Wolf has achieved success...sitting in his blind...my son's room in front of the sliding glass doors..the great white hunter awaits his prey. The prey, an unwary squirrel, approaches from the west...
Roosting in a barren apple tree, the prey innocently eyeballs the peanuts left in the yard. He contemplates getting them ... his claws gripping the limb, the sliding glass doors slipping open, when suddenly...BAM!
The prey falls from the tree .... the great white hunter strides over to retrieve his prize. A big ole fat squirrel ... dinner tonight. Fine with me...as long as I don't have to clean it...

LOL, yesterday remained lazy and no curtains or soap was made. I did dust in the living room and swept all the floors (except for my son's room and wolf's - that's their job). I got out a bit later and picked up some hamburger buns and a few odds and ends and we had an easy dinner of burgers and homemade fries. The rest of the night was comprised of playing cards and watching football. Football which ended up getting turned off after a sigh of resignation from me.

The day went from heavy rains and winds to heavy sleet and winds to snow and winds. It's snowing now. My son's dad is picking him up early this morning so they can go to church then hang out for day. I just hope the roads aren't that bad. I can hear the sanders outside so hopefully everything is under control. They knew the storm was coming and around here we're fairly used to driving in this crap. Just par for the course in New England.

They (you know those infamous they's) say if you don't like the weather in New England just wait a minute. So from 50 degrees last night to 9 tonight then back up towards 50 by midweek. It's been an odd winter weatherwise.

back to being bundled up...

xxx kitt

Being low on funds this Christmas required that I get creative with gifts. I painted shirts for my sisters, made a decoupage box and soaps for folks, stuff like that...well for wolf I decided to sketch something. I finally got around to taking a pic of it so the folks who helped me with suggestions and criticism (that's healthy criticism) can get a look at the finished product.

Well, I had to give over my kitchen this weekend. Apparently I don't use enough grease when I cook. Poor wolf was dying for some down home cooking so while we were out and about he picked up some jambalaya mix, pinto beans and "taters" (potatoes).

In addition to the cacophony of foods I found him a little Baptist church and we attended "some" of the service on Sunday. We didn't know the schedule so we just went with what the churches do back in Texas and showed up at 11:00 am. They started at 10 but we were welcomed in anyway, caught the end of the service and then socialized with some very nice folks.

The funny thing about that was that I just finished telling wolf about an episode with my wasband in Maine. Seems I can't go anywhere without someone knowing me. We were out in the middle of nowhere, Sugarloaf, and someone just walked up to me out of the blue and asked if I had gone to a particular high school. Sure enough they had gone there and remembered me. Well, same here. Small congregation, mostly older folks and all of sudden this woman walks up to me...says my name and then omg...I haven't seen you in years. Years? You're not kidding, we haven't seen each other since we were 13.

Back to the topic...wolf spent the rest of the day assaulting my kitchen. Pinto beans with a ham hock, jambalaya with chicken and sausage, fried taters...it was all very good so I guess I can rest assured if I ever get laid up someone will be able to cook something besides Ramen noodles and mac and cheese. By the end of the meal he was feeling pretty happy and both of us were very full.

To top it all off, the episode of Family Guy that was on that night had Lois trying to feed Peter jambalaya. We couldn't help but laugh and my son continued the Peter reaction for another day when I offered him the jambalaya for breakfast. Oh well, more for me!

full kitten xxx

I take some things for granted as I'm sure everyone does. Here in New England most of the states have a bottle deposit law. You buy your soda or your beer in bottles or cans and in addition to the actual price the retailer charges you .05 cents per bottle or can in the hopes that you will redeem them later to help recycle them. Apparently this is not the case in Texas.

So here, we recycle our cans and bottles at the grocery store in these machines that count what you insert via the bar codes. This mundane task that I, my wasband or son would do has now become a fun trip. This is a novelty to wolf and he thinks it's just the coolest thing. So today we made our trip to the store with all the bottles and cans collected from my mother's house from a New year's day party along with our own bottles and cans from the house. We netted a hefty $8.00 and change with wolf giggling the whole time.

We moved on from there to groceries. While he looked for certain brands or types of foods I spent the time laughing and saying...we don't carry that here! What do you mean you don't put dumplings in beef stew? Jambalaya mix? Don't you just use a recipe? and on and on...

It's kind of nice seeing things from a different perspective. Things I wouldn't think twice about or things I find mundane all of a sudden are interesting or fun. It's like having a little kid with you. They look at the world through new eyes and show it to you all over again with a fresh shine. At least we spend a lot of time laughing and that's always a good thing.

smiling kitten

I have a serious issue. I have this compulsion to have excessive amounts of toilet paper on hand at all times. I nearly panicked today when I noticed we were down to 3 rolls of toilet paper. 3 ROLLS?!!! OMG!!! Needless to say a trip to the store is in order for tomorrow.

In addition to needing at least a 12 pack of toilet paper on hand at all times, it can only be Scott brand toilet paper. Why? I've no freaking clue. I like the brand and feel like it's a value for the money but you would think with this fetish that I would be more accomodating to the sale brands. Nope. Oh happy day when I found out it was on sale at Stop N Shop this week. Not only that but I also have a coupon for $1.00 off..whoo hoo. I'm seriously considering buying two 12 packs. Just think how long I could avoid my neurosis.

krazy kitten wrapped in TP

Well the new year started off with a bang...a lovely nor'easter. For those who aren't familiar a nor'easter is basically a winter hurricane type storm. You get a north easterly circular wind current with heavy winds and snow for precipitation. We got about 6 inches or so dumped on us since last night and it's not quite over. We did fare better than the western part of the state though. Some of the towns out there got about 13 inches or so.

Wolf's all excited like a little kid. He keeps calling me over to a window..."look!" Sorry but I'm just a bit jaded after spending nearly 40 years shoveling the stuff. It is kind of cool watching someone get all excited about it though. Makes you appreciate the wonder of it all just a bit more.

This was a real heavy snow too. We started the storm with a mix of snow and freezing rain. A lot of folks out in the western part lost power. Over here all my tree limbs are weighed down and a few got broken but we had no major damage. All my critters just hunkered down and waited it out. By the time we went out to feed it wasn't too bad and they were venturing out again.

Ah well, winter in New England. At least it's fun watching him jump around and giggle like a little kid. Plus he shovels for me so I can't complain too much

snowcovered kitten...

What a fabulous day.

The day started with my harping at wolf to move his ass if he intended to go to church with us. He did. We all went to church together, me, my son, my wasband and old wolf. My wasband and I wished each other a Happy New Year, hugged and then he was off for parts unknown while the rest of us made a quick trip back home to change, a run to the store for my cousin and then the ride to RI.

The annual holiday celebration at my cousin's/mother's is always a much anticipated event. At least 50 people or so show up throughout the day to partake of the food and the company. All my cousins show up, some of the other family members like my RI sister and her family and then some of my cousin's close friends as well as other friends of the family.

I love these crazy get togethers. It's always total chaos...you can barely move, people are loud, there are hugs all around, kisses, more food than all of us can possibly consume, presents, and just general mayhem and glee. My family is loud, bawdy, welcoming, loving and crazy. It doesn't matter if we've never met you before, if you've come with someone we know you're automatically welcome and fussed over. It's also very multicultural. The food reflects the ethnicities of our population...we have french canadian dishes, dominican republic dishes, american cuisine, italian, some soul food...a little bit of everything in there. The American melting pot is represented right in my cousin's kitchen.

Old Wolf was welcomed right in and fawned over by all the little older ladies. Oh they just loved his accent and were tickled pink with his "yes ma'am's". He ate more than he believed he could and had his first exposure to "dynamites", a sort of sloppy joe type dish that's a pretty local food item.

We finally got home about 7pm and my son soon received his friend over for a sleep over. Wolf got busy feeding the animals and starting a fire while I put away all the goodies we came back with. I would say all in all a really great start to the New Year.

I wish all of you the same joy and fullness of feelings in the New Year. May everyone have health and happiness, good fortune and great friends and family.

New Year kisses,
kitt

I'm sick as a dog and I'm laying full blame on old_wolf...it's all his fault with his "anti-yankee" germs. I already told him that the roads we took to get up here go back down south too, so if he can't hack us northerners he's quite welcome to go back to Texas. I think he'll acclimate.

On another note though, I read Lunna's blog today and she hit the nail on the head there. This has been the best year and the worst year all in one breath. I have a lot of changes in my life, some good... some bad... and some still occuring. But, through change comes growth and new life. You can't grow a tree without first planting a seed and having it struggle to the surface. And that's my life....I have to break out of the shell of my former life and forge a new one.

I suppose that's true of all us in one way or another. Even if you don't have "life-changing" events occuring, you should still be growing somehow. Everything that happens in your life shapes you somehow and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And life is good. No matter what happens I wake to a new day and I have a chance to make it whatever I want as long as I face it with an open heart.

Here's to a new year of new beginnings and open hearts and minds. Here's to embracing life and whatever it brings you. You can't change the past although you can learn from it.

I suppose if I have resolutions for the new year they are thus: Live life to the fullest each day. Love without fear. Sing out loud even if you can't carry a tune. Don't be afraid to dance. Appreciate everything..good or bad. Be thankful. Trust. And last but not least...go with the flow and SMILE.

Love you all...
kitt

I've been fairly busy over the holidays as most of us are. However, during the course of this time, Wolf has discovered a couple of abortions among the goats. I've been thinking about them and assuming that they were due to inadequate nutrition. I normally grain the females in the winter...not much, just about 1/4 to 1/2 lb per goat per day, but this winter I decided not to do that and allow them to browse. We haven't had a ton of snow as of yet and they were able to browse the woods and for the most part reach the grass. Goats are most closely related to deer and as such eat the same way deer eat. So, I assumed my grand experiment had gone awry.
I was thinking today though and I think it may not be nutrition because I did have one that had grain every day and still aborted. In her case, I think she was too young to carry but that's a whole other story. A while back, the bucks were allowed to get in with the does. The main buck can be a real cuss when feeding time comes round. I watched him ram the shit out of one of the does when I brought hay out one day. Well, I'm thinking that the punk rammed those does once too often and they ended up aborting.
So, now, I'm faced with the dilemna as to whether I want to keep the bucks in with the girls for the rest of the winter or if I want to start moving some fencing around to house them in the old buck pen. I'm pretty sure I've still got a few girls that are bred out there and I'd hate to see them abort too. They do mourn their kids and that alone can cause problems. Plus, if I get the bucks out and the girls still abort then I can look to nutrition as the definitive cause and I'll know what not to do for the next breeding season.
There's never a dull moment here, I will say that. And the wolf is getting a full education. Today he was shown how to trim hooves, check for worm loads, milk out colostrum (he just watched-can't figure why), give wormer, and finally to treat them to candy canes Hey, even goats like Christmas...wait til the end of the week when they get the tree!!