Sassy & Sweet Notes

Happy Halloween!

 

molting.

 
Nugget and I had a little chat today about her recent decision to MOLT instead of lay EGGS. Silly chicken... ...I'm not sure she listened. She'd better make it snappy -- she'll have lots of new feathers to grow in before winter!

Soup's On!

With temperatures cooling, leaves falling, and days getting shorter, it's high time for soup! Alan isn't home for dinner tonight, so I took the opportunity to make myself some homemade split pea soup (Alan doesn't like split pea soup, so more for me!) It turned out so GOOD! I thought I'd share my own personal recipe...

Dee-lish Split Pea Soup
   from the kitchen of Anna Wight

2 Cups Split Peas
5-6 Cups Water
½ tsp Onion Powder
½ tsp Garlic Powder
½ tsp Paprika
¼ tsp Dried Basil
¼-½ tsp Chipolte Chile Pepper
¼ tsp Celery Seed
¼ tsp Dried Rosemary

Bring to boil and let simmer 45-50 minutes
Blend ½, or all, of soup in blender (depending on how smooth you like your soup)

Deee-LISH!

The GIANT Egg

Every now and then, one of the hens will lay a large egg. Sometimes the large eggs have two yolks in them, and they're called "double-yolkers". Yesterday, I found the mother of all eggs in the nest box. This is an egg of GIANT proportions! The shell was quite frail, and I was amazed that it wasn't completely broken, with the size of the cracked area on the end. But, Curly Que was sitting on it, keeping it nice and safe for me. (It's not Curly Que's egg, though... she was just "egg sitting" for the hen that laid it.)

 

I immediately took the egg to the house. I got out my trusty digital scale and carefully weighed the egg. 137 grams! I couldn't believe it!

 

Here is the GIANT egg on a plate next to a NORMAL sized egg. Holay MOLAY!

 

Here is a "normal" sized egg in my hand...

  

Here is the GIANT egg in my hand.

  

I wanted to see just how many yolks were in the GIANT egg. I cracked it open on the plate, and was AMAZED to find another egg of normal size, shell and all, inside, along with a big beautiful yolk!

 

I then decided to crack open the egg within the egg to see what I could see... Lots of egg white, but not so much yolk.

Hopefully, the hen that laid this egg takes a few days off to recoup. Maybe a little Preparation H is in order...  *grin*

a few photos from today...

As promised, here are a few snapshots from around the farm today.

 
This is Curly Que sitting in one of the nest baskets. Curly Que is a cross between a frizzle bantam and a Golden Laced Polish. Her feathers really do curl forward like you see them. She is quite protective of her little nest basket, and screeches at me every time I go in to gather eggs. She has been "broody" for well over a month. When a hen goes "broody", all she wants to do is sit on her nest and incubate her eggs so chicks hatch. She gets up just long enough to snatch a bite to eat and drink, and then she's back in the nest basket. Trouble is, since she's in with all of the laying hens and I collect eggs several times a day, she's not actually sitting on any eggs. Silly bird. 

 
Only a few minutes after I finished cleaning out the coop today, I was left with three tidy eggs in one of the nest baskets. Thanks ladies!

 
These two little hens are two of my smallest hens. They lay pretty little white eggs smaller in diameter than a quarter. They're so little, they can perch on my finger! They like to sit on top of the partial wall in between the chicken side of the coop and the feed side of the coop. The gold colored one behind tugs on my pant legs every time I go in the coop. When I pick her up and hold her, she snuggles in and coo's. Quite cute! They were supervising me as I gathered eggs and took photos.

 
This is Poof. She is the ONLY Silkie hen I got this year from the farm supply store. All of the others were roosters, which I sold about a month ago to a nice lady near here. I kept Poof for myself though. She's just too funny!

 
This is Zip. He's a really beautiful frizzle, and quite the ladies man. I'm thinking of selling him... any offers?

 
Truman, Baron, and Runner were catching a bite to eat this afternoon while I was out and about with the camera. Truman is quickly outgrowing his baby halter ... just in time to go to his new home!

That's about it for today ... time for some hot tea, and a blanket on the couch!

Happy Saturday!

Sorry for my absence lately -- I've been BUSY, and haven't had any extra time for crafting. It also doesn't help that my craft table is in SERIOUS need of attention. It's piled HIGH with bits and pieces of projects, magazines, books, and a few things I've started collecting for the holidays. I'm sure my stamp table is under there somewhere, but it's going to be a chore finding it. It is, however, on my list of things to do this weekend! I've also been busy illustrating, and you know when I'm in illustration mode, there's little time for anything else. *grin*

I'm also up to my ears with farm chores. With all the rain we've had, things are needing a bit more attention. Today, Alan is picking up a few bales of hay for the little bull calves we've isolated from their mamas. The plan is for them to go to their new home next weekend. Truman (our little donkey) might get to go to his new home next weekend, too! Hopefully the weather cooperates (and the mud dries up) so we can actually move the critters! The boys are LOVING their off-mama feed and getting so big! I'll try and get some photos today...the sun is shining, so it will be a good day for some snapshots. The to-do list just keeps getting longer and longer, doesn't it?

Alan is picking up a few bales of wood chips for the chicken house as well! It's time to clean out the coop, switch out their chip litter, and spruce up the nest boxes with fresh chips. The rain creates so much sticky mud that gets tracked into the coop, and I like to keep things nice and tidy! The girls are also tipping over two of the nest boxes (I use apple picking baskets), so I've got to do a little rearranging to help keep things in place.

As if that isn't enough to do in a weekend, I'm also having a 25% off sale in the shop this weekend -- time to make room for new goodies!

Hope you're all having a fine and dandy day!

Toodles!

I'm in Print!

It must have been about a year ago when I received an invitation to be a contributing artist for the Cornish Heritage Farms Thomas Kinkade How To Guide Book. I was (and still am) thrilled to have been part of this project!

The book features many of the Thomas Kinkade images and a variety of techniques using the stamps. I was asked to demonstrate a coloring technique. Being such a sucker for watercolor painting, I chose to demonstrate watercolor painting with liquid inks. For my project, I chose one of my favorite images, The Light of Peace. 

The book is a wonderful mix of techniques including chalks, markers, pencils, and even some embossing techniques. You can read more here.

When I received my complimentary copy of the book, I was even MORE excited when I saw that one of my images made the cover! How exciting!

  

Thank you, Cornish Heritage Farms, for the wonderful opportunity!

I'm BACK!

Last week was a long week away from home. I was in the San Jose, California area on business, so I got to experience the monster rain storm that hit northern California early last week. I also heard that there was a small earthquake near San Jose while I was there, too!

The weather was no better for Alan at home ... about 6 inches of rain fell, making conditions on the farm quite wet and muddy. Things on the farm are starting to dry out now, but we're expecting more rain later this week. Thank goodness for muck boots!

Halloween is just around the corner...are you planning on doing anything fun? I need to put out some jack-o-lanterns!

Introducing Her Favorite Things & His Favorite Things

 

It's that time of month again! Time for another Whipper Snapper cling set release! This month, there are two sets being released: Her Favorite Things and His Favorite Things

I wanted these sets to release before Christmas, because I think they'll be great fun for gift tags for kids! And, they're not just seasonal -- I think they'll work well for other occasions, too... like birthdays!

Click on the images for a larger view...

 

 

The Who's Who of September/October Featured Designers:

Danielle Lounds
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/dlounds
Blog: http://fatcatstamper.blogspot.com

Jeanie Witmer
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/Jeanie_Witmer
Blog: http://thespottedchick.blogspot.com

Katarina (Kathy) Menzies
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/katarinam
Blog: http://thecreataholic.blogspot.com

Kelly Bee
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/kellybee
Blog: http://kelly.studiobeemusic.com

Stephanie Kraft
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/booga3
Blog:http://handkraftedbystephanie.blogspot.com

and Me! Anna Wight
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/sweetmissdaisy
Blog: http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com

Just a reminder, you can see all of the projects current and past Featured Designers have uploaded to their SplitCoast galleries by viewing the Whipper Snapper Featured Designer Gallery. Have a look -- it's a great place to find all KINDS of great inspiration!

Have fun!

Happy Weekend, Busy Weekend...

Just a quick note tonight... I'm pretty beat! We've had a bit of extra work on the farm this week. The rain has really made a mess of the barn yard, and the mud just makes it extra difficult to get around. Hopefully, things will dry out a bit tomorrow. The soil here is a thick, black clay. And when it gets wet, it turns into a slimy, heavy, sticky, MESS! More than once I've been walking through the pasture and nearly walked out of my boots -- the mud has some serious suction skills!

In addition to extra farm chores this week, I've also been busy working on spring and summer illustrations for Whipper Snapper. What FUN! And, I've been busy getting ready for my business trip -- I fly out tomorrow afternoon, and will be gone until next Saturday. There's just so much left to do! Starting with finding clothes to wear all week! Ack!

Oh! Here's a tease for you ... Monday is release day for my October Whipper Snapper cling sets! I can't WAIT to see what the featured designers have been up to!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

Cluck, cluck!

Chicken Snowman...

We're headed into the weekend.... easy does it! I decided to use my chicken snowman image .... honestly, this just cracks me up! Cluck cluck!! The fun patterned paper is from Basic Grey.

I have been hard at work getting ready to be away from home all next week for business. It's one thing to be gone for a day or two, but an entire week is a bit crazy. I don't like leaving Alan here on the farm without my help. I know he'll be fine, but it's just a lot of work for one person, for that many days. Give him some love while I'm away from home next week.  *grin*

On a farm related note: We have Dexter Cattle for sale... write for more details if interested.

I'm only 25(ish)... ...really!

Tonight, Alan, his parents, and I went out to dinner. Alan knows I like fish and seafood, so we opted for Red Lobster. I had salmon and it was de-LISH! There was plenty to bring home for lunch tomorrow, too! Gotta love that!

Alan's parents gave me some wonderful decorative plates for the kitchen, beautifully painted with roosters. I can't wait to get them on the wall! And Alan, such a good boy, gave me an iPod Touch! YAHOO! Now I can listen to tunes while I'm walking! Groovy! (Although, I will say that he made me wait until after midnight, so it was "officially" my birthday, before allowing me to open my gift! The stinker! *grin*

So anyway, October 7th is my birthday... I hope it is a beautiful day for you, too!

CHEERS!

A Cute Card, and a Farm Update

My Dad has been getting so much fun "get well" mail, I put together this little note card for Mom so she wasn't left out....Miss You, Mom!

I've had lots of requests for updates on the farm. Let's see if I can pull it all together into one post for you...

Boxcar Betty: After the horrible coyote attack and trip to the vet (... $100 for the love of a rotten goat...), Betty is actually healing up and is more and more herself every day. And, I might add, she's really packing on the pounds for winter. Her neck and face are still very scared from the injuries, but hopefully as she gets more and more winter hair the scars will be covered. Poor thing. Callio-Pea is doing just fine ... also doing her best to pack on the pounds before winter.

Chickens: Sadly, we lost Dark Brown Hen to a raccoon. Her 8 babies are doing fine -- thankfully they were old enough to be just fine on their own. But still... very sad.

The "egg laying girls" have been busy poppin' out eggs! I'm selling about 20 dozen eggs a week now, and that leaves just enough for us!

I sold off some roosters a couple weeks ago. Remember those cute silkie chicks that followed me home from the farm supply store? Well, 6 out of the 7 turned out to be roosters. I kept the one little white hen, but the others (along with two little CUTE buff Frizzle roosters) went to a new home. Word from the lady who bought them is that they're all doing well, and she even has "favorites". Imagine that... I wouldn't dream of picking a FAVORITE. (hahaa!!)

Cows: Lucy is due to have her baby in the next couple of months. She might be little (she's our shortest cow), but she is making up for her shortness in width.

Beavis seems to be healing up from his showdown with The Beast. Thank goodness. A lame bull is quite useless if you ask me. Also, because of the incident with The Beast, we're having to give Dixie's Chick a shot to keep her from carrying any BEASTLY BABIES to term. The requires us to chase her into the chute, and for me to give her the shot. I'm the needle packin' mama on the farm, and it suits me just fine!

A few weeks ago, Alan sold off the three bull calfs born this summer. They're still here on the farm until they're ready to be weaned from their mamas, but in a month or so we will deliver them to their new homes. We're hoping to sell Dixie's Chick (Houdini's mama), and Pixie too. If you know anyone who would like to buy a registered Dexter cow or two, let me know!

Well... that's what I can think of for now....  Cheers to you, from the farm!

New Boots!

Alan and I made a quick trip this evening down the the farm supply store to pick up assorted grub for the critters on the farm.

How cute are these?

Way cute, if you ask me!

Happy *early* Birthday, to me!

Alan and his parents are taking me out for an *early* birthday dinner tomorrow night -- I might just have to wear my new schnazzy boots! And Wednesday, I might just have to wear them all DAY! Except out to the barn... it's too muddy out there!

How fun to have new boots!

Simple Quilt

 

Just in time for the weekend, as luck would have it, I managed to put a kink in my lower back and it causes me great pain to do even the simplest of tasks that require me to bend or twist. I can't tell you how many hours I've been on the heating pad since Saturday morning. More than I care to count. And, as luck would have it, it seems to be getting better...just in time for the work week. Sometimes weekends just get washed away. And this weekend, we really were nearly washed away! We got quite a bit of rain this weekend, which is SUPER! The only problem is the barn yard. It's now a pond. Good thing we've got rubber boots!

Because I haven't been able to sit at my craft table for the past few nights, I thought I'd share a card I made a couple of weeks ago that I don't think I've gotten around to sharing yet! I made this card using blocks from Homespun Quilt. I love how simple it is to use this set, and adding faux stitching gives the project a little extra something.

Hope you've enjoyed the weekend!

Repurposed Popcorn Jar

Here's a quick project to share with you! I wanted to send a special fella a thank you gift -- a BIG jar of pistachio nuts -- one of his favorite things! I had a large plastic container left over from some of that delish specialty popcorn from Target, and found it was the perfect size for what I was wanting to send.

I removed the original labeling from the jar and cleaned it all up. I wrapped the container with fun Cosmo Cricket paper. I added the faux stitching to the edges of the paper for a little bit of texture and interest. I made a little swivel-style tag using my Singing Cowboy and his rascally little dog. I adhered the tag to the brown twill using hemp twine and a worn button.

Once the container was redecorated, I filled it to the top with yummy salt and peppered pistachio nuts and got it ready to mail. Perfect!

Take a second look at containers in your kitchen. You might find something just perfect for containing a quick gift! I particularly like jam jars, and cute little fruit jars! Filled with pretty little candies and decorated with simple tags, they make perfect (and inexpensive) gifts!