all in a day

it's papa's birthday today.  there was a big breakfast.  a scramble, my first ever homemade biscuits (yum!), thanks to a friend who recently shared her recipe for cream cheese biscuits.  so flaky!  so buttery!  so wonderful with butter (as if they needed more) and a little drizzle of lavender-infused honey.  a smoothie for her.  coffee for us.  eaten on the deck while we listened to all sorts of avian fanfare.  woodpeckers drilling and laughing their maniacal laugh, blue jays sounding angry in the sky, titmice shushing, and chickens proudly cackling after laying an egg.  those sounds come from all over the neighborhood.  we are a chicken heavy block. (or so)

we gardened a little.  emptied out the rain barrels and thought about moving them.  also thought about how maybe we should think about what's in that water we're catching off our roof and watering all our seedlings and plants with.  kind of don't really want to think about that, but probably I should.  my mind is already so full of thinking about things though.  dangit.  read many varying opinions on the subject but came away thinking about looking into something called a slow sand water filter and a first flush diverter.  they sound interesting.  and doable.  and sensible.  I went to work.  she came along.  papa had a clown show.  (have I mentioned he does clown skits with the fire department about fire and life safety?  well, he does.)  he is Bingo the clown.  the kids sang happy birthday to Bingo today.  loudly, according to the clown.  he picked up our chicks (!) on his way home and we now have four peeping babies on the kitchen counter.  two black australorps and two blue wheaten ameraucanas.  they were going to go in the coop (not with the others, but in their own place- remember, 'the coop' refers to the whole back shed) but I kind of like them inside for now.  I am not and will never be a real farmer, I'm afraid.  well.  maybe one day.  we'll see.

we had takeout for dinner.  and there was a cake.  a cake from (ahem) a box.  a cake from a box that I got from a neighbor because I was chatting with her about making a cake but really wasn't feeling like it (terrible, right? but- remember the biscuits?) and, voila! she happened to have a box of cake mix.  and would I like it?  yes, please.  the icing was not from a box (or a can) though.  that I made.  and I had a bit to do with the making of the cake as well, really.  crack three eggs, melt coconut oil, pour milk..... mix.  etc.  Claire helped with the clean up.  the clean up of one of the mixer thingies and the batter bowl, anyway.

and that was our day.  we skyped with nana and pipop and now have a visit to look forward to for the end of the month.  oh- and I got Mike a really, really cool gift.  a sunrise (um, that's early) flight with asheville hot air balloon for the two of us.  woohoo!  wondering what the safety measures and such are with hot air balloon flights....  I for one would like to have a parachute.  just in case.  it's a mile up, after all and that's kind of high.