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Hey everybody! I'm back! Back in the States, back online and back from my first bout of work.

So here's the skinny on what I've been up to since...well...a while ago. I flew back from Scotland on May 30th and took a few days to get back on Minnesota time. On the upside of being jet lagged, in meant that I woke up super early and got a lot done before my sisters even got up! I cleaned up my car and got it ready to sell, unpacked and cleaned my room, move my chickens back outside for summer, fixed my class schedule for next year, set up the garden at Lyss' house and picked up my mouse (who was being babysat by an old roommate) in Rochester.

It was a really productive week or two, but after a while I just got frustrated with not being able to find a job. Of course, since I couldn't do much in the way of job searching while I was overseas, there were NO job openings by the time I got back at the beginning of June. Thankfully, my AWESOME boss Suzie needed me out at Lorence's Berry Farm during strawberry season! So, starting around June 20th until yesterday, I've been working 6 or 7 days a week from 5:30am to noon or so. VERY tiring.

But now I'm done! On the upside, I can rest up! On the downside, I'm now sadly unemployed. Again.

And speaking of sad news, I no longer have my two chickens Pip and Piper. I came downstairs to get ready for work last Tuesday, only to find my lawn covered in their pretty gold feathers. A dog or cat or maybe raccoon got to them sometime in the early morning, and I took the day off to clean up and bury them. I was torn about how to feel about their death. They were just chickens, and as farm animals they had a longer and happier life than many of their relatives in factory farms. But they were also my pets who I raised from baby chicks, and they taught me a lot. As it happened, I had bought three new baby chicks the day before Pip and Piper died, so I've been trying to channel my energy into raising them instead of being sad. I'll update with pictures of them soon!

And now for a list of the animals currently residing in my home!
1 dog (Cricket, who I'm babysitting), 3 cats, 1 cockatiel, 3 baby chickens, 1 mouse, and 2 baby moles who I found in the strawberry patch. It's a MENAGERIE!!

And that's the way I like it.