I have about 15 different things I want to photograph and talk about, but I’m recovering from an energy-sucking cold that appeared last Friday and is finally on it’s way out the door, so pictures will have to wait. I have three more days of work and then, and then…Four Weeks Off! How happy am I about this? Oh so happy! I have big plans and big lists and a trip to Disneyland with my cute, worm-loving niece, somewhere in the middle of all that. Do you know what I am going to do on Monday? I am going to put a big, fat dent in the $250 gift card to a new spa that recently opened in a nearby town (I got the gift card for Valentine’s day, lucky me!). I’m going to my favorite Thai restaurant for lunch, I’m going to hit a few thrift stores and antique malls, and I’m going to visit my acupuncture doctor who does wonderful things with those little needles. And then I will have four weeks to make things! I will be making things for my poor, neglected shop, I will be painting rooms and hanging curtains and Spring cleaning, and blogging about it all! Oh the things I can do when I don’t have to spend two hours every day in my car and another one running errands and another eight working. I don’t have any pictures of my own to share at the moment, but I just love these sconces. I think I would like two little houses to replace the hideous country style sconces in my living room. They will have to wait, however, until I tear down the equally hideous wallpaper, complete with the duck decoy border that I have lived with for nearly five years. It might just be gone during my Four Weeks Off! Four weeks! You’ll be hearing a lot from me during the next, oh I don’t know, four weeks or so.

Yay for Cindy! She answered all the very difficult quiz questions correctly, and her name was randomly drawn from the other quiz answerers for the very special grand prize :o)

Thank so much to everyone who commented and entered. This was fun, and I may have to do it again sometime, maybe to continue my birthday celebration. The three runner-up prize winners (also randomly drawn from all commenters) are:

Monica (you weren’t cheating at all, silly!)
k a t
PastPresent Collection (Heather)

I am trying to be organized today and get everything all packed up pretty and sent out tomorrow. I’ll send you each an e-mail so you can just reply with your address.

I have a very very big birthday this month, and the only way not to be completely depressed about the whole thing is to start celebrating right now.

I actually don’t really need anything, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things I want. If you are related to me and were thinking about getting me something (even though I forgot to call you on your birthday last week, because I am sometimes a terrible sister), here are some fantastic ideas. Or maybe I’ll just keep this list and get things when I have a little moolah in my PayPal account.

I could really use this t-shirt (see this picture).

This is a huge splurge, but I think she would like to live in my guesthouse.

Pretty much any jewelry from this etsy artist, except for these earrings, which I already have and love.

This print is so cute. Man, I have really become a crazy chicken lady.

Can you ever have too much Decole?  I love, love, love the tea for one set. Even though I have 2 tea for one sets already. But they aren’t Decole, so I should still get that one, right?

And I want to try using my Print Gocco on fabric, so some inks and screens for cloth would be useful.

Speaking of fabric, I need to replenish my linen supply, which has become dangerously low. Some handkerchief linen would be good, as well as some mid-weight linen.

That’s enough of my greediness for now, I’m sure I’ll be able to add to my wishlist throughout the month. I have until the 31st, after all. Oooh, did I just answer a quiz question?

The blog-iversery reader appreciation giveaway is going to take a few more days. I was dealing with a mountain of laundry, an avalanche of dishes, kittens discovering yarn and a serious cock-fight in the yard this weekend, so I didn’t get to as many of the fun things as I had hoped. Luckily, the kitchen is (fairly) clean, there is only one more load of laundry, the yarn has been untangled and re-wound, and all that’s left is to deal with the two-roosters-not-willing-to-share-the-17-hens problem. For that, we are working on a small coop to keep in a fenced off corner of the yard, but a sudden drop in temperature and rainstorm forced us to stop before it was finished, so it’s going to have to wait until next weekend. In the meantime, the new rooster, Moo-Shu, is living in the pen attached to the chicken coop. He’s a really big guy, but is missing his tail feathers, thanks to the General. That unfortunate incident happened before it was apparent that they were roosters, and they had supposedly made their peace afterward. I guess the separation of the last few weeks made them forget that, and now they HATE each other. Sigh. The life of a chicken farmer is wrought with complications.

The good news is that I got my first blue egg, it was really pretty and it tasted good too:

Eventually the eggs will grow into the egg cups, I hope.

I can’t post a blog entry without a picture, but I’ve got no pictures. I did get a few new Photoshop brushes, however, and have been playing around with them a little bit. I made a new banner, but I may need to work on it a little more. It seems just a little off to me somehow. At least the colors are bright and cheerful on this dreary day. It’s been snowing this morning, but by the time I get home from work tonight it should be clear and cloudless and the snow will probably be all gone.

My reading cycle has slowed a bit, but I always must have something to read, so I’m quite interested in this new website, Revish. You can go sign up now and possibly become a tester, and share book reviews and recommendations with others. I’m still finding my way around, but it’s sort of like Flickr for book lovers. Come and try it out!

I have a little bad news on the chicken front. It seems that the co-worker with the three chickens, one of which was General Tso, has yet another rooster. So tomorrow we’re going to switch out his Rhode Island Red rooster for another of my hens. I know it’s silly, but I just feel so bad disrupting our little flocks like this. They’ve got brains the size of peas, and so they have a day of big changes and re-adjusting their chicken hierarchy, and then they’re fine. I’m sure they don’t actually remember the trauma of it all, and just go back to scratching and pecking and pooping and sleeping, but I still feel bad about the whole thing. Luckily, their third hen has started laying eggs, so we shouldn’t have to go through this again. What are the chances, eh? I’m just hoping that the two roosters will be okay together. They were once before, obviously, so I’m hoping they’ll be able to live in peace and harmony again.

I mentioned in my anniversary post that I wanted to have a little Heylucy blog reader appreciation giveaway, and I’ve been getting a few things together, so come back this weekend, and all will be revealed!

Edit: It appears that Typepad doesn’t like paragraphs today. Does anyone have any idea why?

I sadly finished The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield last night. Sadly, because I was so enjoying this book, and found myself completely sucked into the story and characters from the first chapter and I didn’t want it to end, but also sadly because the ending didn’t quite live up to the rest of the book.

The story begins in an antiquarian bookstore, where Margaret Lea works with her father. An amateur biographer, and confirmed bibliophile, she receives an odd letter requesting that she write the biography of Vida Winter, a world renowned novelist who has never told the true story of her life. Like many 19th century Gothic novels, much of the story takes place in rambling country manor houses, each with their fair share of ghosts, and if that fact doesn’t convince you of it’s Gothic status, the author repeatedly mentions Jane Eyre. I got the Gothic connection after the first eleven mentions of Charlotte Bronte’s heroine, thanks.  I did love the timeless feel of the novel, and was never sure exactly when it took place. The characters won me over quickly, and the interweaving of the past and present was so effectively done. My only problem with the story (other than the repeated mentions of Jane Eyre) was the last chapters, when everything is hurriedly and neatly resolved. It all came together too quickly, I thought, as if the author simply wanted to hurry up and finish the story.  I  also didn’t feel as if all the ghost stories were completely explained. 

If you like a good, Gothic mystery, I’d still recommend The Thirteenth Tale, it’s well-written and entertaining, and a good book for a rainy day, a cup of Mango Chamomile tea, and some oatmeal toffee cookies.

I’m going to call it 3.5 out of 5 stars, and I’m definitely looking forward to more from Ms. Setterfield. Other Gothic novels you might enjoy: anything by Wilkie Collins, such as The Woman in White, The Dead Secret or The Moonstone, Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca is also good. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I have a weakness for Victorian mysteries, I have to admit :o)