They fit like a glove!

Last year, as I began experiencing winter weather from an LLV I discovered the need for gloves.  And long underwear.  And thermal socks.  And wooly hats and other warm accouterments.

Tina, a very proper and very English friend of mine convinced me that there was a company in England that was THE place to buy these things.  Apparently, so she tells me, the English have vast experience in cold, damp, bone-chilling weather and these products have been around for decades, in fact, Princess Diana used to wear thermals from this company under her designer day dresses.  If Princess Di wore this stuff, it must be good!

I ordered one set of long underwear and a pair of fingerless gloves at an exorbitant price.  Plus shipping (let's not even talk shipping!)  The long underwear was lacy and thin and stylish but I'm not convinced they are any better than something I might buy locally.  Who really needs lacy long underwear anyway?  Certainly not me!  The gloves were also a surprise.  Their design reminded me of swimming gloves I used when I was training for triathlons - webbed fingers and all.  They didn't look like expensive, Princess Di-worthy outer wear at all.  I'm not really sure what I expected but it sure wasn't this.  I was so disappointed!

See for yourself!

The design was just odd.  I'd never seen such a thing.  The fabric was cotton fleece I think.  Nothing remarkable.  For the price I paid I expected something more.. better.  They seem to work fine and they keep my hands warm enough so I shouldn't complain.  The design seems to be perfectly functional as well. A year later and I'm still surprised by them.

This morning when I was dressing the goats in their new fleece jackets, which they LOVE, I pondered what to do with my leftover fleece.  I looked at my hands (because I was wearing those gloves), and I looked at the goat coats, and I looked at my hands and the light bulb came on.  The design is SO simple there was no reason I couldn't make my own fingerless gloves.

I had one failed prototype but for exactly ZERO dollars and about 1/2 hour time investment I have quite a fine pair of gloves.  I made a pattern for them so now if I need gloves I can make a pair of gloves faster than I can drive to town and buy a pair.  How cool is that??

Take that big snobby English company!  This little farm girl wanna be can keep herself warm!

Goats in Coats

The temperature dipped last night.  Down to freezing at least and maybe a little lower. Brrr.

Last week when it was not that cold I took the goats out and Twee shivered and shook like crazy.  She was cold.  My goats are short haired creatures and they are still kinda young and I worry.  While I was standing out in the pasture with my chilly goats I whipped out my smart phone and Googled "Goat Coats."  Surprise Surprise, there are several goat coat makers out there.

Because I'm cheap, and aware that I may be just a tad, uh...odd, I did not order them.  But that didn't mean I didn't think about it.  A lot.  I Googled it a couple more times and found more sources and more information.  Apparently goats don't usually get cold.  They get their winter coats and they are just fine in normal winter weather.  Sick goats might need coats but not healthy goats.

Well... sick or not, my goats were cold!  Why would they shiver if they weren't?

This morning when I woke and there was ice on the ground and the rain that had accumulated in the last week was now a skating rink, I couldn't possibly trek my goats out of the warm barn out to the cold, freezing pasture.  I started Googling again.  This time I found a pattern.  A pattern for goat coats.  Now that appealed to my crafty side, my frugal side and the weird side that wanted to keep my goats warm.  (who knew I was a triangle??)

My goats are now styling like nobody's business!

Een says "Thanks for the style makeover!!  The "E" doesn't make me look fat does it?"

Twee says "Those "nehhhh-sayers" need to spend a day in 32 degree weather without any clothes on!"

The people that sold us the goats have mocked me a bit (one of the risks of posting pictures on Facebook).  I don't think it was very nice of them, and it bothers me.  I love my creatures and I care about them.  I worry that my dog feels bad when I pay more attention to the cats.  I worry that the alpacas think we don't love them if they don't get their favorite grain.  I worry that the chickens will get taken by hawks.  I want them all to be happy and think they are the luckiest creatures in the world to be here, in my care.

And I worry that the goats are cold.  So those mean people can go suck raw eggs.