I was done with Monday by 8:30 this morning.

I can’t remember if I mentioned Ginger (one of the hens) was sick or not. I know I mentioned it on Facebook. 99% sure I mentioned it here – she was the one we had to give antibiotics.

I’ve learned my lesson now – fecal float test first, always. Ginger has ‘relapsed’, and it has been confirmed by my non-chicken-vet/best friend that it is coccidiosis (this is why it’s so worth it to have a veterinarian as a friend). If you want to know more about this lovely, frustrating parasite (on the protozoa level), The Chicken Chick has a very informative post about it. I’m also very grateful that we found a store locally that had Corid, so I was able to start treating the entire flock first thing Sunday morning.

In addition to the chicken…

The washing machine died on Friday. I discovered this when I washed a heavy blanket, and the spin cycle never… spun. The verdict is the transmission, and at this point I should just replace the washing machine.

The hitch is that good, reliable washing machines are way outside of our budget. So, I’m seriously considering this:

I would need a wringer to go with it, too, though. Because I wrung out pillowcases by hand the other night. I don’t want to do that again. Also, the Wonder Wash couldn’t handle my quilts and heavy blankets, and I’m not sure about the curtains. But those are also things I don’t need to wash very often, so I could always just use a friend’s washing machine 2-3x/year in exchange for home-grown/made goodies.

Part of me is morbidly curious and wants to see how much I might save on the electric and water bills. I’m going to at least sleep on it, though. Maybe. The sooner I order it, the sooner I can catch up on the laundry.

At least the dryer still works. And I have a clothesline, too, if all else fails.

And in addition to the chicken and the washing machine…

Bear hurt his foot again, but this time it is his back foot instead of the front one. He won’t put weight on it at all, and I think he definitely sprained it worse than the first one. I think he probably slipped and twisted it funny this morning, it was raining quite a bit so I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost his footing. I frequently lose my footing in the yard after heavy rain, too.

Despite everything, I’ve tried to have a good day.

I think I’ve succeeded.

I spent a few hours watching the last available workshops from the free Home Grown Food Summit that was held online this past week. I meant to post about it before it started for any of my interested readers, but it just didn’t happen, so sorry! But I enjoyed what I got to ‘attend’ of it, though there were a couple of sessions I didn’t get to see that I really wanted to. Oh well.

I’ve spent time snuggling with the above-mentioned injured puppy, and with the kitty, and really the only thing I haven’t done today that I really wanted to was some reading.

Because I caved and finally bought and downloaded the final season of Warehouse 13, because I’ve been wanting to watch it FOREVER.

Speaking of which, it is so time for me to get back to that.

I hope your Monday has gone better than mine!