And He's Off...

Earlier today I had to go somewhere to do something that I didn't really want to do, something that made me sad. On my way home from that task, I decided to stop at Trader Joe's for a little grocery shopping...and because of my sad mood I decided that a little chocolate is in order. I'm not exactly in tip top physical shape right now, and because I'm trying to change that, this chocolate is going to have to last me exactly ten days. Why ten days? Because that's how long it will be until I return to the airport, this time not to drop off the husband, but to catch a flight myself.

At the end of that journey, I will get to see the husband again, and I'll be in Cairo Egypt, to boot! It's only been a few hours since I hugged and kissed him goodbye, but damn it I miss him already!

Monday Morning Tradition in the Making...

It is relaxing to me to watch tea leaves slowly fall to the bottom of my french press. It is comforting to me to hold a warm cup in my hands as I begin my work day. It is soothing to my somewhat sore throat to drink herbal tea on a crisp fall morning.

Here's to Monday traditions in the making! Also, this is my 150th post! Man that was fast! I didn't really see it coming, so nothing special planned this time. But, I'm already anticipating #200, there will be some sort of fabulous giveaway!

One last note...the husband leaves for Cairo tomorrow...I'll be alone for 10 days and then I'll leave to meet him there. I'm excited for his upcoming adventure, and I'm excited for my part of it, but being alone is not exciting to me, it's just kind of sad. I am going to come up with a solid routine so that the days don't feel so empty...

The Bon Voyage Has Begun...

I have spent a good part of this Sunday afternoon at my sewing machine...it's beautiful outside, but cold, so I prefer to be in the sunshine in my window to get my daily vitamin D, without having to put on a jacket.

One of the projects I completed was making this camera pouch for the husband for his trip. His old digital camera is on it's last leg, so he is going to borrow mine for the first part of his trip. For the second part of the trip I will be bringing his nice Nikon camera with me so he can use it to take pictures while we go sight-seeing. So, I have a camera case for my digital that the husband actually bought for me a couple of years ago for Christmas...the things is that it is pretty girly, it has a cute flower print on it. Not exactly his style. Also, he's going to keep the camera in his pocket while he is doing his Habitat build, so it needed to be protected but still compact.

I made this case pretty quickly...it's lined with black felt to protect the camera from any kind of bumps or scratches. The fabric is one that he picked out for a different project I worked on for him some time ago...I have sinced used it on onesies and as part of the quilt I made for a friend. I still had plenty left over to make this little pouch. When I gave him the pouch and the camera to add to his luggage, he was pleased with how it turned out. I tripple stiched all of the seams so that it will hold together for the trip.

The camera fits just right in the pouch...not a bit of extra space in there!

So he's one more step closer to being ready to go on Tuesday...it's going to be quiet here without him for ten days!

Figaro and an Apron

I finished this apron last weekend, it's off to Bungalow Bay to wait for it's owner. When I decided to snap a picture of it, Figaro decided it was time to cuddle. He tends to be more of a cuddle bug when the whether is colder. When it is warm he is much more independent, preferring to be outside hunting, playing, and napping in the sun; we don't see as much of him as when it's grey, rainy, and cold outside. I like it that he matches the orange in the pocket fabric.

Note about the apron: this was my first attempt at using the gathering foot on my sewing machine to make a ruffle. I forgot to take a close up of said ruffle, it ended up sewing to the bottom of the apron. I thought it turned out great, there are definitely going to be more ruffles in my sewing future!

Fresh Cut Flower Friday - The Week of the Fern

With the season changing I am trying to be a little more creative with the fresh cut "flowers" I bring in the house. As long as I can find alternatives to paying for flowers at the grocery store I will keep looking. The ferns are now all over my home, bringing a touch of fresh green inside. They were easy to find, a huge plot of them is growing on the edge of the woods on our property. Mixed with some remaining rose colored dahlias and sunflowers, the effect is quite nice I think.

Happy Friday!

The Chicken Definitely Came Before the Egg!

I'm completely on a roll today - two posts in less than 24 hours! I just had to check in though with a fantastic chicken update...I thought about waiting, but this is just exciting news in my world, so I don't want to hold on it. Last night the husband brought in an egg that looked nothing like the others that I've been collecting, it is small and has a greenish tone, but with brown freckle-like flecks all over it...it had a crack in it which makes me think that someone's beak got to it, but the membrane wasn't broken so I put it right into the refrigerator. Definately a gift from a new chicken, our second lady to lay. In the picture above, last night's egg is the one on the right.

Then this morning when I went to open up the chicken coop, there was a new egg in one of the nesting boxes. It is a deeper green than any other egg has been and it too is smaller than the eggs I've been recently getting, the gift of our third chicken to lay. In the picture it is the egg on the left.

Since our first egg came on 9/9, it has clearly been just the one chicken laying...it was about every 36 hours initially, and has increased to about every 24 hours. She was typically laying in the late morning or early afternoon. I've never checked and had two eggs at once - I'm still waiting for that to happen. But to have two more hens start to lay within 12 hours of each other is very exciting. By the way, the egg in the center is the same color as the previous 14 eggs I've collected, all from my original layer. From this picture you can't appreciate that it is about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch longer than the two new eggs, again confirming that those eggs are the first eggs of other birds.

So our stats now are: 8 birds, 1 confirmed rooster, 3 hens that have laid at least once, and 4 birds that are presumed to be hens but have yet to lay.

Soon the light bulb that we installed in the coop will be turned on regularly with a timer. I've heard from my neighbor and a few other sources that this should help keep my ladies laying through some of the cold months.

It's very fun to have all of the work start to really pay off, and really, nothing beats the eggs, they are that good! One might say they are egg-cellent! Sorry I had to!

An Inspired Banner

I was inspired to take some of my coffee sack scraps that have lying around (not properly put away if I'm going to be completely honest), and put them to a fun seasonal use. The inspiration for this project comes from the writer of a blog that I regularly read, Maya*Made. Honestly, I can't believe the creativity of this woman, she has an amazing ability to make the most amazing items out of recycled/repurposed materials. Whenever I read posts about her many projects I inevitably want to make something myself...whether or not I get around to it is another thing...

Right now this banner hangs above my desk...very soon it will be gifted to someone else...no use keeping something that I can just as happily give away. Besides, I have plenty more scraps that I can put to good use. Happy Fall!