Total Randomness

1. The hallway is nearly all painted. I have yet to paint the ceiling, though it is primed, as is the woodwork. Painting woodwork is not my favorite. The walls are a light beige and it really looks so much better! I even painted one kitchen wall too. I figure the hall bathroom or the laundry room will be next. It's amazing what a coat of paint will do. The house is dark because of how it sits long-wise easty/westy. I would love to go with more jewel tones but there's just not enough light for that, especially in the hallway but accent walls make me happy too.

2. Rachel has an orthopedist appointment on Wednesday. Supposedly they will cut off her cast, re-X-ray her and we'll go from there.

3. I spent last Friday afternoon with the kids at school.

4. Jeremiah left mid-day Friday with 3 students for Mo. for a welding competition. No one metaled but they did each receive $500 scholarships. Believe it or not, he takes another group of students this coming Friday too. We've got high hopes for their placing. I think he goes to Tulsa next month and there is a welding competition in April in his shop. I don't know how many schools are being invited. The school year is busy!

5. While I go through cycles of very poor and very good sleep, I NEVER slept well as a married gal in the city when Jeremiah was away. Put me in the country while he's away and I sleep. Funny how one can feel safer when people live farther away than right on top of ya.

6. We expect new babies in about 6 weeks and will be kidding from mid-March all the way to June! We've had such great weather I almost kick myself for not breeding sooner...but, hindsight is 20/20. The girls due first should start wearing signs on the front and rear end that read, "WIDE LOAD". About 2 months prior to kidding if you position your hand right, you can feel little goat baby kicks. It's exciting.

7. It's supposed to be 60+ degrees the next three days. This weather is SUPER bizarre. Jo called last night, they had just made it in to the border in Alaska. They said it was -61 degrees the day before. That is not bizarre, that's absurd!

8. I am ready for spring in some ways, but in others there's still lots to be done and it can hold off a while longer. We've been collecting plastic containers for planting in and I hope to start seeds real soon. With all that's been going on, I doubt we'll be getting a green house together in time so the plan this year is just to do cold frames...which is more than what we had last year-little by little.

9. We do have the wood for a chicken coop though and I will be ordering chicks come mid-February. Knowing my luck winter will decide to set in but never you mind because I have a good brooder for them and heat lamps. So, this will force us to get this chicken coop done sooner rather than never.

10. I watched a good documentary 2 nights ago. If you have time to watch it before Wednesday, Feb. 1 (when it no longer is free to watch), I urge you to: http://action.freshthemovie.com/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=6608

11. I keep meaning to take the camera out with me to the barn in the morning when I do chores. One of the kittens follows me out as does the dog-when he's not left out there overnight-and some of the things she does  are so funny. She has no fear, that's for sure. Th goats can't figure out what she is but she would like to make friends with them. They would not. She likes the barn quite a bit and hangs out there some days. Friday she climbed up to the top of the posts and sat there, out of reach of the dog who was quite perplexed and thought it was a game.

12. It's been a long while since I've seen deer run through the property now that the electric fence is up, but the other day while raking one of the younger girls did an about face and looked intently into the pasture. A buck and a doe went leaping by. King was not out there with me that day, those deer would have gotten a run for their money!

13. I am intent on buying a semen tank this year so that I can artificially inseminate this fall...not myself mind you, my goats. I have all of the other equipment and the know how. Keeping as many bucks and/or buying new really is not cheaper in the long given my location the lack of what I like.

14. Last year's spring break job was to replace all the fencing around the property- which, incidentally, took a lot longer than a week but it was the removal of the old fence that took the longest!-. This year we'll be digging trenches for water and electrical line(s). I need to water to each of the 4 pens, and the new pen that will be erected some day attached to the buck's pasture. I also need water to the garden area and future orchard. We'll rent a ditch-witch. I won't be digging those trenches by hand.

15. Believe it or not, it is warmer in Yellowtail, Montana right now (45 degrees) than it is here in Hutchinson, Kansas (28 degrees)! 

16. As of this second we expect rain Wednesday and Friday and snow on Saturday. Give it a few seconds, they're sure to change their minds on the forecast. I'd be happy for rain and snow. Wait, what? I did not just say I'd be happy for snow. Providing it's not a huge storm that dumps tons of snow, I don't mind little bits of it here or snow that doesn't stick at all. This year has been SUCH a far cry from last year where it seemed they were spraying the roads every other day with de-icing solution! I haven't seen the "storm trucks" ONCE this year. Good riddance.

17. I went to bed feeling sick last night. I woke up feeling sicker- must be a cold. My head hurts from sinus pressure. Getting out this morning will make me feel better, believe it or not.

18. Rachel's 4-H projects this year are fiber arts (knitting was her choice though it includes crocheting, cross stitching and another that doesn't come to mind.), cooking/baking, dairy goats and reading.

19. She broke her leg at a 4-H project meeting for fiber arts! Go figure! Jane: "Rachel, how did you break your leg?" Rachel: "At a knitting meeting."

20. I have taught her how to cast on. I tried to teach her the knit stitch yesterday, she hated it. She prefers the cast on only. I told her she can't complete anything by only casting on.

21. I only learned to knit about 3 weeks ago so I am barely staying one step ahead of the egame. I did not like the purl stitch until literally yesterday. Change of needles and yarn makes all the difference for a novice.

22. I keep calling yarn, "thread". Must be the seamstress in me!

23. Drew is a Cloverbud this year. A child must be at least 7 years old to participate in 4-H but there are often many younger siblings who want to be part, so they get to be Cloverbuds. During the "meat and potatoes" part of the meeting (i.e. last meeting minutes, a.k.a. "the boring part"), the Cloverbuds get to go to another room and do something more fun. Drew's first meeting was a few weeks ago. He didn't want to go. He had fun and he'll get used to it, but this is a good experience for him as he is not as outgoing as Rachel is. He needs these types of things for social skills.

24. Rachel gives her first presentation in May in front of her 4-H group. She will be nervous but she also needs theses types of experiences for good social skills and it will help when she is older not to be painfully scared when speech class becomes necessary. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that she does not see these people all the time and therefore is not nearly as comfortable as she'd be if she knew them all well. I figure that if her talk is about goats and we hauled a baby goat along, the audiences attention will be more on the goat than her which may help her not feel so self conscious. We'll see how that turns out. Baby goats visiting the school is always a hit and kids keep asking me when I am going to bring more. Who couldn't love a baby goat anyway?

25. Jeremiah  is half way finished with his Masters!!! The summer of 2013 is also the summer we intend to give his own welding school a trail run.

That's all the randomness for now. Out to do chores and hang out clothes.