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Hail to the Queen(s)

queen bee

So we found the queen today. Make that two queens. My friend Julie and I gingerly pulled frames out of our new beehives , looking for we weren’t quite sure what. But we did know enough to look for the queen in each hive.

We purchased the bees last week. At that point I knew nothing about raising bees. But since I try not to let lack of knowledge keep me away from a new adventure, I heartily agreed that we ought to put some hives in the back 40 at The Okey Dokey Ranch, since serendipity was nudging us in that direction anyway.

Julie had met this guy named Paul at Crestwood Coffee a few weeks back who was looking for a home for his bees due to an impending move to Houston. She and I had talked about raising bees in the past, with no real plan. But here they were, practically falling into our laps!

I figured it was time to take the plunge—kind of like getting pregnant. If you wait until you’re ready, you’ll never do it. Continue reading “Hail to the Queen(s)”

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Why I love my farmers

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In a word, Cockscomb. And all of the other crazy flowers and veggies they introduce me to on a weekly basis. Nothing says kitch (in the nicest sense of the word) like a bunch of cockscomb flowers. They remind me of velour and the 70’s, paisley and the word “groovy.” They make me want to cuddle with them. And put on a leisure suit. Continue reading “Why I love my farmers”

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Bio

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As recently as 2005, I was a gainfully-employed photojournalist making top-scale union wages, living with my husband Michael Prichard, 2 children, one dog, one cat, and several gardens in a 1950’s -era ranch house in Birmingham, Alabama.

We were vegetarian, but ate like royalty; Mike was a genius in the kitchen–ask anyone who ever dined with us.

Then I got laid off and started two businesses with Mike.

In 2007, we were on course to make more money doing media work and renovating houses than we ever did working for the man. Things were looking pretty peachy.

Then Mike electrocuted himself in the grow room (yes THAT kind of grow room), and I was thrust into the world of single parenthood in the blink of an eye. Continue reading “Bio”

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Goodbye, dear reader and thanks

I’m going to sign off from this blog today.

It’s been real.

Thanks for reading and for all of your support.

But this does not mean my blogging days are over. I’ve started a new chapter in life and with it a new blog. It will be packed with humor, photos, video, parenting tales documenting life as a single mom and a fledgling blended family, do-it-yourself projects, green living, gardening and did I mention humor?

It’s in the prototype stages now, but please check in often. I’ll be adding entries daily if possible.

Please click on http://www.okeydokeyranch.wordpress.com

If you like it, subscribe and tell your friends.

Namaste,

CP

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The Honeymoon is Over

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Single momdom has hit me square between the eyes today.

Kids home from NM.

Flash has flown the coop, after more or less living at The Okey Dokey for a month while the kids were with my mother-in-law and father-in-law. Yet he came by with hugs and kisses as he retrieved his drum (playing with Gene and Zack tonight), his Bluetooth charger, his blue shortie bath towel that he Velcros around his sexy hips when he’s feeling modest. Or chilly.

Guess he’s out of here for a while. Shit. Continue reading “The Honeymoon is Over”

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Hairy Scary

“How did Flash make that hairy stuff on the floor?”

(Asking about how Flash built my office and how, specifically, he made the shag carpet; Avery has lived exclusively in houses with hardwood and tile covered floors.)

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Best-Dressed Brew

“Mom! You bought a shirt for your beer bottle!”

(After observing me carrying a koozie-covered beer bottle on an evening walk with Einstien, the neighbor’s dog.)