We are getting eggs left and right, and I'm sure now we're getting 3-4 every day... considering we only have three hens, this is weird to say the least. The kids have finally decided that instead of hoarding the eggs, they'll eat them. They've learned to make scrambled eggs in the microwave, so they don't have to use the stove. Now they eat them almost every day. #5 asks specifically for scrambled eggs and even picks out which egg(s) he'd like. It's nice to have a fresh source of protein available for them that is shelf stable and I know it's humanely raised.
This week will be a short week for the kids. They've got Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving. That should be interesting. We plan on having Thanksgiving with my parents (as we usually do), but then Tony works at 5:30am for Black Friday. Yuck. No staying late at my parents' house for games in the evening I guess. Weirdest part for me is that this will be the first year that we can't watch the Macy's parade. I mean, we've skipped it before, but it was always an option. We could watch it on tv or get up early enough to run over to my parents' house to watch on their television. This year that won't be possible. It's strange to know that even though we didn't always watch it before, now it's just not available.
And neither is the dog show afterwards! Oh my, that's the one I like to see! We always root for the breeds we've shared in our households, and I always admire some of the rarer breeds that I'm never likely to get to see in real life. I always thought maybe a hairless dog would be in our future at some point. I mean, we've had hairless rats, we've got hairless cats, so it would be a reasonable next step to have a hairless dog, right? But now that we actually have the homestead and the space, I've decided a hairless dog wouldn't have fun here. They'd be so cold all winter long, and they wouldn't be able to stay outside while I did barn chores because even with a sweater, they'd get too cold. That's not fair to the dog. Now I've shifted to livestock guardian dogs. Maremma, Great Pyrenees, or even a Carpathian Shepherd dog (good luck finding that breed in the US). That, of course, is well into the future and not something I'm focused on right now.
After allowing the barn kitties to spend two of the colder nights in the unheated entry way, they now think that any cold night they should be able to be in there. So tonight, as I went out to refill Charlotte's water dish one more time before bed and turn off the chicken coop light, Gypsy and Luna were at the door waiting. As soon as I opened it, they bolted in and went straight to the box that is their bed in there. Not worth fighting with them. It's kind of nice to be able to play with them in the morning on my way out to bring baby bunnies out for their morning feeding. They don't get food or water in the entryway, so I'm not entirely sure why they seem to like it so much. They have a box with a blanket and a sheltered feeding station out in the barn, and tonight isn't even supposed to be that cold (22 degrees for the low). What are they going to do when the high temsp are well below zero in February? I think they've forgotten they are barn cats. Both were born and raised as barn cats, so it's not like they've ever known about being a house cat. And make no mistake, our Rex queen, Mabel, would not allow them into the house. She's queen for a reason, and she tolerates no newcomers. But our house cats don't go in the entry way. Like I said, it's unheated, and our prim and proper hairless and rex cats don't do well in cold.
That reminds me, Mabel has been vomiting lately, and spending a lot of time curled up (in the laundry basket, on top of the shelf, on the kitty tree, on top of the dryer). I suspect she could be pregnant. Fingers crossed! It's been a long time since she's had kittens.
And now I'm off to take a late night shower, since all of the kids are asleep for the night, my husband has gone off to bed, and I am finally alone and the house is quiet. Oh sweet silence!