For Sale

 I have a cute country mother-daughter apron set for sale, new and sewn by moi.

 The mother's apron is size "ample." That means, if you are slender, you'll have to wrap the ties around and tie them in the front, as the skirt is generous and covers the back all the way around; if you are not quite as slender as you would wish to be, you can tie it in the back, the skirt still wraps around quite a ways. The skirt is 32.5 inches long from the waistband. There are 2 pockets. This is 100% cotton material.

The matching daughter's apron is 23 inches long from the waistband, has two pockets and an adjustable tie for the neck.  (Sorry about the color-- my computer deceives me on colors, but I assure you the material is more sage as above, than the green seen below. )

 The trim fabric is one of my all-time favorite materials, and I have saved the last scrap for the perfect project, which happened to be these aprons.

The mother-daughter apron set is $40.00 + postage.
I can make adjustments, such as taking up the length of the skirts, or modifying the mother apron to be able to tie around the neck than be straps attached to the waistband (some people prefer one way, some the other!) for a small fee.

Please email me if you are interested: thepleasanttimes(at)gmail.com



ITEM BELOW IS SOLD.

 Next up is an eyelet petticoat, one size fits most everyone. The drawstring waist has an elastic back. The petticoat is 35 inches long, with 5 tucks. For a small fee, I can shorten the length by adding tucks, or take some out to make it longer. The petticoat is meant to be worn under a skirt, and show a decorative, lacy edge so it should be a little longer than your usual hemline. You can wear a slip under it and make this a skirt, as well. It is easy-care cotton/poly. I am asking $20.00 + postage. Please email if you are interested, thepleasanttimes(at)gmail.com   SOLD.

ITEM BELOW IS SOLD
I am in the process of making another petticoat to put up for sale; if anyone is interested in buying one, you can order now and I can customize the length, make it for a little girl, etc. please email to inquire. thepleasanttimes(at)gmail.com

ON WITH THEIR HEADS

Due to the recent riots in London, I propose the following new laws:

 All rioters that have been arrested will be serving a long, long jail time.

 These inmates will go and clean up the sites they have ruined, and dig ditches, etc. for the rebuilding, while in chains.

 These inmates shall live in tents as they travel (in chains) while doing the above, even if it happens to be cold November.

 These inmates will be taken to the dump, to sort through (while in chains) the debris from the houses and cars they have burned, into piles-- piles of glass, bricks, wood, etc. -- for recycling.

Inmates shall be assembled every morning to recite the Exodus 20:1-17 in unison from memory before they will be allowed their breakfasts, which will be an unvarying diet of oatmeal.  Select, pertinent portions of the Bible (such as scriptures from Matthew 5-7) will be read to them  every week. The entire book of Proverbs will be read every month, one chapter a day.

 Inmates shall be taught a trade while serving jail time that will bring in an income. The income they receive will be used to pay for the expense of keeping them in jail (food, power, water, sewer, clothing bills and guards' salaries), as well as paying back the home/car/business owners for the destruction of their possessions, and subsequent replacement/rebuilding costs; paying for the time of the police/fire men called in to restore order, and any repairmen. The money shall also be used to pay business owners for loss of income due to business destruction, taxes owed on the property that was destroyed or damaged, until said property is bringing in an income again; the inmates will not get out of jail until these expenses are paid in full.

 The inmates' i-pods, cell phones, computers, Nike shoes, brand-name jackets, video games and other items will also be confiscated to be sold to help pay for all of the above.

All rioters shall be interviewed to find out which publicly paid program was commonly used by all of them; that particular publicly paid program shall be closed down and the public shall be spared paying taxes for something that did no good (You'll know it by its fruits). All other publicly paid programs of a similar nature which have not shown fruits of useful, self-controlled citizens shall be shut down as well. When such programs are shut down, if there are any riots or gangs formed, they will start at rule #1 above.

Any rioters on the dole shall be cut off of the dole, no public assistance monies shall ever be paid to them again the rest of their lives. Any public monies that would have come to them shall be given to care for little old ladies in nursing homes.

If, after being released, the former rioters are brought back because of any mischief, or seem unrepentant in their attitude, will not get a job, etc. they will be shipped off to serve their time in the jungles and deserts of the poorest parts of the world to come to an appreciation of how "the other half" lives. Until they are sufficiently thin and find themselves in great want of any possessions but the rags on their back, they will not be allowed back into the country.

This document shall be left open to be continually updated with extra consequences as they come to mind.

~ELIZABETH R.

Proverbs 1: 10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
 11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
 12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
 13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
 14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
 15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
 16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.






Proverbs 4: 14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
 15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
 16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.


Proverbs 14: 16 A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.


Proverbs 14: 33 Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.
 34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

Ask Annabelle

The Pleasant Times Editor has questions about chickens for our Gardening Editor, Annabelle. Let's tap into Annabelle's backwoods wisdom and find out about...

FEEDING CHICKENS

Do you feed your chickens scrambled eggs? Why or why not?  
Well.... I think we've fed them scrambled eggs before but if I'm feeding them eggs it has usually been hard-boiled eggs and usually when they were chicks. Sometimes when we made an angel food cake and had tons of yolks left over we'd cook them in a omelet style and feed some back to them. That is a lot of protein all at once... so better spread it out. 

Do you feed your chicken venison? Why or why not? 
 No.. I don't ... because I don't have any! If I could shoot a dear in the winter , I'd have them clean the carcass (after the meat is cut off... that is good eating for people folk..) . It is a good source of protein for the  birds in winter when bugs aren't as plentiful. Joel Salatin talks about this in his books. Chickens aren't vegetarians... they do need protein and soy really isn't the greatest. If you have access to good protein .. especially in winter.. use it! This could be squirrel carcasses or rabbits... or venison. You have a lot of options. Sorry... was that not a  genteel enough subject for here?? You did ask the question.... 

Is it okay to feed chickens fish like salmon (leftovers)?  Well.... there is probably a lot of sodium in fish leftovers and it isn't good to feed them highly seasoned stuff. Also.. if they are laying eggs, you are going to end up with some interesting flavors . 

If I feed kitchen veggie/fruit scraps to my chickens, won't they quit eating the dried poultry food and not get enough protein?
 Chickens may leave off eating as much of the boring dry stuff and if they are laying their egg count will go down but they are pretty good judges of what they need. If given the options they will pick and choose just what they need. I'm assuming they also have access to bugs and worms and so forth so that helps their protein levels too.

Do chickens know which plants are poisonous to them, or do I have to keep a list around and identify every weed in the yard to make sure they don't kill themselves?     

Chickens aren't completely stupid ... they also aren't affected by some things that affect us . I had chickens eat my rhubarb leaves one year (which are poisonous to us) and they were fine. I don't think you need to worry too much. If you have something that you absolutely know is toxic.. you might want to remove it... but again.. they are pretty good judges of what they need and they are more likely to eat rat poison than kill themselves on some poisonous plant. I'm not saying it can't happen because I'm sure it has... but don't worry about it too much. 

My chick swallowed a big piece of white paper or duct tape or something before I could catch her. She didn't die, but should I panic anyway?

 ... I had a chick eat one of my earrings once... when I used to wear such things.... it didn't die but much much (years) later I had a hen with an impacted craw and we ended up just putting her down. I used to think maybe it was the earring but I have no way of knowing really because I didn't do an autopsy at the time . ;-) I don't think you have anything to worry about. If they were eating pieces of wire or metal.. then yes.. you might worry. But they should deal with the white paper/duct tape fine. I've had chicks and ducklings eat shavings at an alarming rate when they were very young and  I was always sure they'd choke eventually with all that stuff in their craw but they all did fine. There is always the chance something could get stuck.... if the chick starts acting weird... if there is swelling in front ... you might take a closer look. But if nothing has happened so far, I wouldn't worry about it.

ROOSTERS

The feed store charged me $.75 extra for a certain breed of hen. She turned out to be a different breed of rooster. Should I try and get my money back, or sue, or what?
SUE of course!!  Seriously... hmm... you could go back and point out they sold you the wrong variety and charged you extra for the privilege... but for .75 cents I think that is  more hassle than it is worth. Just eat that thar rooster down the line when he starts making a pest of hisself. ;-) Or let him play with the ladies and you get more chicks... which means you'll be getting chicks for FREE meaning you ultimately get more than the feed store ever intended. ;-)

Now that I know I have a rooster in the batch, how do I tame him so he won't be mean? He's already been pecking the others.
... Hmm.... I've never tamed a rooster before because where I live they are not allowed to crow without some serious fines being imposed. So all mine have been graduated to the dinner table at 10 weeks ... or whenever they first chose to exercise their lungs... You could tame it like any other chicken. Of course... you'd start young, hold it a lot... spend a lot of time with it.... have it eat out of your hand. But yours is already older and already aggressive. Some birds are just plain mean and there isn't much you can do. Of course I'm sure there is some Chicken Whisperer out there who could figure something out but I don't have that kind of patience for a mean bird. Keep an eye on him. 

Fertilized eggs for breakfast sounds yucky. Are there risks vs. benefits to eating fertilized eggs?
Well, if they are fresh eggs there really isn't much different at all. If you let them develop and then eat them... well.. yeah... that is kind of gross .. although it is a great delicacy in certain cultures. Anyway, they are no more or less nutritional than unfertilized eggs. 

"Nelson"

BULLIES

What do you think about putting vicks vapo rub on a chicken that is getting pecked on? Or on the bully? Does it work or does it kill the hens?
I doubt it would kill them. I've never tried it before so I can't say if it does or does not work. Don't put it on any open wounds . You could try it.... Let me know if it works!