Spring Flowers

They've come and gone, but I thought I'd share some pics of the spring flowers we enjoyed this year.

I also thought you might like to see our budding artist with one of his creations.

Captive Captain

Here Captain is being very patient with his mistress for dressing him in her brother's t-shirt. He's such a good little guy and has endeared himself to all of us...he's never far from someone and always ready for a good ear scratch.

Shearing Day 09

Tuesday was shearing day. Here are the 'boys' waiting for their haircuts...

We had a shearing crew based in Ohio come this year, and they were amazing. They started at 7:18 a.m. and were driving out the driveway at 7:50 a.m.! The alpacas didn't know what hit them! All I had to do was gather the fleece as they cut it off.

The summer style of the pasture...
A new crop of fleece to spin...

Spring Activities

Our friend John brought his tractor down the hill to till our garden for us. Jonathan helped. After they finished tilling, he took Jonathan out in the field and let him drive the tractor. Jonathan would tell him to look up at the sky and while John was looking, Jonathan would turn the wheel so they'd drive around in circles. What a character!

No, my cooking doesn't require protective equipment...Wayne caught me mixing up a batch of cold-process goat milk soap. I'm dealing with lye in this pic.
And here's my handsome husband giving 'the boys' some nice green grass to munch on a couple of weeks ago.

So Why Has It Been So Long?!!?

The past month has flown by on me. Let me see if I can summarize all that's been happening....

March held several trips to Albany for Wayne to see specialists at Albany Medical Center. At the end of the month he underwent kidney cancer surgery. Mom J. and Dan drove a van up from GA and flew back to GA two days after Wayne's surgery. Wayne came home the same day they left. He's steadily recovering and the surgeon believes that the cancer was isolated to the one area and was successfully removed. Wayne goes back for his post-op check next week.

As I try to remember what else has taken place, all I can think of is 'normal' stuff, but I know there was some additional craziness mixed in. Work, dental appointments, vet runs (the dog has a bad back so now he and Wayne can feel each other's pain!), trying to schedule the alpaca shearing (the 28th of this month!), college breaks, 5 additional college students spending the night in order to attend a men's conference the next day, a head cold that has made its way through the family, a crashed computer, a workers' comp hearing--another delay until July 1st for the judge to rule, and on it goes.

So...because our computer has crashed we're limited to the e-mails we can send (our address book was lost in the crash) and we're learning what we can and can't do with the current computer (an older model that doesn't have ports for some of the accessories). That's why there's no pictures with this posting...hopefully, we'll get that fixed soon.

Even in the craziness of the past month we have so-o-o much to be thankful for. I can't imagine how we would have gotten through the past few weeks without the prayers and care of our family and friends. Each day when I can spend time with my husband over a cup of coffee I thank God for the technology and skilled technicians that found the cancer before it spread and for all the people involved with the surgery. When we discover a stick of butter on the window sill of the boy's room and ask why and receive the response, "I was making butterflies", we thank God for allowing us to see things through the eyes of a child. When our 5 year old comes to me and asks me to "fix it" as he points to the pocket of his jeans where I discover a broken egg, I laugh and thank God for a little boy who is eager to help with the farm chores. When I'm tired and dealing with a fibromyalgia flare-up and my husband tells me that I'm to take the day off and sleep as much as I can, I thank God for a caring husband...and for the sleep I catch up on. Yes, the past month has been very intense, but on looking back, I'm reminded of the old hymn "Count Your Blessings" and the load is lightened as "I name them one by one." and I'll encourage our readers to "Count your many blessings and see what God has done!"

Mid-March Happenings

I finally got around to downloading some pictures that we've taken over the past couple of weeks. The days are getting longer and warmer. The trampoline is back in service--Yeah! That item has been worth its weight in gold for using up excess energy in 2 little boys. Don't they look angelic dressed up for church?


Basketball, bike riding, and dog walking and NO snow!
A former co-worker gave me his mother's yarn swift. It's a neat antique one that folds up nicely. When one of my other co-workers saw it she said it had to be something to use with yarn production or it was a torture device! It sure makes winding skeins of yarn into balls a lot easier!
This is one of our 'winter roosters' which was supposed to be a winter meal. The roosters did not fill out as quickly as we had hoped so now they are going to be spring/summer meals...

Maybe they heard that they were going to end up on the table, and decided to get a jump on us!

Fashionable Feet

One of the benefits of going to so many doctor appointments is the time to sit and knit without feeling guilty for not doing stuff around the house. Last week's 2nd appointment in Albany resulted in a finished pair of socks...
I had to share this picture of our Yankee soldier with his fashionable lion slippers...(Yes, the hall walls are a project we hope to have done this year!)