The Loveliest Chicken Story Ever Told

Hayti, Missouri
I received this picture today as a belated Happy Chicken Day. I have such great friends. They totally think of me when they find themselves confronted with extremely large chicken sculptures.

Then there is this truly beautiful story from The Boy's mom:

"I was brought up on a large working farm in Maine, as (The Boy) may or may not have
told you. As a little girl I raised and showed special Bantam chickens, both for show and for the eggs, and especially for my pets. They were the best loved and cared for chickens that ever live. I started having my first ones at age three and showing them at summer fairs at age four when they were grown. They all had names and knew them and came to me when I called to them. I always had a rooster so could raise more chickens from the hens eggs. I started out with Andy the 1st and the last Banty rooster I had was Andy the 8th. I was then 19 and gave him to a nice man, one that played the organ at a Congregational Church, and had chickens of his own and his old rooster had passed away. My last hen had died at a good old age and my rooster was (or at least seemed) very happy at his new home with the Rhode
Island Red regular hens. (I am sure that he missed me though.) He truly was my dear pet and I would take a walk all over the farm fields with my little dog, Peppy, my rooster, Andy the 8th, and my two cats, Mickey Mouse and Topsy Twinkle Toes, who were old boys following me, and with my white bunny in a harness and leash hopping along beside me. Andy would sometimes fly up and land on my shoulder and crow to show off to the other critters. I was a blessed gal to grow up with all my many pets over my childhood years until I was ready to leave home and go off on my own.

When I was young and went off for a month with my Mama to visit my Grandmother in Massachusetts. I would get homesick and cry as I missed my pets. On arrival back home in Maine and to our farm one time at night at age eight, my Dad kindly got
out the flashlight and took me back outside to the chicken house so I could
go inside and see and love all of my chickens."

Lastly, my last Chicken Day present of the night was from BunBun's parents--a thank-you gift for taking care of their small menagerie. A little soft red BunBun of my own. Here is a picture of him hanging out at the festive little Thai restaurant we went to last night. Take special note of the "Yes Hot" and the patch that Wikus gave me yesterday.



Then there is "Redson" hanging out in the pocket of my jean jacket (check out my duck dress for Chicken Day! Also, if you look closely, you'll see I have another jean jacket on my legs; thanks to Wikus who doesn't get as cold as me--I need warmth for my legs):

Couch Sunday

Spent my day in my night pants and my shill shirt, under a blanket, on the couch, with a rotating shift of cats snuggled against my belly. Sure, I felt guilty a lot of times for this being my whole day (mostly). Feeling a bit depressed, the reasons I am not going to air here. I did accomplish cleaning the horror-show of our bathroom. The Orange Lover, as mentioned before, has his good and bad days. The last two days have been bad. He has managed to pee multiple times on the floor, pooed in various places except for the litterbox, and threw up at least two of his meals. There's also the litter that has been spread on top of every surface: toilet, sink, counter, floor. Accomplishing cleaning that was so depressing: a) because it is dirty work, and b) it is an in-my-face representation of the decline of my best friend. I also made some Tollhouse cookies from a tube. Then I ate half of them. That's right, half of them. I would have eaten more if I knew it wouldn't make me feel so guilty for doing it. Damn you guilt.

To make it worse, it was finally sunny outside today, and I only got off the couch twice, and neither time was it to leave the house. I think it even made it in to the 70s. So lame of me.

Oh, and I watched this really fucked-up show on the BBC America channel. "Britain's Missing Top Model." Was there a Top Model from Britain missing? Was this show following the mystery and detective work to find her? Could that possibly be a show. I checked out the description and it seemed like a regular Top Model show. Heck yes, I tuned in, and oh, my, god. This is a show about ladies who have some kind of disability. Some were born without a limb or deaf; others had a horrific accident or some rare disease. It was crazy. I was shocked. It was so crude. Yet, at the same time, I understood that these people chose to be on this show, and each of them wanted to be a model, and that the modeling industry probably doesn't usually have a lady in a wheelchair on the catwalk. But come on, we all know that people are watching it just to see women with missing limbs posing in their underwear! And so help me, I was one of those people, and I have set the DVR to record all new episodes. I feel so evil and dirty.

Yesterday was a busy day with Wikus. He was kind enough to help with at the PO with all my Chicken Day packages. I learned the automated machine, and my life is changed forever at the PO. I probably won't avoid it as much now. Chicken Day cards are in the mail! Packages are on their way. Then we went to view my mosaic at the museum. You can see it as soon as you open the door. There is some pretty good competition, and I really have no idea what the outcome will be. The judging happens this week. Next up was book-shopping for Wikus' mom, which was mostly me suggesting books I have read (some Wikus has read), and balancing whether his born-again mother would appreciate the book based on how much sex, drugs and other sins were in it, and finding the right balance. We have given her T.C. Boyle in the past and Christopher Moore, so we know that she can handle sex and comedy, but it can be a bit challenging to keep that combo going across a broader expanse of authors. In the end, we got her "A Dirty Job," by Christopher Moore and "The Secret History," by Donna Tartt. The first one Wikus hasn't read, but is trusting me that it is good, and the second one he has read since I gave it to him as a gift. Lastly, we went to a small art fair that happens every year, and features some really quirky artist. I bought my Gaysian friend something hilarious for Chicken Day that I really hope he enjoys. He's been wishing for a Pegacorn (Pegasus and Unicorn mix), and this was the best I could find. As always, when ever I buy him a gift, I'm totally jealous to have to give it up. The rest of the day we watched TV (caught up on Dollhouse), and then Life Aquatic (a movie I love, but totally better on a large screen with all those colors), then The IT Crowd. By the second episode I was dead asleep and The Boy had to drive Wikus home.

Today the back of my thighs hurt from spending all of yesterday in heels. No matter, since I lazed on the couch the whole time.

And no, I still have not started the mosaic I am supposed to have like half-done by now. I have zero motivation. The same goes with the grocery store and laundry that desperately needs to happen. Look, I cleaned up mass amounts of cat pee, poo and vomit today. There's only so much I can handle these days.

Did I forget to mention the 3-hour nap I took this afternoon. Maybe I need to move up my psych appointment to discuss tweaking my meds.

Anyway, if you are in Texas and know the details (you know who you are), please go see my mosaic and vote for it for the People's Choice Award. Thanks!