Ninety Three Happy Birthdays

A very, very full weekend.
Yesterday I attended a nutritional health conference with Rae and learned some interesting things  and enjoyed her company for the day.  That ended around 5:30ish and it was off to the store.
 Aunt Lois requested Stephen to grill steaks, and for me to fix asparagus, corn on the cob, baked little red potatoes, rolls and her favorite, German Chocolate Cake for her 93rd birthday celebration today. She told me she would eat five potatoes her ownest self.  Aunt SuZQ is moving around and looking good, but still very much recovering.
I am not much of a cake maker. Well, not the kind you want to show anyone anyway. They taste good, they just look scary. Consequently, I usually only make the kind that go into a 9 x 13 pan.  I decided maybe I would do cupcakes instead.  Then I recalled that, in my humble opinion, the only redeemable quality of a German Chocolate cake is the icing.  I was not going to cut apart cupcakes to get more layers of icing, so I went back to the notion of baking three layers.  So I did that last night.  As usual, it looks like the Leaning Tower of Cake.  Well, it's the thought that counts right?
Dinner was most delicious and Aunt Lois seemed to relish every bite. Though she told me she must have been hungry when she asked for five potatoes, and one would do nicely.
We also had a photography session in honor of the day.

 While I like the posed pictures in front of the fire place and in the garden,

 By far my favorite was her singing "Happy Birthday" along with us in anticipation of  the, umm, ugly cake.

Oh My JOY

While it was certainly my joy to spend another birthday with her and that she was able to enjoy it, I also got a call from Drummer Boy.  The chicklets wanted to come visit. I told him I was on my way to feed and water the new flock at school and he was welcome to bring the kiddos there.

My little Missy Buttons was quite smitten with the chickie babies.

Buttercup wanted to know about all the things in my classroom. I still had watercolor materials out from a recent project and she said, "I want to do what ever your school kids do with that stuff."  So we did. 

 Of course Ol' Blue Eyes needed to as well.

After chicklets and chickie babies and birthdays, it was back to work.  That brooder is small for a dozen babies. They can't be in there much longer.  I had a chicken kick the bucket two weeks ago here at home.  She was a last spring chicken and that is a bit unusual for us.  The puppy brought a barnyard disease, cocciodosis, so of course, I'm a bit concerned about bringing those tiny things home.  I always do a major cleaning in spring anyway, but love to do it when I have all day and it's sunny. I didn't have all day and it wasn't sunny, but my ace in the hole is called The Handy Man.  We got her done.  All bedding moved out. All surfaces scraped and sprayed with Apple Cider Vinegar, every surface, nook and cranny covered with diatomaceous earth, black walnuts ground in the feed. Feeders and waterers bleached and dried. Ughhh, time for a hot soak. Tomorrow- a bee visit.