Things that I love

"Brown paper packages tied up with strings..."

Antique pitcher and flatware. I found this lovely pitcher at my favorite antique store a few months ago. The price tag was missing, so I brought it up to the counter to check the price. Most pitchers like this one were going for between $25-$35, so I was very pleasantly surprised when the man at the counter quoted me $4.95! Yes please!

Drop spindle and beautiful wool. Sometimes I think I prefer the drop spindle to the wheel! It's so much more portable. :) It feels so good to twist the fibers into thread with your own two hands.

Little Women. If you have not read this book, read it. The movies are all pretty good, but not one of them truly captures the heart of Louisa May Alcott's story. This is my favorite book. Ever.

Little Cael. So darling. Even though he is a grumpy-pants, I love him dearly.

"Meh-eh-eh-eh-eh!" (Yeah, yeah. I'm a crazy goat lady. I know.)

~Bessie

Georgia Summer

Although summer has not "officially" begun, it certainly feels like it down here in Georgia. The temperature flew up to the low 90's today, and with all of the rain we've had over the past several weeks, the air is just humid and sticky and gross. This weather will go on for the next 4-5 months. Oh joy. :p

Obviously summer is not my favorite time of year.

I try to like it, I really do. Every year I think to myself, I'm just going to enjoy summer this year--I'll spend a lot of time outside, and go to the pool, go biking and hiking. It'll be fun! Every year I try this for about two weeks, and decide that it is a much better idea to stay indoors and pine away for fall. Yes, I know I was recently pining away for spring. What can I say--the grass is always greener, right?

As much as I hate loathe despise dislike summer, there are a few pretty wonderful things about it that I was reminded of this afternoon as I strolled with the camera and a few thousand mosquitoes through our beautiful yard. Rather than tell you about it, I'll show you with the pictures I took. :)

Strawberries

Wildflowers

Blackberries

John's Garden (peas and marigolds) :)

And my favorite... HYDRANGEAS.

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Goat update!

Dean and Jerry are growing and changing a lot lately. Dean more so than little Jerry, who, true to his namesake, is a bit of a shrimp. Dean’s coat is coming in just beautifully, and is very soft and curly. It started curling up around his face and ears, and the curl has now spread about half-way down his stomach. Jerry has a little curl about his face, as you can see in the picture where he is eating my shorts. J For such a scrawny little guy, Jerry certainly likes to eat. Here he is eating the lens cover for my camera:

I’d always heard that goats will eat just about anything, and I am now seeing that it is absolutely true. At least they only have one row of teeth!

I trimmed their hooves for the first time the other day, and boy let me tell you, it was quite an ordeal. I felt like the biggest jerk of a goat-owner in the whole universe for not trimming them sooner, for their little hooves were very overgrown and cracked. This can be very painful for them. Bad Bessie! I apologized profusely as I held them still, raised their little feet up, chipped off the dirt and muck, and clipped the old, yucky hoof away. The boys were very noble, and I took their patience and compliance during the two-hour (I’m a novice, ok?) process as a sign of forgiveness. They have been very happy ever since hoof-trimming day, and seem to feel quite refreshed and invigorated. Poor little buddies.

The hoof care supplies I ordered from Hoegger Goat Supply. I ordered the hoof care kit, which included a little booklet on goat hoof care, some nice orange-handled clippers, a hoof plane, a hoof pick/brush, and Hoof n’ Heel (a topical antibacterial that fights and prevents hoof rot and such). I loved everything in the set except for the hoof plane. My goats are so small, and their hooves so delicate, I found the hoof plane to be a little too harsh. To give you an idea, the plane side looks a lot like a cheese grater. I can see how this would be suitable for cows and even larger breeds of goats, but I think perhaps a hoof file would work better for my nigoras.

Have a fantastic Sunday!

~Bess

New Patterns Posted!

FINALLY...






Come and check out these and many, many more new patterns at my Etsy shop!

Take...a...deep...breath...

All I want to do right now is sew. Is that too much to ask? Is it?! For crying out loud already!

Ok, breathe in, breathe out.

This busyness is overwhelming, and there is no end in sight. Well, at least for the next several weeks there isn't. I have been contemplating running away for a couple months and not telling anyone where I am going. I've got it all planned out--I'll take Dean and Jerry, my sewing machine, a few canvases and paint, a camera, and my iPod and hit the road. Goodbye stress!

Then again, I would have such a massive number of make-up lessons to do when I returned that I would be tempted just to stay in hiding. Excuse me while I crash back down into reality land.

I am having a very difficult time being patient and contented in my circumstances right now. Funny enough, the Lord has been whispering the word patience in my ear a lot lately. Hm. Father, I will try...but I need help! Help me to appreciate right now, and change this feeling of being "stuck" into an inspiration to live life to the fullest where I am.

Sigh.

~Bess

Road Trip Update: Day 3 in pictures (with comments) :D

Day Three

John enjoyed the snow and just had to play in it a bit before we left the hotel.

Did I mention Wisconsin is an amazingly beautiful state? This was taken outside of Wausau. Mom and I have decided we'd like to live in Wausau. ;)

More Wausau

Wausau

We stopped at our first Culver's restaurant in Wausau--it's our new favorite! Yum. :)

Culver's had reeeaaalllly good coffee.

Leaving Wausau. Sniff.

John with his new dragon doll, Herman.

John took some pictures of me with Herman...

This was taken right after we picked up little Judy in Madison. She's the speckled one on the far left.

We stopped at another Culver's in IL. This was taken in the parking lot--it was surrounded on all sides by rolling crops. Sigh!

Windmills in IL

We enjoyed Culver's so much that we brought a little souvenir. :) John named him Lucky Boy. He rode on the dash and was so good as to hold the cell phone for us.

Leah and I snuggling.

John and Flint at our somewhat-sketchy hotel. How cute!

I would elaborate more on the trip, but we are in a crunch for time and must hit the road. So enjoy pictures for now! :)

Love,

Bess

Road Trip Update: Day 2 in pictures (with comments) :D

DAY TWO

Illinois was beautiful and farmy, and very FLAT. It looked like this practically all the way to Wisconsin! I was seriously tempted to pull over and frolic a bit...

John decided that he would like to listen to "Take Me Home Country Roads"...on repeat. Each time the song ended he would yell "Again!" He sang along with every chorus for almost three hours straight (and for smaller chunks of time scattered throughout the day). He was having such a great time that Mom and I couldn't be annoyed. Especially when he yelled at us to "Sing it--louder!"

We also learned something new about John Denver's famous song. John informed us that it was not John Denver singing and playing guitar, but a group of rainbow-colored panthers from Texas. They all wore cowboy hats, were smiling, and were very soft. I will never listen to that song the same way. ;)

More Illinois--check out that brown dirt! So weird.

A close-up of the amazing, rich, dark brown soil. Up in Wisconsin a lot of the gravel was a reddish color, and mom and I kept shying away from it thinking that it was sticky Georgia clay. Ha!

A super-cool rest stop that had a playground! John was a happy camper.

We pulled over for gas in Rockford, IL, close to the border of Wisconsin. What a nice city! Check out the artsy welcome sign!

While in Rockford, we witnessed a Canada goose and her five babies crossing an empty parking lot. How cute!

At this point in the trip, we had heard "Take Me Home Country Roads" approximately 60 times straight. Hence the look of mild insanity on my face.

Right at the border of Wisconsin--OH MY GOSH HOW BEAUTIFUL.

Welcome to Wisconsin!

In Wisconsin we got a bit of a surprise...snow. Lots and lots of snow! John thought it was Christmas again!

A darling little mountain town in Wisconsin called Minocqua.

We stopped to play in the snow a little...:D

Soon the snow began to thicken. We laughed when we heard that it was neigh 90 Degrees back home. How crazy is that?

The pines were beautiful.

We finally arrived at our destination--a quiet little town called Mellen. The breeders were so friendly, and let us go down to the whelping box and see the other puppies. This made John very happy. :)

John had such a great time, and was such a fine boy, that Mrs. Deb (the breeder) gave him lots of candy for his ride home.

The snow got worse as the night progressed, and began to stick to the roads. Mom and I had a very treacherous journey back toward the pet-friendly hotel where we had reserved a room for the night. There were a few instances where we were afraid for our lives (such as when we merged onto the highway and couldn't see the lines on the road for the ice and snow). We ended up pulling off the exit for Tomahawk (about 20 miles north of the town we were supposed to stay in) and finding a nice little inn for the night. This is me (or my legs) walking the puppies before heading inside.

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These pictures were taken once we finally got settled in for the night. We put the puppies' crate in the bathroom, and played with them for a little while before going to bed. Thankfully they were very quite through the night, and didn't make a mess in their crate or anything!

Flint

Leah

Flint again!

Huck

Huck :)

Flint and Leah playing with a towel

Huck is a little teddy bear. :)

Leah is beautiful and very inquisitive.

So that is day two, in a nutshell!

~Bess