A Different Kind of Art

The living areas of my home - you know, those pesky living rooms, hallways and entry halls - are in a half-painted state at the moment. That's right, friends. I have unfinished business in the parts of my home that all guests see.

But, something came up. Something serious and dear to my heart.

An idea . . . for my bedroom. And, well, all else was shoved to the back burner while I proceeded to happily slap paint onto my bedroom walls. Well, before the paint slapping portion of the program came the paint choosing portion.

This portion was NOT fun. All I wanted was gray. Do you know how many varied shades of gray are out there? I was so confused that I even did something I never do . . . I bought paint samples. I was seriously lost. All of these samples are shades of gray. I don't know about you, but I see purple, beige and - finally - a gray! As the gray was too dark for what I wanted in my bedroom, I got that color in a couple shades lighter.

Ahhh . . . soothing gray walls. (Please do pardon the carpet cleaner and little pink princess phone. This is life.) Gotta say, I love the wall color, but I really did not like the blank space above the bed.

But I didn't want to hang framed art. So what's a girl to do?

Well, if a girl has a retired principal with all sorts of fun school gadgets for a father and a mother who drives 11 hours to surprise girl and family with said gadget just in time for Baby Girl's recital, she makes her own art.

You see, my Dad sent my Mom with an old school projector. Oh, the excitement! I've got plans . . . big plans.

My first step in this particular plan was to print out an image I liked on transfer paper. Then I slapped that baby onto my projector, grabbed my pencil and got to work. I traced and traced and freehanded and freehanded.

Then, I painted and painted.

Until I ended up with a lovely, original piece of art for my bedroom. Pardon the wrinkly shams and such. Wrinkles are kinda my thing. ;-)

Magazine Rack Makeover

I got the crafting itch yesterday (Pinterest will do that to you) and got to work on a magazine rack for our living room. In our last home, we replaced some folding louvered doors and, while most people would have chunked said doors in the dumpster, we hung onto them, even through a move to another state.

That is crafting devotion people.

So this is one of the doors that I started with. I plan to make another half door rack for the bathroom. It's a bathroom. Reading happens. But for now, I need one in the living room.

The first thing I did was cut out every other louver. I happen to have a husband that has the right tool for the job, so this was super easy. Next, I whipped out my sander and spent time creating some worn spots . . . cause, you know, it's all about rustic around here.

Next I rubbed on some leftover stain that also moved with us, then let the whole thing dry overnight. I was still a little afraid to let it sit on my carpet, so I am keeping an old towel under it for a couple more days.

I really do love how it looks and functions . . . and you can't beat free! Makes my little organized heart happy!

My Favorite - ahem - Beauty Products

For years, I have had been trying to find the perfect facial cleanser and moisturizer.

Seriously, y'all, I have tried many, many different things.

I have not been impressed or unimpressed about any of the cleansers.

I have been . . . meh.

Every single moisturizer I tried was just wrong! I have dry skin and hate that itchy, tight face feeling. And every single moisturizer burned my eyes.

My eyes! My eyes! Oh, my burning eyes!

Is this just a me problem?

So, I decided to take drastic steps. Drastic, crazy, back-to-basics steps.

And guess what? I love my new cleanser and moisturizer. No joke. LOVE THEM. My moisturizer does the job for prolonged periods of time. The cleanser gets my skin so clean, and I have not had one single breakout since I started using these. (you all know breakouts don't end at 20, right?)

And guess what? They are WAY cheaper than any others I have ever bought.

Wanna see my new, awesome, my-face-is-so-squeaky-clean cleanser?

That's right . . . baking soda. I keep a jar of it on my vanity, sprinkle a bit in my hand, add water to make a paste and scrub it all over my face and neck. Fresh, exfoliating fun! I mentioned cheap, right?

Not to be outdone, how about a peak at my new, handy-dandy moisturizer?

Coconut oil is fantastic as a facial moisturizer, as well as a hair treatment! I grab a little and rub it in. The oil absorbs quickly and leaves my face feeling (and smelling) yummy. Good stuff, friends.

I now even make my own toothpaste using coconut oil, baking soda and peppermint oil. I will say that - because of the initial cost of the peppermint oil - this is not a cheaper way to go for toothpaste, but there are no unknown chemicals and such in it. Also, it only took a very tiny bit of the oil to make one batch of toothpaste that has lasted me a month and counting, so the price may actually prove to be less in the end. Love it!

So, when all the chemical-rich products from the store aren't working for you, head into your kitchen and raid your pantry. You might be surprised at how well the basics work for you!

Squeaky clean and pimple free,
Brandye

What is Wrong With This Picture?

No, really, someone tell me how this happens.

I ask the boys to clean up their room.

I go in to check things out and congratulate them on a job well done.

I turn around to leave and am confronted with . . . this.

Please do note the light switch . . . just to give you an idea of how tall that pile of laundry really is.

So, riddle me this . . . who won that little battle? Because, honestly, I am thinking it was not me.

One Thing Leads to Another

Well, as you know, we recently became the proud owners of three goats. When we got our little herd, the hubs mentioned that we really needed a livestock guardian animal.

We do live in bear and mountain lion country, so I get it. I really do. And when you hear the choices he gave me of 'good guardian animals,' you will completely understand our latest acquisition.

What were my choices, you ask? Well, in no particular order, they were llama, donkey or dog.

Seriously?! Is there really an option there besides dog? I hear llama and donkey, and I think . . . heck no. 

(sorry to all of you llama and donkey lovers, but they are big and scary and bitey and spitty and just plain icky)

So began the search for a livestock guardian dog. It took a bit to find what we wanted within a reasonable distance to our home . . . no small feat.

And without further ado, I present to you . . .

Drumroll please . . .

(and do try to control the laughter)

Ted Nugent

Stop laughing.

Yes, I am serious. The hubs named him. In our defense, we do call him Teddy. And he really is just a big old teddy bear. He is 4-months-old and absolutely enormous with much growing left to do.

You may also notice that the goats look a wee bit different. Well, this is how the story goes.

Family brings home goats. Family brings home dog to keep goats from getting eaten by bears and lions and all manner of scary things. Momma goat decides she hates puppy and attempts to kill him at any and all possible moments every single day. Every. Single. Day. (And by kill, I mean gore him into the ground while he is yelping and humans are yelling and jumping around.) Family thinks they are smarter than goat and put doggie shock collar on goat to shock her when she attacks dog. Goat is hard-core murderess and still intent on committing puppy-murder. Nice friend and former owner of goat sees the situation. Nice friend brings new goats over and we have a little goat clown car moment . . . three come out and three go in. Goats and dog are all friends now and puppy-killer-wanna-be goat is back home with full-grown dog who ain't got no time for her raging, mean first-time-momma hormones.

So, in addition to Teddy, we now have Wilma, Daisy and Floppy Joe holding down the fort in the goat pasture.

Seriously, all this farm drama is not for the faint-hearted!

I Dreamed a Dream

Once upon a time, many years ago . . .


my husband and I had a couple of little dreams.

We made a folder, labeled it dreams, and filed it.
 

 We knew that, someday, our dreams would come true.

Because we believed.

Because we knew we could make them come true.

Wanna take a peek into our dreams from years past?

 

You see, we dreamed of a lovely mountain home, where we could spread out on some acreage, enjoy real seasons with lovely weather and watch our children run and romp!

 

 

The next dream was my husband's. My husband dreamed of dairy goats . . . yep, dairy goats. This is the magazine he has gotten for years, hoping to someday have his own little herd.

 

Fast forward through those years to today.

We have our beautiful home on mountain acreage, surrounded by trees, mountains and God's beautiful creation. (oh, and a fabulous sledding hill for all the running and romping)

And my husband is officially a part-time goat-farmer, with momma and two babies running around in the goat pasture.

The moral of this little story is . . .

Dare to dream.

Believe that your dreams can come true.

Work for your dreams . . . chase them with all you've got!

Still dreaming,
Brandye

A Little Dairy Farm

We've done it! We have crossed the line into goat ownership, and there is no looking back! We acquired a doe named Snowbell and her two babies from some very dear friends. As both babies are boys and we are venturing into this for the milk, we will be trading the little white one, now named Chewy, later on for another doeling born at their place, once all babies are weaned. We are keeping Mocha, the little brown one.

In order to bring our goats home, we had quite a bit of work to do...

In the winter . . .

In Colorado . . .

In the winter . . . the cold, cold winter. See what I'm saying?

Attached to my husband's shop was this little area, which are already had a great roof and back wall, so we decided to build onto that. But, do you see something a little . . . off? See that big post? That big, gnawed on piece of wood? The previous owners had llamas. Apparently, they chew on things. 

The first order of business was to tear down the pre-existing barbed wire fencing. The whole 1.25 acres of fencing was just in terrible shape. Our BIG PLAN is to separate the pasture into four smaller pastures, as we will not ever have more than three goats, and we can rotate the grazing to give the land some rest.

Please do notice the snow. Did I mention the winter? In Colorado?

But, while we slaved away in the cold, working with old barbed wire and shivering, we also got to partake of this beautiful view. See the elk over my husband's shoulder? Lovely sight.

The whole thing was a family affair, with all the kids chipping in to do their part. H-Man spent some time with the t-post pounding tool. Strong kid.

We eventually ran 5 strands of electric fencing around the first pasture, with more pastures to be completed after the Great Thaw.

After pricing gates, I decided we could make do with a pallet gate. You know, because a pallet can be used for anything, right? So far, it is holding up like a champ!

I cannot tell you the relief I felt when this wall went up. Progress!

Unfortunately, the builder of this little area cared not too much for leveling and such. We had to tweak here and there to get our walls level. By tweak, I mean use a pickax to dig through frozen dirt and insert random pieces of wood here and there. You know . . . tweak.

But eventually, we had level walls, studded out appropriately. Whew!

G-Man was out there at all times, helping in the construction.

 

This was the home stretch, baby! We found the heaviest door on the face of the planet laying in our chicken yard when we moved in and saved it for a future project. Hello, future project.

One little pizza slice of wood at the top and we were good to go, keeping our little herd safe from predators and cold. Once the Great Thaw happens in a  few months, we do plan on adding D-Logs around the goat shed to match the shop. Because, you know, goat houses should be pretty too.

 

Inside, there is plenty of room for our goats. We have the wire pen in there to separate momma and babies at night so we can milk in the mornings. My husband is also building a feeding manger for the hay, so that there is less wastage. We will also section off a small piece of the inside for milking purposes. Take it from me, it gets a li'l bit chilly out there at 7 a.m. and this girl wants to be inside.

 

Speaking of milking, our sweet friends (who have coincidentally helped me more than any people should have to help one person in a week) built this awesome stanchion for us. Snowbell hops right on up there in the mornings and we get down to the milking business.

Now our little dairy herd is happily foraging around the trees for pine needles and such.

Well, Snowbell is.

What about the babies, you ask? Why, with the hubs out of town and big momma here not knowing the first thing about electric fencing, the little stinkers spend their day happily crawling through the fencing and running amok around the area. Luckily, they don't stray too far from their momma, who is baaing/yelling/cursing (really, I have no clue, but she seems upset) at them from the pasture.

Happy Milking!

Brandye

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