AAAAAHHHHHHH!

I slept until 9:00 a.m. I do not recall the last time I slept that late.

It was a rough night though - My son went to a drive-in movie. It doesn't matter how old they are - you worry. I was tossing and turning until 1:00 - his estimated time of arrival. But the movie wasn't over yet and he rescheduled his ETA to 2:00 a.m. By the time he got home (at 2:30) I was so sound asleep the boy had to shake me awake to tell me he was home. So much for the concerned parent.

He also told me - at 2:00 a.m. - that Sophie had "had a problem" during the night and there was the most vile diarrhea-esque poop spread through the living room (carpet!), kitchen (whew, linoleum), and yet more in the family room (more carpet!). That is certainly no way to be woken in the middle of the night! He and I spent quite a bit of time gagging while cleaning.

Peter and I did almost nothing today. We went to lunch. We napped. We drank a glass of wine. He went home.

I'm sad. again.

Day 63

Wedding day. I don't have pictures yet - but I had one of the guests send this one to me. I never even took my camera out!

This is a photo of the bride and groom - and the bride's friends. You know who you are! It seemed to go well - I will add more pictures as I get them - and as long as it's interesting.

People ate - people drank (some more than others and I shouldn't mention that I was drinking mimosa's by 11:00 ~ which is no way to run a wedding...).

We had a few moments of excitement - Sophie bit the bride's brand new toddler grandson (he'd been warned!), my mother was sure she had been sealed in a 19 foot aluminum coffin (she CHOSE to stay in our travel trailer and couldn't open the doors or windows) and Peter locked his keys in his running car when we went to go fetch her home. What a day!

Day 62 - Pre Wedding prep

Lawn mowing, weeding, edging, rehearsals, table placements, decorating, oh my!

By 7:00 I was still toiling away - weeding the front lawn but who should appear - 4 hours early?? My dear Peter. What a wonderful surprise. I actually squealed like a 12 year old! He's been known to surprise me before.

At Christmas time my house had been snowed in (almost) for days.. They had shut I-5 even. By Christmas, things were getting better here but worse where he lives. He was supposed to come down Christmas eve - but instead, sensibly, he spent the day shoveling snow with the intention of getting out Christmas morning and coming down. I missed him but it was the smart thing to do. Christmas morning I woke about 6:00 and checked the weather and the WDOT webcam by his house - 6 more inches of snow! There was no way he was going to make it out. I went downstairs to make coffee. As I was standing at my kitchen window, there in the dark appeared this face.. Peter had left about midnight and driven all night.

I think I squealed then too! But it was a wonderful Christmas present indeed!

Day 61.

The wedding is day after tomorrow. I was about to say that was the focus of my attention now.. but nope. I still have Sophie to worry about - my mother to worry about - my son to worry about. And I really miss talking about goats. Not that I'm obsessed or anything.

Calling for wedding assistance! Somehow - because I have a big mouth I'm sure - I got volunteered to put together some wedding music. Probably only about an hour's worth. While people arrive and get settled. Then the processional, and then we'll crank up some normal music for after the ceremony.

So.. does anyone have any awesome suggestions for music? Poll your friends! Ask people on the streets! Surf the net! I'm at a loss. The bride has selected Etta James "At Last" to walk down the aisle to. I need more music. Help me. I'm begging you.

Sophie's Home!

And she had an itch!

She will be on certain meds for the rest of her life. She'll be on others for the next month. The temporary pills will make her thirsty and hungry and make her pee a lot. Oh joy.

The wedding is this weekend. My son (hopefully) graduates the following Friday and my daughter will soon have her drivers license.

Then.. you know what we'll have? We may just have a goat blog that blogs about goats! I'm missing the goats and the knitting and the milking research. I need to go commune with goats very soon! Baaaaaaaaaaa. (do goats baaaaaaaa?)

Day 59 - Sophie is sick again

Poor Sophie.
I love her.

She is attending a sleepover at the vet's office tonight. There was a really cute and energetic golden retriever in the cage next to hers. Maybe she'll make a new friend.

I hope she can come home tomorrow. The good news is she does NOT have a splenic tumor. Probably. Preliminary test results indicate she has an immune mediated problem. Which means that for some unknown reason her white blood cells are attacking and destroying her red blood cells.

That's a problem because 13 year old dogs need all their red blood cells.

On another note.. my daughter has started a blog (I'm her inspiration!) www.lifeequalsart.blogspot.com.

And my son may not graduate high school.

What a day.

Day 57

Today my best friend from high school came by to help me weed and paint. It also gave us time to catch up on years of news. She only lives about an hour north of here and yet we only manage to see each other about once a year. Let me think.. I'm 49.. we met at 14.. jeeze! That's a 35 year-old friendship! There was lots of catching up to do - and I dont'think we managed to get it all in.

I think I'm just about ready for the big wedding day. I've added curtains - the wind is a problem that a few well placed tie-backs should handle, the flower beds are mostly weeded, the decks are done, the trim is painted, the lawn is edged, the flowers are planted, the house is washed, the furniture is cleaned, the patio is scrubbed and I'm tired.

Day 55

I told them to wait. I leaned over into each little iris bud and I said.. "Wait until the wedding to bloom please."

They didn't listen. They are beautiful and glorious. But a week early. I was counting on them for decoration at the wedding.

In the picture is Kiki peeking out from behind the iris'. Kiki is a former neighbor's cat. Kiki likes it so much in our neighborhood that whenever his owner goes on vacation, Kiki comes and hangs with all of us. He is the absolute best cat - and the only "roaming loose" cat I like around here. He is all about being loved and touched. When you pet him, he tries to climb onto your lap, purrs loudly and drools. You have to love a guy who drools when you touch him.

Day 54

Teenage boys are stupid. Yesterday my 18 year old son was out and about doing whatever it is 18 year old boys do after school (sometimes it's better not to ask). I was peacefully ignorant of any "goings on." He came in about 9:15.

When he came in I barely looked his direction and then gave him the interrogation..

"Were you having fun?" "yes"
"Were you working?" "no"
"Were you making out with your girlfriend?" "sure"

I looked at him more closely at that point.

His clothes were a bit tattered. He was quite dirty and grimy. He had blood on him. (blood!??!! I'm a mom.. BLOOD does not belong on my baby boy!!!)

He held up his left hand and said.. "look what I did!"

The child.. my 6'2", 230 pound baby had a homemade tourniquet wrapped around his hand. He'd fallen on an axe he told me. His girlfriend bandaged it he said. Furthermore.. He'd fallen on this axe HOURS before but was having too much fun to stop and see to the wound properly.

So off we trotted to the Silverton ER. It's pretty sad when you start to recognize the doctors and nurses in an emergency room. He got a tetanus shot and a scolding.. It was too late for stitches so they cleaned it up, pulled the edges of the gaping wound together and sent us on our way.

Katlets!

I told you she was due any minute! This morning she had 6 adorable little kittens. 2 black ones, 4 dark gray ones. From experience I know they will develop more color and patterns as they grow. I can't wait to see them!

On the Goat front - I talked with a guy who has an organic farm in Oregon, somewhere near Astoria. He has 4 acres of organic potatoes and his neighbor sells organic beef. He shared with me quite a bit of information on Washington vs Oregon vs FDA certification. He seems quite knowledgable and I shall continue to pick his brain in the coming weeks.

I also need to figure out how to figure out how much space goats need - and how on earth am I going to pay for it?

I have all this work to do and I came home from work tonight and napped! Yet another example of poor time management skills on my part.

Day 52 - Home Again

No time to see Cindy the Goatherder today. Peter stopped by there after work and it turns out Cindy and her goats are leaving for Eastern Washington in the next few weeks and I've missed my chance. It's very sad. I must find another goat source.

In other news...

Kat is preggers..

Due any minute.

Doesn't she look funny?

Want a kitten?

Day 51 - Bears & Crystals - Oh my!

Today we went north. Our goal: more of those cool crystals we saw last month. We went armed with chisels, hammers, gloves, buckets and licorice. We should have gone armed with sunscreen and bear repellent!

I exagerate (a little) - again. Not about the sunscreen though. The weather was beautiful. The sun was out. Peter and I both got burned, and cooked in the sun. We won't complain - crystals are way easier to find with the sun shining on them. We got filthy dirty, covered in dust, gritty and grimy but we scored some beauties!

We did see two families of black bears. Oh my gosh! It was amazing! The first family was eating grass or twigs or just smelling the flowers - it was hard to tell at the distance we were at. They were just off the side of the highway and drawing quite a big crowd of passer bys. The second set were just a few kilometers further up the road.

We also hiked Shannon Falls, Brandywine falls (no snow this time!), We hiked around Whytecliff Park and took a tour of Horseshoe village. That man knows how to squeeze more into a day than most people squeeze into a week! Of course - we didn't get home until nearly 11:00.


About 11:35 I said, "Oh Peter - we forgot to go see Cindy the Goatherder and her goats!" I'm guessing she's asleep by now. He thinks we might be able to swing by in the morning on my way out of town.

Day 49 - Lynden

The oddest thing has happened. I'm not crabby anymore!

I drove for 6 plus hours on a beautiful day. I had the music cranked up, the windows down and the fresh (okay.. slightly toxic) air buffeting about me. Getting stuck for an I-5 bridge lift didn't make me cranky. Getting stuck in Tacoma/Seattle/Everett traffic didn't even make me cranky. Seeing a guy who So Very deserved it get pulled over for a ticket made me laugh!

I am now relaxing at Peter's house. We walked the property earlier and admired all the hostas, and bluebells and asparagus and slugs and sunsets and we had fresh (okay.. slightly cow poopish) air to inhale. I feel stress leaving me already.

...aaaaaahhhhh

Crabby Day 48

I'm back. Did you miss me?

I've been crabby and I didn't think I needed to vent about my issues to the world. I'm still crabby but I have missed sharing my thoughts.

The good news is the new stove is awesome and I'm headed to Peter's for the weekend. Spending time with him is sure to lift my spirits. He treats me so very well.

Spending time away from here is sure to lift them even more. Yesterday my mother cut pizza with scissors. Today she saw "a little naked man, sitting in a canoe" in the corner of our backyard. Last week she was convinced people on the phone could see her and she was watching imaginary porn on her imaginary TV (no wonder she didn't want people to see her!)

My children are so different. My son tells me he hates the craziness and spends less time around here because of it (which breaks my heart) while my daughter laughs and takes notes (I think she's saving these things for her future autobiography . . or therapist). They've both agreed to hang with their grandma this weekend and forego any actual life of their own for just a few days.

Despite what I said about them in earlier posts.. they are pretty good kids.

Day 45

I'm getting a new stove! Saints be praised! Glory be! Thank goodness!

My old stove had some weird glitch that made the alarm go off at random times (usually about 2:00 in the morning). It's been doing this off and on for years. Last fall Peter tried to fix it and created some electrical arc which welded a screwdriver to it. Oddly enough it seemed to have fixed the problem for several months. But about 2 weeks ago it started screaming again worse than ever. We have kept it off at the circuit breaker and only turn the power back on while using it. It's very distracting to try to cook while your stove is beeping like a dump truck backing up.

So I finally broke down and bought a new stove. It's being delivered tomorrow. I bought it at Sears and their installation cost was $150.00. I'm too cheap to pay that! In preparation, my daughter and I have "uninstalled" the old stove. This is her, removing a bracket that was keeping the stove from sliding all the way out. It's good to have limber, handy children.

Shortly after I moved into this house I replaced my front deck because it had dry rot. During the replacement I kept hoping that I would find a note from the previous owner tucked under a board or stashed somewhere safe, apologizing for the mess and including some cash to help pay for the replacement. I looked everywhere under the stove.. no money here either.

Mother's Day

I was awakened this morning with breakfast and coffee in bed. The little darlings brought me the newspaper. I slowly and luxuriously read the paper cover to cover. When I finally decided to get out of bed I discovered that my entire house was spotless. My two teenagers couldn't wait to serve my every whim... To profess the love and appreciation they felt for their one and only MOM. They massaged my shoulders and rubbed my feet. They made dinner and did the dishes.

.... and then I REALLY woke up. Hours before either of my kids. I fetched my own paper, made my own coffee and I made breakfast for them! I continued with my labors outside today. My daughter chose, of her own free will, to help out today. My son helped only when forced to do so - although he did begin the process of cleaning up the garage on his own - so that he could use his workbench he said.

Oh course, I managed to really irk my own mother today so I suppose I taught them very well.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there!

Day 43

Here's the pergola.. from the inside out.

Today I worked on the floor and the trellis and the lawn and the flowerbed. I painted and sanded. Hard hard work.

I was sanding the floor of the pergola with the $5.00 belt sander I bought at a garage sale last year. (Tara will be pleased to know I was wearing safety glasses! ) For $5.00 you don't get an instruction manual. I spent a very long time trying to change the belt. My son put the first belt on it. Who knows how he learned but he wasn't here today and I had to do it myself. First I had to take off the old one. I nearly severed my finger! Blood, guts, bone shards everywhere (okay.. I exaggerate.. I DID cut myself but I had to squeeze the boo-boo very hard to get any blood from it - it DID sting like the dickens though!) After I finally got the old belt off I had to put the new belt on. I struggled and struggled. I pushed, I shoved I twisted, I cursed. I was about to give up when I accidentally pushed on this secret lever and poof... easy cheesey. Now that I know how it works - I guess $5.00 was a really good price!

Am I old? Day 42

My mother wanted to go out to breakfast today. I wasn't really hungry but she doesn't get out much, so I humored her. My mother ordered the "waffle slam" off the senior menu. I wasn't particularly hungry.. and portions are smaller on the senior menu so I thought.. "I'm not old enough.. but maybe.. just maybe they'd let me order the same thing." So I ordered off the senior menu. They didn't even question it! You're supposed to be 55 years old to order from the Sr. menu. Does that mean I LOOK 55 years old???

Please say it isn't so! oh goodness! I'm so depressed now. I know I have gray hair but I've been going gray since I was 17. I always thought it was "prematurely" gray. Do you suppose it's not so premature now? Oh goodness. I need more wine.

Goats won't care how old I am. Good goats. I like goats.

Day 40

Nothing about goats today, nothing interesting happened today.. However - Let me share something I think is funny.

My daughter's boyfriend likes to make music videos. He was over at our house on Sunday and filmed most of this video. The stars are the b.f. Zeke and a friend named Virginia, there are cameo's of my mother and my dog Sparky. Don't blink, you will miss them!

Meetings! Bah!

In about three years I think I shall stand out in the goat pasture and say:

Please gather 'round we're going to have a little meeting.
Now..
I've noticed that a few of you have become a bit distracted and unfocused.
Bella - please don't step on my toes.
In the future I'd like to see a little more effort taken with..
Elsie! My pants are NOT food!
A little more effort needs to be ta..
"baaaaaaah"
Aggie, please don't interrupt.
Now where was I? Oh yes.. When it come time to be milked I need..
Ginger! Get back here, the meeting isn't over yet!
Aggie where are you going?
Bella? Elsie?
Oh forget it. Sigh.. meeting's over.

It'll remind me so very much of today at the office.

Day 38

Scarf v3.1 is done. Since I finished it, I've been dabbling with scarf v.3.0.. but I'm still not happy with it for the same reasons I wasn't happy with it before.

You know what happened? That darn chenille yard started calling to me again! Stupid yard. Not only that but the looms I purchased were calling to me too.

Stupid voices in my head.

Anyway - this is about a 1/2 hour of work. I'm not sure I like the loom - but I do like the way the finished product feels. Much softer than scarf v3.1

Now.. apparently the voices in my head are telling me I should go upstairs and talk with Peter.

baby possum

Over the past few days Peter has caught 5 baby oppossums and one momma opposum in his hen house. Big possums eat chickens and he absolutely couldn't leave them to grow up to eat his chickens. So he caught them. But the babies were so cute he couldn't kill them either.

Peter showed up last night about 10:30. One of the things I love about Peter is his enthusiasm for life and all life's living creatures. He brought the possums with him! He took 6 opposums on a 6 hour road trip.

Today was release day. We drove them wwwwaaaaaayyy out into the woods and let them go. At least this way they stand a chance.

Day 36

It's done! It's done it's done it's done! Scarf v3.1 is d-o-n-e!

Holy cow it's done. Not too bad. 36 days from start, to re-start to re-start to finish. I started crocheting a baby blanket for my nephew (Mathew) when I learned he was expected. The precious bundle has since graduated from college and is now 24. It's still not done. I'm so impressed with myself. Now.. what shall I take on next? oooh..I have gobs more of this lovely chenille yarn. . .

My little dope shop

I have cooties. Specifically ~ laryngitis. I squeak and croak and make weird noises when I try to talk. My mother is hard of hearing. We had a fascinating day today. As we drove past my current idea of a perfect goat shop, I said, "That will be my little goat shop!" and my mother said.

"Your little DOPE shop??!!!!"

She makes me laugh. It took me nearly 2 miles to explain to her what I was talking about. A bit later I said "The vet called." and she said "Who's Lavette?" We decided to spend the rest of the day in companionable silence...

Today was a work day.. sanding, painting, pond cleaning, rototilling, digging and more. I had a troupe of teenagers helping me. Look! It CAN happen. Of course, it cost me dinner out at their favorite Mexican Restaurant. Even Sophie got in on the action.

I think it will be a lovely wedding.