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We’re ready for our goats.
Sort of. You know like how when you’re getting ready to have your first baby and you read What to Expect When You’re Expecting three times like it will help? Then you have the baby and it’s not like the book at all? That’s what I’m afraid of. I just have to jump in.
One day this week–I don’t know which day yet–they will come down this road.
It’s pretty this time of year, isn’t it? I drive down this road and just have to stop and stare sometimes. I get to live here. This is my road.
I think the goats won’t like it because it’s going to be bumpy. The goat lady and her husband are going to bring them in their truck because they have crates.
I don’t have crates.
But I have a fenced enclosure!
The goat enclosure is my front yard. You can’t do that in the suburbs. The entire area, to the woods, is fenced in, and there are “driving” gates on either end because I don’t want to cut off access to drive a truck or tractor around the house. (You can’t get a truck or tractor around the rear of the house because it backs up to the hillside.) More fencing is attached to the driving gates to keep them secure.
The fencing is stretched along the porch posts, leaving room to walk in front of the house under the porch.
I will sit on the porch and watch my goats. In other words, I will soon get nothing done. I’ll be watching the goats.
For now, there is a smaller, fenced shelter under the porch where the goats can get out of the rain. Before it gets cold, they’ll have a “mini barn” in their field. This will do till then. (These pallets are being fashioned into gates.)
One corner of the goat enclosure meets up to the chicken yard. The chickens and the goats (and Coco!) can visit!
Coco: What goats?
Coco, it’s time to get serious. Sure, you lived on the porch for a month. You slept on a soft, pink blanket and you tortured the farm shih-tsu. You watched a lot of QVC and you got addicted to General Hospital. Then you learned how to get down the stairs and you started muddin’. But now you must work!
Coco………..
You want to look pretty when the goats get here, Coco!!
You should be ashamed of yourself, Coco.
REALLY ashamed.
This is not how I raised you, missy. Don’t try telling me you saw this on QVC. I don’t want to hear about how they are understated, sexy and chic “boots” that fit your lifestyle.
And don’t give me that face!!
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Spiced Cranberry Jam – Love this!!!
2 lbs. cranberries (three 12 oz bags)
3 c water
1 c white vinegar
5 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1 packet of liquid pectin
Bring cranberries, water, vinegar to a boil and simmer for 10 min. Add sugar and spices, mix well. Place on high heat, bring to a full rolling boil for 1 min, stir constantly. Remove from heat and add the liquid pectin. Mix and skim off foam. Stir and skim for 5 min to prevent floating fruit. Ladle into jelly jars and place in water bath for 10 min. Makes 12 half pini jars.
When I get them out of the water bath i turn them over on their lids and keep turning them back and forth for awhile to prevent the fruit from rising. sometimes I dont skim all the stuff off too and it turns out ok. This has a wonderful taste to it and the house smells wonderful.
Pumpkin Fundge – love this one too
2 c. sugar One 12 oz pkg white chips
1 c packed brown sugar One 7 oz jar marshmallow cream
3/4 c butter 1 c chopped pecans
2/3 c. evap milk 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. pumpkin 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
In heavy sauce pan, combine sugar, brown sugar, butter, milk, pumpkin and spice. Heat over med heat until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Continue heating until misture begins to boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling until candy thermometer reaches soft ball stage (234-243). remove pan fromheat. stir in chips until melted. add marshmallow cream, pecans, and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into buttered 9×13 pan. coot to room temp. cut into squares. store in refrigerator.
Apple Praline Pie – award winner
6 c very very thin sliced, peeled apples. 3/4 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon 2 tbs butter
1/4 c flour 1/4 tsp salt
Two 9 inch deep dish crusts or make your own
Heat oven to 350. In large bowl combine apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt; toss lightly. spoon mixture into the bottom crusts after you have pricked the crusts with a fork. dont with the 2 tbs of butter cut up. place the second crusts on top and make slits. mash the ends together. place on cookie sheet. bake 50-55 min.
Topping
1/4 c butter two tbs milk or half and half
1/3 c brown sugar 1/3 c. chopped pecans
In small sauce pan melt butter, brown sugar and half and half. add pecans. remove pie and pour on top. return to ove for about 3-5 min longer. cool before cutting.
this pie everyone loves and sells for 25 at a bakesale. the key is the very very thin apples. i use a contraption I got at cracker barrel restaurant but pampers cheff has one too. it peels, cores and cuts them razor thin.
enjoy.
EGGNOG Fudge
1/8 c butter, chilled 3 c sugar
1 c eggnot 6 oz white chips
1 1/2 c mini marshmallows 1 c. chopped pecans
1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Butter 9×9 dish. Mix eggnot and sugar in sauce pan. Bring to a rolling boil oover med to med high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 full min. fold in the marshmallows and spices. bring back to a rolling boil for another 6 min, stirring constantly.
the mixture will turn brownish color but if you see brown flakes in it, turn down heat a bit. remove from heat and add the butter, chips and nuts. stir until thoroughly mixed or until it loses its glossy appearance. pour into prepared pan. cool.
if you love eggnog – you will love this.
can you tell I am ready for fall -
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LOL I love that face also, well at least if you want to throw the goats a treat like carrots you won’t have to go far. I wish I had that set up here for the dogs kennel.
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http://www.lifeislikechampagneblog.com/
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This has made my day! How exciting for “us” to have “our” goats home where they belong. I think it will be fun to watch Coco evolve into what all those genes know she is. (That was an awful sentence!) Thank you again for sharing your life here. Warms my heart.
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Now just bring on the goats! By the way, you can move the little ones in a large dog kennel in the back of the van. Think how cute that would be.
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I’m just saying, it might not entirely jive with the taste of cherry pie.
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I can’t wait to see the goats in their new home. Thank you for sharing with all of us.
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This is not related to this post BUT I wanted to try to make my own vanilla so I went to the bulk food store to get the vanilla bean, of course I didn’t have any idea what I was looking for. I thought it would be more like a kidney bean or something, boy was I suprised. To beans come in a test tube thing so do I open it up and just put one little bean in or do I use the whole bean??? I’m a fish out of water here and I need your help. Just for fun I wanted to make my girls homemade vanilla to include in a christmas basket with other goodies from the kitchen. Please help!!! Cheryl
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Thanks for the answer. I went and reread your post earlier and noticed that you had explained it very well. Love your blog. Read it every morning faithfully before I go to work. Still amazes me that I stumbled upon it while doing some research for my dad (85) on the McMinn family tree. We just got info from a church in Ireland. We had a copy of the letter about one of my great aunts visiting there and the minister used it for reference and was able to locate our families birth, baptism and marriage information fairly quickly. We are now back to the 1700′s and there is enough info to link it to my father’s grandfather. Interesting but very involved. My father has spent most of his retirement working seriously on it.
I’ll try the vanilla and let you know what the girls think.
Cheryl
PS I’m making one for me while I’m at it.