Celebration Weekend

Monday morning sure got here quickly! I hope you all had a great weekend. Ours was a busy one filled with projects around our house and celebrating Caitlin, who turned 14 on March 28th!

Work is almost completed with renovations on the chicken coop. My new Polish chickens are doing well and their feathers are growing in! A little patchy still but growing in nonetheless! While my husband was working on the coop, we let them free range, which I don't normally do for fear of hawks, but I kept a close eye on them, and they enjoyed themselves. What was funny though was that they only enjoyed their freedom for a short time and kept retreating to their home even as my husband was working with power tools on their run! No fear! They love their home and feel safe and secure. And trust my husband 100%! Here are a few photos of them but not all of them!

I also started purchasing my vegetable plants. We are extending our raised beds which I will fill with kale, butter lettuce, red and green romaine, broccoli and cucumbers. My shelves along the rear yard will have container planters of tomatoes, parsley, rosemary, basil and a few others that I still have to purchase but I did get a nice haul of veggies to start. All those I named, I bought and will plant this week. I love this time of year for the new plants both vegetable and floral. I love going to nurseries and just walking through the rows of flowers! I would love to hear about what you plant!

Caitlin's room continued with a makeover. She changed from "butterflies and fairies"from when she was four to a new "beach" theme at fourteen! Can't believe my baby is fourteen. Billy painted her room in the color of her choice and her new carpet comes this week. I will show you photos in a reveal next week! Very excited for this change for her. Here's the color and her new comforter:

We celebrated her birthday at the restaurant of her choice which was Japanese Hibachi! What a great night!

She had a few friends over afterwards and was surprised that we had a special birthday cake for her! Her favorite band is Panic at the Disco so that was her birthday cake!

So all in all it was nice weekend! I hope you had a great one and have a wonderful week!

Busy Weekend Around the Homestead

Good Monday morning! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I'm taking it easy early but not for too long as I have a lot to do. It was a busy week and weekend but all filled with good things. I'm thankful we accomplished so much in the time we had. New living room furniture and for my daughter's room new carpet and paint. Plus some shopping and some great meals too! In between that, I still had time to care for Mom and get my usual chores done so all in all a lot of productivity.

Painting began early and was completed! Two shades of ocean colors for Caitlin's beach themed room! We brought her to Christmas Tree Shop too to get all the goodies she wanted to decorate her room as they have tons of beach items for the Summer. She turned 14 this past week on March 28th! We can't believe it. We'll be celebrating her birthday out this weekend at her favorite Japanese Hibachi restaurant with some of her friends. High School in September for my baby! The years are passing so quickly. So many weddings coming up, showers, engagements of relatives and friend's children. I feel like I lost about five years some where along the line.

Have you decorated for Easter? I need to get that done! I have had the boxes out for a week but haven't gotten to it. We got our new living room furniture on Saturday and I was getting that room all set up, plus helping with Caitlin's room. Mom had several doctor's appointments last week and I thought I would get to decorate in between them but that didn't happen. I love Easter! I'm excited for Spring and our chicks are getting sooo big! They jump into my hand as soon as I open their cage! It won't be long till they can go into the coop but that won't be till it gets warm out.

It's pretty chilly today! I had bought a few vegetable plants when I saw them because as soon as it gets warm out, everyone shops and I can't find what I'm looking for so I have plants waiting by windows to go in the vegetable garden. We are changing up our planting this year and keeping a section of container plants (tomatoes, parsley, basil, peppers, etc) and in the raised bed I have I am filling with cabbage, two different lettuces, kale, green beans.

So I mentioned we had some great meals this last week too. Well, I had two events to go to. One was at one of our favorite Italian restaurants and the other was at a restaurant in Cold Spring Harbor called Harbor Mist. I had the most awesome stuffed flounder EVER. If it wasn't a political event, I would have asked for a doggy bag! LOL  Have a great Monday!

Spring is Here!

It may not feel quite like Spring yet, but the calendar says it is so! I have Spring on the brain too! I'm thinking of ideas for the garden and of some of the projects we have pending so bring it on!

The awesome rooster table cover above was a birthday gift! However if I put it on a table, my cats think it's a mattress for them so I draped it here in my family room. I like it. The rooster that adorns it is new as well. We spent a great weekend in upstate New York visiting family and that large metal rooster was a birthday gift too! My sister-in-law always gifts me with rooster and chicken items. She actually buys them and saves them for me for when she sees me :) I'm lucky!

The babies are getting big quickly! Fifteen days old and they are hungry and active. All 6 have survived and that's great. They will eventually join the Polish chickens in the coop but not for some time yet. The other chickens will occupy their own section of the coop. Good thing my husband is a contractor and can build all this for me. He enjoys them as much as I do. He had thought of getting ducks but we decided against it as ducks require a lot more care. I think we are good for now. The Polish chickens are laying eggs which is great because that means they are happy with us, I am open to rescues though. Any chicken that needs a home because of illness, injury or abuse can come here.

I think I will pull out the Easter boxes today and start some decorating. I had wanted to do some spring cleaning first and put up my new curtains in the parlor and I did that yesterday. I'm happy that Easter is later this year as I love the flowers blooming and it being warm for the holiday.

I hope you have a great day! Leave me a comment if you like or Follow me above!

Celebrating Birthdays & Welcoming Babies!

Good Morning!

Hope you had a great week and weekend! March is always a busy month for us because my birthday, my husband's birthday and my daughter's birthday all occur! And we like to celebrate our birthdays! We had a few very lovely family dinners and even a couple of lunches with friends to celebrate. Getting old isn't all that bad!

March also means "Chick Days" so Billy and I have been visiting all the Agway's and Nurseries that have chicks. They recently opened Long Island's first Tractor Supply too so we made the rounds and from one of our favorite places, we purchased these babies. They were born March 6 and they are thriving!

I'm also excited to say that one of my rescue Polish chickens laid her first egg for me! That's awesome news because it means she is adjusted and happy here with us in her new home! Go Priscilla!!!She was very vocal about laying her egg and we made a big deal about it!

March also brings the Flower Show at Hicks Nursery. If you have followed me in the past you know that Hicks has played a big role in our family activity. We visit them several times a year for different events and I personally have visited since childhood. Hicks is a Long Island landmark. The Flower Show never disappoints. These are just a few of the photos I took. The displays are incredible and their flower combinations are breathtaking.  The walk through all the indoor displays was a great way to spend a rainy Sunday! Inside it was sunny Spring! I went home feeling like I should take all the Easter stuff out!

We also went to an Islanders Game, our favorite team. We try to go to as many as we can. My son goes to MANY! :)  he bought my husband and I tickets for our birthdays and we went as a family again! We try to do that a few times a year. Otherwise, Caitlin and I just go with my son or he goes with his friends. Lets go Islanders!!! Hockey is a big part of our lives!

Do you make a corned beef & cabbage dinner for St. Patrick's Day? I bought my corned beef the other day and will pick up another this week! I bought a good size one but have to still get my cabbage. I make an awesome Irish Soda Bread (so I'm told!) and will be making a few loaves this week. I make mine sweeter than most but not overly sweet. I love St. Paddy's Day! You don't have to be Irish to love it!

Well, I'm going to get ready to start my day! I hope you have a great one too!

Three New Girls

Good Morning! I thought I would get in a new blog post before I start my day of errands. Wednesday is the busiest day of the week for me. I try to schedule as much of Mom's appointments and other needs on Wednesdays and Thursdays. This week is a quieter one as she has no additional appointments so that frees me up to spend more time to take care of my new babies!

I adopted three new girls from a lady who has many chickens and discovered that these three sisters were getting picked on. These are Polish chickens and have big furry feathers on their heads but as you can see they were attacked and their feathers were pulled out. Well, now they are safe in my chicken coop in a secure area where they can heal and just be happy chickens! Meet Priscilla, Clementine and Beatrice!Maybe by the Spring the feathers will have filled in more. Here is a picture of Clementine before the other chickens bullied her:

But even if the feathers don't grow back, we love her anyway. Beauty is within! My chicken boots have been a blessing through slush and my wet yard.  Our snow ends up turning into rain which then turns into mud. I'm really looking forward to Spring. 

I went to the thrift shop yesterday and was lucky enough to find another P Buckley Moss print! Signed and dated! That's the second one! 

I'm so happy. What a great find. I hung it in my parlor. Every time I go, I find great treasures.

We are supposed to get snow later but just an inch or two. I made this turkey breast yesterday and today when I get home I am going to make a big turkey pot pie with the leftovers. I find we like turkey soup and turkey pot pie even more than chicken soup or chicken pot pie.

Thinking of taking out some Easter and St. Patrick's Day décor this weekend. Easter is so late but I'm happy about that because of the flowers! Hyacinths and daffodils and the warmer weather of Spring!

That's about it for me. I hope you have a great day!

What's New?

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone is doing well. We are watching for some snow coming tomorrow afternoon/evening. Its been amazing that we are almost through February and have had no major storms or even much snow! We'll see what happens but so far people are calling this the "Winter that Wasn't!"

We spent a beautiful weekend in the Poconos visiting my husband's sister and her husband. The weather was perfect and we had a great time just visiting, driving around their community and going to an awesome aquarium!

Little black bears and deer wander freely and we were watching for some. This trip I didn't see any but usually we do. It was so peaceful and beautiful. It was just a wonderful trip and my sister-in-law bought me this beautiful Americana doll:

We went to this great store called Boscovs. Its a department store that had everything! There are other locations in upstate New York too but this one we visited in Scranton was terrific. I bought a new braided rug for my bathroom and a few other goodies. I really enjoy visiting there and we will be back in the Spring as we made some plans with them.

I'm getting so anxious for Spring and getting out to visit the various "Chick Days" at all the Agways on Long Island and at Tractor Supply. I am also waiting to hear back from a lady who has to rehome a lopp eared rabbit she has that lives in her chicken coop. He can join my bunny Chestnut in my chicken coop! What's great is because my coop has two sides, I can keep the males separated but at least they can communicate. I think Chestnut misses his two brothers who have passed away over the years. I'll let you know.

Well, I have a bunch of things to do today so I will say goodbye for now!

Saturday at my House

Good Morning! Windy and roar here today! I'm watching the weather to see if we get snow on Monday night into Tuesday....or will it turn to rain because we are on the coast....time will tell. January and now February has not been a healthy time for our family. After various colds and my ear infections, my son and daughter each tested positive for flu last week. We've been back and forth to the doctor and hopefully we are turning a corner at this point. My daughter runs a high fever. She always did; even as a baby. As soon as she got sick  UP WENT THE TEMPERATURE! Although my son is 20 years old and not surrounded by children, he still caught it whereas my daughter is in 8th grade and every one of her friends has suffered recently so it was inevitable. We'll get through it. In the meantime they can always depend on their momma to take care of them. We have a weekend trip planned for next weekend so I hope all will be well.

I'm excited that Spring is coming and always in Spring is the various "Chick Days" events in the Agways and a few nurseries. We like to visit as many as we can though I prefer to purchase from one in particular. We plan to add some more now that my coop is so much larger. I'm looking at the various breeds to see what I'd like to purchase. We currently have Silkies, Plymouth Barred Rocks and one Rhode Island Red.  I am also a "chicken rescue" as a friend of mine who trains service dogs and does rescues often hears of injured or abandoned chickens so since my success with the rescue of my Gertie, my name is now out there as a rescue for Poultry! Below are photos from last Spring of three of my girls peeking in my sliding doors. Nosey girls!

So my son celebrated his 20th birthday! I can't believe it. We celebrated at PF Chang's for dinner. His girlfriend came down from college for the weekend to celebrate with us.  He also celebrated at his favorite place~a hockey game! We love our NY Islanders with all our hearts and go to as many games as we can. I've been to a couple this year already and my son has hit twelve since the season began . He recently went to Washington DC to see the Islanders play the Washington Capitols. So much fun. Here he is (in the beard) with his gal (dark hair) and his friend Paul who was home from college on break and another friend. A few days later and hit with flu but at least he wasn't sick on his birthday.

So here's the fabric I bought from Hobby Lobby! Going to make some time to work with that today while I'm taking care of my sick kids. I also have some cooking to do. Meatballs and baked ziti are on the menu. A good meal on a cold, windy day.
Enjoy your day!