Santa's Apprentice Tryouts

I know this could not be anymore amateurish, but I have to start somewhere.  The kids and I had fun.

The day after Christmas, Santa knew he must retire,

So he sent out a call that an apprentice he will need.

Young Connor dressed in his cowboy attire,

Quickly jumped on B.S., his trusty steed.

All the antlers were neatly hung upon the gate

Cowboy Connor knew he'd be chosen to deliver the toys.

And of course he would never be late.

It would be his charge to travel the world spreading joy.

With the help of his brother Chase,

He would transform these goats into reindeer.

The bayous of Louisiana would be their home base.

Only one detail remained a bit unclear.

He knew to yell, "On Gypsy! On Honey! On Dottie Belle!

As he harnessed each to his little red sleigh,

He wondered would this be the challenge from hell?

Cause how will he teach the goats, "Up, Up and Away!"

Putting Out the Snow Village

This year I didn't even try to get all the Christmas decorating done in just a couple of days.  I did the tree first about a month ago, then I hung the stockings. 



Never did get around to putting the lights outside. 
 
Tonight while their parents went shopping, the boys and I put out the Snow Village.



I'm not much for realism, so I bought some of the Department 56 Snow Babies pieces that I like.  Chase was busy setting out the traditional village, while Connor and I started unboxing the Snow Babies. 

When Chase saw that we were going to mix the 2 concepts he said, "Hey these don't fit together."   I said, "Sure they do.  It's like real life and then all around you there is make believe and magic."  He just gave me that look of "crazy lady."

After it was finish, I walked back into the room and found Connor playing with a character on a sled and pretending it was crashing into the village.  Oh well, I have grandsons.

The Gingerbread Man Who Didn't Get Away

I got one thing done today that I have been planning for a while, but I never found time for it.  Connor is the grandchild who loves to cook.  So, when he and Chase came over and plopped in front of the TV, I said, "Who wants to make a gingerbread man?" 

The picture is blurry because these guys were being silly.

Connor jumped up and ran into the kitchen and said, "I do!"  I let him melt the stick of butter in the microwave, pour the ingredients into the mixing bowl and turn on the mixer.  The only time I messed up was, I cracked the egg and added it to the bowl so quickly that Connor's, "Let me do that" came too late.  I also forgot to take pictures while he was making the gingerbread man.

 

But just after he and Chase finished decorating him and were headed for the door, I stopped them and said "Let's take a picture."  So this gingerbread man did not get away.

My sister, Debbie, a teacher and a grandmother of 12, often cooks with her brood.  You might want to check out her blog @ http://debbiesknowledgetrain.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-love-my-mama-evans.html

Billy Shakespeare Is Crying For His Bottle

This is how Dottie Belle treated him yesterday.

He is looking at me through the office window.

Today has not gone Shakespeare's way.  First we got a hard rain last night and a little this morning.   Now there will be no bottle today.  He was born on September 26, so he is 11 weeks old and it is time to ween him.  Diane at Double Durango Farm, where I bought him said she weens her kids at 8 weeks.  Well, I love to give them a bottle, but the rest of this week will be too busy with Christmas.  So he is in the "dog yard" right next to the office where I am blogging and I can hear him crying for his bottle.  All I can say is, "Eat your hay."

My Christmas/Birthday Present From My Husband

It seems to shine like a diamond.

My dear husband ordered my Christmas/Birthday present tonight.  Because my birthday is January 7th, I often request combination gifts so I can get more expensive ones.  I have found that when I want him to get me a present, it is best if I decide what, show it to him and then order it with his credit card.  He finds that easy too.  I know some ladies get diamonds and such, well those I wouldn't even bother to request.  I'm a very practical sort; except I have goats in a city.  Just forget the city part; I sure have.  I have been searching for months for the right goat milking stand.  I found plans for my son-in-law to make me a wooden one.  But then I was surfing the internet and found this very light weight one that I can easily move,  fold up and put out of the way.  It should arrive on the 23rd.
http://www.birchridgefarm.com/goatstands.html  

It is made at Birch Ridge Farm in Vermont.  Of course shipping from there to Louisiana by UPS was $65.
So the girls and Billy Shakespeare will be trying it out for their Christmas pedicures.

Decorating My Christmas Tree

Start with one formerly live Noble Fir tree.  I want a flocked one, because we really can't get one that is very fresh this far south, so the "snow" glues the needles on.  Be sure to trim off a couple of inches from the trunk so it will draw water.  Add very warm sugar water to the tree stand.

I use many strings of multi-colored lights first.  I start at the top and weave in and out from the trunk to the point of the limbs and around and down the tree.

Then I added an equal number of strings of white lights.  They really make the tree shine brightly.  In this picture the lights don't look equally distributed, but they really are.

 Then I added 7 streams of ribbon that when went from top to bottom on the tree.

 

I added the burst at the top, along with the angel that I usually put on top of the tree.  







The burst and the ribbon are new this year, so I decided that angel didn't go well, so I replaced her with this one.

And I added some ornaments.

I added gold satin with a starry sheer as a skirt.

And Cloud and I stood back to see what we had done all day.

Notice the red ornament on the floor; Cloud did that.

The date on the camera is totally wrong--darn it.

Giving Billy Shakespeare a Bottle

I got Billy Shakespeare 3 days before he was 1 month old.  The breeder had been giving him a 16 ounce bottle twice a day.  I bottle feed the girls 3 times a day.  It is probably better to do it 3 times.  Before long Shakespeare was drinking 20 ounces. The breeder said she bottle feeds her goats until they are 8 weeks. But I have read that 12 weeks is better. Besides I like bottle feeding them and think it's better for bonding.  This week and next week will be his last bottle feedings, because next week he will be 12 weeks old.  He is eating hay and goat pellets well.  He is only getting 22 ounces once a day.  Kennedy has been helping with the feeding.

Is It a Male Thing?

I have 2 daughters and 1 son.  Paxton is the baby of the family.  When he was small I had so much trouble keeping up with him in stores.  It is terrifying to lose a 3 year old in a mall.  So I bought him one of those leashes that Velcros to the child's wrist and the parent holds the loop on the end. That was in the late 80's; there are much more clever "leashes" now, like monkey backpacks with a leash. Well, for Paxton that was not going to happen.  He said I could put the leash on my wrist and he would hold it.  Since the results "could" be the same, I was happy with that. But he could not let go or he would have to wear it. That worked fine; "he was in charge" sort of.

With goats, I first got 2 does when they were less than 2 weeks old.  When they were a couple of months old, they walked beautifully on a leash.  






Now Billy Shakespeare is 11 weeks old and getting a little big to carry, so I wanted him to learn to walk on a leash.  Again, I'm having trouble with who is in charge.
 

A Great Cat

Cloud is the best cat I have ever seen.  I got him when he was 5 weeks old.  I got the flu the next day and laid on the sofa with him for a week.  Wherever I am in the house, there is Cloud; except when I go to sleep, he doesn't follow me to the bedroom, unless his food bowl is empty or his water isn't fresh.  Then he will sit at the bedroom door and meow until I take care of those responsibilities.  We had him neutered and his front claws removed when he was quite young. So he is not allowed outside. I can be eating salmon and watching TV, get up to go get something and lay the plate right beside Cloud and he ignores it completely.  He only sniffs or eats his cat food.  He doesn't jump up on the kitchen counters.  I did not train him to be like this; thank goodness I didn't have to, because I'm not very good at training cats or dogs. Actually, it's more like they train me.

He wants to be around Kennedy, but when he gets enough of her rough-housing he just leaves the room.  He is a huge cat, yet very unimposing.

Placed an Order for Chicks

I currently have 6 hens and 1 rooster.  Two of the hens were hatched here, and are half Copper Maran and half Plymouth Barred Rock.  They turned out to be a beautiful black with a green sheen.  But I am still unhappy with the loss of my little Sultan hen, Cracker.  So when My Pet Chicken http://www.mypetchicken.com/  sent out the e-mail that spring orders would begin on Dec. 1; I placed an order for 4 Sultan hens and 1 Easter Egger hen. My Pet Chicken is perfect for my mini urban farm, because I can order as few as 3, day old chicks and they arrive at my house by mail.   I've even bought 2 coops from them.

I only have one hen that lays a green egg, so since the shipping is so high and it is the same if I ordered 3 or 5 chicks, I went ahead and ordered 5.  It was kind of sad to have just one Sultan.  I always thought Cracker must be lonely.  She was much smaller than the others and could not see very well.  When she was out of the coop, she always sat under something like the back of the coop or a bush.  Sometimes the chickens who were not raised with her would peck her in the head.  So when the new chicks arrive the end of March, I will keep them in a coop by themselves.

The little Sultan was always the friendliest chicken.  The boys loved holding her and even road her around in a wagon.

Shakespeare the Stud Muffin

Thursday, I noticed that Billy Shakespeare and Honey Bunny were actually being very affectionate to each other.  Honey Bunny was not a bottle baby and has never shown affection to any being. Gypsy, Dottie Belle and Shakespeare were bottle babies, so they are always rubbing on each other and on me.  Actually more affectionate than a lot of dogs.

Honey Bunny says I like the little guy.

I just filed Shakespeare and Honey Bunny's behavior away to be processed while I slept.  I got up Friday morning convinced that Shakespeare could not longer hang out with the girls.  While I was at the goat yard Shakespeare actually showed what all this affection was--foreplay, but with Gypsy and she was not interested in him.  Gypsy is the smallest doe and I don't think it would be good to breed her now anyway. Honey Bunny is my registered doe and I want to take her to a show before she is bred. 

Dottie Belle wants to go back to the other girls.

So I have decided to move Dottie Belle into the "dog yard" with little Stud Muffin Shakespeare.  Don asked me why I want to breed a non-registered goat, whose kids would not sell for as much money.  My thinking (and it may sound bad) is that I want to practice my first kidding with the "cheap" goat.  Poor Dottie Belle, I really love her; she and Gypsy were my first kids.  But I know that I could make some bad mistakes, like I did with feeding them grain and Dottie Belle got "goat polio." 
Also, my point of having 3 does is to breed one at a time and always have milk.



Shakespeare was born on September 26, so he is 10 weeks old.  I read somewhere that bucklings have been known to impregnate a doe as young as 7 weeks, so hopefully none of mine are "with kid" yet.  But since Shakespeare is getting too big for the Schnauzers to be his companions; Dottie Belle is now living in the dog yard with him.

Do any of you have experience with young bucks and know when it is best to get them away from does you don't want to bred?

Football this Weekend

Well, we are having quite a football weekend here.  Tonight Byrd High School will play Carencro in Lafayette Parish for a chance to play in the state championship.  Byrd hasn't been in the semi-finals since 1964.  They haven't been state champions since 1949.  Thursday night's pep rally  http://www.ktbs.com/video/29903872/index.html


LSU will play Georgia tomorrow for the SEC championship.


Sunday the New Orleans Saints will play the Detroit Lions.


I didn't drive to Lafayette, but I will be watching LSU and the Saints games on TV.  The last 2 years I have been watching them from my sewing machine, because I was busy making leather purses.  I thought of this idea in 2010 when the Saints were 11-0 and I just knew they would win the Super Bowl.  I have made a purple and gold LSU purse, but I forgot to take a picture. Looks like the New Orleans Saints, LSU Tigers and the Byrd Yellow Jackets may all be champions this year.  I'm sure that has never happened.  Could this be the year? Maybe I should get busy sewing.  People like to buy purses of winning teams.

View my Etsy shop at

http://www.etsy.com/shop/theDivaSeamstress

I've made a Dallas Cowboy purse and a Boston Red Sox purse on request; but I don't root for them.