May I Present to You...

...This morning's sunrise!



and yes...
I am in my pajamas!

Actually my fashion ensemble consisted of...
beautiful lilac colored sleepwear from Le' Target,
a soft and cuddly light mint green colored robe from Le' Target
and to complete the outfit...
a pair of Tony Lama cowboy boots from The Grande Murdocks.
The right pant leg tucked into the boots, the left pant leg on the outside.
That's the way they do it in Paris,
so I hear.


and no...
I do not care of the neighbors see me!



Did you see me Peggy???



Panorama Collage


So many pretty shots to chose from...
I'm having a hard time deciding which one to post.

So here,
I'm posting all of these.


pssst...
click on the photo for a full screen view.




That's Peggy's place there on the left with the lights.










My sister said she thought of me this morning
when she saw the sunrise.

Bet she didn't think that I was out there
in my jammies taking
this picture!


Actually I got one of the cows to snap this picture.


Just kidding...
cows can't take pictures.


I used the timer and a bale of hay for the tripod.



Ta da!




THE END.

Things I Like

My nose hairs still smell like burning weeds from yesterday.

So I wanted to focus today on smells I like.

I noticed yesterday, after burning the weeds, that my home plug-in smelly things from Bath & Body Works were out of smelly stuff, the bottle thingy was empty. No wonder it smelt (hee, hee... smelt) like burning weeds in the house.

I dug through the cupboard where I keep the smelly bottle refills and found that I had a back-up, Kitchen Spice. Hmmmm.... that was a new scent for me. I changed the bottle and wow-wee does it smell yummy. According to B&BW Kitchen Spice is an" inviting aroma that blends hazelnut, marzipan, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla notes."

If you haven't tried it, I recommend it.



Last time I was at B&BW, with my sister during one of our retail therapy sessions, I pick-up my free travel size lotion. If you shop B&BW but don't get their coupons in the mail, then you are missing out! Seriously, get on their mailing list.

Anyway, I got Apricot Vanilla Body Lotion. Ooo la, la! This I like. I put some on my upper lip to try to get rid of the burnt weed smell.



And last, but not certainly least... Hazelnut Latte Chak Lick. What the heck is Chak Lick? It's the best gosh darn lip balm on this planet made by my beloved friend, Christina Armstrong. You all know Christina, she is the gal that makes the Beeloved Jam. You can get your hands on some of Christina's Chak Lick at the Scottsluff Winter Farmers Market. Mary, with Creative Bubbles, will have some at her booth.

Check out this post I did on Christina last summer.

This flavor I have is Hazelnut Latte and you know what it smells like?... a Hazelnut Java Chiller from Sonic. My, oh my!!

I'm not sure how many different flavors Christina has, but she has quite a few.




Just thought I'd share.
The End.

A Little of This and a Little of That

The weather is finally resembling spring here in Western Nebraska. Yesterday was a perfect example of what I consider spring weather. The temperature was perfect, a little too cool for short sleeves, but long sleeves were sufficient and no jacket was required. The wind was more of a breeze and actually quite pleasant. Did I just say that??? I can't believe I combined "wind" and "pleasant" together in the same sentence!

Since I hadn't taken any pictures of a while I grabbed my camera and wandered around looking for photo ops.

This is what I can up with.

I know some of you have already seen most of these pictures since I posted them on Facebook last night, but not everyone is on Facebook so I'm posting them again. Remember, you can click on the picture for a full screen view, and I highly recommend that you do.

Actually, what prompted me to grab my camera was the sky.
I just love it when it is incredibly blue and the clouds have so much definition.
One of my friends asked it this was real last night on Facebook.
Made me think of Colossians 3:1-4, look it up!

I finally took the Christmas wreath down from the front window.
It was so pretty and I wasn't quite ready to part with it, so I
took off the red bow and hung it from this gate.

The egg layers were out and about also enjoying the weather
so I snapped a few pictures of them.

We have four different breeds of egg layers.
Looks like I got a picture of each one except for the Buff Orpingtons.
Sorry girls, I didn't purposely leave you out, I promise.

The is an Ameraucana.
They are the ones that lay the beautiful blueish/greenish eggs.
I love the details of their feathers.

Shhhh... this Barred Rock is catching a cat nap after lunch.

Red Star, not to be confused with a Rhode Island Red.
They are a cross between a Rhode Island Red and a White Rock.

BFF's resting and chatting under the sumac trees.


The daffodils are blooming.

Macro of the daffodil stamen in black and white.
I'm thinking this photo would look pretty in my bathroom.

Ahhh, the Nebraska sky...
so peaceful out here, the cattle were relaxing, the hens were relaxing,
the birds were chirping, the daffodils were blooming,
oh, did I mention that I burned some weeds in the back yard?
So the air smelt like burning weeds,
now that really smells like spring...
burning weeds.
Also smells like fall.
I actually kind of like that smell.

Is "smelt" a word?
I probably should use the word "smelled"
but I like to say smelt.

Smelt, smelt, smelt!

All that work sure made me tired.
So the Country Chicken Girl decided she needed a little relaxation...
shhh... don't tell Dan the Man,
he thought I was busy working outside!

It's easy to hide from sight in a tractor rim.

THE END

Recommended Reading

Most of you know that I am an advocate for buying local foods and that I am against factory farming. There are several great books concerning these issues and "Take Part", a website that I occasionally visit, has compiled at fantastic list of recommended books.

Take Part writes: "Earlier this week, TakePart asked its Food, Inc community to share some of its favorite books about the food industry. With more than 850 replies, the response was overwhelming—and exciting.

We've compiled the whole list and broken it into four sections: the most mentioned books, the runner-ups, books related to diet, and cook books.

Michael Pollan placed three books in the 10 most-mentioned. But plenty of other great voices are in the mix, speaking on industrial agriculture, the obesity crisis, migrant farmworkers, pesticides, urban farming, and more.

Prepare to be informed."

Here is the link:
100+ Books on the Food Industry: If You Eat Food, Read Some

I have read a few, like "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "Fast Food Nation". I recommend any of these three.

Just thought that I'd share the link with you. Let me know which ones you have read or if you plan on reading any!

Welcomed Messengers

Spring is trying to arrive here in Western Nebraska and is doing a pretty fine job of it, I must admit. But I know you too well Mr. Western Nebraska and I know that there is a lingering snow storm yet on the horizon. As much as I would love to be positive about this Spring weather, I just can't help being a little pessimistic about it. Fooling myself into thinking that Spring was actually here would be a foolish action on my part. It would be news that is just too good to be true.

We ALWAYS have Spring blizzards, so I am not getting my hopes up too high that my beloved Spring has sprung.

These lovely little ladies have come out of hibernation to brighten the flower bed. Thank you ladies, you are beautiful! Remember you can click on the image for a full screen view, which I highly recommend.

Make sure you click on this one.
Incredible!
In my own opinion, of course...

and here it is in black and white.





I will enjoy these lovely Spring days now,
but I will not put away my Winter gear...

just yet.

Bedroom Remodel

One of the things I really LOVE about Dan the Man is that he is very handy when it comes to construction. Could be due to the fact that he has a degree in construction management and worked in construction for probably 15 years or so.

I love to remodel and wish I had unlimited funds to do so. But, I do not. I do like our trailer house, it is spacious and open as trailer houses go. But there is just something about pre-papered wallboard in every single room that I really detest! Slowly I have been working on each room to make it look more like a real house, and not a trailer house. Begone with you, you stinky ugly wallboard with furring strips every 4 feet to hide the joints of each piece of wallboard that is assembled to build this house. Begone you hideous green carpet!

I started with the master bedroom. I'll post pictures of all the rooms later. Next after Nick and Colton moved out, was that bedroom. Then the master bathroom and now that Chris has moved out, it is this bedroom's turn.

I can remember when I moved out of the house I grew up in and went away to college, my parents did some major remodeling, finished the basement and added a hot tub, bathroom and exercise room all in the basement. I can remember being a little bent out of shape because I sure would have enjoyed those amenities while I was living in that house! So sorry boys, I guess that is just what parents do, remodel the house after the kids leave! You can enjoy the room when you come to visit. Yes and Skyler is the spoiled one because he is the baby and gets to enjoy some of the remodeling now.

Anyway, the first thing that had to go was the UGLY green carpet, which still resides in the living room and master bedroom. This carpet was not the top of the line carpet when we got the house because we bought one that was already manufactured, so I didn't get to make any choices. It has since seen it's better days and now I detest green carpet and never want to have green carpet for as long as I live. I pray there is no green carpet in heaven. Not sure I can handle being stuck with it for an eternity!

Carpet and pad ripped-up and ready to haul out.
Good riddance you despicable excuse for carpet!

The next annoyance to deal with is the furring strips
that plague each wall of this house. Each strip has to be pulled off
which reveals the joint of each wallboard panel.

Then each seam and corner has to be taped with drywall tape
and then drywall mud needs to be applied to each seam.
It takes at least three coats of drywall on each seam.
Each coat of drywall requires sanding in between to keep it smooth.
Dan the Man did all the drywall and sanding.
It is an extremely messy job with all the drywall dust.

Look, nice smooth walls!
Dan the Man does nice work!

Walls and Ceiling now ready to paint.
Dan the Man gets the paint sprayer ready.

Dan the Man has to test out the sprayer before the County Chicken Girl can use it.

Ah ha, my turn!
*Insert "James Bond" or "Charlie's Angels" music here*

This is a low budget blog, so you have to humm the music yourself.

Painting the ceiling.
Sprayer makes light work of this task.
Especially nice since the ceiling has the stupid popcorn texture
which really sucks to paint if you have to roll the paint on.

Like my professional painting hood?
I was thinking I need to paint the top red so it looks like a rooster's comb!

Sometimes we work well together,
sometimes we pretend to work well together,
sometimes we don't pretend!
Sorry if you have to witness those times!

Looks like I'm pretending...
looks like Dan the Man is not pretending!
Why aren't you smiling Dan my man?

Ooo la, la!
Starting to come together!
Southeast wall by closet.

Southwest wall.

Northwest wall by door.

Northeast wall.

Dan the Man laying the floor.

Lookin' nice Manny Danville!
Did you know Dan the Man also know as Manny Danville?

Did I mention that Dan the Man even built a headboard for the bed?
Thanks honey!

Danny said I had to post another picture of the headboard,
without the pillows up so you can see the details of the headboard!

Southeast wall, closet door.

The office has moved out of the kitchen and into the spare bedroom.

West wall.

Northwest corner, door leading into the bedroom.

I plan on framing some of my photos (black and whites) in black frames for the walls.
Now I just have to choose which ones.

Sammi is camera shy and doesn't want to look at the camera,
but she wants to be in the picture!

Reservations are now being taken for the guest room. Why not take a vacation and enjoy a relaxing visit to the Open A Bar 2 Ranch? We'll even let you help with the chores! You had better hurry and book your reservation. The chicken processing dates are really starting to fill up!

Trying to Kill Dan the Man

The other day I was at the grocery store buying some toothpaste and noticed a spiffy new kind of Listerine in a "purdy" purple bottle.

I thought to myself, "hey, I think I need to try that fancy new mouthwash!"

Hot-diggity-dog, looks like it darn near does everything 'cept for walk the dog.
And the package is so darn "purdy."

The next morning I was so tootin' excited to give that there stuff
a swish and a swirl in my mouth.
I looked on the cap for a "fill here" line but couldn't see one
so I filled the cap a little over 1/2 full.
There, that should do me.
The more the merrier, right.

I started swishing and a swirling and then decided to read the directions.



Vigorously swish for 1 minute?
Holy smokes, this stuff is burning my mouth and it's only been about 30 seconds!

Swish, swish, swish, some more, but it gets too dang hot I think I'm a going
to spit it all over the mirror if I don't spit it out soon in the sink.
My mouth also felt like I had swallowed a 1/2 cup of baking soda
and followed it with a cup full of vinegar!


I couldn't stand it any longer so I spat that fire juice right into the sink.
Egads! I felt like I had just swished with peroxide!

I even had foam in my mouth, not just a little, but a whole lot.

What is in this stuff anyway???


HYDROGEN PEROXIDE!
No wonder it felt like I had just gargled with peroxide.



I thought to my self... "Man, I have got to get Dan the Man to try this stuff and see what he does. It'll be so funny! Hee, hee! He'll think it's just like any other mouthwash. I can't wait to see his reaction to that bizarre chemical reaction."

So I waited for him to come into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
Hee, hee!
I knew he'd be in any minute because he just got done drinking his morning tea.

I said... "You should try this."
I left the bottle on the counter and went into the bedroom to get dressed.
As I was dressing, I kept nonchalantly looking into the bathroom to see if
he was trying it. Well, he brushed his teeth and then left the bathroom.
Ugh, I couldn't tell him to try it or else he would know that something was up.
I would just have to wait until tomorrow.

So the next morning came and I made sure I pointed out the mouthwash.
Hee, hee!
He finally fell for it.
Dan the Man: "How much do you use."
Country Chicken Girl: "About 3/4 of the lid." hee, hee!
I watched as he swished, swished, swished.
Country Chicken Girl: "Make sure you swish real good, it says to rinse between
your teeth."
So Dan the Man swishes harder!
His eyes start to bulge a little.
I tell him it says to swish for a minute.

He finally can't take it any longer and spits it out.

HEE, HEE
HA, HA
HARDY-HAR-HAR!

Dan the Man: "That stuff taste like TOILET BOWL CLEANER!
What are you trying to do? Kill me?"

I love starting the day rolling on the flooring with laughter.


Love you honey!
Please don't be mad at me.