weekend

Saturday I spent shopping for a birthday present for Ben and snacks for the week and groceries for the next two weeks. Eric and I managed to sneak out for dinner Saturday night but when you have to come home and clean up everyone else's dinner mess it kind of takes something away from the joy of going out. Might as well stay home. We had cake and presents with Ben. He was happy. He is little big Ben now. He is still tiny, the size of a five year old approximately. But now he is 12! so he is little big Ben.

Sunday was a yearly farm chore that I am glad is over! Chicken butchering! We usually have cornish rock cross and they are huge. but they are stupid. We lost so many trying to let them forage/free range. One died not two feet from the door back into the pen. He couldn't find his way back.  They are bred to sit and eat and grow. thats it. they do this well but they end up covered in poop and we had some water drainage issues (now resolved) that they would just sit in the muck or get stuck in the muck and I would pull them out getting covered in chicken poop in the process while they flap wings only for them to go right back to same spot. So this year we tried a different breed. Dixie rainbows. They are mean! and also not smart. and most importantly NOT BIG! so we butchered half as many as usual because there wasn't much sense in butchering such tiny hens, they can grow and lay me some eggs instead.we put up all the roosters and a few of the hens so we are left with about 20 hens, along with the 20 I already had laying I should be good in the egg department as soon as these new ones start laying. Since the old 20 had been free ranging and laying their eggs all over the place we were having a shortage of eggs since we couldn't find them. They are now penned again. So happy egg city. and next year we will definitely be raising the cornish rock cross again. We will not have nearly as many chicken meals this winter as we did last year. 3 or 4 chicken breasts of these small birds are nowhere near ONE breast of the cornish.

Sophie got to do something really exciting on saturday. She went to her friends house! This is a rare thing for her. Most people aren't willing or able to help her but this just worked out perfectly. Her little friend Reena is in her class at school and they talk on the phone every day. for hours if I let them. We found out her friend and she have a lot more in common than we had realized. their house is all one level so no issues there. and her mom was more than willing to deal with Sophie's disability.  She doesn't need a lot but she needs help on stairs and in the bathroom. She is so excited to play there again another day or have her friend here. She stayed there five hours and didn't want to go when I picked her up!

Today is monday. Back to school. and it truly WAS monday. jackets were missing. shoes were missing. kids were running late. dogs ran out and wouldn't come in. peacefully sititng by the fire now and planning my day. Time to get moving I guess.