I'm back!

Well, it's been an interesting couple of weeks here in our household. Just as I began to recover from the bout of pneumonia that put me in bed and home from work for a week and a half, Matt caught it and is going through the exact same thing. I'm back at work now, but he had the week off when I was most sick, and set the bar pretty high for caretaking of a sick partner. With my appetite having gone out the window, he spent most of his time concocting various delectable meals in an attempt to encourage the return of my appetite. There was the most delicious chili I've ever had, and then some amazing from-scratch pizzas.

Homemade white wine passata sauce with smoked mozzarella and fresh basil from the garden.

In the midst of all our illness and other chaos, we welcomed our new housemate, John, who is renting the front bedroom and is a great addition to the household. He's supportive of our lifestyle and pretty awesome to have around. I think Matt must be feeling better today (ah, the magic of antibiotics) because I got home from work and found the boys in the backyard, with this:

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

The beginnings of our chicken coop!

Ah, the chickens. Well, chicks, I suppose, but at this point that word is not particularly apt, our flock having reached the hilariously gawky dinosaur-resembling teenage chicken stage. I guess they're officially pullets now. They are five weeks old, keep us constantly entertained, and are rapidly outgrowing their box, which is now in the living room where their funny half cluck/half peep noises provide a nice constant background music! I'm also just realizing that I haven't even written about them for about four weeks now- oh dear. 

Anyhow, we've gone from these tiny little fluffnuggets:

To these lovely ladies, all coming into their own personalities, and having earned themselves names:

 The big Salmon Faverolle, no longer the bully but still known as Cluck Norris.

 If I have a favorite, it's Esther, the Rhode Island Red. She is the most friendly and docile of the bunch, curious and not fussy when picked up.

 Goldie the Gold-Laced Wyandotte, who appears to now be in the position of Flock Boss.

 The slender little Australorp, Lady Macbeth.

Penny (short for Penguin Face), the pretty little Barred Plymouth Rock. 

They'll move into the coop as soon as it's finished, even though they won't be at the official coop-ready age of eight weeks. The weather has been incredibly and consistently mild for the last month, with highs between 75 and 80F, and nights staying warm, so we're not too worried. We just started turning off their lamp at night to get them on a daylight cycle rather than 24 hour light, and we'll harden them off for awhile before they live in the coop full time. 

There's loads more going on around here, with the garden bursting at the seams and all kinds of projects to be done, but it feels good to be back here, even if we're still moving slowly and resting far more than we're used to!