Little Man is Gone

I think it is my fault…..His mother was very nervous, so I penned them up in a pen.  The problem was other little goats could get and out.  I also think , looking back that she just didn’t have enough milk .  She also had a bad habit of pawing him with her foot, which appeared to be to keep him very close to her.

I have never had a goat act like her and so I didn’t watch close enough to hopefully have saved him.  Roy gets on to me and says nature must take its course, but it is hard on both of us when we lose a goat. If the mother doesn’t calm down, she may go on the auction block.

Today is the day for” worming”.  We have a helper coming and hopefully he will not be afraid of the goats.  We have had one or two that were afraid to grab them.  We will see!  We run them in a shoot and each goat must be given liquid wormer by mouth, the number of ccs  determined by their size.  This is not one of our favorite days………

Our other project for the day, which will start at 7:00am is to plant 2 45gal Bald Cypress trees at the lake house.  This is not going to be an easy task.  Roy is taking the small tractor out there on a trailer to lift the trees of another trailer and set them in the ground after the holes are dug.  Believe me a  45 gal container with at least a 14 foot tree takes a big hole and the tree and ball are very heavy.

No, this was not a planned activity for today,  we went to Mexia for lunch and saw a sign that advertised a tree farm nearby…Roy loves cypress trees and has planted several small one, which the beavers cut down immediately.   Well, this time he says the beavers will need dental work if they try to take one of these down.  Last night he made 4ft high bull wire cages to put around each tree.   Now he says the fight is on!!!!!

 

I don’t have the heart to show him this cartoon, he has worked to hard yesterday and the work is not over.

Pictures of the Big Planting will be forthcoming.

See Y’all,

Barbara

  PS I got an email from  a cheese company yesterday that makes goat cheese and they have lots of great recipes, which I will share with you after I learn more about their company and try their cheese.

GOAT CHEESE

There is so much to tell you about the cheese, that I jump around a lot trying to cover as much information as possible without boring you. Please excuse …….

Goat cheese comes in a variety of  forms, but the most common is a soft easily spread cheese. Goat cheese is very popular in other parts of the world and is growing in popularity in this country.

Goat cheese has been made for thousands of years and was probably one of the earliest made dairy products. It is made in many countries the #1 being France, (called Chevre), then comes Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Greece, Norway, Italy and the US.

France has been making goat cheese since the 8th century. In Homer’s The Odyssey, the hero eats goat cheese with his wine. The most famous Greek cheese is feta.

The US is becoming a major producer of goat cheese, small producers are popping up all over the country producing a basic soft version of the cheese flavored with additional ingredients.

Goat cheese has a tangy flavor and can be very strong. Producers can control this several ways: nannies producing milk are kept away from the males and their diet is also controlled which produces a smoother flavor. The milk is often used by those who are young, ill, or have a low tolerance to cow’s milk. Goat milk is much more similar to human milk than a cow’s.

It is growing in popularity for several reasons, goat’s milk is leaner than cow’s so the cheese is leaner. Many dieters craving cheese, crumble it on their salad or melt it on cooked dishes. It also seems the goat cheese does not strain the heart as does some other cheese..because of it’s lower fat content.

For the above reasons in addition to the fact that goat cheese taste great, you should wander past the everyday cheese section and hunt down goat cheese for your next snack.

Creamy Goat Cheese and Honey

Creamy goat cheese is lightly dusted with pecans, honey and rosemary. These are so delicious, light, and refreshing, they could be served as appetizers or an interesting dessert, Spread them on your favorite crostini , bagel chips or melba toast and they go great on Sea Salt Chips.

ingredients

4 ounces goat cheese

2 ounces finely chopped pecans

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 springs fresh rosemary , minced

Divide the goat cheese into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball. Combine the crushed pecans and cinnamon in a bowl and roll each cheese ball in this mixture. Gently pat the balls into patties and place on serving tray and drizzle homey over the patties and sprinkle with rosemary.

I have more recipes to share with you for another day.

TRY IT, YOU WILL LIKE IT!

SEE Y’ALL,

Barbara

PS Don’t forget to register for valentine bracelet.

Goat Meat!

I read that to be a successful blogger, you need to have a plan when you started out.  I got side tracked…..so here is my first real on target post.

Raising goats in the US has quickly become big business.  The demand in this country for goat meat is so high that producers can’t raise enough.

Most of the meat consumed in this country is imported from New Zealand or Australia.  63% of red meat consumed  world wide is goat.  The demand in this country comes mostly from ethnic groups, but that is slowly changing.  At the present time, goat meat is higher per pound that beef.

Why chevon(goat meat)?  It is low fat, good tasting and an alternative to chicken or fish.  Most people prefer meat from a goat that is at least 75% Boer…..this changes the flavor of the meat.

These 2 babies are great examples of full blooded boer. These young men are the sons of Cry Baby and Chocolate Chip.

The Boer goat is considered the “meat goat”.  They were developed in South Africa for their meat and hardiness.

DON’T SHY AWAY FROM GOAT MEAT!  If cooked properly, it is delicious.  It is usually grilled.  Recently there have been news articles about “fancy” restaurants in New York, Chicago, etc serving chevon.

Come on over to our little goat ranch and we will grill a goat for you, you will be surprised.

 

This is a picture of a standard Boer goat, but there are other colored goats that are 100% Boer.  Paints are becoming very popular.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your first lesson about goats.

These little fellow is less than a day old.

See Ya’ll,

Barbara

I had to cancel my trip to Nashville

 

I am not going to be able to go to Nashville…maybe next year…so I will extend date to sign up for bracelet  until the 5th of February and mail it on the 6th.

I love Erma Bombeck’s little book call “Eat Less Cottage Cheese and More Ice Cream”  When asked if she had her life to live over what would she change, one of the things she said, “if I had my life to live over again I would talked less and listened more.”   That is my thought for the day.

BE BACK LATER.

See Ya’ll

Barbara

GIVE AWAY….A PINK HEART BRACELET

 

I MADE THIS LITTLE STRETCH PINK HEART BRACELET AND I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE IT TO SOMEONE WHO LOVES PINK AND HEARTS.   TIME IS SHORT, SO YOU MUST REGISTER BY FEBRUARY 2nd AND WE WILL DRAW ON THE 3RD, SO I CAN MAIL IT BEFORE I HEAD TO NASHVILLE.  JUST LEAVE A COMMENT AND  ADD ME TO YOUR LIST OF BLOGS.

 

THIS ONE IS FOR SALE……IT HAS 4  PINK QUARTZ RECTANGLE  BEADS, STERLING SILVER BEADS WITH STERLING CLASP AND THE PINK HEART IS DARKER PINK WITH SWIRLS.  IT IS A VERY DELICATE NECKLACE.   THE PRICE IS $30 WHICH INCLUDES TAX AND SHIPPING.

THANKS,

Barbara

UPDATE

LITTLE MAN HAS BEEN REUNITED WITH HIS MOTHER…SHE IS VERY NERVOUS (?), BUT SHE IS TAKING CARE OF HIM AND FEEDING HIM.   THANK GOODNESS!

Valentine Decorations

Time to put out all our red, pink and of course purple, with lots of hearts and flowers.

My daughter is coming the day I come home from Nashville, so I have decorated for Valentine’s.  I decorated the kitchen, guest bathroom and den.

The red tablecloth I bought on sale was to long for my table, so I tied up both ends with ribbon.

Hung 2 hearts and the word love in the window behind the table.

In china cabinet.

I don’t sew very well, but I made these chair covers a couple of years ago.

I love candles, so I grouped all of them on the table in the den.

A mixture of western and valentine’s ……eclectic?

Forgot to take pictures of the guest bathroom, so I will do that later.

Have a blessed day.

See Ya’ll,

Barbara

PS  Little Man was up and crying at 2:00am for a bottle…..just like a little baby.  Now he is fast asleep….go figure!

The Lunch Date Blouse GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Lunch Date Blouse GIVEAWAY!!!!

MEET LITTLE MAN

I ventured out today after a man ran the bell at the gate to tell me that two goats were out .   After chasing them down the fence line, I discovered a Mamma goat with a new baby.  The baby was still wet and it was freezing, so I brought it and the nanny to the barn.

For some unknown reason, maybe nervousness, the mother would not let him eat and she pawed at him.  Roy and I decided it would be best to bring him in tonight and try to reconcile them tomorrow after mother settles down.  Luckily we found a feed store open late Saturday evening and we got colostrum, without this in the first 24 hours, most babies will not survive.

I have a play pen to keep the babies in, Little Man now has a full little tummy and is sound asleep in the kitchen in his playpen.

I seriously doubt that the mother will take him back, but I have raised a lot of babies in the playpen.

This is Little Man and his mother is snow white.

As I have said before, there is nothing sweeter than a baby goat.

See Ya’ll,

Barbara

hello

I am having trouble with posting….will be back soon I hope.

TEXAS TODAY CAKE

I found this recipe recently and intended to try it, but lately I haven't had the time. I thought I would share it with all of you and hopefully someone will make it and tell us about it.

TEXAS TODAY CAKE
1 box lemon or yellow cake mix
1 pkg. Mexican style corn muffin mix
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1/2 cup nectar, mango
1/2 cup bitter orange juice ( substitute: juice of one orange and one lime)
1/2 cup carrots, finely grated and chopped
1 medium avocado
1 small sweet potato
1 small banana
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cilantro, dried
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried orange peel
1 teaspoon mint, dried
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 cup coconut, flaked
1/4 cup mixed nuts chopped
2 ounces beef jerky chopped

Preheat oven to 356 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan. Put mixes , oil, eggs, juices, vegetables, fruits, vanilla and spices in bowl and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add coconut, nuts and jerky and mix another 2 minutes. Pour into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then turn onto cooling rack or plate. If desired, mix 1/4 cup mango nectar and 1/4 cup bitter orange juice and pour over cooled cake.

COOKS TIP This melange of ingredients produces a very moist cake with a complex Sweet/sour/spicy flavor that keeps well in the refrigerator.

On second thought, just send me a piece!

I am still having some problelms with new computer, hopefully by next week all things will be corrected.

Time to prepare for the coming into office of a new President. I am already reading news articles saying his new proposals for stimulating the economy are not going to work. I am sure most of us were aware that this was going to be long complicated road back to stabillity in our economy.
I hear so much doom and gloom from news and everyday people, but I have hope and I think we all need to have hope and mainly hope that God will guide our leaders in the right direction.

"Begin tomorrow with hope. Unlock the mysterious door of the future with the golden key of hope in God."

I hope this a great day in your life. Come back soon.

See Ya'll
Barbara

Good Intensions!

Today was another Bunko day at the lake house.  My friend Sharon said I should be taking pictures.  Well, it was over before I remembered to do so, so I am going to show you my lake house and the remains of a great day with friends playing Bunko. 

 

 

These as you can tell is the bedroom, yes I know it looks like a beach house, remember that is where I was before I married Roy  and I still love it.

 

This is remains of Bunko, a little dessert, dishes I had to wash and one of the three tables where we played.  Oh, I must share the dessert recipe with you.  ooops…I left it at the lake house.  Will share with you later.

A few more pictures and I will stop for today, I am tired and I have something to do tomorrow and then bridge on Thursday.

 

You are so smart, you knew this was the bath room.

 

 

 

These are a few pictures of the living room.

Fun Day but I am going to sit a while.  Hope all is well at your house and you can sit a while.

My Thought for the Day.

A person wrapped up

in himself makes a

very small package.

Love ya’ll

Barbara

WELCOME TO THE HOME OF VERY SPOILED GOATS!

I decided on my blog name because I love purple and we raise goats, but I haven’t written a lot about my goats.  So today is the day.

At the present  time we have about 40, which is a low number for us,  but I had back surgery last spring so we cut back and will buy more nannies in the spring. 

I name most of my nannies and they are mostly named because of some characteristic.

I have Momma who is a granddaughter from our very first 2 goats.  There is Hairy Legs,  she produces the biggest goats, one of her son’s is our next Billy, his name is Baron.

Other names, Spider Lady, Ugly, Wormy, Princess, Daisy Mae, Susie, Cry Baby, Dottie, Flying Nun, Folded Ears, and there are some with just numbers and I haven’t named the new ones. 

I only name the boys or boy we plan on keeping for the next generation Billy. The one we kept this time is Wormy’s boy and his name is War Blanket.

Most of our goats are a mix of Boar and Spanish.  In our area, where we usually have lots of moisture, full blood Boar goats are harder to raise because of the worm problem. We do have about 1/2 Boar and 1/2 Mix.

Contrary to public opinion, goats do not eat just anything, at least no ours.  This is the home of very spoiled goats and Roy blames that on me.  I insist we feel them when they should be eating grass and hay in the winter time.

This is one of my unnamed and not numbered goats.

 

 

 

 

These are Wormy’s sons , the one with the white ears looking this way is War Blanket.

 

 

Hope you can see this!  An old tree fell and before we could cut it up, the goats played King on the Tree.  Goats are very playful, they love to have things to climb on, in fact they climbed on my tractor and somehow turned on the lights and ran the battery down.

 

This is my Mary.  She is a full blood, registered Anatolian Shepherd and she is the love of Pilgrim’s life.  I am not sure he could live without Mary.  I just discovered several cuts on Mary’s ear, so they have been in fight with something.  Not bad cuts and I am sure the other fellow is dead.  The only thing that worries us….them trying to take on a very large cat that comes thru here about every 90 days, but so far the cat has not come in the pasture to our knowledge.

I will show more goat pictures later.  We don’t have anyone expecting (I don’t think) anytime soon.  We try not to have January or February babies…cold and damp, causes pneumonia.

Well,   I need to move on, I have to go to Bryan/College Station this morn and get stuff for Bunko tomorrow.  I got smart this time and ordered my meat, potato salad and baked beans, so all I have to do is dessert and tea.

Have a great day and may God walk with you.

See Ya’ll,

Barbara

TRIP TO HOUSTON..UNBELIEVABLE

It took me about an hour and a half to get to 1960 and over 30 minutes to get down that road to Willow brook Mall.  There was bumper to bumper traffic at 9:30 in the morn and a traffic light every block.  When I finally got to the mall…I was to tired to shop…..believe that, well then as the song says ‘’ I have some ocean front property in Arizona”.

Why did I have to go to that particular mall, good question.  I had purchased Bare Essentials makeup on line  and want some further help and products and guess what there is no boutique in Jewett, which has only 800 souls and I don’t live in town.

Enough complaining.  After a little shopping in the mall, I head to the bead shop.  Bad  idea, too many beads, not enough money.  I  did get a few and a new ring called Staxx.  You city ladies are thinking boy is she behind the times.  I love it and it has a purple stone in it.

 

This is the ring and the pieces I got to go with it.

They are really cute and you can buy as many pieces to change it as your pocketbook or husband can afford.

The bead shop was awesome.  I have to look up name again but it was on Louetta Road in Spring.

 

 

 

 

 

The ladies there were very helpful…easy when your spending someone else's money.//  Just teasing.

Well, I have been fooling with this new computer since 2:00 am is morn and I need a break.  Have a fabulous day.

See Ya’ll

Barbara

Blissdom09- We're Going! - Blissfully Domestic Living

Blissdom09- We're Going! - Blissfully Domestic Living

I thought I would show you some of my jewelry

I just started making jewelry and I certainly need to go to some classes, which I hope to do in February,  My only real problem is that the nearest class is 60 miles away and so many of them are at night.  I saw some day classes in Houston, I may try some of those.

This necklace was one of the first and it is made of beach glass and some pearls. It is probably my favorite because the glass came from Crystal Beach.

 

 

This one is for my daughter.......she loves red!

 

 

I also like the animal print necklace....I have a lot to wear this one with.

This is a cat pin and a valentine bracelet.

I am headed to Houston today to try to find more valentine beads.

Remember I am far from being a jewelry maker, but I enjoy it.  It is not an inexpensive hobby, good beads are very expensive and it is easy to acquire a lot of them in a short period of time.

Thanks for indulging me in looking at my work.  Hope you are having a great day.

Oh, by the way we had a great day Wednesday at Bunko. I couldn't ask for a nicer bunch of friends to spend the day with and I got some great hostess gifts and lots of compliments.  We will do it again with a few different ladies on Tuesday.

See Ya'll,

Barbara

HOW ABOUT THOSE HORNS!!!

What an awesome game....first half it looked liked they forgot to come, but second half, McCoy got in his stride.........and we won!

Things were wild around here yesterday.  Roy found a sick baby goat the night before and I had her in a play pen  in the kitchen. In the morning it was obvious she was in pain, so we had to put her to sleep.  It never stops hurting us .

A little later we discovered that the freeze door we thought had been left open wasn't our problem.  The freezer went out and everything in it was spoiled.  Poor Roy, he spent hours cleaning the freezer and the garage floor. BUT....before he could clean the garage floor, he had to move my car and it would not start. My car has no key, just a small gadget that starts the car and the battery in it had gone out.  So off we went 40+miles one way to the nearest Toyota dealer to get this special battery......technology?

When we arrived home, the Fed Ex truck and the UPS truck were both at our gate, which is electric, writing those little tags that say they were here....we were not. I got a new printer and books and Roy got books and a new mask for his CPAP...so now we have stuff all over the house.

Now I have to start cooking for Bunko today....Wow

Now it is 2:43 a.am., I have strange sleep habits and the stew is cooked, the corn bread muffins are made, the cake is ready and so is the tea.  All that is left is the Banana pudding dessert and the pineapple salad and I thought I might do some bananas,apples and oranges dipped in chocolate. The only left is for me to dress and haul all this stuff to the lake house.  Roy goes back to work this morn, so no help there.

Just think...I have another Bunko group next Tuesday at the lake house.........WOW

The greatest thing about blogs, besides making new friends, is that you can sit down and type your heart out and the other people can say ...glad that wasn't my day, but sorry it was hers.

Hope all of you are well and things are going great at your house.

SeeYa'll

Barbara

"CATCHIN UP!"

I haven't posted in a few days...Roy is off and we try to do things together...he will be gone again on Wednesday for a week.

I am getting ready for by Wednesday Bunko group, setting up tables at the lake house and gathering groceries for lunch and dessert. I found this recipe for Banana Pudding Dessert and thought I would share with you. It is a little different than regular BP!

Banana Pudding Dessert

1 pkg (8oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup cold milk

1 pkg. (3.4oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 carton (8oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed

52 vanilla wafers

4 medium firm bananas, sliced

In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in condensed milk: set aside. In another bowl, wisk milk and pudding mix; add to cream mixture. Fold in whipped topping. Place 1/3 of of the vanilla wafers in a 2 1/2 quart glass bowl. Top with 1/3 of the bananas and pudding mixture. Repeat layers twice. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Roy's comment to this dessert and most of the desserts I fix....You ladies just try to see who can clog the most arteries in each others body.....he is not a sweet eater.

The weather here is miserable....cold and windy. It is this time of year I am sorry we raise goats, they look so miserable.

Since I am not real crafty, I don't have a lot of pictures to share, but I have started and I mean just started making jewelry, so I will show you some pictures tomorrow.

TODAY IS DEDICATED TO MY LOVING HUSBAND AND THE FIESTA BOWL...WHERE OF COURSE YOU KNOW THAT THE TEXAS LONGHORNS ARE PLAYING OHIO.

I am sure all of you will be glued to your TV sets.!!!!! HOOK'EM HORNS!

Have a great day and think about coming to Nashville for BlissDom09...I think we will learn some new things about blogging. I certainly will.

See Ya'll

Barbara

BlissDom09

I am headed to Nashville on Feb 6&7 for BlissDom09.....Hope others will come also.

SEE YOU IN NASHVILLE

Barbara

MY NEW YEAR 'S PRAYER

His Unfailing Presence

Another year I enter
Its history unknown;
Oh, how my feet would tremble
To tread its paths alone!
But I have heard a whisper,
I know I shall be blest;
"My presence shall go with thee,
And I will give thee rest."
What will the New Year bring me?
I may not, must not know;
Will it be love and rapture,
Or loneliness and woe?
Hush! Hush! I hear His whisper;
I surely shall be blest;
"My presence shall go with thee,
And I will give thee rest."

--Unknown Author

I found this prayer and wanted to share with you.

 

See Ya'll       Barbara