Sleepovers or "Sleeplessovers"

Last night Emily and Abbie came out to the farm for a sleepover (or sleeplessovers as our good friend David likes to call them). And, much to their shagrin (smile) they "have" to stay for another night. The roads are icy on Hwy 10, so Sarah and Doug decided not to risk the journey so close after her back surgery. When I broke the "bad" news to them that they were going to have to stay the night again, there was much rejoicing!! Not everyone is thrilled, however! Sometime in the recent past, Brett has grown up and has been grumpy with all of the girl noises emanating from all parts of the house. :)

When did he grow up, I wonder? I smile as I think of many years of sleepovers that we endured for him! Of course, there weren't screams of joy echoing throughout the house when he had his friends over. Although there were lots of boyish yells of "YES!" when the Hot Wheels cars performed their acrobatics correctly! Or when the rockets went off without a hitch and he went in search of the parachutes, etc., to pick up! And who could forget that he was the self-proclaimed "Number 1 Pokemon Fan!!!!"

I guess those days are long past, but the memories are glorious. Just as the memories of little girl's sleepovers, with their high pitched squeals of laughter and fun will eventually be as well. For now, I'll enjoy this, almost as much as they are!

It's January, and I'm Dreaming of Spring!!!

Here it is, January 15th and I'm sooo tired of winter. (We're supposed to get another inch of snow tonight!) This week we're going to be having "high" temperatures in the negative numbers. I think some people think we're crazy for living up here. And I'll admit that winter can be long, but it's so worth it for spring, summer, and fall! I'm glad I wrote this post, it's made me thankful again.

While I was at Fleet Farm this afternoon picking up feed for the chickens, I noticed all of the seeds and gardening stuff being displayed now. It made me happy just to look at them!! I think I'm going to start planning for the CSA garden we plan to have this summer. I always love going through the seed catalogs.

I can hardly wait to get my hands into the soil again, smell the rain, hear the droning of the lawnmower and smell the freshly cut grass. I'm looking forward to seeing the geese returning, and the first Robins, and hearing the birds singing. Other things that make me smile: sitting on the deck and watching the sunset and seeing the stars "come out", hearing the frogs croaking out their songs, and the Canadian Geese honking. Watching the eagles soaring in the air above our farm. Thunderstorms, windows open all day and night, crickets chirping, chickens wandering all over the farm expecting a hand-out whenever they get a glimpse of me. A full moon reflecting on the lake.

This afternoon, while we were driving into Moorhead, I asked Brett if he had noticed all of the seeds at Fleet Farm, and he smiled while he reached into his jacket and produced four packets of Watermelon seeds he had just bought! I must be doing something right!

We Wish You a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!!

Mmmm, Fresh Eggs!!

The chickens are finally earning their keep!! We've started getting eggs every day, usually around 2 dozen a day! They are absolutely delicious and our family and friends are enjoying the surplus! That's me in the picture above holding the very first egg. I'm not sure which of my 42 hens laid it, but they're all getting down to business now.

Yesterday I went out to the coop to get two more eggs to finish up a batch of eggs I was bringing into town, I walked in and said "Okay Ladies, I need two more eggs." I started walking around to search for eggs and found 3! I thanked the girls for their hard work and off I went. :)

What can I say? I'm a country girl!