Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

So, this is the latest project 'round our neck of the woods.  Chickens.  I had been thinking about it for a while, off and on for several years, but I didn't think my beloved would go for it.  After all, this wouldn't just be my project alone.  I would need his help to build a coop.  I'm a little handy, but not that handy.  Anyway, I had never mentioned this idea, notion, scheme until this past December.  I don't really know what finally made me spill the scheme to my beloved, but I finally did.  Anyway, his very first reaction was, "CHICKENS?  Why in the WORLD would you want CHICKENS?!?!"  I explained (feeling a little like Lucy Ricardo) what a great idea it was, what with the fresh eggs and all.  He walked away, shaking his head.  Then a while later, he came back and said, "Why not?!?!"  So, the seed was planted and it began to take root.  Or a plan began to hatch.  Sorry . . .

Now when my beloved does something, he doesn't do it halfway.  Everything he has ever built can withstand a hurricane.  He studied on this scheme and took off with it.  We had an 8' x 8' concrete slab that my beloved had poured for our girl to practice throwing discus.  Our girl never used it much and she was a senior in high school in her last season of track, so . . . what to do with the cement pad . . .hmmm . . .  what to do . . .?  Why, build a chicken coop on it, of course!  Or a chicken mansion, as it turned out.  My beloved worked so hard on this project. 

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.  My beloved did all of the design, construction and painting.  I did the Texas flag on the back.  It is still a work in progress.  I hope to add some vintage signs and paint a few fun signs.  My beloved just built the nesting boxes (no pic yet) and has plans for some storage.

More about the ladies in my next post.

Distiguished Student

So, here is the scoop:  My boy is a Distinguished Student.  A little more than a month ago there was a letter from Texas A&M in our mailbox addressed to my boy.  I don't know why, but I always get a little nervous when I see an official looking letter sitting there.  Anyway, I carried it in and handed it to the boy.  He read it with a look of disbelief on his face and then handed it to me.  Guess what?  Not bad news?  No.  No, I should say not.  A wonderful letter from the dean of the College of Agriculture at Texas A&M University congratulating my boy for receiving the Distinguished Student Award for having a 3.5 to 3.75 GPR.  AWESOME!!!  This boy has it going on.  So, so PROUD of my Aggie!

Hello Stranger!

I'm not sure if anyone reads these random thoughts, and that's fine.  I just wanted a place to jot down some of the things that cross my mind.  Obviously, I'm not very good at keeping up with posting here.  Please don't think that nothing crosses my mind for months at a time.  I guess I'm usually too busy checking in on the blogs I follow, and it rarely occurs to me to write something myself.  However, and I know I have said this before, I am going to try to do better and post regularly.  Not that I have anything profound to offer, but it feels good to put a few thoughts out there in cyber space.

So a couple of things that have happened in my life recently . . . 1.  My girl just graduated from high school a couple of weeks ago; 2.  My boy is on the "dean's list" in the College of Ag at Texas A&M; 3. We started raising chickens.

So, I'll start with number 1.  My girl graduated on June 1.  I was sure that I would be bawling my eyes out that night, but I wasn't.  Don't get me wrong, it was emotional and I teared up a time or two, but there never were the full-fledged water works that I was expecting.  I guess that by the time we arrived at the moment, I was ready.  Do you hear me?  I was READY.  Senior year is not for the faint of heart parent.  Now, wait a minute.  Don't get the wrong idea here.  My girl is wonderful and smart and good in EVERY sense.  However, she was driving me crazy.  This girl was READY to graduate and move on.  She's been ready since about January.  Focus.  FOCUS!  Not high on the list.  Just ready to go to the next thing.  And the next thing is working two jobs this summer: as a waitress at an Italian food chain and as a floral assistant at a grocery store in our town.  Then, come August, going to the local Jr. college for a year and getting some basic courses finished with the goal of transferring to the big school, her beloved Texas A&M, in the fall of 2013.  If anybody is meant to be an Aggie, it's my girl.  She is maroon, through and through.  We are proud of this girl.  In every sense.  She ROCKS!

So that I keep my promise to post regularly, I'll save item number 2 for another post.  Even though I am about to burst at the seams to tell you about my boy's accomplishment.