Weekly update - June 5, 2026

It's been a while since I've done one of these.
  • Chicken Curry had her last dose of medicine tonight, but her back is still healing so the wounds need to still be flushed a couple times a day. 
  • The ducklings have grown so much that they are now out of their brooder (which means I have a new stock tank for the horses) and are free to roam their living quarters which is formally known as Duck Jail. (And if you read the post I linked to, you will learn how we got the smallest chicken coop where Chicken Curry is now residing. I had no idea when we picked it up how useful it would be.)
  • A few weeks ago, a child was making cookies and the KitchenAid stand mixer stopped working. It was very sad. We've had this mixer for 32 years and it has been in pretty constant use. (I also have a Bosch mixer, so cookie making could still happen, don't worry.) I wasn't willing to give up on it, so today J., with the help of YouTube, got it taken apart and figured out what was wrong. The part ended up being $18 with shipping, which is a lot more reasonable than a new KitchenAid. When the part arrives, we should have a working stand mixer again. 

  • Tomorrow I will be demonstrating spinning on my spinning wheel at the Fine Line Creative Arts Center Fox River Arts Ramble. It's an open house for Fine Line as well as having artists selling their artwork, live music, and food trucks. It's a lot of fun. Come take a look and stop by the weaving studio to say high to me. 
  • We got to purchase a new hydrant out by the dry lot this week. (Definitely not on my summer Bingo card.) The ground around the hydrant was getting more and more marsh-like, so we were pretty sure there was a leak somewhere underground. The excavator came in Wednesday, and after digging a very deep hole confirmed the hydrant wasn't working properly, so we had to replace it. The good news is that the potential swamp should return to normal and our electric bill should go down a bit. Because the hydrant never stopped trying to drain, it meant the well pump never turned off. At least it was cheaper than the well pump we had to replace last year.
  • I have learned that my family cannot surprise me with a pet capybara for my birthday because private ownership of capybaras is illegal in Illinois. I find this very sad. 
  • We broke down and turned on the upstairs air conditioning today. It is always so nice when it works after a long break. 
  • I have not shown you anything I have woven recently because my loom (and the project on it) is back in time out for a fourth time.
  • I'll leave you with two of K.'s most recent photos.




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