The price of a lamb

Well, Pat got back home and showed me the sale slip for Speckles. He weighed 115 pounds and he sold for $1.23 a pound. After the sale barn takes it's cut, we got $134.79. About what all that colostrum and lamb feeder cost. But isn't that how it is with babies, expensive but worth it. I try not to think about Speckles becoming lamb chops.

BooHoo

Well, we decided that it was silly to keep Speckles, the lamb, any longer so he went off in the trailer to the sale barn today. He wasn't cuddly and cute anymore and we couldn't stand the thought of butchering him ourselves so... boohoo my baby is gone. I remember how he would sit on my lap so peaceful when we drove to the nursing home or church (the children's story). The old folks loved him. And yes, I was driving with him on my lap. But he was better than a dog or cat or some children I've met.
So after I said my prayer this morning, I was singing out loud, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and I truly heard the line, God and sinner reconciled. The writer of that hymn understood the truth of Jesus' birth and why that was peace to us.
We did kill the roosters (all 5) Sunday, I'll write about that another time. It was crazy and the roosters were too old.

Anyway, here's to spring lambs and hopefully no more bottle fed babies. and here's to gratitude to Jesus for reconciling us and giving us that perfect peace.

 

Saw a card using an old reader illustration and thought I'd give it a try. It's 6x6. Have alphabet paper on top then a strip of green cardstock, some old blue ricrac with glitter to cover the exposed adhesive. a punched blue cardstack flower with a lavender flower brad that has a rhinestone on it and a tag that says, "you're so fun!" tied to back of brad with twine.

December 3

Sometimes when things are stressful, you just have to bake! And new recipes are the best to try because you need to sing a NEW SONG, like David says in the Psalms. So today I made Orange Cranberry Loaf from the cookbook Colorado Collage. It sounded good, the batter looked wonderful and the bread measured up in every way. We have restrained ourselves to only eating half the loaf tonight, but I was wise enough to double the recipe and make 2 loaves so we would have more longer. Here goes:

325 degree oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. One loaf pan greased and floured.

Big bowl: 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 cup sugar
stir this together

little bowl: 1 egg beaten, 2 TB melted butter, 3/4 cup orange juice stir this together

another bowl: 1 cup cranberries cut in half (be smart use the food processor and a couple of pulses) and 3/4 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Make sure oven hot, pan ready and tada, add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix, then add the berries and nuts and stir in well.
Mixture will be thick. Pour into pan, put in oven and set timer. When done set on rack til pan cool enough to touch and then take out of pan and let finish cooling on rack. Divine.

November 1st

Dug most of our potatoes tonight, ate some boiled then browned in butter and they were yummy.
The ram, Blackie, got to join the girls yesterday and he and the girls were happy to be together. So we will have March baby lambs in 2011.
Mabel fell Saturday night and re-broke her left wrist (had just gotten the splint off from first break) and she broke her left hip. So now she has broken both hips in less than a year.
Aunt MaryJane died, I found out when I called Mom Sunday as she had just gotten home from the funeral. Sad but she's out of pain now.
Crystal is engaged to be married and we are all happy for her.
Pat's family is all coming here for Turkey Day (as Uncle Bill used to say).
Managed to get all 3 class supplies for this month cut and ready; so now it's get house ready for influx of people and then cook my head off.
We have a cat now. Walter (Mabel's cat originally) who gave us a scare last week when he disappeared. But he returned a couple of days later and apparently decided he would have to be satisfied with us as his feeders.
Not much to tell, it's just life as usual.

pictures

Okay, all the baby pictures are posted along with old, ugly me. and just in case you wondered about the big ball picture it is the one of the moon Pat took with my camera and his scope of the full moon! Aren't my 1/2 day old lambs cute!