they grow up so fast....

remember these little guys from back in january?

                                      
i paid them a visit last week and they've grown up quite a lot.   they're living outdoors now.  :-)

they probably won't start laying eggs until late in the summer,  but they definitely look like chickens now.    they grey ones are blue americaunas, and they'll lay blue-green eggs.   the others are specific breeds that will lay various shades of brown eggs,  including dark, chocolaty brown.   like easter every day.  :-)

lifestyle changes.....

i've known,  for at least the last 15 years,  that i feel better when i eat a diet lower in carbs.    i have done it,  periodically,  and while i feel so much better,   and lose some weight each time,  it's been hard to maintain....especially since i live with a carb fiend.....       lately, though,  i had been thinking about giving it a go again.   my friend, rachael, suggested trying paleo.   she and her husband have been working their way into a paleo lifestyle for a while now,  and are very pleased with their results.   so i started thinking about paleo and doing some research.   it sounded good,  although i'll admit that i was more attracted to primal,  which encourages as much meat as you want and dairy products.    eventually i found that there are as many versions of paleo as there are people doing it,  and that it's more of a template which makes suggestions about what to eat,what not to eat and why.  you are left to make your own choices,  for your own reasons.     so far, so good.     but diving in head first seemed daunting.   i decided i'd ease into it but wasn't sure where to start.  after a conversation with some other friends,  who i had no idea were also exploring paleo options, i decided to start by eliminating wheat.  my mom is very allergic to wheat, so it stands to reason that it might be affecting me as well.  i don't know why it hadn't occured to me before.

after the first day of being wheat free,  i could already notice differences in how i felt.  after a week,  i could go up and down the steep stairway at work, one foot after the other, like a normal person.  i noticed that my posture was better without having even through about it. during the following week, while out with a friend,  i had a spicy chicken sandwich at chick-fil-a....   as an experiment....    i could feel it the next day.  my joints were sore and my muscles felt fatigued.   a week ago i did another experiment,  and again, noticed a huge difference within a day.    it seems that it takes about six days for me to recover from these 'experiments'.    and i am quickly coming to the conclusion that it's just not worth it.    i am guessing that my cheats are going to be few and far between,  and i'm going to have to really convince myself that it's worth it.

so.   i am still easing toward paleo...    after starting by eliminating wheat,  i am easing into being gluten free.  i am thinking i will probably eliminate corn as well, but still thinking on that one.

last night i decided to try out this recipe for paleo pancakes.   i had all of the ingredients, and it looked pretty simple...    the picture looked yummy, lol.   wellllll.....   my first one looked more like this:

they were way too crumbly.    once i figured out how hot the pan needed to be,  they got better,  and i actually got a few, toward the end, that were round....   

my opinion, though, is that they are way too sweet,  and very rich/heavy.    i don't think i'll make them again.     i have quite a lot of buckwheat in my food storage,  so i will continue to perfect buckwheat pancakes instead.   i have found several recipes for them that are gluten free.

my next quest is to find a gluten free recipe for sandwich bread that meets my expectations.

finished spinning and socks started....

i had thought there would be several posts between this and the last one,  but life got a little intense in between.....        but the yarn is now spun and plied,   and yesterday i started socks.   for me, this time.  i do so much knitting of items to sell,  and things for others.   it's not very often that i knit for myself.     all of my handspun socks are getting hole-y.    while  i'm perfectly capable of darning them,  i decided it's time for a few new pairs.    my intent is to spin and knit a few, for myself,  before next winter.      although, if the weather doesn't decide to get warm, and stay warm,  i may need them much sooner, lol.

ok,  so here is the yarn...

it's approximately sport weight, although it looks heavier in the photo....
i am knitting it on size 3 needles.      i started by casting on 56 stitches.   seemes like it will be big enough.  i won't be certain until after i turn the heel and try them on....   

the color changes are long, since i didn't ply the variegated singles against themselves.   i've a feeling these socks will be decidedly fraternal, which is fine with me.




i am linking this post to ginny's  yarn along on her 'small things' blog.   each wednesday she posts about what she's knitting and what she's reading, and invites others to do they same.       i am re-reading robert jordan's 'wheel of time' series.     i've read (or listened to) most of the series several times.   a friend gave me the first three books somewhere around 12 years ago, and i found more on audible in audio book form.   i've read these five or six times.     i have not read the last three volumes.   there was to be one remaining book in the series when the author died.   his wife hired another respected fantasy author to finish it, from her husband's copious notes.   it was decided that there was too much information that was necessary to the story to fit into one book,  so the last became three...    i no longer have a membership at audible.  it just doesn't fit into the budget.   but i recently signed up for a free membership at the free library of philadelphia (anyone in pennsylvania can get a free membership and anyone else in the US can get a membership for $50) and as soon as my card arrives,  i can borrow these last three on audiobook.   :-)     (my local library doesn't have them).   anyway...   i am currently on book six,  Lord of Chaos.

click on the yarn along icon to see ginny's post.  :-)