How You Can Help

Having yourself and your children (and your chickens!) in the paper sure is fun! I have had fun showing the article to co-workers, friends and family. I knew they would all be excited to see someone they know in the paper. What I wasn't prepared for was the response I've been getting from the content of the article.

I have been amazed by the support that has been given me in the last few days! Everyone I've talked to has told me they support the idea of chickens (hens only!) in the city. But those people I speak to face-to-face are my friends - they're supposed to support me! What has been amazing has been the support I've gotten from people I don't even know. People have visited my blog and posted comments in support of my fight to get the chicken code changed here in Gresham.

One comment on the last post "My Pets With a Purpose" got me thinking:

Lauren and Jeremy smith+(Cybil, Bazil and Manuel) said...
"We saw your article in the Oregonian and we were very upset by your situation. Chickens are NOT noisy animals and if cared for, as yours clearly are, they do not smell. Is there a petition that we can sign or some way we can help?"

Actually, there is a way everyone can help! If the City Council knows that there is support among the population and a desire to change the code, they will be more likely to act.

So, if you think the code should be changed to allow chickens, and my chickens should be allowed to come home, contact the Gresham City Council. You can do that one of three ways. You can mail a letter of support to:

Gresham City Council
1333 NW Eastman Parkway
Gresham, OR 97030

Or you can phone or email:

• Phone: 503-618-2360
• Email: connie.otto@cci.gresham.or.us

Connie Otto is the City Council Coordinator, tell her you want the City Council to know that there is support for this change. She will make sure they know about it.

Of course, if you would like to go even further and speak before the City Council, I'd love to have you. You can email me for information (or post a response to this post and it will show up in my email) or you can go to the City of Gresham website for the date and time of the next council meeting. You need to show up about five minutes early to fill out a quick form, give that form to the recording secretary, then just wait your turn. You have three minutes to speak - although it feels longer!

One thing I have to say about this whole experience is that it has given me new respect for our city government. I'm sure they are not perfect, but everyone I've spoken with has been so supportive, polite, responsive, and helpful. I am gaining a new knowledge about city government and a desire to become more involved. This experience has been very beneficial in that regard.

Thank you all for your support. I will keep posting updates here. Join me as we fight city hall!!

Jill

My Pets with a Purpose

I have always wanted to have chickens. I think it stems from having read a lot of Laura Ingalls Wilder books as a kid. And watching Little House on the Prairie TV shows. I never wanted to slaughter and eat them, I just wanted to toss them grain from my apron, watch them cluck and peck around my yard, and collect their brown eggs in that same apron. Ok, I don't ever throw grain from my apron and I'm pretty sure I've never collected them in one either, but I do love to watch them peck around my yard. They are fabulous pets and I've loved having them. I thought I would show everyone just what my "chicken set-up" looks like and introduce you to my babies.

Sadly, these pictures were all taken when my babies still lived here. Thanks to recent developments, they are now living elsewhere. I'm working hard on trying to change the code in our city and bring my chickens home. You can read about our local paper's take on my fight here. But come with me for a tour down memory lane and I show you what life used to be like . . .

When some people think about chicken coops they think about a bunch of old weathered boards nailed together in some haphazard fashion emitting a foul stench. I'm sure there are some chicken coops like this, but it doesn't have to be that way, and ours certainly isn't.

Here is our coop - designed and built by my Hubby.

Isn't my little red barn cute? The "corral" is for when we want to keep them chickens locked up, like if we are on vacation, or in the morning before we let them out. We learned, rather painfully, that the chickens need to be kept locked up at night or the raccoons will get them. As for the smell, it isn't bad if you take care of it and change the bedding frequently - especially in the summer.

The other building in the background is our shed, it has since been painted red to match the coop. Doesn't it just look like I live on a little farm? I don't. Just over that fence in the background is my friend Kari's house.

I loved to go out and collect their eggs, usually without my apron but whatever. Sometimes, when I open up the "egg door" this is what I see:
Oops! Sorry Jellybean, you're not done yet, I'll come back later.

They are supposed to lay their eggs in the nest boxes up above but they always choose to lay in the corner on the floor. Whatever floats their little chicken boats! As long as they keep laying I'm happy. Sometimes, however, they take liberties with my leniency and I find eggs like this:

This is the box where we keep the extra hay. (Actually it is a little wading pool that has a lid) I sometimes find eggs here. This has got to stop! I'll put your little chicken bottoms in time-out if you don't stop that!

My kids love to collect eggs, too. Well, not the teenagers, but my teenagers don't love anything these days. Aren't those eggs pretty? The girl holding them is pretty, too, trust me on this one.

When my chickens aren't busy laying eggs they just wander the yard eating bugs and looking cute.
Hey wait! That isn't my yard, that's my deck! Shoo! Get off my deck chickens - my deck doesn't need any fertilizer! What were they thinking? I wonder how they got the idea that coming on the deck was ok? I'm sure that it isn't because I feed them oats on the deck - I would never do that!

By the way, that is Lacey in the front, Jellybean is the all black one and the gold colored one is Goldilocks.
This is Carina and Kaden feeding my babies - Cocoa, Gumdrop, and Chocolate. They love to come and eat out of our hands - they get the best food this way. These babies are new this year, they are now about 17 weeks old. Chickens usually start laying at about 20 weeks so we should start getting eggs from the babies soon. I can't wait!

I hope you have enjoyed your tour of Jill's Crazy Chicken Farm. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to need to go put those chickens in time out - they are back on the deck!!


Jill

Can't Wait For Tomorrow

I'm so excited! Tomorrow is the day that the newspaper article about me and my fight to save my chickens appears in the paper. Or at least it is supposed to - the reporter said that feature stories sometimes get bumped for actual news. NEWS?! You mean they might think something was more important than my chickens??! Whatever. (Did you notice that perfect imitation of a teenager there? Do I have my teenager impressions down, or what?)

Later today (after I get back from work) I'm going to post a whole pictorial about my chickens. I had taken a bunch of pictures before this whole mess started (and my chickens had to move) and I intended to do a whole blog post on my chickens, but never got around to it. I'm doing it tonight because the reporter said she would include a link to my blog.

On chicken news, I have calls in to several people about the status of the "fight" but haven't received calls back yet. The reporter (her name was Robyn) was going to call all the same people so maybe the information will be in the article.

I will be sure to link to the article when it comes out.

Think I'll be able to sleep tonight?

Jill

Menu Plan Monday - Sept 9 - 14

This week is my second week of working. I was exhausted last week so I'm trying to plan really easy meal this week in case I'm really tired again. I'm also trying to be really cheap because I'm saving up to place an order from Azure Standard. I've found some really great things I want to get but ordering in bulk can add up!!

Breakfasts:

• Baked oatmeal (I've had this on my menu for the last three weeks and I haven't made it yet! This week I'm doing it for sure!!)
• Cereal (we still have lots from the great sale at Safeway a few weeks ago)
• Oatmeal with berries
  
• One-Eyed Egyptians
  

Lunches:

• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• yogurt with granola
• Bean burritos (with leftover homemade refried beans from Friday night's Navajo Tacos)
  
• veggies with ranch
• all lunches will be supplemented with fruit and crackers or pretzels

Dinners:

• Soup and bread (whatever kind of soup strikes my fancy but probably a bean soup)
• Parmesan chicken and potatoes (we got lots of red potatoes from the garden)
• Good Ol' Beans and Rice
• Potatoes, sauerkraut, and sausage
• Homemade Mac and Cheese
• all dinners will be supplemented with salad and veggies from the garden - we have SO many tomatoes!

This week I will also be making pesto from all the basil in my garden. I'm thinking of canning pears this next weekend. We'll see if I have the energy for it!

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Jill

Cottage Cheese Casserole

I'm feeling much more rested today - nine hours of sleep will do that! So here is the recipe I promised.

When I was 20 years old, I went to live with a family in Washington DC as their nanny. I had a fabulous time and learned many things. The family was vegetarians and I cooked dinner for them during the week so I learned lots of great vegetarian recipes. This one was one of their favorites, and now it's one of mine.

This takes some time but read the notes at the end, because I figured out a way to make it much faster!! It makes a lot, but it reheats well. Plus, it is very, very cheap!!

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks "More With Less Cookbook," by Doris Janzen Longacre.

Cottage Cheese Casserole

Saute in a large skillet:

2 Tbs. margarine
1/2 C. chopped mushrooms
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced

Stir in:

1/4 tsp marjoram, crushed
4 1/2 c. water
3/4 c. tomato paste
4 c. elbow macaroni
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Simmer until macaroni is tender, about 25 minutes.
Have ready:

1/4 c. parsley, chopped
2 c. cottage cheese
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Put half of the macaroni mixture in a greased 2 qt. casserole dish. Top with 1 c. cottage cheese and 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese and parsley. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Notes:

• Sometimes I don't bother layering, I just mix it all together. Perhaps not as pretty, but it's quick.
  
• I use one small can of tomato paste which is about 3/4 c.
  
• 2 cups of cottage cheese is one 16 oz container.
• I use the fake Parmesan cheese in the canister - I'm cheap, but it seems to work well.
• I used penne pasta this last time because I was out of elbow macaroni. It was fine, but we like the macaroni better.
• I was in a hurry last night so after I layered it, I microwaved it for about 10 minutes, then broiled it til the top was brown. It was impossible to tell I hadn't baked it for 40 minutes. I'll do it this way from now on.
• I'd really like to try this with whole wheat pasta and see if it works, I'd really like the extra nutrition it would add.
  
• I sometimes leave out the mushrooms if I don't have any. When I do put them in, I leave them fairly big so that the picky eaters can pick them out!

Enjoy!

Jill

Speaking to The City Council

As part of my fight for my chickens, on Tuesday night I spoke in front of our city council. I had already spoken to several of the councilors but I needed to speak to the whole council (including the mayor) to publicly introduce my idea to change the code regarding chickens.

Let me just say that I love to speak in front of people. Really. I do not have that "fear of public speaking" phobia that something like 90% of the population has. I was a theater major for awhile in college. I teach a class to 60 adults every Sunday.

I really like speaking in public.

And I was scared! Really scared!!

This was a very formal setting: microphones, audience, TV cameras, flashing timer lights, all six councilors and the mayor looking at me. I was shaking and couldn't sit still in my chair. I read my statement (I much prefer to speak without notes but people had encouraged me to read it because they are very strict about time limits - I had 3 minutes), I got lost a couple of times but managed to recover quickly.

My points were simple: chickens are ecologically sound, they (and their eggs) are good for our health, having chickens and their cheap eggs is financially beneficial, and other cities in our area allow them so we would simply be bringing our city in line with everyone else.

Turns out I am the talk of Town Hall. Even before I spoke, I was approached by several people (some who I recognized, some not) who joked about how I should have brought a chicken for "show and tell." The lady at the recording secretary's desk who knew I was the "chicken lady." I guess this is good, because the more people who hear about it, the more likely it will happen. On that note, I was interviewed by a very nice reporter from The Oregonian today. She is doing a very thorough job - she's even going to interview my neighbor who called on my chickens because he was mad about my cat! He isn't aware I'm trying to change the code, that should be an interesting interview!!

While I was very nervous as I spoke and the whole experience was stressful, I'd do it again if it would bring my chickens home.

Jill

Exhaustion!

How can working four hours a day make you so tired?? I think I'm trying to get used to a new routine, but for right now I can hardly see (and you should see all the typos that I'm correcting!). I spoke in front of the City Council last night and a lot of prep work went into it - maybe that is it? Maybe I'm just old. Nah, that can't be it.

I'm going to bed. I'm going to sleep 9 hours at least!

Tomorrow I will be able to function better. I hope.

Tomorrow I will post the Cottage Cheese Casserole recipe that I made for dinner tonight and everyone liked.

Tomorrow I will give an interview to The Oregonian (the major newspaper in our area) about my chicken fight.

Tomorrow I will blog. I promise.

Jill