Eggs and Olives

Okay, just one Olive, but lots of pictures :) It's the *new pet* blog post photo overload--woot! There were for sure humans pictured in the last post, so we're just keeping the balance. She's so cute and snuggly and patient when her favorite dino friend needs some sewing up! And she loves the sunshine, golden girl :)

Although during the past week chicken production has been noticeably down, we kind of had almost-spring explosion of eggs! Granted, this is the worst time of year for eggs because everything is a mud bog and chickens don't know how to wipe their feet on the mat before they hop in the nest to do their business. It takes hours to wash these little gems. I crank the tunes and do my best to drown out the pinching in my lower back (which actually might have been a clue that illness was coming in hot :)

We only have one chicken that lays white eggs--apparently in multiple sizes. I actually wonder if she didn't lay 1.5 in the same day, which I don't think is possible, but we had a lot of white eggs in a row, so that's the only thing that makes sense to me!

One day's catch-up washing, whew!!!

And now we've got more eggs than we know what to do with!

Maybe Olive likes eggs? Eggs and Olive, Olive and eggs :)

Oh so Social!

I'm not sure how it happened, but my formerly abandoned social calendar seems to keep filling itself up! Perhaps it started with the brain-stretching Precepts Bible study I joined with my friend at her church . . .

We're generally so busy, we don't really see many people just for fun. However, in the past week or so, I brought fancy tea to a young mom who had some things to talk over; then Buck and I had a very impromptu dinner with her and her husband, followed by ice cream at our favorite local shop. They are in a very similar scenario that we were in 20 years ago--their parents/in-laws adopted a little one from foster care who is the same age as their own little ones. We're hoping our experience and friendship can help them navigate the unique waters of co-parenting with grandparents :)

Just five days later, we sat ourselves down in roundy, leather chairs at an old prime rib establishment which hasn't had a decor update since it opened in the '70s. Pretty cool how retro is back and now they don't have to! This was suggested by our NGFs, who we haven't spent time with in more than a wee while. The food was very good, but it was so nice to laugh with them and catch up on some of the life events that never stop happening between connection points. We were glad to grab coffee together afterwards to continue the conversation--although, technically Buck and I stopped by this same coffee shop (which our NGFs originally introduced us to) before dinner, so instead of repeating my chai, I ordered a mango smoothie, which I wanted to try on our first stop in that evening :)

Buck, however, got more coffee, so he was ready to stay up and watch a movie with the kids when we got home at 9:30. We decided they were probably old enough to watch Harry Potter movies at ages 15 to 20 . . . so, we are now culturally updated a decade or so later than everyone else on the planet.

Three days later, I joined my friend Jo at a cake decorating class in the building where Caelan works! Caelan wasn't there, she was seeing a performance at the fancy theater over the river, but she did give us directions for finding the very hidden teaching kitchen (around the desk, past the costumes, left down the hall, you're close at the restrooms, go right, listen for voices :)

I learned a bunch about frosting (like you should use A LOT at first) and that you can melt it to make a "drip," and that you can heat a portion of it in the microwave to incorporate back into the main batch to reset the texture of frosting that's gotten too cold. I also learned that I need giant frosting bags and just three frosting tips (1 mm/rose, round, and the third one which I will ask Jo to remind me the name of :) Also a spinny cake stand, a cake top slicer-offer (that looks like a giant cheese cutter), a metal scrape-y thing that looks like it is for patching walls, and a bit of squishy shelf liner to put it all on so it doesn't fly off onto the floor!

After the demonstration, we got to practice making roses and borders and swirls on our own pre-baked cupcakes. It was fun and the best-looking frosting I've ever managed to produce; hooray for learning! My family also appreciated the efforts of the evening ;)

The very next day, my brother decided to turn 40 years old! It has been a long time since I got to do birthdays with him (well, technically last year, but before that a looong time! ;) so when my sister-in-law invited me to join them in trying the new Thai restaurant in town (who even knew that was a thing?!!) I could hardly wait to join the (tiny) party :)

K made a super tasty cake and, of course, thought to bring plates and forks--her mom brought the birthday song and actual cards for Cory to keep! (unlike our annual reusable one which is saved especially for his special day :) 

We confirmed plans to meet up for St. Patrick's Day . . . and then I got sick. Really sick. Stupid sick. I'm going to diagnose myself with Influenza A. Buck was in Chicago, Caelan and Noah headed off to his brother's wedding (sneak peak . . .)

. . . the boys dove into golf (thanks again for the clubs, Uncle Jim . . . which is short for "James" as mentioned on the box much to Graysen's surprise--he thought Jim was short for Jimmy, which it is, but which is also short for James :)

After days on the couch in achy, coughy, head-pounding woe, Buck offered to take me to get some food. I wanted chicken strips and glazed donuts . . . odd, but that's what I wanted. When the lemonade came through the window it was GREEN! And when I checked the donut box . . . GREEN! I did not order my first meal in days with a side of festive food dye. I told Buck if the chicken strips were green I was going to pitch a fit! (They were not green, no fit was pitched :) 

I would have MUCH rather gone out for fancy pop-up restaurant festive-themed food than spit all this in the trash can. But hopefully we'll find another time to check out the fun meals and live music, and then I'll go back to being social again. Clearly, I can't handle too much of it without going down-and-out for a whole week. Lol!

Now where's my children's Dimetapp and generic Tylenol??

Management x Five

I don't have any pictures for this post, but we're proud of our hard-working humans and think they deserve an accomplishment shout-out!

Caelan recently applied for an events-lead position at one of her places of employment and received that management role! She's in charge of helping wedding receptions and corporate events run smoothly, and she loves it :)

Gabby joined seven others in applying for a management position over two departments at her home improvement store--and this 18-year-old, employee-of-the-month got the job! Pretty cool accomplishment! I know her bosses relied on her efficiency and ability to keep the garden center running smoothly last season, and with spring just around the corner, her skills are in demand, again.

In the meantime, Chase's boss bumped him up to full time (and when he's not leaping off of high shelves into cardboard boxes on the floor below) I think he's in charge of some of the hiring and ordering for the bike shop (readers who know, correct me if I'm wrong ;) I'm not sure if that's official management, but it sounds pretty important to me!

Then Noah discovered he also would receive a key to his place of employment, as he accepted a lead position (management) with a boost to full-time hours, as well! It's an extra load of responsibility, but quite an honor to have his men's clothing store owner's vote of confidence and trust.

It should also be noted that my older, youngest brother completed his testing to become a manager at the pizza place where he's been employed for the past several years. Go, Lo! I'm not sure what CJ is doing for work, but he started college, taking classes towards his degree :)

Brennen is considered part-time but is working up to 40 hours/week at his sporting goods job; he celebrated being debt free just last week! He's not been promoted yet, as he's only worked there for two months, but at this rate he'll probably own the store by his 18th birthday, lol ;)

Graysen is also working hard, wishing he was 16, so he could get a better job (but supplementing with side jobs whenever he can).

I feel like we should have a new managers' party or dinner or something to celebrate all of these teens and young adults being entrusted with part of their respective businesses' success!  However, I recognize that is nearly impossible, so I'll just send out a blog post about it. They've proven themselves responsible, trustworthy, honorable, and hard-working. Way to go, family!!

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."

Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV)

Welcome Olive!

We've enjoyed 10 days of walks, treats, snuggles, unexpectedly retrieved items (particularly my undergarments), and a blizzard of fur (maybe we haven't enjoyed that last two as much)! With Graysen's allergy panel in mind, Barclay returned to his birth home and we were petless once more (well, G$ did some rearranging in his room and the dresser-top beta fish made an appearance at the end of the hallway. Noah walked by and said, "Wait a minute . . . you guys have a fish?!" Graysen said, "Yup, it's been around longer than you have." Ha! We're just full of surprises!)

So, I was scrolling through the volunteer page for the puppy-raising group Caelan volunteered with pre-covid, and saw they were looking for a guardian home for a beautiful, two-year-old English Cream Golden Retriever. I didn't know what a guardian home was, but I did know that our time with Linus convinced me that if ever we were to get another dog, an ECGR was the pup for us :)

It turns out a guardian home is where Newton went after we had him. . . a place for future parent dogs to live until they've completed their service dog deliveries, then the parent dog is the guardian family's to keep! Olive'll hopefully get rolling on her first batch here in the next week or two. The organization takes care of all those details. They also take care of delivery and the first 6 weeks of care! While it would be fun to have a bundle of puppies running around our carpeted house, the process is super complex for early training, determining personalities etc. in those early weeks. We've volunteered for parts of it before, and it is a BIG job!

Buck said he wasn't ready for another dog, yet Graysen sent him daily updates of shelter pets, just in case. When I sent Olive's picture and the explanation (she's already been through basic obedience, etc.) Buck said, "I'm okay with that kind of dog." So, it worked out that Buck already had a vacation day scheduled (to go to church) and that it happened to be a day the current housers (of six dogs!) had available for us to visit. Graysen went with us to meet Olive and we were pretty quickly smitten! The couple caring for her has welcomed 83 puppies through their private breeding program over the past couple of decades; we learned a lot about how they select genetically superior dogs for service dog candidates and how the others are sold to try to recoup some of the expenses (puppy business is pricey!)

Within an hour, we were loading boxes of high protein food and a great big dog into our van!

Although she wasn't a fan of the thunderstorm (yes, so random in February!) on her first night with us, she was happy to snuggle in for movie night amongst her admirers. So far, we've never heard her bark or whine, she just growls when she wants to play. Pretty chill pup!

She doesn't remember all her commands, but honestly, neither do we. We got permission to attend puppy classes for a refresher, so that's on the calendar. She does pretty well at walks; at first, she's in "go" mode and pulls, but by the end is walking pleasantly next to us. Her previous family (they moved to Washington state, so were too far away for her puppy duties) must have let her on furniture, because she's tried to climb up on our couch a couple of times. Caelan also caught her standing on top of Buck's and my bed trying to retrieve my giant purple blanket and my eye drops. It must have been a running leap, because she's barely chin level to the mattress. Naughty! She also barreled into my nephew when he and his dad stopped by for pizza. That's the only time she's been overly extra at the door. I feel bad about the bump and the tears and the toe Band-Aid (he was wearing slides) that resulted from their first meeting.

Olive always carries a blanket with her, she likes to rearrange her dog bed, and this is the silent view I wake up to each morning :) My extensive dog heat research (I'm practically a veterinarian at this point), indicates these are nesting behaviors that indicate she may soon be ready for motherhood. I guess we'll see!

Olive is "helpful" with schoolwork, will bring her leash to us if she can access it, and has started giving hugs :) Bonus points if you can name the movie we're watching on this evening!

This is our first go with doggie diapers, but not our first with canine fashion. We did have to ask Muriel's new dog mom to dig through her clothing collection to return the community Christmas sweater :) Who wore it best? I can tell you Olive wore it with the least amount of enthusiasm. I think she was a little annoyed, actually.

We've had some cold and snow, so we're doing more indoor things than outdoor things. Olive likes to be right next to me when I'm working on baby quilts. I've got three going for the three babies I know are boy or girl, but I'll wait a little longer for the special autumn baby (which my guess is girl, but I will hold onto my fabric for now :)

Of course, with babies and puppies on our minds, we are thinking of all the names! Olive needs a middle name, and when I asked Brennen what it should be he replied, "Garden." Ha! Actually, everyone likes this the best of all the ones we've come up with :) We're also thinking of theme names just in case we get to help name future puppy litters. May flowers? White-toned semi-precious stones and minerals? Foods you might order off the menu at an Italian restaurant . . . lol :) Anyway, it gives us something fun to do while we're waiting for the puppy process to begin.

Buck brought Olive home a dinosaur toy--built extra tough for critters with big teeth! Olive loves her t-rex and carries it around almost as much as her blanket. She did manage to pull a seam in the dino's throat, so he's in dry out in preparation for a few stitches. Olive's a happy girl with her blankie and dino!

But something that makes Olive sad--is the plight of the poor dogs on the ASPCA commercial . . . she couldn't take her eyes off the screen for their whole loooooong pitch! Buck said, "Don't let them mess with your emotions, they just want your money--it's a business, Olive." But Olive didn't care . . . those sad eyes really did a number on her ;)

Good thing Caelan is here to support Olive . . . or just to sit on her bed (Olive prefers the white, fluffy side) ((actually, Olive also prefers to jump up into Buck's spot while he's having coffee and I'm still sleeping . . . ooopsie, Olive!!))

We are all enjoying having Olive in our home, she's loving and friendly and mostly a good girl :)