Margaret and I have been to the Yucatan three times so thought it’d be good to try the Pacific Coast for a change, so landed in Puerto Vallarta, with a condo reservation in the town of Sayulita, around a 45-minute drive away.  We reserved a car like usual, thinking we’d be exploring little towns in the area.  However thanks to the people at Economy Rental Car acting like scheissters, we said no thanks and took a cab instead.

It was expensive at $75 however after that we realized we would’ve never needed a car again as the local buses are around $2 to $3, and so much easier than negotiating the narrow streets we encountered.  People tool around in golf carts and we ran into a few Mexican Standoffs that would take several minutes to untangle.

The name of our condo complex was Los Almendros and it has the largest pool in Sayulita, and joy of joys, it was heated and beautifully warm.  The condo was lovely inside and out with palapa roofs, large balconies, and each bedroom had a king sized bed.  A maid came every day to clean which we both found disconcerting as we’re the maids.

Somehow we thought Sayulita was a sleepy little fishing town, but it’s actually filled with surfers, tourists, and very loud music wherever you go.  Not sure why they have to blast it at that high of a decibel, but our condo was out of town so whenever our nerves had reached their limits of sound tolerance, we’d head back to our quiet place and warm pool.

We took the bus to the much smaller town of Punta Mita, which hasn’t got much going on except for fancy pants hotels which are guarded so that we ‘povos’ don’t accidentally get in, and then a short strip of hotels and restaurants along the beach.  We had lunch out every day, always on the beach at some new place, a lot of it seafood.

Another town we visited was San Pancho, also called San Francisco which is very adorable.  We thought we should’ve stayed there as it’s very small and quiet, but cute as a button.  However being cultural tourists we wondered where the town square was with the old church given the town was founded around 1500 by the Spanish.

We went into a small clothing store and asked the young girl about it, and she replied in good English no, there’s nothing like that.  This is a new town. So I guess it seemed more interesting to the tourist to tear that history down, put down cobblestones, and line the streets with the most adorable shops.

Our final outing was to the much larger town of Bucerias, and got off in what was ostensibly the centre of town, but didn’t see much except vendors, and hotels and restaurants lining the beach.  It must be a Quebecois Heaven of some kind as they had poutine on the menu, and right in front of us were two couples speaking French.

One moment of tension came when Margaret discovered the Westjet agent she’d spoken to the day prior had accidentally booked her a day early, so she freaked out and had to be on hold.  I said don’t worry, you’re getting the plane, and then as it was dinner time I went straight to a joint nearby called Pineapple Paradise.

I took two giant plastic glasses from the condo, and said can I have two pina coladas to go?  The waitress said sure, but these look really big, do you want doubles? And I said yes please, this is an emergency, and told her what happened.  I ordered two chicken sandwiches to go.

After a few minutes I had the sandies in a bag, and was carrying two very full, heavy cups of four ounces per drink of delicious elixir in each hand. I barely made it into the condo, and laughing and sweating handed one to Margaret who by then had the problem largely solved.  To whit: she got to fly home in First Class to make up for it all.

No, I’m not brooding, but two of the chickens are, which is proving to be very annoying.  You’ll recall there were all manner of problems associated with beekeeping, and before I got the chickens I was assured they’re super-easy animals to take care of.  And they have been until now, but first one, and now a second hen have gone broody which means they refuse to leave the nest.

Without a rooster the eggs are infertile and will never hatch, so it’s particularly insane for the chickens to sit on these eggs 24/7.  I said to Calvin how do they eat or drink?  Every evening when I go out to close the coop I take out a nice dinner.  Usually kale, spinach or lettuce, topped by either rice or oatmeal.  They all used to come running, but now only four do, and the other two remain on the damn nest.

You might be thinking, so what?  However the problem is by not moving and giving themselves dust baths they can become encrusted with mites.  Another thing is they stop laying eggs, so right at this very moment I’m down to three eggs in the fridge, so I said to Calvin please do something with those chickens.

When they go all broody like that, they get really mean and so will puff up their feathers and act menacing when you come to get the eggs, which I’m not crazy about.  So Calvin said he’d go out and throw them out of the coop and try some strategies to get them to snap out of it. 

All six chickens lay their eggs in that end nest, so the two hens always have something to sit on.  But it only started with the one hen, and now two, so I don’t want to end up with more broody hens and no eggs.  And imagine the crowding as the nests are plastic milk crates filled with straw so it’s very full with the two of them, never mind more.

I should put a camera in there as I’d like to see how the other four hens get themselves into that nest box to lay their eggs.  I’d also like to know if the broody chickens ever leave to eat, drink or do their business.  Turns out chickens are quite fascinating.

The bad knee’s improving, so on Tuesday when Elsa and I go to thrift I should be able to steer the car myself.  Given Elsa has only one eye, it’s a bit dicier than normal, but we made it last time, so cry me a river about hazards while driving.  If you see two women in a red car, one blonde, one with an eye patch, just get out of the way if you’re a nervous driver.

Margaret and I are excited about our impending trip to Puerto Vallarta.  I’m going with carry on, but Margaret can’t cope with that, so I told her please bring a French press, a can of evaporated milk and a can opener of some kind so we don’t have to throw the can down onto the pool deck to open it.  I’ll bring the ground coffee.  I know it seems strange given most Airbnb condos have coffee makers and coffee, however we’re very particular about the way our day begins.

Calvin’s all set to watch the dogs, cats and chickens, so I can travel with a happy, free mind. However by the time he’s given the cats their four or five cans of Fancy Feast and filled their bowls with Temptations, cooked the pork for the dogs’ meals and carried out the chickens’ dinners, all under grey skies, I think he’ll be the one who ends up brooding.

I know there are deposits of fat all over my body, however I would never have suspected where it was recently found:  You may or may not recall last June I was acting like a nut because I was afraid I might have gotten Lyme disease from a couple of ticks on my body.  It turns out it was just a strange coincidence I had a patch of numb skin on my leg and a swollen salivary gland, as I didn’t have Lyme.

The salivary gland swelling continues to happen when I eat or drink, and my mouth decides to produce saliva.  It can’t get out into that little spot in your mouth where it drains, so the parotid gland under the ear swells.  I had an ultrasound last year which showed nothing and then another the other day, as I told the doc I just couldn’t imagine myself milking the duct to get the saliva out for the rest of my life.

She sent me for another ultrasound, and then called with the results.  I was expecting to be diagnosed with a rare facial cancer, but no.  She said there’s fat in the salivary gland duct.  A lump or piece of fat!  Why it would get caught in the tiniest of places is pretty much of a mystery, and when I asked what can be done, she said just keep on massaging to get it out of there.

This is fine for the pets and myself at home, as I can gently massage the duct so the saliva can get out, however in restaurants or at friends’ homes, I feel this will be one of those anti-social antics people hate.  It reminds me of a joke I liked on Facebook. “With apologies to the woman at the Pancake House, you pee on a jelly fish sting, not a jelly stain.”

So between the gland and the painful knee due to a ligament strain, I pretty much need as many carbohydrates as possible at all meals.  Whereas for about five years I endeavoured to keep carbs low, now I keep them super high.  But I’ve made up my mind, this has got to stop, because it appears Superstore is never, ever going to raise the price of After Eight Mints to normal levels.

The ligament strain is on the right knee, which makes driving very painful.  So as Elsa and I drove to the thrift stores the other day, at times the pain caused me to put both hands firmly around the knee, at which point Elsa had to grab the wheel and steer.  The backroad is super windy, so it was quite the trip there and back again.  However, when it comes to hunting for treasures, very little stops us.

Calvin found a nice chicken watering device at Canadian Tire which I looked at and went I wonder how this works, as it looks like the chickens have to suck the water from nipples. I was afraid the chickens wouldn’t know how to use it, but it turns out they’re a lot smarter than I am.  Calvin went in this morning to show them, but they’d already figured it out.

And so you can imagine how perplexing the iPhone is to someone who doesn’t understand a chicken waterer.  I made one run at it by asking two clerks at London Drugs about a sim card for Mexico, and that was a bust, which frightened me so horribly it’ll take another day or two for me to find the courage to make another attempt.  It’s sad to be dumber than a chicken.

I know for sure I don’t have to water ski, ride a horse, do an aerobics class or play a game of croquet in order to injure myself.  Now all I have to do is go from sitting to standing which is how I totally trashed my right knee.  I’m limping around like an ancient person thinking at least those are a lot of unnecessary things I can now cross off my list of things I may or may not have planned to do.

Fortunately I can still shop so Elsa and I were at thrift the other day and hauled home the usual back seat full of treasures.  I got a nice rust-coloured cowl neck sweater which is super soft and looks new, and then for the heck of it got a sleeveless floor-length dress for summer, as though I need more of them.  But for $12 for the two items I thought I’d throw caution to the wind.

But speaking of caution, this time I’m actually going to have a cell phone with me when I land in Puerto Vallarta and attempt to meet Margaret at the airport.  Calvin’s mom got a new phone so lent me hers for the trip so I can see if a cell phone is fun or not.  Calvin got it all set up for me so now all I need is a sim card and then I can try to make phone calls.

So far I tried to turn it on, and found that too hard so have put it away.  This was two weeks ago, so I do hope at some point I have the courage to try and turn it on again.  Once I’ve done that, maybe I can send an e mail or text to Margaret to practice.  I only need to reach one human being on one day so surely the Fates will allow that.

My friend Sharon came for lunch a while ago and mentioned she hauled out her “good” China and she and Peter were now using it.  I told her that’s a fantastic idea as I see the most beautiful things at thrift, too good to have been used by their owners, inherited, and now out of fashion and given to thrift, unused!

My whole house is a shrine to things kept in mint condition, then thrown to thrift where I get them for a few dollars.  Some, such as needle points and embroidered tablecloths are all heartbreaking in the hours of work put into them.  But for some reason people want very cheap items, preferably made in bulk in China, because they’re “new.”

Our dear chickens are now laying an egg each per day, so that’s 42 eggs a week.  When Calvin comes toward me with his hands full of eggs I back up, hands up, screaming NOOOOOO.  I’m eating scrambled eggs, eggs poached on fried potatoes, omelettes and baking with them and will take the overflow to mom and Jan on Friday.

The kid explained when you get egg-laying chickens, this is actually what occurs.  I said I guess I just thought I wanted chickens to hang around with, but if they insist on giving us eggs, too, then fine.

Besides the physical crippling I can now accomplish from standing, I’d like the Superstore to finally be rid of the 50% off Christmas chocolates so that one doesn’t have to wake up in the morning feeling particularly ill from half a box of After Eight Mints.  But at $3.99 for a 300-gram box it’d be irresponsible not to buy them.

I noticed the place where I sit on the couch each night is getting very worn, so I thought why not switch ends?  Instead of sitting on the right-hand side of the couch, I moved over to the left, where the dogs hang out.  I guess I didn’t think that through well enough because both dogs are completely perplexed and unable to navigate the new system.

I put their stool on the opposite end, and so nothing is really all that different, except the orientation.  So even though Louie could use the stool to get up onto the couch when his spot was on the left, now that I switched, he’s unable to use it.  It’s quite upsetting to see how very rigid these little dogs are.

But then they say dogs resemble their owners, right?  I dislike change intensely, so why I blame the dogs for their zealous adherence to their habits I don’t know.  I guess it’s a bit insulting to have one’s weaknesses mirrored back at them like that.  At this point it’s a battle of wills because I’m not sitting on that flattened end of the couch anymore, so we’ll see how long it takes to wear them down.

Everyone who knows me is aware that at 4:00 PM a Caesar is mixed, and sipped with great appreciation.  The dogs know this is when their mom heads toward the television set and couch.  They used to beat me to it, but now they’re wary, looking up at me sitting in their spots and wondering why I’m so mean and confusing.  I can coax Frieda, the no-brained dog, but I have to pick Louie up and put his large grith onto the new spot.

And speaking of small brains, two years ago I thought it’d be fun to get a long white couch.  When no-one’s visiting it’s covered as the animals enjoy using it.  It’s very thin fabric though so the other day when Frieda decided it’d be fun to vomit somewhere, rather than the wood floors she decided the white couch was perfect.

I was doing yoga and heard the retching, but even before I could get the cover off the couch the vomit had soaked through and left a stain.  I’ve worked at it with Folex, a stain remover, and it’s fading, but it’s just so mysterious that of all places in the house where an animal wants to puke, it must be on the white couch.

I’ve made no resolutions as I won’t keep them so why do it?  Just last night I ate an entire fruitcake and had I made the mistake of swearing off poisonous foods, I’d be all disappointed today, and guess what, I’m not.  I’m happy as a clam knowing I didn’t let myself down.

I’ve cut down on thrift store visits though as we all know there’s a fine line between collecting and hoarding.  If I must go, and some days I simply have to as it’s a great endorphin booster, I try to stick to books.  The other day I read an excellent tale of deep sea diving, called Deep Dive, that was comparable to other favourites such as Into Thin Air and A Perfect Storm.

And as we begin 2023 perhaps one thing I could wish for is less rigidity from the animals and myself.  I’ve even conditioned the chickens with my adherence to routines so that they’re already looking over at the house at dusk, going where in the hell is that woman with our special snacks.  Probably not going to happen is it?

All things considered 2022 turned out not too badly.  Healthwise the only major concern has been an annoying plugged salivary gland, which I’m growing very tired of, and will be agitating to have the teensy little calcium stone, which I can see when I turn my cheek inside out, removed.  So small yet so disruptive.

However if that’s it, then that’s pretty good.  I’m now dealing with George and Iris, the tuxedo cats, who’ve discovered Calvin has a kitten in the basement.  The other day Calvin let Felix play on the stairs and Iris was just sitting and looking at him, no hissing or growling.  I said to Calvin wow, that’s quite a surprise that these insane cats are taking a cat in their home so well.

Then the other night as I was getting ready for bed I walked past the dining room table, and noticed what I thought was a brown leaf, and when I looked, it was a three-inch cat turd.  I gather the cats aren’t nearly as accepting of that kitten which makes a lot more sense given their natures.

I thought this was brilliant as I planned almost daily social events.  I figured if I clean the heck out of the house, then every day when someone’s coming, it’s just a touch-up and not a major cleaning.  When you have two long-haired dachshunds, which perform like mops, binging whatever is outside, inside, and two cats, the house is dirty.

I began with lunch for Joan, the Reiki Master, followed the next day by lunch for Elsa after a morning of our favourite thrift store shopping.  Then on Saturday Luke and Jan arrived for their annual Christmas party and we invited a wide variety of people.  The Taylors came, which means people from age almost two, to seventy-five.  In between were Ashley and James, along with other young friends of Luke’s and Calvin’s.

Jan invited some Thais, and Elsa, who’s Mexican, came, too.  So we tried to cover all age ranges and nationalities as best we could.  I made a pot of curried chili, chicken thighs and rice, followed by Christmas cookies.  Calvin made his famous whiskey punch.  For safety I needed two Advil and two Gravol during the night, then woke up fine on Sunday.

That was a good thing as Marie came for a nice Christmas lunch that day, and last night I had the Crones for a Happy Hour which included celebrating Donna’s 88th birthday.  I handed Calvin a nice large plate of leftover food followed by a wedge of the banana cake I’d made.  Being a 24-year-old student, he works for food.

And today he’ll be working hard as we’re in a blizzard with minus 18 degree temperatures, so Calvin has to shovel.  I’ll do the top area, but he has to do the long driveway.  But with the snow pounding down it all seems pointless and wouldn’t you know it I’m down to one can of cat food, and that can mean trouble.

I read that slow blinking at cats increases bonding, and sure enough I’ve experimented and George is especially receptive to it.  I just have to be careful I don’t get into some slow-blink habit as that’d be a difficult one to explain.  Are you okay?  Yeah, I’m fine, just trying to get my cats to be more friendly.  Probably too late to save the house from the damage that’ll come when they run out of food, but at least I tried.

Imagine my shock and horror to realize I haven’t written a blog in almost a month, and for no good reason other than I seem to have lost track of time.  The cursed life of the retired person.  We have all the time in the world to do whatever we please, but we decide to waste it and do nothing but look at You Tube videos.  Notice I’m dragging every single retired Boomer into this.

I do have some productive days, such as last week when I took my chiropractor’s sister-in-law thrift store shopping for four hours.  I’ve never shopped that long in those stores before, so it was quite the marathon.  It’s funny because Shelley said she needed to buy clothes, and I certainly didn’t, so guess who came home with three tops and who came home with nine.

Those damned Mennonites had all tops at 50% off so I blame them.  When a Tommy Hilfiger sweater is $4.00 I have to purchase it.  But then when I get home and look at the masses of clothes that I already own I like it quite a bit less.  Obviously buying cheap items whether one needs them or not is some type of mental illness.

And then my time is taken up with cooking for mom which involves shopping, cooking, cleaning and packaging.  Mom currently has a terrible bum leg that’s causing all sorts of agony so I’ll be going in between my usual visits to see if I can help in some way.  I can see that being 97 has its challenges.

Mom loses track of time, too, so when I go to town and return that can be enough time for her to assume I’ve been killed.  Last time I was there I arrived home after a 15-minute visit to town with mom saying she was mentally arranging the funeral and then wondered if my will is in order.  This type of questioning makes me nearly crazy, so I just replied that there’s nothing about my will she needs to worry herself about.

Because Christmas and its attendant tasks can sap any time one may have, I’ve made a master list of cookies, who is getting them, when they must be baked, and by when they’re going into the mail or out for personal delivery.  I plan on making six different kinds so you can see an Excel spreadsheet is probably in order here.

The other day I was in the basement getting mom’s cooler of food ready to take to Osoyoos when George the cat threw something at my head which caused me to scream.  Anyone who’s heard it knows my scream can break glass, but because of his penchant for rodents and because the object was small and gray, I thought he’d thrown a mouse at my head.

Calvin heard the scream (the neighbours probably did too) and opened his door to see if I was hurt, and I explained the situation. As I did I saw a bunch of feathers so realized it was a bird.  We looked all over and finally Calvin spotted it sitting in the window, so he grabbed a towel and took it outside where he reported at first it just laid there, feeling sure its life was over, and then suddenly took flight.

With this cold weather, besides You Tube I like to waste time with shows on Netflix such as Dead to Me, and on CBC Gem I like The Great Canadian Baking Show.  Cry me a river, Millennials, someday you’ll be old, retired people, too.

Louie had a ball the other day as he chased and bit into the rear tail feathers of a couple of the chickens as they’d gotten out of their enclosure.  Then I noticed one was missing, and it turned out it was grabbed by a predator as there was a trail of feathers over the fence into the neighbour’s large field.

During the chicken-biting melee Louie didn’t listen as I screamed at him to stop attacking, so I had to physically remove him from the hen and carry him into the house, his mouth filled with fluffy white feathers.  The chickens weren’t hurt, aside from the one that was eaten, so now we’re down to six.  Kate and Brave Chicken, my favourite chickens, were luckily not deceased.

But now the hens are cooped up because the heavy snow collapsed their flimsy little chicken wire fence and so they could easily walk over it and escape.  Fun for Louie, but not for them, so they have to stay inside.  It’s warm, and there’s a light on for twelve hours, plus the other day I bought a mirror as I read chickens like them for some reason.

I updated the profile bio on my Facebook page to “A retired old broad who owns cats, dogs and chickens.”  I thought that pretty much sums it up, and I also noticed a section on hobbies, and couldn’t find a way to type in the word thrifting, so picked eating.  Because really, that’s totally a very strong hobby.

As an example, this morning I began the day with eight pieces of bacon and a thick slice of bread made into delicious French toast, all drenched in maple syrup.  Like the chickens we’re all cooped up in this part of the world as it’s cold (minus three today) and dreary so what better thing to do than shovel in a bunch of food?

Margaret visited for three days, and we practiced extreme eating then, too.  The weather was still warm and sunny, so not sure what possible excuse there could be, other than I love to cook.  On the first night I made panko-breaded chicken strips, followed by boeuf bourguignon, and finally wild-caught shrimp in a cream sauce on spaghetti for the final evening.  I’d made iced brownies for our dessert.

Further participation in my hobby included lunch at a restaurant with my pal Sharon, and I always order fries when I’m out, Marilyn and family were here for lunch which included a spinach quiche and fried potatoes, lunch with Ralph at Milestones (more fries) and a Happy Hour at the Eldorado with the Crones two days ago.

And guess what?  I’ve now gained at least eight pounds since summer.  It’d be crazy not to but like a lotto ticket buyer, I have hope.  I think oh please God let me stand on the scale and let it not scare the bejesus out of me when I look down, then GAAAH!  Kind of the worst time of year to be increasing in girth when every part of Superstore is now crammed with Christmas goodies.

Margaret and I are off to Mexico again in February so I’m going to have to hope that’s enough incentive to lose the fat prior to putting on a bathing suit.  But for a procrastinator with eating as a hobby when it’s just November, and when February is so very far away, I’m going to have to keep you posted on this project. Why I bought frozen yogurt bars today I do not know.

I was so thankful the dogs decided to give up on hunting the chickens. Once Calvin had the chicken wire stapled to the ground the dogs realized there was no way to get to them.  Now the chickens and dogs hang around together quietly just inches apart, separated by the chicken fencing.

The other day Louie was standing there minding his own business, but very close to the fence, so one of the hens came over, looked at him, and pecked his nose through the wire.  Louie recoiled, but said nothing, and just had a disappointed look on his face, albeit a look that said “I won’t forget this.”  I told him to just get away from the chickens, as obviously they don’t like him.

Frieda was also pecked, but she took it poorly, first yelping and then running away.  The hens are getting quite feisty, and I guess they don’t want little dogs within inches of them.  The other night one was outside the fence again, and I know if dog and chicken meet minus a fence between them, a melee is gonna ensue.

The cats are keeping busy killing as many mice and rats as they can.  I stepped into cold rat guts the other night as I made my way to the bathroom.  Then to add insult to injury I had a small mouse head balled up in the bed.  That was likely found by Frieda and brought in as a snack but then forgotten or lost.

I’m making human snacks due to the large amount of green tomatoes I have left in the garden.  I made green tomato chutney and two kinds of salsa, one cooked and the other with raw ingredients.  Not sure if any will ever be eaten, and in a couple of years I’ll be hauling these jars out from the back of the fridge wondering whatever they could be.

Today I experimented with fermented carrot juice.  I used to be nuts about it and when I worked downtown I’d go to a health food store and buy it there.  I juiced a whole lot of carrots, then added salt, and it says to leave at room temperature for ten days.  I’ll let you know if it works.

Mom swears by fermented foods and eats dozens of jars of sauerkraut and red cabbage every month.  I certainly don’t want to make it to 97, and I don’t eat either of those two foods so I’m likely safe there, though God knows what the carrot juice’ll do for longevity.  Pretty sure the tequila balances that out.

Other bad foods I’ve made include fig jam.  I had a lot of figs this year, and at the very end I thought they were pretty tasteless due to the lack of heat, and so made jam.  But then the jam ended up rather tasteless, so that was stupid.

I’d bought a horse radish root in the spring, so I guess that should be harvested.  I also have a mighty big crop of hardy kiwis and other than making jam with them, I don’t know that anyone would like them.  I guess I could freeze them but then what?  Both the fridge and freezer will be cluttered with jars of questionable food items.

Still waiting for eggs, but if the chickens attack I won’t be able to collect them, Calvin’ll have to do it.  He said he’s never in his life been pecked by a chicken, so we’ll see if perhaps I accidentally adopted vicious hens.

Calvin thought we were doing well enough with our four chickens to warrant a couple more, as he said our flock was awfully small.  So I emailed the guy I’d bought them from and he said he had three left, so would I take all of them given he didn’t want to end up with one chicken.  I said sure, and as Calvin was off helping his mom at the ranch I drove over with the dog kennel and he stuck them inside.

I brought them into the coop and opened the door as they were just sitting there, quietly, and let them make their way out in their own time.  Their former home was flat, however our coop has a ramp so it took them a couple of hours to venture down it, but once they had they joined the other four pecking around the yard.

Carl the handyman had warned me dawn and dusk is when marauders such as raccoons will try to beat up chickens, and so I’m vigilant with getting the hens inside and the coop hatch closed.  So on the new chickens’ first night in the coop I went out expecting them to have joined the other four as it was getting dark, however my four were in, and the three new ones were hanging around in their yard.

I thought what the hell am I gonna do as I’ve never wrangled a chicken before, so I thought maybe luring them with food with work.  I went into the coop and threw down some special chicken feed and of course my four pounced right on it, but the other three remained out, looking in at me.

I left the coop and stood staring at the chickens.  I thought well, maybe they’ll hunker down under the coop and be fine.  However I knew any predator would easily be able to attack them there, so had to figure out a way to get those hens in.

Oh crap.  There’s no gate to the fenced chicken yard so I had to straddle the chain link and then woof! a heavy landing going downhill on the other side.  By now I was sweating from the effort of getting over the fence, it was getting darker by the minute and I thought I have got to get these chickens into the coop.

By now anger was helping a lot, and so I decided I had to run down the chicken closest to the ramp, caught it, it squawked like mad, but didn’t peck, and I was able to throw it into the open doorway.  I managed to run down the other two and one by one grabbed them and threw them into the coop, sweating mightily.

Another skill to add the list perhaps?  This to add to the several culinary successes I had over the past couple of weeks.  A fab spinach quiche and prune tart for Patricia, successful chicken with thyme and honey for the Crones, four different baked goods for the former gym coffee group, and finally chicken salad for Elsa and lettuce chicken wraps for Marie.

When the Crones were here a stink bug flew into the bowl of tomato salad, which were chopped with onion and oil and vinegar.  I managed to fish it out, but it fell off my fork, whereby it fell right into Frieda’s mouth as she thought it was food.  And it kind of was as it was stink bug marinated in oil and vinegar.  She seemed fine with it though three days later had a bout of terrible diarrhea but with her it could be the glutinous amounts of cat feces she wolfs from the pile of dirt I keep for gardening.