Life Just Keeps on Keeping On

Okay, so I’m actually writing (typing) this last night because it’s 8:48, I don’t want to go to bed and there are too many other things that I could be doing. Also, I’m annoyed. There are so many things to be annoyed about, it’s really hard to pick one but one is really annoying me more than any other at the moment so you get to hear about it.

Amena was invited to go with Nick’s family to somewhere in New York this coming weekend (as in Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) because he’s playing baseball in a tournament. She first mentioned it to me a day or two ago and today has been laying it on really thick because she just does not understand why I won’t let her go. She’s fifteen so I don’t expect her to understand but that doesn’t change anything. I understand that Amena is fifteen. I understand all the nuances that entails. But when I say no, I mean no and in this case, nothing is going to sway me; certainly not asking me over and over again. I actually remember what it was like to be fifteen and I remember how annoying my parents were. And I know I wish they’d have kept being annoying.

But let me tell you what really got me this time. “So like 75% of the people at school have sleepovers with girls and boys and of them only the druggies do anything because their parents are weird.” Wow. Really? Do 75% of the kids in 8^th grade really have parents who are okay with having coed sleepovers? You have got to be kidding. And just because a kid is a druggie means his parents are weird? Sometimes these kids make decisions that have absolutely nothing to do with their parents or the weirdness their parents possess.

If seventy five percent of the parents of Quabbin eighth grade students are okay with coed sleepovers, then I would like to know who they are to make sure that Amena never goes there again. I don’t care how much you love your child or how much you trust them. They are 13 and 14 years old for the most part. You want to tell me you can trust their hormones? Think again. I’ve seen some of the posts on Facebook from some of the parents. Those hormones are doing their job, let me tell you. I just wish the drama was on Facebook instead of at my dining room table.

I am now writing/typing this at 6:38 am of May 18, 2015. I am happy to report that at least one other parent of Quabbin Eighth Grade students does not allow her children to attend coed sleepovers. She mentioned that there are parties with boys and girls in attendance but that one sex goes home before bedtime. I can deal with that a whole lot better than an overnighter with both present. Sheesh. Teenagers.

My mornings are quite busy right now so I’m not sure how I’ll fit this in exactly on a regular basis. There are currently three goats to milk and although I get typically an ounce or less from Snowflake per milking, and so far only around twenty ounces from Goldilocks, I’ve been regularly getting close to forty from Zoey and she’s been steadily increasing even taking into account a knocked over milk bucket and milking late one night. Snowflake is also feeding two kids and Goldilocks one and that will continue for a minimum of five more weeks so even though I’m not getting as much from them, they still need to eat their yummy sweet grain.

And then there are mornings like this one when the stakes all need to be moved. And then taking out the goats is not really a one person job currently because there are so many of them. I did get some good pictures of them last week so one of my goals for today is to get them listed on craigslist and a couple of Facebook pages.

This is our newest kid. He was born Saturday, May 16. Because he was a singleton, he's absolutely huge compared to Snowflakes kids. But really pretty. Too bad he's a boy.

I’ve been rather lax on my soap blog which is not a good thing. I need to make a ton of goat milk soap because I have a ton of off-tasting goat milk right now. I need to check out liquid soap make with goat milk. I know it can be done but have never tried it myself. I have enough milk that if it tasted good, I could easily make some yogurt or cheese.

Side view. I think it's kind of funny that our white goat had a black kid.

Saturday I cut lumber enough to make five beds for the garden and with the sister missionaries got two put together before the battery on the drill ran out. I will pick up the spare and the charger from Julia sometime this morning and hopefully get more beds done this afternoon.

The birds are singing outside and there is a little breeze. It’s cool and lovely even if a bit on the humid side. It was so hot yesterday afternoon that when I went out to take the goats some water I let Snowflake and Goldilocks loose so they could find some shade. Zoey had some shade or I’d’ve let her loose as well. The others weren’t out in the sun quite so badly. When I move stakes when I’m done here, I’ll make sure they’re along the edge so they will have shade this afternoon although it isn’t supposed to be as warm today.

Other than the goats being hot when I went out yesterday afternoon, I noticed that the grass is getting really dry in the back field. I’m pretty sure that if Paul were to mow back there, half of the field would be brown because the short under grass is brown, the tall stuff is still green. I’m guessing that means the longer stuff has deeper roots. I know that average rainfall for May here is between four and five inches and so far we’ve had less than half an inch. At the current rate, it’s going to look like Yreka before the summer is over.

Hey, Laura, the Cox’s were at church yesterday. Sister Cox apologized for not making it to the reception; her mother-in-law was visiting and they spent the day with her. Kenisha said she really wanted to make it but life has been kind of crazy and wasn’t able to but she sends hugs. Ryan and Jessica didn’t make it because Jessica was packing and looked at the clock at 5:30 and had an “Oh, no!” moment. Jonathan and Elizabeth didn’t make it because Elizabeth couldn’t find the invitation and when she did realized it was too late. I think those are all the messages I’ve been given. I also have a card for you from the Arbon’s. They sent it to your old address in Provo so it was returned and they sent it here. I’ll get it in the mail at some point. J

And Becky, it looks like you left a black slip here. It’s too big for Laura and I don’t think Mom left anything on the couch so I’m guessing it must be yours. I’ll get that in the mail at some point as well unless given other instructions.

And that is all for today. Have a magnificent day!