Daily 5, Jan. 5, 2014

I may need to think of something more witty for titles pretty soon.

According to a FB page for a local tv station, the cold weather was delayed a few hours and is now hitting the area.  Lots of fancy talk, but the atmosphere is compressing and pushing down on us now and we are all supposed to feel sluggish. Hmmm ...

1. We have a new roo. Last night we received a call from the guy that we previously bought hens from.  At noon today my DH walked into the guys coop and picked out a roo for us. The guy was really nice, especially since we basically landed on his door step and said "Please sir, might we buy a roo from you?" :-)

Our new little man was pretty quiet all the way home. We brought him out to the coop and opened the box up and lifted him out. He is a beaut! I think he's about six months old.  But not certain. DH lifted our new boy up to the roost because we noticed Blackie was checking him out.

Sparks were flying between him and Blackie.

Once up there he started checking her out and trying to do his sidestep dance.  But I have a feeling he's not used to being up on a roost.  He seemed a bit unsteady. There was definite chemistry between the two.

He's not used to heights, I think. He doesn't have a name yet, but I'm thinking he's a Henry.  

He kept flapping his wings and trying do impress Blackie.  It just wasn't happening up on the roost. Then, out of nowhere, he crowed! He's got a pretty impressive crow. Did not think we would hear him crow so soon.

Within five minutes he was tooting his own horn.

We helped him down to the floor of the coop and, unfortunately, the girls started jumping on him.  No-tailed Red and Junior, the Barred Rock, were the worst. Then Junior jumped on the roo's back and rode him like a donkey.  The girls were shushed away from him and he got put up on top of the nesting boxes.  Blackie jumped down to comfort him.  They shared a meal and he tried to impress her, again, with his dance of desire. She was playing coy and I honestly think he wouldn't know what to do if she had said yes.

In the meantime he's got to prove himself to the girls.  Which means he can't take any crap from then. Right now he's *so* docile. My fingers are crossed that it won't take long before he takes charge. You can tell he wants to hang with the girls.

2. One of the fingerless mitts I started yesterday is done.  Woo hoo! I forgot just how quick of a knit these are. I'm using Caron's Simply Soft yarn and it's so soft and has a great sheen to it.

3. I decided on my winter Olympics project. The Pamuya shawl. I've had this pattern for a while, including the yarn (Though I don't know where the yarn is right now). It's time for me to knit that shawl.


4. Homemade bread. Yum! I made some artisan bread tonite for "second supper." I made this loaf of bread a new way. I cooked it in a pot. I got the inspiration from my friend who recently posted a picture of bread she made in a Le Crueset pot she picked up at a rummage sale for $2.50 (yes, you read that right.) It turned out good.  But next time I think I will double the loaf size, or use a smaller pot. The pot I used was also a rummage sale find.  Paid only 50 cents for a T-Fal pot and it's turned into our chicken pot when we bake chicken. It's just the right size.

I had a slice with peanut butter and a bit of homemade raspberry jam.  Delicious!
 

 5. Watching the first season of Amazing Race. I used my Christmas bonus to get a Roku and I now have Hulu+.  I noticed that all the seasons of Amazing Race are listed. This show has really come a long way from it's first season.  And since the first season is from near a decade ago I don't recall any of it so it's like discovering a brand new show.  It's mostly family friendly but there is some coarse language but not much  bleeped out. Also, the people are so easy to meltdown and freak out on this season.  So crabby.

All the school districts have officially closed for tomorrow. The whole family is going to be home tomorrow. Which makes me happy. I anticipate doing a bit of baking tomorrow.  Not sure what else though.  It will be hard to pull myself out of my cozy bed tomorrow morning.