The New Family Member is a Goat

We heard a knock on our door last evening, and when we opened it, we found our VERY EXCITED daughter-in-law Katie, son Kevin, and......... a baby goat.

 

The baby goat had been born at our neighbor's goat farm just a few short hours earlier, and the mama was unable to feed him. Normally, on our neighbor's goat farm, the girl goats get names, but the boy goats don't, because they all get sold.

 

But that's not stopping Katie, who promptly named this particular boy goat Teddy.

 

 

George got down on the floor to play with the goat, and they ended up head-butting. Must be a guy thing.

 

Teddy had eaten just a little from his mama, but it didn't appear he would get any more, so once they showed him off, they took him home to feed. Or try to feed. When we went to their house a little later, they had Teddy in their kitchen, trying to bottle feed him, with no luck.



Teddy was crying but was refusing the bottle. George and I found the situation very amusing. We told the newlyweds this is nothing - just wait till that baby is their own human newborn! Anyone who has had the blessing of caring for a newborn knows the helplessness of a screaming baby!

 

George (who grew up raising sheep) jumped in to help. But Teddy still wanted nothing to do with that bottle. (though he did think our daughter Jessica's fingers looked promising)

 

 

Finally, both Kevin and Teddy fell asleep. And George told Katie that Teddy would eat when he got hungry enough. Which would more than likely be in the middle of the night.

 

Sure enough, at 12:24 AM, Kevin sent this text to his sister:

He woke us up crying, drank almost 8 oz milk and wanted more, peed twice soaking up 10 paper towels, pooped once, and now won't quit crying because he wants to play.

 

Hee hee. Welcome to "parenthood".

 

And this may be just the beginning. Kevin and Katie own a VERY PREGNANT goat name Faith who should be delivering any day now. And by the looks of her, she at least has twins.

 

Keep that milk bottle coming!

Snowmen Insulators

Need proof that snowmen can be painted on anything?

I present snowmen insulators!

These are the old glass insulators that used to be on telephone poles.

 

When my sister saw the above photo on my Facebook page,
 she commented that I should paint some with black hats.

  So I did.

 

The second one from the left in the front row reminds me of something,

and at first, I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

 

Then it hit me........

Keystone Cops!

 

Please tell me I'm not the only one who sees it!

 

 

Shipping box snowman surprise

Look what I found when I started cutting open a box on a recent order:

Someone (probably in the shipping department) had drawn a snowman on the outside of the box with a sharpie.

It made me smile to think of someone anonymously spreading their Christmas cheer, one shipping box at a time.

It truly is the little things in life!

Sawmill slab pine trees

When we bought a sawmill a couple years ago, we planned on using it to cut lumber. Kinda obvious, don't ya think?

That's our son Kevin, the first time he used the mill. Timber is in his blood. His Grandpa owned and operated a business that included selling and repairing chainsaws, and he also heated his home most of his life with the firewood he cut each year. Kevin's PapPap had his own sawmill, selling lumber as a side business. Kevin's love of the woods and timber runs deep in his veins.

Anyway, as I was saying, we bought a sawmill to cut lumber. And lumber it does indeed cut. But we're finding some other uses, besides strictly 2x4's, or 1x8's.

 

If you picture a log, it's round. Those rounded edges have to be cut off to square up the log.

 

Some of the slabs are just right for cutting pine trees! It's hard to see in the photos, but each tree is somewhat rounded on the front, making each tree very unique.

The 2 trees in the above photo are very thick. So thick we couldn't cut them with our band saw, or even a saber saw. George ended up cutting them with a chain saw!

 

 We let the slabs dry out for over a year, and the bark dried out and fell off most of them, but we had a few pieces with the bark intact. It may fall off eventually, but that will just reveal the smooth wood underneath.

 

 

The scraps were big enough to make some small trees. No two are alike, it just depends on the curve of the wood.

 



 

This grouping of trees is in the display window, and shows the size variation. These range from 3 or 4 inches to a couple feet in height.

 

                           

As they are using the mill, George keeps an eye out for slabs with "tree potential". Surely there will be a few that work in this pile!

 



Scraps and more scraps

What do you do with some scraps of wood, and some scraps of an old cutter quilt?

 

Well....... I made a snowman family.

 

And what do you do with scraps from an old chenille bedspread?

 



  Well......... I made them into trees.

  So many scraps, so little time.

Scrooge

Do you find the Christmas season to be a bit overwhelming?

Too much pressure?

Too commercial?

 

Or maybe you're just not feelin' it?

 

Then these signs are just for you,

complete with barbwire hangers....

 

 

Ha!

 

Random Thanks

It goes without saying that what I'm most thankful for is God and my family. Actually, it shouldn't go without saying, it should be said every day, and I do make a conscience effort to do just that.

But what else am I thankful for? Well let's see. (in no particular order)

Indoor plumbing. Especially an indoor toilet. And we have more than one! Not that many years ago, that would have been the ultimate luxury!

Electricity.

Random acts of kindness.

Orange juice.

Friends that have become family.

Family that has become friends.

Heat from a wood stove.

Fall leaves.

Laughter and a good sense of humor.

Church.

Good music.

A warm bed that's inside four walls with a roof over the top.

The power of prayer.

The seemingly endless overtime George is working. Because we lived through the days when there was no work, and we are well aware that it could happen again anytime.

The great people who support my store by shopping there and spreading the word about it. Small business owners see their customers as much more than a number. We get to know you, and we care about you.

A son-in-law who makes our daughter smile.

A daughter-in-law who does the same for our son.

Cell phones. Especially when we have to call our daughter and son-in-law when we're traveling to their place. It seems every time, something goes wrong, and we're making the "Um, Brian, we seem to be lost" call. And every time he helps us. We're very thankful that he likes us well enough that he doesn't let us just wander around Washington DC all night.

Daughter Jessica's sweet voice when she calls from so far away. (Ok, it's only 5 hours or so, but when she's there instead of here, it seems she's a million miles away).

Pumpkin pie.

Good memories. And the ability our mind has to let the bad memories dim while the good ones get better and better.

The farm animals that son Kevin keeps collecting. He's starting to live his dream, and in the process, George is getting to play too.

Kevin's bride who shares his love of farming. He didn't think he would ever find her, but like magic, Katie appeared in his life. 

Cooper's Rock State Forest in WV. My favorite place in the world.

Eyeglasses.

Kitty cats and puppy dogs.

My parents. George's parents. We miss them so....

George's love. God blessed me much more than I deserved when He gave me such a good man to share my life with.

And the children we raised together, who grew into fine adults we love more than life itself.

Well......how about you? Do you have a list?

Know what's great? If we take the time, every day, the list can change as we think of the many blessings we have. Even in the rough times, there's so many little things to be thankful for, and those little things add up into big things.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh! That reminds me! I'm thankful for pop-up timers on turkeys!

There's a snowman in that window

I've got a pile of old windows begging to be upcycled. I pulled out 3 and painted snowmen on them:

 

 

 

 

 

I like how these turned out, so I think I'll pull some more out of the pile and paint more snowmen.

Wood boxes, snowman style

I thought it would be fun to paint some old wood boxes,

and this time of year, snowmen come to mind.

On this box, I painted the "think snow" design on one side.

 

And an Americana design on the other.

Suitable for all seasons!

 

 

On this one, I painted snowflakes on one side.

 

 

And stuck with the snowman theme on the other side as well.

 

 

This one is frosty friends on one side.

You can use it with your holiday decor by turning it this direction,

then after the holidays, just turn it around to the unpainted side.

 

I'm going to have to scrounge up some more old boxes!

Blanket Box with Newspaper History

This old box had a purpose in it's day...........

It's a blanket box, the lid lifts off.

All the blanket boxes we've had have been covered in wallpaper.

I'm assuming that served two purposes:

1.Keep bugs out.

 2. Look pretty.

 

I'm sure at one time, that paper was pretty, but now....... not so much.

If you prefer the REALLY primitive look, you could leave it as is.

For me personally, I'd scrape it off.

 

And usually, I'd scrape the inside paper off too, but in this case,

I'd consider leaving it there. Why? Check this out......

 

It's lined with a local newspaper.

The Wheeling (WV) News-Register.

  

 

From Sunday, April 4, 1948!

 

On the opposite side of the box, you can see the date again,

along with a list of the movies playing at one of the local theaters.

(The photo makes it look like there's mold in the top right corner, but it's not mold. It's just a place where the paper is torn) 

 

 

And check out these prices!

A full bedroom set for the grand total of $249.

A baby carriage for $34.99.

 

This box may be an ugly duckling on the outside,

but the inside is a fun glimpse into our past!

And now it's a snowman

It's that time of year again............

Snowmen.

 

And as proof that just about anything can be turned into a snowman,

I present to you Exhibit A:

 

Snowmen silverware.

 

And Exhibit B:

 

 

Snowman sunglasses.

 

Hmmmm....

What else can I transform?

 

Gotta go.

There's a paint brush and some white paint waiting.



Our Woods in the Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year.

I wait patiently, and each year I'm rewarded with it's beauty.

This year, God has granted us an especially colorful season.

 

It seems everywhere I look, the colors are incredibly vivid.

This is the view from our kitchen....I drink it in every chance I get.

 

I decided to take the camera, and get a closer view.......

The chickens thought I was coming for them.

 

So did the goats.

 

Sorry girls, I'm on a mission.

 

 

The woods await.

 

I headed in, but not alone.......

 

 

Billy never misses a chance for a walk.

(He thinks he's a dog. Don't tell him any different.)

 

 

The leaves were absolutely gorgeous. 

While I took their beauty in, Billy stood guard.......

 

 

While I looked for nature's hidden treasures.....

   

 

 Billy watched for nature's foes.

 

 While I admired our cows through nature's perfect frames..........

  

 

Billy decided to pose so I didn't forget who was most deserving of admiration.

 

 

Ahhh, yes....

Around here, Billy is King.

 

 

Lest we forget.

 

After properly admiring his regal beauty,

I went back to the autumn beauty.

 

 

 

 

And that's when it happened.

A snort.

 

 

 "WHAT WAS THAT?"

 

Don't worry Billy.

It's just a deer.

We couldn't see it, but it could see us.

And it didn't appreciate our presence.

 

Oh well, that's ok.

I don't appreciate the deer's presence in our yard either.

More specifically, the garden.

 

 

 I went back to admiring the cows.

 

 

And the trees.

 

And I could have stayed there for hours.

But, darkness was starting to creep in.

 

And while by day I feel no fear in our woods,

night is a different story.

 

When the coyotes start howling,

I want to be safely tucked inside the 4 walls of our house.

 

 

So we headed back, and watched the rest of the daylight fall

from the comforts of the front porch.

 

Ahhh, fall.