Egg Basket Liner

I made a prototype egg basket liner.  I picked up 2 small green baskets at Atwood's yesterday.   One of the newer chicks laid her first egg!  How did I know?  It was brown and the older hen lays white eggs.
     

The basket on the right is the prototype egg basket liner.  The one on the left is a tea towel and doily in a taller basket.

 The smiles are from Dakota.  I will publish directions soon.  

We have a couple new Silkie chicks in the brooder, so the new babies get a lot of hugs and kisses from the grandbabies.

Dawnie

Chickens and kids

She is taking after her big sister.  

TV and Movies Mimic Real Life

TV and Movies Mimic Real Life

I love to see things that interest me in a movie or on TV.  I watched a movie called The Meddler starring Susan Sarandon. In the movie, a man that was interested in her took her to his home to see his chickens.  Susan ate one of the eggs from his chickens and she mentioned that it was much better than the eggs from a restaurant she visited.

https://www.amazon.com/Meddler-Susan-Sarandon/dp/B01FV51FJI/ref=pd_ybh_a_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9D66HMTVS492S8SQ5984

Watch this to view my grand-daughter and learn about the Wheel of Fortune Ranch

I have probably talked about my grand-baby taking horseback riding lessons.   Now you can view her on the horse in the video below.  The video is the last few minutes of the Wheel of Fortune TV show from the 29th of May.  She is on this video 4 times.  Once when Donna leads the horse with her on it, once with the other kids walking around (she has a pony tail in this picture), once in her pink cowboy hat (her arm was in a purple cast), and once at the far right side of the screen for a quick shot.  Her plaid shirt shows in the shot.

This is a great place for children and adults to visit.  I love the quiet of the country and all of the animals there, especially the chickens.   This video is publicizing the Wheel of Fortune Ranch, which was purchased with the winnings from Donna Penley's time on the show after the tornado went through Haysville, Kansas in 1999 and Donna lost her home.
 


https://www.facebook.com/wheeloffortune/videos/1428402717203367/ 

Misc. items

 

I received several lovely Christmas gifts.  This is one of them.  I love it when they are handmade and especially if they are re-purposed.

She loves to watch the chickens.  They had to be checked on three times today.



The fisherman's soap looks very rustic now that it has cured.  The soap has been planed and it still has white ash.  It is throughout the bars. This is our favorite soap.

New tea cozy, reversible.  The bright sparkle blue does not show up well, so the picture does not do it justice.  The light blue also has sparkle in the yarn.  It is a fun tea cozy,  There is a dangle from the loop.  My sister made it.  She makes jewelry and it blends well with either side.  It is removable. 

The trivet under the tea pot is also reversible.  It is made with handspun wool yarn.  There is a little sparkle in the yarn also.  The reverse side is cotton fabric with farm scenes.

How was your day?  Thank you for viewing my blog.  Dawnie

I have too many projects in my mind.  If you are not crafty or artistic, you may not understand that your head gets so full of ideas that you need time off of life to fulfill some of the ideas.  Well, I ordered a few items to help make a project or two.  While I was looking around, I stumbled upon purple Ball canning jar lids and bands.  I thought I would show you the new ones with the purple jars.  Unfortunately my lids look more blue in the photo.  I also ordered some solid lids for my project.  I ordered red and pink.  The pink arrived.  It is more of a purple tinge than I would like.  I placed a bubblegum pink folder next to one photo for comparison.  These are not for regular canning, just for storage.  I also ordered wooden spoons for my laundry soap and they came in the mail today.  I had to share, just in case you haven't viewed the new Ball canning rings and bands in purple.

 

See how the pink has a purple tinge.

They sit outside the back door hoping for a treat.  

Snow, Chickens, and Soap Sacks

It is a snowing here.  We probably have about 5" on the ground.  No, I am not complaining.  5" is nothing compared to the 3 feet or more of snow that the New York area of our country has.  Both of the kids shoveled snow.  One did the front and one did the back.  I am grateful.  The dogs stayed in.  The chickens were a little reluctant to go out, but they did. 

As you see, we have an assortment of types and sizes of chickens.  This may explain the varied egg sizes and colors we get.

I have been making soap sacks.  I wrote out directions in case someone else would want to make them also.

Click on the directions and they will enlarge.

Front and back.  As you see, there is one seam and it is centered in the back.

As you see, I frayed the end about 3/8".  This way it looks a little country/rustic.

I hope you are having a good weekend!  We are enjoying the sunshine along with the snow.  It is a perfect crafting and cleaning weekend!

Please view my web store at:

 http://www.custercottage.com
 

And my Etsy shop at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/CusterCottage

Have a great weekend! Dawnie

Wordless Week's End

The kids with the chickens.

The big white one is not a chicken.  LOL

The kids moved the canned goods to the basement.

I completed the grand-baby sweater.  I made shorter sleeves than the pattern indicates.

 Please view my web store at: http://www.custercottage.com And my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/CusterCottage
 

Thanks for viewing!!!  Dawnie

Rosie's Visit

Rosie came to visit and see the chickens.  She likes the white Silkie.

Please Enjoy Pictures at Our Urban Farm

Caption Needed

Hope gathered 5 eggs.

Onions and cucumbers

The beginning of marbled eggs.

Marbled eggs

Elvis and Ginger Rogers

Pretty Blue Ears!  It reminds me of earrings.

You are able to view my web store at: http://www.custercottage.com

And my Etsy shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CusterCottage

 

Thank you for viewing my blog.  Have a great day!  Dawnie

What I Learned From Chickens at Our Urban Farm

 

• White chickens disappear.

• Chickens are great entertainment.  They are calming when you need stress relief.

• Chickens come in most any color, size, and style. 

• Chicken wattles and combs are many colors and sizes.

• Chicken combs should be bright red on barred rock chickens.  If not, there may be a parasite issue.

• Chickens have soft feathers to sit on.  If they were not soft, eggs would be broken.  They are often referred to as "fluffy butts."

• Chickens have colds in the fall and spring when the seasons go hot and cold and hot and cold......

• Home raised chicken eggs taste better than store bought eggs.
• I love the way I am greeted by the girls when I have treets or just go out to check on them.

• Dogs and Cats that you do not own like to hang out in your back yard.

• Cats eat baby chickens and there is no leash law on chickens in the city limits.

• Dogs like to jump fences and dig under fences.  Dog owners find your chickens to be the problem and not the actions of his or her dog when your chickens are killed.

• Mice like chicken food.

• Eggs can be many shapes, sizes, and colors. 

• I like the blue eggs and the speckled eggs the best.

• Collecting eggs is like Christmas morning excitement every day.

• Unusual chickens and costly chickens occasionally disappear.

• Chickens like to come indoors.

• Chickens like to eat dog food.

• There is a pecking order and a head hen.

• Chickens automatically go indoors to roost when it starts to get dark out. 

You are able to view my web store at: http://www.custercottage.com

And my Etsy shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CusterCottage

Thank you for viewing!  Dawnie

Our Baby Chicks

We have not named any of the new chicks except for one.  The show girl we thought needed a name like a dancer.  We named her Diamond.

This is a little gray frizzle.

Group of Baby Chicks

Diamond the Show Girl

I am not sure what this chick is.

White Silkie

This is why the lilac tree never grows.  LOL

Regular chicken foot with 4 toes.  One toe is hard to see.

Silkie with tuft on the head---See the 5 toes.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of the chicks and chickens.  Have a great week!  Dawnie