Saturday, November 26, 2011

Thanksgiving

On Wednesday we went to visit Mark's mom. We are a bit worried about her. She doesn't seem to want to live with Krista anymore, but we can't get a lot of information out of her.

On Thanksgiving we went for a nice hike on the bikepath and then headed to Nana's. Collen and Dick, Kim and Caleb, and Mary were there. It was a nice, quiet meal. Caleb kept everyone hopping. Finn and Tali said they had a good time with him. Then we headed to Aunt Gretchen's and had more pie. Doug started razzing me the minute I walked in, but luckily he left and went home soon after that. We had a nice time with everyone. I didn't want to go home. Mark spent Thanksgiving with Erin and Patrick in Akron.

Yesterday we slowed down and just hung around all day. It was a very lazy day. I did get a walk in with Scout.

Today went for another walk. The weather has been just great. Finn had a bday party and someone came to buy our hay. Moving right along. We had an inspection done on Monday last week and thought we had a potential offer, but we haven't heard anything yet.

Checking Up

I woke up in the middle of the night last night worrying about the donkeys and Ruby. Every time I drive by their house I don't see them outside. It made me start to wonder if they were still there or if they were in a stall. I just had to see how they were for myself. So, Mark, Tali and I went for a visit today and the donkeys are doing great! They are with the big white mammoth gelding and everyone seems content. They have access to a nice open area to get exercise and fresh air. Pickles has lost a lot of her fat and they both look to be in great health. I was so happy to see them. On the way home we passed Ruby's house and Sam and Ruby were taking a walk, so we stopped to say hi. Ruby could have cared less about me, but I was so happy to see that she was muddy and looked like she had had a great time running around outside. Sam is going to board her in January and ride her this winter. That will be good for both of them. So relieved that my animals are being cared for and have happy homes. Now, I can breathe a sigh of relief and let them go.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Farm Sitter

We have a farm sitter all set up for when we visit Ecuador in December to watch Dolly, Samurai, the chickens, Scout and the barn cats. But, then a realtor came over to look at the house and wants the chickens. I let Lee know that someone may make an offer on the house tomorrow and she has decided to pick up Dolly and Samurai in December instead of waiting until Jan. or Feb. So, that only leaves Scout and the cats. If Amanda will watch Scout then we can ask the neighbors to watch the cats and we will be able to save a boat load of money. Its weird how things fall into place sometimes.

This week should be great. Only two days of work and one of them will be party/movie day.

I tried to take my Nook back after playing with Mark's Fire. I like the way the Fire is easy to manipulate. Unfortunately, they won't take it back without the packaging. Hoping that Cathy will let me use hers.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Catching Up



Last weekend the goats left and it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Linda and George are very nice people and it was clear that they were going to take great care of our animals. They got here around 8:00a.m. and met the goats. Then we talked in the house for awhile and got warm. The wind was coming out of the southeast and it was very cold even though the sun was out. The girls loaded up very easily once Raisin was in and the boys followed suit. Then George and Mark loaded up as much hay as their truck could carry. I guess hay is very expensive in Georgia. Around $10 a bale and we wanted to help them out as much as we could. The trailer was very, very small and the 5 girls were definitely cramped. I was worried about Holly because she had been away from the main herd for so long. I didn't know if she was going to get pushed around, but there really wasn't any room for them to get a good start. I also worried that George would have to stop short and that they would all be smashed against the wall.

I didn't really stop worrying until we got a call from Linda saying they had made it back safely and all of the animals were out of the trailer and in their new homes. The boys gave them quite a struggle as they moved girls around trying to get everyone where they were supposed to be. Romeo jumped the fence, of course. I think George was a bit exasperated, but that's how bucks are. A challenge twice a year for sure. They said that Ivy and Amelia were both flagging so they probably didn't get bred by Samurai. I was afraid of that. He is just so little. Even now, he has shown no interest at all in Dolly. Hopefully that is because she is already bred by Uno though. I'm afraid that if he didn't breed Ivy and Amelia, then he probably didn't breed Juliette either since she is so tall. Maybe Raisin though.

Sunday we went to the Lego Kid Fest with Mom. We had a great time. It was the perfect amount of time to do everything and leave tired. We loved the ferris wheel.

The rest of the week went by quickly. Tuesday was voting day and we were encouraged by our union and administration to take the day off and help at the polls. Mark and I went, but there was nobody there. Nobody. Nobody voting and nobody standing with signs. We voted and then went for a hike at Mill Hollow with the kids and Scout. It was a gorgeous day. We had lunch at Fresh Start and ice cream next door. We went to Inspired and Mark picked the woman's brain about an online fair trade store.

Wednesday was long, long, long. Left at 7:30 to get to work on time for Parent/Teacher Conferences and then two hours after. Didn't get home until 7. Long. Long. Long.

Friday was Veterans Day. Mark and I had the day off, but the kids went to school. We were having a showing that day for the house so Mark and I cleaned for two hours and then headed out to get an e-check, only the facility was closed for the holiday. We went to Tractor Supply and then out to lunch. Fresh Start again. I love their BLTs.

Yesterday we opened our garage sale. We had a nice steady stream all day. Colleen Jenkins stopped by. She had grown up in our house and I invited her to come in and see all of the renovations done by the Holkenborgs. She was amazed and walked around exclaiming how different it all was. The Jenkins raised 7 children in this house. Crazy. Other people stopped by and chatted and hinted about wanting to see the house. I told them to call our realtor. I'm not about to just let strangers walk around in here. I was a little annoyed.

Yesterday was also my 45th birthday. Yowza. We went out to dinner at Moosehead with Dad, Eileen and Pat. Good food as always and birthday cupcakes from the store next door. A very nice evening all around.

This morning Mark made me breakfast. The kids said Happy Birthday to me again and gave me a standing ovation. It was so funny. Like I had done something amazing. Tali made me the funniest card. It says Happy Birthday to Mother on the front. On the inside is a hotdog saying Hi Birthday Girl. :)

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Saying Goodbye Through the Tears





I woke up last night at 4:00a.m. freaked out that I hadn't said goodbye to the goats. Of course I have been trying to prepare myself, but this is going to be a much, much harder goodbye. Really hard. Raisin pressing her head against my chin and chest, eyes half-closed while I stroked her chin. Juliette's beautiful face and those floppy ears. Holly's sweet, sweet personality. Uno...the first animal born on our farm. I will miss even his stinky self. I have to keep reminding myself that I am burnt out. I need a break. And they are going to a great home. Oh, but this is hard. :(

We have an appt. for someone to come look at the house tomorrow. Fingers crossed.