You’d think vacation would be the perfect to get some serious knitting done - but it’s just not happening. Maybe because the Luna Moth shawl’s rows are getting a bit longer than my multitasking mind prefers. 199 stitches takes me several minutes to knit through, and I find it hard (read: scary) to put it down mid-row to, say, pet my cat, or drink my tea, or tell someone online something that just popped into my head.

So Luna is creeping along, and will not be done by October 31st. But she’s coming along, nonetheless. I’m just about to start my third ball of yarn, meaning I’m half done, or close to it, anyway. Two repeats left - with longer and longer rows each time.

It also doesn’t help that I only had a 32 inch circ, and aluminum needles (when I’d prefer wood with this yarn), and it’s just so… pain-in-the-ass to work with. The cable is never quite right, never quite comfortable [By The Way: actually boiling the cable needle freaking works wonders to straighten it! Screw steaming it - just toss that puppy in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes!] and the needles just seem strangely heavy an slick and wrong for this project. Wrong, I tell you.

But I’m dealing.

Looks nice and autumny, doesn’t she? Well, here’s an impulse buy that I made with some extra money received from a rummage sale:

Make that two impulse buys:

And the household altar that I’ve put them on.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you - the altar pic was taken before I’d purchased these. Also, before I filled my cauldron with leaves - which dried beautifully in the air.

I’m a regular ol’ Martha Stewart these days, eh? Too bad I don’t yet have a /bit/ of Halloween decor up yet. *sheepish* Better get that done in the next night or two! Really! Maybe I’ll leave it up through mid-November, just to make it worthwhile? Naw.

One last picture today:

That’s the day’s eggs. 12 total, out of 17 chickens. Not bad at all! The fat brown one on top is my favorite. I always like the brown eggs, though. They seem so darned country.

Thirteen Things About Chickens

1. There are hundreds of breeds / varieties of chickens. Big chickens, little chickens, chickens of all different colors, chickens just for meat, chickens just for eggs, chickens for feathers…
2. Chickens can lay brown or white eggs. The color of the egg depends on the breed of chicken, and you can tell which color egg it will lay by looking at its earlobes. White earlobes mean white eggs, brown earlobes mean brown eggs. There’s no nutritional difference between the two.
3. Actually, chickens can lay blue or green eggs too. The shell, that is. But only a special breed of chicken does this - naturally, it’s called “the easter egg chicken”.
4. Chickens eat everything - bugs, grass, weeds, fingers, toes… well, they would eat the last two, if you let them.
5. Chickens can fly. Not far - perhaps twenty feet - but they can. And do. But most of the time, they strut around on the ground.
6. Handling chicks frequently makes them friendly. Mine follow me all over the place, though only some of them allow me to pet them. I didn’t handle mine /quite/ enough.
7. Chickens lay an egg approximately every 25 hours. Many of the breeds bred to be great layers will lay an egg a day for many days in a row, before they skip a day and start over. Some breeds only lay an egg every two days. It also fluctuates depending on the time of year, health and food quality, and age.
8. They begin laying eggs at approximately 4.5-5 months, and will lay very small eggs at first! Then they gradually get bigger.
9. Egg production is dependent on light. In the winter months, without supplementary lighting, chickens may stop laying eggs altogether, as they need a good 15-17 hours of daylight a day to produce eggs. This mechanism is what prompted chickens to lay eggs in the spring and hatch them when the weather was favorable, and stop reproduction in the winter, when chicks would most likely die of exposure. Supplementing light (just a lightbulb will do) will keep them laying through the winter, though the cold may slow production a bit.
10. Chickens do not need a rooster to lay eggs. Egg production happens whether there’s roosters around or not - they just aren’t /fertilized/ eggs. (Rather like a woman menstrates every month, whether she has sex or not.) There’s no nutritional (or visual, or taste-ual) difference between fertilized and unfertilized eggs. The only difference is that if incubated (either in an incubator, or under a hen’s warm body), a fertilized egg will hatch into a chick. Most commercial chickens never see a rooster.
11. A hen is born with as many egg yolks (tiny, undevloped yolks) as she will ever produce. If she uses those up, she’ll never lay an egg again.
12. A hen will lay her best in her first year of laying. Then her production will slowly dwindle.
13. 22 chickens provides way too many eggs for a single gal and all her neighbors, too. *drowns in eggs*

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Wow. Three months since a real post. Been a strange summer. Things that have happened since July:

1) Bought a new dining set.
2) And a new mattress.
3) And a new couch, good god.
4) Chickens have laid approximately 212 eggs. That’s nearly 18 dozen. That’s way more eggs than I know what to do with.
5) A has nearly sworn off eggs for life. It came to the front of her mind just where “nature’s perfect package” came from: a chicken’s feathered butt.
6) My garden grew 4 foot tall weeds, and I lost the onions.
7) I did, however, get three nice pumpkins.
8) The potatoes are still hunkered down in the soil, waiting to be dug.
9) I’ve knitted. And knitted. And knitted. Hurrah!

Some finished objects:

A pumpkin and my Lacy Kerchief Scarf! Woot. Also finished: Rowan’s Christmas gift, three washcloths, and a cat toy, none of which have pictures. No, that’s a lie. I just won’t put photos of the Rowan’s gift here, and I can’t find what I did with the ballband dishcloth photos. Oh well!

And gosh. I’m now on Ravelry - at last. Name’s katiad there, so if you’re on, add me as a friend!

Soon, I’ll have an actual post. It’s been a long time. I’ve been sick. Miserably sick with allergies and a cold that turned into sinus infection that turned into bronchitis when the meds didn’t work… and on top of it all, I have to have an ultrasound on my thyroid. Can we say ‘fun’? No. I didn’t think so.

Makeover coming soon too. I need it.

No knitting has happened in a little while. Been too busy bitching and moaning. And reading a bit. Harry Potter, Anita Blake, and some random stuff, too.

But there will be knitting soon, too. Gotta be.

And one more thing. The chickens? They’re starting to lay! Eggs up!

Back in late December or early January, I purchased a beautiful Lamy Safari fountain pen at Pear Tree Pens, extra fine, graphite colored. It comes with a Lamy ink cartridge, but I was not at all pleased with it, so I went over to another pen place and bought some Noodler’s ink in bulletproof black and turquoise, and added a converter to my original pen order.

I loved it so much that just last week, I ordered a second Lamy Safari - in their new, limited edition summer white color, and some more inks. The new pen is shiny white, with a glossy finish instead of the slightly ‘rougher’ matte finish of the graphite black. The point is also shiny silver instead of a sleek black - meaning that filling the pen through the point gets it all inky in an obvious way. And the white pen means that I can’t get away with not bothering to wipe the little rim off when I fill it, either, because it will be icky.

But I do like it. Lots. I bought a fine tip this time, instead of extra fine, and I’m pleased with that, too. It’s only marginally less fine than the extrafine… though beware, I haven’t attempted it with the same bulletproof black ink that I normally use in the other pen. Inks DO matter, as I discovered…

I bought some J. Herbin scented orange ink, which is… erm… watery. Or it was. And it made the pen sort of… scratchy. Now, granted, the ink is fairly light colored to begin with, but I just wasn’t too impressed with it. Maybe it’s just the scented ink. Maybe it’s just that bottle. Maybe it’s the whole brand. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because I didn’t thoroughly clean the pen before I filled it the first time.

Hard to say, but I was so displeased that I cleaned it out and dried it well and filled it with some Private Reserve Chocolat ink.

Which is heavenly. A nice, choclately brown. In a nice big fat bottle with a wide mouth - even better. I must say, I fear filling up from the Noodler’s bottle once it gets about halfway gone, because it’s tall and deep. Um, can we say inky fingers, everyone?

One of my inks this time (from Pear Tree Pens) didn’t show up. There’s a small, illegible notation beside it, and I /think/ it says B.O. - which I think means backordered. But I’m gonna have to call and confirm that.

Though… it /is/ a J. Herbin ink, and I /knew/ I should’ve actually tried my sample before ordering… but this one looks much better than the other. Well, we shall see if it even shows up.

That said, I got another package yesterday. YARN! Yes. I got the yarn I ordered - two lovely skeins of Lorna’s, and a couple skeins of that beloved Karabella Aurora 8 for my SP10 pal. Because heavens, it’s nice wool, and everyone deserves some.

Now I just need to pick up a few extras. *beam*

Moving on. Chick pics! Though they’re really looking more like chickens now! They’re growing up beautifully… except for Lazy Sue, who’s bald. The other chickens must’ve plucked her headfeathers out. She looks a bit like my father… who was not pleased with the comparison. She’s a very lazy girl compared to the others. She’s the only girl I’m 100% positive on regarding breed.

Lazy Sue:

Lily:

Houdini:

Feather:

Suspected roo? This chick looked exactly like 2-3 of the other girls when just a baby, but (s)he’s developed some white feathers when the others have not, and her? comb is much more pink.

Faceshot:

And some misc picks:

I couldn’t get good pics of all of them - busy little creatures, they are!

So it’s been a while since I’ve posted a single thing. I’d say that life’s been hectic, and in a way, it has, but it’s more an emotional thing than anything else. I spend the same amount of time on the computer or doing random shit as I always have. I haven’t been caught up in any /activities/, per se. I guess I just haven’t really wanted to acknowledge my own life online. Acknowledge that I haven’t done a thing worthy of talking about in, what, 3 weeks?

I’ve raised chicks to semi-chickens. They’re in the coop now. I will have to get pictures. (And chickens aren’t the only thing I need pictures of. I actually still don’t have a picture up yet of my Spring Fling secret pal package, either…. *begs forgiveness*) They’re growing great. Haven’t lost a one since the initial die-off, though I at times have /lost/ a couple… and had to chase them down and around and all that.

They’re endlessly amusing, if barbaric little monsters. I have a favorite. Her name’s Feather. I lurves her. I have some other favorites, but none as special as her. Except maybe Lazy Sue, who’s bald. I suspect some picking has been going on. Picking her feathers right out of her poor head.

I’ve been knitting in the last few days. The bloody backyard leaves scarf. It’ll be done tomorrow night if it kills me. Well, at least, the /knitting/ part will be done. I have yarn settled onto my pretty swift for Mom’s mother’s day gift. I have yet to wind it into a ball, let alone knit it, and tomorrow is Mother’s day. Hah. Way to go.

I have read… very little.

I have sewed… nothing.

Though, I have gotten some of my garden planted, and the chickens moved to the coop, and I have been working on a very geeky hobby called conlanging, which is… constructing a language. From scratch. Oh yeah, it’s geeky. I love it, though.

I bought some new clothes. Need to take some others back to the store. I have just ordered a second fountain pen and some $30 of new inks. Because… yeah, I totally needed to blow some money.

I don’t know what my issue is these days. A strange bout of apathy. I need to get over it.

This is the first step. Soon, I’m sure, I’ll be on a roll once again.

Finally, things are settling down. My second batch of chicks came in Monday. Sort of. I actually raced to the nearest big city (90 miles away) to pick them up from that post office, rather than wait the extra day it would take for them to be delivered, suspecting (with good reason) that if I did, most of them would die off again.

This time, when I opened the box at the postal sortation center, all but one were alive. Five have perished since, but overall, 16 out of 22 live chicks is far better than 8 out of 29! And boy are they all growing! My oldest chicks are two weeks old, and the youngest one week, and they’re all getting so big! And feathery.

And they’re still scared to death of me, mostly.

Silly birds.

How’s everything else going? Not too bad. Emergency trip to the second biggest city nearby to get cat food and groceries. And sheets, since my current ones are so well worn that the elastic no longer is. So I picked up new ones, with much trouble and despair. For one, why the heck is everything sateen these days? Sateen is a certain way of weaving the fibers to make a very… satin-like feel to the sheets, which I am not that fond of to begin with. I don’t like satin, and I don’t like sateen.

But I had to get some anyway. They had a half dozen colors in regular old 340-610 thread count cotton sheets (I refuse to buy 250-300 thread count sheets, too scratchy), but every single color was pastel or white. And everything in my room is so… not. So I griped and griped and finally settled on some plum colored sateen crap that didn’t feel too sateen like. And at least it matches. And at least it was on SALE. So I didn’t pay full price for sheets I am less than thrilled with.

Oh, did I mention that sateen sheets will take less wear and tear before they succumb to sheet-death? Yeah.

Knitting? Not much going on in the last week, I’m afraid, though I worked a bit on my backyard leaves scarf, and keep urging myself to use my new swift to wind up a skein of yarn to do Mom’s mother’s day gift. I got as far as putting the skein ON the swift. No further. Clearly, I need someone else to kick my ass, because I’m not very good at kicking my own.

That’s been the sick joke here lately. Chicks on sticks. Why? Because my chicks have been dying off like crazy. Okay, that’s a lie. Only five have died… since I opened the box last Tuesday morning. The rest were dead when I got them.

I officially have 8 chicks - at this moment. Here they are - except for the one with the pink dot - she died.

I ordered 29, got 13 alive (I never wanted to know what 16 squashed chicks look like, but now I do), and lost five in the next two days. The other 8 are healthy and chirping and happy.

Oh, and terrified of me. Of course. I’m trying to tame them down, handle them every day, all that bull.

But you know… it’s hard to capture them in this kiddie pool brooder - it’s too far across to just reach in and snatch one up, and so I have to frighten the shit out of them in my attempts to touch them. Not so cool.

But early this morning, I should be getting more. Hopefully not on Tuesday again - that seems a recipe for disaster. The hatchery has a 100% live guarantee, so they issued a replacement box of 22 chicks on Saturday, so here we go again, eh?

In other news… I’m knitting some more! Working away at Bakcyard Leaves again, and got another two repeats done last night. I would’ve maybe got a similar number done tonight, but… I left my new ball at home. So poo. I only have enough for maybe one. Maybe.

And speaking of… I ordered one more ball of yarn, and naturally, it’s a different dye lot. But I couldn’t even request them to check dye lots, because the earlier gropu of balls had no… no dye-lot stamp on them. At all. Didn’t even have the color name marked down. Suck.

So the very end of my scarf will be a slightly different shade. With this pattern, and the slip stitch border, I just don’t see being able to switch back and forth between balls every row to hide the differences. Damn, eh?

Oh well. Probably no one but me will notice. And if they do, screw them.

I’m counting down the hours and minutes until the chickens arrive. I don’t know when that will be, but I’m hoping today, in which case… anytime within the next two or three hours! Otherwise, it’s tomorrow morning. I really hope it’s not… because I want to see their little peeping heads! On the other hand, if it is tomorrow, I can not worry about how they’re holding up in their somewhat chilly brooder pool while I rush to the next town early this morning to fetch more lamps.

I’m feeling better about everything today! Hurrah.

For one, I got grandma’s gift done! But… I took it to show mom, and Grandma was there, and she asked if it was done… Well, Mom said “Yes, do you want it now?” and… that was that. So no pictures.

Yet. I will get them. *stealthily sneaks into Grandma’s house to get pictures of bag*

It is gorgeous, though a bit dirty. I didn’t even get a chance to wash it up. Oh well. It’s still pretty!

But I’m not gonna make one for mom. I’ve decided to do a couple (or just one) sachet out of her hank of yarn and stuff it with lavender. Something different. With a tight stitch pattern, it should be nice!

I’m now knitting a very bland knit-every-row square out of green merino wool on big size 11 needles. I’ll felt it up and make it into a potholder. Why? I don’t know. I needed something to knit while all the relatives were around that I didn’t have to worry about. Nice and easy. And dull.

But that’s the way she blows.

I have said very little in the last few days. I’ve been stressed with real life issues, and frankly, haven’t felt up to saying a word about it on here. My grandmother, who I’m very close to, has a terminal condition that will probably end her life within the month - a tear in her aorta that could… just rip open like a zipper, or burst like an aneurysm at any time. It’s been a depressing three weeks. First she was in the hospital for gall bladder surgery - they thought that was causing her chest pain. Then, a week later, she was back… and that’s when they discovered the real problem. She’s been having the pain since late January - it’s a miracle she’s lived this long.

I’ve been busy talking to my mother (Grandma is her mother) and visiting and just trying to keep busy in general.

I’ve also been working on the chicken brooder, and watching my herbs grow (that aerogarden really works wonders!) and shopping online for my secret pal, and for me, of course, and working an extra day this week, and an extra half-shift last week, and dealing with the fact that I am basically on my own for Easter due to my work schedule, despite the fact that the entire family (all my mother’s siblings) are coming up to visit Grandma, and dealing with the fact that I virtually had no birthday celebration, and certainly had no weeklong vacation/trip to the Big City to shop with Mom as planned, and not even a trip up to Canada to have Joey’s Only Seafood, as desired. And more, there’s been deaths in the families of two co-workers (hence the overtime) and with Grandma’s health the way it is, there will soon be a death in mine, and there is no way I can plan to get out of town anytime in April for a week (since my first plans at the end of March were cancelled due to the gallbladder surgery), and I’ve just got the feeling that I won’t be doing anything in May, either.

And dammit, I’m /stressed/.

Beyond measure.

And the chicks are coming Monday, and I had a crisis about the feed that I have to try to resolve in a couple hours when the hatchery opens up so I can call and have them change my order slightly. And I still have no coop, though at least I have the brooder part - hopefully - figured out, but I have to get cracking on it that this morning, and tonight. And tomorrow. And I have to clean my house because it’s driving me nuts, and god forbid some uncle want to stop by (I doubt it, I’m sure everyone will be busy, but one never knows, of course) and I really wanted to dye eggs - both for Ostara and Easter, but I just don’t think I have time…

I’m running out of breath here, and all I’m doing as typing. Please. Remember to breathe while you read this.

Everything just seems overwhelming at this point, and I really need to sit down and take a long bubble bath, and chant quietly to mysef: And this too shall pass.

In the midst of my upset-ness two days ago, I shuffled the tarot deck and drew a card about the situation with Grandma. The first one I drew was the nine of wands, and it really impacted what I /wanted/ to do - fight. Fight on. Do something - anything - to keep Grandma going. And then I asked myself what I /needed/ to do in this situation. And I drew the eight of cups. Let go.

I don’t want to. But all things must come to an end. All of us will one day pass on, and the only thing those left living can do is let go, and move on.

I just wish it was so easy as all that.

Anyway. If I am still more absent… this is why. Busy with chicks - and gods, how I need a symbol for renewal and life right now - and busy with family, making the most of what time we have left, wishing that I could go back and change the past and visit her more often than I did.

But we all have lives to live, paths to walk. I have many, many good memories, and will always have them. And I have time now to make up for what I may have lost.