In a way, then, it doesn’t make sense that I would sign up for a potholder swap since we don’t use them and I can’t foresee us ever using them in any practical way, but that’s just what I did. Then I went ahead and made a butt load of potholders. Not only that, but I crocheted them! Crazy talk.

The swap, officially know as hot pads! and potholders – the swap, is coming to a close and I expect to receive my shipment in the next few weeks and I can’t wait. It was super fun to spend time crocheting (and I went a little over the top and now have a bunch of granny squares) and if nothing else, I learned that I am a fantastic granny-squarer. As of right now I could spend the rest of my crochet life making granny squares and be perfectly content.

Here are my hot pads:

The yarn is all worsted weight wool of varying brands, and the most fun part of all was putting together the crazy colors. I used the free pattern called Sunburst Granny Square by Priscilla Hewitt, on Ravelry here. They were super-curly until I blocked them.

In other news, the chickens have moved to the coop down the hill. They love it down there and we love going down to watch and talk to them. Here’s the coop.

See the cat? She hasn’t bothered the chicks yet, but we have our fingers crossed. The chicken run is well fortified, and we leave the chicks in there all the time.

Here they are after I opened the door:

I think this picture is from Friday and they have grown so much even since then! They are gonna be some big chickens.

This is Bugsy:

She (I’m still using that term loosely, we’ll know hes from shes in a couple of weeks) is our favorite because she is the friendliest. She follows Maggie around and it’s very funny. Jerry named her Bugsy because when the kids were trying to feed them bugs, she was the only one who would come right up to them.

There are two others with names (Veronica, as in Veronica Mars and Angela, as in Angela Chase) but I’ll have to get better pictures of them.

Until next time!

I have got to tell you about a few things that are non-knitting related today. If you can’t tell from that picture, we got chicks! My husband and I have talked about this for years and finally this winter he got serious about it.

When we bought our house there were all these dilapidated buildings out back, in an area we call “down the hill” because it is. The main shed was full of piles of junk and it was too dangerous to go in. Gerald tore it down (by hand, it took a while) but realized that a smaller shed next door had once been a chicken coop. It had feeders and nesting boxes and little doors for chickens to go in and out. The coop is in good shape, and just needed a good cleaning out. It will also need new screens on the windows and new latches on the doors, to keep these little critters safe from big critters.

Gerald also built a run, or an enclosed but movable place for the chickens to be outside. We’re nearly ready. And that’s good because the chicks will soon be ready for the coop!

They are about a week old now, and growing quickly. The chicks are living in the back porch, and I’m pretending that my whole house doesn’t smell like a farm.

We got straight-run chicks, which means that they haven’t been sexed (we don’t know if they’re girls or boys). If we have roosters we may eat them, or find a farm for them to live on. But our main goal is to have layers, who will provide us with eggs. We thought six chicks would be enough, but I came home from the farm store with many more than six.

We got 11 chicks:

• (3) Barred Rock
• (3) Buff Orpington
• (2) Ameraucana
• (3) Rhode Island Red

We’re learning as we go, and so far everything is going well. I’m feeling more like a farmer every day. I’m desperately resisting going to the store to get overalls and wellies.

The other non-knitting thing happened on Saturday when I was mowing the lawn. I saw a huge snake. I was home by myself while Gerald had the kids at the grocery store.

Eeeew. Sorry to any animal lovers out there, but I didn’t want this thing around my house and my kids and my chicks. I don’t know why I got my camera first (bloggable?), but I ended up getting a shovel, chopping it in two, and burying it. Seriously, it was the most empowering thing I’ve done in a long time. My mother-in-law and I even celebrated my bravery with champagne on Mother’s Day.

I grew up knowing that women can do anything men can do (thanks, Mom!), but I don’t ever mind when my husband does some of the dirty work (building chicken runs, taking out the trash, going grocery shopping, etc). I’m feeling pretty damn proud of myself today, having taken care of business all by myself.

I think I should reward myself. Maybe pink wellies?