Ch Ch Ch Changes.....

Holy Cow! Have I been busy!

Started a new job in June - which is incredible, amazing, emotional, overwhelming, and more.  I'm the new Executive Director of Good Grief of Northwest Ohio, providing peer support programs for grieving children. The organization is brand new, so lots and lots to do.  In the beginning, this had my emotions stirring, as I was the kid who needed this program when none existed. 

From age 14 - 20, my Dad was battling cancer. He died at 51. Way too young. Along with my 5 siblings (we ranged from 5 - 19 when the cancer was diagnosed) I spent 6 tumultuous years preparing for his death. Nightmarish is putting it nicely.  It's been 28 years, and I worked through the sadness and grief long ago, but I'm still in awe thinking about what we managed it.  It's a bit like a Lifetime Movie! (Come to think of it, maybe I should sell the rights? lol)  Anyway, when I heard about Good Grief, I knew I had to learn more.  

At the same time I started the new job, I was shopping and packing up my girls to ship them down to Manchester, Tennessee for Bonnaroo.  I researched blogs for packing lists and survival tips to ensure they would have everything they needed.  I kissed them goodbye Tuesday, and sent them to Grandma's in Cincinnati for a night (to break up the drive). They left Grandma's Wednesday and made their way to Tennessee.  I talked with them briefly that evening, while they sat in a ridiculously long car line, waiting to get to their "campsite."  At 1:00 a.m. Toledo time, they called to say they finally finished setting up the tent. Crazy! 

We only talked a few times during the trip - which is great. They were busy seeing amazing bands, and hanging out with friends. Thing Two literally cried seeing Paul McCartney in concert.  They were in heaven.  And I earned the title: BEST MOM EVER! 

One other exciting tidbit from summer - I had THREE broody hens all at once. Seriously! Lucy, Maggie, and Abbey, (why yes - those all are names from Beatles songs) were pining away for babies.  I sent Abbey to a friend's house to hatch a batch of special, Black Copper Marans eggs. We were hoping she would adjust, and decide to do the work, but no such luck. Of course, we kidnapped her and moved her to a new box, so what did we expect?  

After three weeks, Lucy finally gave up, leaving just Maggie, hanging out in the box, trying to hatch eggs that will never hatch. Cranky, hormonal hens are a force to be reckoned with!  

And that was summer! 

Birthday Weekend!

How cool is this?  

Unfortunately, I couldn't make "screen capture" work, so I took a picture with my phone. 

Technologically challenged? Yup. 

Yesterday was my birthday - 48!  It was a great day. I went to Ann Arbor, MI (just an hour from here) for pedicures and lunch with good friends. I don't get a pedicure often, and I'm not sure why. It was lovely. We sipped hot tea, relaxed in comfy reclining chairs, and let them massage and pamper our tired toes. After pedicures, we went to Zingerman's Roadhouse for lunch. So delicious! Warm spinach and mushroom salad...artisan cheese with bagel crisps and roasted balsamic grapes...I even had an ice cold beer.  Now I'm not usually much of a beer drinker. I prefer wine - and nothing sweet. But this was wonderful. 

I was home in time to make dinner...and decided to make Mushroom Stroganoff. Sorry, no pictures, but it was delicious.  The tradition here is for my husband to bake my cake. It is always the same - Angel Food, from scratch, with fluffy, seven minute frosting. The fun part is he usually makes a mistake and we get to laugh at the various disasters. Yup, I'm serious.  One year, he mistook tsp for tbsp, and let's just say I've never had such a salty cake in my life!  With years of practice under his belt, I think he has finally mastered the art.  Here's what's left of the cake today.  The picture doesn't do it justice - so light and airy.  Nice work!

Tricks to the perfect Angel Food cake: don't use your freshest eggs. I get better results when they are at least two weeks old. Bring them to room temperature before starting.  If you are lucky enough to have one, using a standing mixer. The egg whites need to whip a long time to get stiff.  We actually bought a standing mixer because we love Angel Food cake so much.  I don't regret it at all.  Folding in the ingredients is not the same as mixing. Folding allows you to gently combine the wet meringue with the flour/powdered sugar, without losing the air that's been whipped into the batter.  That air is what makes the cake so light and fluffy. Take your time - practice. If your first one isn't perfect, try it again.  It's so worth the effort. 

Of course, if you bake an Angel Food cake, you have a dozen egg yolks staring at you. I can't bare to throw  them out or feed them to the dogs - my hens worked hard laying those eggs! What else could I do but whip up some lemon curd? I followed Martha Stewart's recipe, which was quick and easy. The curd came out just perfect. But now I suppose I need something to put it on.  

Just for fun - here's a picture of eggs from our hens.  The palest ones are not white, but a soft greenish blue.  So pretty! No need to color eggs for Easter around here. 

And finally, my husband thinks he is really funny. Here is one of my gifts this year:

If you always wondered, "who buys this crap" when seeing such "lovely" items in the stores, well, now you know.  

Hands off ladies - he's all mine! HA HA HA HA HA!

Abbey and Penny

Abbey and Penny, a photo by ElizabethTore on Flickr.

Our Lucy ended up hatching two sets of babies this summer. Abbey and Penny were from the second group, born mid July. (Think Abbey Road and Penny Lane - keeping with our theme of female names inspired by The Beatles.)

Unfortunately, the other four chicks that hatched that day didn't make it. Two were accidentally killed by our dog who doesn't understand how fragile baby chicks are, and the other two disappeared. We firmly believe a hawk got them.

These two lovely ladies definitely show their blue marans heritage. They aren't pure bred, and that's okay. They are very pretty, and have great dispositions. I'm looking forward to seeing the rich, dark brown color of their eggs, although I don't expect them to begin laying for several months.

And yes, I had no intention of keeping these girls, but of course, I did. They look so different from all the other hens we have, they are a nice addition to the flock. But that's it! No more chickens. (Famous last words?)

And we have EGGS!

A lot has happened since those little chicks have been here.  They are now 21 weeks old.  At 18 weeks, Martha laid her first egg.

I love how perfect and beautiful it is! Martha is an Australorp, and so far, she has laid 6 eggs.  One of the first was gifted to our neighbor, Michael.

When Michael was just 10, he was hit by a car. The injuries were severe and traumatic, and he has been confined to a wheelchair ever since.  At 57 years old, Michael loves to sit in the driveway, near the fence and watch the chickens run around, scratch in the dirt, and do chicken things.  Martha is his favorite.

Here is Martha's egg with a jumbo egg from the grocery, to show the contrast.  What you can't see, is the difference in flavor.  Holy Toledo! Fresh, creamy and delicious - Martha's eggs are amazing. 

Chickens Galore

All the "chickens being chickens" video you would ever want is right here: