catch-up Friday...

Here at the ranch, it is blowing and raining up a good old storm. I'm going to go out in a minute and see if there are any more ripe tomatoes, strawberries or beans. I've been picking away at this and that today but I have a few things that I have to do. I made a gorgeous chocolate and almond torte for Felix's birthday dinner tonight. We are roasting up some caribou with potatoes, carrots, beans etc... and I'll make a tomato & basil salad to go along with. I'm picking up the birthday boy at 5:30 at school - he joined the choral group and this afternoon was their first session. I'll wrap up some presents I got him, ice the cake when it cools and Ron will take care of the rest of the meal. So that's the domestic front covered.

Dearie - a speckled sussex - on strike! (this pic from when she was a few days old)

Quite likely, I will not get any exercise done or my sitting practice though the second is still in the realm of possibility. I might run through the bit of tai chi I kept in my brain pan, we'll see.
As for work - I've been working on getting material done for a few projects. I put together an online album I can send to potential clients who want a sample of my photography. This one is a people shot one and I think I'll also do one for landscapes and one for products. I want to start the process to get my standing offer in. For those of you who missed last year's fun - this is a way to make sure the right government offices can find you for projects and you can be paid! Such a good idea... It means sample writing and I might send in photo samples too. But first I need to read it and see what is required for this year's application.
And that means I need to clean up my work front a bit. My home office isn't as easy to keep as it used to be since I now share it part time with Ron. However, it doesn't need to get as bad as it has of late so I will put some systems in place. The main thing is to keep discrete places for my projects. I have largish square baskets that can contain, for instance, any draft copies of a project I've got and the notebooks associated with that project plus any research books etc... That system lost some of its boundaries when I moved downstairs.
Two other items that need attending are the content for my new website. This will be for my psychotherapy work and will include articles that I write or find pertaining to psychotherapy issues, links to helpful sites, and my own coordinates, as well as a blog where I can post items of interest to my clientelle which will be password protected.
The second item is my pitch for the publishers that will happen a week Sunday. I want to write out what I'm going to say and practice it several times before the day. I am happy delivering anything publically AND this is really important to me so want to have it really tight.

Ruby or Bea (we never know) a RIR - on strike!

A Wee Note About the Chickens - I had a very strict talk to the hens yesterday, explaining with graphic details what would happen if they continued to ignore their egg laying duties. They made soft brurrs of understanding but I'm not sure they did. Today I showed them the one egg we got and pointed out that this was the quality we wanted but the quantity was pathetic. Again I showed them with my hands and 'krrrrickk' noises what their leader, Ron, would be doing if they continued to slack off. It has been pointed out before but it bears repeating - when talking to hens one automatically uses the lingo and passion of a pimp! However, I am the lackadaisical and soft-hearted sort of pimp and the ladies know it. I will soon be feeding five elderly chickens warm oatmeal as I do when winter falls about us. I'll be making sure they have little fatty treats to keep them toasty and I'll bank the walls of their coop to keep the north wind from freezing their tootsies  feet. And they'll be entertaining us with their winsome ways BUT NOT LAYING A DAMN EGG. And that means we won't have eggs because we can't have more chickens in the size of coop we have. We're not slum landlords. Well, actually we are but that is another story. Any of you farmers or back yard chicken ranchers have any notions of how to get them back alaying?

Jackmo before the rottweiller ate his tail!