Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Well, here in Texas the answer is 

"To prove to the armadillo that it could be done."

But this is about a different chick trip.  When I read Joan's post about her love for a chicken lamp on her blog Anything Goes Here, I was prompted to reminisce about how I came to own my beloved chicken, actually I think they are rooster, lamps.  

We've been in Texas almost 10 years now but before this we lived in Minnesota for 11 years.  The first fall we lived here, I made a trip back to visit my girlfriends for a long weekend.  My first trip by myself, no husband, no kids, no dog, in like 15 years.  Ya, I think I was due.  On a side note, when you travel alone, amazingly enough, you always find hotel rooms that are very spacious, neat, and clean.  Hum? 

I had a fun filled weekend visiting my girlfriends and some of my old stomping grounds.  At one of my favorite antique shops I came upon this pair of vintage rooster lamps.  At the time I had a chicken theme in my kitchen and these would go great in the attached dining area.  I loved the old dirty gold color, they were perfect!  But.....how could I get them home, they were fairly big and made of some kind of plaster.  Fragile!  And I'd already spent a lot of money on my trip, besides the airfare, hotel, and rental car.  Yadda, yadda, yadda,  I decided I'd have to pass.  

My last night was spent tossing and turning, dreaming about those lamps.   

I had to have those lamps!  

My flight home was at noon, would I have time to run back to the shop when it opens at 10am and still get to the airport in time?  Heck ya!  So I jump in my trusty red rental car high tail it to the shop.  Now this is Minnesota in November, so I didn't have to worry about the weather.  Ha!  All the way there and back I'm white knuckling  the wheel, thinking if I go in the ditch I'll miss my flight and everyone (read my Mr. Wonderful, everyone else would say, well ya, I'd have chanced it too) would find out I was running around on these back roads like a crazy woman in a snow storm after a pair of lamps!?  Short story, long.  I wrapped these babies up in my dirty clothes whilst at the airport, prayed they were padded well enough, and checked my bag.  And so you see, here they are safe and sound.

I've since moved from the house with the kitchen dining area.  At this new house, my beloved lamps are now in the living room where they get turned on and they turn me on every day.