It's That Time of Year, Again

Yes, we are expecting the temperature to be at or below 32 degrees before morning, so it's time for my husband to stand out in the front yard cursing and saying things like, "This makes no sense."  "I hope it dies."  "This is the last year I'm going to do this."  "You don't understand how much I hate this."  And I reply, "Yes, I understand."  "No this isn't the last year. That's why we are doing this."

Picture taken from Wikipedia.  Mine's not this big.

You see about 8 years ago, Mom and I drove to south Florida.  The boulevards were lined with beautiful small trees covered in clusters of golden trumpets.  I know I got caught up in how beautiful the trees were and all reason left me.  So I stopped at the first nursery, bought one and loaded it in the back of my truck.  We had 2 mild winters, meaning it really didn't freeze, so in late spring my tree had beautiful blooms. I would see people stop in front of my house to see the beautiful tree.  A couple of people even rang the door bell to ask what kind of tree it was. 

But the last 3 years we have had a fair amount of freezing weather, even ice and snow; so Don and I have gone out and covered the Brazilian Golden Trumpet tree that should be living in zone 10 instead of zone 8.  First, I cover it with lights and add a couple of flood lights.  It hasn't bloomed the last 2 years.  In fact, the first cold year I didn't put the lights on it and I thought it had died.  But it came back from the bottom.

It grew a lot this year.  I had to cut the tallest limb.  I just couldn't reach it with the ladder.  I told Don that we were going to have to find a much taller ladder.  He said we had the tallest ladder you can get.  So I said then we may have to rent a helicopter to drop a cover over the top of it next year.  To which he replied again, "I hope this damn thing dies and you just don't believe me."  Sometimes he is just not a good sport.

I didn't take any pictures of our task, but of course a video would have been entertaining, but that would have pushed Don over the edge. And besides I was busy wrestling with the cover and tree while standing on top of a ladder and praying my dear husband would continue to hold it for me.

Painting With A Twist

On Tuesday afternoon I went to a party with my niece, Tafta, my sister, Debbie, and members of the teaching staff at the school where Tafta teaches PreK. http://www.paintingwithatwist.com/shreveport/ 

I have NO artistic talent. In fact no matter what grade I was teaching, grades K-4, the students loved it when I drew something because it made everyone of them feel like they were Michelangelo. I always considered that to be one of my gifts to them.

 So because of fellowship with my sister and niece, I faced this challenge with courage and the hope that everyone would drink enough wine that my lack of talent would go unnoticed; or maybe with a few more glasses, it would appear to be a blurry Monet. 

I couldn't even get the outline right.  Bad start.

We were given our blank canvases and seat assignments.  First we drew the Whoville Christmas tree in chalk following the instructor's step by step directions.  She made it look so easy; but what happened from the time I heard her instructions and my hand made the outline, I simply can't explain.  

This is Tafta's.  She has talent.

Debbie worked very seriously on hers.

I think because I was with a bunch of teachers there was not a lot of wine drinking, but instead just a lot of whining.  



One said she was going to clip Christmas cards around hers.        I think I may glue Christmas cards over mine. 

It was a great time and I would love to do it again.  I handle humiliation quite well.

Family Weekend

Debbie bought this plaque for Sandy

This weekend started Friday at 11:30 with a picnic at my grandsons' school in celebration of Eden Gardens Fundamental Magnet Elementary becoming a Blue Ribbon School.  The students really enjoyed having their families and eating out on blankets on the playground.  Congratulations Eden Gardens; it is one of our countries best schools.

Connor and Kennedy looked amazed at Caroline.

Mother holding her newest Great Grand Daughter

Then it was off to Jacquie's for a visit with little Caroline, who is now 3 weeks old.  She is my 4th grandchild and 2nd granddaughter.  

Mother drove in from Arkansas and visited with Caroline.  She is a great addition to our family.

Debbie and Sandy

On Saturday, my sister, Debbie drove over and Mother, Carrel and I rode with Debbie to our sister, Sandy's house in Texarkana.  There are 5 girls in our family and the youngest 2 both entered into their 2nd marriage on 11-11-11.  Sandy even got married at 11:11 o'clock.  So we went to celebrate her marriage to Bruce with all their friends.  Sandy got a Dodge Challenger a couple of months ago.  Its color is called Plum Crazy.  I saw it when we went by her house from Tulsa.  I dreamed about that car one night.  Very strange, because cars don't really mean that much to me; at least not when I'm awake.

The LSU tigers will beat the Arkansas Piggies Friday.

Sandy also has a couple of pigs and so hopefully she can bring them to my house Friday for the big LSU hog roast.

I finished up the weekend Sunday afternoon scraping the paint off the goat shack.  When I complained about how hard it was, my son-in-law suggested that I use his heat gun.  Think of it as a super charged blow dryer.  I tried it and it did melt the paint off.  But my husband frowned at the thought of me inhaling lead paint fumes.  It is also slower than scraping, so I went back to scraping this afternoon. My little goats don't expect perfection.

The Little Goat Shack Gets an Addition

This past week Don agreed to add a covered area to the goat shack so if we ever do get rain their hay will stay dry.  We did get a little rain last night.  The goats waste a lot of hay.  I've read that they typically waste 25%.  I'm mixing coastal hay with alfalfa.  They seem to throw out mostly coastal hay since they have a definite preference for the alfalfa.

That adds up to a good amount of money, so that motivated Don to build the cover. 

I'm still using the 2 tubs I've repurposed.

 I'm shopping for the perfect hay rack. But once I buy one, that will probably lead to having to buy a different one when the first proves to not work as well as I thought it would. So I just keep shopping and getting by with the tubs.  At least the hay stays dry.  If anyone has information on a hay rack that I can fasten to the wall and the goats won't waste it, feel free to send your suggestion.  I would appreciate it.

Now I need to scrape off the old paint and paint.  I wanted to paint it pink and the grandsons wanted orange, so we compromised with Sunny Park yellow.  It is a very bright yellow.

State Fair and Nigerian Dwarf Goat show

Saturday morning Don and I and the 2 grandsons, Chase and Connor, got up early and headed out to the State Fair and the Nigerian Dwarf Goat show.  None of us had ever been to any livestock shows at the fair, so we really didn't know what to expect. 


I am very disappointed that I forgot to take my camera.  I could not believe it.  There were many great photo ops, but that will be next time. 

Connor, who is 5, made friends with a boy his size right off.  The next thing we knew Connor was leading someone's goat through the goat pens.  The boys are excited about taking Honey Bunny and Billy Shakespeare to a show.  Even Don liked it!  




He said for me to find out when the next show is, we were told there is one   in the Spring in East Texas, and he will take a vacation day if necessary.  It is so curious to have never owned any livestock in our adult lives and now in our fifties we are raising Nigerian Dwarf Goats and planning on showing them.  Don lived for a while when he was a teenager on a dairy farm.  He said that was a very demanding life style.  I grew up in the country where we raised chickens, cows, pigs, and rabbits for food.  We were discourage from playing with them and making them pets. 

Honey Bunny

Anyway, I am very excited to have animals in my life that I can treat as pets and give my grandchildren the experiences that come with owning animals.

Billy Shakespeare Meets His Family

Billy Shakespeare's first day was not actually about making friends.  His introduction to the girls, Dottie Belle, Gypsy and Honey Bunny was not very impressive.  He immediately rear-up at them to show his dominance and they knocked him on his little buckling butt.

Therefore, I didn't think it was safe to leave him with them.  They could lay down on him and kill him.  Then I took him to the the Schnauzers, Diva and Megabyte.  Diva is 13 and weighs about 14 lbs and Megabyte is 11 and weighs 11 lbs. Shakespeare got behind Diva and made a surprise attack by jumping at her.  Diva will not put up with such, so she bit him on his backside.  Megabyte is a very timid little fellow, so Shakespeare did not bother to challenge him.  Anyway, during the day Billy Shakespeare stays in the dog yard with them.  At night I bring him in and he sleeps in a dog crate in the den. The first few nights he would cry loudly for 5 minutes, but now he is use to it and goes straight to sleep.

He does have a buddy to play with, at least for a few weeks.  He will grow quickly and because he is male, I fear he will be aggressive; no matter how much I hold him and try to make him a lap goat.  He and Kennedy are great playmates for the time being and seem to be on equal footing.

    http://www.verdefarm.com/

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Works in Some Cases

Usually I'm rather depressed driving home from a great vacation, but this time on the way home from Tennessee, Don and I were driving just east of Atlanta to a goat farm to pick up my herd sire.  When I knew we would be in Tennessee, I started googling Nigerian Goat farms in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.  North Carolina and Georgia seem to have the most goat farms by far.  I love the internet; it opens up so many possibilities.  I'm not sure Don concurs. I was looking for a blue eyed baby buck that I could bottle feed that also had good bloodlines.  It had to be born less than a month from when we would be headed back home.  Remember, I did the same thing with Google when my sisters and I went to Tulsa, but I got a blue eyed doe.  I want to avoid having a goat that I have not seen shipped on a plane, so if I'm going near there, that's perfect.

They have the best structures at this farm.

I found the perfect little buck at The Double Durango Farm.  http://doubledurangofarm.com/index.html

We left the farm about 2:30 and knew we would not make it home in one day. 
For one thing, the Saints football game was at 7:00.

So just before we reached Tuscaloosa, Alabama about 6:00, we started looking for a hotel.  Don was very nervous about going into a hotel with a goat.  I was pretty sure we could pull it off. I had bought dry shampoo, in case the little goat smelled and diapers. When we pulled up to The Greystone Hotel, I went over the strategy. I include the picture so you know it was not a flea bag motel.  Don was to look for a "no pets allowed" sign. For sure I told him, don't ask about a pet policy.  I learned the hard way in high school, if you are going to do something, don't ask or tell about it ahead of time. 

Anyway, if Don didn't see such a sign, then ask for a room on the first floor at the far end, where we had already check out a side entrance door with a keypad. It wouldn't be cool to go through the lobby or have to use the elevator with little Billy Shakespeare crying in a pet crate. 

Don was very please when he returned with the keycard to room 101.  I drove to the side, while Don walked down the hall to our room.  It was perfect!  We had discovered that Billy Shakespeare would not use the bathroom in the crate; therefore, I would need to make frequent trips with him out the side door.  

It was a great evening.  We watched the Saints play a great football game, while I fed and played with the new kid. 

Vacationing with the Grands

Don and I really enjoyed 5 days of vacation alone, but by then we were looking forward to being with the grandkids and Bridget and Trinity.  That means more activities and site seeing instead of relaxing about the cabin and woods.

They didn't get there until late Thursday, so we cooked dinner for them and the guys had a fire down by the river.

Friday, Don and I kept Kennedy while Bridget and Trinity to the grandsons off on adventures such as riding in a glider plane, hiking and whatever they could find interesting to do.

Don sat on the porch and read.

Kennedy showed up with the croup and was running fever, so she and I took a long nap. That's probably my favorite thing to do with snuggly little Kennedy.  I will certainly give up hiking and site-seeing for this.

Then Don wanted to get out.  Kennedy was feeling better so we took a scenic drive and then an easy hike.

We spent our last day, Saturday, in Chattanooga.  The cavern and waterfall at Ruby Falls were very good.  But it was a long hike and the waterfall at the end was the only big deal.  It was a big deal.

Ruby Falls

Then it was off to this "Incline" ride.  It took too long for what it was.  Wish we had spent the time at the next place Rock City.  So if one is going to these 3 places, go to Rock City early and then Ruby Falls.

This may be proof that Kennedy is spending too much time playing with my goats.

 

 

 

Vacation!! Where do we go?

In July my husband was beside himself; he needed a break, a vacation.  So we started looking on the internet for vacation packages. Of course, I started in Europe.  Don said, "I'm thinking less money."  So I looked up islands off the Mexican coast.  Then I understood that Don was thinking "NOW" and our passports were long expired.  So for a week we didn't decide.  I wanted the date nailed down and then the destination. So Don  put in a vacation request for the week beginning with the Labor Day Weekend.  REJECTED/ALREADY SPOKEN FOR.  Now we had time to get passports, but after researching and thinking about the cost, Don decided we needed to go somewhere we could drive.  We both hate flying anyway.  Don loves trains and sleeper cars. We've been there done that.  Don never leaves the sleeper car. That does not excite me.  I like to drive and check into hotels.

The first week available was October 15- 23. So that was decided. Then beach, ocean, city or mountains?  We both like cabins in the mountains.  So now we had narrowed things down.  I found the website for Welcome Valley Village in Tennessee. http://www.welcomevalleyvillage.com/creek-crest   I showed the site to my daughter, Bridget and she decided her family would join us on the last 4 days.

This turned out to be a perfect vacation.  We drove to Chattanooga Saturday the 15th.  That part was not good.  We learned that one should never show up on the weekend in Chattanooga without hotel reservations.  We were on the internet in a hotel lobby at midnight looking for a place to spend the night.  We had to drive 30 miles north of Chattanooga to get a hotel room.  This was absolutely the first time I have left town without a hotel reservation, but hopefully it will be my last.  I hate reservations, because then you drive into a strange city and have to find that hotel as you drive passed 20 or 30 that would be great. But not so great if they are all full. 

Don is impatient with my picture taking.

Sunday, we bought groceries for the week and checked into the cabin.

  

On Monday we drove to Blue Ridge, GA and rode a train.  It was okay, but a little boring.  

The Ocoee River

There were a dozen of these huge buzzards in the tree.

Tuesday, Don went fly fishing and I just hung out in the cabin and walked through the woods.  There was not internet in the cabin, but I survived because my cell phone worked most of the time.

Wednesday it rained.  We had almost forgotten what rain was. It got rather cool so we had a fire in the fireplace and stayed in the cabin all day and read books. 

Thursday, we drove toward Asheville,  North Carolina and ran into snow at the higher elevations!  We drove through Brasstown, NC, twice, because I was looking for the $2.4 million mountain farm I had found for sale on the internet. http://www.greatcarolinaproperty.com/farms/208728a.html#a  It was a cute, very small town; under 400 people.  I was not determined enough to find it, because I never stopped and asked anyone where it was.  Most likely because I don't have $2.4 million and I was making Don angry driving all over the place.  Oh well, I'm sure it looks better on the internet and hundreds of miles away.

Thursday evening Bridget, Trinity and the grandkids arrived and we spent the rest of the time with them.  I'll write another post about those adventures.