A Descendent of Job

I'm beginning to think I might be related to Job.

Every time I think I've got a handle on things and we get some forward momentum, something disastrous, costly, or dire knocks at my door.

We had our garage sale to great success. That's the good news. We didn't sell the furniture because most of it was too big to move and we were so busy I didn't have time to make a sign in case anyone was interested. I think it'll be better if we sell it on Craigslist or a Facebook group.

We did sell tons of stuff though. Before we opened, I couldn't even make a path between rows of tables--we were that full. I had to move the overflow outside. Now with what's left I can keep everything inside and easily walk around the tables. 

There's a neighborhood sale this week. If the weather is decent we'll open our doors for a few hours to see if we can sell what's left, otherwise, it gets boxed and shipped to Goodwill. 

People kept commenting on our low prices. I wanted that stuff gone. The bigger it was, the cheaper it was. It wasn't coming back in the house. I'll try to write a separate post on the garage sale later.


the twins















During the sale, my other two does had their babies. That's when my troubles began. First, it was Heidi's twins. They're still scrawny but they'll eat if she lets them. 

Lucy is the one I'm really worried about. Her udder is terribly full. We try to milk her a couple of times a day but she hates being milked and it's always a struggle. She only had one baby and it is finicky! She nurses when SHE wants to nurse. Leading her to the teat is futile. 

Lucy meanwhile is hurting with all that milk. I haven't had time to sterilize jars so I've resorted to using any old bucket and feeding the milk to the chickens. They think they've gone to heaven. I've since ordered a milking machine in the hopes it'll be faster than me and less painful for her. Poor girl.

Lucy with her baby

So the final score is two males and two females. Prince Albert is looking quite magnificent. I'm hoping his cousins will catch up soon.

The owls and hawks have been cruising by their pen in shifts. I need those babies to grow big soon before those predators get wise.

In other news, we had to rush to Casa South (the house we're selling). We've had a LOT of rain down there. The grass was nearly knee high and I had to give the ground enough time to dry off. This was my only window of opportunity to mow the property.

Meanwhile, the top half of a tree had fallen on our power line. Fortunately, it didn't knock it down, but we had to pull that tree off and that was a job and a half. 

Then we walked inside and found the parquet floor in the front room had buckled. During periods of high humidity, (it's semi tropical there) you must keep the AC on. The power had gone out at some point and the AC was off when we got there. That had created enough moisture for the wood floor to expand and buckle. 

Oy! 

We're alleviating that problem by removing most of the wood floor and having carpeting installed. At least if the wood expands again, what's left can move freely against the carpet.

There's more, but I'm trying not to sound like a soap opera. That's just the highlights.

It's a juggling act, but I'm trying to look on the bright side. The house still looks nice and will look nicer still when we install the carpeting.  The babies are all alive. The mama goats look better than they did a few days before.

In time everything will work itself out, but I'm exhausted. I'd kill for a solid day off with no worries.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a cute picture of Prince Albert sticking his tongue out. It's a little blurry but it was too cute not to include.





A big hug for Greg. Through it all, he's been a real help to me, helping to wrangle goats, nurse babies, and milk Lucy.  It would've been so much harder without him.

Comments

I can't remember the last time I had any kind of momentum - creative, mental, physical. Oy is right!

I don't know anything about goats but Prince Albert is a cutie. :)
Maria Zannini said…
Madeline: I suffer from a malady that makes me cranky unless I'm moving forward.

Drives my husband crazy. :)
Mike Keyton said…
Maria, Greg, the very best of luck to you both - and the goats
Rebekah Loper said…
A friend told me yesterday, when I was lamenting (again) about my really bizarre insane previous two months that I was just getting it all out of the way before I turned 30 so I could have a new, wonderful decade.

Hopefully there is something amazing on your horizon as well!
Angela Brown said…
There seems to be so much intrigue and drama happening in your world. At least you are kept entertained *hugs to you and your hubster*
Stacy McKitrick said…
Whew! I tired out just reading that!

Glad the babies are doing well.
Well, congrats on the sale. Boo for udders and buckling floors. I hope it all works out well and soon!
The babies are sure cute. And a successful yard sale is always a good thing. I have a pile of stuff for goodwill. It's the time of year to clean out some things.
busy you...hope all the babies survive.
I hope all the babies make it!

I'm glad Greg was there to help you.
Maria Zannini said…
Mike: What is it the Irish say? If it weren't for bad luck we wouldn't have any luck at all. LOL.

I have to remind myself not to complain. These are rough times, but it's the life we chose.

I would like a few less obstacles or at least not all of them at once.
Maria Zannini said…
Rebekah: It's a nice thought but sadly life never quite works out that way. It's a hilly road. Sometimes we go up, up, up and other times it's a steep slide down. In the end all that matters is how you handled those turns. :)
Maria Zannini said…
Angela: Ha! I hate drama. It's only exciting when it's in fiction that way I can live vicariously and not get hurt .
Maria Zannini said…
Stacy: It's been a roller coaster!
Maria Zannini said…
Barbara: My milking machine should arrive by Friday. Hopefully we'll get some of that extra milk she's been producing.

I've gotten pretty good at milking, but it's hard on arthritic fingers so I'm hoping the machine will be faster than me and better for her.
Maria Zannini said…
Susan: The sale was tremendous. We had one person buy us out of every bit of camping gear we had.

The men scooped up every piece of old machinery Greg put out.

I was so glad to get rid of much of that big stuff. It took up so much room. My house feels airy again.
Maria Zannini said…
Mac: Every day they make it, is one day better they'll survive their critical period.
Maria Zannini said…
Sandra: He's been awesome. I never would've made it without him.
betty said…
Oh wow, you have had a bit of trouble, haven't you? Yuck on the floors! Hope the goat situation works itself out with Lucy. Good for you with the success of the sale; I agree, low prices, just move it out!

betty
Unknown said…
Prince Albert is adorable!

I sold my 10 year old sofa and love seat on Craigslist and it went fast for $500.00. Word of advice is to put in the advertisement that your price is firm! You don't want to haggle with price, especially when you can see by all the photos that your furniture is obviously in better condition than most going for the same price you're asking.
Maria Zannini said…
Betty: I'm only sorry the carpet installers are going to take so long to put it down. I'd really like it to be nice again.
Maria Zannini said…
Diane: Thank you! That's a great idea for Craigslist. I've never sold anything on there before so that's good to know.
Sounds like life to me. So glad your babies are doing well and hope they continue. Love the goat pics!
Maria Zannini said…
Karen: I was hoping for a bit duller life. It's worn me out so much I even took a nap!
LD Masterson said…
Once you get the milking machine, is using the milk to bottle feed the finicky kid an option?
Maria Zannini said…
Linda: I could use a bottle, but she looks like she's doing better now.

The problem with bottle babies is that you can not take a day off. You are tied to that kid for at least 3-4 months.