one who got something scurries off and the others chase it around trying to steal the treat away.

Our coop out back is not constructed yet. Hopefully that will be in the works soon.

We had this book from the library a few months ago called, Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County. Johari is now the Chicken Chasing Queen!

Picture...less....

Well, bummer deal is that I lost all of my photos since August 2009, yesterday when my hard drive died. It is a lesson in backing up data that is important to me. I really value pictures. I love taking them and I love looking at them. So it is also a lesson in letting go. The temptation is be upset and to say all of the "I shoulda"s to myself. I shoulda blogged more at least. Oh, well. Let it go. Let it go.

On a different note,

Last night, Johari said, after we kissed good night, "Kissing is....beautiful."

Introducing Mrs. Biggleworth

Holding Mrs. Bigglesworth

The ride home with Mrs. Bigglesworth

Johari got a hamster!!!! She is so excited. She was asking for one and really wanting one. I understand that desire. I used to be the hamster queen myself when I was a kiddo. This time, I kind of wanted a ferret though, but the hamster is probably just right for us. I started looking around at cages and hamsters at the pet store. Yesterday, I looked at Craig's List....and there was Mrs. Bigglesworth. She sounded perfect. She came with a cage and bedding. Her teenage boy caretaker was just getting too busy to play with her because he was involved in sports. We met them in the Walmart parking lot and picked up Mrs. Biggleworth from their RV.

Mrs. Biggleworth was then renamed "I Love You" Joy Noodle. "I Love You" being her first name. And Joy and Noodle being her two last names. Somehow Mrs. Bigglesworth is sticking as well. In any case, Mrs. Bigglesworth is the perfect hamster. She is super sweet and not afraid. Extremely good with being handled...ALOT!

Yesterday Mrs. Biggleworth could hardly catch some shut eye. Johari just wants to play and play with her. And Jordan came over as well so they were really enjoying hamster time.

I thought I could sleep with Mrs. Biggleworth in the room. She has a quiet wheel. But I had to move her out of the bedroom in the middle of the night.

This morning Johari was talking about loving Mrs. Biggleworth and Mrs. Biggleworth loving us. She said, "she is really attached to my heart."

from the lil camera

Hey this is something that I didn't post a while ago. Some pics that must have been taken last summer or something. I figure I will post it now in honor of losing the photos from the hard drive. A few more salvaged right here on blogspot. :)

More from the phone

Carmel and Johari got outfits sent from Grandma Sistah in Togo

Admiring a golden dress and her beautiful self

Random writings of Johari's while were playing at a mall... no guidance, no instruction, no involvement on my part.

Johari and Luke-y kissin'

After watching a video of NYC Ballet performance of "Swan Lake" many times and Twitney's house, Johari had to have a dress that went all the way to the floor so that she could be the queen. I put this together one day. Beautiful cloth brought back from Indonesia by Alfonso. Thank you.

Hiding out in a Joanne Fabric shopping cart doing self-portraits underneath layers of cloth

Stacy and I at 3D movie showing of Avatar

Hugs...Jordan and Johari

Playing with the dog, Sonya

Fun times....

Johari and Jordan having smiles and dippin' dots at the zoo

Johari and Jordan sitting on the porch

Girl...bike...sun...smiles

A sparkle in the mud

Mama and baby monsters that I knitted. Daphne and Delilah. (Danger Crafts)

Wearing a hair net and working at a vegetable processing plant to help make Communi-tea Kombucha

She couldn't help but get her shoes and socks off and get in the cold cold stream after working on kombucha making. But she suffered when the coldness sank in and warmth couldn't come quick enough.

Playin at the mall

Found her these awesome high heels thrifting in Wooster, Ohio

Fall time at the beach

In a sense, getting all of these photos off my phone and lil camera has been a trip down memory lane taking us up into the present.

Joy and Love

When we had just gotten our $13 couch delivered and we were taking care of Lyra. Smiling. Cuddling on our new couch. I see love and joy in this picture.

Phone pics

My lil camera and my newish computer don't communicate. I finally got a card reader and was able to take all the pictures of the lil camera as well as my phone which is something I usually have handy even when I have forgotten one of my cameras. These pictures may go back a year or so. I just thought I would post a few of the gems.

Ishmael and Johari climbing together

Johari and Ibrahim testing driving a car shopping cart and sunglasses

Listening to the New Age stuff at Bastyr Dispensary

Googly-goggled eyes.

Wigged out!

Too long away.....

I have been thinking about the blog so often and never getting to it. And then when I stay away too long it starts to seem overwhelming. Like I won't be able to catch up. Then I try to remind myself that although it would be nice to catch up. It would be wonderful to remember all of the awesome moments in the past few months like visiting family in Montana for Thanksgiving and seeing the Nutcracker ballet and watching "Miracle on 34th Street" over and over in Ohio over the holidays and playing with friends and stomping in mud and starting to ride a big bike with training wheels .... AND it is ok to just jump off from where we are right now.

I am in a rare situation right now. Johari is napping at home in our bed (typically we only catch naps these days in the car if any nap at all). My easiest way to jump in is to at least post some photos.

Her new bike. She really likes riding it in the neighborhood.

Doing a little BBQ on one of our many sunny winter days.

Feeding Eleanor while out for a stroll

Johari woke up one morning and decided she wanted to learn to use the sewing machine on her own. So that's what we did! She made a little quilt scarf and gave it to her grandma.

A little quilt blanket for her baby dolls that she made....with some unwanted help. She has the hang of the steps to working the sewing machine!

A drawing of people in her family if I am remembering right.

More projects!!!!

Her own version of Punky Brewster. She got a DVD with 8 episodes of the 80's TV show Punky Brewster. She likes to act out being Punky Brewster who is an awesome character!