Check out that barn!!!

We finally managed to get some paint on the barn. We ran across a deal at the store so we bought a couple gallons and managed to get it on the same day. I think it looks much better. Before it stuck out like a sore thumb, now it has a calmer look. I think the goats like it too. Wyatt managed to rub up against it before it dried so we had to towel him off. He didn't like that too much. Do you suppose it's a little strange the barn gets painted before the house??

Lost my Head!!!

Ahh, well this whole transition thing kinda set me back as far as my "healthy" eating is concerned. I don't understand how people with a hectic schedule can eat anything but quick and easy which is not always healthy. Being on the road all the time you stop here and stop there and before you know it you're bulging everywhere just like the picture of my unfinished scarecrow. I wasn't even able to bake my bread for a long time and Vince let me know the store bought stuff just wasn't the same. He says it doesn't hold him as long.

So I finally got back to baking the bread, cooking my beans, and yesterday I bought a rice cooker because we eat so much rice. I'm cooking the beans (dried) in my crock pot which is amazing. Although we stumbled for awhile we are back on track now. Although I must say moving to Henderson is making it more difficult. Can you believe Wal-Mart can have two full aisles of candy and not one container of vegetable broth!!! I had to make my own. There are a few other things I have a hard time finding but I'm sure we will adjust and just make those monthly runs to Whole Foods.

Even my tomato loving dog is eating healthy thanks to the garden. First it was a race to see who could pick the tomatoes first then came radishes and now today I caught her actually picking a collard leaf and devouring it. Either she's not getting enough food (she's fed 3 times a day) or she just loves her veggies. I actually had a lady get upset with me because I don't feed them a meat based diet and I know they are carnivores but all the meat based foods irritate her allergies really bad. I do however buy canned meat only dog foods and try to give them some on a fairly regular basis. I'd love to find a local source for fresh meat bones maybe I can talk to one of the local butchers about saving us some.

Most spoiled dogs EVER!!!!

Dog beds seem to be everywhere in the house and they keep moving. One minute it's behind the sofa then beside the chair. We couldn't find a place where they seemed out of the way. Then when our grand dog visits another one is added and of course they all want that one since it's different. We had a little nook that use to be a kind of desk area but we took the counter top out and hadn't really decided what to do with it yet. Ah ha! It was just the right size for both of the dog beds side by side. Vince built them a little platform (to make them feel like they are getting on the furniture I suppose) and made it high enough so Broch's bed can slide under it for when he's not here. Kinda like a doggie trundle bed. They love it. Sometime they sleep together and sometime they sleep apart. They like their pillows too. Rory really gets comfy about 2 in the afternoon. Now if I could just manage to find something that would smell "fresh" like the spring air instead of like dog funk it would all be just perfect.

BBBRRRRR!

Well it's here, cold weather. Are you ready?? We are, well, kind of. Actually the heating system for the "old" house we are working on is not installed yet but we did manage to get a gas space heater that is a wonderful thing. The dogs and I snuggle up to it all the time. I have to watch Annie though she'll stand in front of it till we smell hair burning. Crazy dog!!!! We are making a lot of progress though. Here's a pic of the old kitchen and the new kitchen. I'm still trying to figure out where the "simplicity" comes in though. It seems like everything we tackled gets difficult and complicated. You can't do one thing till you do another and to do one thing you need this gadget or that and then you need another. Fortunately Vince is really good at improvising. Like to drag the pasture rather than buy a 200.00 drag he took a piece of old cattle panel and cut some of the wire and bent it down then ties logs on top for weight and it worked perfectly. Well I'm going to let the goats out to enjoy the pasture. Ha, we let them out and they won't go but a few feet from the barn. Then if an acorn falls in the woods they all scamper back. They are a hoot to watch.

Surprise!!!!

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday. It is usually very difficult to surprise her in anyway because she just knows me too well. But we got her good this time. I called her hubby a couple weeks ago and asked him if they had any special plans for lunch on her birthday. Well they didn't so I asked him to keep that free and we would drive up (1 1/2 hour drive) and have lunch with them. Poor guy, he's not the real deceptive kind and I guess she wanted to know if they were doing anything and he told her he had special plans but he wasn't going to tell her.

So we took grandma with us and drove up and sat in the driveway next to their house till they got home from church. Turns out her hubby was driving her all over the neighborhood killing time to make sure we were there already. We knew for sure she'd see us sitting in the car but she didn't. They drive up and get out and she's just leisurely walking toward the house while hubby is trying to get her to turn around but she wouldn't. We drove up next to her and said, "Would you like to go to lunch?" She was definitely surprised and pleased.

I just love surprises. Thanks mucho to my wonderful son-in-law. Not only did he keep the secret but he got up that morning and made the house nice and tidy for her cause he knows she like to have it nice when people come. She thought he was just being his usual thoughtful self. Isn't that wonderful???!!!! We are so blessed!!

Making a scarecrow!

I just had a wonderful visit with my daughter. Her hubby went to Washington for the weekend so she visited with us. I just love her visits. We decided to make a scarecrow for the garden, not really to keep the birds out. We just did it for fun. So while we're making the scarecrow we decided to let Zelda and Basil out. Not so sure that was very productive but it was fun. Zelda jumped right up on the hay to "help" us. Basil (aka BaBa) just walked around looking for cookies. She's always looking for cookies. The scarecrow is still in progress. She'll be hanging around in the garden a little later. It was a blast of a weekend. Jenny got a real kick out of Wyatt singing love songs to Zelda. We hope to let them get together around November. Right now Zelda just beats him up all the time. He continues to sing. Poor guy.

Save a duck day!!!!

After all the issues with the ducks, it breaks my heart to see Mama duck go from 11 babies down to 6. I count them every day to see how she's doing. Two days ago I counted 6 then today I headed out to feed them and I counted 7. I counted again and sure enough there were 7. Vince had been working in the pasture filling holes that old posts have left (definite leg breakers), and as he was about to put dirt in a hole he heard peeping. He looked in and there was a little fuzz ball. He pulled the baby out and took her down to the pond where mama was with the others. Well mama heard the baby and came straight for "Vince." Yep, he sat the baby down and backed up and mama went around baby and headed for him but he managed to back away far enough she stopped. I'm thinking baby was pretty happy to see mama and mama was definitely happy to see baby. So now she's back up to seven. As annoying as they are they are still God's creation and I get a lot of joy from watching them. So I'm really glad he was able to save the duck :-)