Refinishing the wall to the downstairs bar

Keith took a week off of work and wanted a project to work on, so we decided we would take care of the wall in the downstairs bar area.  This is something we had been planning and talking about for a while (and looking on Pinterest)

The first morning of his vacation we went downstairs we decided on a whim to take down all of the cabinets.  We didn't like them!  I had seen some posts on Pinterest that had given me an idea of tiling the whole wall and then putting up a floating shelf.

Here is Bob the cat helping us out!  You can see the tiles we chose- a copper medley that we purchased from Menards.  We needed about 5 or 6 boxes to get the job done.

Now Whiskers wants to see how he can help. :)  We are almost done here, but decided before we finish putting up the tile we should figure out the shelving.  Instead of the floating shelf we decided to use galvanized steel plumbing materials to make the shelf.  We purchased that from our local hardware store.

We spray painted the galvanized steel black and attached the pieces to the wall.  Then we used a couple pieces of 2 x 12 construction wood to attach to the plumbing.  So far we love it! Now we have to finish the tile and then put in the grout.

Thunder the Rabbit

We have a new pet, Thunder the Rabbit.  He is a mixed breed: part Lionhead and I'm not sure what the other half is, maybe Angora.  His siblings are more fluffy and have that "lion" face that the Lionhead breed has.

Isn't he cute?

I was worried about how the cats and Reeses, the dog would react to him.   Prickles the cat has taken a special interest in Thunder.  They look so cute together but I don't think I could ever leave them alone together.  But they are adorable together!

Toastie and Milkshake

It looks like Toastie the Goat has learned some bad habits.  He is now Milkshakes side-kick and they are both escaping their enclosure together.  I think it's about time to get that fence fixed!

Lot and Lots of Deer

Earlier in the season when I went snowshoeing in the backyard, I decided to follow the deer tracks to see where they led.  I discovered that they had completely snapped the electric fencing and were making their way to the hay bales.  Of course, I then realize that the electric fencing is no longer working.  Thankfully, none of the animals noticed (and a few months later they still haven't noticed because we haven't fixed it yet).

Almost every day, either at dusk or dawn, we see deer wandering around our backyard.  Usually, Reeses, our dog, spots them first.  But yesterday morning, I woke up early and found 6 of them.  This time, I was the first to spot them.  Reeses found out a short while later as you can hear him in the video.

Banding Baby Goats

So, we have had goats for about a year and a half now.  We have had the vet take care of any castrating that needed to be done.  Well, about a week ago, I watched some youtube videos and read "how-to" articles about how to band goat kids.  I thought it seemed easy enough for me to do on my own so I went out and bought some castrating rings and a banding tool.  Yesterday, Keith held onto one of the boys as I tried to band the goat myself.  We realized that our one boy had only one testicle that had descended.  We are really hoping this other testicle descends soon or we may have to think about surgery.

This happened to another one of our goats, Willy, last year.  The vet said to wait to see if it descends, so we waited and waited and nothing happened.  I was really worried about him because our local vet said that ruminated animals such as goats do not do well under anesthesia   Luckily the surgery went well with no complications and Willy has fully recovered and is enjoying his goat life.

Taking the Goats for a Walk

Willie is leading the pack as I take some of the goats out to where my neighbor delivered some hay.  Willie is one of my favorite goats!  When he was little I spent a lot of time with him because I had to bottle feed him.  Now that he is grown he is so affectionate.  He always comes to greet me and follows me everywhere.

Chicken Treat

Last year, we planted some pumpkins.  We mainly used them for carving jack-o-lanterns and for a haunted walk in our backyard.  We toasted some pumpkin seeds for ourselves, froze some to give to the chickens at a later date, and gave any unused pumpkin guts to our goats and chickens.  They couldn't get enough of it.

I was thinking about this during my latest trip to the grocery store when I saw that they had assorted squash for .99.  Since I love making my chickens and goats happy, I grabbed a couple.

The goats gobbled their share up right away (sorry, I didn't get any video).  But here are some of the ladies enjoying their treat:

I have read a lot of claims by blogs that pumpkin seeds play a role in reducing fecal egg counts.  It seems to me that more studies need to be done, as this has not been proven.  Here is one study I found online:
http://www.desu.edu/sites/default/files/Pumpkin%20Seeds-Worms_DJO.pdf



Regardless of whether or not they control worms, squash is a nutritious treat, especially during the winter when the variety of foods is limited.

Lemongrass Sugar Scrub

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Lemongrass is my favorite scent right now.  I can't get enough of it! Not only does it smell good, but it has a lot of beneficial properties as well.

Since I love the smell so much, I decided to bring the smell to my shower.  I found some sugar scrub recipes online and decided to substitute whatever essential oil they were using with lemongrass.  I found this grapefruit scrub recipe from Bulk Apothecary.

Ingredients

Lemongrass essential oil (or any other essential oil you might like)

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of coconut oil (it should not be melted)

Combine all the ingredients.  I used about 30 drops of Lemongrass essential oil.  You can use more or less, depending on how strong you want the smell.  

 Put the ingredients in a blender and blend for a few seconds.  It really didn't take me that long to blend mine so it looks like frosting like the picture below.  Of course, I used a Blendtec and those are pretty powerful.

Put your sugar scrub in a container with a lid and keep it in your shower.  This recipe really didn't make a whole lot.  I can see using it up after a couple of showers.  If you end up really liking it you can always double or triple the recipe.

Baby Goats

This past summer we had a male goat that we had castrated.  Unfortunately, we didn't get him castrated soon enough because he got three of the females pregnant!  Because we knew the babies would be born during the winter months we kept an eye on them.

I figured based on the dates that they would be born in January.  Well, they were born in December!  One morning, I woke up early like I always do to let the dog out.  When I opened the door I heard wailing coming from the barn.  So we quick got dressed and went out there.  One of the females had twins!  The first one born was already cleaned off and dry, but the second one was like an icicle.  So we grabbed the baby and brought her inside to warm up and dry off.  Then we brought her back out to be with mom.  We ended up naming this goat, "Icicle".  After that first experience, I made extra trips during the night to make sure I could be there to help clean off the babies so they wouldn't freeze to death.  We were there when the two other goats had babies.  Here is a short little video we took of one of the goats having a baby.  Luckily, we were there because it was deathly cold outside.

Making My Own Soap- It's Easier Than You Think

I have made a few batches of soap.  It's so easy, that my first batch turned out great.  The batch pictured here is a lemongrass soap with lemon peel exfoliate.  If you don't have lemongrass essential oil that's ok.  You could use any essential oil or if you don't have essential oils you could use honey, although I have used honey before (with an oatmeal exfoliate) and the smell was not that strong.  I love the smell of essential oils and if you like the smell strong you can add more drops or less if you want a subtle smell.

Here are the things you will need:

1.  A soap mold.  I used one large one so I could cut the soaps myself.  You could buy molds that doesn't require you to cut them yourself.

2.  If you are using a soap mold like mine, you will need something to cut the soap into individual soaps.

3.  A soap base.  I used a goats milk soap base.  What's nice about this soap base is it's easy to use and doesn't require any lye.

4.  A scent for your soap.  I used 20 drops of lemongrass essential oil (it's my favorite scent right now) and some lemon peel.

 First Step- Melt your base.  Cut the base into cubes and put them into a glass bowl.  Microwave the cubes in about 15 second increments until the base is completely melted and looks like the picture below.  For me, as soon as I noticed that there was some melted base at the bottom of the bowl I would stir continuously to get the rest of the cubes melted.  I would continue to microwave and stir until everything was melted.  Be careful not to burn the base.

2.  Because I used lemon peel, I sprinkled some at the bottom of my mold.  If you don't have lemon peel that's ok.  Some other ideas to use are oatmeal (pulse it in a blender), coffee, or dried herbs).  Of course you can choose to not use anything too.

3.  Pour the soap base into the mold.  I decided to pour a some more lemon peel on top. :)

4.  Let it rest for 24 hours.  After 24 hours you can peel the mold away from the soap and cut the soap into individual soaps.  You should let the soap continue to rest so it has a chance to cure.  This could take up to two weeks and will result in a longer lasting soap. 

Healthy Snacks- Zucchini Style

I know it's February and I am a little late on starting my New Years Resolution to eat healthier.  But better late than never.

One of my weaknesses is snacks.  I like to munch in between meals so I decided to try to much on healthy snacks instead of chips.  As I looked though my fridge I noticed some zucchini that I needed to use up ASAP before they went bad.  These little zucchini snacks are super easy to make, don't take a lot of ingredients, and taste delicious.





Ingredients

Zucchini- as many as you want- quartered.
Parmesan Cheese
Herbs
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Wash off and cut zucchini in quarters. (pictured to the side)
2.  Put them on a cookie sheet.  I used a rack to keep the zucchini off the cookie sheet.

 

3. Mix together the herbs with the parmesan cheese.  I used oregano, basil, parsely, and garlic powder.  Really you can use whatever herbs you have or that you like.
4.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste if you like.
5.  Put them in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the cheese becomes a little crispy.

Are my seeds still good?

It's time to start thinking about spring planting.  Like me, I have some left over seeds from last year and I want to know if they are good or not.  An easy way to tell is to put them in some water.  The seeds that float to the bottom are still good.  The ones that stay floating on top are no longer good.