So, Recently…

Did you notice that the year is almost one-third over already? Yeah. Fast, huh? I have been bad about keeping up with our lives on here, so here are some recent things that have happened:

* Yesterday we put the chickens outside in their coop. They’re a little confused, but also happy to be in a bigger space. We knew it was time to put them outside because, aside from the fact that they have full feathers and look like small chickens now, every time I opened their brooder, they jumped around and ran around the guest room. So much pent up energy! Now they can take it out by scratching in their runner.

* I went to AWP in Denver this month. AWP is a writing conference. I blogged about it here and Marcia added her two cents here.

* Kyle made his own bacon. He took a pork belly, cured it, and smoked it. It tasted awesome. Here is a picture:

joy lanzendorfer kyle's bacon

* Kyle is almost done with his update to The Official Ubuntu Server Book. He has been working very hard on it.

* I went kayaking last weekend. We kayaked under a heron nesting ground. Dozens of herons and egrets had put weird twiggy nests in eucalyptus trees. It was neat. Now I want a kayak.

* Afterwards, we had a picnic on the bank of the American River and a Canadian goose swam up on the bank and hissed at us. We gently intimidated it back into the water, but it kept coming back to hiss again. I think there was a nest nearby and it was protecting its family.

* I planted the garden. Well, most of it. I still have to put in winter squash, melons, and leeks. The bugs have been crazy this year already. They killed all my young greenbean plants, so I had to re-plant them all. I hope they come up.

* I have been steadily publishing short stories in literary journals lately, and this makes me happy.

* Kyle and I made plans for the rest of 2010. I want to go camping, take a smaller trip to somewhere in the United States, go to Spain, and remodel our bathroom. That’s a lot, but also very fun–well, the first three things are fun. The remodeling, not so much.

I like having fun.