Live on £4,000 for a year - 2009, Part 3

sophiesmum_2

Had a busy day today, finished the paintowrk in the lounge first then after lunch we went in the garden to put the chicken house together. Once it was finished I gave it a coat of green preservative (pet friendly!) to help it last a bit longer.

Next job was to erect some temporary mesh fencing so the chickens will be able to have a decent bit of garden to scratch about in but still be safe.Luckily we had enough wood and mesh in the shed to make it. Proper fencing has been ordered from the local sawmill for the chick corner but it will be a few weeks arriving.


Once it was all set up the resident chicken expert (NYK) came to check it out, and the first resident was introduced:j
Meet Delboy

Delboy is a silkie cockerel and will have his own harem of hens as he is being joined by 5 little friends.


It will take a few days for them all to settle in their new home, but hopefully they will be happy once they get used to their change of surroundings.Delboy spent the first ten minutes running up and down the hedge trying to get back into next door, but settled a bit more when the little ladies arrived. Then was having great fun going up and down the ramp to the sleeping quarters and nest boxes, and peeking out the small window.
The 5 ladies don't have names yet except one, which has more golden feathers than the others, which is being called BB , will post some more pics once they settle in.
Just off to have another peek - can't believe there are chickens in my garden:j:j:j:j:j

Brighton_belle

er... did I hear my name mentioned SM? :DI don't want to be presumptious, but do I have a namesake:rotfl:.

Just off to [STRIKE]roost[/STRIKE] bed:D. Not around tomorrow as off to parents early to use my scroll saw and theatre with mum in the evening. Hot moist lemon cake just out of the remoska for mum and dad.

sophiesmum_2

Brighton_belle wrote: »

er... did I hear my name mentioned SM? :DI don't want to be presumptious, but do I have a namesake:rotfl:.

Just off to [STRIKE]roost[/STRIKE] bed:D. Not around tomorrow as off to parents early to use my scroll saw and theatre with mum in the evening. Hot moist lemon cake just out of the remoska for mum and dad.

BB (as promised)is the goldenny coloured one behind the dark one in the picture. Will try and get a picture on her own once they settle in
Now I need 4 more hen names - :think: will have a think over next few days:D
Enjoy the theatre tomorrow xx

cw18

sophiesmum wrote: »

Now I need 4 more hen names - :think:

Hmmmm.... Cranberry, Stuffing, Bread Sauce and ???? Not sure what else people would associate with chicken (personally I only like the last of those three myself :rolleyes2 )


And yes, I was one of those 'charming' children [strike]dragged[/strike] brought up to shout 'Mint Sauce' every time we passed a field with sheep or (especially) lambs

Brighton_belle

thanks SM. I'm so proud. I love this forum: virtual travel all over the globe and now I get to 'virtual chicken' too.


CW - on a completely different note - can I echo Nyks perfect words & thanks too for sharing those dates with us and you'll very much be in my thoughts too this week. And good luck with the craft shop tomorrow.

SFT_2

Hi Everyone!
Haven´t been able to get onto the internet for a while.

Honduras
We had a nervous border crossing. But after many police checks, got to the airport and then flew to the Carribean island of Roatan (in the Bay Islands). The coup has really affected tourism here and there are few tourists here. The island's sea and beaches were absolutely beautiful and the sea taxis to get around the island were cheap. Mr SFT and I had lots of time in the water and managed to get a little bit sun burnt! The downside was the cost of eating out. It was actually costing more than we had budgeted and I thought we might have to dip into our GC savings. :eek:
We left the island after 2 days and travelled by ferry then road to the town of Copan, home of the famous Maya ruins. The town had cobbled streets and its men wore stetsons and looked very rugged. The ruins of Copan were amazing and we had an excellent, knowledgable guide. Scarlet Macaws flew all around us. In the afternoon I went horseriding along the river up to a Mayan Village. The children there were great fun and I enjoyed looking around a Co-operative project for weaving cloth.

Guatemala
The next day we crossed the border into Guatemala. It was a long drive, taking in the frantic Guatemala city. We are staying in Antigua for 3 nights. It is a beautiful colonial town surrounded by Volcanoes (one of which Mr SFT will be climbing tomorrow). Today we have visited a huge traditional market and a lakeside town.

Our savings reached their target of 440 pounds (only $ signs on this computer) and we went out for a lovely meal last night as a treat.

We will be flying home on Tuesday. So I expect I'll be back on the forum on Thursday.

Really hope everyone is well.

Much love

SFT

taka

CW - I'll be thinking of you over the next few days. Look after yourself. xx

cw18 wrote: »

And yes, I was one of those 'charming' children [strike]dragged[/strike] brought up to shout 'Mint Sauce' every time we passed a field with sheep or (especially) lambs

We had a slaughterhouse nearish us and yep... My DAD has to (still :rotfl:) call out mint sauce. I can't go past there without thinking of him calling out Mint sauce... and we're all veggie :rotfl:

SFT - your trip sounds fab... enjoy your last few days!

SM - love the new chicken home and new chickens! Good luck naming them all!

Kittikins

Hooray, I'm so pleased that you have achieved your dream of having chickens SM, I remember how despondent you were after the hen house arrived and your bosses said no - now, names for the other chickens....if DD was involved they'd be things like "feathery", "big one" etc etc, sometimes I despair of my child's imagination in naming things!

Hello SFT, your trip sounds amazing, thank you for the updates, you're whetting a lot of apetites for that part of the world

NYK - rhubarb or blackberry champagne sound DIVINE! Go for it, you can never have too many sparkly drinks in life *hic*

So, another Monday.....yawn! I have 3 day weekends and they're still not long enough!

Frugaldom

Good morning frugalers

After a grey start to the morning, it looks like it may be brightening up here, fingers crossed, as I'd like to get some washing hung out soon.

SM, Del Boy certainly does seem to like that little ramp - I sneaked around there earlier this morning and there he was strutting up and down it as though showing off to his wives! I'm sure he'll hop down it on one leg with both wings in the air one of these days. :rotfl: I was thinking about the names and I'm afraid my mind leapt in a very strange direction, I cam up with 4 names of an alternative variety: You could have Del Boy and his sidekicks, BB, 177, 22, 410 and 12-bore. :rotfl: (I used to work with guns, can you tell?) :rotfl:

CW, I think the missing name on your list could be Gravy, good name for a brown hen. :rotfl:

On the subject of lambs, my first ever pet lamb when I was a child was named Lucy, but my pals next door (across the field) called theirs Minty and Lambchops. Funnily enough, one of the sisters trained as a butcher to trade, when she grew up, just like her dad. No offence meant to any vegetarians, I grew up on a beef farm and am now back living on a stock farm (beef & lamb). It doesn't make us monsters, honestly. (SM, please don't tell anyone I've named my fave calf 'Freezer Order'. :rotfl:

I've been to a dance in an abbatoir :eek::rotfl:and my previous work involved regular trips to both the abbatoir and the knackersyard, but I still couldn't kill one of my chickens and have it for dinner. I can't even gut a fish!

SFT, I can't believe your holiday is almost over already! Horseback riding with scarlet macaws flying overhead en route to the Mayan ruins sounds absolutely amazing! And well done with the savings! You must be the only person I have ever (virtually) known who saves whilst on vacation. :T

lyndasharp

SM, your chickens look sooo cute! I'm very jealous. We do not have room for chickens. We do not have room for chickens....

Annoyed today as my car had a flat tyre this morning - luckily I was only walking past it to get my bike out when I noticed, but it still means that'll need sorting later. Also annoyed as I rang the company supplying the carport roof. My last email from them said the missing pieces would be with us ASAP. I rang this morning to be told they aren't in stock and they aren't sure when they will be arriving!!! They could at least have told me at the beginning of Aug when I ordered instead of just telling me they have been sent on two deliveries... I'm trying to be nice to them at the moment in the hope that I can get those bits soon, but if I don't have a delivery date by the end of the day I'll definitely be asking for some money back. They'll be getting a complaint letter now whatever happens with the order!