Theodore

In April, we lost our little pug Dory and that loss left a giant hole in our hearts. She worked at the Library with me every day, visiting patrons and delighting the kids in the youth department. She was full of life and personality and while she loved nearly everyone, she definitely had her favorites. She was also my husband’s Pretty Little Princess and was hands down his favorite dog.

In October, we met this guy:

Theo at his first shawnee national forest vacation

Theodore was only 4 months old when we brought him home. All my plans for my newly relaxed schedule went completely out the window. I left my job at the Library to help balance my time raising our growing cattle herd and becoming the world’s Best Unpaid Intern at our partner’s farm with The Kid’s increasingly busy activity schedule, but instead it really became a full time job of teaching a curious little puppy not to chase the cows and horses.

So, between a new puppy, prepping a house for sale, a busy kid, and the holidays, I have had approximately 4 minutes to do something besides work. But, things are slowly starting to slow back down. For once, we don’t have an active renovation project (for at least a month) and the puppy is nearly potty trained so I should be able to get back on track with posting more book recs and my rambling reviews.

In 2024, I want to keep up my reading goal of not having any reading goals. I don’t want the pressure of finishing a certain number of books and I can never stick with any system of tracking everything I read. But, I would like to read through more of my own collection and focus on borrowing from the Library instead of focusing on new releases and advanced copies. If I’ve learned anything from my short time working in a Library, it’s that there more books published in a day than anyone could ever read in a lifetime and trying to stay current is an impossible task. My new Library has a much broader selection of audio and ebooks, as well as a huge physical collection, and I’ve been cranking through nearly a book a day on audio while many of my favorite podcasts were on holiday hiatus and I have loved many of them. So, be prepared for more regular posts (puppy willing) and I hope we all have a wonderful reading year.

Baby Goats!

It’s been a busy few weeks on the Fat Farm. After many false starts and a huge miscalculation on our parts, our two oldest goat mama’s, Emma and Emily finally gave birth. We’ve been lucky with these two mamas before and I had my fingers crossed for smooth sailing from both of them. Sure enough, we caught Emily in the early stages of labor so I was able to monitor her pretty closely. In less than two hours, she had birthed twin boys. I can emphasize enough what a relief it is for a smooth labor. I’ve helped with a goat c-section and I still have nightmares about it. ***the goat was fine, the vet was amazing, it’s just a weird, bloody event, ok?***

The next evening, Emma was apparently feeling left out and wanted our attention focused on her so she gave birth to twin girls. As I was doing the evening check on the mama’s and babies, we realized that she had a secret baby hidden away and the farm’s tiniest member was born. Not twins, but triplets! Triplets sound wonderful: more babies to sell, more money to be made, why not? Because then you get itty bitty little runts and you have to name them Little Bit. Little Bit was far too small to latch on to her mother to nurse so she’s currently, and luckily our only only baby, needing bottle feedings.

Bottle feeding goat babies is pretty much like bottle feeding human babies. Your counters are covered with bottles, nipples, measuring bowls and whisks. There’s formula powder everywhere because you’re not sleeping through the night and forgot to make a bottle earlier when you were more clear headed. Goat babies also cry, like really cry, and it breaks your heart because you weren’t outside sooner to get them a bottle before they started crying. Just like a human baby but luckily there are no diapers to change.

These are just the first two to have kids. We should have the other four mamas giving birth before too much longer but I’m awful about tracking pregnancy so every day is belly watch around here.

Construction is Taking Over My Life

Nearly 15 years ago, my wonderful, darling husband bought us our first house. It was a rental house that was owned by his dad and one that he was quite familiar with as he had helped with a few repairs. I, on the other hand, saw the house for the first time after we signed on the dotted line.

Then I spent the next two weeks crying.

The house was horrible.

Really, really horrible. I am not exaggerating Reader Friends. It had mismatched cabinets in the kitchen and a floor that was so unlevel, it was like riding a roller coaster. Every wall had been sprayed with an orange peel finish that was so thick and bumpy, it was nearly impossible to paint. The upstairs, which held some of the remains at it’s former hotel self, was a bizarre series of tiny rooms that the previous tenants had painted with spray paint. No joke. There was no railing along the staircase and I spent so much time up there convinced someone would step wrong and plunge to their death. Tin can lids covered holes in the walls and there were license plates covering holes in the floors. The bathroom had 17 layers of wallpaper, wallboard, tile, and paneling. Worst offense? The pink toilet in the only bathroom.

My wonderful, darling husband eventually broke the news that I could remodel any room I wanted. Any and everything I wanted to change, it would happen. Except, we were also planning a wedding, which we were paying for, and I was a student teacher so our budget was extremely small. Our first change? Removing every bit of plaster and lath in our upstairs, shucking it all out the second story windows, installing a door at the base of the stairs and not going up there for another year. Our next project was remodeling the extremely tiny bathroom before we moved in since it was the only one in the house.

And that’s how we did it. One room at a time, when our budget allowed. Over the next 15 years, we completely remodeled nearly every room in that horrible, horrible house. We’ve added on rooms, torn down walls, and laid countless pieces of wood flooring. The upstairs floor was laid while I was nine months pregnant. I don’t recommend doing that-it’s a bit stressful and hard on the knees. We made countless mistakes and ruined many, many sheets of drywall. We learned that the proper tools really do make a difference and trim covers a ton of mistakes. We discovered that every project went smoother when you had a beer in your hand, but a case of Berryweis will mean you don’t have closet doors because you screwed up the door opening. And, if you want to completely remodel a house, you have to do it all yourself. You have to learn to hang drywall, lay tile floors, and watch countless videos on how to cut crown molding because I can never, ever, remember the angle.

Or, be rich. Then you hire it all out and it doesn’t take 15 years. Needless to say, we did all the work.

In all these years, we have hired a contractor only one time-our new bedroom addition. We’ve done so many projects, like attaching our house to the garage giving me both a dining room and a laundry room, but a whole room addition with full on trusses? No way were we tackling that one. We had a great local contractor who framed it and roofed it and the rest is on us. This is by far, the most stressful project we have ever tackled and trust me, we have bought some rental houses that were a ton of work. This addition is taking over every part of my brain. I don’t know how people design entire houses from start to finish. There is so much to think about-how many lights, where do they go, where do the switches go, how big is a bed, what is the clearance for an in-wall heater, how many ceiling fans are too many fans, can a wheelchair work in this room? It’s an endless list of decisions.

But this addition means we will never have to leave this house. It puts everything we need on the ground floor with nearly everything wheelchair accessible. The Hubs is a decade older than I am, which I remind him of constantly, and everything was built with him aging into a wheelchair long before me. My son can finish out school in the district he started in and one we have been incredibly happy with. I will never have to pack up my house and move. How do you even move chickens, horses, goats, and crazy dogs? And cows? How? I’m sure people do it all the time but I’m not going too.

Random fact-according to county plat maps, our house was built sometime between 1860 and 1870. On those maps, houses are blank squares and business are shaded in and labeled with their business name. Our house is shaded in like a business but is never named on any map. We’ve been told it was once a hotel and over half of it was torn down in the early 1900’s. You realize what this means, right?

I live in a former brothel. I know, it’s amazing.

This week we started the drywall. Reader friends, there’s over 90 sheets of drywall to hang. My hands are tired, my brain is fried, I am so tired. But all this work means in a few months I will get to place my book collection on shelves that were designed especially for them. The entire room was designed around my books. There’s going to be a library ladder! I’m going to be Belle sliding from side to another, randomly selecting books to read. I will get to cozy up with a blankie and a fireplace to read.

So with all that said, I’ll be back in December, hopefully, with more books to share with you.

Happy Reading!

Michelle

Apples Happened

This was once again, a bad year for our orchard. We were able to harvest 4 sad, little peaches and the cherry, plum, and plumcot trees gave up. They didn’t even bother to try. I think they know that deep down, they’re safe. I’m not cutting down a perfectly healthy tree. It can continue to forget growing fruit and it will still be allowed to grow.

Luckily, we have one little red delicious apple tree that decided to make up the slack from the other trees. I have been overloaded with apples the last two weeks and my days have been spent washing, peeling, dicing, measuring, stirring, hauling, and canning the absolute deliciousness that is apple pie filling.

The tomatoes have been nearly forgotten, and to be honest, it’s just easier to hand those off to the Hub’s coworkers. Just when I thought the apples had been conquered, my Hubs brought home pears.

Boxes of pears.

Fun fact: Pears can up beautifully as pie filling and make a great pie. Add in some cranberries and pecans and you’re all set.

Needless to say, I haven’t been able to read as much as I’d like the last two weeks and the books I did get to were duds.

But, my reading coming up is super exciting.

I’ve made it halfway through Gideon the Ninth and it’s amazing! So. Much. Fun!

City of Girls on audio is an experience. The narrator is a dream to listen to and I’m loving Vivian’s story.

The Kid found a signed copy of Pumpkinheads at our local indie and I couldn’t pass it up.

My favorite comic book store is moving locations and I took advantage of they’re killer deals to score the rest of Preacher.

I’ve received some advance copies that look really interesting. I’m really excited to read Beheld. Hopefully that’s next week. Very early next week.

Have a wonderful week everyone! I’ll be back with more books next week-if the apples don’t do me in first.

Michelle

Merry Christmas

Dory and Snickers in their new Christmas Island.

I hope that however you celebrate, your day is as warm and comfy as these two pugs in their new bed! Here’s to a safe, content, and book-filled holiday season! See you all in the New Year!

Invasion of the Honeybees Part 2

Our weather has been pretty unusual here lately and not all conducive to peeking inside the beehive.  We finally had a small window of time that wasn't too hot, too windy, and wasn't during the bees "busy time" of flying in and out of the hive.  According to Beekeeping for Dummies, we were supposed to check on the bees after a week and make sure the Queen was doing o.k.  If everything went well, we would be able to see newly laid eggs and the beginnings of the bee's honey stores.  The Hubs was very excited to get to put on his suit again and he got to use the smoker for the first time. 

Not going to lie, I was in yoga pants and a tank top and was just as close to the bees as he was and the bees could have cared less about turning me in to a pin cushion.  It really is true-if you are chill around the bees, they will be chill around you.  Not only did we find the Queen content and happy but she had been busy!  We found a whole section of new honeybee babies! 

We were also able to see new honey that was in the process of being capped by the bees for later use. 

So I left this one extra big so you can see my little friends making my future beer...

Before closing them up, the bees got a fresh batch of food in the feeder.  Here in a few more weeks we'll peek inside again to make sure everyone is content and happy.

Invasion of the honeybees

The honeybees in their shipping box. 

It started as a 4-H project idea.  The Kid could make an awesome photo display, our fruit trees would get some amazing pollination, and I could make beer from all the amazing honey those little bees were going to make me.  

I didn't realize that my husband would turn this into a borderline obsession.  I bought Beekeeping for Dummies from Amazon, figured I'd get around to reading at some point and we'd figure out as we went.  Instead, the Hubs latched on to that book and he spent the next several weeks reading it out loud to me.  While I was trying to read my own book.  

After several weeks of anxiously awaiting for the bees to be delivered, which are delivered through the Postal Service, we finally got to meet our new Fat Farm residents.  Our mail carrier brought them straight to our house-she really didn't want to handle them anymore than necessary-and we got to work right away.  Translation-everything that could go wrong happened.  We couldn't find the Queen, there wasn't quite enough food, we found the Queen but accidentally dropped her little cage into the bottom of the hive, The Hubs got stung twice, and we missed a phone call by minutes from an experienced beekeeper on how to make the process easier.

I think he just wanted to wear the suit. 

But, we did it.  The bees are doing well and are we can see them all over the yard collecting pollen from every flower they can find.  We found out we can stand right next to the hive and watch them and the bees really don't care.  Even the dogs running around the hive doesn't seem to bother them.    

Now we wait for the bees to do their thing.  

Here's a few things that we found helpful:

Memorial Day

The Kid has been our best helper when we put out the flags at the graves of our local veterans.  It's fascinating to watch kids do this job.  He makes it a point to read their names, tell us what branch they served, and these days, how old they were when they died.  Our cemetery is very old and there are many graves for infants and young children which has also led to some "grown up" conversations.  After helping for at least the last 5 years, I'm pretty sure he could do this job without our map.  It's also something that I hope he continues to help us with for years to come. 

However you celebrate today, I hope you take a moment to reflect on those who served who are no longer with us.  

Potential

Plumcots make excellent jam.

Our little orchard is in full bloom!  This time of year is both wonderful and stressful all at the same time.  All of the blooming trees really make the yard look lovely but we also have to worry about frost.  Last year, a late frost came through and destroyed all our blossoms.  No blossoms = no fruit.  

Fluffy Farm Pug added for cuteness.

Fingers are crossed for consistently warm weather for the next few weeks.  I'd really like to see all the blossoms stay around, especially with the honeybees getting delivered this weekend.  Not only will the bees get a food source, but I'm hoping the extra pollination going on will improve our fruit yields for next year. 

Nearly all of our fruit gets made in to jelly and jam that we give as gifts during the holidays and the more we can grow the better.  Also, we believe strongly in edible landscaping.  There's isn't much better than being able to grab a snack off the trees while you're mowing.  The Kid has grown up wandering the yard and munching on strawberries, blackberries, and peaches and that makes all of us happy. 

And really, isn't that the point?

Baby April

The Fat Farm welcomed its newest member Wednesday afternoon!  Baby Goat April was born while everyone was at work so we were very lucky there weren’t any complications.  April will be the first baby we’ve had here in almost 5 years. Unfortunately, just like with humans, not all pregnancies end with happy healthy babies.  

Baby April was born to Emily, The Kid’s first 4-H show goat.  She has been such a good mother and it’s been fun having a new baby on the farm.  We've lucked out so far-it doesn't look like bottles are in our future.  Emily will be our only baby this year so I’m sure she’ll end pretty spoiled!

Different kind of Farm Baby...

I get excited about all babies! 

It's not unusual to see slugs in our feed bins,  They especially like the chicken feed-no idea why.  When I find one nearly buried in chicken feed, I scoop him out and stick him out in the flowers.  Never before have I seen them eating the horse feed-or bring a buddy.  Especially a buddy this small.  They were going to town on that chunk of feed and it felt wrong to disturb their lunch so in the shed they stayed. 

Nose Peckers

Last week, 25 fluffy little chicks joined the farm.  Even though we've had chickens for years now, it's still exciting when the call comes to pick them up from the post office.  And every time we go to pick them up, another customer is shocked that you can send birds through the mail  And every time we have to show them that yes, the birds are fine and yes, they are real. 

The Kid is now old enough that we can hand over the noisy little box and he'll take care of the rest.  Dipping beaks in water, placing them under the heat lamp, making sure the feeder is full-all while the little fluff balls climb all over your feet and get in the way.  

Loki was introduced to his first baby chick.  It started off well.  Loki was calm, interested, gentle.  Then the chick pecked his nose.  Twice.  He moved far too quickly for a good photo, but Loki is really just nursing a sore nose and not licking his chops!  Both dogs check on the chicks during chore time but won't get this close again until the chicks are big enough to wander the yard.  

Blackberry oatmeal

My Fat Farm is a small operation.  I have two dozen chickens and a dozen or so ducks.  Since we are small, our feed is bought in 50lb bags that the nice young men at our local farm supply store try to put in my cart for me.  They don't then carry it to the car, load it, drive it home, unload it, and dump it in to my bins.  So no, they don't put it in my cart.  

More times than not, I forget to buy feed.  This is only stressful for me.  The critters don't mind at all.  My forgetfulness means they get a hot breakfast of blackberry oatmeal.  

Spoiled.  Maybe.