Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Happy? Yah, I Am!

Oh, not the song but it is my ringtone on my phone. I know so many young adults are tired of it. I don't watch any TV or listen to music radio so I haven't heard it as many times as others.


I'm happy because I'm still alive and here to appreciate my family, my dear home, and I'm able to still move around. I'd love to move a bit faster, not have three surgeries ahead of me. Yeah, I'm in need of some fixin'. That's actually okay because I will be fixed and I've been through it before and I'm sure I can handle it all. I'm not lucky, I'm blessed.

The crazy never stops here! Lots of changes are going on and I'm so excited that my grand daughter Hannah bought Kiely's dairy goats and is going to show them with her steer at the Fair in just two months. She has so much work ahead of her.


My neighbor/older grand children are showing their pigs and it seems natural to have the pigs back here again on the ranch. They aren't as cute as the pictures on the Internet. They really have the beady eyes and really long snout. But they sure are pink and like the mud. That little muddy-place is going to get better with the in-ground pipe placed under the "lickit" automatic waterer. Pigs are so smart they figure they'll just let the water fall-out of their mouth to make puddles.

Sports are over for all the grandchildren, but not really. Our Eirely is still doing Jujitsu and Tanner is loving his rowing team again this year and thankfully he hasn't broken his arm again. Beach people ride bikes everywhere. Visitors that have cars are sometimes reckless when they get in a place they don't know and made a u-turn and hit Tanner just when the rowing season had begun. Ventura will be hosting a five mile rowing event Saturday, out in the open water. The Ventura Pier I think, is five miles round-trip.

I know that summer will end soon; it always does. I think it's because so much is crammed into a couple months. The grandchildren get out of school later than before and then school starts right after Fair, so it's really almost a month that's been swiped-out from under them.

I can remember wanting school to start and looking forward to the Fall, East Wind (I can't believe I wrote that) and also I looked forward to the Fair. It was in October and we were released to go to the Fair if we had projects. The 4-H horse show was a week before the regular fair and I was given a release and it just continued on for the regular Fair. We were there the day before Fair opened, but after the last Sunday, we were dead tired and went back to school.

Fair was hard but we weren't given a bunch homework to do at Fair and we had no making-up days because the teacher knew we had done tons of reports, memorizing, thank you cards, gifts to give, and generally having a few really stressful days at the Fair. I think and I'm just assuming all the participants were a lot like I was, too busy to go out to ride the rides. I did always walk around the buildings and look at the Ag. Building, Youth Building (I always had a project entered there, too) and the Commercial and Arts Buildings. No one seemed to go the carnival part. Fair in October was wonderful because it truly represented harvest time. It was Fall.

I looked forward to standing in line and receiving my check from the buyer that Sunday before we left for home. I could buy a few school clothes. And yep, I lost about 5-10 pounds every year at The Ventura County Fair. I know that sounds incredible with the fattening food, they had, even back then. We brought our own because that's very last thing I wanted was to be sick in the show-ring.

I'm going to believe that happy is the way all of my family feels when the shows are over and the stalls are cleaned-out. I know there will be tears. The pigs are so lovable at the end of the year, believe it or not and there's no way a kid can't go off without being sad leaving their steer, sheep, or goat behind. The happy part is always the burden-lifted of caring for the animal as best as you're able. It's a huge job.

I'm just taking pictures and yakking about the judges ... as grandma's do and hoping those big aluminum seats aren't as hard to sit-on as they were last year. I'm taking a pillow and that'll make me happy.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Happy Labor Day!


Credit to Cutest Blog on The Block


I was just thinking... and every time I mention that to my dear husband he always gives me this skeptical eye, somewhat like it's going to either cost him more money or a whole lot of time for him to accomplish.

 I wrote the above teeny paragraph and my Sciatica nerve hurt, so I opted to go to my laptop and sit on on "Sciatica Pillow." I was working on the "big computer" at my husband's old desk, but the chair hurt my back. I arranged the "special pillow" and two pillows behind me on my back and moved this wonderful (?) TV tray with my laptop.

The disaster begins. I spilled my soda-pop and obviously something I shouldn't be drinking (also known as: Die Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper.) Oh, I forgot the "t" in diet. Subliminal message. Yes, I know we all die. The disaster continues. The soda-pop was full but I grabbed it in time. Whew! Not all of it made it's way to my computer. It soaked a perfectly composed letter and of course, I didn't write it and flooded two floppy disks. I cleaned the spilled, red liquid off of the tray and set my soda-pop on a book that was on the arm of the sofa. The book made a perfectly good flat surface and all was just right until the TV tray was moved slightly and the "under part" holding the tray fell down. 

Thankfully, the laptop fell on my lap but my elbow hit the book that began a red waterfall and landslide that soaked everything but my computer. Everything was covered with Diet Dr. Pepper. including my phone, the leather sofa, my awesome thermal robe (that's weird at 2:00 in the afternoon) and my beautiful fur goat-hide. Oh my gosh! That sounds so lazy and weird. It's hit 100 degrees this afternoon. No East Wind. It's humid and I'm not used to this kind of weather.

The robe explanation: I'm resting my back so it gets better. My other robes are too hot I'm not planning to go out in public, I'm going to lie down on my bed and over a big block of ice in a few minutes.

The goat fur that was soaked was a gift from my oldest dear daughter as a joke. It's old and she's not old...but literally a real animal lover. I suspect she's a VEGAN. I adore most goats and from the looks of this wonderful hide, it was from a goat I would've loved.  Turbo the buck, is in my "Off Wellman Way" heading. Turbo is a little darker but about the same brown and white color.

Now, where was I? Steve's just home from working (on Labor Day!) He made me a great lunch and there's nothing more comforting than a grilled cheese sandwich with real American Cheese and sliced dill pickles. No more soda-pop.

I'll go out with Steve this evening during the sunset and while he feeds I'll milk our sweet. once-a-day milker-goat. I thought about drying her up. She needs to be sold, so if anyone in Southern California needs a milk goat I've got a wonderful and generous milker. However. She's is only about 5 years old. You can email me at susankaylazenby@gmail.com.

Valentine is our doe's nickname. Gitana goat's delivery of this doeling was really hard because the baby was so huge. My daughter was so upset that Kiely didn't breed Gitana again. This birthing was too hard on Kiely's favorite goat. This job of the delivering Viper was the most traumatizing for all of us and we all remember it as the worse and we've delivered hundred's of goats. Gitana recovered after this delivery and she seems fine, and she's an aged-doe. Weird to talk about this on Labor Day(?)

My daughter was still upset when she filled-out her paperwork on her new little kid. Kiely named Gitana's offspring, Viper. By the time she was just a few months old we were calling her Valentine. This goat is such a sweetheart.

 This year my grand daughter entered the does in the Fair and won. Her awards were 1st in showmanship with Valentine (Viper) and won "Best of all Other Breeds," "Best of Three" and also "Best Herd" and took the "Dam and Daughter." Her Doe kids won champion and reserve.


My grand daughter's showmanship win led her to be in the Round Robin and she won "Master Showmanship" she takes after her four aunts that had goats and market animals and a couple of them won Round Robin. 

My grand daughter's steer was amazing and I know she'll do this all over again next summer.

The Belt Buckle and Pretty Ribbons!
I hesitated when Kiely went off to college to breed this sweet white doe. Would I be able to go through what her dam, Gitana doe had experienced? I finally took her up to be bred and she had two bucks the first time and lovely pair of does this time. The goat is really easy in all ways. The goat kids this year did really well in their classes at the fair and so much thanks goes to Melody Mountain Ranch for breeding our Valentine doe to one of their very best bucks.

I need to explain the first paragraph of what I was thinking. That big question to my husband. I didn't forget. First, I have to say it's one of those glorious California days of Fall. A beautiful way to end summer and a great Labor Day! We can sure tell it's Autumn time. 

I was thinking that I was going to ask my husband Steve for an additional air conditioner. The weather pattern has sure changed here and it's too hot. Our house just sucks-in the heat! I thought if it's going to become cooler soon... it's going to be Fall and cooler. There will be a change of season and hey, we could get a good deal on an air conditioner. That crazy thought whizzed though my head and out the other-side like an arrow ... as I walked-out on our (oven) porch to fetch our water bill, my jaw dropped. 

There was a slight water leak for a couple days last month and the total bill was $1300.00. Wow! That's crazy! Our lawns are dead, garden is dead, and our trees are dying. Granted, we share our water with a neighbor and everything is dry there, too. I'm not asking for another cooler or air conditioner, I'm just going to pray for rain!

***I'm going to have to do a few more posts on Fair. We had pigs there, too with my two other dear grand children. They made a lot of money and their cousin showed at Fair, way up in Wyoming. I smile because I couldn't imagine this was continuing-on with my children's children. I guess the work and stressful times years ago was worth it.