so far this weekend...

the sun is shining and there are a huge variety of spring flowers popping up all over the property. 

i have baked a cake. it's this one. it's probably our 5th batch of it (and it's a double batch). if you bake it, bake the cookie bottom part for 10-15 minutes before putting the chocolate and the meringue on it and finishing the baking. they don't include that in the instructions, but it's a must. i make the mistakes so you don't have to! :-) also, i just chop up a chocolate bar, as chocolate chips don't exist in denmark. a marabou with daim works a charm.

mama hen and her little black chick were allowed outside with the other chickens for the first time. they've been VERY interested in what's going on in that little barn and trying to peek in every chance they got. mama has been showing signs of wanting to go out so since it's such a beautiful day, i decided to let her. i was worried the others might pick on the little chick, but mama was FIERCE and no one even made a move on him. if they even looked in his direction, she set them straight.

and here's the precious little one her/himself. we hope it's a her, of course, but i have to admit i often call it a him. little wing and tail feathers are coming in and it's quite possibly the cutest thing ever (other than the now ELEVEN baby bunnies we have, of course).

and i found out why those other chickens were so interested in getting into the little barn - it seems they had a secret stash of eggs going in there! one full dozen! problem is i have no idea how long they've been there, so we're a bit afraid to use them. it seems such a waste!

i hope your weekend is going well so far!

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yes, yes, yes! someone finally sounded the death knell for microsoft word. i personally haven't used it in more than 3 years, but it's time someone publicly admitted that it's so over.

naturally-dyed easter eggs

nettles (learned that they don't work), beets, turmeric, red cabbage + vinegar, red cabbage without vinegar

beets, turmeric, red cabbage + vinegar, red cabbage without vinegar. two eggs fit in each honey jar.

the dark blue is the result of the red cabbage without vinegar

the marbled look was produced by bubbles that appeared to be created by the vinegar in the dyes, as there were no bubbles in the jar without vinegar.

i made some easter eggs with natural dyes. i used the advice from here, despite the fact that one of the tags on that blog is about potty training. no potties were trained during the making of these eggs. i used stuff i had in my kitchen - red cabbage, beets, turmeric and i even tried some nettles (they don't work). i love the colors they turned out to be. the eggs were provided by our chickens. they're good that way. and while their eggs aren't white, they're a very light tan, so they color very nicely.