SheriM - Too Stubborn to Stop Dreamin' - SURPRISE!!!

[TanksHill]

Congratulations on all the new goaties. The pictures are just so sweet. Glad to hear your getting things done.

Oh, you gotta love the green eggs. I have 12 EE layers. It's always a treat to see what you get.

Take it easy on yourself, you need that wound to heal. g

 

[SheriM]

I just can't seem to catch a break here. Tomorrow, after being in class all day, I have to report to the hospital where they're going to open up my incision, tie off whatever stupid blankety-blank blood vessels are leaking, put in a new drain and staple me up again. It means I'll be right back to square one and facing 6 to 8 weeks of further restrictions.

This couldn't come at a worse time. I'm right in the middle of kidding and up to my eyeballs. Two more does kidded today, making a total of 11 does kidded and 18 new babies. I've still got about 16 does left to go. Not to mention, I'm halfway through building my chicken yard, still have to get my dog run built before the girls go into heat again, put in the garden and do some renovations on the barn. ARRRRGGGHHHH!!

 

[reinbeau]

Sheri, do you have help there? I hope you're taking any help offered and not trying to be yourself and do it all - I truly don't know what your situation is, I'm hoping you've got family to help you out (I do know your husband is ill, also - oh boy, that's not good!). I'm so sorry you're back to square one

 

[SheriM]

Unfortunately, we don't have any family nearby. They're all in other provinces. I have a couple of friends who can help out a little bit, but they're all busy with their own farms and families. One very kind friend has offered to come over next week and help me get the garden in. We can't do it too much before then anyway, since the weather is still abnormally cold here. Other than that, the kidding and the kennel are the only things really worrying me. But we'll get by. We always do.

 

[Aidenbaby]

Sheri, I SO wish you lived here in Colorado. I'd be jumping all over the opportunity to learn about raising goats and I'm cheap labor. When I had a horse, I traded mucking out and feeding all the horses in exchange for board and feed for mine in a dirt pasture. I worked my butt of there. Hmm... could be a good diet for me.

How long can you be in Canada before you need a green card or whatever Canada uses? I am technically 1/2 Canadian and my family used to have a farm near London, Ont. I have cousins (third or fourth) that live in Vancouver, as well. I wish I knew more about Canada because we've only visited a handful of times on day trips when I was a kid.

 

[SheriM]

Sheri, I SO wish you lived here in Colorado. I'd be jumping all over the opportunity to learn about raising goats and I'm cheap labor. When I had a horse, I traded mucking out and feeding all the horses in exchange for board and feed for mine in a dirt pasture. I worked my butt of there. Hmm... could be a good diet for me.

How long can you be in Canada before you need a green card or whatever Canada uses? I am technically 1/2 Canadian and my family used to have a farm near London, Ont. I have cousins (third or fourth) that live in Vancouver, as well. I wish I knew more about Canada because we've only visited a handful of times on day trips when I was a kid.

I think Colorado is beautiful, but I kinda like my little corner of the world, too. Very ingenious, trading labor for board. Boarding horses can be so expensive!

I think a person can be in Canada for up to 6 months on a visitor's visa, but I'm pretty certain Americans don't need visas to visit Canada. I do know that, as of June 1st, Canadians require a passport to enter the US but as far as I know, it doesn't work both ways. I know a friend of mine was going to invite a friend of his from Costa Rica to come up here and work for the summer. They've worked out a room and board deal and I don't think there's anything illegal about that.

I wish I knew more about other parts of Canada too. This is such a diverse country, from the maritimes to the prairies, to the rockies. Some day, I'm going to explore the country more...just as soon as I find someone who will "babysit" for me.

 

[SheriM]

Had my surgery at 7:30 Thurs. evening and was home by 8:00 pm Friday. Came home to utter chaos in the barn. There were does and kids everywhere in the nursery and I couldn't figure out who belonged to whom. A kid had slipped under the stall gate out into the open nursery area of the barn. When DH let the dam and the kid's twin sister out into the nursery, the dam wouldn't take the kid back. So, I have another bottle baby on my hands, but I don't really mind because she's a beautiful 7/8 Boer doe with perfect teats and as an added bonus, she's the granddaughter of one of my favorite does.

Yesterday, one of the more dominant does had knocked the gate into her stall right off its hinges. Thankfully a neighbor couple was coming over to do some pen cleaning, so when they got here, I asked if they could help me get the barn in order first. With their help, we managed to get two new stalls set up in the nursery and replace the broken gate with a metal panel. Got all the moms and kids paired up and tagged the kids so we could turn out the does with older kids. Now my nursery and stalls are secure and manageable again!

I did my best to take it easy while all this was going on, relying on DH and the neighbors but I'm still a little sore from it all so today, I'm going to relax and study for a midterm exam on Monday and a final exam on Thursday.

 

[Aidenbaby]

Sheri - I'm glad to hear that your surgery went well. I can imagine how awful it must have looked coming home to utter chaos. My two kids have a talent for finding the cleanest area of the house and train-wrecking through it while I'm working on the messiest. Good luck on your exams. Be sure to take break every now and then to just sit and watch all your new babies (not work). I have to remind myself to stop and smell the flowers on occasion.

 

[SheriM]

Kids # 24 and 25 were born this morning. I've got 7 does left to go whom I know for sure are bred and 4 more who might be but aren't showing any signs of udder development yet.

It's kinda frustrating right now because I have to rely so much on DH and he's not in a cooperative mood. I still have the drain in after the second surgery on the 21st. Imagine a thing the size of a CD that looks like one of those bellows-style foot pumps you use for air mattresses, etc. Then imagine that thing hanging on a tube about 2 feet long that is inserted into your chest and stitched in place. Believe it or not, it doesn't bother me much, but I have to be careful I don't catch it on something and yank on it. That's NOT fun!

I see the surgeon in two days to see if the drain can come out, but I'm guessing not, since there's still a lot of drainage. I have a bone scan scheduled for Friday, so I'll have to find out if the drain and/or staples will be a problem for that. I REALLY don't want to postpone the scan, since it takes forever and a day to get an appointment.

I also have an appointment with the oncologist on the 4th and, depending on the results of the scan, we'll be discussing when to start treatment, etc. Keep your fingers crossed that he'll agree it's okay to go with 3 treatments to start with. I really want to be done with the treatment before winter sets in.

The lady who bought my yearlings is coming tomorrow to get them, and she's also interested in the doe who kidded today, so if she can accommodate a new mom and kids on her trailer, they may be going too. Although I'll miss the girls, it will be good to get their pen empty so we can clean it out next weekend when my bobcat-owning neighbor comes over again.

If all goes as planned, a friend is coming over on Sat. to help me put in the garden. I've got all the seeds I need (I think) and will meet her at the greenhouse tomorrow to get the bedding plants. I also have 2 really nice little dwarf blueberry bushes to go out to the garden, now that the weather has finally straightened up.

 

[punkin]

Sounds like you are really getting things accomplished.

Tell your DH that when he has a drain you'll do all that stuff for him.

I'm glad you have a friend who is helping you. I hope everything turns out well with your scan.