Ear Flap Hat

I got my crafty-ness out again for General Conference, and this is a hat I made for Rayna. Jaeda is modeling it, and I am making a pink one like this for her, but it isn't finished yet. I made 2 others previously, but it wasn't till the 3rd try that it worked out like I wanted. I followed the pattern the first time and it was way too big. So I tried again and then the ear flaps weren't in the right place. So 3rd time's a charm. I think it's darling and they work up quickly, so I plan on making one for each of my kids.

Deep Blue

I have a cast on my ankle now, to mend a hairline fracture they found after they took an MRI.  Walking with a cast is very awkward and because I'm trying to compensate, by the end of the day I can be achy.  I had a really busy day today running almost nonstop since noon.  My day didn't end till my nightwatch shift did that night at 3am. Part of my job is to check on the sleeping girls every 15 minutes.  The house is 3 stories, and so my check requires me to go up and down stairs.  Tonight I started having sharp pains in the knee on my "good" leg when I came up the stairs. It seemed to get worse each time I used the stairs. I found myself trying to compensate by swinging my hip way out so as to take th pressure off my knee.  I applied Deep Blue to my knee and 10 minutes later when it was time for my next check I had absolutely no pain in my knee and the pain never returned.  Thank you, Deep Blue!

School Pictures

I got a new camera in December and so I spent most of the month experimenting and practicing.  My kids were all overdue for portraits, as I think school pictures are way overpriced and they never turn out nice...so I didn't buy them.  But my husband has been asking for family pictures to put up in his office for a long time now, so I decided that would be a great Christmas gift for him. 

So I set up the studio:  duct tape brown blanket to kitchen bar, move kitchen table out of the way, wash sliding glass window for lighting, find tripod....Wah Lah!

I was very pleased with the results, as they were better than any school pictures I've ever seen (if I do say so myself), and cheaper, too!  Here are some of my favorites:

 By the time it was Brynlee's turn, she wasn't in the mood.  This was my best shot, although it is blurry, so I couldn't use it.

She was happy to hold still so that I could take a picture of her beloved tear, though.

We don't have any pictures of just the two of us as a couple, so that weekend, I had my photographer brother, Braxton shoot some pictures of us in his studio.  He took a bunch of pictures, and they all turned out awesome, of course.  Here are some of my favorites:

Honey Harvest 2010

Late August 2010

Rick is removing the capped frames from the beehive for harvesting.  He brushed be bees from the frames, and then we placed them in a covered cooler until it was full and then we brought it inside.

Rayna is supervising to make sure Rick is doing everything right.

 This video shows how we scraped the honeycomb from the frames.  Really high-tech, I know.  we used a putty knife to scrape the honey comb into a bucket.  Then we crushed the honeycomb, releasing the honey from the cells. 

We strained the honey through a filter and then put the honey in jars.

 This is what we got from the first harvest.  The next day were were able to get 2 more pints from what was left in the filter.  We had another harvest probably a month later and got about the same amount again.  Not bad for our first year.  Thank-you alfalfa farmer in our back yard!

Queen of the Chickens

Here is a flashback of the beginning of our backyard chicken experience from May 2010:

With our new found privacy and the support from our neighbors from our chicken-keeping-trial last summer, we decided to try to keep chickens in our own backyard this year.  Mom said she wanted 2 new chickens anyway, so the first week of March we went down to IFA and got 6 chickens.  2 each of Red Stars, Barred Rocks, and Rhode Island Reds. 

We have enjoyed having the baby chicks again.  It seems that baby chicks help the winter doldrums pass more quickly and make spring seem just around the corner. 

Jaeda is the self-proclaimed Queen of the Chickens.  Brynlee wasn't so gentle with them, so everyday during Brynlee's nap time, I took the lid off and let Jaeda have her full reign.  She was always covering them with something...her shirt, or a rag.  She would build them houses and little roads.  She gave them names and kisses.

And, yes, she did allow the townspeople to enjoy her citizenry as well. 

Names bestowed by the Queen of the Chickens:  Claudia (Jaeda's RIR pronounced:  Cloud-ee-ah), Zena (Rayna's Barred Rock), Sparks (Ian's Red Star), and Beatrice (Brynlee's Red Star "Bea Bea" for short).  Mom's chickens are still to be named.