#irwinbuns update - 2 weeks old!

Yesterday the #irwinbuns turned 2 weeks old. This first picture is a perfect representation of what is going on right now. Lots of sleeping and lots of moving. Sometimes they even accidentally jump themselves out of the nesting box and need a rescue.

Top right of this picture - we have two that look like they will have a lot more grey on them. 

You can see in this picture that there are two little grey buns but mostly it is just a pile of white wiggly goodness. 

And this is a perfect example of snuggling a new-ish bunny. They get sort of panicky when you pick them up and then I guess they get exhausted and fall asleep in your hands - which is pretty darn cute. We've handled them some to just get them used to us but starting next week (once they are 3 weeks old) to get them really used to being held so that they will make good pets! And - please let the weather support this - they can move outside too! :) 

#irwinbuns update

Took some pictures yesterday to share with mom - since, you know...no Instagram.

Sorry, they are all a little blurry - something with my phone camera. 

And, since they live in the guest bathtub, there are some funny bathroom photobombs in there. 

Like TP in ^ that one.

And the toilet in the one below.

Look at those teeny ears!

They should be opening their eyes - maybe even with a little help today. 

And then...things will get crazy...and they will start jumping soon. They already have strong little back legs!

Handmade + Christmas + Quilting

I made a depressingly small number of handmade gifts this Christmas and I am determined to do better next year. I know some people don't "get" or appreciate handmade gifts but I personally know how much time, effort, and heart each one takes so I will continue to give them!

Entertainingly enough, the thing I think I like the best is this big spaghetti plate that I painted for myself. Our staff got to go to one of those paint your own pottery places as a staff appreciation day and I picked out this plate. After scouring Pinterest for something that I could easily replicate, I picked this dotted paisley idea and I am pretty proud of the way it turned out!

This is technically not handmade - or even a gift - but it is always a gift to myself when I decorate the front porch. I always love the house being decorated for Christmas because it looks so festive and loved. And of course, the guard corgi doesn't hurt either. I'm committing to making my house be a place that I love in the new year - instead of tolerating the mess or leaving projects half finished. Stay tuned for updates there...

This is a possibly too short but awesome none the less sleeve I made for my sister's glass french coffee press. I just measured it while at her house before Christmas and made this from estimates. I will try to make her another one that fits a little better soon but I loved the fabric!

I also made her some placemats that I am pretty proud of even though they were my first try. I forgot to snap a picture so I've requested one from her. I'll put it in here once she sends it.

I volunteered to make a friend at work some placemats when she was bemoaning that she couldn't find any Christmas ones that she loved. I actually used a pattern for these so they turned out pretty good though I obviously have the final pictures on my regular camera, not my phone so they aren't here either. The upper pictures is the back - I wanted them to be "every day" use so I used some fabrics to match her house.

This is the Christmas side of the placemats and I love them. So bright and fun. I made a set of four and even taught myself how to hand stitch the binding on the back so they look really awesome and finished. 

Chad got a couple of handmade mugs from me, though not made by me. I've broken a couple of his over the last few years so bought some replacements. If we had a cabinet full of mismatched pottery mugs, I'd be a happy girl. One is from an art student at Covenant and the other was from a little lady at his parent's church. I love them both and I'll take a picture to add later. :) I know - worst blogger in history. 

I've been working on two different quilts - for us! - since I'm not quite ready to make one to give away yet. I've been aching to replace the two quilts/coverlets on the twin beds in one of our guest rooms. Eventually - not an announcement of ANY kind - this room will become a kids room and we'll stack the beds back into bunk beds to make room for a crib/rocking chair, etc. I wanted to make quilts that were we a little more "youthful" without being too kiddie so that room can be used lots - if we never have kids too.

These two pictures are some of the half square triangles that I'm using to make one quilt. The fabric is called "Forest Friends" and it is by Moda. There are lots of foxes, rabbits, bears, skunks, cute little mushrooms, leaves and trees involved. Lots of sewing, cutting, and ironing too. This is one stack of 84 squares and the twin size will require nearly 5 stacks. Sigh. Work in progress - maybe this is why i didn't make many homemade gifts? I've had quilting on the brain instead. 

This quilt I am pretty excited about because it is a little more simple and feminine. Chad doesn't like that it is "random" like the last strippy quilt I made but I love it. I've since added a wide pink border to make it a twin size and I purchased the fabric for backing and making the binding yesterday. Making your own binding is also a pain but it opens up a whole different world of binding colors and patterns and will totally be worth it. This is the "Miss Kate" fabric by Moda as well. 

life changing.

Theodore Roosevelt is often quoted as saying "Comparison is the thief of joy". I don't know if he actually did because - well - I wasn't there but I get it. I really get it. I try hard to look at my life and be happy - and I usually am. I recognize my blessings - a job I love, a beautiful home with plenty of space for more people, a husband who loves me and serves me and puts "us" first, family and friends that care about me and are too numerous to count. I could go on and on. But there are those moments of doubt. The unhealthy, stealthy, slimy thoughts that bring on comparison: if I was thinner, as pretty as her, if we had kids and could afford for me to stay at home, if we had more money, more stuff, vacations when we wanted to...more, more, more...different, different, different.


And then a friend at work said something that changed everything.


"I'm jealous of your life."


I was shocked speechless. I even laughed it off next. We joked about how she even wants a husband like mine except for the turns-off-the-air-conditioner-whenever-he-can-to-save-money part.


Then I laid in bed and thought about it for hours.


Someone - who is beautiful, funny, smart, dedicated, passionate, with a smile the can light up a room, full of life, surrounded by people who love her - noticed MY life. I'm not faulting her for looking at me and being jealous, falling prey to the thief of joy. Please hear me clearly here.
I am using her words to call out my blindness.
Am I'm too busy looking at everyone else's life that I forgot to love my own?


My life.
She is jealous of my life.
Doesn't she know about the extra pounds and the dirty dishes and the dog hair tumbling down the hall? Did she not notice the unending To Do list and the bills that need to be paid and the half finished projects and the mess that is in my closet and in my heart?
But she saw something I haven't seen in a while.
My life - loved.


And then another thought:
Was it me? Could I have done something to make her see that I see my life as worth loving? What an unimaginable dream. Could I have built a life so full of love and beauty and surrounded myself with people who are passionate, caring, and loving, and been so loud about my happiness that she saw something in me that I didn't even see? Oh Jesus, please let this be the case.


Don't be like me. Don't let comparison thief away the beauty, the pleasures, the blessings - all meant for you. Don't let the feeds, the boards, the wanna-be-like-anyone-but-me's steal away your life. Live a life that YOU are jealous of; fill your days, your minutes, your seconds with a love of YOUR OWN LIFE.


I'll get to see her in a day or so and I can't wait to hug her. I want to thank her for helping me make a promise to myself that I will not let the beauty in someone else's life diminish the beauty in mine.

6 years.

We both agreed that it feels more like 3 years but 6 years has flown by.


This guy I'm married to...I can't imagine someone who would have fit me more perfectly. It is so amazing to see how our relationship continues to grow and stretch and change as the years go on.
I am so thankful for him... his calm nature (admittedly, bordering on TOO laid back sometimes) but providing the voice of reason when I get worked up about something...the way he puts his relationship with God at the top of his priority list and is constantly studying and reading the Word...the way he makes me laugh - and when I get to make him laugh and his face lights up.



I love being his wife. He is so consistent, kind, generous, and hard-working. He gives, gives, gives - expecting nothing in return.

So, a little throwback to that sweet day in the park by the river.

 I'm glad we had nearly 4 years of dating to decide that we wanted to get married. I'm glad that our marriage is built on a strong friendship - that we actually LIKE hanging out together and just being friends. I like that he rolls his sleeves up. I like that he lets me be silly and weird and loves me just the same.

As we have made it our sometimes tradition, we are going to take a picnic to the park and eat in the same spot we got married. I love this guy - and I hope we get 70 more years together.

A good change.

In case you didn't know, Chad's current job has been second shift for almost a year and half now. This means he goes to work about an hour before I get off and comes home and crawls in bed about midnight. In addition to being second shift, he also works every other weekend (Saturday and Sunday). I am so thankful that he has decent employment and that our insurance is through the State of TN. because of it - but hear me people - 2nd shift stinks. I am so sympathetic for families who have parents or spouses who work strange shifts and never get time together. And I am even more aware that there are families who have parents, spouses, and loved ones who are deployed for months at a time so getting every other weekend together isn't even an option. I know how lucky we are.


But, as of today, my guy is officially a first shift worker. Same place. Same benefits. Still has to work every other weekend (womp, womp) but we will get to be home together in the evenings. He will work 7am to 3:30pm now, instead of 3pm to 11:30pm. I can't explain to you how giddy this makes me. I feel so bad for people that don't WANT to spent more time with their spouses and families and I can't imagine feeling that way. I spent the entire day today at work sort of grinning about the fact that I was going to get to come home and spend the evening with my husband like a regular ole' day.


If you enjoy spending time with your spouse - and especially if that spouse works a "regular" or flexible schedule *admittedly, like mine*- be thankful. I came home tonight, we went for a walk, made dinner together, and checked the interwebs for a place to say when we go on vacation this fall. I am still sort of riding on a high - it was lovely to spend the evening with him and to know that I get to do it again tomorrow (instead of it being his one day off per week). I am so thankful that this small shift has worked out for him. Please pray that it will be an easy transition and that he will get used to a new set of coworkers and schedules; also please pray that he will be content in his work and be able to see the impact he has there and know when it is time to move on. Thankfully he is on the same unit with the same patients so some things stay the same.


I am crazy about that guy - we're two and a half months from our 6th anniversary! - and I am so glad we get to spend a little more time together!

Oh So Thankful.

It has been a lovely weekend. Just simply lovely.


I ended up taking Friday off - mainly because I could - and needed it. Chad was off because of the lifeguard class he has been teaching on his off weekends this month and I needed some time for us. It was so fun to just spend the day with him - doing whatever we wanted. I actually snuck away from him in the middle of the day to join my friend K for lunch and a doctor's appointment. She's midway through a much-deserved, much-fought-for pregnancy, much-loved pregnancy and sadly, moving to Knoxville. So, this was her last appointment here in Chattanooga and I got to go see her wiggly 12 oz. bundle of joy via the wonders of modern science. It was amazing. Having not had children of my own, ultrasounds are foreign. And mind-blowing.


I spent the rest of Friday with my guy, including a trip to the movies during the "super matinee" (which, come on, is the only way to see movies unless you go to the second run theater!). Captain America was good...totally worth the $5 per person.


Chad taught lifeguarding all day Saturday down in Lafayette so I stayed home and got lots of stuff done. Cleaned the kitchen, folded a mountain of laundry, put away clothes, cleaned floors...sweated quite a bit. We haven't turned on the AC in the house yet - one of the benefits of good insulation, a brick house, shady trees....and a strong affinity for lower electricity bills. Not sure we will last much longer but it isn't unpleasant in here today. Windows open...fans on. 86 degrees outside but only 75 inside....feels cooler. Listening to one of the neighbors practice his trumpet scales.


I spent the afternoon with Chad at the pool Sunday finishing up his class. I don't think I was that flighty/unconcerned/ambivalent at 17 years old and a new high school graduate. But maybe I was. Hopefully they paid enough attention that they can perform a rescue if needed...I enjoyed a few hours of reading, watching, and sunbathing (with a high SPF on...this girl does not like to be burnt and is much more aware of skin cancer as I get older).


Today I got to sleep in, we had lunch with friends, and Chad is headed to work soon. I might go back to the pool with J or I might take a nap and get more projects done around the house. Either way, I will grill out with Chad's family and then take him dinner on his break tonight.


Finally, I don't want to pass up this day without a mention of its real purpose. Memorial Day. Not because of BBQ or pool parties. Its because of those brave men and women who - over the course of our history - gave their lives so that I have the freedom to do as I choose. From my flag waving heart to yours, I am thankful.

Upgrade, check!

My phone has been on the fritz for a while now - not only doing weird things but also having a charging issue. My upgrade isn't until next month but thankfully I am on a plan with other dudes who don't use their upgrades the second they appear! Chad broke his phone a couple of months ago and has been using an older phone of his dad's for a while too. So, as of this afternoon - and 3 trips to various wireless stores - we are both sporting new phones!




There is a Verizon place near my office that isn't a full service place and so I went there first...went to a "real" Verizon store...and back to the first place before everyone had the phone they wanted, at the price they wanted, keeping the unlimited data...which was the whole point here. And yes, I've already put an expensive Lifeproof case on my expensive (to me!) phone. This baby can get in the pool! Bring it on summer - I'm ready for you now!


P.S. this is my 999th post. Now taking requests for what I should do for my 1,000th post.

Too busy.

I love my job. I'll always start with that because it somehow makes me feel better about all the hours I spend doing it. People hear who I work for and wonder how it can be that big of a deal but we are serious about what we do. We have project teams, strategic planning 3 years in advance, and read hundreds of pages of research in an effort to try our best to succeed in our mission. A majority of our staff (cause, let's be honest, there are always folks who aren't engaged) is deeply dedicated to our "cause" and give lots of extra hours, tons of heart, and lots of brain power to keep us moving in the right direction.


That being said. I'm exhausted. I don't feel like I can give my home life the attention that it needs and I feel guilty for wanting to be successful in both my work and home life. Can you really have it both ways? Someone told me recently that if they had to choose between a successful career that they felt good about and a family that they would choose a family - simply because they didn't think they could give both 100%. Does it have to be all or nothing? I don't even have children that I am trying to raise and I already struggle with spending enough time on either work or home. If you give too much at home, work thinks you aren't dedicated. If you give too much at work, your family and home suffer. Honestly, if I had to choose, I would pick a healthy family and those relationships over work. But I love what I do and I feel like I am pretty good at it. Can you have both? Weigh in here folks, I need some insight.


That being said, I will be in Knoxville or out of town for 12 out of the 21 working days in March. Between team meetings, presenting at a conference, a staff meeting, and multiple 2 day meetings for the big project team I am working with, I won't be home much. I feel really bad about it for some reason. I know that Chad works second shift and it isn't like he'll be home at night most nights if I was there but I feel guilty. He's not getting the best of me when I am there and he surely isn't getting the best of me when I am in a hotel in Knoxville. But I believe in the work we are doing. Deeply. But I come home and I don't want to do dishes or vacuum because I am just too tired. Is there a happy medium? I have plans to take 3 days off the end of March to hang out with my guy. He wanted to burn some vacation time and I am all too happy to oblige. Is that the compromise? Work hard and then play hard but don't try to do both?

My valentine.

 

Chad had to work on Valentine's Day so I ended up at dinner with his uncle and parents and some friends. It wasn't a bad way to spend the evening - Uncle J and I even went to look at appliances. You know you are an adult when....oh well.

Chad was, however, off this weekend so we had big plans to spend the days together. On Saturday, we went to sweet C's birthday party. I can't believe he is 2 years old and we have so enjoyed watching him grow - and his parents are wonderful friends. You can see the joy of Jesus in their lives and in their parenting. It is sweet to see. Anyway...Chad and I left there and snuck to Rembrants, a local coffee shop.

I had a lovely pot of tea and Chad had decaf coffee (and claims his own brew at home is better).

 

My mom asked for pictures of our treats but I sort of forgot to take a picture until it was mostly eaten. Sorry Mom. I had a delicious éclair and Chad had a muffin. His was long gone before the camera came out.

 

But trust me, it was delicious.

I did manage to paint my nails for the occasion. Hearts for fun.

 

We enjoyed some lazy time together the rest of Saturday and Sunday...and ended our weekend with a trip to the local observatory that the university owns now. Apparently they do this weekly get together but invite the public - who ever is interested in coming - so we went! They talked about telescopes, we watched a little planetarium show, and then they let us go look through the BIG telescope (you know, the kind that points out the domed roof!). They had it pointed at Jupiter, one the brightest spots in our night sky, and we saw at least 3 moons and Jupiter's rings. I am a little space obsessed and I thought it was the coolest thing. I am really thankful Chad knows my love of space and took me. What a guy...

All in all, it was a lovely weekend with my favorite dude.  

Bilzzard of 2014.

They kept saying that we were going to get some really bad weather. Rain turning to sleet turning to snow and temperatures in the single digits. We went over to the neighbor's house to watch Downton Abbey on Sunday night - walking over in the rain and 50 degree temperatures - and I was convinced that we weren't going to see the snowy results that they kept promising.


It did get quite cold overnight on Sunday night - the 20's or so - and we got about 47 flakes of snow. It is what I would call a "light dusting" - not even enough to cover the leaves in the yard. Seems Chattanooga was at the tail end of that huge storm system - folks south of us got about 22 flakes I hear. However, they were spot on with the temperatures. It doesn't seem to have gotten above 20 degrees today and currently the temperature (on Monday night) is a balmy 11 degrees. Overnight low is supposed to be around 7. The roads seemed to have cleared nicely today even though it never got near above freezing BUT I did get the day off for all of it so...don't read any of this as a complaint. Just reporting in about the weather. I am my father's daughter.


If you think of it, say a prayer for Chad as he drives home from the late shift at the hospital tonight. That is my only weather related concern.

A productive day.

One of the things that I wanted to do for Chad for our anniversary was to deep clean the house. I know, it sounds really 1950's housewife and not at all the independent woman that I believe I am. But, in my defense, since I work so much, sometimes my share of our house duties falls by the way side. We share most things evenly - or just take turns doing them - but admittedly, it had been a while since I had done THIS much cleaning. (Don't think we live in messy house - unless you count Gwendolen hair - we do clean!). Bottom line, I knew that a deep clean would probably bless him more than anything I could purchase him so it is one of the reason I took 2 days off this week.

So, here was my TO DO list for yesterday - updated with what I actually got done:
- sand mud on walls in bathroom
- wipe down walls and dump drop cloth
- paint ceiling and walls in bathroom
- paint bathroom cabinet
- vacuum all floors
- do all laundry and put it away (this ended up being 5 loads...my dryer was exhausted)
- clean up hiking stuff in guest room from Leconte trip
- clean up kitchen and put away dishes
- clean up craft stuff in spare room
- clean out/wash/wax car (this one is totally for me!)
- clean up dining room table
- clean up the other guest room that has been holding bathroom renovation stuff
- hang Chad's 3D map that he got for Christmas (this is almost embarrassing)
- deep clean hall bathroom
- clean off front porch (the number of spider webs is unreal!)

Obviously, I didn't get everything done in the bathroom that I wanted to get done but my arms were tired from nearly 2 hours of sanding! I need a little help/advice from Chad on the next step (ceiling) anyway so I was sort of in a holding pattern until today anyway.

My house is so clean that I feel like we should leave so we don't mess it up! p.s. he also noticed, which only slightly surprised me. I was still awake when he came home last night and he was like, whoa, thanks for cleaning! and THAT rocked my world.

Today's plans include catching up on our favorite TV shows, hopefully lunch with his parents to celebrate his mom's birthday (which, by the way, is the same day as our anniversary. Another story for another day), a trip to Lowe's (because what romantic day doesn't include a trip to Lowe's?) then a matinee movie and dinner down by the river. Le sigh. I love days like this.

 (Edited to add: I DID actually buy him things but they aren't here yet. I'll show them off when they arrive.)

5 years.

Today marks being married 5 years to one of the most patient, generous, dedicated, hard-working, funny - in his own way, thoughtful, weird (I had to say it!), and loving man. It has been an honor to be his wife - through good times and bad times - he is my cool, calm, collected, always making me think about life differently guy.

A lot has happened these last 5 years - we've marked a thousand memories down but surely we have millions more to go. I know people always say this but sometimes I feel like it was just last week that we were standing there in that park by the water making our lifelong promises to each other. And sometimes, I can't believe that we've made it this far.

Chad is surely my gift from God. He is calm when I am anxious, offers thoughtful responses that make me see the other side of every situation, challenges me spiritually, leads our family, makes hard decisions and easy ones when I can't, and continues to love me when I might feel unlovable.

I took today off work to spend some time with my guy. It's been too long coming! Granted, he has to work today so we are only going to get the morning together BUT...I also took tomorrow off work to hang out with him the entire day. So, we'll truly celebrate tomorrow and today we will just hang out at the house together. I love this guy...

A Summer of Travel.

I shall reiterate again that I truly do love my job. There aren't many people I know who can say that (and most of them are my co-workers!) so I know I am among the highly blessed. However, my dedication to said job + my guy's work schedule keep us away from each other more than we would like. This has led us to make some changes to our lives, to be more intentional with our time together, changes that I would have liked to not have to make but are necessary. I schedule my flex time when I know he will be off work and we can spend some time together and I try to be available the weekends that he is off work. However, if you thought my 6 weekends in a row this spring were busy, this summer looks even busier (mostly because the travel is more extended with fewer nights in my own bed!).

It started with a 7 day work week this week - Sunday at a celebration for girls who have achieved the highest honors in Girl Scouting - the Gold and Silver Awards. 5 days of normal work including 2 days in Knoxville and this Saturday will be spend co-leading a training for most of the day. Next week I just have one day in Knoxville and the following week I will be in DC from Wednesday to Saturday. The last week of the month holds 2 days at camp and then 3 days - over the weekend - in Virginia at an event that another council does for older girls that we are going to chaperone/check out. July brings a week long trip to Columbus and Biloxi with my parents (our 3rd Annual...or is it 4th?), a couple events, and 2 more 2-day trips to camp.

As I said in an email to a friend, I'm tired just thinking about it.

Weekend doesn't equal no work.

One of the downers about Chad's job is that he has to work every other weekend. It is consistent so we can plan a few weekends out but knowing you are going to be stuck working every other one is such a downer; not that work is bad! We are thankful that we both have paying jobs that we feel fulfilled in doing. But knowing that we aren't going to get to spend that might time together is really the downside to all of it. I think we have both handled it well but on weekends like this one, it seems to just get to me a little more...

We got up yesterday and both worked out - he with a friend and bikes at the battlefield and me with a friend at the YMCA. I am glad we went but looking back, it just means more time away from each other when the time together is scarce. We came home and pretty much did chores until he had to leave for work - and I spend the rest of the afternoon doing the same. (Literally - all the laundry is done, grocery shopping done, lunches and dinners made for most of the week, kitchen cleaned, car cleaned out, sheets washed/changed, etc.) It was a long day that didn't end until midnight for me and then I got a text from my guy that he would have to stay at work all night and work a double shift. Ugh. Thus is life but sometimes it stinks. We had plans to hang out a few minutes together this morning before I have to leave town for Knoxville.

I'm not complaining - well maybe a little - but we are so very thankful for work and paychecks that it is hard to NOT be. I just wish our schedules were a little more synced so we could spend more time together. So, that being said, Chad just needs a little more time where he is to become vested in the retirement system. He can then start looking for work at other hospitals that might have a better schedule. Please say a prayer that something divinely designed will come along. :)

A little update.

It was a really busy week at work. Two of my days were spent in meetings in Knoxville and while they were actually super productive, it means I didn't mark anything else off my TO DO list. We had a big fundraising event last night so yesterday was spent at a site-based program at a local middle school then running around crazy preparing for that event. It turned out to be nice though not as well attended as we would have liked.

I finally settled down and bought tickets for our trip to DC this summer for the conference I am presenting at. I actually got a better deal than I thought we would by changing the days and times we are travelling - flexibility is key - and flying into Baltimore instead of one of the DC airports. There is a bus that will take you straight to the Metro train so it should be pretty painless. Either way, mom and I will be together so we will have a good time finding our way. We are actually staying with a friend of mine from Girl Scout camp days so I am really excited about seeing her (and checking out the trapeze/aerial school where she teaches!!) I only signed up for a couple of classes at the conference so that mom and I would have some time to check stuff out and she wouldn't have to entertain herself too much...

Chad is off work this weekend and I am not working for the first weekend in a while. We have big plans to do laundry, clean up the house, and hang out together and I couldn't be looking forward to it more (seriously!). We are doing Mother's Day dinner tonight with his parents so we won't have to be out in the crowds tomorrow so that should be good too...

Dreams.

My husband dreams of one day owning a piece of land that is big enough to have some farm animals - ducks, chickens, a cow, and some goats. I was all for it. Until today. When I saw this video for the first time. And I watching it with tears of joy streaming down my face.
Enjoy.

(Original video found here)

 

 

 

and then there is this:

 

You are so welcome.

New Bees!

Chad's mom ordered him new bees for his impending birthday (it's the big 3-0. Don't tell him I told you.) They were delivered bright and early Saturday morning but it was too cold on Saturday preceding bad overnight storm so we waited until this morning.

We hope that these two new hives will stick around and be successful after we lost both of our hives this past year.

St. Elmo Sweetness lives on, fingers crossed.  

When you order bees, this is how they come to you. The queen is inside that large clump in a little cage of her own.

Under that thin piece of wood at the top is a can of thick sugar syrup with two tiny holes punched it in. They eat this in transit and until you get them in their hive.

 

P.S. these bees are in my guest room at the time this photo was taken. Too cold overnight to leave them exposed so we brought them in the house. The cat was painfully curious so we had to keep the door closed, which she did NOT appreciate.

Here is Chad taking the can of syrup out of the top so he can get to the queen cage.

 

Putting the queen cage in the hive body - it has other bees on it.

The queen cage is plugged with a sugar paste of sorts. The bees will eat through the sugar and release her once they are all in the hive together.

This is the crazy part...you spray the bees down with water (when their wings are wet, they don't fly) and then literally shake/pour them into the hive. You can see the pile of bees spilling into the hive in that photo.

Here you can see that the transport container is much emptier - only a few bees left.

 

Putting the inner cover on...

Putting the outer cover/lid on...

Chad did get stung once on this round because a bee got stuck in his shirt near his armpit. Other than that, all went well.

For the second round, we had a friend come over and help who is interested in getting bees of his own. Chad was teaching/showing and then let M do his thing...

we had to wait 30+ minutes before putting these bees in their hive but we ended up waiting about an hour for M and his sweet wife, K,  to get out of church. It was really perfect timing and worked out really well.

M dumping the bees into the hive while Chad keeps them sprayed. I am sure that 2 sets of hands would be optimal for this entire process but I am too much of a pansy to participate. Either way, it was nice to have M here to use his bravery and help Chad with the second hive.

Inner cover placement...

Bee discussions...brave dudes.

Two new hives!

Crossing our fingers that we get many years out of these girls.

Photo Dump - Pacific Northwest

Here is a giant photo dump of our trip with a few captions. This is about 1% of the photos I took but since they won't mean as much to you as they do to me, I won't bore you with the 300 of them. :)

These first few are from Vashon Island (Seattle) so they are a little out of order but the rest of them should be in the right order...

 

I got squirted on by multiple gooey ducks.

If you don't know what these are, click the link. Mike Rowe will explain and it will change your life.

Apparently no walk on the beach at low tide is safe in the PNW.  

The driftwood was mind blowing. And beautiful.

Beach on Vashon Island

 

We flew over the Rockies and they were amazing. One day we will RV our way out there. Hello bucket list.

In the Columbia River Gorge...

Columbia River Gorge

Proof that we both went on this trip.

Columbia River Gorge

(Chad spent most of the trip with hot tea in his hands. It wasn't all that cold but super windy. And we made a trip to the Stash tea store our first full day in Portland and he enjoyed it the rest of the trip.)

One waterfall in the gorge.

Another waterfall in the gorge.

Further proof that all 3 of us were there.

Everything is wet and mossy.

Literally. Everything.

A little snow in the higher elevations in the gorge.

Where the Pacific Crest Trail crossed the river (across this bridge). We sought this out just for Chad.

Union Station in Portland. Beautiful old train/bus station. We left on the Amtrak from here.

Lighthouse on Vashon Island

More driftwood.

Mt. Rainer. You can see this exact view from Aaron and Sara's porch. Lucky ducks.

People had made little driftwood huts for fun on the beach. Here is Chad - on the phone - trying one out.

Pike's Place and its famous sign.

I wanted ALL of these. Too bad we couldn't really get them home.

More Pike's Place. Colorful fruit and flower stands were just a prevalent as seafood, much to my surprise.

This begins a series of Chihuly glass. This museum was basically at the base of the Space Needle and we decided to spend our money on this instead of the needle. For this not-too-fond-of-heights gal, I think we absolutely made the right choice. This was totally worth every penny.

Chihuly glass

Chihuly glass

 

There was a whole room full of these glass bowls. They were incredible!

This is a 100 foot long installation in a glass house, made especially for this location.

Outside. Chihuly glass.

Back on Vashon Island. Our last beach stroll for this trip.

This would immediately prior to the aforementioned gooey duck incident.

 

Finally, one of the things on my list was a trip to the Freemont Troll. Check.

 

Enjoy!