Goat stew?

Life has been a whirlwind the past week! Our friend Myrtle, who has been living in a nursing home the past two months, had all she could take of living in what she called a "2 by 4" (that's a small room that two people live in that is divided by a curtain). She says rooms like that should be illegal. She's one hundred years young and not ready to live in a place with total assistance. She did not like paying them to do the things she can do herself. So she got on the phone and called around until she found an assisted living apartment that was available. We moved her this week. (I didn't know people moved out of nursing homes!) Monday, Emily and I packed up her room. On Tuesday, Mike and the boys moved all her belonging to her new apartment, including some things she had in a storage locker. Today we went shopping for the things she needed for her apartment and tied up all the loose ends at the nursing home. It's been a busy last few days, but to see the excitement on Myrtle's face has made it all worth it. She dozed off in her chair while Emily and I were unpacking her things, so we worked very quietly in order to let her rest. When she awoke she said, "I thought I'd died and gone to heaven"; she just loves her new place!

In the nursing home they always made her use her walker....she hated that thing! When the nurses would ask her where her walker was (when she would be walking without it) she would tell them, "It's where it belongs!" On Tuesday, after we got her all packed up, we were walking to the car to take her to her new apartment, and as we walked out the door of the nursing home she started to fold her walker up. I said, "Oh, Myrtle the car is parked way over there, why don't you fold that up after we get to the car." She looked at me with a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her face and said, "You're just as bad as the rest of them!" We all laughed as we folded up the walker (but I always make her take my arm, which she will do).

I had Ben and Jonny bring their arithmetic along to Myrtle's apartment today. I figured they could work on that while we hung her shower curtain and helped her organize a few things. Well, whenever they had a question Myrtle was there to help them. I am not kidding! She used to teach school and she remembers everything. She told them every answer they did not know and was giving them tips on how to memorize their multiplication tables! She's amazing!!

When we got home today we had a lot of work to do. Our sap buckets needed to get emptied and there were plenty of other chores to get done. Adding milking and syruping to life has made the past two weeks....well......interesting! ;) Since we were gone for the past two days, we needed to get the fire under our sap pan going again. All the firewood was wet because it has been raining (and snowing) all week. Ugh! Mike was in the cities all day on business, so Brandon worked and worked on it and finally got it going. During supper Mike called and said he was just leaving the cities, and on his way home. Bummer! Another hour and a half before he'd be home to rescue me. Well, we finished supper and it was time to go milk Millie. By this time I was starting to feel a little cross. It was freezing (literally) outside and super windy. I was tired, and the last thing I wanted to do was go milk a goat! Not to mention, Millie has been quite challenging lately. Just before Brandon and I walked out to the barn, Emily says, "Oh Mom, I should warn you, Millie was acting crazy today." I said, "Oh great!"

When we started milking her she was behaving wonderfully and everything was just fine. I was thinking, "This is great! It's just what I needed after a hectic day.......a cooperative goat!" Well, not for long! She started lifting her legs and moving back and forth. These are the new tricks she's learned. She tried to kick our hands off her teats. Well, wouldn't you know it, she lands one foot (a poopy, straw covered foot) in the milk pail, then the other foot. Nice! At this point I am dreaming of goat stew!! And remembering how nice it was to drive to the goat farm and pick up our goat milk! So we got a different bucket to milk into and tied her leg so she couldn't kick. She continued to be difficult. And I continued to grumbled at her and called her names like "You old bag!"

I really do love country life, but I have to be honest and tell you that there are days when I wonder how this city girl ever got roped into this! Tomorrow the sun will come out (hopefully), I will have gotten a good nights sleep (hopefully), and I will enjoy my country life again.............................hopefully!! :)