Ewe and Me and Rain on the Roof

My sick black ewe lamb is hanging on. She was eating yesterday, holding her head up, drinking out of the bucket, so I didn't give her the oatmeal and molasses last night. This morning she is worse. Back on the oatmeal and I started her on antibiotics. She has the most beautiful coat of wool on her. I never feel good about clipping the wool off a dead animal. He doesn't seem right, but plenty of shepherds do it. Some skin the sheep altogether and send it out for processing. Lamb skins were selling briskly at Rhinebeck from what I could see. Not my gig - yet. I sure hope she doesn't die... Rain all day today - the last day of the Farmer's Market! Boo-hoo, I will miss it so. I didn't get there regularly but I had some real nice customers who were really appreciate of my products. I was selling bags toward the end of the season, too. Looking forward to next year.
Baby shower at work yesterday for a tech teacher I have lunch duty with. She got some real cute things. The table was covered with pastel cupcakes and decorations - so adorable. Gretchen knitted her a fancy cable baby sweater. It took her several weekends and she almost didn't get my Anise soap wrapped! She pulled both projects off fine. I hope the new mom appreciates the workmanship, but if she doesn't knit it's hard to tell. People just don't realize the intricacy of some of those knitting patterns - they are Greek to me! I had a nice talk with Eric yesterday. He is very busy with his new BSA job as second in command of a big district in California. Annie is finally reunited with the family. They decided not to wait for the *&^%$ bank to sell them the foreclosed-on house they were trying to buy. I'm sure the bank was holding on their properties once the big bail-out went through. He had offered them top dollar and had Hannah and Luke in that school district. As long as they had the mortgage application in Annie had to stay in her Bechtel job in LV. He decided getting the family back together was more important and rented a house on "Avenida Rottella" in San Jose. Kids had to move to yet another school district, but thankfully Annie is home and with the kids full time. I can't wait to visit them at Christmas. They are going to a San Francisco 49'ers game this weekend. AJ is very happy in Christian Orthodox seminary in Yonkers and says,"I really have it good here." He is coming to visit for a few days in November. He can help me nail up plastic over the window openings in the barn. I am heading out to Lowe's with Matt to get the new bedroom windows required by the Code Enforcer. We are WAY behind on the Compliance Project. Won't be done by Dec. 1 unless the Angel Gabriel comes down from heaven and does the work himself. We have little windows in the bedrooms and NY State wants big ones in case we have to squeeze our big fat bodies out of them during a fire. I am riding with him so I can get some goodies from the bakery to send to Luke. He loves fancy holiday cookies from La Maison Blanche. Matt doesn't like to talk on the phone during the day, or do email, so we rarely communicate during the week. Speaking of FAT, if I don't start a diet I will be unable to move from point a to b. The BOCES food is so good and the culinary kids are cooking like crazy for the teaching staff. I stand there on cafeteria duty and stare at all the goodies every day for 40 minutes. I can't afford to buy clothes and have so many beautiful things in bags in the tractor shed. Something's got to give. I know what I have to do, I starved myself for 30 years, but somewhere along the line lost my "will to starve." Gotta get it back. I think horseback riding lessons will help - riding is great for "core strength." I have to find my pilates videos. Put out hay this morning and tried to spread it out. I can hardly walk through the barn. I had a chance for a skid loader down in Chenango County but had to wait for Rhinebeck money. Some poor farmer was doing his barn and had a heart attack. He kept going and crashed into his wife's car. Can you imagine coming home to find your hubby croaked in the skid loader and your car wrecked? You can't dream up these things. A student told me about it and I got all excited because she "just wanted to get rid of it." Somebody snatched it before I could come up with the money! Maybe next year. Equipment will SET YOU FREE. We need a little Industrial Revolution around here. Oh, well, winter is here and Matt promised to get the wood stove working. I finally put my foot down and said I wanted a decent step under the back door (a friend pointed out that I needed one - as if I didn't know) and a LIGHT so I can see the rickety log I am stepping on. Low and behold he said "I've got the light and the wiring is all done." WHAT??? All this time and you made me wait for a light? Somebody please explain it to me.


Timing is everything...