The Dove

This post is about my mom.  She had larynx cancer almost two decades ago and our harsh winters are hard on her.  She gets pneumonia easily and trachea infections.  We have almost lost her a couple times over the years, but a short stay in the hospital and she recovers and comes back home.

She suffers from depression and frequently lives under a black cloud.  I always try to cheer her up and keep her moving forward. And, she always let me vent about my days...with no judgement.

She spent Christmas day with us.  It was an unusually cheerful day.  Two of my three children were home and even though it had been a financially devastating year for us, we were able to get my mom some gifts.  She is hard to buy for...usual gifts are for her cats or watching the birds.  Under protest, we bought some gifts that she loved.  Old VHS tapes.  We bought them at Good Will and other used item stores.  She couldn't be too upset knowing we paid close to nothing for them....and she loves to watch movies.  So...it was a great day!  She loved the tapes and even asked for a few specific titles.

The week between Christmas and New Years went quickly.  My mom was developing her usual winter crud.  Coughing, shortness of breath...and using her oxygen much more.  By the weekend she was having a lot of trouble. 

I had been at her house on Saturday and we discussed going to the hospital.  NO WAY!  She had what she needed at home!  Which, for the most part, was true.  The local ER never did much for her except give her oxygen and antibiotics.  So, it was hard to argue with her to go.  I left and told her to call me if she gets worse or needed anything.

The next day, my husband and son were playing cards in the dining room.  My husband yelled, "There's a dove out on the deck!"  Neither of us ever remember seeing a dove here.  It was out on the railing, not even close to the feeders.  It stayed for less than a minute and departed.  I had gone to the window to see it and it was gone before I could get a better look.  I turned to my husband and asked, "Do you think my mom passed away?"  As bizarre as that sounds, my husband quickly agreed that I should call my mom.

The phone rang and shortly she answered.  "Hi Mom!"  She said she was better but had decided she needed antibiotics.  I told her that I would make arrangements for her right away in the morning and would let her know what the doctor said.  She might have to go in.  She wasn't happy about that but said to let her know.  Before we hung up she told me she loves me very much.  I was able to tell her that I love her very much as well.

The next morning after I had gotten the arrangements made to pick up antibiotics for her, I called her.  No answer.   The short of it...My husband and I went to her house and she had passed away in her sleep on the couch where she usually slept watching movies.

Had that dove not come, I may not have called my mom.  My dad passed 26 years ago.  He called every Sunday.  I had just finished nursing my baby daughter and she was asleep.  I didn't want to move and wake her, so when he called I told my husband that I would talk to him next week.  He died that night.  I have, for 26 years, felt guilty that I didn't get up to talk to him. 

So, the dove came to give me closure with my mom.  She is at peace.  I miss her terribly but know she is with her mom...where she has wanted to be for a very, very long time.

Christmas Prayer...for all year!

I did NOT write this, but it was sent to me from a friend.  I'm sure it has made the email rounds for a while, but I just got it.  It really hit home...for I too am guilty of judging before loving!  This is a wondeful reminder for compassion!

 Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in
 traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that
 day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the
 laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested
 young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old
 college student,
 balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not
 getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in
 the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a
 slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst
 nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow
 through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are
 savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she
 got back last week, this will be the last year that they go
 shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you
 give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that
 love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those
 who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge
 and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.
 
Working for God on earth doesn't pay much......but His retirement
plan is outstanding.

Santa's Reason for the Season

By: Bonnie Hirdler
Copyright 12/13/10 1-533188251

T’was the night before Christmas and all through our home, not a creature was stirring except a rather large gnome!

 He came to fill the stockings and leave gifts under the tree.  I didn’t expect to see him, and I know he didn’t expect me!

 I stood quietly watching just down the hall. He left everyone gifts, and gave the dog a ball! 

He turned around quickly, I thought he would go, but instead he saw me and he let me know.

He held out his hand and gave me a wink; I took his hand without even a blink!

We sat by the fire, a story he told, a story I knew well for it was very old.

It was the story of Jesus and his much awaited birth, the story of Christmas known around the earth.

“What do you know of Jesus?” I asked,my tone rather stern.  Oh my child, he said, you have a lot to learn.

I bring you these gifts once every year, to give you Christmas spirit and bring Christmas cheer.

Christmas is time to be happy again, to remember the gift God gave to men.

The birth of Jesus brought ultimate joy, which is why I try to bring the perfect toy.

Nothing I bring could ever compare to the love God has given for you to share.

But, once a year, on Christmas Eve I try my best a grand gift to leave,

So when you awake and see it there, you feel His love, His warmth and care

Maybe you’ll feel the sheer delight, the Wise Men felt on that black starry night.  

It is the magic of Christ that will fill the season, and it gives Santa his only reason.

Delight in your gifts and one another’s love, but remember…the greatest of gifts came from above!

Merry Christmas!

Recipe: Camelizing Llamas!

This blog was "requested" by our friend and FB page fan, Jessica.  She asked for the story behind the "camels"!

As you can see, a couple of the llamas were asked to do their rendition of a camel.  This is the story behind the final performance!

About a month ago, or even maybe longer, a woman I had worked with several years ago called to ask if I would "loan" some llamas to their church.  Mmmmm....what for?  Well, there was going to be a Christmas parade and as most of the participants often highlight Santa, Frosty and Rudolf, the church thought it would be nice to add the story of Jesus.  You know...the ride on the donkey to Bethlehem, the stay in the manger...Oh yea, and the Three Wise Men and their...camelized llamas!

Once I stopped snickering, I agreed!  How fun!  Oh, my poor babies!  But, how fun!

First of all, there were some requests on my end.  I couldn't guarantee the llamas would show up if it was icy.  I didn't want the "Bambi on ice" rendition and have to hoist chubby Dez up by her chin!  Second, my trailer hasn’t been used in years, so I wasn’t sure I could haul them and certainly didn’t want to have to walk them into town to walk in the parade and walk home again. Third, whomever was going to walk them had to show up out here to do the whole “meet & greet” routine and spend some time building up trust.  If the llamas were leaving the trails, they really need to trust their leader!

So, the fun begins!  A few nights later I received a call from another person I had worked with a few years back.  (Small town and I’ve had a lot of jobs!)  Joyce was not only someone I had worked with, her family had volunteered one weekend to come and take care of the llamas so we could go out of town.  This was great…they KNOW my llamas!  Joyce and her family showed up that night to measure the llamas for their humps!  Does that sound as funny reading it as it does writing it?  Joyce is the one that coined the phrase…camelizng the llamas!  No butter or heat required!  Just a mother-in-law that must be half nuts, her trusty tape measure and some pins!  So, which llamas would make the best camels?  Curtain call!  I always thought I would make a great casting director!  Well…it briefly, very briefly, entered my mind to have a beautiful white camel…Pelican.  But, she is new and still spits! Um…not good for PR.  Okay…moving on!  Camels are brown…for the most part.  That left me with Twizter, Dez or Gadjit.  Gadj has the stature and definitely star quality…but with his long locks he looks more like Snuffleupagus! (The elephant from Sesame Street!) That left Dez and Twizter.  Short, chubby, slow.  What more could you want in a llama?  I mean camel?!

We agreed this would be our duo.  Mother and son.  Short and fat along with shorter and fatter! There were not three camels as my trailer can only haul two.  The theory was, one of the wise men was way too smart to try to get a llama into camel gear! ;)

At this point, it was time to measure the llamas.  Where do you place the hump?  It was cold out, it was night and getting late.  I have not EVER studied where the hump is on a camel.  Our best guess: right in the middle of their back!  But…one hump or two?  C’mon!  One…let’s make something simple!!  So, the boys helped get the llamas to stand still as Joyce’s mother-in-law attempted to measure the llamas.  Twizter was easy.  Pick a spot, drop the tape, reach under his belly and pull the tape to the top.  Ta-da!  Fat llama!  Now Dez.  Simple?  Pick a spot, drop the tape, reach under…reach under…dodge butt, dodge legs…try again.  Reach under…and watch Dezi dance!  I had forgotten how ticklish she is!  She wouldn’t let Twizter nurse as a newborn -  every time he nuzzled her she would kick him!  How he got so fat is a wonder!  She eventually let him nurse and perseverance paid off again…we got the tape around her!  Chubby!

Joyce and her family helped tuck the llamas in for the night and that was all I heard from anyone until three days prior to the parade!

Joyce called to ask if they could bring out the humps and try them on the llamas.  Sure!  I had never written down the exact date of the parade as I figured when the Wise Men showed up to walk the llamas I would get the date from them.  Joyce informed me that the parade was in four days!  WHAT?  I had plans to go out of town shopping for my daughter...she is in Afghanistan and will miss Christmas, so this was a major upset! I had set plans!  A phone call later, I found that the parade was on Friday night and not Saturday.  I could change plans and leave Saturday morning.  It will work.  But…there was a glitch.  I was told that some high school boys were going to be walking the llamas and NOT the family that had been out here.  This produced a bit of stress all the way around.  There was miscommunication about coming out and working with the llamas prior to the parade.  I explained that, first, the llamas don’t trek at night.  Just my going in and trying to halter them after dark was a whole new program.  Secondly, they hadn’t been in the trailer for a number of years and the trailer had a flat tire.  Manageable, but still stressful. Third, the llamas are going to be walking down a road, not their trail and will be dressed like camels and with people they have never seen before!  This is not the slow, easy lumber on the trails that they are accustomed to. This was major stress on my part!  It was decided that Joyce’s son and husband would be two of the Wise Men.  Her husband, Greg, would be without a llama and provide “bolt insurance”!  If the llamas bolted, he was going to be there to grab them!  It did get all worked out, but it kind of left me sorry I had volunteered the llamas.  This was going to be a lot of work for little ole me!

  So, quickly we had to fashion the llamas into camels and teach them how to “walk like an Egyptian!”  Joyce and two of the Wise Men came out and brought the camel costumes.Well, if you thought it was fun watching Dezi dance to the measuring tape…try strapping a hump down and around and over!  But, she did well.  Once it was covered with blankets and jewels, she actually walked just fine.  All this camelizing was done outside in front of their truck.  The barn lights had gone out and my hubby was trying to figure out how to get them on.  So, in the pitch of night we were doing our best to just getter done in the glow of headlights!

While we were out walking the llamas around the circle on the icy drive, Greg was in helping with the lights!  Ta-da!  They got them fixed.  And, in the true Christmas spirit…Greg said he would be over to help with the trailer, the tire and loading of the llamas!  Hallelujah!                                                The next night we did another pre-production walk.  The other Wise Man came.  It turned out he has a lot of experience with riding horses, being around lots of critters and even some bull riding.  I think he can handle a llama dressed like a camel!  I was a bit concerned that he might try to “bully” Dezi, but after one trek around the circle it was very apparent that he found her as sweet as the rest of us do.  I spent some time going over “what if” scenarios…what if she bolts.  What if Twizter bolts, what if they rear or get frightened…or…OMG!  I forgot…not only is Dezi ticklish, she lays down when she gets tired!  What if?

Performance night

The guys loaded the llamas while Joyce and I pinned the costumes together in the warmth of the house.  All we had to do was get the humps on and throw the rest over the top! We got to the parade starting point on time.  The parade, for some unknown reason, was late!  Along with llamas as camels, there were dogs as sheep.  The sheep decided to break character and chase the camels…which I will state..stayed in character and only glared at those insane looking sheep/dogs/sheep?  Such a look could only come from a camel/llama/camel! ;)

The parade finally got moving and so did the Wise Men with their camels.  About two blocks down, Dezi started…mmm…butt swaying…leg twitching…butt sway, leg twitch, halt.  Oh, oh.  I think she is going to lay down!  The Wise Man doesn’t look so wise…he sure doesn’t look like he knows how to stop a llama in a camel costume from laying down on main street in the middle of the Christmas parade!  We all look at each other and I really think we all quit breathing at the same time!  Dezi, sensing she might have to finish this on her own, started to walk again!  She had this whole stiff legged thing going on…I even commented that maybe she should get tested for Lymes Disease.  We finally figure out…she was losing her hump and the band was pulling around her belly…inciting a llama in a camel costume to try her interpretation of a belly dancer!  She had this little wiggle throughout the parade.  But, she finished.  No drama! Ta-da!

Storybook Farm Llama Trekking B&B: Morning Chores

Storybook Farm Llama Trekking B&B: Morning Chores

Morning Chores

Well, I am hoping this blog is a bit more tame than some of the weird stuff previously!  That is what happens when you are left alone with all these critters...your mind just goes off somewhere! :)

Speaking of critters...I went out this morning, as usual, to feed the llamas.  We recently built a new hay feeder and it was empty...so I went to the hay shed, got some hay and hoisted it down the drive to the feeder.  It has become habit over the years to count my llamas.  Do women with more than 5 children just "count" them?  Anyway, as I was throwing the hay over the fence and into the feeder, those nasty girls would play musical feeder and MOVE!  I was having great difficulty getting an accurate count.  I know I have 15.  I could get to 14, knowing there were four boys in the other pasture.  SO....off I run...down the drive, around the corner and into the barn...only to be met by ALL the llamas that were out feeding!  Now the barn is congested when they all come in and getting a count was difficult again.  I'm counting out loud...One, two, three, four...they move.  One, two, three, four...they move!  Arrrgh!  ONE, TWO, THREE...

At this point, I raise my arms and yell...Are you paying attention here?  C'mon...all together now...1,2,3,4...left, left, left, right, left! I'm marching in place and they all stop and stare!  Okay, got their attention!  1,2,3,4,5...movement!  NOT tolerated!  "Okay ladies...sound off!  I"m tired of this!  One, two, three, four..."  They are staring again and the movement stops!  From somewhere in the rear....I hear....a very low, unmistakable...HUM!  Now, if I could just get the others to "Call out" I'd be fine!  That is a relative term!  All the llamas were there...took two runs around the building, but I got 'em!

Here are a few pictures from around the farm!  Enjoy.  And, please leave a comment, if you will, so I know I'm not just here, alone with all these crazy critters!! :)  Thanks!

Gadjit, deciding if it is too cold to come out to eat!

Girls eating grain...now countable!



Izzy, eating what is left in the grain bucket while I run back and forth to count!



Mo, waiting at the trail for our return.



The barn, obstacles and trail in the trees.



Winter on the farm!

B&B Nightmare!

(It is better to copy & paste links to another page before opening them so you can listen and read at the same time!  Otherwise, just hit the "back" button after clicking on a link!)

Actually, this WAS a nightmare!

We recently received an iquiry for a reservation for the weekend after Thanksgiving.  This is pretty late for us as most people come during the summer.  Actually, this is the latest we've had guests!  Our farm is picked up for winter.  The deck is bare, the furniture stored in the shed.  The llamas have all been moved into the big barn, so it is "filling up" quickly...beans, beans, the musical fruit!  The gardens have been hit by hard frost and looks like canned spinach!  Delightful!  Plus, they have explained they are going to be arriving around midnight.  I can't even entice them with coffee and goodies when they get here...instead I'll frighten them off when I greet them in my flannel pajamas!!  So, what have we to offer our guests?  Breakfast!

This is where the nightmare begins! I had a dream....

I was visitng my aunt (recently passed) and cousins back at her house in Minnesota.  My kids and husband were with me and all my cousins were home.  I knew we had B&B guests arriving that night and explained to my aunt that we had to leave.  In the hustle and bustle of all the family there, someone said that the guests were just going to let themselves into the B&B, get some sleep and then come over here for breakfast!  Great!?  Travel four hours to meet us HERE for breakfast!?  Okay!  (It's a dream, it doesn't have to make sense!)

The next morning I awake and find my aunt in her kitchen with half a dozen family members.  It's a small kitchen...so this is mayhem! People everywhere!  I ask my aunt what I can make for breakfast.  "Oh, help yourself... whatever is in the refrigerator!"  I can't even get to it as there is a person in my way no matter which way I turn! (Can you hear that popcorn song? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBYjZTdrJlA ) I dance around every person, every chair, the kitchen table...the cat, the dog, the rug...to get over to the REFRIGERATOR!  I open it to find...a bowl of sloppy joes!  Uh-oh!  "Do you have any other food?", I ask, panic rising.  She sends me to the basement to look in the freezer.

Where is the freezer?  I had to search for my kids to help me find the freezer!  Whom better to search for food than teenage boys!  (Now, start humming the theme to the Pink Panther!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OPc7MRm4Y8 )
We're in a frickin basement...the house isn't that big!  It's dark, dreary and unfinished.  Quick, Family Feud...What do you find in a basement?  Washer, dryer, boxes, old clothes, old Christmas stuff...and junk.  If you answered "freezer"...beep!!  Out of who-knows-where, my son finds a grid pattern on the floor.  We have to assemble the pieces like a puzzle...are you still humming that Pink Panther tune?  (Well, change it to the Jeopardy theme!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXGhvoekY44)  Besides, it's a basement...I'm sure the orchestra is hiding under the stairs!

Okay, we are pushing these pieces together with no clue as to what they are supposed to look like...when "CRACK"! ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtyByefOvgQ   Hum the Mission Impossible theme!)The ceiling above us starts to splinter and rain down slivers of wood!  It continues until there is a square shape.  At the lower edge there is a small hole with a long cord hanging down.  I look at my son..."Pull it!"
Such a good mom...I run to the back wall to watch!  He pulls the cord...and, and...and, just like the stairs that lead to the attic...down from the ceiling...comes...the freezer!!  And, inside....it's stocked full!  With venison!  OMG!  What do I make for breakfast? I run back upstairs!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b5aW08ivHU)

The house is empty!  My aunt appears from the other room and I ask, "What can I feed my guests?  What time will they be here?"  To which she replies..."Honey, I don't know what you're talking about!"  I say I have guests! coming here! for breakfast!  She looks at me and smirks...
"Honey, I think you were dreaming!"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nOfjHPcflI