Boots on he deck, smiles all around...

We had delightful overnight visitors.  My niece, along with her husband their amazing 18 month old baby stopped in.

There were tiny boots on the deck, and little clothes and toys here and there.  Best of all there was a  baby to hold and kiss and admire, and a wee voice in the house, "Uh oh!" and "All done!" and "Hi Poodle!"  She liked the dogs, and the dogs liked her. Bravo found it entrancing to have a new face JUST at kissing level, and sweet Flirt was endlessly patient with baby hands exploring her softness. My niece and her husband are unflappable, wonderful parents. It was a quick time, but oh- a babe in the house is a wellspring of pleasure!

We shared a nice supper last night, and breakfast today, and then they were off.

Meanwhile, I am still recovering from the dreaded fall in the spring.  I have not felt like "puttering" in my house, normally one of my favorite pastimes.  When I putter I clean a little here, and rearrange a little there... put out a fresh tablecloth, pick some flowers and arrange them.  I have done none of that since April, and the house was looking a little neglected.  I've been feeling much perkier of late, and did a little of my beloved house activities this week...

I rearranged the nick knacks that go on the shelf here, a minimalist tableau that looks pleasing to me. And see that checker board?  Rachel and I have been playing rather epic checker games.  We leave the board right there, and move a piece now and again as we go about our daily work.  A little stone is moved from side to side to tell us whose turn is next.  She soundly thrashed me the first three games, I beat her the next two.  I suspect my run of luck may be over, she has a determined gleam in her eye.

The hens have been laying up a storm. I stash the eggs in a birch basket on the counter when I first bring them in.  Rachel added the jaunty feather.  That wee, tiny egg on top?  A funny aberration. When you get all your eggs from the store, you think they are always quite uniform.  However, when you have chickens, you realize that occasionally there are some extreme differences in eggs. Huge double (or even triple!) yolkers, wee tiny eggs, eggs with wrinkles in their shells. Sometimes they even come without a real shell at all, just an odd, rubbery membrane.  It all depends on how things are with the hens oviduct on that particular day. In general, the eggs are much the same day in and day out. I find it rather fun when the odd one appears. 

And my little visitor didn't care what the eggs looked like.  We scrambled her up two and she polished them off with gusto. There could be no finer destiny for my good eggs!