What's Going On?

I've been super busy this summer and haven't been blogging much.
I thought I'd write today and let you know what's going on in my life.

AnnieWalkers Camino Trip.

This year we have 3 trips planned. Group Leaders Joe Walsh and Annette St-Pierre are leading two groups, and hopefully, I will be leading a third, The Crone's Camino, which is a group for women only.

You can read more about the trip and the leaders at this link:

AnnieWalkers Camino

There is space in all three trips at this point. Two were full, but we have had cancellations for reasons from new grandbabies to the Ebola scare. It's still very early, however, so we are confident all three trips will fill up fast. This generally happens around Christmas.

Chickens

My chicken run has a roof on it!

I'm frantically working to get the chicken coop and run finished so I can get out of the rain and spend some time at Joe's place in the warm California desert.  The chicken wire still has to be put on, and concrete must be poured around the perimeter. And then the chickens will be much more safe from the raccoon family who live nearby.

I have 4 hens, two Barred Rocks, a Red Sex Link, and an Easter Egger. Three are laying regularly. The  smallest Barred Rock is a month behind her sister, and I've given her one week to produce or she's going to be sold. I love these chickens! They're such funny little things. Watching their antics has given me a lot of pleasure, plus the added benefit of my own organic eggs.

Kallie, the laying Barred Rock, and Sissy, the Red Sex Link, produce lovely brown eggs.

 


Bella, my Easter Egger, produces beautiful blue eggs which are occasionally two-toned.

Mushrooming

October and November are mushrooming months in Oregon. We attended the Mycological Society's Fall show this weekend. There were hundreds of mushrooms on display with cards indicating whether or not they were edible, poisonous, or just naming them.  It was an awesome show!

Tuesday, Joe and I headed toward the coast to our favorite Chanterelle mushrooming site.
We both came home with enough mushrooms to give to friends and to eat for a week. Here is part of my harvest.  In past years, I've gathered enough to can for the year, but this year, we just wanted enough for immediate use.

Those of you who have walked the Camino may have seen Chanterelles growing in the SPRING on the banks beside the trail to Pedrouzo.

At the mushroom show, I bought a block that will produce Shitake mushrooms and another that will produce Oyster mushrooms. I'm going to set them up today.

My Ankle

My ankle is healing well. I have been seeing my chiropractor once a week and that, combined with gentle stretching exercise, seems to be working. I hope to strengthen it by walking in the desert after Thanksgiving.

The Economy

My middle son and his wife are losing their house due to the economic stress. He was laid off a few months last year and got about 4 months behind on the mortgage. He is working now but Wells Fargo REFUSED to work out any type of catch-up payment plan even though they were only $6,000 behind. Even the arbitrator agreed that they were greedy slime.  Of course, they'd rather sell the house and collect $300,000 for it. At first this was very stressful, but the family has accepted it. They have put the house up for sale and are hoping to at least recoup some of their equity before they move to an apartment. Please put my family in your prayers that they might sell this house soon and have some money to get reestablished.

My Needle Felting

When we got a new roommate, I moved downstairs from two bedrooms to one bedroom, to make space. This left me with a very tiny studio space for my needle felting. Last week, I sorted and cleaned and organized. I'm ready for the holiday rush now.

 If you're interested in seeing what I do to make extra cash, you can see my shop at this link:

Annie's Felting Shop

I guess that's about all the news for today.

I hope you all have a wonderful Fall!

Until then,