Snow day.

 Today is a Snow Day for the boys, the first one this school year.Today I will have a house full of frisky puppies, wait I mean boys.Somehow I will need to work on getting our house ready for Thanksgiving around their playfulness,winter layers of clothing strewn around and their requests for gallons of hot cocoa and tea.There's only a dusting of snow with patches of ice,not enough to really play any snow games but I think the boys will be giddy none the less. Really I can not blame them.I mean it is Snow after all, a rare treat here. ( Or used to be a rare treat here on our valley floor but as some folks say there is no global warming.Yeah right, no global warming my A*#.)
 Last night while we were waiting for the snow to start I made some of these 3 D Paper Snowflakes.  They were very simple to make but I did change a couple of  steps. The first step I changed was step # 3. The directions did not show to do this but I ended up folding the triangle in half to make the cuts in the paper so they would be evenly spaced. I also used a glue stick for making the curls.I read that one in the tips section so it was not my own idea but seemed easier than fumbling around with tape I did not have to begin with. I really do think younger kids who have nimble fingers ( That's a hint to you Natalie, I am thinking of your Little Miss M.) could do this project.Both of our boys learned to make them in Middle School.I used paper from the printer to make the first two.I ended up with these large sized snowflakes that are about 13-14 inches across.I love them, I think I will make a whole blizzard of them in different sizes.Maybe by the time I make them all I will know where the camera has gone and retrieved from and I can share some photos.
  So no one spoke up about doing some holiday cookie recipe swapping. (Excuse me while I  wipe my tears and have a very tiny pitiful  moment. Ok,I am done.) But greendeva3 did leave me her Grandmothers Norwegian Butter Cookie recipe in the comments which was so sweet of her.I noticed in her comment that our Grandmothers shared the same first name ,well actually it was my Great Grandmother but - Ellen. I love stuff like that,little connections with people.There is still time to do some recipe trading folks.I have not even started to bake for Christmas yet so there is time. I personally have 31 more days until Christmas baking must be finished.Anyone?
   This Thanksgiving it is up to me to do all of the pie baking,gulp. My Aunt who usually bakes the Pumpkin Pies is not feeling up to it,her Pumpkin Pie is the pie the whole family has set their standard to and there is no recipe,gulp. My Aunt says it is all about color and smell,gulp. I am going to give it a go and pray for the best. Sol has requested a Pecan Pie,another pie that will be new to me this year.Sol loves making pies and when we were talking pie flavors at dinner one night he made his request which includes him helping me. Sol is so sweet,here he is a big lug of a guy and he still likes to help Mama with the baking.
 Two of our chickens have become the "Wild Ones", they are one of the hens and the roo we hatched this summer.They will not stay in the coop or the chicken yard.Even though Chance raised the fence around the coop somehow they are still getting out,even with clipped wings.The two of them have been roosting in a tree at night.I am mostly ok with this, it is a the natural way for them to be. If they are too dumb to stay out of the weather or high enough in the trees to keep safe than maybe they should remove themselves from the gene pool.But....but...but...those two are our Homegrown Chickens,the very first chickens I know I will cry over if something happens.Currently their names are Loowitt (the hen) and Ransome (the roo) but I have been thinking of changing their names to Hansel and Gretel. Think about it.....they are "lost", the other chickens ate their trail of crumbs so they can't find their way home again, the witch (aka the Raccoons.) wants to eat them.The only problem with their story, I don't think they want to find home.I am hoping today's snow will motivate them to go into the coop tonight to be safe and snug with the rest of the chickens.

Rois

P.S - I just happen to be be the BIGGEST DORK EVER! After writing this post this morning I went out to feed the chickens and standing there in the yard were "The Wild Ones" safe and sound, all fluffed up on this 23 degree morning. And as I fed the chickens I hear a cock a doodle do  not from Ransome  but  coming from Loowitt. What the?! How did I screw that one up?! I guess looking at the chickens with my glasses on really is the best thing to do.Once I looked at Loowitt I really felt dumb,there is the feathers shaped into a saddle on his back and the long tail.Oh yeah, and the cock a doodle doo thing as well. I was thinking Ransome's long tail was a sure sign of being a roo and since we had yet to witness the young one crowing it had to be Ransome but nooooo, it was Loowitt crowing..Lesson learned today: Always wear my glasses when trying to sex a chicken.And just to rub salt in my Homesteading wound Loowitt is now standing at the backdoor crowing at the top of his young lungs most likely laughing his head off at me.