Chickie Babies

Our new venture, an idea that we've been tossing around for a few months now, but something that both David and I have wanted deep down, forever, has finally begun.  We are the proud owners of these two little balls of fluff, hatched just yesterday.....

The black and white one is an Ancona and will grow up eventually to become something a bit like this....

And the little red one, is a Rhode Island Red, and will one day blossom into this...

At the moment, it's hard to imagine, since they are both so cute, (fluffly, as Poppy says) and chirpy that they will become such intimidating looking creatures, but we know it's true, since we saw the Mamas who laid our little beauties - and they were exactly as above!
I had wanted a few of the more normal, run of the mill ISA Browns, instead of the pure breeds that we ended up with - but they were all out of those up at Herritage Hatching & Hens, so we went with the most prolific egg layers and picked just one of each breed.  Despite being different breeds, they do seem to quite like eachother and apart from a few heating teething problems that we've had today, all is going well.  They are currently under a 50w plus a 30w lamp, after getting very stressed when we provided the 100w lamp that is suggested by professionals.  For some reason, our little chickie babes just don't like the higher wattage, and spent the entire time under it, trying to get away from it into the corners of their box.  They are much happier now and have been settling into the crazy Wood family, very nicely!

This red one is Libbys and Davids (jointly owned) and as yet, has no name!

This little funny one is Poppy and Joeys chick and they have named her Sunshine (Sunny for short), we have no idea why - and up until this evening, she was called Ashley - so we'll see if this name sticks!

And here they are, snuggled up close together, as we often find them! Little chirps now and then, as they try the first tastes of their grain and peck at their water feeder.

Early next week we (as soon as they have hatched), we pick up our two Isa Browns to complete our new chick family, and wait until they turn into this.....

Now, that's my kind of Chicken!!!! :)  I already have a name picked out for one of them...but you'll have to wait and see! :)

The coop should arrive next week, and I'm sure there will be colourful language, as David takes a week to put it together, but its very pretty and looks as though it was designed to match the architecture of the house.  Hopefully, fingers crossed - we should have fresh eggs by Christmas!  Yippeee, anyone for an omelette?

http://www.heritagehatchingandhens.com.au/user/33119212/Web/33119212_index.asp

Baked Lemon Pasta!

We had this last night.  A weird mixture, maybe - but boy does it work!  And I promise you, you don't want to skimp on the lemon in this recipe - the more lemony goodness, the better this dish tastes!  The absolute key to this dish, is to use the freshest and tastiest ingredients that you can get your hands on. 

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So here we go, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the angel-hair spaghetti, cook until al-dente, drain, rinse with cold water, and then set aside. 

While the pasta is cooking, take a fresh lemon and using a micro grater, remove all the zest - you'll need this a bit later on.

Melt together the butter and oil in a skillet, and when melted, add the finely chopped garlic.  While that's all cooking together nicely, take the zest-less lemon, cut it into quarters, then squeeze the entire lemon into the buttery mixture. Smelling good, hey?

Then you add two cups of sour cream to the pan, slowly mixing it all up together...

Grab that lemon zest, that you prepared earlier, and add as much as you'd like to the pan...I used the whole lot, and I don't recommend skimping!

Stir together, adding plenty of salt, and then in an oven proof dish (I love Pampered Chefs ovenware) pour the mixture on top of the spaghetti and  mix in well.  You can pre-mix in a large bowl, if you'd prefer, to get a really good coating.

Cover with foil, bake for around 20 mins, (375 degrees), then remove foil and bake for a further 5-10 mins, until just beginning to brown.   Take another lemon (I know, it's lemon madness, but just trust me on this), and squeeze some of the juice onto the dish, about a quarter to a half of a lemon.  Then add the grated Parmesan cheese, fresh Parmesan if possible.  Top with the chopped parsley and serve.....

I like to grab the nearest, partially clad mini-monster that I can find, and just sit back and watch him devour every single scrap, and then ask for more! :)

I guess that's another thumbs up for this Mamma! :)

Ingredients

• 1 pound Thin Spaghetti
• 4 Tablespoons Salted Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested
• 2 cups Sour Cream
• ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt, Or More To Taste
• Plenty Of Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped
• Extra Lemon Juice

Also really good served with crusty bread and a simple green salad!

Elefun & Flutterbyes!

The latest and greatest obsession in the Wood household at the moment is blue, it has a plastic trunk and spurts out coloured paper butterflies all over the place.  Its been an on/off love for years but right now, it gets taken out of the box every single day.....

Hours of fun are spent, refilling the little blue body, replacing the trunk and then watching the butterflies spurt out of the top and flutter down, as they try to catch them with their nets....Poppy's serious little face, as she tries so hard to get them into the net, and her big grins when her efforts pay off, and Lucy looking like a little drunken elf, as she staggers around looking more like she's swatting flies...

And if my kids have taught me anything, it's that doing things the conventional way is vastly overrated, and sometimes (actually pretty often), it's much more fun to improvise.  

Who said elephants needed trunks anyway!!!

And it was a pretty good distraction, because today Daddy left our home again for another few days and as always, it was hard to say goodbye!

A Nice Cup o Joe!

I've been really feeling awful over the last few days.  This is the second bad stomach bug that I've had in as many weeks, and it's kicked the bejesus outa me, I don't mind telling you.   I have been lying on the sofa feeling sorry for myself and missing my love, (no sorry David, it's not you), my camera.  I just about managed a very quick 5 min reunion with her today, and of course as usual, I found another cute subject playing in the garden. 

 Such a cheeky one, this one! 

Ahhh yes, a nice Cup o Joe, was just what the doctor ordered! :)

My Dancing Queens

Nothing quite as special as watching my little girls twirl and spin to some great tunes.  They are two of the loves of my life, no doubt about that.  It makes me wonder....does life get better then this? I'm not sure it ever could.



And then, just when I think it couldn't get any cuter, I find Poppy in the kitchen, singing a beautiful song to the fridge...

Yes, definitely, hopelessly in love with my cuties...