Christmas Crafts and Bubble Baths

You know, sometimes in your life, certain things hit you hard in the heart and you know you're changed forever.  This past week-end that happened to me (us). 

We had the honor of watching three of our five grand kids for several nights while their parents went out of town.  What an initial whirlwind that was.........kids arrived with huge pieces of luggage, talking non-stop all the while, and the baby (who just learned to walk) grabbing goodies as fast as you could put one up.  I knew we were in for a "treat."

And that's exactly what we got...........once the initial hurricane settled into the eye of the storm, everything went smoothly.  The only time I really felt a bit of anxiety was at meal time, the baby would cling to my leg crying and hungry, Brady would TELL ME what HE wanted for dinner, Kiley would say, "Nana I'm really hungry."  Once the babe was strapped into his high chair with fresh fruit, things calmed...............I could then focus on the meal.  Mind you this was three times a day with snacks in between.  Aside from the starving lil' chicks, the time spent with them was fun.

Kiley and I made Christmas crafts for her "second" family (her biological father, his wife and their four kids).  I knew she was "stressing" over what to make them as they are kids that apparently are very "picky" about what they get for gifts.  After a small pep talk with Kiley about homemade gifts vs. store bought, she buckled down to make meaningful gifts for her siblings.  I have to tell you, she put her heart and soul into those gifts for her siblings. 

 I have "stuff", craft stuff...........in bags, in containers, in boxes, you name it, I have it.  She pulled everyone of those out to "design" her Christmas gifts.She embellished those crafts with paint, lace, ribbons, roses, and tacky glue.  She measured, cut, and painted those crafts into some of the cutest "shabby chic" lil' designs ever!  They turned out darling and she was soooo proud of her artistic work.  She made one sign, designed in a heart that said........"Every girl has a story to tell......"  Now she came up with that lil' saying on her own, I personally want her to do one for me that says.........."Every woman has a story to tell....."  She's a gifted, artistic child and I'm glad I was able to devote the time to her.I couldn't have spent the one-on-one time with her either if it hadn't been for "The Man" holding down the rest of the fort...........two boys bouncing off the walls!!! 

Now for those two boys...................wow!  They are a handful but oh so adorable.  If you are a woman who's never had the honor of having a son, you won't understand the following, plain and simple, you just "can't know."  Boys are a breed of their own, they wipe snot on their sleeves or the bottom of their shirts, they smell sweaty, they "fart" and think it's "so hilarious."  I mean, they are completely from another gene pool altogether....left side, right side brain....I don't know but they are certainly different than lil' girls.  These two lil' boys wanted to play outside (in 30-40 something F.), they wanted to dig in dirt, build mountains, paint on wood, saw wood, hammer and nail.......all I can say, "Thank GOD for "The Man."  He knows how to do this "boy thing" with the boys very well.  Chase (aka Coursey) I did indeed bundle up both days and let him check out the critters for about an hour.  He needed the fresh air, Vitamin D and I needed him to tucker himself out walking and navigating the ranch.  That he did, he took great naps for his Nana. 

"The Man" and his lil' buddy Brady (aka Bingo), had a hoopla of a time building bridges, tunnels, cabins, and lakes out of the left-over sand from the well drilling.  They made a city, actually "Bingo" called it his town in Alaska, it was so dubbed, "Alaska City."  After interminable hours outdoors, playing in sand and sweating, Nana called the boys in for baths.  I had absolutely NO problem getting those boys in for baths either as they love the new claw-foot tub(their deeper than modern day tubs).  Strip em' down, get em' naked and start the bubble bath...........easy as pie.Gettin' em out was the hard part!

What changed this Nana over the week-end?  I realize that life is short, grand kids grow up too fast, time spent one-on-one with each of them is precious beyond measure.  I cherish these days with my grand kids, they are truly the "light of my life."  I just HAPPEN to love kids, I like to tease the grand kids, I like to wrestle with the grand kids, give kisses and hugs to them............it makes you younger, lighter, the load less heavy.  Life is precious and grand kids are a treasure.

In denouement, "The Man" and myself were in bed by 8 p.m. Sunday evening, we were plum tuckered from playin' so hard with those kids..............and it felt GOOD!!!!! I think it was a week-end....... "Jesus approved."

NANA'S MUSSELS DI NAPOLI

A GRAND KIDS REQUEST RECIPE!

4# mussels

2 Cups white wine

1 cup salted butter

10 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

4 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 Tablespoons Italian herbs

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon salt

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Gently cook garlic together with olive oil until the garlic gets soft.

In a large saucepan combine the mussels, wine and butter.  Add garlic and any remaining olive oil.  Cover the pot and bring to simmer over medium heat.  Mussels are cooked when the shells are open.  Add all remaining ingredients, stir carefully and simmer gently on low heat for about two minutes.  Serve in bowls with plenty of bread to soak up the delicious juices!!!  Add a salad and Bon Appetit!!!

*My two grand kids will eat a pound of mussels on their own.......believe it or not!!!!!

The Reincarnation of Veggies, Shrimp Shells and Bones

I tend to be a thrify person, re-using/recycling as much as possible.  It's important to me to leave as small a footprint in my life-time as possible.  I recycle windows, doors, wool, paper, plastics...........just about everything.  I even feed apples gone bad to my sheep, diced up small, thrown in a bucket with beet pulp to give them a treat during cold weather.  I've been this way for a very long time. I was always the one child growing up who saved her allowance, it's in my nature to save.

I make my own cleaning supplies because they are not harmful to the ground water, my lungs, my skin or the critters that drink from our gray water ditch (that feeds the fruit trees).  I like the idea that one action begets another in a positive way.

I also make my own stocks for cooking.  During the week, I have a produce bag I keep in the fridge, as I use veggies throughout the week, I save bits and pieces of them.  Stems from fresh herbs (which I always grow indoors in  the winter), lettuce with a small brown spot, potato, mushroom and carrot peels, onion tops and bottoms, just about any lil' stem, spine or leaf I can save, I do.  Once a week, I take out a large stock pot, add a tablespoon of olive oil, dump the bag of veggie bits in, saute' to weep and add water.  It's that simple.  It usually makes about four quarts of wonderful, salt-free, rich stock.......nothing esoteric, just simple, superior stock.

Sometimes I add wine, always I add a bouquet of whole peppercorns and Herbs de Provence, whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.  To me, it's common sense to reincarnate these veggie "throw-aways" to make a superior stock.  When I'm done with the stock, I take the used, cooked scraps out to my chickens who devour it in minutes, another process in recycling. 

I also compost for our garden.  I keep a bucket under the sink with a lid, add hair, lint from the dryer, coffee grounds, egg shells (cleaned and crumbled).  You'd be amazed at how much garbage one person can save in a household, just reincarnating our "trash." Using our garbage to better our gardens, our bodies, our animals.  Dogs love left-over rice, pumpkin, cottage cheese, bananas..........it's good for them and it doesn't go into the trash can.

I also save all my shrimp and crab shells for homemade seafood stock, chicken pieces for chicken stock, lamb bones for lamb stock, veal bones for veal stock..............these are stocks that cost a whole lot of money if you had to purchase them for a particular dish.  Seafood stock is a bit trickier than the others, but a good seafood stock can make or break a good chowder, seafood fondue or Etouffee.  Sometimes I spend a day making different stocks, I also pressure can them for the cellar.  I have quite an assortment of yummy stocks made from kitchen scraps most people would throw away.  Not this girl, not ever. Stocks are the basis of cooking, a good stock produces good food.  You stop by my lil' ranch one day for a chowder, soup, or sauce, and I can bet ya' that your lil' ol' palate will be in heaven.

Sister Kat's Cafe Vegetable Stock

1 large bag of veggie scraps (celery, onion, carrot, potato, leek, parsnip, turnip, zucchini, mushroom.........whatever you're cooking with that week)

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Bouquet Garni (definitely add peppercorns)

Large, heavy bottomed stock pot

15 cups of water

1 1/2 hours of your time

Heat the stock pot over med-high heat for a few seconds, add olive oil, swirl and add veggies scraps. Saute' the veggie scraps for about 7-10 minutes stirring often to prevent burning.  Add water and bouquet garni. Lower heat and cover pan.  Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.  Once done, remove from burner, take the lid off and cool.  Once cooled, strain broth and pour into quart jars.  Refrigerate, use within one week.

Texting and The Messenger

This is our sweet granddaughter Kiley Renee', since birth the family has called her "Nay-Nay," or "Nay."  Our roots derive in the South, if you're a Southerner than you know that's it's mandatory that everyone in the family has a "nick-name."  As a child mine was "Katrinka," our friends even had nick-names by my parents.  "The Man" and our son Jared have the same nick-name........."Boo."  I can holler at "Boo" and either one of them will know by the inflection in my voice, which one should respond.  Stifles people how that works..........it's a Southern thing!

Recently our 10 year old granddaughter has learned to "text."  She is fascinated by her ability to communicate with the family without making a single phone call...........call it progress I guess.  Now I'll be the first to tell you that I was "never going to own a cell phone."  However, at much whining from the kids and my sister, I ended up with a cell phone  given me on a "heck of a plan, so it's FREE!"  "We're the Verizon family!"  My mother is on it, my sister, nephew, kids, husband...........just about anyone I care to talk to............sooooo, I'm part of the "texting," and "cell phone" world.  I admit, I'm a quick learner, I can take pictures(zoom in and out), save um', send um', and I can use Word to text(I'm actually getting pretty fast), I can add contacts, fill the calendar and have it remind me of "very important stuff," and I can even use vibrate(so I'm not disturbed with a cell tone in the middle of something important!).  Yeah, it's a pretty fascinating world we live in!

Every morning I get on my computer, rarely do I miss a day, and since I wake anywhere from 4a.m. -5a.m., I'm on-line before most of the U.S. When my darling granddaughter is done with chores for the morning, it's become our routine to "poke" one another on-line.  I actually love that she thinks of me immediatley, see's I'm on-line and starts sending me lil' pokes and jabs. I'll be typing away, checking out various "stuff" on-line and all of a sudden I hear the "pop."  Someone has sent me a message...........it's Nay-Nay.  She's discovered Yahoo messenger!  However, I did teach her(on-line) mind you, how to create an avatar, you know the lil' picture you create that has the words spewing out of it's mouth on messenger?  Yesterday, I'm surfing the web when I hear the ever familiar "pop," it was her.  And of course I had to send her a message back saying, "Oh no, not you again!"  That of course set her up for her favorite part of messenger..............poking fun at her "Nana." 

I actually hate that our granddaughter is growing up soooo fast, learning how to text, send text's via the internet, Yahoo messenger, talk about boys.................oops, did I say that?!  However, I love that she has a means to communicate with me without even picking up a phone, that we can chat daily, I can tell her how much I love her, to have a good day at school, stay away from the boys! 

Yesterday's chat did benefit me quite well, she asked me what I was doing for the day(she always does), I told her I HAD to clean house and I sure wish she could help me, I'd even buy her lunch.  She liked the idea of a lunch with her Nana, but didn't relish the idea of housecleaning.  Throughout the conversation through messenger, she must have asked her mother (the school teacher) if she could "ditch" school for the day, come out to the ranch, help her Nana clean house for a "free" lunch.  "Well I'll be" if Jessica didn't go with it(that was actually a bit short of miraculous for both Nay-Nay and myself) as Jessica is a strict parent, rarely bending the rules when it comes to her childrens education.  Once both of us were over the shock, I drove 17 miles into town, picked up my sweet lil' girl and drove her back out to the ranch. 

Clean house....................yes she did.  She scrubbed down the bathroom, dusted our bedroom and mopped both those floors for me while I attended to the remainder of the ol' homestead.  I paid up on my end of the deal as well, at noon we went to her favorite lil' Mexican restaurant in town La Concina de Evas.  She ordered a red chile cheese enchilada, a shredded beef taco and a side of beans, and "yup" she ate every bite and downed it with a Dr. Pepper.  Afterwards, we came home and played several games of backgammon, she whipped my butt by the way, she even backgammoned me the first game.......ouch!

So, technology...........not always a BAD thing.  This technology has allowed me to stay closer to a lil' girl that is growing up quickly before my eyes.  I know that when she becomes a teen-ager, I'll probably be the last person she text's, messenger's or whatever may be the newest, latest wave, but for now.............text/mess away "Nay."  I love you more and the most!

The Resurrection Fern

I am at my best in the mornings, I'm happy, ready to greet the day, and feeling positive. I'm definitley a morning person.

Routinely after my morning chores I sit down to my computer for news updates, email, banking/bill paying, and of course blogging.  Listening to music is essential to my morning.  I have a terrific radio station I've been listening to for quite awhile , it's an internet station out of the U.K. 

As I'm aging, I'm  more into music that evokes emotion, earthiness, acoustical, pastoral.............FOLK!!  Particularly, Indie Folk music. Indie folk music arose in the 1980's and 1990's from singer/songwriters affected by indie alternative/rock music.  Festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella demanded the genres rise.  It's a musical style primarily categorized by "independent" smaller music labels supporting progressive folk music artists. I'm sure this genre of music appeals to me because of the many, talented musicians I lived among, hung with, and was friends with,  in Northern California many moons ago. 

One morning while listening to my radio station, I heard a song that truly hit me to the core....."Resurrection Fern," a twangy, haunting, folksie, pastoral, radiant...............song.  It's the epitome of "indie genre" and I fell in love with Iron and Wine, especially the poet Sam Beam.  I can actually say, "I want to mother his  children"................o.k., well maybe not mother his children but pretty darn close. 

After listening to it several times I pulled up a botany website, this is what I found about
the "resurrection fern."  

Biology of "resurrection fern" :

a resurrection fern is an epiphyte(non-parasitic, does not grow in the ground, like the ghost orchid) that grows on the branches of cypress and live oak trees.  It's name is derived from it's ability to survive long periods of drought.  When there is no rain, the ferns will curl up their undersides and turn brown, appearing dead.  Then, when the slightest bit of moisture is present, it will immediately "resurrect" and restore itself to it's rich green color.  With ferns most water is absorbed on the undersides of the leaf blades, making the resurrection fern particularly clever.  These plants can lose almost all their water which is needed to hydrate cells and still survive.  Botanists have long held that the resurrection fern could go 100 years with out water and still revive after just one rain shower.

It's hard not to see how this remarkable plant can translate into our own lives. It's a beautiful thing to ponder, but today I'll let you draw your own conclusions.............listen to the song...............!

'Resurrection Fern'

In our days we will live

like our ghosts will live:

pitching glass at cornfield crows

and folding clothes.

Like tubborn boys across the road

we'll keep everything:

grandma's gun and the black bear claw

that took her dog.

When sister Laurie says, "Amen"

we won't hear anything:

the ten-car trains will take that word

that fledgling bird.

And the fallen house across the way

it'll keep everything:

the babys breath

our bravery wasted and our shame.

And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire

both our tender bellies wound in bailing wire:

all the more a pair of underwater pearls

than the oak tree and the resurrection fern.

In our days we will say

what our ghosts will say:

we gave the world what it saw fit

and what'd we get?

Like stubborn boys with big green eyes

we'll see everything:

in the timid shade of the autumn leaves

and the buzzards wing.

And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire

our tender bellies wound in bailing wire

all the more a pair of underwater pearls

than the oak tree and the resurrection fern.

"Cinnamon Girl"

I had this incredible idea a couple of weeks ago, I was going to make some "homemade, yeasty, scrumptious, cinnamon rolls."  Now I know that there are "cheat-sheet" ways to make cinnamon rolls, I was in home-ec once upon a time.  You know the type, start with the Pillsbury guy "whomp biscuit" dough, roll it out..........you get the idea.  NO, I wanted some that were authentic, from the farm table, cinnamon rolls!

I obtained a remarkable recipe from a reputable person(on a blog herself), and went for the gusto.  Let's just say, we started this dough with 1 quart of milk, 2 packages of yeast, 9 cups of flour and I won't tell you how many pounds of butter I went through, you WON'T want to know.For the making of these "beauties" I had to clear an entire counter top, butter six pie tins and have buckets of flour, sugar, and cinnamon available at the ready.........along with butter.  Now I don't know about ya'll, but I haven't dappled in cinnamon dough in a few moons.  I got the rectangle rolled out, proud as could be that the dimensions were right on target.  Then I read the next portion of the recipe................"drizzle 1 1/2 -2 cups of melted butter over the dough."  SAY WHAT????  I re-read it again, I went back on-line to her frame by frame example on "her" blog, yup', sure enough, she was pooooouring butter over her dough.  Well, who am I to question this women's family recipe for cinnamon rolls, let alone her butter intake(lethal).  So I took the plunge and did it!!!!!  Let me remind you, this was just HALF THE DOUGH........ yeah, we still had another half to go with 1 1/2 -2 cups of butter drizzled(more like poured) over it.

I rolled the dough like "she-devil" told me to on her blog, towards me, with all the yummy, gooey, butter-sugar-cinnamon comin' at me like a damn tsunami!  It rolled right on out of that dough, onto my kitchen cabinets, floor, feet............!!!! Now what the h--l do ya do?  I thought to myself, "self, cut this into rolls, stuff those suckers in the pan and clean up."  But it dawned on me, I still had another HALF to roll out, along with the "ladled butter."

While those first "disasters" were rising nice and pretty in their lil' pans, I started on the next half.This time I out-witted "miss she-devil, homemade, my hinny."  This time when I rolled out the beautiful rectangle, I didn't immediately ladle butter on top.  This time, I waited until the butter started coagulating in the pyrex measuring cup, slowly poured it on the dough, let it coagulate a bit more, then sugared and cinnamoned the heck out of the dough.  I let it set awhile longer(No butter is going to outsmart me), then slowly rolled toward me...................worked like a champ!  No tsunami, no mess, perfect! By the way, I instantly took pen to my printed recipe and made LARGE notations about my discovery with the butter.

Next came the "nice ladies" Maple frosting recipe to top these beauties off........1 bag of powdered sugar, maple flavoring, coffee, BUTTER.  I stirred it in the pan until all ingredients were smooth, thick, but still pourable, frosting.  She said in the recipe, "don't skimp on the frosting, go CRAZY!!!!" Well hell, it made enough frosting for an entire table-top. 

Well let me tell ya, this lil' homespun idea I had was a memorable experience.  This recipe made six pans of cinnamon rolls.  I think I have a quart of maple frosting in the freezer left-over (for next time, yeah right!).As I pulled them out of the oven nice and warm, who walks in the door but "The Man" and his buddy from work.  The house smells like heaven, the rolls look beautiful, and I'm feeling just a bit ridiculous having SIX pans of cinnamon rolls sitting in front of me.  So what do I do, I give a dozen to Shane, I load "The Man" up with a dozen to take to the neighbors, I have a dozen for tomorrows wood-cutting and I've still got three left...I froze um'.  I'll pull um' out when the nephew arrives over Thanksgiving.

Now I will tell you this, you could get marriage proposals off sharing these babies, you'll have a man wrapped around every finger you possess with these lil' jewels, you will have people in love with you.  They are a labor of love with just a smidgen of BUTTER!!!!  Oh yeah, the "nice lil' lady" who has this recipe on her blog, I think her name is Ree, she say's she's a pioneer women, I think she's just a bit "crazy."

Bon Appetit!

Carrie, Angelina, and Pumpkins

This is my friend Carrie, we've known each other for approximately six years.  Really known each other in a close way, in the past two years.  Carrie is sweet, kind, gentle, and considerate.  A heck of a package to have as a friend.

Carrie is learning to can, she started last year which is good because she has a large family and she's still very young.  She has made apple butter, applesauce, grinds her own wheat for bread, she's really getting the "homesteading" attitude down. 

Several years ago I told her, if you ever learn to can meat, learn from someone you trust and who has years of experience.  I got a call last week............. Carrie wanted to learn to can smoked turkey and fresh pumpkins.  I was ready to teach her(and I felt honored that she asked me).

Yesterday I drove over to her lil' homestead(she's about six miles from our homestead)..........pressure canner, canning tongs, and my tea bags all in tow.  I knew it would be a long day, canning days always are.  We fired up the tea kettle, chatted and giggled while we set up all our canning supplies.  Carrie had made a nice fire in the wood-stove to keep us warm.............and warm it kept us!  We had windows and a front door open after that first canner load fired up! 

I showed Carrie how to scrub, cut and peel a pumpkin.  We let Miss Angelina also help, she is Carrie's three year old daugther, she's so darn adorable AND bossy!  Angelina got to put the cubed chunks of pumpkin in the pot as we peeled.  It was an important job for her and she took it very seriously.  She stood at the sink with us on a 25 pound laundry soap container so she could be one of the "canner girls."  She told us she was "big enough to help us."  And help she truly did.

I know Carrie because her husband works daily with my husband.  Both are surveyors and friends.  Carrie and Shane have five kids, three biological children and two young foster children.  The oldest child of theirs is Jeremiah, he is six, then sweet Angelina, and 7 month old Layne.  Carrie is still nursing Layne, I'm a BIG advocate for nursing your babies.  All are beautiful children, well behaved, and a joy to be around as are their parents. 

In fact, I barter eggs with Shane (he loves our fresh eggs) and he sharpens my hoof trimmers for our sheep.  He works a stone and a blade like no one I've ever known, we're talking SHARP!!!  Shane will probably "kill me" for saying so, but he also makes a mean banana nut bread which he has shared with me on occasion.  I hear from his wife, that he also makes a killer cheesecake, pies and lasagna.  He is one of the hardest working young men I've ever known and he's a "jack of all trades, master of all." 

Shane and Carrie are a wonderful Christian couple who spent many months training to become foster parents.  They have a five year old foster daughter, and her lil' brother who is two, their youngest sibling(a baby) is not with them.  These two foster children have lived a very sad, rough life for their "wee" years.  "The Man" and I admire them deeply for their devotion to these kids.  These two lil' foster kids tell them they "love them" often.  I can't imagine the heartbreak they will go through when these children have to go..........and it may not be for adoption purposes, it may just be placing them into another foster home.

We finally wound up our lil' task of canning around 4, although I left Carrie with a canner load of pumpkin jiggling away, she wouldn't be done completely for sometime.............but she had it down when I left.  Shane will now have fresh spiced, canned, pumpkin to make his holiday pies.

It was a wonderful day for staying indoors and teaching such a sweet woman and her "princess" how to can.  I got to play with Angelina, she's such a "big girl," and I got to hold a sweet baby......I don't think Jeremiah was overly thrilled with the "canner girls" he played all day with his building blocks.  I do think his lil' ears perked when I told him to make sure and come out to the ranch this spring when the lambs are born. 

The world is such a better place because of this family, I'm truly "blessed" to call them our friends.

The "Flushing" Gathering

All great gatherings start with good food.........especially if you want help!  October 24th we had a gathering, a "flushing" gathering or should I say, a "Pre-Flushing" gathering.Flushing is the practice of placing the ewes on an increasing plane of nutrition, that is, in a slight weight-gain situation, to prepare for breeding.  Flushing is accomplished by supplementing the diet with grain.  This system gets the ewes in better physical condition for breeding, it also helps to synchronize them by bringing them into heat at about the same time, which prevents long, strung-out lambing sessions.  Flushing is also a factor in twinning, because with better nourishment the ewes are more likely to drop two or more ova.   On this day we also like to trim hooves (which means catching, trimming and releasing), crutch(short trimming of the dock area for cleaner breeding), vaccinate, and check lower eyelids, gums and teeth.  This gives me an overall idea of how the sheep are doing healthwise, along with basic "tidying" up for the breeding season.Rockin' A Ranch was truly blessed this year with a heck of a turn-out of people.  We had friends, family, grandkids, dogs and goats, all inclusive.We trimmed hooves, crutched ewes, gave shots, all in about two hours.  Not bad considering how "flighty" my sheep are around anybody but us.  Thus we had to have Jim B. from up the road at Lovelake Ranch(a nine section cattle ranch..........HUGE!) do some roping on a few sheep.I must say, all the sheep looked healthy, some a lil' fatter than should be (my philosophy is to feed them well, not keep them lean), I'm slowly learning that my philosophy isn't necessarily the healthiest for the sheep.  Large fat deposits mean ovarian fat, less ova development, you get the idea.  But, to date our lambing season's are getting better and better with more and more lambs being dropped annually. 

We had two "novices" at work this year learning to trim hooves............Jared (our son) and Toby(our son-in-law).I have to admit, our son-in-law did much better in the trimming department than our son(I'm thinkin' if something happened to the two of us, the boys would figure it out!).  Toby has also been trained in law enforcement to draw blood for testing purposes.........so shots............"piece of cake for him."  Now, if we can get Toby trained to not choke the sheep when he catches, and Jared to lighten up on the hoof trimmin', we'll be good to go.  Handling takes time to learn, the less stress on the sheep, the happier and more cooperative they'll be the next time around.Teaching someone to learn to respect the dignity of the animal, ease in handling, and the "zen" of guietness/slowness in ones gait, movements and speech is not an easy feat.  However, you must teach because we can all use the help, especially as our flocks increase.

While a few of us were in dealing with sheep, Jared taught Coursey how to sit atop a goat, Jim B. taught Brady how to rope a dog, others stood by just to see how it's done. 

When the job was complete, my two grandsons and myself went in search of a cold one.  We helped Mama get her goodies out of the car and started heating food.  I cooked prior to this gathering for two days.  I slow-smoked 17# of beef chuck over hickory, "The Man" got to pull the beef, we had scrumptious BBQ sauce, onion bunns, Jessica's mouth watering mustardy potato salad, Mama's marinated veggie salad, garlic bread, cowboy beans, Nopalito(Cactus Paddle salad), pickled goodies from my cellar/garden, jello salad, pies and cakes.  Iced coolers of beer, water, tea, wine............oh yes, my hot spiced wine also, I think some of the younger crowd got a bit "silly" on this stuff. 

Jared and Cai (our god daughters mama) hadn't seen one another in awhile, it was a nice reunion for them. Coursey (our youngest grandson) showed Mama his new cowboy boots..........When most of the crowd left, my girlfriend Barbie and myself walked out to the barn near dusk, talked the talk all shepherdess's love to talk, hugged and called it an evening. 

I want to "Thank you" all for your help, your huge cunsumption of food, wit, ablility to get along with complete strangers and laugh, talk, enjoy!  It was wonderful and it was FUN!

Acts of Kindness

What constitutes an act of kindness?  What kind of individual can step out of themselves for a moment to be selfless for another?  I live with one of these individuals, a selfless man who would do anything for me, our children and others..........family or not.  I have been blessed!  I am surrounded by individuals just like him.................

Barbie comes to help us with hoof trimming, she brings me a quart of fresh goat milk from her morning milking(she knows how much I love goat milk), along with that, she brings two new hoof trimmers to help us with the job, she'd just gone out and bought them for the "flushing gathering."

Karen H. comes over with hubby Tuesday evening, she brings a warm pot of homemade chicken noodle soup, they want to know how I'm fairing after the surgery that morning.

Joe H. who is new to the area offers his services (a week to be exact) in helping lay new water pipe throughout our property along with electrical, ditch witching, pick and axe work (I call it blood, sweat and tears).

Mama who gets up in the dark to meet us at the hospital to wait out the surgery, then drives me home so "The Man" can get back to work...............work is lean these days, you must take what you can get!

Our son-in-law who would drop anything to come out and help us, cutting dead wood, clearing limbs, moving us, ditch witching with "The Man." 

My sister who offers gifts often, lil' things that she knows you'll love, or it goes with the house, or it matches something I already have, or it adds to one of many collections I've accumulated.

Barbie butchering one of her own lambs by herself, because she knows the family out of work down the road is getting hungry.

Karen and Joe H. having us over for dinner because they know we're exhausted from all the "Murphys" that have been invading our homestead since the beginning of summer.

My mama for always being there to talk to, cry to, vent to.....................

My sister for her example of strength..........when strength is the last thing she feels.

"The Man" for loading wood in the back of Barbies truck so she'll be warm for a couple of nights without having to scavenge wood.

"The Man" for filling Barbies empty jugs with our water that she loves.

"The Man" for giving money to a stranger in more need than us.

Barbie for helping me clean a barn out just so she can have a "gourmet meal from Sister Kat's kitchen."  I'd feed her anyday, she's such a booster for my ego! :)

I thank all of you for your selfless acts, being our friends and companions, our loves. 

Do acts of kindness trickle down into a ripple effect?  I believe they do because "nice matters."

"We can do no great things; only small things with great love."

~Mother Teresa

"Autumn the wind blows colder than summer............

This is our God daughter, Autumn Cody.  She was actually born in Spring, April 2nd.  I was at the hospital with her mama the day she was born.  I love this lil' girl.  She is polite, kind, sensitive and spiritual.

I met Autumn's mother when we were liaisons for Hope House and the Catholic church.  Hope House is a home for unwed, pregnant women.  Those unwed women who were Catholic, were assigned to us for Church functions, attendance of weekly mass and family time.  The first time I met Cai Cody, I liked her immediately.  She was very pregnant, lonely, and needed some hope.  We must have given her that as she has been in our lives now for over seven years.  She in return has given us Autumn.................

Cai is Apache.  She was sent off the reservation at a very young age to live with a Catholic family who would send her to Catholic school, teach her the "American way." This is very common for reservation children....to be sent away from their people, and taught a whole different culture.  Cai actually had a wonderful "American" family that she enjoyed, although she missed her mama, daddy and siblings much.

"The Man" and myself have been included in Apache ceremonies over the years thanks to Cai and Autumn.  The Apache Sunrise Ceremony or na'ii'ees. 

It's an arduous communal four-day ceremony that Apache girls of the past and present experience soon after their first menstruation.  Through numerous sacred ceremonies, dances, songs and enactments, the girls become imbued with the physical and spiritual power of White Painted Woman, and embrace their role as women of the Apache Nation.

For most of four days and nights, to songs and prayers, they dance, as well as run toward the four directions.  During this time, they also participate in and conduct sacred rituals, receiving and giving both gifts and blessings, and experiencing their own capacity to heal.

The Sunrise Ceremony involves extensive preparation and teaching, often lasting six months or more before the ritual begins.  Much of the preparation, such as creating the girl's highly symbolic costume, and building the lodge, requires following complex procedures and rituals; another facet of preparation is a physical regime oriented toward strengthening the girl's physical endurance.  Her family is also engaged in extensive food preparation, since throughout the ceremony, they will be providing food and gifts to all participants and visitors.

Most of the extended family of an Apache girl are involved in preparing her puberty ceremony.  The most central figure is the sponsoring godmother, followed by the medicine man and Gans Crown Dancers.

The family takes special care in choosing the godmother, who will be a role model and have a special relationship with the girl throughout her life.  As her primary attendant in the Sunrise ceremony, the godmother will dance with her both day and night, massage her, help inspirit her and care for her when she is exhausted, give her food and drink, and prepare a huge dinner for all her relations.   

When choosing a godmother, the family visits her residence at dawn, places an eagle feather on her foot, offering her also a prayer stone and gifts as they request her to serve as godmother to their daughter.  The medicine man also has an important role, and must be approached in a similar manner.  He will preside over much of the ceremony, chanting dozens of songs and prayers, and both orchestrating and paying the singers and drummers that will accompany him.

The work involved in sponsoring a Sunrise Ceremony is enormous, as is the cost, which apporximates $10,000 per ceremony.

The Godmother chosen for such a ceremony will be a godmother chosen from the reservation, an Apache woman.  We guide Autumn in her religious beliefs only.  She attends St. Anthony catholic school, attends mass every Sunday and is being taught her catechism classes.  Cai is continuing her religious beginnings with her daughter.

Cai is attending college to become a pharmacy tech, she lives off the reservation for now, as it is much easier to travel to and from college three times a week than to travel the long distance from the reservation.  She is 8 months pregnant now and living once again at the Hope House.  She is pregnant with a baby boy this time, her third child. 

We have been Autumn's godparents since she was one year old.  It was a very, very special calling for "The Man" and myself, one we don't take lightly.  Although we don't see Autumn as much as we'd like to, I will drop anything I'm doing to get to see her.  All Cai has to do is call, and we're there. 

Cai and I have developed a close relationship over the years, somewhat like girlfriends.  She calls often, we chat, we text, we Facebook together, we see one another.  She is a beautiful woman, kind and compassionate.  I enjoy time spent with the two of them, I respect that she trusts us enough to include us in many aspects of the Apache traditions as do her mother and father. We've met her siblings, Autumn's father, and her grandmother who still wears traditional Apache attire.  Cai comes from good "stock."

Autumn came to Taylor last week for a school field trip to the Pumpkin patch, Cai immediately called me.  I stopped whatever it was I was doing, hopped in the car and drove over.  I spent four hours with the two of them, along with three class grades of St. Anthony children!  We sipped hot Chamomile tea in the park, I brushed her hair while she talked(she has beautiful jet black, shiny hair which I love), I listened.  We shared food, hugs, laughter.  I love these two girls very much, I pray that one day, Cai will find a man who appreciates her for her spirituality, compassionate personality, beauty, and beliefs. 

"The Man" and myself are looking forward to Autumn's confirmation in the church soon.  She will be surrounded with people who love her dearly, she is easy to love.  I look forward to the day when she will become a woman, dancing her dance and walking her four directions to merge with White Painted Woman who is born again and again, from generation to generation.

"Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy, a ram el be angry too wouldn't ewe?"

This is one time of year the sheep look forward to......the gleaning of the ranch owners garden and yard.  This time of year we let the sheep out daily to assist in the job of "clean-up" on the ol' ranch.  There are a million elm leaves to be munched, left-over chard and spinach in the garden along with beet and carrot tops.  The sound of the sheep munching is similar to rice krispies crackling in ones bowl of cereal.

The lambs are a bit skittish at first as they have never left their domain other than changing pastures periodically. Mama sheep after awhile, tend to let their lambs "fend for themselves" when it comes to the Fall gleaning.  They just want to "snarf" up as many goodies as they can in an alloted amount of time............."babies, you're on you're own!"

I know one thing about people, they love to watch baby animals. Annually people pull over on the side of the road to watch the sheep.  Lambs are about the cutest lil' things you've ever seen when it comes to play.They hop, bounce, arc and run like lil' maniacs.  These lil' "leaf munchers" are having the time of their life.  Two nights ago we had three cars pulled off the road at once, thankfully the lil' cuties put on a show.  Have you ever seen a lamb bounce?  It's crazy the height they can get, all the while landing with acute accuracy only to bounce again even higher.  It's great entertainment for "The Man" and myself.....I gather it is for the people in the cars as well.

Friday evening after cutting wood all day, we decided to cook outdoors on the ol' campfire once again.  This particular evening we cooked up a small Dutch oven of Walla-Walla sweet onions in butter with a lot of black pepper and a smidgen of coffee, steaks, and foil wrapped taters in the fire. While sitting outdoors, recapping the day, the neighbors stopped by for awhile, we enjoy their company.  The "neighbor woman" was watching the sheep roaming the yard smiling, wondering if it was o.k. that they were, "eating leaves on the tree," "now they're in your rose bed,".............NOT!  I think "Estes" instigates this lil' adventure, goats LOVE rose bushes.  Once I've chased them out, they head to the garden until dusk, munching away.The only downside of this "holiday" is the rams discontent at not being invited to join them.  This annual event has a tendency to anger him........all inclusive: headbutting the corral fence, guttural crying, frustration, unsettled behavior to say the least! He has "Oreo" to keep him company but it's just not the same as getting out of the corral to "mingle" with his girls.  I keep telling "Blackcloud" that he only has one month left before he can "visit" with his girls..........I don't think he finds this humorous!  Try as I might to console him, it's just not working.This look is pure frustration at the shepherdess for not including him in the "fun stuff."  Feeling a bit humbled by his look, I manage to talk to him a bit, try and calm him down.......he stops the guttural crying and listens if only for a short bit of time.I absolutely love this ram, if you look closely in his eyes, you can tell that he is intelligent and wise for his age.  He's always a "pure" gentleman with his girls, never butting the ewes or lambs, just taking his time and watching.....always watching.It's time for me to call the flock back into the barn for a small amount of food, they've  supplemented much in the hour they've been out of the barn..........think Hoover vacuums!  Thinking I've got all of them in, I begin to feed, it's getting darker so I decide to do a head count.........one is missing!  I close the gate to the barn, head out in search of the "wee lost one" only to find this.............our 200 pound Nubian hiding behind a fir bough!