january 10th!

So I haven't updated this blog since November 15, 2006. It's already January 2007! How did that happen?

I hope everyone had as peaceful of a Christmas as we did. It was pretty sweet.

Part of why I haven't updated is because I haven't done anything at The Goat since fall. Just school work (getting ready for my comprehensive exams), hauling wood, taking care of the animals, and whatever else I do on a daily basis. Didn't even do that much exercising till after Christmas. In spite of very little snow, I've been skate skiing at least 4 times a week. The trails are actually quite good, and I think I'm getting better.

Only this much snow and it is January!!!



Yesterday I forgot to take a duck egg out of my jacket pocket in the morning. Didn't find it until I was out on the trails blowing my nose. Didn't want to go back to put it in the car, so I just promised myself I wouldn't fall on that side. I did, but you know, it didn't even crack. I guess this means that the ducks are getting enough calcium!

Here's a link to a comic book we made up about our second Christmas at The Goat:

http://www.hu.mtu.edu/~kfarren/xmas06/Launcher.html.

Once the page with the little picture comes up, click on it. At the bottom of that page there will be a button to click on.

We took care of Cinnamon for a week, and had a blast. She even stopped gnawing on Vanna's neck for a while! She sure loves Rio and Benj.

Here's some dog pictures:




And finally, I actually did some work in the house this break. On the back side of the closet in the entry way was our old kitchen table. We were using it as a computer desk. It just didn't fit with everything else and kind of drove me crazy, and always ended up being really cluttered.

I found some old panel-like things up in the attic of the road house, and decided that they would make a perfect table top and shelves. I pulled them out--geez, did they stink!! The squirrels had nests in between each section. There is nothing quite like the smell of squirrel and mouse pee. It brought back memories of ripping down the drywall when I was working on getting the place liveable. A good reminder that we have really come a long way, baby!

Here's a picture of the new table:



I was able to move all my writing stuff and papers from the computer desk area by the kitchen, leaving way more room there for kitchen stuff. It looks really cool. It isn't completely clean over there, but I'll throw a picture up when I get a chance.

But school starts soon, and between teaching and reading, I'm going to be busy. Not too busy to ski or snowshoe with the guys. And I'll make sure I take lots of pictures!