On Chickens

One summer, some years ago, I spent a week in Portland Oregon and since then I have wanted chickens. My friend there had 3 hens who happily pecked around her yard, jumped up for treats, and supplied us with breakfast every morning which we ate out on the patio while watching them do their silly chicken things. I was enchanted. As the years rolled by and I grew and developed my wants and dreams, I realized who I wanted to be when I "grew up" - a woman who has chickens. More than that, certainly - a down-to-earth, reliable, fun, slightly kooky, fairly "earthy" woman - but a woman who owns chickens, for sure. This spring I have worked hard on my garden and enjoyed the rewards of planting seeds and being able to share their bounty with friends and family (and strangers!) a few weeks later. I have felt the pride that comes with sweat and sore muscles after clearing, weeding, and tilling a space for your favourite foods to grow. And not long ago, with Mr.'s full approval and equal excitement, it happened. I became a woman who has chickens.

 It happened so quickly - we bought supplies and built what is commonly known as a chicken tractor. We picked colours and painted in the hot southern sun. We overheated and made some wrong cuts, and we were sliced by stray pieces of wire. We made what seemed like 80+ trips to the hardware store (but was only 2, I'm sure). And after 2.5 solid days of work, we went and got our chickens. 3 hens of different breeds, a little worse for wear from their previous home, came to live in our little coop. Having my chicken experience limited to that visit to Oregon I did lots of reading and research before and after they arrived, and fretted over every aspect from coop placement to roost size, and about their feathers/legs/toenails... but it has turned out beautifully. They are silly and funny and magnificent. They sunbathe in the lawn and dirt-bathe in a pile. They chatter to us in their ridiculous chicken voices, telling us exactly what we should be doing or not doing with their home. And the best part: in less than two weeks we were rewarded with eggs - pink-ish brown beauties that never fail to make us laugh with the simple joy of their existence. How amazing that you can build a home for a creature, give it food and water and room to roam, and you are rewarded by little tokens of gratitude. Now, I know the chickens don't actually thank us with their eggs, but it sure feels that way. Already we're hoping to expand from three birds to five or six - they're addictive like that. And now, I realize my original goal was so misguided: I am so much more than a woman who has chickens.. We are a family with chickens, and with a full appreciation of all they are.

establishing routine

Sometimes you just have to jump in with both feet, friends - otherwise you might never jump in at all. I am in that both-feet state of mind this week as I return from my Canadian sabbatical, refreshed and rejuvenated and with a heck of a lot to do. I came home to a smaller household as Mr's beloved dog gave in to old age while I was gone, but I find that I have more to do now rather than less. Our younger pup has so much energy to burn off that some days I find myself exhausted just looking at him; my cat is desperate for my attention and affection; and my husband is battling a shift that sucks at a job he hates, and he needs me to bolster him and keep our life in order while he deals with the drudgery. Meanwhile I dream of bursting gardens, wood-fired ovens, chicken coops, maybe a vacation to the beach... my hopes for this summer are endless. What does all this mean? It means that it's time I wake up and smell the coffee, as it were. There has been a profound change in me during the last year, and I am keenly aware of it. The time has come for me to step up to the plate and truly swing with all my might if I want to see our dreams realized.  

I am starting fairly small: trying to set up a routine for myself. Housework broken down into days of the week, forcing myself out of bed so that I can get things done before the husband comes home, making sure to get outside for a couple of hours every day to play with the pup and weed the garden and keep a close eye on our newly-tilled beds. Trying not to overlook those pesky little chores that seem to get put off for months and months. These things seem so minute, but I feel that without them my days will dissolve into an endless chorus of "I can do it tomorrow" wherein tomorrow never comes. 

So far, I feel like it is going well. I am trying to approach each task with vigor and make the most of all the hours in my day. Having spent weeks with my darling grandmother - watching her complete more tasks every morning than I may sometimes do in a week - made me feel appropriately lazy. If I want to be even half the woman she is I'm going to need to step it up. I want to do something to make myself proud, and being able to be more productive and efficient at home seems like a pretty fine place to start.

change

There have been many changes since I wrote here last, friends - but today I'm being moved to gush about the change of seasons, the kinetic energy I feel in my muscles and bones that scream "Spring is coming!"  I am not a winter person (I know that some people are, and I applaud their fortitude) - cold weather puts me into stasis, where it is all I can do to pull myself out of bed and perform the medial tasks required of me to keep us happy and clean. There are no plans made, no bursts of energy to start some great project or other - there is just hibernation and dreaming. But today... today I awoke with that FEELING, like a cat ready to pounce, that change is coming. I have big dreams for us this year: for our new home in a new place; for our lives and our animals; for our lovely big yard and the property that backs onto it. This is the year I want to give to, and get back to, the earth. I want to know the community we're living in, and help them with their endeavors. I want to surround my loved ones in things I've made, and give to them the fruits of my labour. I can feel those dreams and hopes and wants coiled inside of me, like a snake about to strike.

So today, I will use my burst of energy to make my home a little cozier - and continue to dream about the months to come.

sea glass

 

It's supposed to be spring, friends! From the Rockies moving east the country is being battered with sub-zero temperatures and howling winds, and the south is not being spared. We had two beautifully gorgeous days that were sweet with spring before being plunged back into the depths of winter. Life has been a roller-coaster for us, filled with hopes heightened and dashed, nourished and pulverized. We are in limbo. I am trying to keep busy. 

The best thing to come out of this miserable weather is that I'm free to spend my days curled on the couch crocheting, having Park and Rec marathons and drinking pot after pot of steaming tea. Although I'd promised myself not to start another project, I was quick to backtrack with the knowledge that my bestie back-home's birthday is on the horizon! Instantly I dreamed of a 60's-mod blanket in rich blues and greens with black detailing, and rushed off to make it a reality. The colours remind me of sea glass, those shards of bottles transformed by the surf into something truly precious. My hands ache from working on it, but it is so unbelievably pretty that I almost don't mind. I hope she'll like it!

I am starting an online gardening course this week, and hope to regale you all with photos of my various homework assignments around the house, as well as pictures of my busywork once it warms up enough to spend time outside. Keep cozy, everyone!

sadness and socks

This week has been thrown entirely off-kilter. One minute life is a gas and the whole world is your oyster, and in an instant everything you thought important seems trivial and useless. Sunday morning, in my hometown, a friend of mine was lost in a fatal house fire - along with his girlfriend and a roommate. Mark had been such a gentle, wonderful, ALIVE person; perhaps the most alive a human can be.. and now he's gone. Although I feel so removed from the situation, I was overcome with a feeling of ennui - what is the point of living if we could all die at any given moment? - but I cannot be sad forever. I am now resolved to living life like the fullest, and in a way that I know Mark would be pleased with. It is, perhaps, the very least I can do.

 

Here are the few mementos I have here to remind me of my friend: two polaroids taken when we hung out in Toronto, and a pin he had made for me by John K Sampson of the Weakerthans. Any others items be in a box in Victoria, which I will pull out and appreciate when next I find myself home, surrounded by friends. 

I remember making jack-o-melons on the back porch of the movie theatre where he was living; jumping a fence and wandering through a chinese fairground lit up for an event; drawing hot-air balloons on his wall. I remember the day we bought a vase from VV and walked from Store St into Ross Bay, chatting and singing and collecting flowers from gardens as we went. We stopped at the Ross Bay Cemetery, the oldest on the island, and wandered around until we found a grave in terrible shape. Alice Conner, if I remember correctly. It was overgrown and cracked so we cleaned it up and swept it off and left our flowers there. For Alice.  

I hope one day I can do the same for dear Mark. 

 

To keep myself sane and somewhat busy, I've started on the process of knitting all my leftover sock yarns into a few pairs of crazy socks - although, this first pair is not all that crazy. The cuff is a blue/grey gradient, transitioning into black/white/grey stripes, which may end in more blue/grey and possibly some green if I need to stretch the toe. I have half a drawer filled with odds and ends like these, and I'll be glad to cull it... if only to full it again with more yarn. My goal for the year is to knit up some of my existing yarn, and finish 2 of the three half-pieced quilts in my sewing room. It should keep me busy for a little while!

Stay safe, friends. Remember to treasure every moment.

one down

Dear friends! I have been eager to share these photos with you, the anonymous masses, because I will not post them to facebook until the subject arrives safely with its owner... but I know you're all good about keeping secrets, right? Right. So now, without further ado... 

 

 

The quilt is finished!! This is my third hand-quilted project since I learned the art two years ago, and I'll honestly say it may be my favourite. The front pattern is an adaptation of Color Play from Sew Scrappy magazine (spring 2012, I believe), and the back is a nine-patch gradient jumble that I made up based on the dimensions for length. It was many long and tedious months in the making, but I enjoyed (almost) every minute of it and am beyond excited to send it off to its intended...

My grandmother. She will turn 75 in the next few weeks, and has always been my closest friend and confident. She is an amazing woman who I have missed terribly since leaving my little island in the north and moving here to the bible belt, and making this blanket for her is the best way I could think of to show her I love her and give her a hug every time she uses it... which I hope will be lots. 

What's next for my busy fingers, you may be asking? Well, I have a sweater that I started in the fall with a little work left to it, and a blanket that I crocheted that still needs its ends woven in. And then, likely, on to the next big quilt! I'm equally excited and apprehensive. Quilting through the summer is a fresh brand of torture. 

tea for two

 

Here in the middle of winter, nothing says true bliss like a hot pot of tea. English Breakfast, Earl Grey, green, peach permeated, black with sparkles in... something warm and properly steeped works wonders to soothe the soul and make a body feel whole again. It occurred to me this week that while my tea sat waiting for me to put down my quilting it was getting COLD! And as someone who prefers her cup with milk and sugar, cold tea is a travesty. So I took a little break, pulled myself together, and whipped up a simple tea cozy from some leftover yarn and a button from my box. It may not be the fanciest thing on earth, but it serves its purpose and serves it well. I've also purchased a sharp bamboo tea tray so that I can have everything at arms reach without making multiple trips. Isn't civilization wonderful? 

In other news, I have officially finished the quilting portion of my quilt (YAAAAY!) and will be devoting a day this week to making and attaching the binding. I'm so pleased to have this done, and to have the ability to paint my nails again! I've worn a serious groove in my thumb nail from pushing a needle through the bulky fabric, and it is in need of some attention. 

Happy February, friends!