Cluck, cluck.

It's official. I've lost my mind, and we're getting chickens.

Chicken coop plans are drawn, I'm just waiting for the carpenter to come home from vacation (Dad doesn't know what he's in for). Today, I'm taking my "backyard poultry permit" application to City Hall. I've already registered with the state as a "livestock premises." Plans are in place for housing the fuzzy babies. 

No, we're not going to eat the chickens (many have asked). They're pets with benefits.

Pretty colors!

Now, we just have to decided which breeds to get.

No rest for the wicked!

  I survived the Mother's Day rush at my flower job.

An extremely close representation of what I did for 2 of 10 days!

  They called me again early Monday morning (just as I was settling in to watch the Giro!) and need me for the next several weeks. Luckily, it's Mondays and Tuesdays only. I could use the extra cash, so, sure! 

  And now, it's almost Syttende Mai weekend. Never heard of it? Well, neither had we until we moved to Stoughton. We actually moved in during Syttende Mai weekend 1996. Wow! That's a long time ago! We have come to love the festival (OK, really just me), and enjoy the annual festivities. Three years ago, we even had a princess in our midst.

The only time Karl has ever been in a parade, only because he got to drive the convertible.

So, I will once again don my bunad,

Sexy, isn't it?

 make krumkake, 

Wait until you see the flavors we're cooking up for this year!

and wear out my lip in what Karl calls "The longest parade in existence."

I am a true band geek!

I will not, to the best of my ability, eat fried cheese curds (they always give me gut rot!),  a cream puff (too much whipped cream!), or lutefisk (eeuw!).  I will eat something wrapped in lefse, some corn on the cob, and lots of broken krumkake.

So what are you doing this weekend?

Adventures on Main Street

  Small town USA. The nosey people who know everything, the nutty people you just have to shake your head at, and the goofy things that happen. I love where I live. There's always something going on that will make me laugh. Here's what happened today:

  I was working at Giggles. It was a nice day, so I (and most of the other businesses on Main Street) had the door open. I was sitting at the counter knitting, and Judy from the Hallmark store popped her head in. "I'm so glad it's you working today!" she said. "I need your help. I have a duck in the store." Huh? "It just walked right in the door!" I am the go-to person when it comes to removing wildlife from the main street businesses.

  So I put my knitting down and walked two doors down to the Hallmark store and sure enough, there was a duck in the store! She was calmly waddling down the aisle toward the back. So, I went down a parallel aisle and came at her from the back of the store and started "shoo-ing" her toward the door. I could not stop laughing! Of course, she was a clever duck (and still needed to pick out a Shoebox card) and instead of heading out the door, she went around the corner down the next aisle. I reversed and met her halfway down, again shoo-ing her toward the door, while a customer stood in the next aisle blocking Jemimah Puddleduck from going back up that side. She eventually got going in the right direction and waddled out the door onto the sidewalk.

  But my work wasn't done yet. The river is two blocks away, and traffic on Main Street was picking up. Of course, she headed straight for the street. I was able to herd her back to the sidewalk, and I was sure to stay between her and the street. Off we go, toward the river, and after a few yards, she takes off into the air.

  Now, ducks are not known for their aerial grace, so it took her a little while to get going, and she went straight into the fender of some redneck's pickup! She just bounced off and kept going, and was last seen heading toward the millpond.

And that was the most excitement I had all day.