And then there were 6...

This was an overly dramatic weekend.  I hit 3 auctions Saturday, bought nothing.  The first auction had absolutely nothing I could sell, or wanted.  At the second I saw one nice red Pyrex casserole, but it went over my price limit I had in my head.   I left that one.  Then I went to an community college auction-waited around for hours for them to get to some nice butcher block tables, then decided I didn't have the patience.  I'd already been to the Goodwill and Salvation Army waiting on them to get around to the tables-nothing there either.  I wanted to suck my thumb. I came home to list some things on Ebay, all was good at home.  Hubs got home from work, had some company...counted chickens around 4:30, still had 8...
....and then went out to put up the girls for the night.  But to my horror, the front of the coop had a lot of feathers.  Went to the back to open it up, and only 4 chickens, and then had to wait until morning to see how many had hidden in the bushes.  Thankfully, 2 had made it through the night, but 2 were gone.  Thank you for the beautiful eggs, my girls.  You will be missed.  We believe it was raccoons this time.  I want to trap them and relocate them somewhere else.  I will not go down without a fight!

I guess my next lesson in raising chickens is that the wild animals around your property watch your every move if you have tasty treats such as chickens.  Bug would be out in the yard most of the day when he was at home, but since he went back to work, we've lost 3 chickens.  They watch...evil little critters...

We've decided we now need Fort Knox for the heniehens.  Sunday we drove by a place that builds wooden chicken coops with tin roofs, and believe we're going to buy one of those, and put it on a concrete pad so nothing can dig under and get in to the girls. 

Making changes on Ebay sucks! Newest craze...Pyrex

There are days when I hate Ebay.  I think there is a little gnome at the house that goes in my Ebay account and switches things listed around when I'm not there.  Especially shipping changes....ahhhhhhh!!!

You really have to preview your listing, then preview it again, then preview it AGAIN to make sure it's right.  Some days I want to jump and down like a little kid with a bad tantrum. 
The Bug will not be happy with me if I goof on a listing and I will get a tounge lashing.  That felt good to get some of that off my brain. 

In other news, I've come across some really cool blogs on vintage Pyrex here of late.  I think I want to collect it because of this Butterfly pattern casserole.  I overpaid for it, but I'm trying to get in with the local antique lady to consign some of my "too big to ship" items.  It was so pretty! 

And then there were 8....

This is a warning to the fox that took the life of my precious little black chicken on Saturday.  You will be missed very much.  Thank you for all the eggs you provided to our family.  I'm looking for you, fox!   As much as we want our chickens to run happily around the back 40, it's not working out.  They are going to have to have a fence.  We saw the fox earlier in the year, and hoped he was just passing through.

For the first time that I can remember, I went to work without make up on today. Not intentionally.  I'm very embarrased right now, but thankfully I work with two guys, and they wouldn't notice if I wore a clown suit to work.  I guess this is an experiment.  I'm wondering if I'll make it through the day without succumbing to the urge to waste valuable gas to go home and put some on.  Nah, I'll just go buy some at lunch.

Say hello to my little friends...Smoke the German Shepherd, and Roxy the relaxed Rottweiler...

Goodwill Store Addict

Yes, I'll admit I've turned into a Goodwill store addict (my other addictions include auctions and yard sales).  I HAD to go on my lunch break yesterday, leaving myself about 2 minutes to eat lunch.   However, it's kind a cold right now, and you don't find a lot of auctions or yard sales.  I've got to get my fix somehow. 

My find this week was a Rising Tide wool purse woven in Nepal, NWT!  It's very odd-will post pics later-hippie chic.   But, I find myself drawn to it in some weird way.  I must have been a hippie in a former life. 

I'm totally loving my i-Phone for checking prices while I'm hunting at any type of sale.  But that's the norm at auctions. It's a wonder the people at auctions aren't stepping on top of eachother from pecking on our i-Phones and not watching where we're going.  Other Goodwill finds:  I found a West Bend Poppery hot air popcorn maker that sold for a nice little chunk on Ebay, a pair of Gap jeans and Lucky jeans that were practically brand new, cool dishes....I hate paying retail for anything!  

Accidental Sweet Potatoes with Eggs

This is one of those recipes where I am once again looking through the refrigerator trying to figure out what to make for dinner.  So, this is what I came up with, and Bug liked it.

Ingredients:
2 T butter
2 medium sweet potatoes-chopped into chunks
Any hot peppers of your choice-about 1 T dried poblano and  1 T dried Chipotle.
1 medium onion-diced
1 T Garlic
6 organic eggs-beaten, add salt and pepper to your taste
3/4 c. grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

I used a 10" iron skillet for this. 

Melt 1 T butter in the pan.  Add the peppers and sweet potatoes, cover, and brown the sweet potatoes over medium heat, stirring often until they are fork tender.  Put another tablespoon of butter in the pan, let it melt, then add the onion, cover the pan and let those brown some, then add the garlic.  Cover again, and let it all cook over low heat for about 10 minutes.  The potatoes with start to get pretty soft.

Pour the beaten eggs over the potatoes.  Put the lid on the pan.  Turn the stove off for about 10 minutes.  This will keep the mixture from burning on the bottom.  Then turn the stove back on low until the eggs have set on top, maybe a little runny on top.  Turn the stove off again, and add the cheese, and cover again.  Wait another 5-10 minutes.  You should be able to use a spatula to cut it into pie shaped wedges.  This makes 4 servings. 

Jadeite and Louis Vuitton Score!

Ebay has smiled upon us.  Bug found what we call "the hidden Fire-King Jadeite pile you will never find" at a garage sale.  The pattern was called Charm, and was several plates and a salad bowl.  It pulled down a chunk!  I could do a cartwheel if I hadn't done Pilates this morning.
Another score was a Louis Vuitton purse I found at Goodwill for $3.00.  It sold for a nice hefty chunk, and I'm still in shock...I've been camping out at Goodwill ever since.

Drifting, a Cold 1/2/12 day, the Chicken Tractor, and the Cat

The huzzle of Christmas and New Year's is over, and we begin again.  Time to hit the reset button once more.  Over the weekend, we went to see a "drifting" competition (at the behest of a much younger friend of ours).  I can't tell you how old I felt-and I'm not THAT old.  Kids all over.  But, it was cool to watch the cars slide around all over.  If you don't know what it is, load up Fast and the Furious-Tokyo Drift...pretty cool stuff...

 Our chicken hotel...

 Beautiful winter day....

 The Cat...he runs this joint, or so he thinks (please ignore the chicken poo).  The heniehens love the front porch.  It's been a major project to make them stay away from the front porch.  I think they want to come in the house.

THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKIN'

Check these babies out.  They are the ultimate in chicken fashion this season, and they were a Christmas gift from my bug.  Get yours at Tractor Supply while they still last.  Someone had better call Rachel Zoe...they rock!  They have small chicken weathervanes all over them, and as you can see, bright pink.  Love them!  The chickens were checking them out.