Human Halloween Two Thousand Sixteen

For the past 3 years James and I have been invited to a party in Lexington where our friends, Kay and Bob, live and get hundreds of trick-or-treaters.  This year I swear they got nearly a thousand.  I'm serious, it was a constant stream for 2 1/2 hours.  We adults dress up too and watch the masses come and go as we enjoy our own yummy treats.

I hadn't really paid much attention to Halloween, since we don't get trick-or-treaters living out in the county, until Kay and Bob invited us to their parties.  I forgot how much fun it is to dress up.  Each year I do my internet searches for homemade costumes for adults and then wing it.  Here are the results of this year's research.  James' costume is pretty self-explanatory.

He's still wearing the beard and mustache paint because I told him how hot he looks.  I can't get over how different he looks with dark eyebrows and a beard.  I mean, can you say sexy?  I may have to dress him up more often.

It seems my costumes always need some explaining.  People look at me and tip their heads.  I'll post a picture first and let you guess.  Then I'll tell you what I am for those of you who are a little slower.

Need help?  I'm a one night stand.  Get it?  I have a few friends who may appreciate what's hanging from my right ear.  Zoom in and look closer.  As much as I hate this next picture of me I'm posting it anyway so you can see my earring because I know a few of you may get a giggle out of it.

There were many great costumes at the party.  Our friends Bee and Dave were dressed perfectly as Bee and her Bee Keeper.  Who's Dave kidding, really?  Does Bee have a keeper?

Bob Ross and the happy little tree also showed up.  Famous people everywhere.

The Gorton's fisherman brought fish sticks - my favorite.

And our hostess, the always-beautiful-in-anything-she-wears, Kay Lera, with Bob Ross.

Remember Glenn Campbell and the Rhinestone Cowboy?  You probably have to be my age or older to remember that song.  Well, the rhinestone cowboy was there too.  Ok, these guys look drunk but they weren't.  The photographer is to blame for this picture.  They do look happy though.

I wish I could have captured a photo that shows how many children came to their front porch but it was dark out so you really can't see this swarm.

Happy Halloween.  I hope you all got a hundred Reese's peanut butter cups.

Halloween Two Thousand Sixteen

Moonjava hasn't bathed in 2 years.  He thinks it will wash away the good juju that's been with him for  that long.  When I took this photo I saw a noodle, a piece of carrot and a raisin in his hair. I didn't mention it.

Danny is loved by men and women alike.  A real athlete and charmer.  Able to take a joke and give a little ribbing to his buddies.

Danny is also the life of the party.  I could barely get him to stay still for a picture because he was afraid he was going to miss some fun if he stayed put too long.

Pete, aka, Patrice, is Moonjava's twin brother.  Pete works for a software company by day.  As soon as he punches the time clock he's back in his room and Patrice can then relax, paint her nails and trade her tie for a tiara.  Not much of a night owl, she prefers quiet time to reflect, soak in a tub (unlike Moonjava, she bathes), put her jammies on and listen to broadway tunes.

Ahh, what can I say about Ella?  As sweet in person as she is in this photo.  I told her I liked her bows and she wanted to give them to me.  When I asked her what the worst thing she ever did was she
said she once ate a whole jar of strawberry jam in one sitting and didn't leave any for her brother.

Simone, 58, but dresses like she's 10.  Bleaches her hair if she sees the tiniest bit of dark or gray.  Drinks the cheapest of champagnes - even puts it on her Lucky Charms.  When her mouth smiles (which is rare) the rest of her face doesn't know it's supposed to smile too.

Carmine, 46, works at Dollar General, bums cigarettes from the customers.  Buys her wigs on sale at Dollar General at the end of Halloween season.

 Folks call Carmine Big Ears because she hears everything.  If you want to know the latest gossip, Carmine's your gal.

A painting of me and Raisa

A while back I posted on my blog a photo taken of me and Raisa by my friend June Collmer.  It was in black and white and I thought it was just perfect of the 2 of us.  Well this morning I was surprised
by a gift from another one of our very talented friends, Kathy Kvach.  She saw the photo on my blog and painted this without telling me and then surprised me with it.  So far I've only seen a photo of it because somehow it has gotten waylaid in a post office somewhere.  Kathy, I hope you don't mind me
posting this here.  I just love it so much and feel so honored that a friend would do this for me.  This photo could have been taken of me on just about any morning.  Raisa never leaves the milk stand without a hug or a kiss.  I'm pretty sure she waits for it.

Facelift for other unwanted pieces

Like the china cabinet I recently gave a facelift to, I've fallen back in love with some pieces that no one seemed to want, including us.  I had tried selling this settee and 2 chairs on Craigslist and at a yard sale.  Here they are before the facelift.

 I removed the cushioning before I remembered to take a photo.

They've been sitting in our garage getting mildewed and it was time to either pitch them or do something with them.  I didn't like the formality of these pieces and they didn't really go with the rest of our house.

I chiseled off the scroll detail on the back of the chair (there are 2 chairs but I've only completed one so far) and removed the springs and built new seats for them out of plywood.  I cut the back off the settee and made it into a bench.  They were sanded, reglued where needed, primed and painted a cheery blue.

And here they are recovered in a fabric I love.

I had originally thought I'd fix them up and maybe try selling them again but now I love them and they've found a place in our bedroom.  Total cost for the whole transformation was around $100.00.

So now what do I do with this?  I have a few ideas :)  As you can see, I have a hard time throwing stuff away.

A bull in a china shop

Breeding time can be fun but it can also be a pain in the neck.  Mostly it's the logistics of it all.  Move one animal here and it disrupts the day-to-day flow and routine.  Move another there and someone is unhappy or someone is bred that shouldn't be.  It might not be so bad if I had many paddocks, shelters and waterers, but my field is only divided in two so I have to be creative.

Many of my girl goats got bred early this year because I was trying to coax Raisa in to be milked  and couldn't just hold the barn door open and bribe her.  If I did that all the other animals would have come in and raided the food, etc.  Instead I moved the girls to the "boys' side" where my buck, Cato, lives.  Cato was very happy with this arrangement.  Eventually Raisa decided it was ok to come in on her own and I didn't have to keep moving girls back and forth.  Fortunately my goats follow me when I call so it's not that hard to move them.

This week Raisa was bellowing for Franklin.  Even though she just had a baby a month ago I thought maybe she was in heat so I moved her to the bulls' side for the day.  It didn't appear she was ready.  I was a little worried about leaving her over there in case her son from last year, Lennon, was mature enough to breed her.  He's only just a year old so hopefully he isn't ready for that.  Yesterday I decided to move Franklin over to the girls' side; Cato too.   This disrupted morning milking.  Franklin truly is a bull in a china shop.  First thing he did was hop into the tiny shed that's built on the chassis of a pop-up camper.  It's only about 6 feet by 11 feet, with a plywood floor and on 2 wheels.  When he stepped in the trailer tipped toward the bumper side.  It leveled itself back out when he walked to the middle.  He ate all the goat minerals and seemed to like being in there. All I heard was clump, clump, clump.  I was hoping he didn't go through the floor.  I didn't know how I'd get him out if that happened.

He knocked things over and emptied all but one water bucket.  I don't know how he drank all that water.  One of the waterers is a small paddle boat that holds several gallons.  The goats, dogs and Raisa rarely drink more than 5 to 7 gallons of water from these buckets.  I don't know how he held it all.  There's Cato in the background.  He's a pain too but not as strong and destructive and Franklin.

The whole time I was milking Franklin was pushing his head through the window to steal the girls' food.  I had to move their feed bucket to the floor so he couldn't reach it.

He's as cute as can be and very sweet but he's always right there.  As I was filling the water buckets he was drinking from the hose or licking my hand.  I decided he needed to move back to the other side of the fence and I'd wait till I was sure Raisa was in heat to bring him back or move her over there.  Luckily moving him back was easy.  Most of my animals are tame and follow me.  All I had to do this morning is ask Raisa to come with me and Franklin would follow her.  In the background of this video you can hear Lennon carrying on because he was lonely without Franklin.
   Mo also followed along.

As you can probably tell I'm excited about breeding Raisa to Franklin this year.  Next year I'm hoping for an adorable little red Jersey/Dexter heifer.

So what is patriotism?

For those of you on social media, maybe you understand how easy it is to get angry over what people post and think is important in the news.  Today I'm feeling just that - angry.  I'm angry about how angry folks are about football player, Colin Kaepernick, and how he didn't stand for the national anthem in protest of how America oppresses people of color.  He was trying to make a point.  

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game.  "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.   There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

If I were someone in the limelight and wanted to make a point, why wouldn't I take a stand about something I feel very strongly about?  I've seen video after video of black men being beaten or killed because they were mistaken for a suspect of interest or for putting their hands in their pockets or reaching for their license in their jacket.  Have you not read about the innocent man kicked in the head by a policeman when he was mistaken for someone else?  The policeman was paid $230,000.00 to resign but the injured man only got a settlement of $15,000.00, along with a broken jaw.  THIS DOESN'T MAKE YOU ANGRY?  This kind of thing happens all the time.  Where is your patriotism if standing up for the national anthem is more important than standing up for your fellow man?

Somehow Kaepernick's actions have turned into something more than taking a stand for social injustice.  I've read things like, he's disrespecting our veterans and soldiers.  People are putting a spin on what he did to fit what they want to justify their anger.  Many people who say these things are the same people who would vote for a presidential candidate who says, "He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."  I guess it's easy to ignore that and pretend it didn't happen.  He must not have really meant that.

I wish there was some way I could put this in perspective for you.  What if your brother, sister or child was beaten, raped or murdered for being gay, black, handicapped or different in some way?  Would you want to take a stand and make a difference for others like him or her?  Most of us aren't in the spotlight and don't have a platform to make a difference, but what if you could?  Why wouldn't you?

I think we all agree (at least I hope so) that bullying is wrong, right?  Or do you only think bullying is wrong when it touches your life or happens to people who look like you?  I almost didn't write this blog because it will make some people angry and negative comments on it will cause me discomfort and who wants to be uncomfortable?  I thought more of it as I was milking this morning and realized how important it is to speak up for what you believe whether it makes you uncomfortable or not.  It's a lot easier to jump on a bandwagon and go along with the crowd than it is to make waves.  Speaking of waves:

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
For the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

Be brave.  Take a stand for what you believe in.  Make a difference.  You're free to do that in America.

Most satisfying

I've seen some videos on Facebook recently that keep me watching even when there's not a lot happening.  Just clay being formed or paint splattering or time lapsed clouds moving, etc.  Here's one I found relaxing.  Watch out, 10 minutes of your life will pass you by if you click on this video.  I think these videos appeal to people who are a little OCD


Why do we (I?) watch these?  They're mesmerizing, I guess.  Just Google "the most satisfying video" and time will disappear before you know it.

A few days ago I was sitting on our deck and saw a leaf that appeared to be dancing.  It was hanging from a very small thread of spider web.  The wind gently carried it up and down.  I sat and watched,

mesmerized.

This next video is satisfying to me in a different way than the one of the leaf dancing.  This too could have been a ten minute video if only I could stand the rough sand papery tongue of Franklin.

In my last blog post I had a video of copper changing colors by heating it.  That was another one of these types of satisfying (to me) videos.

I could watch a goat chewing her cud for a long time but don't ask me to watch a human chewing gum for even 2 seconds.  I took this next video 4 years ago and I still find it relaxing (yet hilarious) to watch even now.


How much time did you just waste reading/watching my blog?  Are you feeling satisfied?

The unwanted piece of furniture

We've owned this corner china cabinet for 20+ years.   About 14 years ago the side panel of glass got cracked when Adam threw a ball and our dog, Lex, chased it and hit his head on the cabinet.  That's the story we were told anyway.

We put tape on it and that's the way it stayed until now.  We decided we no longer wanted it.  It had served it's purpose and we were ready to be rid of it.  Apparently no one else wanted it either.  It's been sitting in our chicken/goat barn for 4 months now.  We offered it to someone for free and he said he'd like it.  He never picked it up.  I put it on a local yard sale page for $60.00.  No one wanted it.  Well, one woman said she'd give me $20.00 for it because the glass would be too expensive to replace.  She's probably right but I decided not to sell it for $20.00.  I know, I was going to GIVE it away earlier but we knew that guy.  I guess I just wasn't in the mood to sell it to a stranger for $20.00.

I had an idea.  What if I took the glass out of the side panels and replaced it with copper?  I had to break the perfectly good glass in the right hand side of the cabinet to get it out.  It felt wrong but I did it anyway.  I cut some leftover roofing copper to fit and went to work.  First I annealed the copper with a propane torch.  This makes it softer and easier to work with.  It's very relaxing and satisfying to watch the metal turn colors as I heat it, at least I think so.

I removed the fire scale (the grey stuff) with vinegar, salt water and a rough sponge.  At first I tried coloring the copper with the torch again to color it.  I wasn't happy with the look once I sprayed it with lacquer and the color became dull.

I showed James what I was doing and the 2 of us agreed it would look good if I did the door too.  So I removed the bowed glass very carefully this time, just in case I had to put it back.

Next I began experimenting with chemicals on copper for a different look.  I've done very little of this in the past so it was really a lot of trial and error.  I had the best luck with ammonia, vinegar and salt water and PH decreaser I found in our closet from when we had a hot tub.  I didn't mix these all together.  I just tried a little bit of this and that, also laying leaves, flowers, rope, etc on the metal to see how things behaved together. I could never repeat what I did because I layered color over color, removed color, added more, etc.  I never knew exactly what would happen until the chemicals were washed off and then the copper oxidized.  As it dried it was like magic and different colors slowly appeared.  I can't even describe how much fun this was.

The finished product is now in our bedroom and I wouldn't even consider selling it, I love it so much.

You really need to see it in person to see some of the detail.  Here are a few leaves imprinted on it.

I think my next attempt with copper is going to be building a garden gate for James since the old one I built out of wood needs some TLC.  Any copper outdoors will weather so it won't be as colorful as this cabinet.  

Mo

Even though Raisa wasn't due for another 3 days I just knew she was going to have a baby yesterday. I spent most of the day with her willing the baby to pop out so I could see the birth.  This is her 3rd calf born here and I wanted so badly to see it happen.  We had a previous engagement last night so I tore myself away for 3 hours.  I couldn't go to bed without checking the field for new life when we got home.

The goats, Rex and I followed the beam of my flashlight to find 4 glowing eyes - 2 up high and 2 down low.  I knew I had missed it once again.  It appeared he had just been born because he was still covered in birthing fluids and Raisa hadn't passed the afterbirth.  I checked to see if it was a boy or girl and wasn't surprised at all that it was once again a boy.  I wonder if I'll ever get a girl from her. Maybe next year she and Franklin can make a beautiful red heifer.  I told Raisa she did a good job and congratulated her then left her to clean him up.

This morning after milking the goats I went to visit her and see him better in the light of day.  He's a cute little guy, of course.  He seems tiny and he's still very curly and slippery but he's been up and around so I imagine he's eating well and healthy.  I asked Raisa what she wanted to name hime.  She said, "mooooo".  I told her that name was overused and maybe we could shorten it and call him Mo.
She didn't argue so that's what I'm going to call him.

A vacation day

This morning James suggested we take a little kayak trip up the river.  We put in at our place and began paddling against the current.  James took the south bank and I took the north.  It was nice floating alone looking at the colors of the rocks beneath the water and the gnarly tree roots grasping the bank at the river's edge.  Eventually I paddled to the left bank when I was ready to talk again.

When I was alone paddling I was thinking - where would I like to go?  I shared with James how I'd like to be in a little cabin on a lake where I could get up and have nothing to do but drink my cup of coffee.  He said, "you know you can do that here"  He said he'd milk the goats and I could do whatever I wanted.  I told him it wasn't the same when I'm at home, that I still feel obligations.

We paddled some more then stopped probably less than half a mile from our place and parked ourselves on our neighbors' gravel beach.  We sat in 6 inches of water and gathered little shells.  We talked and then we didn't.

Slowly any care I had drifted away like the dead crayfish I found who could no longer cling to the rocks.  Poetic, isn't it?  But seriously, my muscles relaxed as I shed my shell and I thought of nothing but our light conversation and how rocks and shells were prettier when they're wet.  Not much more than that.  After an hour or so we hopped back in our kayaks and headed back downstream, only paddling when we neared home and the water had slowed.  We looked to see if we had shells at our beach like they have at our neighbors and we don't.  I wonder why.

Back home, worn out by all our relaxing, I laid on our bed for 30 minutes not wanting to do any more than that.  When that got boring I went out to sit with Raisa, hoping she'd show some sign of labor.  Not today.  She was happy for my company and I was happy to oblige her demands for scratches.

Since I'd decided today was my day off I told myself folding laundry was fun and relaxing.  I think I faked myself out because it was.  I made a blueberry pie for dessert to go with our very easy crockpot dinner of goat shoulder and already made potato salad and cucumber/bean salad.  A very simple meal.

A perfect ending to a perfect day was first walking around the pasture in the dark with the dogs and goats looking for Raisa, followed by an evening dip in the river, which is really warm this time of year.

I doubt sitting on the dock of a lake by a secluded cabin with my coffee cup could have been any better than my little vacation today.

Night watch

Raisa is due to calve in 6 days but like an anxious grandmother I keep thinking she's going to have the baby any hour.  At 9:00 tonight I just had to go out and stare at her.  Finding her in the pasture turned out to be easier than I thought.  The goats and dogs were resting comfortably in the barn when I disturbed them and they thought it was necessary to follow me all through the pasture till I found Raisa.  Luckily she was lying in a path near the cross fence where the bulls hang out.  There's no way I would have found her if she was lying somewhere in the tall grasses.

I laid with her a while and gave her lots of scratches while the dogs and goats watched.  She seemed totally unconcerned that the other animals surrounded her.  Never once did she get up.  I took dozens of pictures but none of them came out very clear.  She seemed happy to have me near.

Her udder is very large but you probably can't tell from this picture.  I, of course, think it looks like a good indication she's going to deliver soon :)  It will continue to get bigger and every day I'll think, "this is it".

After about 30 minutes I decided nothing was happening.  The goats seemed anxious to return to their barn but didn't want to go without me and the dogs so I led them back.

It was very relaxing being out there with my animals in the dark and I think I could have laid with Raisa for hours if it weren't for Keri and Rex wanting my attention and the goats anxiously waiting for me to do something.  I may be doing this for another week.  I really think there will be a baby in a day or 2 but that could be wishful thinking.

It was very hot today and I caught Franklin cooling off in the pig wallow.

Reupholstering an old friend

This chaise lounge has been with us for a long time.  It's been in James' family a very long time and has a story behind it.  It once belonged to Peggy Hopkins Joyce.

According to Wikipedia Peggy Hopkins Joyce (May 26, 1893 – June 12, 1957) was an American actress, artist model and dancer. In addition to her performing career, Joyce was known for her flamboyant life, with numerous engagements, six marriages to wealthy men, subsequent divorces, a series of scandalous affairs, a collection of diamonds and furs, and her generally lavish lifestyle.  There's much more to read about her if you're interested https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Hopkins_Joyce  She's got quite a story.  There's even a book written about her called Gold Digger.

How did we end up with it?  When James' grandparents were young they moved into an apartment that Peggy Hopkins Joyce had just moved out of after an annulled marriage and left all her furniture there.  The landlord told James' grandparents they could have it.  The whole family has a piece or two of this art deco style furniture.

I blogged about it a while ago when I was removing the veneer that had been peeling off the back.  Just recently I decided it was time to reupholster it and thought I'd give it a shot myself.  I took it apart layer by layer.

It had been squeaking for years every time you sat down on it so I knew the frame needed some repairs. Once I got down to the skeleton I saw how desperately it needed attention.

Because of the shape of it you couldn't just put some glue and a few screws in to tighten it up.  I had to cut a few pieces of wood and make a splint to attach to the inside to act as a scab to secure all the joint cracks on both sides.  I Gorilla Glued and screwed it together and now there is no squeak to be heard.  

I put it back together and added some more foam to the top.  I've done very little upholstering so this was a little bit of a challenge.  It turned out pretty good though if we paid a professional upholsterer for this job I'd have a few complaints.  Funny how that works.   Here it is finished.

I recently bought a pneumatic stapler which made the job go so much faster and easier.

I need practice on the double welting that hides the staples.  It's not nearly as tight as when a professional does it like this.  

Because I'm not good at this I'm struggling to come up with an idea to finish off a dining room chair I've recovered.  It's been in our basement for a long time because the caned back had broken.  I removed the caning and replaced it with, first fabric that shows on the back side.

Then webbing to give it more support.

Then some foam for padding and covered with more fabric.

Now, as you can see, I need a way to finish the back off.  I'd prefer not to use double welting like I did on the chaise lounge because I suck at that.  Hopefully an idea will pop in my head while I sleep tonight.

I also found an old chair at our cabin that I thought would be a good addition to our dining room since I only have 5 chairs.  It had an ugly gold seat that had straw for padding and upholstery tacks holding it to the chair.  I refinished it, cut a board for the seat, added some cushioning and covered it with matching fabric.  It'll work.

I'm about finished with upholstering.  I'd much rather work with wood, concrete or metal than fabric.