Wit, Wisdom & Wonder

So - the biggee - I'm still inconclusive for Lupus or anything specific. So tentatively, they are saying "Mixed Connective Tissue Disease". Which from what little reading I've been able to do basically is a place holder diagnosis until something definitive presents or the patient gets sicker.

The inflammation test for a regular person is 8, I'm 28. So yes, something is definitively WRONG within my tissues. ANA is still positive, speckled, etc. Lupus titers are off, but not definitively Lupus. Inconclusive for Lupus, yadda-yadda on several other tests. It is absolutely NOT arthritis, though.

Basically, the doctor agrees, my tests come back zebra, not horses. I'm off on several things, I'm too healthy to be very sick, but sick. And he won't give me any treatment because what he could give me is toxic. He needs to know why the spleen is enlarged and how it is affecting the body, so he knows what results to rule out. So he's referring me to a Gastro-enterologist in his practice and wants to see me again in a month. Treat the pain in the meanwhile.

For everyone who has wished me well, thank you. Much gratitude and zen hugs. Staggering but not out!

Off to do more research!

Kevin let us know that BooBoo's cancer has progressed to the point where his quality of life has taken a pronounced downward curve today. So tonight we're celebrating BooBoo with a pizza party (he loves pizza and having friends over) and then on Monday, we'll release BooBoo to the Rainbow Bridge. Where his friends, Tracker and Glory are waiting for him to show him the ropes, balls and treats.

Sold 16 chicks/adolescents today. Thank Gods Rachel could come and do a thorough cleanout of the pens. Whew!

Pen #1: Fizgig is down two Frizzle pullets and is *most* concerned. Once the new Frizzles are older and if female, they will be (hopefully) moved in with him.

Pen #2: currently vacant now that the Lavender Orpingtons have been sold. Woot-woot! Plan: Partridge breeding program.

Pen #3: Wendy is back in with Napoleon. Gods, are they ever happy about it. *wince*

East Wing:

Pen #4: The white Silkie mamma, Ivory, is currently in the hutch in East Wing #4 with her new chick! She has 6 more eggs. *fingers crossed* The two Frizzle chicks I'm keeping for my breeding program are growing out in the pen, still using the Rubbermaid coop as they are accustomed to it.

Extension: Currently hosting the two Geo-Bachelors (cockerel returns from previous sales). I'm going to keep the Partridge because he's GORGEOUS. Selling/bartering the black, though. Already rehomed (as a freebie w/ today's sales) the B&W barred. Slumming it with a dog crate coop until I can get them rehome/auctioned, etc. He'll likely be moving into West Wing #2 then with Evie (Partridge hen in the Rustic Roost with DB chick).

Pen #5: The B&W Barred and two black Silkie cockerels needs to be rehomed/auctioned. They share the dogloo.

Pen #6: currently vacant. Shady uses this as her day pen for exercise. She needs a few accoutrements to her pen, poor thing. Everyone has a sandbox and coop but her. :D

Yeah, yeah, this is me taking it easy. Sore as hell (sunburn, too), but feeling very satisfied about the day's work and glad to have money in my pocket for an hour and a half of selling.

A classic Flash pic. :D

Wendy and her chicks are enjoying their pen, even their "neighbors" the Rhodie pullets:



I'm particularly fond of this little Frizzle, I hope its a female:



Salt's chick is growing like crazy and absolutely beautiful, I'm truly hoping its a female because I'd love to breed her:



The two of them together are quite striking:



The shy little Partridge Silkie always hides from me. I barely get pics of her:



Napoleon Blownaparte is not shy. He desperately misses Wendy and cannot wait to have his lady back. One of his ladies is brooding, the white Silkie, so we'll be moving Wendy back in and the white Silkie and her nest into the Rustic Roost soon.



They aren't ready to go it alone, but they are a lovely bunch:



In fodder news, we've started the Farro (its kind of boring as its in the pressing stage):



The Red Barley is doing pretty well, not great, though:



The Black Oil Sunflower Seed looks great. I do love it!

For Solstice, one of our Elders gifted everyone with jet athames. They are gorgeous and now holding a place of honor on our home altar.

After having a delightful lunch with Dana yesterday in Port Townsend and braving the torrential downpour to do a bit of shopping, we headed back to the Island for a Solstice dinner with our little Naval Neo-Pagan group. Afterward we got together to play Munchkin. Not sure we're playing it correctly, that first game is always a bunch of "oh shit, we forgot Items!" kind of "hell, what are we supposed to be doing with the die, again" and "oops, there's a difference between upright and downwards cards" kind of a thing.

Lisa graciously picked us up some Farro seed to sprout for the chickens at the farmers market. I have absolutely no idea what Farro is. but we're soaking it for a day or two (we'll see what its like tomorrow as to whether it requires another day or not). The Red Barley isn't quite ready for feeding yet, but we're still feeding the original bag of Black Oil Sunflower Seed!

In chicken news, poor Big Blue has a horrible ear infection. We're currently treating it with a combination of Hydrogen Peroxide (squirted into his ear to clear the gunk) and packing the swollen canals with Neosporin ointment. If that doesn't do the trick, we'll have to switch to Penicillin injections, which I'm not particularly keen on trying with him. He's a massive bird (think beach ball) and could really protest violently.

For reasons we're still confused about, Wendy (our smooth-feathered Silkie) and her host of little chicks has decided to invade the Rhodie pullet pen. They are now all living together. *chuckle* The Rhodies are decidedly confused but everyone seems to be doing all right. The Rhodies at this point are about the same size as Wendy, but that won't last long!

We lost little Snow, the splash Silkie. He was always a bit of a runt, never crowed and never prospered. We'd had a host of near misses and this time, palliative care didn't work. *sigh* The Bachelor Pad is down one bachelor now.

The last two days, we've run out of here in the morning, coming back close to midnight. Today is a resting and recovery day. *smooches* to all for a Blessed Solstice.

It only took about a year of unsuccessful stalking of the CL Free section, but I did manage to find a beautiful free desk AND nab it. Free desks are tough, especially nice ones, but nabbing them is even harder. This weekend I managed to do both:



The guys are picking it up. I'm thrilled at this first step in re-doing my home office. I still need to find a large organizer for the wall opposite the windows, which I may end getting from IKEA. But this is a great find! :D

I'll take my old desk over to Delightfully Deviant's studio. I'm sure they have a sewing machine or similar equipment that needs a new desk. Maybe even a little corner one like that.

I think its pretty official, at 6 months Shady has definitely hit puberty.



Friendly has become all about CRAZED MAD INSANE demands for AFFECTION.

She's getting so big now, she's small cat sized. We have 3 more months of this before she's old enough to breed. We need to start looking around for a buck soonest. Yowsa.

Update: I forget the simple things these days! Still in their infancies, but they will be growing!

The Triple Pillars Etsy Shop!

And our Facebook page.

As many of you know, what ultimately killed Triple Pillars was my inability to get either of the two websites to work seamlessly - at the last, the damn shopping cart program was refusing to actually give me the orders. So I'd essentially get a notice from PayPal telling me you'd order, the money you'd sent and your address, but not what you'd ordered. Then I'd try to sort out what the hell you'd ordered by sheer divination. It was maddening!

So Etsy makes sense, because I have a local mentor to guide me through the process and assist with any roadblocks I come across. I've also created a Facebook to announce new products and will likely be working on a blog (though the FB cover the needs) to handle the essays, etc.) that the website used to host. We'll see how that works, going forward.

I'm working with the Etsy calculator, my own spreadsheets and various tools all while trying to sort out various other issues such as the realization that going forward I'm likely going to be changing my packaging. Personally, I'd rather not spend a bunch of money on labels and containers, preferring to concentrating my efforts on the ingredients. But then, I'm a really pragmatic soul. Perhaps though, I'm missing out on something. And I may be short-changing the customers and losing customers in the process. I'm not sure how important packaging is to people - would you like the option perhaps for a discount for your item to be sent in a plain ziplock envelope vs the fancy jar?

Right now, we're using a white plastic pot container. Its easy to store, but hard to stack due to rounded edges. Lovely for a clear label but you cannot see the product. And we're running low, so we'll need to buy more containers at some point soon.

I've looked at clear plastic pots but the acrylic is VERY fragile and in my experience shatters easily. What a mess if it does so during shipment and expensive for me to replace?

Glass is heavy for shipment and drives costs upwards. I like the glass test tubes but everyone seems to be doing it and again, fragility. Those are better for events, which I don't do. I do like the frosted glass bottles, though.

Ziplock envelopes have huge pros and cons. Most local companies use them - huge problems. They use a cardboard tag which they staple through the bag, which leaks forever afterwards. Plus, once you remove the label, you can never match it to the bag. A printed adhesive label is great, but drives up printing costs - color, design, etc. Cellophane bags are great and you can staple the folded up portion, which will handle some of the issues with the staple holes. I personally prefer to re-locate purchased incense to glass jars at home. Not sure what others do at home.

I'm really not fond of those metal mint cans, plus its been done and its very hard to get a full ounce in them for some of the larger, lighter incenses. Plus, I find them somewhat difficult to get incense out of.

I'll be looking around for unique ideas. And of course, all ideas and preferences wanted.

I will be of course calling in every other day to remind them I'm prioritizing myself and I'm on the overflow list in case someone cancels. I had a nice little chat with the gal who answered the phone and mentioned fun terms like "ruptured spleen", "doctor thinks its organ-involved Lupus", etc. so I'm hopeful.

We may be lighting candles for an earlier appointment.

*cross fingers*