The babies are growing up!  A few of the chicks are beginning to get their "real" feathers in, loosing their down.  Soon they will be in the scrawny, awkward teen phase, not a good look for anyone.  They've more than doubled in size - not fitting in my hand anymore.  They are still cute though! 

 

 

We moved them to a bigger container - they didn't fit will in the first one anymore.  They'll outgrow this one soon too.

Here you can see the different feathers coming in - this one will be a light brown hen, based on the feathers coming in now.

Impulse buy!!  I was walking through Walmart yesterday and they had the cutest plush chicken!  It just had to follow me home! 

 

AJ started a new hobby a while back - Warhammer, which is a strategy game played with figurines.  Part of the rules are that the figures have to be painted with at least three colors in order to use them.  His painting skills make me envious!  (They are sitting on 1 inch squares, just to give you a size reference.   Check out all the details!)

We visited the Warhammer store in Tokyo, and Pat and I tried to visit the store in Phoenix.  The Phoenix store was closed for lunch when we stopped by, but I had a nice chat with the guys hanging around out front.  (Mandatory closure for lunch - the guys just hung out for half an hour and then went back in.)  AJ is off next weekend to Denver for a tournament, so Alli and I will be on our own.  Girl time!

New project!  I started a new table topper for Spring!  This is just the base of it - it gets a boarder added, but I think it's pretty cute!  Now, should I have been working on one of my other projects, like putting the binding on one of my quilts, or working on the quail quilt???  Nah....I needed something new. 

 

march 1st is my anniversary date for work - 30 years in the same building!  Multiple jobs, desks/offices, and bank names, but still in the same building.  It's hard to believe it's been that long!  Linsay and Cheng decorated my office, brought in lunch, and my boss (who organized the whole thing from Roseburg) sent me flowers as well.

 

 

 

I noticed Jessie was trying to get into the cupboard the other night when I left the door open - something she does pretty regularly, so wondered why she didn't just walk right in.  Then I noticed the issue..... 

Cindy has found a new activity for Alli - bowling!  Cindy did some work with a local group of Special Olympics, and they invited Alli to their twice weekly bowling activities. The first time was a success- she was even rolling the ball herself, but the second time not so much (Alli was grumpy before she even started....) We're hoping she will continue to want to go, it's one more way to keep her active and increase her social activities.

We had a lightly foggy morning the other day, and one of the shrubs in my front yard is blooming.

More pictures from my Phoenix trip, but this was not the fun time I had planned.  I ended up in an accident (my fault, no less).  Not how I wanted to spend my vacation.  Luckily, no one was seriously hurt (though the other driver did lawyer up, and the first correspondence to the insurance company was asking how "much insurance" was available...it's all about this insurance money for "whiplash".)  Still, not my finest moment. 

The other car's damage:

Pat and I took a drive out to Tortilla Flats - in the Superstition Mountains - while I was in Phoenix.

 

While I was in Phoenix, Pat and I took a couple of long drives around to see the sights (and the desert!)  Monday's weather was beautiful - sunny and warm. 

We had snow on February 19th, not a lot, but enough that it was sticking to the roads.  I love snow when it comes for a bit and then goes away, no shoveling needed. 

My favorite photo:

A couple of weeks ago, my black hen escaped from the chicken pen and Luna found her, leaving me with just two hens (the Welsummers I got last year) so Cindy and I were talking about either getting eggs and incubating them (running the risk of getting roosters), getting checks (already sexed) and raising them, or buying full grown chicks (getting eggs that much faster).  We decided to go with chicks when the rancher that has Araucana hens wanted $100 for three of them.   Cindy had seen some Sapphire Gem chicks at Tractor Supply which sparked her interest, and we chatted briefly about getting chicks at dinner Thursday night, and she was going to start watching for chicks to come in.  Fast forward to Friday afternoon while I was walking the dogs - she was at Tractor Supply and which chicks did I want?  We got 6 chicks in total, 4 for me and 2 for her (she has a larger flock than I do now).  Here are the breeds we got:

1 Mystic Onyx

3 Sapphire gems

1 Starlight Green Egger

1 Easter Egger 

Cindy is keeping two of the Sapphire Gems, the rest are mine.  I forgot how cute chicks are - just little fluff balls!!

Here are the three colors - the black one is the Mystic Onyx, the light grey one is one of the Sapphire Gems, and the light brown one is one of the Eggers.

 

And I have a watch cat on duty.....