I offered to take care of Katie's quail this weekend. She had to go to California for a few days and was worried about how he would do at home. We had had several conversations about caring for the chick, and were eager to do what we could to help.
When Katie brought him, she was concerned about him. He was not doing as well as he had been in the beginning. He was listless and his eyes were closed. She said the first day he had been active, hopping about all over his cage. She was worried that he had gotten cold in the car on the trip from her house.
We put a light bulb on him right away, and started giving him sugar water with an eyedropper every hour. He had improved significantly by noon, so we decided to see if we could get him to drink on his own. We put chick starter feed and a jar lid of water in his cage, and showed him how to drink. Shelby and I were so excited when he pecked at the feed!
We noticed he had trouble walking, and decided to cover the wood shavings with newspapers, something we do with baby chicks. It helped a lot, and by late afternoon he was active and alert, hopping all over the place and pecking at his feed.
At bedtime I became concerned because he was still so active. He was even cheeping quite a bit, something he hadn't done at all earlier. He had run into the glass of his cage a number of times, and didn't seem at all inclined to sleep. I was worried that he might hurt himself in the night. I tried rigging an infrared light over his cage. That's what we use for heat with our chicks. But the light was so strong I was afraid it would melt the outsides of the cage (a mistake we have made before). I was also afraid it would get the chick too hot and he would die (something that has also happened before). Katie had been using a 60 watt bulb to keep him warm. We were using a 100 watt bulb and it was working great, but the infrared is 250 watts. It seemed like too much heat for such a little cage. If I put the light farther from the cage, it didn't seem like it was directing the heat enough to the inside of the cage. That's when I thought of the loft.
Our loft is like an oven. I've stubbornly refused to turn on the air conditioning, and the downstairs has been a tolerable 83 degrees. But the loft is at least 10 degrees warmer. After comparing the temperature in the lighted cage to the loft, I decided it was probably warmer in the loft anyway, so I took the chick up to the loft without the light. He quieted down soon after, and seemed to be adapting well to the change.
He died in the night. I found him with his head in the jar lid of water. There was only about a tablespoon of water in it, so I don't think he drowned, but I think he may have gotten wet, and then chilled. It hadn't occurred to me to remove the food and water lids. Earlier that day he had been hopping in and out of them. It was funny because he would hop into the water, then into the food, and then he would peck at the feed that stuck to his wet toes. We normally leave the feed and water with our baby chicks, so I didn't think to remove it.
I feel so bad. I wish I had woken Shelby up to get a second opinion on removing the light bulb. I had a bad experience with baby chicks and a standard light bulb, so I was afraid to leave it on all night. The loft was still very warm when I got up at 6 am to check on him. But if he'd had the light on, he would not have gotten chilled, even if he had gotten wet. I think I would feel just as bad if I'd left the light on and had found him dead in the morning. Then I would have felt bad for leaving him is a situation I had doubts about.
I didn't think I would be so attached to this little guy making it. His chances seemed small. But after his dramatic improvement over the course of the day, we were so hopeful. He was showing so much personality, too. He was alert and active and precocious, and it seemed like things were tilting in his favor. I know I did the best I could, but its hard knowing I may have made the wrong decision.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Unmotivated
My hubby left Friday afternoon for a tournament in California. He'll be gone 9 days.
I feel unmotivated to do anything. Is it because he's gone, or am I just recovering from yesterday's haircut from hell?
In spite of feeling unmotivated, I made "appointments" with each of the girls today to help them work on their sleep pants. The frustrating thing about working at Linda's shop is that, while it's fun for the girls to work with other kids, it's hard for me to help four kids at one time, so there's a ton of waiting, and sometimes they get frustrated. Tamzin didn't even have a project, since I wasn't planning to have her do sleep pants, so she was wanting me to help her create something, too, and bored and sad that I couldn't help her.
The girls got a little done Saturday, but I decided for my own sanity that I needed to work with them one at a time, at home. So I made myself available this afternoon. I didn't even have to do that much, just be there to explain each step and show them what to do. But it worked much better to work with them one at a time! Shelby, Rhiannon and Gillian got their sleep pants finished except for the hem, so they all got to try them on and wear them around for a bit. They are so excited! Even Tamzin is happy. We cut a rectangle of some leftover flannel and I let her sew it with my help on the machine, and she made it into a pillow. She stuffed it with fabric scraps and sewed up the stuffing hole all by herself! Now she says she would like to make an outfit! She is very proud of herself for sewing on the big machine!
I cooked a nice dinner, something I do sparingly when Clint is out of town. I went running this morning, too. And I did some weeding in my garden. And I sent my mom some photos via email. And I made a cool CD slideshow (to music) out of some photos we took this spring (something I've been meaning to do for ages)! Now that I'm writing it all down, it sounds like I've done a lot for someone who feels as unmotivated as I do right now. Hmmm.
I feel unmotivated to do anything. Is it because he's gone, or am I just recovering from yesterday's haircut from hell?
In spite of feeling unmotivated, I made "appointments" with each of the girls today to help them work on their sleep pants. The frustrating thing about working at Linda's shop is that, while it's fun for the girls to work with other kids, it's hard for me to help four kids at one time, so there's a ton of waiting, and sometimes they get frustrated. Tamzin didn't even have a project, since I wasn't planning to have her do sleep pants, so she was wanting me to help her create something, too, and bored and sad that I couldn't help her.
The girls got a little done Saturday, but I decided for my own sanity that I needed to work with them one at a time, at home. So I made myself available this afternoon. I didn't even have to do that much, just be there to explain each step and show them what to do. But it worked much better to work with them one at a time! Shelby, Rhiannon and Gillian got their sleep pants finished except for the hem, so they all got to try them on and wear them around for a bit. They are so excited! Even Tamzin is happy. We cut a rectangle of some leftover flannel and I let her sew it with my help on the machine, and she made it into a pillow. She stuffed it with fabric scraps and sewed up the stuffing hole all by herself! Now she says she would like to make an outfit! She is very proud of herself for sewing on the big machine!
I cooked a nice dinner, something I do sparingly when Clint is out of town. I went running this morning, too. And I did some weeding in my garden. And I sent my mom some photos via email. And I made a cool CD slideshow (to music) out of some photos we took this spring (something I've been meaning to do for ages)! Now that I'm writing it all down, it sounds like I've done a lot for someone who feels as unmotivated as I do right now. Hmmm.
The Haircut From Hell
The girls and I were out of the house early Saturday for our 4H sleep pants project meeting. We spent a couple of hours at Linda's mom's shop sewing.
Then we went and got Gillian the haircut from hell.
I don't know why I keep trying. I get so frustrated with hair stylists. They always act like they don't know what I am talking about when I attempt to describe a hairstyle. Dang it, they're the professionals, they should be able to figure it out. Gillian wanted a blunt cut with the front longer than the back. Seems simple enough. But the stylist found lots of reasons not to be able to do what Gillian wanted, and kept layering, and layering, and layering, until now Gillian's hair is way too short, way too layered, and not even close to what she wanted. When the stylist first said she might need to layer it a bit in the back because of the thickness of Gillian's hair, I said OK. It made sense to me. But still, we had asked for a BLUNT cut, not a layered cut. Her hair is now very layered in the back, somewhat layered at the sides, and long in the front.
The cut took more than an hour the first time around, plus 15 minutes to wait for our turn. When she finished, it didn't look great, but we were all tired and wanted to go. We left to do some shopping. But then I got a better look at the cut, which the stylist had tucked behind Gillian's ears. When it came untucked, I realized they had her hair going from short, to long, to short again. It stuck out on the sides like a little kid had cut it. I wanted to cry, because I knew I had to take her back to have it fixed, which would mean more waiting.
Of course, we had to wait 30 minutes for the same stylist to be available when we returned. Then she was totally obtuse about what was wrong with the cut. Then she went on to blame Gillian, saying that Gillian kept asking her to cut it shorter. Well, maybe she did, but I'm quite sure she didn't aske her to LAYER it! I managed to be polite the entire time, but I was very frustrated. In total, three hours of our afternoon were spent at the hairdressers. With the other girls waiting the entire time! I ended up paying double the cost of a haircut, because I tipped her a second time to foster goodwill. After all, she didn't get angry or nasty about it. But she was deliberately dense and unhelpful, in my opinion. She refused to give any suggestions about how to fix the problem, just acted perplexed by my concerns.
Rhiannon and Tamzin walked over to Bed Bath and Beyond to shop, while I waited with Shelby. Then Shelby and Rhiannon went over to Target to shop, and I waited with Tamzin. Tamzin was a saint. I cannot believe how patient she was. It was so frustrating!!! Even now, Gillian's hair is not quite right. There are parts in the back that are not even. I admit, her hair is hard to cut because it's so thick. That's why I don't cut it! But if the stylist is not capable of cutting her hair evenly, I wish they would just say so, and let me go to a different stylist!
The whole point of the haircut was so Gillian could go to camp and not have to worry about having an unruly mop to deal with. Now her hair is so short, she can't tuck it behind her ears, so it's in her face! I can't decide if I should take her to Maeleena and ask if she can fix it, or if I'm just being too picky and should forget about the whole thing. The only way I can think of to fix it is to layer the front to match the layering in the back. Then it won't be in her face. But it also will be even less of what she wanted.
Tamzin begged for a haircut too, something I didn't want to do, since we just cut it not that long ago, and cutting it again would mean it couldn't go into a braid, my favorite non-tangling hairstyle. But she was so patient at the salon, I decided to give her a haircut when I got home. She is so happy! She loves it! I'm sad, because I liked her hair longer, but I'm happy that she's happy!
Then we went and got Gillian the haircut from hell.
I don't know why I keep trying. I get so frustrated with hair stylists. They always act like they don't know what I am talking about when I attempt to describe a hairstyle. Dang it, they're the professionals, they should be able to figure it out. Gillian wanted a blunt cut with the front longer than the back. Seems simple enough. But the stylist found lots of reasons not to be able to do what Gillian wanted, and kept layering, and layering, and layering, until now Gillian's hair is way too short, way too layered, and not even close to what she wanted. When the stylist first said she might need to layer it a bit in the back because of the thickness of Gillian's hair, I said OK. It made sense to me. But still, we had asked for a BLUNT cut, not a layered cut. Her hair is now very layered in the back, somewhat layered at the sides, and long in the front.
The cut took more than an hour the first time around, plus 15 minutes to wait for our turn. When she finished, it didn't look great, but we were all tired and wanted to go. We left to do some shopping. But then I got a better look at the cut, which the stylist had tucked behind Gillian's ears. When it came untucked, I realized they had her hair going from short, to long, to short again. It stuck out on the sides like a little kid had cut it. I wanted to cry, because I knew I had to take her back to have it fixed, which would mean more waiting.
Of course, we had to wait 30 minutes for the same stylist to be available when we returned. Then she was totally obtuse about what was wrong with the cut. Then she went on to blame Gillian, saying that Gillian kept asking her to cut it shorter. Well, maybe she did, but I'm quite sure she didn't aske her to LAYER it! I managed to be polite the entire time, but I was very frustrated. In total, three hours of our afternoon were spent at the hairdressers. With the other girls waiting the entire time! I ended up paying double the cost of a haircut, because I tipped her a second time to foster goodwill. After all, she didn't get angry or nasty about it. But she was deliberately dense and unhelpful, in my opinion. She refused to give any suggestions about how to fix the problem, just acted perplexed by my concerns.
Rhiannon and Tamzin walked over to Bed Bath and Beyond to shop, while I waited with Shelby. Then Shelby and Rhiannon went over to Target to shop, and I waited with Tamzin. Tamzin was a saint. I cannot believe how patient she was. It was so frustrating!!! Even now, Gillian's hair is not quite right. There are parts in the back that are not even. I admit, her hair is hard to cut because it's so thick. That's why I don't cut it! But if the stylist is not capable of cutting her hair evenly, I wish they would just say so, and let me go to a different stylist!
The whole point of the haircut was so Gillian could go to camp and not have to worry about having an unruly mop to deal with. Now her hair is so short, she can't tuck it behind her ears, so it's in her face! I can't decide if I should take her to Maeleena and ask if she can fix it, or if I'm just being too picky and should forget about the whole thing. The only way I can think of to fix it is to layer the front to match the layering in the back. Then it won't be in her face. But it also will be even less of what she wanted.
Tamzin begged for a haircut too, something I didn't want to do, since we just cut it not that long ago, and cutting it again would mean it couldn't go into a braid, my favorite non-tangling hairstyle. But she was so patient at the salon, I decided to give her a haircut when I got home. She is so happy! She loves it! I'm sad, because I liked her hair longer, but I'm happy that she's happy!
Monday, May 16, 2005
Kayaks & Asparagus Dogs
There's something so awesome about sharing a meal... or an afternoon... with good friends.
I was ambivilant about attending Saturday's homeschool BBQ. I get so wrapped up in projects at home that it's hard to break away, and time with Clint is so limited, I hate to "use" up his time unless it's a top priority. But the kids had friends they wanted to see at the BBQ, so we went, and I am SO glad we did! We kept picnic preparations simple by picking up Fred Meyer fried chicken and bringing a simple dip with bread to share.
We decided to bring the kayaks, thinking we might be able to combine a fun family activity with the potluck at the park. It worked out great. Both kids and adults had a fantastic time paddling back and forth from island to shore, and up and down the bank. The river was a delight to the senses, and paddling is hard work, but fun! After accompanying the older girls several times, we felt confident letting them traverse the route alone. Rhiannon and Lisa loved the tandem kayak, and went back and forth over and over, laughing and giggling.
We stayed for hours later than we had planned, along with Mary Ellen, Lisa and Jackie. We visited and watched the kids play. It was great fun, and wonderfully relaxing.
Pat and Mary Ellen invited us over for Asparagus Dogs on Sunday. I spent a glorious and exhausting 6 hours digging in the garden while Clint worked inside installing the baseboards. Then we showered off the sweat of our projects, made a couple of side dishes, and headed over to Mary Ellen's for dinner.
True to his word, Pat's Asparagus Dogs were a gourmet feast! We spent an enjoyable evening visting on the deck and watching the rain showers, playing Yahtzee with the kids, and squeezing though fences for a little neighborhood exploration! Mary Ellen treated us all to exotic espresso drinks in charming little demitasse cups as an after dinner treat. I got the lowest Yahtzee score, but I had a winner of a weekend!
I was ambivilant about attending Saturday's homeschool BBQ. I get so wrapped up in projects at home that it's hard to break away, and time with Clint is so limited, I hate to "use" up his time unless it's a top priority. But the kids had friends they wanted to see at the BBQ, so we went, and I am SO glad we did! We kept picnic preparations simple by picking up Fred Meyer fried chicken and bringing a simple dip with bread to share.
We decided to bring the kayaks, thinking we might be able to combine a fun family activity with the potluck at the park. It worked out great. Both kids and adults had a fantastic time paddling back and forth from island to shore, and up and down the bank. The river was a delight to the senses, and paddling is hard work, but fun! After accompanying the older girls several times, we felt confident letting them traverse the route alone. Rhiannon and Lisa loved the tandem kayak, and went back and forth over and over, laughing and giggling.
We stayed for hours later than we had planned, along with Mary Ellen, Lisa and Jackie. We visited and watched the kids play. It was great fun, and wonderfully relaxing.
Pat and Mary Ellen invited us over for Asparagus Dogs on Sunday. I spent a glorious and exhausting 6 hours digging in the garden while Clint worked inside installing the baseboards. Then we showered off the sweat of our projects, made a couple of side dishes, and headed over to Mary Ellen's for dinner.
True to his word, Pat's Asparagus Dogs were a gourmet feast! We spent an enjoyable evening visting on the deck and watching the rain showers, playing Yahtzee with the kids, and squeezing though fences for a little neighborhood exploration! Mary Ellen treated us all to exotic espresso drinks in charming little demitasse cups as an after dinner treat. I got the lowest Yahtzee score, but I had a winner of a weekend!
Spring Blog Cleaning
I got on Blogger (finally) to see about fixing the comments, and deicded it was time for a change...a template change, that is. It was an easy way to solve the comment problem, since some of the newer templates have comments already set. The bad news is I have lost the old comments, but it didn't look like Comment This was coming back online any time soon anyway.
Changing to a new template motivated me to redo my sidebar, too. I feel so ...updated!
Changing to a new template motivated me to redo my sidebar, too. I feel so ...updated!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
