Suprise!?

So tomorrow, I will be revealing a suprise I have..... it is going to be super exciting, or at least it is exciting for me.  Stay posted!

The Evil Eye

So Camille has some type of eye problem, when I checked up on the chickens this morning her right eye was all weepy and squinty.  I was worried about the other chicks pecking at it so I put her in a cage and am letting her hang out in the rabbit area.  If her eye isn't looking better by tomorrow morning I am going to flush it with some saline and see if I have some antibiotic eye goo left over from Rosey.  I hope this turns out to be alright... darn, my luck didn't hold, I was hoping to never have any sick or injured animals.

I made some awesome potatoe skins last  night for supper, I really love potatoe skins, but I don't like the restaurant ones, they have no flavor.  Speaking of flavor, my favorite restaurant, Ninniku-ya is closing.... the horror!  It was a garlic restaurant and it was so good, they even had garlic ice cream, and after you ate there you literally smelled like garlic for the whole next day even after showers, I think it must ooze out of your pores.  I remember one time going to work after dining there the evening previous, one of my co-workers walked into the nurse's station and asked, "does anyone else smell garlic?  I really can smell garlic right now."  My garlic fix is going to have to be obtained elsewhere.

I also had an unprecedented burst of motivation today and I finally painted the master bathroom.  It has long been a thorn in my side, an unpainted ugly thorn.  It is now a beautiful green color called frosted green grape, it is sublime.  

Meat the Rabbits

The rabbits are here!  We have four bunnies in their own lovely private suites in our carport.  We have three does and one buck which is supposedly the right amount to have when you are just starting out with meat production, conservative estimates place the amount of meat we will get in one year from these guys at about 400 pounds.  The girls do have names, they are:  Trixie, Rockette, and Sapphire.  We decided to name them because these are going to be our foundation stock and not eaten.  All the bunnies were born in May so we have a few months before we can breed them, most likely the first breeding will be in December and then we will have the first rabbit meat hitting the freezer in the spring.  I can't tell you how excited I am to be taking this next step in being more self-sustainable.  Rabbits are a livestock that literally anyone can have in their backyard or even in an apartment.  They make zero noise, they are clean, and so far have been really easy to care for.  I am feeding them rabbit chow with some produce thrown in for variety.  Did you know that on the same amount of feed, a rabbit can produce six pounds of meat whereas a cow can only produce one?  Rabbit poops are also great fertilizer and we will be using it in our garden.

So far, when I tell people I am raising rabbits for meat, they immediately doubt my ability to convert a live rabbit to a bundle of meat in the freezer.  I can't lie, I am nervous about that first slaughter even though it is many months away.  I am sure I will shed a few tears and have some remorse, but it is going to be done, I am more than willing to take this step in order to be more self-sustained.  I eat meat all the time and so does everyone else I know, the only difference will be that I am going to have to do the unpleasant parts that get the meat from the cute fluffy bunny to the rabbit fricasse on my table. When the day comes, I am going to put my big girl panties on, and git r done.

Hi my name is Frank

The garden is still coming along swimmingly.  The plants are growing like crazy, I can't wait for tomatoes, I think that is what I am looking forward to most, and I plan to put up a bunch of pickles.  We also have fourteen papaya trees started, wow how did that happen.  Every time we plant something it shocks us when it actually grows, so we always start out planting extra just in case some don't take, and then usually, they all do and we have excessive amount of plants.  I am going to start growing a bunch of Okinawan sweet potatoes,  so I am also super excited about that, there is just something about a purple sweet potatoe that makes me so happy.  

So I am starting to really heavily think about getting my greywater started, this might happen sooner than I had originally planned because the board of water is thinking about doing a huge rate hike for water, and the bill will most likely double if that happens...I will have to start seriously researching the possibilities for my system asap.  

Good morning to all

Good morning to all!  I am sorry it has been such a long period since I have posted.  Despite my rosiest intentions, I kind of failed at the posting every day thing.  I think I have posted much less since making the resolution to post everyday.  On the plus side, my Dad got this shirt for me.  It says, "I am one goat shy of being the crazy goat lady."  I can only hope to someday be a crazy goat lady, it is my greatest aspiration. 

Speaking of presents, I was reminiscing about the glory of Christmas's past and I remember one time when I was youngish (6 or 7).  I went to the mall to see Santa and sit on his lap to dictate my Christmas wish list.  I requested a puppy, more specifically a German Shephard puppy, it was my greatest childhood desire to have my own personal attack dog.  Santa instead of agreeing amicably, questioned my ability to care for a puppy and basically told me no. I was indignant to say the least. Now please understand I hadn't believed in Santa from about the ripe old age of two, but still, Santa, especially mall Santa doesn't have the right to censor my Christmas wish list, that isn't Santa's job. Santa's job is to smile and chortle and give me whatever I ask for, no questions asked. Santa's job isn't to crush a little girl's dreams, I am still disgruntled about that whole incident.  I now have two bullmastiffs, a goat, four chickens and soon four rabbits... .....in your face Santa.

yup only one goat shy

Sprouts



Grow my pretties, grow!


Well, here is the product of Jesse's hard work planting.  We have tomatoes, corn, tons of eggplant,  beans, peas, and spinach all sprouting with great fervor.  I can't wait to eat green things from my garden.  I think that when we get this gardening thing down (maybe next year), we are going to do a 30 day challenge.  30 days of not going to the grocery store, but instead eating things we have grown in the garden, drinking milk from the goat and getting eggs from the chicks and hopefully meat from rabbits.   I want to try to be on my own for 30 days, it should be an interesting endeavor. 

The recipe book!  I know I have been meaning to send out letters, but I wanted to get some pretty stationary and self addressed envelopes so that it will be easier to send back.  I am a procrastinator because I want to get it perfect.  I just need to pick somewhere and start.  On a bit of a side note, I tried the pesto recipe but also blended in a small cooked potato just before I blended the basil.  The pesto turned out super creamy and extra delicious, who would have thought?  Potatoe... interesting. 

Here is what Marzipan sounds like in the morning with translations included.

0526:  meeeh meeh ("Good morning, how are you? do you think you could maybe come out and feed me?")
0527:  meeeh meeeh meeh (I am really hungry please feed me")
0528:  meeeeeh meeeeh meh meh ("I want to eat now, right now")
0529:  Meeehh Meeeeeh Meeeeeeeeeeeeh ("Maybe you didn't hear me, I am hungry, feed me now")
0530:  MEEEEEEHHHHH   MEEEEEEEHHHH MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHH ("Get out of bed you lazy cow and feed me!!!")

She stands on the rock in her pen so she can get maximum projection, even when I get out there and am scooping her food she feels the need to continue berating me.  I do not understand the inner workings of a goat, I think she has anger management issues.

The Finishing Touch

So my friend Lacie makes amazing things (she is one of the lucky naturally crafty people)  She made this gorgeous sign for the girls so they can now have an official place to live.  It is recycled wood from Re-Use Hawaii that she hand painted and distressed. I can't even begin to tell you how much I am in love with this sign.  Please check out her Etsy store: The Second Pea at www.etsy.com/people/thesecondpea, she has jewelry, signs (the beach one is my fav), and other super shabby chic items!

Love it!

The girls are official

They love the sign too!

Do I have to go back?

Wow, weekends like this make me never want to go back to work.  I have a wound care conference i am going to downtown though, so that should be fun and educational.  I hope they have free lunch, I live for free lunches.  We went to the beach with some friends on Saturday, there is a military rec place about a block down the road from where we live, and I am ashamed to admit that this weekend was the first time we have gone there and enjoyed the beach since living here.  There were dolphins frolicking in the water and we did some stand up paddle boarding.  I fell in the drink once, but that was it.  It was not because of any awesome balancing skills on my part, but because the boards were so enormous, kind of like a raft.

Camille in all her loveliness

Jesse worked really hard in the yard this weekend.  We moved the raised box so we could make more room for the chicken coop and goat pen instead of having it all crammed in behind the house.  Jesse has got a lot of seedlings going, and hopefully soon we will reap the rewards.  The only thing we are having a really hard time with is the tomatoes.  Jesse got some heirloom tomatoes off the internet that are called Black Seaman, they have a very deep purple skin and are gorgeous, I wanted those to grow so badly but no dice.  Maybe we got a bad batch of seeds, yup I think that is what I am going to blame it on.

Hard at work

The painted chicken coop

Stage I:  Denial, I refused to believe these flowers were gone.

Stage II:  Anger, I was angry at myself by being unable to keep these alive

Stage III:  Bargaining, "Jesse if you save them you are my hero, and I will make dinner for a week"

Stage IV:  Depression, why bother with them anyway I am giving up on all plant life.

Stage V:  Acceptance, I have killed the flowers, but it will be okay.

I finally admitted they are gone, and I have closure

Our neighbor has a dog that always leans over the fence and breathes heavily.......kind of a like a stalker.

Stalker neighbor dog

Time to relax

Shade, beach and ice cream

Gorgeous day at Pokai bay

Proof it is real

Agnes

I am a commuter )-:

Yesterday's commute home was deliriously long.  I think it took us 1.5 hrs to get home, sigh usually it takes us only an hour.  A lot of people think I am seriously touched in the head to commute like that, and most of the time I have to agree with them. I love where I live, and once I get there it is great, but man that drive is atrocious.  I look forward to the day when I can get a job that is much closer to home.  Walking distance would be ideal, but real life is often far from ideal and there are a lot of reasons I am staying where I am.

Reason # 1:  I like what I do
Reason # 2:  I like the people I work with
Reason # 3:  I like my boss
Reason # 4:  Status as a federal employee
Reason # 5:  Flexible schedule to a certain degree
Reason # 6:  I like working in a pink building
Reason # 7:  Taco Thursday
Reason # 8:  Willing to hire me as a first yr RN
Reason # 9:  Good benefits

So you see, there are plenty of reasons why I desire to stay at Tripler.  My big debate I have with myself though, is if I want to stay in the Federal service until retirement.  I don't like the idea of feeling restricted in where I live.  I have big dreams of traveling, even though I am a wee bit tied down at the moment with my menagerie.  I still would love to live in Germany or somewhere overseas for a time.  It doesn't help that I just read Julia Child's My Life in France.  Jesse and I have really gotten quite good at being in a car for an extended period of time together, we enjoy each other's company so it is not too bad.  I took this picture when we were sitting in traffic.  This wall used to be covered in these dense vines, but for some reason they chopped the vines away from their roots and now they are all dying. 

Cut off

Old and less old

Well here is what the stook looks like when it is together.  I wish it was intact with all of the original wood, but I think I am just going to say it has character.  What do you guys think?  Should I try to refinish it or just re-upholster?  As I ambulate further down the road of life, I am starting to appreciate antiques more.  How many people do you think haved owned this stool?  What type of music did they like to play?  Did their mothers make them practice even when they didn't want to? I like to think of all the things they exsisted through.  This piano stool has seen the Civil war, WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam, The Cold War, Desert Storm, and is now living through Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.  Or you could think of the stool as having seen emancipation, the recognition women's rights, the great depression, the advance of modern medicine, landing on the moon, and the rise of the internet.  So much history has occured since this stool was forged and I am sure much more will pass it by, and that is why I like antiques.  They endure, and stand the test of time in juxtaposition with our limited human lifespans.

Old and less old

My musical endeavors

I have been playing all three of my instruments almost daily, but just becauase I can play them doesn't necesscarily mean I can play them well.  I have started to play the pan flute again, and am actually enjoying trying to figure out songs.  I have almost all of one of the Lord of the Rings songs figured out and it sounds good to my ears, unfortunately it does not sound good to Khan's and he cries along with it.  I feel pretty awful, but he did that with the fiddle too until I stopped screeching.  I may not be musically talented, but I do enjoy playing.

Strawberry jam

You may have notcied that I have not been posting about Marzipan lately.  I am finally getting along with that goat.  It seems we are of an accord now and the remaining spats are limited and ended by me and the spray bottle.  It is both good and bad, I no longer have anything really to post about, and yet I am finally enjoying milking her rather than dreading it.  I am still trying to find her a goat friend, hopefully one pops up.

The chicks are all coming along quite nicely. Camille found a discarded hair tie underneath the house, apparently left by the former tenants, she ran around all in a tizzy until I caught her and ruined the fun.  Agnes killed a baby gecko the other day, she ate the body, but the tail had fallen off and was twitching on the ground and she just couldn't figure out what to do with it.  Chickens are super predators, they will go after anything that moves, it made me think about Jurassic park and velociraptors (sp?), I am glad chickens don't get any bigger than they do. They are starting to discover their "big girl" voices and sound pretty awkward.  Something like a boy going through puberty.  Not quite a cheep, but not quite a cluck.  Annalise is still making me concerned she is really an Adam.... I suppose I will know when she crows.