My Blog

I have chickens!

Arwyn — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:32:06 GMT

Yes, indeed, it's true. My silence for the last month or so has not been due to idleness -- quite the reverse! After moving all my stuff up to Seattle three weeks ago, I've been a whirlwind of unpacking, yard work, scanning Craig's list for likely furniture additions (and getting a bunch of free stuff -- woot!), and building a chicken house! I took a class a week and a half ago called "City Chickens", that pretty much gave some fundamental information on keeping chickens on a city lot. It's easier than you think! And since I'm a snob and buy organic eggs most of the time (for $4/dozen), I thought -- why don't I get some chickens of my own? I can feed them happy, organic food, and get eggs in exchange -- at least most of the time, since chickens usually stop laying for part of the winter. So I did! The beautiful thing is that my house already had a cold frame / potting shed next to the garage, so I converted about half of it into a chicken house by building a screen door to divide it (with a little help from Peter), and bought four golden-laced Wyandotte pullets (12-weeks old, or so) -- they should be very pretty when they get their full set of feathers. Anyway, they're all supposed to be pullets (girls) -- I hope it's true. Peter's pretty set against a rooster. But there's one of the pullets that has a perkier tail than the others, so I'm a bit suspicious, but I haven't heard any crowing so far, and supposedly they usually start crowing by now... Of course, if it was a mostly-quiet rooster Peter probably wouldn't care -- he just doesn't want the noise. Me, I'm OK either way. My pullets are not very well socialized yet, so that's something that we'll be trying to do. I gave them a couple of days to just settle into their new home, but today I held two of them, and hopefully they'll get more comfortable with that as time goes on. If not, I may have to start with some chicks! 'Cause I want friendly chickens. Any way, on top of being entertained and pleased about having chickens which should start laying by fall, I'm also very proud of myself for designing and building the screen door! Peter did help, but really I did most of it (and all of the design work) myself. There were just a few jobs (like hanging the door) that would've been *very* difficult to do without an extra set of hands. But yeah, it opens and closes smoothly, and will keep out the varmints. Go me! Heh. :) So now that I have my chickens (mostly) in order, I can turn to other important business: getting back into dance! Maybe I can hit the Troupe Hipnotica class on Wednesday... Love to you all! -Arwyn

I love my house!

Arwyn — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:26:52 GMT

OK, I just had a *fabulous* weekend! I drove up to Seattle Friday, and found out I couldn't get into my house. Ack! The keys didn't work. (Found out later they hadn't been cut correctly.) So I just mowed the lawn instead -- yay! It looks so nice! But Saturday I helped Peter stuff his belongings into two cars and a truck, and then *he* got the house open. Even his keys didn't work very well, so we replaced the lock yesterday. I'm so pleased! The house is great. Sure, it's not perfect. But it's great! And it feels so fabulous to have a place to be! A place where -- if I want to -- I can paint the inside and outside, or change the flooring, or do gardening -- or whatever! So good. I would like to paint the outside -- it kind of needs it. And there's definitely some gardening things I'd like to do. I just bought some plants on Saturday at the Kubota Gardens plant sale (which was *crazy* busy! I guess it was advertised in Sunset magazine. Mistake! Well, at least a mistake for the "regulars".) And I want to have some vegetables, so I think we'll put in some raised beds... Heh. We'll see how much I can accomplish this summer. :)

Call me crazy

Arwyn — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:55:14 GMT

So in the midst of the craziness that was 2007, I decided (at the very end of the year) to start my own business. Of course, I don't expect it to be extremely lucrative - just a little something on the side, for when I feel like it, and need a creative outlet. And my family encouraged me, so maybe I'm not as crazy as it might seem. Anyway, I decided to actually try to sell some of the jewelry that I've been making for I don't know how long. I haven't put any of the tribal stuff up on my website yet, but I probably will eventually -- it's just that I pretty much only ever made it for my troupe, so I didn't have any extras. But if I recall correctly, I do have one "extra" one that I made, and I'm sure I'll feel like making more sooner or later. Anyway, if you feel like taking a look, have a gander at silkandstardust.net -- see if there's anything you like! You can refer them to appropriate significant others if they need to get you something nice! Heh. :) OK, in other news, it's a beautiful day out -- feels like spring! Wow. It's a very nice change from last week when it was so rainy! We had a great time this weekend -- Peter and I took Tristan to the Portland Chinese Garden's Chinese New Year celebration -- they had a dragon parade. Tristan just loved it. Did you know that dragons eat lettuce? Well, at least these ones did. I don't know if it's a trend among dragon-kind, or the lifestyle choice of just a few. I got my lucky red envelope -- I'm hoping it will help 2008 be a better year than 2007. Much love to you all, and I hope to see some of you in Seattle at Cues & Tattoos in a week and a half! Yay!

Mind-bending horror

Arwyn — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:56:19 GMT

OK, not so much, really. But it's just too funny to write phrases like that, especially about Cthulhu things. My husband came across this photo, and sent it to me, and I thought it was just too funny not to share. I realize not everyone will get the reference here, but if not, then read "The Call of Cthulhu" by H. P. Lovecraft. It's worth a read, although I admit that I giggled through most of it. (I wasn't supposed to.) (But I told my husband when he looked at me funny that if I didn't giggle then it would probably freak me out. So giggling was the better option.)

Ready for 2008

Arwyn — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:18:57 GMT

Is it just me, or has 2007 really been just a crazy year? And this has not always been in good ways. The more the year drags on, the more tragedies I hear about -- personal ones, not just the ones outside my monkey-sphere that are (unfortunately) always going on. I'm ready to toast in 2008 with some good news! I'll let you know if I get some that's exciting. So far all I expect is standard stuff, like (1) it's not 2007 any more, (2) maybe some fun times skiing, or (3) I'll find some other dancers to dance with in Portland, and (4) I'll hopefully get to dance with some of my other friends -- down in Eugene, or up in Seattle -- or both! So lay it on me: if you have some good things going on, I need to hear them to try to counteract some of the angst and drama that has beleaguered the last half of this year.

Cuteness

Arwyn — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:06:37 GMT

I figured it was time I wrote about something cheerful here, so I have some good stuff to share. :) It's Tristan, of course. What else would be so cute? Despite (or because of) being two-and-a-half, he's really been racking up the "awww, cute!" points lately. "Pooh-pillick" This is a favorite topic for Tristan lately. He gets really excited about Pooh-pillick. What does this mean? Winnie-the-Pooh, or more properly, Pooh and Piglet. But he does say Pooh-pillick when he just means Pooh, too. :) Pancakes Tristan has really been into pancakes lately. He asked for them breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the last few days. So last Sunday we were having pancakes for breakfast, and he was chowing down on the first set. He was almost done with them when Peter brought over the next batch and put them on his plate. He looked at them, then exclaimed, "Ohhhhhhhhh! THANK you, Dad!" with lots of emphasis. Swords & Pirates Again, Tristan has been very into swords and pirates for several months. Well, probably longer. His aunt gave him "How I Became A Pirate" for his first birthday, and it's been a favorite topic ever since. But he's been even more into it lately, and he got to be a pirate for Halloween. He had a pirate hat from his costume that he has now been wearing every day, and anything can become a sword: a spoon, a lincoln log, my drop spindle...you name it! If it's reasonably pokey, it's a sword. Don't try to convince him otherwise -- it won't work.

Odd feelings

Arwyn — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:17:53 GMT

I'm either in denial, or I did my grieving on Thursday. Peter and Tristan and I went down to Eugene last Thursday night, and we got to speak with our friend Wes (who was in the hospital) on Friday morning. He was very glad to see us, but clearly tired easily, so I think we were only there for about 20 minutes. It was really good to be able to talk to him, though. He had another heart attack Saturday night, from which he did not recover. There's a memorial service this Sunday which we're going to try to get to. The weird thing is that I haven't cried about it. I cried on Thursday last week, and I've started to tear up a few times, but...that's about it. I think Wes was trying to tell us on Friday that he didn't really fancy surviving, since I don't think he figured his quality of life would be any good even if he did beat the odds and pull through. Maybe that's why I haven't cried. I don't know. Maybe that helped me move into the "acceptance" stage already, or something. Anyway, I'm still very sad to have lost a friend. I know I will miss him.

From good to sad

Arwyn — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:11:15 GMT

Well, yesterday was a good day, and much fun was had by Tristan and me; today is a sad day. My friend who's been in the hospital is in bad shape, and not expected to improve. He's off the ventilator, so there's no knowing how long he will last. It's hard for me to write this without tearing up, I'm afraid, so I'm going to be brief. I'm going to head down to Eugene tonight after work so I can see him, and at the very least make my farewells. It's really hard to think of doing this. I'd better get some more kleenex -- I think I'm going to be needing them. :(

Feeling productive

Arwyn — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:09:28 GMT

It's all about my feelings, isn't it? Heh. Well, it's probably true. It's been a good day: I taught lab this morning, then this afternoon I've gotten some good work done for my class. It feels good. And this in spite of the fact that I played hooky last night and stayed up late chatting with a friend. Or maybe it's because I stayed up late... Hmmm. Hard to tell. Granted, I was a bit cranky when I woke up at 6 this morning! But sometimes it's essential that we take time for ourselves and do things for ourselves that we need. Otherwise we tend to go crazy, or have a nervous breakdown, or some other thing that isn't good for us (or anyone else, usually!) Well, I'd better get back to work so I can scratch a few more things off my "to do" list before the end of the day...and feel even better than ever! (Heck, maybe I'll even clean up my kitchen tonight!)

It's all happening this week!

Arwyn — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:04:15 GMT

Wow. I just found out that one of my friends had a heart attack in the last few days and is in the ICU in the hospital. Add to that one of my co-workers with a heart irregularity the other night (he's fine now thankfully), and another who's been out all week having tests done to see how serious her lymphoma is... And of course my best friend who's battling breast cancer. And my husband's grandmother is in fairly poor shape and isn't expected to live very long. It's one of those weeks. And so I thank God that there are so many blessings in my life, too. Even amidst some of the terrible things that are going on around me I can remember that there's always good things, too -- there's always something worthwhile -- something to live for. Speaking of which -- I also just talked with the folks at the athletic center here on campus, and they said it'd be totally fine for me to set up an informal dance class! Hurray! So, to quote the very wise words from one of Robert Lowry's hymn: "My life flows on in endless song; Above earth’s lamentation I hear the sweet though far off hymn That hails a new creation: Through all the tumult and the strife I hear the music ringing; It finds an echo in my soul— How can I keep from singing?"

Feeling fortunate

Arwyn — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:39:02 GMT

When I was in high school I took two years of biology. During the second year, one of our tasks was to memorize about 75 of our local bird species by sight and name. This engendered in me a fascination for bird identification, and I enjoy it when I get to see new birds, or when I recognize a bird I don't see very often. So I felt extremely fortunate last week when I saw two pairs of hooded mergansers in the Reed College canyon while Kisha and I were out for a walk. (The photo isn't mine, but shows how dramatic they are.) This morning I spotted a Downy Woodpecker (not that uncommon, but you have to be paying attention.) It's a beautiful, sunny, autumnal morning, and was a perfect morning for a walk. So I feel extremely fortunate just now. I had a wonderful weekend with my friend Sabine, and with the ladies of troupe Tribalation. I'm in good health. I have a decent place to live, and enough money to live reasonably. I have a wonderful, precocious son. I have a loving husband (although I might wish we got to see each other more.) I'm working in a job I like, with people I enjoy. I am especially reminded of how good things are for me by my friends who are ill, or struggling economically, or who have lost a loved one recently -- it kind of puts things into perspective. So even if it wasn't a beautiful day, and even if I hadn't been reminded of the wonders of nature, and the loving friends I have -- I'm still extremely fortunate. Thank you to who ever needs to hear that -- to who ever contributes to my good fortune. I appreciate it.