To start with, on Tuesday morning, Cold Dish (a.k.a. "Coldie") was found dead on the floor of the coop. She hadn't been doing well over the Easter weekend, but we got some painkiller into her and she settled down with a bit of a grump for the night.
We had her since mid-2020, when some people around the corner asked if we wanted some more chickens because they'd gotten two in the initial lockdown and then after lockdown ended they got a puppy and the puppy and the chickens didn't go together. So we got them for free.
She was big and white and soft and she laid big white eggs with a rough shell. A leghorn-cross, she created havoc on her first day integrating with our 'original recipe' duo - the former mistress of the pecking order, Hainan, thought that she could establish who was boss with a bit of chest-bumping...only to be shocked when Coldie out-boofed her!
Coldie was the chook we actually got surgery for way back when - might have been 2021, might have been 2022. I can't remember anymore. But she might even have been more expensive than the cats, so far!
RIP Coldie, our dominant chook of the flock.
--
The windows have been delivered - just the frames. They put the glass in and gas them as they install them, and installation begins Monday. It's a little scary, to be honest. I am hoping they do the internal and external finishes well, because otherwise that's going to be a PITA to fix.
But, wow, we're almost there!
3 days if all goes well (they said), 4-5 if it gets complicated.
The cats will go to a cattery from Sunday night through to Friday; they're likely going to hate it - all these other cats, and then coming home to a place that's strange and weird and not-the-same. I need to spend some time with them this weekend. It's very local - a five minute drive away.
Someone is coming to take the couch tomorrow. That was a saga-and-a-half.
First, there was a woman who asked if Wednesday was okay, then she asked if she could push it back to Friday. I was okay with that, even though there were lots of people asking. A local guy asked about Saturday, but was okay when I told him he was NIL. And then someone offered me $100 to 'jump the queue'.
I mean, it's nice, but I don't need the money and I gave my word. So I told him, "thanks, but no." He's 3rd-in-line.
Except that the woman who was going to pick up the windows was running late "it's raining heavily here". I asked for an ETA and said that if she hadn't made it by the end of the day, it was going to pass to the NIL, because I need it out of the house before Monday. It turns out she was counting on using her daughter's car, but her daughter is unreliable.
I felt really bad when she had to pass it on to the next person, but I can't hold onto it forever. So the local guy is due to come around tomorrow and get it. And if he reneges, then Mister $100 gets a stab at it before it goes out on the verge.
I've had over 30 messages in the last three days, though, asking if the lounge was still available. I haven't answered most of them.
Speaking of the verge; getting things out for council clean-up. Hooboy. I'm doing a fairly major clean-up which means a whole bunch of things that I've used a little but which aren't seeing full and proper use. Including a greenhouse, two aquariums, a rusty wheelbarrow, an umbrella stand, assorted cushions, and an old-fashioned desk that we're just not using.
I'm tempted to put the IKEA desk-shelf out, too, but given the state of the weather, am worried about it getting rained on and ruined. Got enough stuff out there that probably shouldn't be rained on...
The likely windows for Monday are the laundry and bathroom, which means taking things down around and about them this weekend. I also need to take the awnings off - I've asked friends from church, but it's very late notice and I doubt I'll get them. If nobody responds, I'll probably ask the neighbour if he'll help (maybe he and his son?) - I just need some people to hold the things who aren't going to flinch. If I had permies, that would work fine. Unfortunately my immediate 'permie group' are all older women (I'm the baby of the group), and the few closer to my own age are always busy and hard to pin down - and a couple of them are overseas right now.
I should have asked earlier in the week. *sigh*
We had her since mid-2020, when some people around the corner asked if we wanted some more chickens because they'd gotten two in the initial lockdown and then after lockdown ended they got a puppy and the puppy and the chickens didn't go together. So we got them for free.
She was big and white and soft and she laid big white eggs with a rough shell. A leghorn-cross, she created havoc on her first day integrating with our 'original recipe' duo - the former mistress of the pecking order, Hainan, thought that she could establish who was boss with a bit of chest-bumping...only to be shocked when Coldie out-boofed her!
Coldie was the chook we actually got surgery for way back when - might have been 2021, might have been 2022. I can't remember anymore. But she might even have been more expensive than the cats, so far!
RIP Coldie, our dominant chook of the flock.
--
The windows have been delivered - just the frames. They put the glass in and gas them as they install them, and installation begins Monday. It's a little scary, to be honest. I am hoping they do the internal and external finishes well, because otherwise that's going to be a PITA to fix.
But, wow, we're almost there!
3 days if all goes well (they said), 4-5 if it gets complicated.
The cats will go to a cattery from Sunday night through to Friday; they're likely going to hate it - all these other cats, and then coming home to a place that's strange and weird and not-the-same. I need to spend some time with them this weekend. It's very local - a five minute drive away.
Someone is coming to take the couch tomorrow. That was a saga-and-a-half.
First, there was a woman who asked if Wednesday was okay, then she asked if she could push it back to Friday. I was okay with that, even though there were lots of people asking. A local guy asked about Saturday, but was okay when I told him he was NIL. And then someone offered me $100 to 'jump the queue'.
I mean, it's nice, but I don't need the money and I gave my word. So I told him, "thanks, but no." He's 3rd-in-line.
Except that the woman who was going to pick up the windows was running late "it's raining heavily here". I asked for an ETA and said that if she hadn't made it by the end of the day, it was going to pass to the NIL, because I need it out of the house before Monday. It turns out she was counting on using her daughter's car, but her daughter is unreliable.
I felt really bad when she had to pass it on to the next person, but I can't hold onto it forever. So the local guy is due to come around tomorrow and get it. And if he reneges, then Mister $100 gets a stab at it before it goes out on the verge.
I've had over 30 messages in the last three days, though, asking if the lounge was still available. I haven't answered most of them.
Speaking of the verge; getting things out for council clean-up. Hooboy. I'm doing a fairly major clean-up which means a whole bunch of things that I've used a little but which aren't seeing full and proper use. Including a greenhouse, two aquariums, a rusty wheelbarrow, an umbrella stand, assorted cushions, and an old-fashioned desk that we're just not using.
I'm tempted to put the IKEA desk-shelf out, too, but given the state of the weather, am worried about it getting rained on and ruined. Got enough stuff out there that probably shouldn't be rained on...
The likely windows for Monday are the laundry and bathroom, which means taking things down around and about them this weekend. I also need to take the awnings off - I've asked friends from church, but it's very late notice and I doubt I'll get them. If nobody responds, I'll probably ask the neighbour if he'll help (maybe he and his son?) - I just need some people to hold the things who aren't going to flinch. If I had permies, that would work fine. Unfortunately my immediate 'permie group' are all older women (I'm the baby of the group), and the few closer to my own age are always busy and hard to pin down - and a couple of them are overseas right now.
I should have asked earlier in the week. *sigh*