Ahhh, It's Over!

Everyone around me seems to enjoy Christmas, and are equally joyous for it to be over. I had all my family, including my Mom and Stepdad, my kids and all my grandkids (5) here. It was a dream Christmas. I even enjoyed my husband cooking the whole feast for us! I must be doing something right!

My new project. I have made a home-made egg incubator to hatch chicks! I wanted an incubator, but they were all so expensive, and then I thought of looking on the internet to see if others had made them. Sure enough, they have. I took some of the suggestion of others, and made one to suit my needs. I am so excited to see if I can hatch them.

A styrofoam ice chest. Cut out the front and made an inset for glass. Glued the glass in. Mounted a light bulb in the top. Added a dimmer switch to the side. Mounted a thermometer to the inside with the remote temperature reader standing in front. A small bowl of water on the bottom. An egg rack made out of chicken wire. Punched air holes in the side. You have to get the temperature to 100 degrees and maintain it at that. With the dimmer switch, I should be able to find just the right brightness. I dated the eggs, marked them for hatching in three weeks, and have to turn them every day until the last three or so days. We'll see!

I don't have a tree!

This is mid-December and I haven't posted for a while, so here goes. I have had a lot going on. We had a lot of people at our house for Thanksgiving, about 40 or so. It was really great -- I didn't cook and everyone else brought food. It was a requirement. We had so much to eat, and so much variety. This is the way to do it! I had so much fun. Also, with all my kids and grandkids here, it was wonderful!

I don't have a tree. At first, I thought I just wouldn't put up a big one since I have a little fake, I mean artificial, tree in my foyer. And since my cat was thinking it was just for her, and the lights and ornaments are all over the house, I thought I wouldn't even try for the big one.

But all my kids and grandkids are supposed to be coming on Christmas Day, so I NEED one. I have decided I would tie on the lights and ornaments with ribbon. Tie each one on, so the cat wouldn't be able to get them off. I bought the ribbon today. We'll see.

Google the YouTube for "Baby It's Cold Outside", and you will find countless versions of the old Christmas song. It was fun. Then I saw Emile Pandolfi playing it (heard him) on the piano. He was wonderful.

My granddaughter, Makayla, was on the TV this week with her Dad on his cooking segment. She was great (he was, too). I'll get it posted.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving Coming

Novemer 21, and Thanksgiving is next week. It is all coming so fast! Since we are having a BIG gathering here, I am very much looking forward to it. I am not stressing, either, because I am really asking everyone to bring food. The variations are amazing!

I pray for pretty weather!

Get ready for 2012!

Okay, so our candidate didn't win. God is still in control. All I can say is he better do a good job, 'cause in 2012 we will have a WOMAN IN OFFICE! GO PA-LIN! NO MORE SIN! GO PA-LIN! (Can you come up with any other slogans?)

HAPPY VOTING!

Hopefully, everyone who reads this (all three of you?) - ha - will have voted! I woke up my DH (dear husband) this morning before 6:00 am and said "let's go vote"! I guess I was kind of ready to go. It will be interesting! God has many great things for us in our future! I DO know that for sure! Do not lose faith!

Here are some pics:

Lucy is doing so well. I am thinking of breeding her soon. She is up most of the time, but just laying down here.

Here is Martha. She was born in June of this year, so she is almost five months old. She looks great! But almost too much like a deer. Since we live ON A HUNTING CAMP, I told Gary I was going to have to put a hunter's orange vest on her and paint on it: I am a goat! Anyway, I will probably breed her before the end of the year.

This is Lucille! Isn't she GORGEOUS! She really has the most desireable qualities, I believe. She has such beautiful brown "moon" spots and is very healthy. She has become so sweet and friendly. I don't know if it's because she is pregnant for the first time (I hope) or if she is just getting more used to me. (She was born here, but not bottle fed. Then she stayed at Jimmy's for a little while.) Even Gary says she is nuzzling up to him for the first time. Well, if she is pregnant, I think it happened on Daniel's (my brother-in-law's birthday), the 11th of October. This will mean a March birthing. Nice time.

I have more exciting news: I now have a farm name and a herd name:

We are COUNTRY LIFE DAIRY FARM and our herd name is COUNTRY LIFE. I am registered with the American Dairy Goat Association. This means that my name "Country Life" will appear before my animals' names that are born here. So, Lucille will be "Country Life Lucille". I am next going to have to make a goat farm blog. This will be for my dairy goat business. Will let you know about that!

Have a great day all!

State Fair

Gary and I went to the State Fair last week. I wanted to observe the goats being showed, but they did not have a dairy goat section. (sad) We did see the Boer goats being showed, however, and that was fun! There were so many, about 50 in the first section. I found out my goat, Lizzie, has a daughter that placed as Reserve Grand Champion in the MS State Fair! I NEED to get her in the shows. I'm still learning all about it.

My daughter came over last night with her two beautiful ones. We made Halloween costumes for them: Pebbles and Bam Bam. They were very cute.

My goats have been getting out. There is a hole in the fencing. I'll have to get that fixed. However, I have not been able to spend as much time as I'd like (all my time) with them. I have had so much counseling paperwork to do. My schedule is picking up -- I guess a lot of people are worrying these days. Anyway, I've been in my office a lot.

Gary and our friend, Jimmy, put corn out on the other side of our pond yesterday. They are trying to make a spot so that Gary can hunt out the back door. I can see the spot from my window in my office/craft room. We actually went hunting for the first time this weekend. We took our grandson across the road on the pipeline. We didn't see a deer, but a lot of deer tracks.
I don't know what we'd do if we did kill one. We'd have to get help.

Pictures of my Clan (of Animals)

Okay, so this is my grandson, not my "animal clan". Isn't this picture of him in his football uniform cute? This was his first game. He'll probably come to stay with "his DeeDee" this weekend. I think we will go to the State Fair and watch the poultry show.







Speaking of poultry: here is Sassy (I think she is a Polish pullet), Lacey (she is a Silkie -- very fluffy), and my goose.

Butterfly on zinnia ---

Duck ...





Lucy (the one that was hurt earlier). As you can see, she is now enjoying my roses again. See how pretty my rosebush was?

This is Jasmine. She is the oldest critter on the farm (not counting the human ones, of course). She is about 7 years old, I think. The roosters have the upper hand on her, but everyone else knows she is really the boss.

This is Maylee, and she is a great mouser! She has captured two so far. We got her in June.

I agree with Spinner, yes, the goats will eat all your flowers, bushes, roses, plants, trees, weeds, dead grass, live grass, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers (yuck! -- That tastes bad in goat milk), my one little bleeding heart plant, zinnias, calla lillies (which surprised me), lantanas, ...

but, hey, if they will just gain some weight and be healthy ...

I have them in a pen. But there is no vegetation in the pen. My husband and I plan on fencing in a large area full of brush for them in the future. For now, I just have to let them out and forage.

My new chickens are doing great. I have not let the roosters in with them yet. They crow constantly!

Bonnie and Clyde Trade Days

Today my husband, one of our friends, and I went to Bonnie and Clyde Trade Days in Arcadia, LA. I was able to get 7 new chickens, three of which were Silkies. They are so cute! We are having fun getting settled in.

Just wanted you to see what will be at the bottom of this blog a little later. My family will be able to view birthdays, events, etc. by checking here.

My Daughter, Amanda's family

Amanda (our Mandy) is a brilliant finance professional! She is also beautiful, as all my other family, and she is also very independent! (She reminds me of me, but don't tell her that.) She up and moved away from all of us, to better herself, and moved to Tennessee. It is in a beautiful place, although it is so far away. I hope she will move a little closer one day. I miss them terribly. She is so funny, too. When we visited her this summer, I really thought I saw a side of her I had not ever seen before. She and I were in shops in Gatlinberg, and when we came up on a bunch of hats with hair attached, she just grabbed one and said "take my picture, quick", put it on and posed. (Where did this side of her come from?) You know, she's always been a very smart, talented, and wonderful girl. But I had not been able to just relax and participate in her funny side very much! It was great!

Her son is Coley! Coley is a precious, cute, smart, adorable, loving, (did I say cute?) baby! He is growing up so fast. He loves his piano we got him for his birthday. Maybe he'll take after his papaw Gary and play the piano when he grows up? Coley is another one who can make you laugh and get everyone around tickled. I have a family of clowns, don't I? His hugs will make your day!

My Daughter, Kristi's, Family

My daughter, Kristi, is a professional photographer! She is very good at her profession! She loves taking pictures of special occasions, and makes everyone look good. You should see what she did for me and Gary. Kristi has a wonderful sense of humor! Her laugh is completely contagious! She has a lot of energy (although with two children, she sometimes thinks she doesn't). She is a great mommie and her children love her, you can see it when they look into her eyes!

Kristi married Andrew -- he is a professional chef! We are very proud of him -- he is representing Louisiana in Walt Disney World! He will be very famous very soon. And his food is scrumptious! He really knows his stuff!

Makayla is the very definition of beauty! Her eyes will blow you away! She is so fun and loving -- when she sees her DeeDee she runs as fast as she can into my arms! Oh, how fun!

Carson is -- well, you can't really describe him. He is so full of energy and fun. He cracks us up. The other night at a restaurant, he had a bowl of jello. He would plop it in his mouth, and then with a noise you can only imagine, he plopped it out! Well, Kristi and then I tried to correct him --- but when he looked at you with that twinkle in his eyes and plopped the jello right out -- I'm sorry -- but I busted out laughing. Okay, that just set things in motion. He laughed out loud, Makayla laughed out loud, and Kristi could not help herself, either. We all knew it was bad, but it was SO FUNNY! (Sorry other restaurant customers!)

Aren't they great?

My Son's Family

See! I told you they were great! I really am so proud of all my children and grandchildren! Bet you wish you were me! My son, Eric, is a bricklayer! Very talented. He really knows what he is doing and all his houses look beautiful! He comes from a line of bricklayers in my family, but he actually did not even know this until long after he had learned his trade. He's got it in his blood.

Melissa is his very beautiful wife. She is also a fantastic mother! She is so wonderful to all of them, my son, and their two children, (well, two and a half -- one is on the way)! Melissa and Eric have had to draw on their very deep inner strengths to brace themselves when their angel Jayce was born. She has toxoplasmosis, and has had to show us the way in her world. She has blessed us so much with her presence, and she is so beautiful. Her pictures do not do her justice -- she is so pretty.

This brings us to Carter ("Carter-ino" as we call him in our special song). Just ask him and he will roll his eyes, but then absolutely expect us to sing it! Carter loves everyone and every thing, and is wonderful!! He plays football, he loves his sister and his mother and dad. He really loves his DeeDee (that's me!) and papaw Gary, and his other family members! He is very special!

I guess you can tell I love them all a lot. We can't wait to meet our newest member, the new baby boy, due in February. We are all trying to come up with names. Any suggestions?

My Kids (the human ones) and Grandkids

I am finding out it is taking longer than I thought to edit pics. In the meantime, I got all caught up in making a movie. It is so fun to do this. I just have to figure out how to record it to a DVD. Anyway, I'm working on these things.

My niece, JADA FREELAND, won 3rd runner up in the Miss ULM contest! This was her first pagent ever, and I am SO PROUD OF HER!

A little of my life

This bail-out thing is not looking good to me. I don't know about you, but for our government to -- all of a sudden -- start using taxpayer money to bail out companies that are in trouble seems wrong to me. Of course, next week there will be other news, but this does seem to be a problem. What do you think?

I want to say how blessed I feel to be able to work with people on their marriages and other problems in their life. It makes me so humble to know that they will actually travel to get counseling. I know that when someone is in turmoil, they need to get that taken care of before they can go on dealing with other aspects of their lives. We need to appreciate our own life when it is stable and balanced.

I'd like to introduce my family: my husband: (DH), Gary, draws houseplans for a living. He works very hard for he and I to have a good life. He actually built our house with his own two hands. He had some land in the country (30 acres) left to him by his father and allowed to use by his mother, and he decided to go ahead and build his dreamhouse on the pond. He started building about six years ago. Then he and I met, married, and began planning our life together. I had always wanted to live in the country, and he made it a reality for me. We moved in two and one-half years ago.

Here is our house in the country: with two cats in the yard -- life used to be so hard -- now everything is easy 'cause of you...... (remember that song?)

It's still not completely finished, but most of it is. He has a workshop behind the garage that is not finished yet. I know he will enjoy it so much when we do get it done. He had a workshop in his last house, and really used it a lot. He builds anything you can imagine from wood. He has built furniture -- reproduction furniture like beds, high boys, etc. He also plays keyboard, he is the most talented musician anywhere. You would say so, too, if you heard him. I'll show you here one day. He is a good Christian man, loves his children, and my children and my grandchildren. (That is a real plus for him, huh?) He lets me keep my goats and even enjoys them, too. I feel blessed to have found him.

I'll write about my children and grandchildren later. Are you ready to be blown away? They are really great!

My Closet is Clean

So are my goats. They got their spa bath this afternoon, since it was so nice outside. I wanted to do it last week, but I thought I had a few more days of warmer weather. When it turned cooler, I knew I'd better get it done!

By the way, my Alpine has what looks like an infection under her tail. I've never noticed this on my other goats, so I'm kind of at a loss. I keep cleaning it, but it keeps coming back. I'm going to look around on the net tonight to see if I can figure this out, but if I can't, I guess I'll call my vet tomorrow.

Husband Cleaning

Ladies everywhere!!! Pleeeeeeeese help -- pray for me!!! My husband is in a tyrade trying to clean -- he has decided that everything in this house needs to be organized. While this sounds good on the outside, he has decided to start in MY CLOSET! Things are being thrown every which way! Heeeeeeelp!

Louisiana is cool!

Today is a cool morning, making the "chore" of milking not so difficult. Lucy got up as soon as I told her to this morning, on her own. She actually decided to walk outside the barn on her own, which was a first. I am still blown away. The hen does not leave me any eggs any more, for about a week. I know she is eating them, because I saw her do it once. I bought some oyster shell to put out. I'll be going into town today to meet with clients. I'll be taking my son some milk that we have finally collected for him.

Check out the comments below.

Lucy is doing better! Click on the comments section below September 12 post to see the update!

I Can't Believe It!

I really can't believe it! All of a sudden for the past three days, Lucy has been getting up. She gets up for a few minutes when we go out every 2 hours and tell her to. I think she is getting better. Also, for some other news:

This is my new Nubian, Martha. She has a sister named Mary.

This is my new 2 year old milk goat, my first Alpine! I got her Saturday from Vicksburg. She is getting used to the place. She is kind of shy, but very sweet! And gives wonderful milk!

I also got another younger Alpine, Salina, but she is at another farm at the moment. She is also beautiful!

My Zinnias!

Would anyone like some Zinnia seeds? Leave a comment and I will be happy to send out samples (in cute seed packet envelopes) as long as I have them! Credit for the seed packets: www.geocities.com/siggyrose . She has an awsome website!

Lucy

We got our little Lucy in January, 2006. She is a top Nubian goat. She took to me immediately and I to her. She was our first goat on the farm. I bottle fed her when she was young. Then, she had twins in March of 2007, a billy (male) and a nannie (female). She was giving a huge amount of milk, and it became obvious that we were so blessed to have her. Then that fall, a dog attacked her. She was out in her pen at night (I wasn't locking them up in the barn at that time), and we heard her crying. We got out there in time to save her life, but not before the dog had done a lot of damage to her leg. We took her to the vet in the night, and he repaired what he could, then it was up to her to heal. I have tried to care for her, but she limped all year. When it became obvious she was not going to try to walk on that leg again, I took her back to the vet this past month. He placed a cast on the hurt leg, and we began a few weeks of trying to staighten it out and getting her to walk on it again. The day before I was to take her back (last week), she fell on her good front leg, and injured it. Now, for a week, she has just laid there. I have to bring her all her food and water. We try to get her up every day, but she can only stand for a minute or two, and only with help. I fear she is not going to ever get up again, but I pray for my Lucy girl. I'll let you know how she does. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks.

ENJOY COUNTRY LIFE

Did anyone plant sunflowers this year? It's not too late. This is one of mine that I planted earlier this year. They were from harvested seeds from a huge sunflower that I saw in someone's city garden. I asked her if she was going to keep the seeds, and she told me she was not. She gave the flower to me, and now I keep harvesting seeds from this one flower. Do you save seeds and replant them?