I think I just finished one of those weeks. You know the kind... where there's something IMPORTANT (tm) planned each day. We've had a lot of stress lately because there were a few more layoffs at work (inside, the union guys), and the news that 'Sunday Swing' is now canceled permanently (unless the economy changes). This doesn't effect my company, but it does mean no more working sundays (at straight OT!) and simple just 'on call' for saturdays now. It's a bit of a break truthfully! This whole weekend has been a bit of a break from 'all week'. I have been seeing the doctor because I need some work done on my wrists. So I had no less than three doc appointments this week during my morning. I had a noted lack of sleep (I couldn't sleep all week for some reason!) and then having to crawl out of bed after 5 or 6 hrs... go to an appointment, fill out paperwork, etc... come home, go to work, fight tooth and nail to stay busy (when its not) and crawl home to go to bed... getting progressively more tired all week. I seriously was absolutely done for by friday, and that day was taken up with the shoer being here for 2.5 hrs in the morning (starting early, of course ) before I headed to work.

My chickies are still a joy. Matt has a very funny picture of me sitting in his office with two 5 week old EE chicks perched on my head looking gleeful after having flown up there themselves. They are getting so big.

I still need names. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to make them. I have this so far...

1 Rhode Island Red Rooster - Giovanni
1 Rhode Island Red Rooster - Naked Butt
1 Rhode Island Red Hen - Big Mamma
1 shy Rhode Island Red Hen - ?
1 small Rhode Island Red Hen - ?
1 plain ordinary medium-sized Rhode Island Red Hen - ?
1 White Easter Egger Hen - Sugar
1 Multicolored Cream Easter Egger Hen - Spice
1 Butterscotch Easter Egger Hen - Whistler
1 Black Austerlorp Hen - Kira
1 Black Austerlorp Hen/Roo (?) - Ziggy

Anyhow... today... back to me... not my chickens. I was so tired I just simply napped, lounged, and watched a whole lot of movies. We went later in the day to safeway and walmart (we needed a door nob for a closet? Ever broke one out of the blue and had to remove it with a sawsall? *lol*). Anyhow, we' came back, watched Underworld - Rise of the lycans (pretty good...) and then sat around watching Iron Chef and posting on BackyardChickens.com too. I don't think I've mentioned that site here yet, but I'm totally addicted to it. I read the forums there religiously, where people identify types of chickens, behaviors, get help with illness, etc. Its pretty cool for chicken people.

I've also been interested recently in knowing how to do certain stuff I should know how to do but don't. This week I learned, for instance, how to snare rabbits (and make my own snares), start fires a zillion ways without lighters, and build cages that will capture wild birds alive without harming them... game birds, not song birds. I do not know why I sometimes feel the need to know stuff - stuff outside of civilization - but I do. I also learned how to remove rooster spurs with pillars, humanely, and how to quickly process chickens. I know that sounds sad, and Matt is a bit disturbed, but I love the idea of not buying chickens from the store anymore eventually. The conditions the chickens have to live in to get grown for meat isn't the greatest. If we can do eggs freshly, I might be able to make one more step and raise them for meat too. I remember when i was little doing this at my grandparents house... and the chicken there was amazing.

But anyhow... its the weekend. Saturday is almost in the bag... and it was wonderful, relaxing, and incredible. I'm going to get some serious Mizahar stuff done on sunday!

Besides.. its raining. I can only sit out in the rain playing with Giovanni so long before being driven back inside.