Poor Puffy Piggies

Laura is rocking the center midfield, and Katie (long black ponytail) is playing left mid in the top photograph.
The bottom is Laura's sprained right ankle, and first soccer injury.

The team we played were boys. They talked about punching the girls in the face. Some of them said they were going to "wipe out" the two littlest girls on our team.
(I was worried that our delicate angels would be intimidated and traumatized by such smack-talk, but alas, I overheard the little ones cracking up laughing after the game, saying (to each other, not to the big boys!) "Thanks for saying that and making me want to beat you up even more than I already did.")
I think they'll recover emotionally.

In many years and many games of soccer, this was the first time we've encountered a team that seemed to want to hurt their opponents. And maybe I'm old-fashioned, but the fact that they were boys who were plotting to hurt girls disturbed me even more.

Playing them makes me grateful for all of the truly sportsmanlike behavior of the other kids in the area!

After the game we went to eat at our local pizza place where we're all more like family than patrons. The manager rigged up an ice bag for Laura's ankle, and we had her put her foot up while we ate.

Today's forced downtime while we've got an elevated ankle is a nice break from hectic running. (But I hope it's better by practice on Thursday.)

Laura and Clyde

Chicken Run

Laura's egg business had been booming. Sales were fantastic and overhead was low when she had her 16 Golden Comet hens.
Then the neighbors' dog systematically picked off 11 of the newly laying ladies.

Laura had seen that the Red Mule in Phenix had chicks, so she asked if we could make a chicken run.
Yep, we can do that.

Gooseberry thinks they'll taste like chicken.

Why I Didn't Build the Bee Hives at all Today: Part 1

I didn't want to paint over the beautiful wood grain of my new bee hives, so I decided to buy polyurethane in town while I dropped Laura off for her hair cut and highlights.
I did buy the clear coat and the brush.
When I got home, however, I still didn't have a chance to start the exciting adventure of reading directions and assembling the hives. Story to follow...

Here's beautiful Laura after her big salon day.

Laura's Homemade Rolls

Laura is learning to perfect a variety of foods from watching Chef John and other professionals on Allrecipes.com.

Here are her delicious hot dog and hamburger buns.

I'm glad that the girls are all good at cooking and baking, but I do wish that our family doctor would fork over a prescription for diet pills for me.

Got Cats?

So many cats at Providence Farm!

They are worth their weight in gold because of their rat killing and their entertainment value.

Here, Gooseberry keeps toasty on top of Sirius and Blizzard.

Laura's Famous Quiche

Laura's farm job is caring for laying hens.

She bought 16 Golden Comet pullets in September, and they've all survived and thrived to become excellent egg producers.
They earn her enough cash from egg sales to cover the price of their feed, and she also has a dozen eggs a day or more at her disposal.

Here's one of the many dinner quiches we've enjoyed so far, absolutely delicious with Penny's cream, vegetables, cheese, and some ham.

Our neighbor to whom she gave a piece even put a picture of it on facebook.
Laura's on her way to becoming a famous chef.

Happy 15th Birthday, Laura!

Laura and I went to a tea shop then clothes shopping to celebrate her birthday.

We often get snow around March 1st down here and were hoping for flurries, but alas.
Maybe next week we can have a major east coast snowstorm as a belated birthday gift from nature to Laura.

Laura, Crazy Cat Lady in Training

All of the cats but Debbie sleep with Laura.

Laura's Recipes

After years of Becky dominating the role of chef here at Providence Farm, Laura has stepped up to the plate, or stove, and started to excel in the culinary arts.
This is her homemade Alfredo sauce with pasta. It was absolutely delicious!

She's made quite a few dishes on her own, and she's been perfecting a pumpkin roll and her original recipe of a Christmas Jell-O dessert.

Katie's Notepad

This, I love.
Becky bought a little white board to hang Katie's schoolroom so she and Laura can write messages to their little sister.
Every morning, there is a loving good morning from early bird Laura to Kate.
Then the not so loving response from Katie back at Laura...

Here is a translation:

Did you really have to erase my poem, "Stinkbug Invasion" just to write, "good morning tootsie roll?"

Katie

You may be able to imagine what's happening with the stinkbug population of Central Virginia by the title of Katie's poem.

Extreme Silliness

We learned on the way home from buying knock-off brand gummy worms from Kroger, that Laura has a unique talent for crossing one eye while making a bizarre giggling sound with a worm hanging from her teeth. Quite frightening to see in my rear view mirror. Katie, being the quick study that she is, learned the technique: except for the one crossed eye. We can't all share Laura's gift. I entitled this "Extreme Silliness" because since Devin's been living in town, nothing has been extreme here. When Devin is playing with us, the mundane becomes extreme. We play "extreme bike riding," "extreme kick-the-can," "extreme ninja goalie." I miss having a boy around!

Snow Day 2012

Here's a treat from Laura and Katie, our early bird photographers, supplying you with a glimpse of this morning's magic.
I got up before 7 and saw that it was good, but I was not going to go out there before I had coffee. And by then, things were already changing because of the warm temperatures.
Thankfully, the girls had taken a camera with them, so I can blog vicariously through them.

Terrifying Sled Ride

Here's footage of today's sledding adventures on the far hill.
This is an example of why I don't look when they're out playing.
They woke up at 6:30 and went out soon afterward.

Laura!

Poor Laura's shockingly under represented on my blog.
Can I get an "Amen!" from all the middle children of the world?
Before she was forced to hire an agent to lobby for her fair treatment, I figured I'd add a cute photo.

Merry Christmas To All!

Drawn by Laura.

Portraits

Here are two pictures that I was pleased with.
I got an Olympus E-500 body last year at a very reasonable price, and finally bought a full price (ouch!) 50mm lens in order to take pictures with my bargain camera.
Super model Debbie cat had a whole photo shoot on the bed, rolling around, posing for the camera.
Laura's hair was gleaming in the sun, and I liked how the new camera could capture the moment.

Secret Soccer Portal

I love playing at Nottoway's field.
I always get the sensation that I'm about to enter Narnia when I go through the door in the wall.
Laura played against them on Saturday and we enjoyed fun afternoon out in the sun.

Laura's Championship

It's tough when you're the photographer of the family because then there are no pictures of you playing soccer.
Such is the case with Laura.
Her team also went all the way to the top of the James River District and won the Championship. However, they also happened to be undefeated all season!
Laura is also #14. She's in the back row, tallest but for the coach in her normal uniform, and with the coach's arm around her in her tournament uniform.
Laura plays defensive mid.

Random Photos of Today

Just a glimpse of the day.
There are actually interesting farm things about which to blog, but I don't have the mental capacity to photograph then tell the story behind all the livestock.
After soccer season, I may blog all day long, since nothing else will occupy my time.