Family Celebration: The Rehearsal Dinner

   The Middle Sister is always prepared. She thinks ahead, plans ahead, and accomplishes more in a month than I can get done in a year. She is a model of efficiency. It's a good thing, because in addition to totally taking the house next door to her down to the studs and building it back in the last six months, this past weekend she and her husband hosted both the rehearsal dinner (at their farm) and the wedding reception (at their home). If she even broke a sweat no one around her knew it. She was as cool as a cucumber and seemed to enjoy the festivities as much as anyone else. And boy, do she and her husband know how to throw down a party!
   It basically rained all day Friday so the plans for an country supper under the stars had to be scrapped. No worries. My sister and her husband just moved everything under their football field sized roping pen adjacent to their barn. How do you make something as huge and cavernous as a roping pen seem personal? You take your lesson from my sister. She moved in some tractors, an old farm truck, lots of rolled bales of hay and used them to divide up the space. No one even realized that it was a back-up plan. It was a wonderful evening: intimate and casual and great fun.

This giant "R"  hay bale welcomed guests as they drove onto the farm.

 Green tablecloths, glowing lanterns, buckets of tiny green apples,
and wildflowers in vases provided a nice rustic touch.

 I love the pen and ink rendering of the barn on the rehearsal dinner invitation.

The welcome table featured the Bride's little ballet shoes and the Groom's childhood cowboy boots...a sweet and sentimental touch!

 The old farm truck is doing double-duty here

Groomsmen gifts all lined up in a row!

Country cooking never tasted so good!

A bevy of homemade cakes rounded out the meal,
six-layers of goodness, chocolate, coconut and red velvet! Yum!

Hands down, one of the best things that happens at a wedding, is the reunion with loved ones. 

Here are the "Sistas."

These Sure Aren't Cheap Cheap

    Cheep. Cheep. Little One gently patted the little biddie that the salesperson held ever so carefully in his large hand. The baby chick rapidly blinked his eyes and peeped up a storm. Even though we both smelled the odor the moment we hit the door of the Tractor Supply store, I found myself intrigued. As a dreamer and investigator by nature, I am always drawn to the novelty of new and challenging experiences. Raising chickens in suburbia. It crossed my mind. I have watched with interest and a little trepidation as the fresh egg movement has taken our area by storm.
    Friends have succumbed. And then my Baby Sister and her husband got in on the act (admittedly they live on a farm). Then they sent my granddaughter a video of their adorable biddies. I felt myself swaying. But then I stopped that crazy mad rush of thoughts and rationally considered the idea. Chickens have to be fed every single day. You can't board chickens when you travel. And I don't really like eggs, a relatively important factor. Finally, I took another good whiff in the Tractor Supply store. Then I sashayed my fanny right past the warmers, feeding troughs, water bottles, and shelves stuffed with chicken feed. Sigh. I'll just keep buying The Husband brown eggs in the grocery store and pretending they are as good as the real thing.
    But for all you chicken loving folks out there and a few of us chicken dreaming folks, here are some lovely accommodations for those little peepers. Warning: Building one of these will not be cheap.Can I get a cheep? Anybiddie? (I just couldn't resist...)

Here is Velvet and Linen's coop at her former home:

Umm...how about this chicken castle? Definitely not a coop.

Source: Marsha on Pinterest

And this is the crooked little house....

Source: google.com viaJillian on Pinterest

This one is vaguely reminiscent of an outhouse

Source: hortenhill.blogspot.com viaHeather on Pinterest

And this one a chicken church. How about "The Church of the Good Egg?"

Source: theladybirdblog.com viaJeannie on Pinterest

I call this the Chicken Pavilion

Source: lifeatbuttercupfarm.com viaQueen Bee Coupons on Pinterest

Source: kkimington.tumblr.com viaBlanca on Pinterest

And this is Coop de French Chateau...for sale through none other than Neiman Marcus

Source: video.today.msnbc.msn.com viaMargy on Pinterest

And how about this take on gothic architecture, complete with lightning rods.
You wouldn't want those chickens to get fried...yet!

Source: Margy on Pinterest

And here is an eco friendly option. You could use the chicken manure to fertilize the roof top garden. The plants will help regulate the temperatures and keep the building warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. You could grow herbs or small veggies and complete the cycle.

Source: thedesigngoose.blogspot.com viaErin on Pinterest

Then there is the option to upcycle that old dresser that you don't really use any more

Source: homesteadrevival.blogspot.com viaJeannie on Pinterest

The Thatched Coop. Wow. It makes an architectural statement.
Another benefit:  If you run out of chicken feed...
they can just eat you out of their own house and home...

Source: houzz.com viaJudy on Pinterest

What? The chicken that laid an egg...

Source: img.gentside.com viaPas betes on Pinterest

Bilbo Baggins might snag this gem

Source: hunsonisgroovy.com viaAris on Pinterest

And finally, have coop will travel...

Source: westphoria.sunset.com viaQueen Bee Coupons on Pinterest

Hog Heaven...Sorta

   My Baby Sister was in hog heaven when she received her birthday present from her husband. This year he really hit the bigtime. The gift was a HUGE success for something so small. But before you start making assumptions about the present she received, I feel compelled to give you a little background.
   Baby Sister grew up wanting to be a vet. Animals were always high on her list and numbered among her best friends. My dear Momma, who does not really like animals of any sort, was persuaded by this daughter of hers to allow all manner of creatures to inhabit our home while the Baby Sister was growing up. To this day I still do not understand how the Baby Sister could get our Momma to do things she would never do for anyone else. The Baby Sister was also famous for bringing home stray dogs and cats and then talking our neighbors into giving them homes. Even now this sister finds it hard to walk by a puppy in the Wal-Mart parking lot, but I digress. Back to the story. Baby Sister graduated from high school and traveled to Auburn University with the veterinary dream intact, but while there she switched over to education. In time she became one of the finest 5th grade teachers in the State of Florida and was selected for all kinds of honors. Baby Sister even went to Disney World as part of the Teacher of the Year recognition program. While she taught every subject, her hands-down favorite was science and as you might imagine, her approach to science was very hands-on and included lots of...you guessed it...investigation and observation of live creatures of all shapes and sizes.
   Fast forward. My sister is now retired from the classroom but lives out in the country with her husband. If you live in a city like I do, you don't really know what the country is, unless you have a sister who lives there. Baby Sister and her husband have about 40 acres. My sister knows how to drive a tractor with a bushhog, how to muck stalls and how to care for their animals, both large and small. The Baby Sister and her husband have cows and horses and a huge garden and dogs and a cat. And now, thanks to her husband, the Baby Sister is the proud owner of a...drumroll please...a miniature donkey. Yep, a miniature donkey.

   My sister was thrilled. Yep, thrilled. If my husband gave me a donkey, he would be sleeping outdoors with it. But not my sister. She has been asking for one of these for years. And yes, she has endured all kinds of snide and slightly inappropriate jokes about getting said donkey for her birthday. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the donkey yet, but I am sure that I will. Apparently having a miniature donkey is like having another dog. These little creatures are loyal, friendly, great with children and the elderly and live 25-30 years. My sister will definitely be elderly if the donkey lives as long as he is supposed to. I will be elderly before she will so I will be able to tell her if the donkey does indeed get along well with old folks.
   The donkey's name is Petey and the great thing is that just like a dog, he comes when he is called. He lives in the pasture with the cows and the horses, but if I know my sister he will soon be allowed to come up right next to the house...if he leaves our great-grandmother's hydrangeas alone, that is. She says that he eats carrots out of her hand and loves to be petted. He sounds spoiled already.

Here is a picture to help you get the scale of the donkey in your head. This is not a picture of my sister.

And in case you are wondering, here are a few interesting facts about miniature donkeys:
To be a miniature donkey, the animal cannot be taller than 36 inches.
A male donkey is a "Jack".
A female donkey is a "Jennet."
Miniature donkeys originated in the Mediterranean area of Northern Africa in ancient times and most recently in Italy and Sardinia.
They live 25-30 years, are sweet and even-tempered, and most owners say that having a miniature donkey is like having another dog.

My sister agrees.


photos from teenytinyanimals.blogspot.com