Trixie's Travels...

Three

I have to admit I am prone to the number three.  I have three kids.  I am one of three siblings. I have three parents.   I had three men that I have really loved over the years...the last one being the one I married.  I like groups of three when I am decorating.  I like to stamp at least three cards.  I have always tended to be a third-wheel in friendships.  I have been dumped by three really special friends .  I like to make enough food for at least three meals.  The pictures on my wall are all divisible by three - I counted and divided to make sure.  I have three cents to my name, but the most amazing three is....I only have

     3

days until I see my sister!  Yippee Yi Yay!

There.... I posted Karrie.

Feel better?

Love ya, Pancho

Her Own Space

We live in, what I call a cottage, technically it is a 1,100 sq. foot California ranch home built about 50 years ago.  We are the second owner to this home, as the first owner lived here pretty much for it's entire existence  with the exception of a few months after its construction completion. 

With that said, space is VERY limited and highly valuable.  There is a constant import/export going on here, as of the last few years there has been a greater export of things but not enough still to have a really good handle on things.

You know it is getting bad though, when your littlest one really needs her own space and decides this:

that the bottom of one of your two closets, is the best place for her.  The vacuum had been moved temporarily because I needed to replace a belt on it; so she moved in beside the toilet paper, the beauty aids and whatever miscellaneous things are shoved on the bottom of the closet. 

Mem declared it her room to everyone in the family and so it remained until today when I replaced vacuum to its rightful place. 

At least she got to experience what it was like to have her own "little space"  even if it was for a small amount of time....we all need our own little space at times.

Chicken Run

Finally!,  a summer-long project has come to a completion.  Our family tends to jump into things feet first without much preparation - it is a bad habit.  It can be a wonderful trait at times, but......in preparing for things - it is a very BAD trait. 

These are the times that I look to my family, namely my Dad to come and bail me out.  He does it and not because I bat my eyes and say "Pleeeeaaaassse, Dad, can you come help me?????" - he will do it because I am one of his favorite daughters (He only has two of us, I am one of the two). 

I started out with three chickens at this time last year, Dad obliged and for Christmas he made me a chicken coop.  Wellll.....during this year we added 10 more chickens to our brood.  One chick died and another was taken out by a raccoon or skunk.  Our brood became 11 instead of 13, which is a good thing.  The chicken coop needed remodeling and an extension; this would prevent cannibalism amongst the chickens and help keep the chicken poop under control.

That remodeling finally came to fruition while Mem and I were on a field trip last Friday.  The weekend before my brother and Dad came over and helped moved the two-ton hessie chicken coop to the corner of our lot.  My brother was brilliant that day, but I will save that for another time.

My Dad did "pre-fab" 2 x 4 "walls" at his house and we moved them over here before he stayed with the older kids while Mem and I headed to Habitot in Berkeley. 

This is what he had done by the time I got home...

It is completely enclosed so that no critters can get in or out....

There are two access points - one at the end of the chicken run

 and another remains on the coop...

We put the finishing touches on the chicken run - filling the bottom with dirt, putting sawdust in the beds and putting a couple extra roosts right in the middle of the run.  We introduced the last 3 chickens at night so that they wouldn't get to beat up by the others. 

All I can say is "Ahhhhhhhh, a project is complete!"

Now, I have my Dad doing the little things that I need to get done before we start laying the brick down, so we can extend our patio area before the rains come.  Projects never end, but I am bound and determined to complete the ones I start BEFORE I start another, even if I have to ask my Dad to help me!

Happy Trials!

Did you VOTE??

Yesterday was Election Day!  A very important day for many reasons,, but for me it was to stir my kid's hearts towards making responsible and intelligent decisions when it comes time for them to vote.  Let's face it, our children are excited about things when we are excited about things and a lot of the choices that we make today, effect their future in a greater way than we realize.

I decided to make my trip to the polls a "field trip".  We had gone over some of the Propositions and they had watched me fill out my sample ballot.  They watched as I received my ballots from the poll worker, watched as I filled in all my little circles, then they assisted feeding my ballots into the machine.  They chatted with the poll workers and each of them proudly put on their "I Voted" sticker.

I don't know if you can see them in this picture.....

We then drove around the town to locate a number of the important city buildings in our town for their Geography Class.  The local City Hall, Police Department, Post Office, Bank, Library, and Fire Department.  They already knew where all of them were but they needed to get addresses for their class.

Next stop was Starbucks for our free tall coffee...simply for voting!

We finally got home, whipped up a little dinner and then headed over to Grandma's & Poppa's to watch the results roll in....needless to say we were up until 2am.

Voting is a great right to not take for granted nor to neglect; a vote that has been researched and is informed is of even greater value.  May we not take for granted this beautiful right we possess in our country.