Floor lamp fun

Upcycling this lamp has been so much fun.  My inspiration came from a lamp we bought at an art gallery in Floyd, VA a few weekends ago.  It's way more refined and finished but it gave me something to strive for.  Here's the inspiration lamp by Susan Icove.

This lamp was made from all kinds of interesting things like copper piping, rubber tubing, bread basket, cake tin, fire place tool stand, rubber gasket, topped off by an awesome shade.

After bringing home the cool lamp I remembered we had this very old rusty floor lamp in our basement so I decided to clean it up.  It's probably from the 20s or 30s and no longer worked.  Neither James nor I can remember where it came from.  Originally it had a globe on the top but it's long been missing.

The base was rusted through.

I cleaned and sanded everything and removed all the old cracked wiring then cleaned, repainted and  rewired it.  I replaced the candelabra sockets and had to buy a socket reducer for the upper bulb because it was for a mogul bulb and it's hard to find them anymore.  Now we can use a regular light bulb.  I did a preliminary wiring to see if switches worked.

Above the sanded, repainted base I put some vinyl albums (Urban Cowboy and Mary Poppins).

A little higher is a plumbing hose I found at Home Depot on the sale rack for $3.00.  Atop the hose is a piece of copper, forming the plate beneath an old pewter cream pitcher.

I'm not finished with the candelabras yet but you can see here how I used another small piece of copper to place a cloisenet napkin ring on that James got from his grandparents.  All the candelabras will have them and I'll also place copper tubing over the cardboard that covers the sockets.

Where the old globe used to be now sits a chocolate vodka bottle that I cut the bottom out of.

Resting on the neck of the bottle is the center of an angel food cake pan that I drilled holes in and will eventually rivet the copper shade to.

The lamp shade is made from a piece of leftover roofing copper that I cut, hammered, torched, bent and riveted.  Here it is before forming it into a shade.

And here's the shade almost complete.

It may not be up to artist, Susan Icove's standards but I don't pretend to be an artist.  I just love to create things and see what I can learn in the process.  

Lambunctious

Rudy has gotten way more active these past few days so he's been exploring this fenced in area during the daytime hours when it's nice out.  I put Baxter in with him so he wouldn't be lonely; also to see if Baxter would stay in the fence.  He's been leaving our property lately so we can't let him run loose anymore.  He's a digger so I fully expected him to dig his way out and leave Rudy alone.  Baxter did stay in the fence and he and Rudy looked pretty content.  They were curled up together for a while but then I guess it got too hot so they found their own places to lounge.

Rudy's been staying in the chicken barn but he's got to be bored.   I don't want to leave him in the fence alone at night though so the barn is the only option until he's big enough to be with the goats, cows, donkey and dogs.  I took him down to meet them and all went well.  He'll be happy when he can stay down there with them but I'm not ready for that yet.  He's got some growing to do.  Also, he gets a bottle 5 times a day so this is more convenient.  He gets house privileges every now and then.  It's raining today so he's in the basement napping on a blanket while I make cheese.  Yesterday he was very wound up and tap danced on our floors.


This isn't lamb related but I thought you might enjoy watching a goat kid's fascination with a donkey.

Very soon Willo's tail will be much shorter.  The kids actually chew it off.

Karen has a little lamb

Meet Rudy.

He's 2 days old and already stealing our hearts.  He was a triplet and pulled from his mom so the other two could grow bigger and he could come live with us and be spoiled.  Works for everyone.  Already he's a fan of goat milk.  The rag on him is a diaper, not a bandage.

I'm going to be out of town today but he'll be in good hands.

Luti's girls, Linus and Lucy

I know you're thinking Linus is a boy's name but my niece came up with the names and she and I decided Linus could be a girl's name too.  This is Lucy. Every year it seems Luti has one white kid.
I love the white ones.

Linus is more colorful.

I had said I wasn't keeping any kids this year but I'm so tempted to keep these girls.

Luti was in early stages of labor when we left for Ohio on Friday morning.  It was so hard to leave her.  I could have cried.  Ok, maybe I did a little.  My farm sitter said she had them about 3 hours later.  All went well.  Marilyn has been calling Linus, Stubborn Sally because she would just lick the teat instead of sucking.  I think she may not be quite as bright as Lucy but she does suck and appears to be healthy.  Luti has never had problems kidding and is a good mom.  Usually.

Tonight I had to question how good of a mom she is this time.   We returned home after dark this evening but I just had to see the kids so I drove down to the barn.   I couldn't believe it when I saw these darlings all by themselves.  Lucy was sleeping on the milking stanchion inside the cattle panels where the big animals can't get.  Linus was curled up in another corner.  There were no other goats or guardian dogs anywhere nearby.  They didn't even hear or see me drive up.  They must have been sleeping near the other run in shed.  Why would Luti leave her babies all alone and why would the dogs do the same, I wondered.  Finally I called them and they all ran to see me.  Darla's kids were with her.  Luti let the girls nurse and acted nonplussed when I scolded her.  It's really interesting how some mothers are super attentive and overprotective and then others, like Luti, expect the kids to be more independent.  Pessa would never leave her kids like Luti did tonight.  I have to admit Pessa can be kind of annoying the way she hovers over them for so long and won't go out to graze or let any of the other goats near her kids.  Maybe she'll be different this year.

None of the other girls are due till April so these 4 kids will get lots of cuddles.  I was also pleased to see tonight Darla's kids are doing great.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some videos of everyone.

Darla, Dahlia and Delilah

Darla was the first to kid this year with two healthy doelings.    We're calling them Dahlia and Delilah.  I'm thinking all the kids will be named with the first initial of their mom this year.  Delilah is the cutie on the right with the crazy ear.

I had planned to wait for April kiddings but got a little excited and bred Darla and Luti in October.  A goat's gestation period is approximately 150 days.  Today was both Darla and Luti's 150th day.  Luti looks like she'll have her babies either tonight or tomorrow.  All my other does aren't due till April.

I need to check my notes but I think this was Darla's 3rd year to kid.  Each year she's had 2 babies.  She's a pro by now and hardly makes a fuss through labor.  She decided to have the babies in the dirty run-in shelter instead of the milk barn or goat tractor which I had just put nice clean bedding in.  Before the 2nd kid had even nursed James and I scooped up the babies and carried them to the goat tractor so Darla would follow.  Can you imagine having twins and then having to walk/run 100 yards through a field?  I felt kind of bad about it but I really wanted the babies somewhere cleaner and safer.  Goats are amazing though and much tougher than humans when it comes to giving birth. 

Willo was fascinated with either the baby or the birthing process.  She hovered the whole time unless Keri chased her away.  Keri is very protective of her goats during kidding but also wants to be sure she's the one who gets to eat the birthing fluids :) 

Both kids are sturdy and nursing well.  Darla is a great mom - very attentive.

Tomorrow we head to Ohio.  James's mom, Wanda, died this week at age 93.  While I'll hate leaving the farm knowing that Luti is ready to kid, it will be good to be with family celebrating her life.  We have a wonderful farm sitter, Marilyn, who I trust completely.  This is an awesome photo of my mother-in-law.

Rex's new piglets

Today I went to pick up two 3 1/2 month old Ossabaw Island/Large Black cross piglets.  I'm used to
friendly, cute little floppy eared Gloucestershire Old Spot piglets but these are not friendly (yet), nor
cute.  I sold Mickey and Wendell, my breeding pair of GOS hogs, 4 months ago to a sweet young couple who are now on piglet watch.  I'm jealous, to be honest.  I had decided I didn't want to raise
pigs through the winter anymore and would just buy 2 piglets each spring and then butcher them in the fall.  Newborn piglets are so cute but for now I'll just have to look at pictures of other peoples' babies.  It helps that I have goat kids due any day now.  I need a baby fix.

When I put the 2 new piglets in the pasture Rex was there to welcome them.  Nothing like a 100 lb
Great Pyrenees chasing you to put you at ease.  Poor little guys didn't know what to do.  They ran and Rex chased.  I was afraid they'd have heart attacks.  He never hurt them but he's very bouncy and fast and much bigger than they are so it seems they'd be scared to death.  There wasn't much I could do  so I left them alone for about 30 minutes then went back to check on them.  I was happy to see they're no longer afraid of Rex and are doing their own fair share of chasing, which Rex loves.
 I never did get a close up picture of them.

I did, however, get many pictures of their adorable 8 month old miniature hereford.  Oh my goodness was he cute.

This picture shows you how small he really is.

I wish I could have brought him home in the truck cab with me.  

For my friend Ruth

What do others know of our time together?  It's ours only, and something I've always cherished, but more so now than ever.  We share something only women-friends can share.  Our husbands wouldn't get it, nor would they care to.  

"I need new fireplace doors", you say.  I do a Google search and we get excited because we find a resource.  

"I'm trying to come up with a good idea for a headboard for our new bedroom", I say.  You have ideas galore.  

Food?  Recipes?  Wine?  We've spent many hours talking about, tasting, drinking.  It's intoxicating in a very good way.  

How did we first meet?  Did you call me?  You had a stress fracture in your foot - we walked - you didn't sweat.  I did.  I probably made you uncomfortable but somehow we quickly became friends.  Not long after we also became neighbors.  You told me my dish towels were dirty and bought me new ones.  I learned early on not to be offended.  You loved me and wanted to give me things.  That's who you are.  You're a giver, you want to make people happy.  My bedspread and drapes you made us make me very happy.  I know there are probably more than 20 other people who have curtains, bedspreads and shower curtains you made them and are equally as grateful as I am.

When I re-do my countertops, or change the wax gasket beneath my toilet, or sew pillow cases, etc,

I think of you, Ruth.  So many things we share. 

I can't grasp this idea of you being sick.  It makes my heart sick.  I need and pray for you to get well.

Incredible Eggs

I think I have 23 chickens - 20 hens and 3 roosters.  I'm not positive.  I'll count them tonight when I tuck them in.  This has been the laying-est winter we've ever had.  Today we got 16 eggs! We could eat eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner and still not keep up.  We have some neighbors and friends who occasionally take some off our hands.  One of these generous friends made me this amazing egg basket with her own two hands.  Impressive, isn't it?

I don't think I used it for a month because it was too clean and I thought of it as a piece of art (which it is) instead of a useful farm tool.  I decided it was silly to let it sit there collecting dust and I was pretty sure Sally wanted me to use it so I am and I love it.

My friend, Lindy, gave me this egg basket a few years ago.  I didn't think I had a use for it at that time either.

I keep this basket on a shelf on the back porch and use it when I'm outside and decide to gather eggs. I use the woven basket when I think of gathering eggs when I'm inside.

When I gather eggs I always say, "thanks for the eggs, girls".  I wonder if they understand me.

Countertop Facelift

Instead of pouring new concrete countertops to match my new sink/counter I decided to give my old slabs a facelift.  They were perfectly good, albeit ugly, countertops that were begging for a makeover.
The longer I worked with them the more I learned.  Here's a before picture.  The stain and sealer had worn off and it had little pock marks here and there.  It felt rough and sticky.

Here's the after.  It's shiny and smooth and feels lovely to touch.

I've also tried engraving some wheat in one of the countertops but after many attempts, have yet to get it looking the way I want.  This is the engraving.  The grooves hadn't been filled yet and the countertop finish wasn't near what I wanted.  I may give up on the wheat and just make this one match the one above.

What I used as a skim coat was portland cement mixed with concrete bonder and fortifier to help it adhere to the roughed up surface.  I added different amounts of the charcoal cement color to each layer to bring out different colors/textures when I sanded it.  I didn't want it to look like plain grey concrete.

I sanded it with an orbital sander, finishing it with at least 320 grit paper and then hand sanding it with 600 or 800 grit.  Lastly I waxed it with Johnson's Paste Wax like you'd put on a wood floor.  It gives it a semi-gloss look.

I built this table years ago and even though I like its appearance, I think I'm going to give it a facelift too so it matches the countertops.  I made the table from and old plant stand and some leftover trim from the kitchen cabinets.

The only thing I'm considering doing differently with the table is perhaps adding some crushed glass to the skim coat and see if I can bring out some color and sparkle when I grind it down.  I'm going to think about that for a while.  It will be at least a week till I get to it because I work on these outdoors and it's going to be too cold to work with cement for that long.

Cooper and Lily

 This is Cooper.  Cooper is cold.  See Cooper shiver.

I made Cooper a sweater out of 2 dog sweaters.  He seemed happy to be the best dressed goat in the barn.  Unlike Fat Pessa, Cooper is skin and bones and I can't put meat on him no matter what I do.  He's 8 years old and probably the sweetest (not sweetest smelling) buck you could ask for.  He had his moments when he was young that I could have wrung his neck but now that he's an old man he couldn't be gentler or more in need of cuddles and loving.

This is Lily.  Lily is pretty.  Lily wears lipstick.

Not really.  Lily just had a dose of Pepto Bismol because she has diarrhea.  She doesn't appear to be wormy and she acts normal. Her eyelids are nice and pink.  Hopefully she just has an upset stomach and tomorrow she'll be back to normal.  I also put some baking soda in their shelter in case she wants it.  Baking soda calms their tummies.  Lily has always been a gentle goat and never been a bully to others.  She's also my top milker now that her mom, Luti, is getting up in years.

I just returned from checking on the animals (1 hour after putting Cooper's sweater on) and found the sweater in the middle of the pasture.  I think his buck buddy, Cato, removed it.  I can't imagine how he got it off him.  Poor Cooper.  Hopefully the girls will snuggle with him in the barn tonight.  It's going to be a cold week.

Mrs. Butterworth and Macy

 This is Pessa's family - her daughter Mrs. Butterworth and her granddaughter Macy.  They're not nearly as chubby as Pessa.  Mrs. Butterworth was a big baby, hence the name.  These two are both sweeties.  You can probably tell that from their faces.  Come to think of it, all my goats are sweeties.  They're a little more affectionate than their mom/grandmom.  Hopefully they're both pregnant.  This will be Macy's first kidding and Mrs. Butterworth's second.  Macy was an only child.  Unlike my queen doe, Luti, who discards her kids once she has new ones a year later, Pessa doted on Macy and seems to recognize who is her family.  I imagine when Macy's kid jumps on Pessa's back she will be a wonderful great grandmother and allow them to abuse her too.

Back in 2011 I posted a blog with videos of babies using Pessa as a trampoline.  It shows you what a patient girl Pessa is.  Last year I think she only let Macy jump on her though.  No other kids were allowed.  http://holesinmyjeans-kpannabecker.blogspot.com/2011/03/patient-pessa.html

Even though I'm glad kidding doesn't begin here until March, I'm loving seeing pictures of my friends' goat babies being born and getting excited.

Principessa

We call her Pessa.  She came to live with us in 2009 and we were told she was 1 1/2 years old.  Looking back I wonder if that was really true because her udder and hooves looked like a much older goat.  It doesn't really matter because we love her and she's been a wonderful goat in so many ways.  This is her in 2009.

Even back then she was a big girl.  Now she's become a VERY big girl, and that's being kind.  Sometimes I call her fat pessa.  I know that's not nice.  It's true though.  She eats all the same things all the other goats eat but like some humans, she has a low metabolism, I guess.  Poor girl.  Or as they say in the south, "bless her heart".  

Today the goats followed me to see if there was better hay than what I'd given them near the milk barn.  Pessa was the caboose by a long run.  Usually Cooper is in the back with her.  He's a bag of bones - just the opposite of Pessa.  The cold goes right through him but the sun was shining today so he was in better form.  It almost hurts to watch Pessa walk.  I hope she's pregnant because if she isn't it's a very sad situation, as you can see in this video.

I'm thinking that next year I need to retire her so she doesn't have to carry any extra weight of babies. Where most of my other goats are needy, Pessa is a stoic, reserved girl who has never caused problems, who drops babies without blinking an eye, dumps a gallon of milk in the pail and never moves a foot to spill milk. I couldn't ask for an easier milker.  I hope she hangs around a lot longer.

I should blog about each of my goats because they all have such different personalities.

Our poor Jaz

I've been kind of discouraged because of this snow.  It makes morning milking more of a chore than I'd like it to be.  I love my quiet time in the mornings with the animals and usually find it relaxing, but having to walk there every day with a backpack isn't as enjoyable as driving there and happily singing my good mornings to everyone.

Yesterday I realized hiking to milk is really nothing in the big scheme of things.  I got a wake up call as to what's really important.  As I entered the milking barn I discovered Jaz, my 21 year old donkey, down and unable to get up.  She has terrible arthritis in her front legs and very little range of motion in them.  I don't know if she strained something slipping in the snow or what but something caused her to go down.  Luckily she chose a nice warm heavily bedded shelter to rest.  I tried bribing her with food and pushing on her from her back but she stayed put.  I called the vet and was very lucky he could come out on such short notice.  They're very busy this time of year (I was told when he got here) pulling calves and dealing with prolapses, etc.  He squeezed me in on his way to pull a calf.  He brought with him a syringe of whatever it is they use for euthanasia, along with pain meds after hearing my description of Jaz's condition.  He took her temperature, which was low because she'd been down a while.  Next we put a halter on her and with a rope pulled her up.  It went way better than either of us expected.  After administering Banamine (pain meds) we massaged her one leg to get some circulation back in it.  It was very dangly.  The vet said after looking at her he was feeling very optimistic so I felt equally so.  I watched her during the day limping around like she wanted to move.  I was hopeful.

This morning I got my binoculars out and looked into the field to see if I could find her.  I could see everyone else but her.  I hiked to the barn and found her down again.  I called James and asked if he'd
come help me get her up.  Unfortunately she was so close to a post of the barn it was hard to maneuver her without her getting wrapped up with it.  We rolled her over twice hoping to get some momentum to get her to rise on her own.  No go.  I finished my milking and other feeding and went back to the house.  Later I looked out the window and saw she'd gotten up and was hobbling around.  I was thrilled only to be disappointed later when I found her down, this time lying in the snow.  I knew she had fallen because of her position and because she didn't choose a shelter.

Again James came down to help me pull on her to no avail.  I felt defeated.  I gave her an apple and another dose of Banamine in hopes I could relieve her pain and she'd want to get up.  Before dusk she was still down and I covered her with a blanket and surrounded her with hay.  I don't know what I'll find tomorrow.

There are so many things I love about raising livestock/animals/pets, but then there are times like this when, as I type about them, I have a lump in my throat.  I'm worried I'll have a tough decision to make tomorrow.

Artisanal Snow

Come and get your snow here!  Hand shoveled by a Mennonite.  Ok, so James is technically no longer a Mennonite but people love to advertise "Amish made or Mennonite made", so why shouldn't I?

Not only is our snow hand shoveled but it's also gluten free, lactose free, sugar free, fat free and non GMO.  It's the healthiest snow around.

Note how beautifully sculpted the artist carved the snow at the edge of the driveway.  Such intricacy -A true designer.

Come visit - walk around the property until you find some you'd like to take home.  Our bearded master, Baxter, has also created some fine free form compositions.

Act soon, it's going fast (not fast enough).

I love to go a wandering along the snowy track (not)

and as I plod I'm weighted down by 2 gallons on my back... valdereee, valderahhh.

In total I think we got something like 17 or 18 inches of snow, though it's now compacted into about a foot.  We (mostly James) shoveled the driveway yesterday every time it had 3 inches on it.  We did this 3 times.  Weird how the driveway got longer and longer as the day went on.  We quit before dusk.  Today James shoveled another 8 inches or so.  I think he was out there 8 hours.

I was afraid to drive the truck to the field to milk so I walked, carrying most of what I needed on my back.  The load home was a bit harder because I was carrying 2 gallons of Raisa's milk.

I took the road because it was easier walking than trekking through the field.  I've never tried snowshoes but I think I'd like to.

Eventually I had to walk through the deep stuff.  Like the long driveway, the barn seemed farther away today than usual.

Papa had icicles hanging from his face.  Franklin and Lennon tend to use the shelters more than Papa so they weren't as snowy.

All the animals seemed fine, though Cooper and Spotify (pig) were shivering.  It doesn't help that Coopers ears hang in the water when he drinks.

I followed the donkey and cow paths through the snow to get hay for the boys' side of the fence.  On the way back to the milk barn I began following the dogs' trail.  That was a mistake.  Donkeys and cows walk pretty straight lines.  Dogs zigzag all over the place and do it in record time.  I found my way back to the donkey path.  Perhaps you can see the dog trails in this picture.

No one was out fishing today.

The chickens never stepped foot out of the barn.  When I opened their door this morning I'm pretty sure I heard one of them cluck, "what the flock?!!"  They've been very generous with their eggs lately so they must not be too upset.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and nearly 40 degrees.  That's more like it.

Pickling and preparing

Brrrr, it's cold!  That sentence should probably be followed by "finally" since it's been such a warm winter.  I'm not a fan of the cold so I would have been happy with a very long fall leading into spring.

Because it was so cold I stayed indoors today - mostly.  I don't really mind milking and feeding in the cold but I do mind breaking ice in buckets and removing it with my naked hand.  I also hate when the hose is froze(n).

James pulled up the beets last week so I decided today was a good day to pickle them.  They were getting kind of old and losing their sweetness so we thought pickling was the best choice for them.  I miscalculated how many there were so I prepared lots more pickling juice (vinegar and sugar, etc) than I needed.  I only got 5 quarts of beets and had a lot more liquor left so, living in the south, I pickled some hard boiled eggs.  Growing up in PA I'd never heard of pickled eggs.  I'm not sure I'd ever had them until we moved to VA.  Often you see them in gallon sized jars near a cash register when you check out.  I guess it's common for people to say, "throw a couple of 'em eggs in 'ere", when paying for their gas and other snacks.  Adam loves them.  We have an abundance of eggs right now.  Oddly, our chickens decided to start laying in winter.

Even after pickling the beets and eggs I had some sweet vinegar left so I shredded some cabbage and poured it over it.  What the heck.  I was in a pickle (ing mood).

Before it got dark I made one more visit to check on the animals and break ice.  It's supposed to get down in the single digits so I gave them more hay to keep their bellies warm.  Raisa was so excited she led me to the hay by bouncing and frolicking.  She's been very frisky lately.

The goats will begin kidding in early March so they're beginning to get round.  Pessa is always round so it's hard to know if she's pregnant or not.  She does love to eat.

She's been moving very slowly lately, as is Cooper.  I wasn't sure if it was because of her weight, her age or because her feet hurt so I decided to trim everyones' hooves in preparation for kidding season.  Unfortunately I cut one of Darla's back hooves too closely and she's still limping today.  I feel bad about it.

I've just started feeding hay in the past week now that the ground is frozen.  Spotify, my one remaining pig, is learning to eat hay along with the bulls.

I love this picture of the 3 bulls.

And this one of the animals all sharing so nicely.  Darla is the little black and white goat in the foreground with a very round belly.  You might be able to tell how she's holding her left rear foot up because I hurt her :(

Like Raisa, Keri and Rex are also very frisky.  They love this cold weather way more than I.  Their coats are so thick I doubt they even feel it.

We're feeling very thankful for our geothermal heat pump tonight.  It sure beats the wood stove.  Hope everyone else is staying warm.