Wednesday 25 May 2011

oh funny chickens

We have 3 rhode island red chickens that are 2 years and 2 araucana chickens that are now about 7 weeks, we also have a 7 week old rooster - who was meant to be a chicken!! We live in a built up area so can't really keep him, I have asked everyone I know and put notices in local pet shops, I have had plenty of calls, unfortunately these all turned out to be idiots, seriously I didn't know there are so many thick people around. One man asked how many eggs does he lay?!, another girl rang up saying she could come and collect it now as a surprise present for her mum, I asked "does your mum have chickens then"?,
"what, NO" (said in a voice like I was stupid), I asked why she thought her mum would want him then, she didn't know!
Another man wanted him to train him for the circus to ride on dogs - honestly I'm not making this up, he wanted me to feed him cheese and worms to train him - he was 5 weeks at the time, not old enough for worms and we are dairy free so cheese (do they even eat cheese?) is out of the question. He also wanted me to keep him in a tiny box, one small enough so he can't move to train him not to crow ( his words), so guess what folks, yep we still have him here with us. He is getting lovely colours, all greens and reds, I would love to see him when he has all his mature feathers, at this rate I will get my wish!
Our bigger girl who is boss of the coop has been poorly, she has lost weight and is rather down, we have been spoiling her with lots of love and natural remedies, she has been sleeping in my basket with a little patchwork blanket on her to keep her cosy. she is really good and stands up and makes a noise when she needs a poo! so we take her to the garden, it's funny really, a toilet trained chicken.
 Even the boys have been extra kind to her, Adam is normally scared of the chickens, but he has taken to being second in command carer when I have things to do, she nods off for him within seconds.
I finally bought Mollie makes magazine, I had to wait to have some money to get it after drooling over the gorgeous pages last week in WH Smith when I was broke. It was worth the wait, I love it, it's like a paperback blog book, too cool! If you can get a copy it is worth it, you can also subscribe to the next 3 issues for £5.00, which is a great saving. Hope you all have a lovely week x

Sunday 15 May 2011

crafty old me...

I did another craft fair last weekend in aid of this charity
it was a lovely early morning start and I had my flask and made cakes to share, so was all prepared for the day, we set up and had a noisy round the other stalls before the doors opened, unfortunately it started to pour down and didn't stop for the rest of the day so it was a bit of a let down. Anyway I got to meet some nice people and enjoyed the Morris dancers, the charity made over £600 so that was really good, anyway I took some photo's of some stalls I liked!
 Mine of course, Dotty delightful!.......

 Sunshine Kazza's vintage finds....

 Mrs marmalade, who was very lovely and if your reading this please get in touch as I can't find you on facebook!

 A cake stall by Angela, the cakes looked great and I heard they tasted great too, being dairy free meant I couldn't sample any which is probably just as well seen as though my backside is growing from my own baking...
The singleton Morris dancers, the lady in this pic did an amazing clog dance at the end too, I loved the bells on their shoes and may have to sew some on my shoes so I jingle when I walk, much to the disgust of my children no doubt. 

Tuesday 3 May 2011

this week we have mostly......

been visiting friends who live near a farm, the calves and their mummies came right up to the farm gate to see us, I adore their eyelashes, they are so long and pretty
watching the next great baker programme and reading Pam Corbin's cake book (river cottage), the recipes are delicious, I highly recommend the grasmere gingerbread recipe, they were so scrummy I didn't have time for photos! These lemon, victoria sponge/butterfly cakes went down a treat, I love cake so much ;)
 been busy sewing for craft fairs, rabbits.....
 Russian doll cushions.......
 more rabbits filled with lavender and pearl barley......
loving our chicks, this one is called Gretchen, she is the most lovely silver colour and is getting a rather fetching tuft of feathers on her head. We got 3, they are 5 weeks old now and one has turned out to be a rooster, we need to find him a nice home because he can't stay with us as we live in a built up area.
 I also did a craft fair on Saturday, it was to be honest rubbish, around 6 people came, the venue was down a side street so it was pretty naff, I made enough to pay for the table and not much more so even though I didn't lose any money I still felt rotten because of my time and effort spent on it. Anyway my very talented friend who had some of her felt creations on my stall as she is on holiday, sold a fair amount, the pictures I took are naff as I'm not quite sure how to use my phone camera to it's full potential. Not a very clear picture but can you make out the tea sets at the front? well they are my friends, hand stitched and made of felt.
I have another fair coming up this weekend but it is in a much better location so hopefully I should have a good day, hope you all had a lovely easter, the boys were very happy we managed to get some dairy free easter eggs in the sale at holland and barratt. Did you see the wedding?, I vowed not to watch it, why would I want to see some royals get married I kept saying, but on the day I couldn't help myself, ooh how gorgeous was her dress?, I loved it, the Cartier tiara was delightful too, and when William told her she looked beautiful my eyes filled up, what a big softy! Thought the kiss could of been a little more passionate though. I asked the boys if they wanted to watch it with me, the laughed and ran off, marvellous eh?!.