Eva’s Friends

[ksbkeys]

I almost forgot to write. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Mine was pretty quiet. We drove up into western Pennsylvania to look at churches/towns again. I think it would have been a nice place to live back when the mines were open but now all the towns are very sleepy little hamlets, mostly rundown. The churches still stand proud but it seems the congregation skews to the older side, though there are two universities! I don't know where all the students are coming from!

My sister sent me a mouse pad she made off Canva. I forgot to take a picture this time.

Friday and Saturday I worked in the basement opening, condensing, and repacking boxes again. Then I got sidetracked with my sister's dolls and spent the rest of the day using them as models for photography practice.

I have to take Finnegan back to the vet because the rescue wants a stool sample and more shots. I wish they would have told me that earlier.

Constance is meowing from her cat tower, making it really hard to think. She's been batting me when I pet her as of late - don't know if she's trying to get treats or just doesn't want to be petted.

Eva still refuses to eat until she's literally starving, and is now guarding all the bones in the house; Annie's too afraid to touch any of them now. I got the vet to give me a different prescription for Eva; maybe a change of food will help.

Today being Sunday we went to church and also picked up my new glasses. I was glad to get them because my old pair are scratched, but the prescription in one set seems to be off. I don't know how that's possible! The other set has transitions which I really do not like but I was told I need to wear sunglasses when outside.

I'm glad you weren't alone for Christmas! Do a lot of people put up lights there? Not many people have decorated where we are.

Oh, dear! What did you end up doing with all the extras? And why do tools, of all things, have the knack for disappearing? My dad has gone through at least three sets of knee pads in four years. Despite cleaning the basement multiple times, we have never been able to find them.

I did research it, and it is fascinating! I feel like I had read of the dead soldiers idea somewhere, too...

Couldn't they just charge and bite you? Or they're too blind to see what's actually in front of them?

You as well!

Beautiful Blue Jay
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Barbara got out while I was putting a new toy in the cage...
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One of the pictures I did with some of her dolls:
View attachment 4273636

@ksbkeys I thought you might like this - it's the Carol of the Bells (sort of) set to police lights! Starts around 0:40.

That police light Carol of the bells is so cool! Thanks!

 

[Evadig]

Highlights of 2025

I look forward to sharing 2026 with you all, and wish you a very happy new year!

 

[thecatumbrella]

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVA!

 

[ksbkeys]

View attachment 4275149
Highlights of 2025

I look forward to sharing 2026 with you all, and wish you a very happy new year!

Happy New Year to you, too!

 

[lightm]

Happy new year to Eva and Eva's Friends!

 

[Callender Girl]

A belated Happy New Year! 2026 has gotten off to a busy start, and I haven't spent as much time on BYC as usual.

It appears I haven't written anything since before the blizzard last Sunday. Even by northern Iowa standards, it was a doozey. State patrol closed 200 miles of Interstate 35, although I can't imagine why anyone would have attempted to drive through the high winds and blowing snow.

Wind seemed to come from all directions and blew into all of the coops through the air vents and around the doors. Snow piled up inside the coops -- all the bedding had to be removed and replaced -- and drifted into the runs; latches on some were frozen shut. A couple still are, which makes caring for the birds really tough.

Dinah, my smaller dog, walked to the door but refused to go outside and managed not to relieve herself for about 24 hours. Eventually, I just picked her up and plopped her outside in the snow.

My more-than-century-old house doesn't warm up very well upstairs so I run a good space heater in my bedroom. As I came downstairs at 2:30 Monday morning (dogs seemed to hear something outside), I realized it was cold -- really cold -- on the first floor. The thermostat read 44 degrees!

I knew no one was going to be able to come out for hours; the roads hadn't been cleared. But I called the furnace repair's emergency number, plugged in more space heaters and layered on clothes. I learned that with my electrical wiring, I can't plug in space heaters in the bathroom and the west wall of the living room at the same time. I had to go the basement and figure out which switch to throw in the breaker box.

The furnace is about 20 years old, so I was preparing myself for the worst. But, it's fine. When Wes got here about 9 a.m., he found that blowing snow plugged the exterior PVC exhaust vent, and it was an inexpensive and quick fix to unclog it.

I got my snowblower started, but once again, it wouldn't keep running. Which didn't really matter because the overhead garage door was frozen shut until the next day. By then, I had shoveled out.

Because I couldn't get my car out of the garage, I had to postpone an appointment at the car dealership until Friday. I told them it would be the same part that was bad last winter, and I was right. The part is still under warranty and they will fix everything for free, probably this week, after they order the part.

One of my Easter Eggers has conjunctivitis again, and I was able to get a same-day vet appointment for her Friday afternoon. It's almost a 90-mile drive to the avian vet, but they are great. She is reluctantly getting oral meds and eye drops.

Because her appointment was later in the day, I had to drive home in the dark (yuck!) but it gave me a chance to see some cool Christmas lights. It seems quite a few people decorate with lights and leave them up at least for a bit after Christmas. From my house, I can barely see one of my neighbors' lights that seem to chase around her roof line as they change colors. Close up, her deck railing has some cool white lights that look as if they are dripping down the rails.

How's your reorganizing and purging going? I spent more than half of yesterday with my kitchen cabinets and island. I get lots of quality kitchen stuff at auctions, where the auctioneer likes to sell boxes of assorted things at once. I tend to keep everything that looks like it's good quality. However, yesterday I realized I had three 9-by-13 Pyrex baking dishes. I will NEVER need that many.

I've loaded up two big boxes to donate at the men's homeless shelter that has a thrift store where its residents work.

My sister always chooses a word of the year and has convinced me to do the same. For 2026, my word is "accomplish," and I think the kitchen purge is a good start.

Hope 2026 is going well for you!

 

[ksbkeys]

A belated Happy New Year! 2026 has gotten off to a busy start, and I haven't spent as much time on BYC as usual.

It appears I haven't written anything since before the blizzard last Sunday. Even by northern Iowa standards, it was a doozey. State patrol closed 200 miles of Interstate 35, although I can't imagine why anyone would have attempted to drive through the high winds and blowing snow.

Wind seemed to come from all directions and blew into all of the coops through the air vents and around the doors. Snow piled up inside the coops -- all the bedding had to be removed and replaced -- and drifted into the runs; latches on some were frozen shut. A couple still are, which makes caring for the birds really tough.

Dinah, my smaller dog, walked to the door but refused to go outside and managed not to relieve herself for about 24 hours. Eventually, I just picked her up and plopped her outside in the snow.

My more-than-century-old house doesn't warm up very well upstairs so I run a good space heater in my bedroom. As I came downstairs at 2:30 Monday morning (dogs seemed to hear something outside), I realized it was cold -- really cold -- on the first floor. The thermostat read 44 degrees!

I knew no one was going to be able to come out for hours; the roads hadn't been cleared. But I called the furnace repair's emergency number, plugged in more space heaters and layered on clothes. I learned that with my electrical wiring, I can't plug in space heaters in the bathroom and the west wall of the living room at the same time. I had to go the basement and figure out which switch to throw in the breaker box.

The furnace is about 20 years old, so I was preparing myself for the worst. But, it's fine. When Wes got here about 9 a.m., he found that blowing snow plugged the exterior PVC exhaust vent, and it was an inexpensive and quick fix to unclog it.

I got my snowblower started, but once again, it wouldn't keep running. Which didn't really matter because the overhead garage door was frozen shut until the next day. By then, I had shoveled out.

Because I couldn't get my car out of the garage, I had to postpone an appointment at the car dealership until Friday. I told them it would be the same part that was bad last winter, and I was right. The part is still under warranty and they will fix everything for free, probably this week, after they order the part.

One of my Easter Eggers has conjunctivitis again, and I was able to get a same-day vet appointment for her Friday afternoon. It's almost a 90-mile drive to the avian vet, but they are great. She is reluctantly getting oral meds and eye drops.

Because her appointment was later in the day, I had to drive home in the dark (yuck!) but it gave me a chance to see some cool Christmas lights. It seems quite a few people decorate with lights and leave them up at least for a bit after Christmas. From my house, I can barely see one of my neighbors' lights that seem to chase around her roof line as they change colors. Close up, her deck railing has some cool white lights that look as if they are dripping down the rails.

How's your reorganizing and purging going? I spent more than half of yesterday with my kitchen cabinets and island. I get lots of quality kitchen stuff at auctions, where the auctioneer likes to sell boxes of assorted things at once. I tend to keep everything that looks like it's good quality. However, yesterday I realized I had three 9-by-13 Pyrex baking dishes. I will NEVER need that many.

I've loaded up two big boxes to donate at the men's homeless shelter that has a thrift store where its residents work.

My sister always chooses a word of the year and has convinced me to do the same. For 2026, my word is "accomplish," and I think the kitchen purge is a good start.

Hope 2026 is going well for you!

Sounds like it has been an adventurous start to 2026!

 

[Evadig]

I didn't bother to write Sunday because nothing had happened worth telling. I picked up my dad and sister from the airport on Thursday. It felt kind of odd having them home after a month but I got over it pretty quickly.

It was especially easy because my parents took themselves for a three-day trip to explore possible locations to live (they did not really find any) and so my sis and I had the house to ourselves. That was nice. We made an apple pie and a cupful of apple cider with the remaining apples. Both turned out well even though it was our first time making them.

Today we went to town and stopped at the dog park. Eva, as always, had a really good time and Annie even was a little more confident, until a snappy little dog nipped her when she tried to be friendly. Now she's afraid of dogs again...

I am not doing too well in preparing physically or academically for boot camp. I have not run for over a week and have not been memorizing the book they gave me to memorize. I have just ninety-six days and eighteen hours according to the app that I have been using to help study (it has information the book doesn't).

I need to sit myself down and do some sewing but I simply have no desire to do it. I started a skirt for my sister but gave up when I sewed a seam backwards. I also have to make another dress for myself because one shrunk but I don't want to do that either, even though I do want the dress. Maybe when the weather turns cold again I will get to it.

It has been a high of 55F - very nice weather. It almost kind of feels like spring but we'll probably get some snow late January or February. It definitely will get cold again.

Happy new year to Eva and Eva's Friends!
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Your lovely hens! What's their names?

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVA!

Happy New Year to you, too!

Thank you! I hope your 2026 is off to a good start!

It appears I haven't written anything since before the blizzard last Sunday. Even by northern Iowa standards, it was a doozey. State patrol closed 200 miles of Interstate 35, although I can't imagine why anyone would have attempted to drive through the high winds and blowing snow.

Wind seemed to come from all directions and blew into all of the coops through the air vents and around the doors. Snow piled up inside the coops -- all the bedding had to be removed and replaced -- and drifted into the runs; latches on some were frozen shut. A couple still are, which makes caring for the birds really tough.

Dinah, my smaller dog, walked to the door but refused to go outside and managed not to relieve herself for about 24 hours. Eventually, I just picked her up and plopped her outside in the snow.

My more-than-century-old house doesn't warm up very well upstairs so I run a good space heater in my bedroom. As I came downstairs at 2:30 Monday morning (dogs seemed to hear something outside), I realized it was cold -- really cold -- on the first floor. The thermostat read 44 degrees!

I knew no one was going to be able to come out for hours; the roads hadn't been cleared. But I called the furnace repair's emergency number, plugged in more space heaters and layered on clothes. I learned that with my electrical wiring, I can't plug in space heaters in the bathroom and the west wall of the living room at the same time. I had to go the basement and figure out which switch to throw in the breaker box.

The furnace is about 20 years old, so I was preparing myself for the worst. But, it's fine. When Wes got here about 9 a.m., he found that blowing snow plugged the exterior PVC exhaust vent, and it was an inexpensive and quick fix to unclog it.

I got my snowblower started, but once again, it wouldn't keep running. Which didn't really matter because the overhead garage door was frozen shut until the next day. By then, I had shoveled out.

Because I couldn't get my car out of the garage, I had to postpone an appointment at the car dealership until Friday. I told them it would be the same part that was bad last winter, and I was right. The part is still under warranty and they will fix everything for free, probably this week, after they order the part.

Goodness gracious! Having a blizzard sounds awful. I'm glad the furnace was only blocked by snow, and that your car part is still covered by the warranty. Hopefully you get some of our warm weather so the snow melts and you get a break from bad weather.

It was really windy here, too, for a few days and we got a bit of snow. On New Year's Day I was going to church and there's a large hill you have to go down with a steep turn at the bottom. Well, as I began inching my way down this hill I saw a car, a pickup, and horse trailer at the bottom. I applied the brakes but the hill was so slippery I skidded all the way down, thankfully managing to stop several feet behind the pickup.

One of my Easter Eggers has conjunctivitis again, and I was able to get a same-day vet appointment for her Friday afternoon. It's almost a 90-mile drive to the avian vet, but they are great. She is reluctantly getting oral meds and eye drops.

Because her appointment was later in the day, I had to drive home in the dark (yuck!) but it gave me a chance to see some cool Christmas lights. It seems quite a few people decorate with lights and leave them up at least for a bit after Christmas. From my house, I can barely see one of my neighbors' lights that seem to chase around her roof line as they change colors. Close up, her deck railing has some cool white lights that look as if they are dripping down the rails.

Poor EE. What's her name? That's a long drive!

How's your reorganizing and purging going? I spent more than half of yesterday with my kitchen cabinets and island. I get lots of quality kitchen stuff at auctions, where the auctioneer likes to sell boxes of assorted things at once. I tend to keep everything that looks like it's good quality. However, yesterday I realized I had three 9-by-13 Pyrex baking dishes. I will NEVER need that many.

Once my dad and sister came home from the airport, I stopped organizing. I did finish re-packing all the boxes I'd opened, but other than that I have been spending my time trying to clean my room. There is literally zero storage - so everything stays on the extra bed.

Hope 2026 is going well for you!

Thank you, and same for you!

I took many pictures:

Sugar cookies from a Canadian 1940 recipe:

New Year's morning

Annie and Eva

Light from the outdoor Christmas lights through the front door

Deer in my yard

Eva

Railroad in Maryland

Antietam Battlefield

Night Sky

The cider (from Granny Smith apples)

The apple pie from a 1922 recipe (but the crust is store-bought - we rerolled the second crust to make a top)

The Christmas tree

Eva

Annie

 

[lightm]

Your lovely hens! What's their names?

From top left and clockwise: Light, Inky, Meimei, Foxy

 

[Callender Girl]

Thank goodness you were able to safely skid to a stop during your recent slippery drive! It's dangerous and extremely scary to feel out of control in a car that refuses to obey your instructions!

I've said it many times, but I always enjoy your photos. The icing color on those cookies is so vibrant! How did you make it?

The weather keeps swinging back and forth, like a crazy pendulum. A few days ago, there was torrential rain that leaked into the basement. This morning, it's 19 degree but is supposed to reach the high 40s tomorrow and low 50s Tuesday. It's a constant mix of snow and ice, alternating with deep mud. Yesterday, I bought bags of horse stall bedding to put down in the ducks' run; otherwise, the mud gets so deep it tries to pull boots right off my feet.

It's been stressful lately, First off, Evie -- the hen with conjunctivitis -- is doing fine. She's not thrilled about her meds but we are finally down to just an oral antibiotic twice a day. We're done with the anti-inflammatory and eye drops. The drops, by the way, were much easier to give to her than I expected.

On Tuesday, I made another trip to Ankeny Animal and Avian Clinic (AAAC), this time with Evie's sister, Audrey, and my 16-year-old cat, Ziva. Ziva had quit grooming herself and wasn't about to let me remove some major, all-over matting. Brushing anything other than her back was off limits for Miss Z.

I have tried repeatedly to like the new vet, Dr. C, who has taken over my old vet's local practice. One of my close friends works there and she assures me he's a great boss. But, I don't like his approach as a vet. The AAAC vets promote a "fear-free" approach, so I knew Ziva would be in reassuring hands as they clipped her matts.

She now only has fur on her head, tail and feet. But, I'm sure Ziva feels much better and less constricted. Unfortunately, the ear infection Dr. C "treated" her for in December hadn't cleared up, and at AAAC, they found a couple of little puncture wounds -- likely inflicted by one of the former stray cats that moved into "her" basement. It's been more than a year and a half, and she still doesn't like any of them. When Ziva was younger, she was always the pot-stirrer, the cat in the middle of every squabble. I guess the old girl still has spunk; she engages the younger cats instead of running away.

So, she's been getting two pills a day and ear meds. I'm sure Ziva and I are both looking forward to Tuesday when we get to stop with the medication. To her credit, I've only gotten bitten once and she only spit out a pill once.

Audrey looked and acted as if she felt fine. But she had produced a massive amount of the most gross, yellow poop I've ever seen come out of a chicken. AAAC vet Dr. Jess couldn't find anything wrong physically, either on Audrey or in the fecal sample, which was sent off for parasite testing. However, by late Thursday, Audrey was sluggish, didn't want to eat and didn't roost.

Yesterday morning, I found her dead under the roost where she and Evie slept. They were together their entire lives, for more than 7 years. I am grateful that it was sunny on her last day, and she spent the afternoon soaking up rays with Evie by her side.

Audrey was a beautiful girl who laid green eggs and liked to escape the yard to hang out in the goat pen. Countless times, I had to toss treats to the goats so she could dash back out of the pen without getting gored.

Totally fed up with Dr. C, I am taking my dogs to see a different local vet Tuesday to get their nails trimmed. I figure it's a good way to meet the doctor and see if I like him. I'm already happy that there are morning hours and some Saturdays; Dr. C did away with those at my old clinic.

He also misdiagnosed my beloved blind cat Goo, who passed away in September. I recognized Goo's lump as a particular type of cancerous tumor; I've seen it with some of my other cats. Dr. C disagreed and said it was an abscess, which of course, required treatment with expensive meds that did no good whatsoever.

I am hopeful that the Ford dealership will finally get the part it needs to repair my car. Fingers crossed for luck, it SHOULD happen this week.