Memorable French Lesson

I would have remembered more French if he had been my teacher. (Warning: liberal use of the f-word)

Days 3 and 4

As I begin day 4 of my news fast, I am beginning to realize how much time I actually spent watching the news. Certain times of the day I start to crave the input - it's like there is a hole in my life. That said, I also see that I feel better without the constant bombardment of negativity. Yesterday I ran into a friend at the grocery store. As we stood in the aisle chatting, she mentioned something that has been in the news lately. I found my body reacting to the discussion - my muscles became tense, my stomach started knotting. It was an "aha" moment - by watching the news I was probably damaging my body. Practicing yoga, eating natural and organic foods, and avoiding chemical products was being counteracted by the negative emotions generated by the media. I'm starting to think that by clearing my mind of negativity I will reap physical benefits. My wish is that having a clear mind also will make room for positive ideas and gestures that will in some small way make the world around me a better place.

Making a Difference, One Email at a Time

This morning I was excited to find an email in my inbox saying that an email I sent has made a difference. I subscribe to action alerts from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Six weeks ago the organization asked subscribers to email the University of Michigan, asking them to end the cruel and unnecessary use of live dogs in the it’s trauma training course. The university received more than 20,000 emails and are no longer using live dogs for training! We CAN make a difference in this world! The organization is now asking that emails be sent to the University Hospital in Newark for the same purpose. For more information, visit the website: www.pcrm.org.

Day Two

Well, my news fast continues. I do find myself automatically reaching for the TV remote sometimes and I realize it's just out of habit - I'm not really dying to know what is happening in the world of politics. I'm going to try to use this free time to start focusing on my French studies. I had another lesson yesterday and was given some homework to do. I like the path the lessons seem to be taking - my teacher is a stay-at-home mother so she is giving me practical expressions to learn as well as helping refresh my memory on the basics. It's quite different than the academic French I studied in school. She is giving me tools to describe the world in which I'm living and a foundation upon which I can engage in conversation.

I've been thinking about an earlier post where I ranted about the fact that I believe we as Christians put too much emphasis on Bible study. I hope no one took it to mean that I think Bible study is entirely unnecessary; nor do I want anyone to think I'm adopting a holier-than-thou attitude. Far from it - I too am struggling to walk the walk. My husband recently shared a quote with me that I think perfectly sums up what I was trying to say. It's a quote from Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life: "The last thing many believers need today is to go to another Bible study. They already know far more than they are putting into practice. What they need are serving experiences in which they can exercise their spiritual muscles." I think he put it much better than I ever could.

Day One

This morning I woke and immediately jumped into my usual routine. As I reached for the TV remote to get my usual morning news fix, I remembered - no news until Easter. I started to panic as I'm a creature of habit and didn't know what to do at first. Once the initial shock wore off, I pulled out a book and read for a few minutes, then decided to do my *chicken stuff* a little earlier than usual.

Part of my *chicken stuff* this time of year is giving hay to the goats, cows, and horse. The social life of goats is pretty complex and I have to be careful when I put out hay for them. They form little cliques and I have to be sure that no one gets left out at meal time. So, I have to break up the square bale of hay into *flakes* and distribute them around the pasture. Nelly and her posse get to the hay first, then her sidekick Maggie seems to get second dibs. It's the goats lowest on the socioeconomic ladder that I worry about the most so I have to be tricky to make sure they get their fair share of the hay. Being a goat herder can be complicated at times.

Forwards

I hate "forwards." You know, those emails that clog your inbox and the subject starts with "Fwd." I finally had to start telling people, especially family members, that I delete these without reading them. They drive me crazy because they usually fall into one of two categories: false stories that cannot be traced back to a source or sappy sentiments that are really very impersonal. I'm a trained historian/researcher/librarian, so the first category really gets to me. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion but these emails aren't opinions - they are lies masquerading as facts. Sometimes these emails contain a kernel of truth or are carrying a good message, but the lies undermine the integrity of the message and the messenger. The first time I forwarded one of these without checking the facts, someone emailed back and told me to check www.snopes.com because it just wasn't true. I was quite embarrassed and have since checked out the email before hitting that "forward" button. Not once have the facts been true. The other category annoys me because it gives the appearance that someone is thinking of you, but they really aren't. They just hit "forward" and send it to an email list - it's like a mass mailing. If someone is thinking about me, I prefer a quick email saying "how are you?" or "I was just thinking about you." And I like to see that it was addressed just to me - not to "undisclosed recipients." How about it? Is it just me or do other people find these emails annoying?

Lent

Yesterday's sermon at church was about Lent. Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter, is not observed by all Christian denominations. In fact our pastor said he wanted to title the sermon "Lent Not Lint" because it's not part of every Christian's tradition. Most people are familiar with Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) which is the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. The most famous celebration of Mardi Gras in the U.S. is in New Orleans. In other parts of the world, Mardi Gras is celebrated as Carnivale, which literally means "goodbye meat." Christians traditionally use the season of Lent to make some type of sacrifice to identify in a very small way with Christ's sacrifice. While I have participated in church services on Ash Wednesday, I've never observed the season with a personal sacrifice. As our pastor spoke, I thought about what type of sacrifice would be difficult for me. I wanted one that would not only be difficult but could also be enlightening. Then I knew - give up the news. No local news, no Headline News, no Wolf Blitzer....no news?! I'll have information withdrawal! But then, maybe, it will be a blessing. I won't find myself getting angry; I'll have more time for productive endeavors; I can use the time to reflect, to dwell on positivite things. I'll use it as a reminder of what Paul said in Philippians: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about these things." So, my sacrifice might not be a sacrifice after all.

What Every Farm Girl Needs

...a Ginny. Well, they can't all have a Ginny but a farm dog. Ginny is my side-kick when I'm doing my *chicken stuff.* She patiently waits in our little diesel-powered farm vehicle while I let out the chickens, haul hay to the goats, cows, and horse, and she runs along side me when I go to collect eggs and puts the chickens to bed. It's funny to think that I really didn't want her. When we moved here, I had a house cat, Dixie, but hubby really, really wanted a dog. Early in our marriage, we had 2 dogs. But then the children came along and it was like having 4 babies and was a bit overwhelming for me. In addition, the dogs destroyed our back yard and really annoyed one of our senior citizen neighbors when their barking woke her before 7 am. So, having another dog was not high on my list. Ginny was a bit of a challenge as a puppy - she chewed everything she could sink her needle sharp teeth into. But one day she appeared on the front porch, one of her paws a bloody mess. The vet put several stitches in her pad and told me I had to keep her in the house until it healed. That was when our bonding began and now I cannot imagine farm life without her.

Love

Today is my wedding anniversary - and I spent the morning getting tires on my hubby's truck. Was I resentful? Of course not. I think it's things like this that have made our marriage a good one. Like when my husband has to be out of town and he makes sure I have enough wood near the wood boiler to keep the house warm while he's gone so I don't have to haul wood. On a daily basis, we try to do things to make life better for one another. Although jewelry and dinners out are nice, it's the small gestures that make a difference.

Every Effort Helps

This morning I before I headed out for my appointment, I briefly investigated the blogs I frequent. Lisa over on Retro Housewife Goes Green (http://retrohousewife05.blogspot.com) discussed her frustration with trying to recycle CFL bulbs. She said Home Depot takes the spent bulbs but Lowes does not. A letter from corporate explained to her all the ways in which Lowes tries to be environmentally friendly; however, they didn't address the recycling issue. I'm going to follow her lead and email them, requesting they go one step further. I'm recommending my readers do the same. Contact Lowes at WeCare@Lowes.com.

Addiction

Ok, now I have to admit it; I'm an addict. I am addicted to caffeine. This morning I had an appointment to get a thermoscan. This procedure is an alternative to a mammogram. I really don't like the idea of having radiation shot through my body on an annual basis, no matter how minute the amount. So, after consulting with my ob/gyn, I decided on the thermoscan. There's a long list of "not-to-do's" prior to the scan. One of them is NO CAFFEINE for at least 4 hours prior to the procedure! Since my appointment was in the morning, and in another city, I could not have any iced tea until afterwards; my blinding headache began at 9:00. The scan itself was not too bad. The tech had me cool down in a very chilly room for 15 minutes, she took 3 shots, had me plunge my hands into a tub of ice cold water for 1 minute, then took 3 more shots. That was it The whole thing took less than 30 minutes. Afterwards, I made a mad dash to that coffee franchise which shall remain nameless (but is right around the corner from my doctor's office) and got 2 iced teas to go. By the time got home, the headache was just a memory. But this was a lesson for me; maybe I ought to back off the iced tea, or at least start drinking decaf.

Waiting

This morning I took in hubby's truck for a major service at the dealership. I went prepared with my magic bag of tricks - my giant tote bag equipped with things to keep me occupied while I wait. I've learned that I need 5 things to keep myself amused: my calendar; my journal; a good book; my ipod (my latest toy!); and a thermos of iced tea. Many times I've gone to get a vehicle serviced, or been in a situation where I knew I had a wait ahead of me, and watched the people in the waiting area sit and twiddle their thumbs, obviously bored to tears. Usually there's a TV in the room but there's nothing worth watching. I don't know if these people don't think and plan accordingly, or if they just don't know how to entertain themselves. Once a man watched me in amazement as I pulled out paperwork to take care of, poured a class of tea, then later pull out a book to read. He should his head and said he needed his own bag. The latest tool in my bag is my ipod. It is so versatile: you can watch movies, listen to music, and listen to podcasts (free from iTunes). There are also other functions that I have yet to explore. Whenever I'm in a situation where I have to wait, I look on it as time to get organized or catch up on entertainment. I feel like Felix the Cat - my magic bag seems bottomless.

More Web Sites

Today I want to share with you two web sites that cover health care. Both www.naturalnews.com and www.mercola.com have information that you won't find on mainstream health sites. I don't always agree with the content of these sites, but they make me question a lot of what I find in the media. The Health Ranger, as the owner of naturalnews.com calls himself, is the one who alerted me to the fact that the so-called stimulus bill that just passed in Congress contains a provision for mandatory health care reporting to the government. By the year 2014 it is mandated that our health records be put into a government database. If you dig into the approximately 1400 page bill, you will find these provisions. Yes, these provisions will provide millions to the companies that compile and maintain these databases, but what about our privacy rights? We all know how good the government is at keeping track of records. Further, doctors will be required to comply with certain protocols or face penalties. I wonder how this will affect those of us who use alternative or holistic practitioners?

Both Natural News and Dr. Mercola offer weekly newsletters by email. I highly recommend them to anyone interested in digging beyond what mainstream media and big pharma are telling us.

Spring

My hubby and I were out and about this afternoon, doing chores around the farm. We were delighted to see the first signs of spring: the crocuses, wild onions, and daffodils are all beginning to break through the soil and bloom. Until we moved here, I had never experienced such obvious signs of the seasons. For me, fall meant there was a nip in the air; winter was a handful of days that I found to be bitter cold (usually in the 50s and 60s); spring meant I could break out the flip flops; and summer seemed to last 10 months. Don't get me wrong; I still detest cold weather, but it is kind of refreshing to see nature burst forth with life in the springtime.

New Element Discovered

A major research institution (MRI) has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest chemical element yet known to science. The new element has been tentatively named Governmentium. Governmentium has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of governmentium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would normally take less than a second. Governmentium has a normal half-life of three years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause some morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to speculate that governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as Critical Morass.

R.I.P., Pugsley

Today we had to euthanize Pugsley. We realized that he could not grow up to be a healthy 250 pound billy goat. He struggled to stand and wasn’t able to eat the kinds of solid foods that his siblings could. In his memory, I would like to share part of one of my favorite poems, Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman:

I think I could turn and live awhile with the animals….they are so placid and self-contained,
I stand and look at them sometimes half the day long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
No one is dissatisfied….not one is demented with the mania of owing things,
Not one kneels to another nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth.

So they show their relations to me and I accept them

Goodbye my brave little goat. I’ll see you in heaven.

Now for Something Completely Frivolous

(Photo from http://www.iiepassport.org/paris.html)



Yesterday I spent the morning (and some of our hard-earned money) taking a French lesson. Recently, I was reviewing various aspects of my life and realized that many of the things that I enjoyed as a teenager are things that I have returned to as an adult. Yoga and vegetarianism are among them. I even switched majors in college - from business to history - because I enjoyed reading historical fiction in my teens. I'm now starting to believe that, for me anyway, those years serve as a compass for adult life. So, though a long, drawn out thought process that I won't bore you with, I decided to find a French teacher to help reintroduce me to the language I enjoyed so many years ago. I found a teacher on Craig's List and met her at the library yesterday. She turned out to be a very nice lady from Morocco and English is her fourth language - FOURTH!!! Wow! I still struggle with my first language. She has lived in a variety of places: Morocco, France, Southern California, and now North Carolina. In the first lesson, she spent most of the time evaluating my knowledge of the language, then we spent a few minutes just conversing in French. I have a long way to go, but I'm really looking forward to my next lesson.

Do the Right Thing

Our church is starting a new Wed. night program. We’ve gotten fliers in the mail, notices in our email, and the pastor even spent a good deal of time talking about it the last two Sundays. The new program focuses on fellowship and involves a group meal and individual sessions for children and teens, and bible study for adults. The pastor also stressed how many volunteers would be required to keep this program going. As I sat there listening, I started to feel guilty because I just wasn’t that excited about it. It would mean driving into town in the evening (we live at least 15 miles from the church), not eating a meal (I’m a vegetarian), and delaying putting my chickens to bed at night, risking a potential predator attack. I know bible study is important but I’m just not good at it. Once I get past the red letters in the bible (what Jesus said), I feel everything has been covered. Jesus summed up the most important commandment: Love God and love one another. I kind of feel that is enough to live my life. A few months ago, I discovered a pastor who blogged. In one of his entries, he said people do too much bible study! This from a pastor?! (Sadly, this pastor stopped blogging soon after I discovered him or I would put in a link.) Even though I found myself agreeing with him, I sat in church feeling guilty about not participating in the Wed. night program.

Fast forward to this morning. I’m reading my email and open one from a friend who is a social worker. Her email requested help for a family she is counseling. The grandmother owns one pair of shoes that are falling apart, and she has tried to keep them together with a needle and thread. My friend asked for used shoes if anyone wears that particular size. Further, the school the children attend is in a low income area and short on resources. There is a desperate need for tutors as well. Bingo, I thought. This resonates with me - I’m fortunate to be in a position to help in one or more ways - and I believe this is what Jesus expects his followers to do, or at least this one. Now, rather than feeling guilty about not helping with the Wed. night program, I feel blessed that I can do some small part to help some of God’s children.

Another Site

Today I'm going to share another site that I find to be extremely helpful - www.homesteadingtoday.com. This site is a forum for farmers, gardeners, do-it-yourselfers, and wannabe homesteaders. Any time I have a question about something pertaining to farm life, this is my go-to place. Sometimes I just have to peruse the archived discussions, other times I have to post a question which is generally answered in a timely manner. When you get a chance, go over to the site and check out the various topics covered - I think you'll be surprised.

Web Site and Newsletter

As promised in a previous post, I want to share a wonderful web site and the corresponding newsletter. For years now I have been receiving in my email inbox a very informative newsletter called The Dollar Stretcher. I'm at the point where I'm pretty savvy at how to save money in my own household but this little newsletter keeps me on my toes. For instance, I try to buy as many natural and/or organic food and personal care products as possible. One item I buy is organic maple syrup - well, no more. The latest issue of The Dollar Stretcher exposes this scam. I had a "duh" moment as I read it in my inbox this morning - as a farmer, I should have known better. Maple syrup comes from maple trees, decades-old maple trees. They don't come from crops that are planted annually and doused with assorted pesticides and herbicides. And the process to make the syrup does not involve any chemical additives. Maple syrup is maple syrup (please don't confuse this with the Mrs. Buttersworth's chemically-rich food product). For anyone interested, the web site is www.stretcher.com. I recommend you browse the archives and then subscribe to the weekly newsletter.

A Sign

In our community, we don't need to rely on a groundhog to tell us that Spring is near...we just look for this sign.

Litter Part 3

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we live in a county without weekly garbage pickup. In lieu of pickup, the county provides us with dumpsters at various places throughout the county. And after moving here, I was horrified to learn how some people use these dumpsters. They abandon their pets there! We have the Humane Society in the city and the animal shelter in the county; both places allow drop offs of animals that can no longer be cared for by their owners. Why someone would desert their pet at a roadside dumpster where they may wander into oncoming traffic or starve to death rather than drop them off at a safe shelter is beyond me. I hate those people. At one time, we allowed the county to place a dumpster on our property but removed it due to abuse by residents - dumping trash on the ground; using it for non-household rubbish; dumping deer carcasses behind it; etc. Prior to the removal, we inherited 3 animals that must have been dumped there - a hunting dog who doesn't hunt well; a kitten; and a mother cat with her litter (we found homes for her babies). We know the mother cat had been a pet because she was wearing a pink collar. Since we eliminated the dumpster, we haven't seen any stray animals. In my first post on litter, I mentioned my belief in various circles of hell - I believe one of the worst is reserved for the people who treat their animals as trash.

Blogs and Bookmarks

Recently I spent some time cleaning up files, bookmarks, etc. on my computer. As I was sifting through various bookmarks, my daughter walked by and exclaimed, "You have to SCROLL DOWN your bookmarks? I have, like, 2." I explained that I bookmarked any site that I found that looked interesting and that I was in the process of eliminating those that I didn't visit. She then mentioned that I could create folders to make it a bit more tidy. That was when I proudly showed her all my nicely organized folders. More shock. "You have a FOLDER for feral cats?!" Well, yes, feral cats are people too and need someone to care for them. And I explained how I planned on some day helping said cats. "But an entire FOLDER for them," she came back. I wanted to tell her that she only has 2 bookmarks because she has a young brain and can remember all the sites she needs to visit, and that when she's my age she'll have numerous folders too, but I didn't. I mumbled something about having diverse interests and quickly let it go. Which brings me to my point - I hope to feature some of these said sites, especially blogs, in future posts. There are some amazing blogs out there.

Litter Part 2

Did a state senator from Missouri read my earlier blog entry? In a recent senate session, Sen. Kevin Engler proposed that littering be an offense punishable by death. Hmmm...not sure they should go that far. Maybe if we just put them in the stocks. I tried to post the video clip, but I'm not smart enough to do that. Instead, here's the link: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video/default.aspx?maven_playerId=articleplayer&maven_referralPlaylistId=playlist&maven_referralObject=1025594615

Girls' Night

Last night my daughter and I declared it to be a girls' night. Hubby was getting in late so we had the whole evening to ourselves. First, be dug out the old family cookie recipe, handed down to us through Betty Crocker. As is our tradition, she handled the wet ingredients and I manned the dry. Before we knew it, we were dishing up some delicious chocolate chip cookies. I had reserved Mama Mia through Netflix and we popped it in the DVD player. We ate our fill of cookies. (Note to self: must log 1000 miles on the treadmill to balance caloric intake.) And dear daughter put up with a few off-key outbursts by yours truly. It was a very enjoyable evening, although hubby was puzzled by the whole thing, arriving at the end of the movie as tried to coax daughter to rewatch the movie using the sing-along feature.

"Fool Me Once...

...you can't get fooled again." I'm afraid W was wrong with this one, at least if you're an American citizen. With the ink barely dry on the TARP money and only half of it distributed, American's are now being told of the lack of oversight, foolish spending, yada, yada, yada. However, we're also being asked (or at least our representatives are) to once again turn over billions, even trillions, of dollars of hard-earned taxpayer money to help save the country from catastrophe. Last year, Chicken Little warned us that it was essential to approve the TARP bill or the sky would fall...yet not much has happened, except more of the same. But this time it's different; there will be more oversight, no pork. We're being told that if the country goes further into debt, we will all be saved. Isn't that what got us into this mess in the first place? Now, I just don't see it; the picture in my mind just doesn't make sense. I'm not very sophisticated when it comes to economics, but I don't have to be a medical examiner to know when I smell a rotting corpse. And I'm smelling one.

Food for Thought

We as a people have gotten to the point that we cannot fathom the amount of money politicians are talking about; it's almost like Monopoly money. Here's an interesting tidbit, lifted from my own dear husband's blog, that puts the current financial situation in perspective:

The federal deficit in 2009 will likely exceed $1 trillion. That number is so large its difficult to comprehend. Consider that 1 million seconds ago was 12 days ago. One billion seconds ago was May, 1975. One trillion seconds ago was 29,700 B.C.

Litter

This is one of my big pet peeves. I never really noticed it much when I lived in a city, maybe because I only had to maintain a small city lot and because the street sweepers came through on a regular basis. Now that we live on a large farm on a small country road, I'm very aware of litter along our road. The county doesn't have a large budget so we don't have street sweepers and we don't have trash pickup. Trash stays on the roadside until the property owners pick it up. Dumpsters are strategically placed at various sites throughout the county, mostly on private property, and residents haul their weekly accumulation of garbage to these dumpsters. We once allowed a dumpster on our property. No more. Why? Because people abused the privilege. We would find trash tossed IN FRONT OF the dumpster; people were too lazy to stop and put it inside. And if the dumpster was full, they would continue to pile garbage on top to the point that it would spill out.

When we first moved here and the weather was nice, I enjoyed putting my dog on a leash and walking a mile or so down our road. I had to stop because I found myself getting angry at the garbage people tossed from their moving vehicles - fast food wrappers, dirty diapers, beer cans, soda bottles...I started taking plastic bags to collect this garbage. The sad thing is that all of this was within 1/2 mile of a dumpster. To make it worse, these are regulars, people who travel our road on a daily basis so they knew the dumpster was there. You see, our road is not a main road; only people who live in the area are likely to take this route. And I could tell that at least two of the individuals drove past our farm on a daily basis. How did I know this? Because I found two different brands of beer and at least five of each every week (the drinking and driving is a scary topic on it's own). What really gets me is that if you asked these individuals about where they live, they would proudly proclaim that they are country people, they love living in the country, and they cannot understand how anyone could live in the city. So why do they trash it?! Like Dante, I imagine various circles of hell and I believe there is a special place for those who litter. (Photo from: http://www.woodstockconservation.org/litter.htm)

Dinner Al Fresco

...not tonight. We got a light sprinkling of snow last night, just as the weatherman said we would and proving that winter will continue.

A bit of cheer on a cold winter day - I snagged tickets to see Fleetwood Mac this spring and they arrived in the mail yesterday! Woo-hoo! So, now I'm counting down the days...

Otherwise, life on the farm continues as usual. Well, *usual* for us.

Groundhog Day

This morning I watched the news as Punxsutawney Phil betrayed me and saw his shadow - 6 more weeks of winter weather. As someone who has lived most of her life below the palm tree line, this was not good news. That said, having become a farmer, I do appreciate winter. In winter, nothing grows and you can catch your breath and catch up on reading and other activities. I remember the first year I told hubby that, as crazy as it sounded, I was looking forward to winter. Had I lost my mind? Yes, not because I actually like cold weather, but I was starting to detest green beans. We had row upon row of green beans. I picked them; cooked them; froze them; gave them away; even fed them to our pigs on a couple of occasions. There seemed to be no end in sight; then I remembered, we get winter here! Yay! So, even though I will continue to hunker down in the house as often as possible, I am kind of glad that I won't see anything green (that requires picking) for a while longer.

Normal

What passes for normal these days...I did my morning yoga as usual. My cat Dixie is the ultimate yogi and always joins me on the mat. We had company today as Pugsley decided to check it out as well. I was able to make it to church service this morning - last week I had to stay behind to give the goat his bottle - but had to leave just before it was over to keep him on his feeding schedule. We go to an amazing church but the service is longer than a typical protestant service so it cut into the time for Pugsley's second bottle. I am hoping to get the little guy on fewer but larger bottles this week in an attempt to fatten him up and to get myself back into my routine. So far, the rest of the day has been a lazy one which included a nap for me and Dixie. I'm continuing with cooking out of food on hand and am making a pork and rice dish for dinner tonight.