'Bits and Pieces' Updates

William and Kate Update:  If you haven't seen photos of the new little royal guy, here they are -- and he's a cutie. Frankly, the parents look beat -- especially Kate. But having a kid is no picnic, as all you moms out there can attest.  (Did you know they almost didn't get married?)
   Update: He's got a name now -- George Alexander Louis. 
    (The Brick is groaning here -- being a staunch Republican, in the truest sense of the word, he has no interest in British royalty. I'm the opposite. Though they should be supporting themselves financially, instead of letting Great Britain foot the bill, I find them amusing, irritating and intriguing, all at the same time.)

The chickies update: The chickens have been molting for the past few weeks, which really cut down on the eggs. But they seem to be picking up -- this morning, I found a secret nest of eggs down by one of the garden beds. Not sure how old the eggs are, but they weren't there a few days ago. (We'll 'candle' them to find out.) The babies are rapidly growing...could they have been laying those eggs? (The Brick thinks not -- and it is still early for that.)
     Sadly, we are one less grown chicken. Mrs. Broody, our lone hen who insisted on trying to hatch each and every egg, finally outlived her welcome. She would attempt to peck at us, and push out any of the other hens who wanted to lay. (They all insist on using only one of the three available nesting boxes - go figure. I've seen them stacked three deep in there, all working on an egg.)
     We've been finding broken eggs every once in a while. I thought it was because of all the thrashing around in there until I caught Mrs. B. in the act one morning, yolk dripping from her beak. The little stinker was eating eggs.
      The only recourse to that is removing her from the flock, before she taught the others to do it. So we did.
      She was delicious. 

What...you ate her? Actually, things are a lot more peaceful now in the coop. Poor Mrs. Broody.

Yours Truly Update:  After a scorching few weeks, we finally had a tiny bit of rain...blessedly, the air cleared. It's still hot, but not blistering.
    It's been a strange few weeks. I minded the store for friends who have an insurance agency, and simultaneously jammed in appraisals, including two days at the Firehouse Quilters' annual show. Thankfully, it was held at the fairgrounds in Castle Rock, so I could buzz over there, appraise for the day, then buzz back and do a stint at Castle Rock Insurance.
    But I got really, really tired after a while.

Yesterday was the last day at Castle Rock Insurance. Today, I did more appraising (of course!) with more coming by the end of the week. Then it's on to Shipshewana, Indiana for the annual meeting of PAAQT: 'Professional Association of Appraisers - Quilted Textiles.' Shipshe, as it's known, has a lot of Amish quilters and influences, but we'll also be studying art quilts, Michigan State University's collection, and several other subjects. I'll take the USPAP refresher course (still working toward that certification, though it's definitely getting closer), then bring The Mama back with me. She's agreed to spend the month with us, then house-sit while we're in Ireland.
     Hopefully a good time will be had by all.