Lorberau Goat Farm

My friend Janie owns this farm -- we went out to Alice, Texas to see it during their annual open house. It was an amazing experience! Baby goats everywhere - it's baby goat time at the goat farm. They also make award winning goat cheese there - we tried some. We saw where they make the cheese, keep the goats, feed the goats, play with the goats. Yes, I definitely will have goats on the future farm.


As you can see, the grass really is greener on the other side of the (goat) fence....

This baby goat was one of a set of triplets that was born within 12 hours of our visit...

Triplet sleeping....I love their ears. Nubian Goats are beautiful in that they have these long ears, their coat color is very variable and they have super sweet dispositions.

All the goats have their names around their neck - this one is Oreo. He is a little underweight but they are working on that...

Totally unfazed by the visitors....

Some of the Mommy Goats -- very happy to see me. I swear they were wagging their tails....

This is inside of the room where they are milked. The whole farm was IMMACULATE - Martha Stewart would have been impressed! Owned by a female and having a female staff makes a difference :)  The equipment must remain very clean and so must the goats as the health inspector comes frequently since this place also sells its goat cheese. These troughs are where the goats line up while the milking apparatus is hooked up.

Here are the tubes that attached to the udder of the goat. They have to washed and sterilized between EACH goat. The goats are milked twice each day.

Kelly explaining how they make cheese. It's very laborious as everything is done by hand...the skimming, for example, takes three hours and is completely done by humans.

Ron busy adding garlic and chives to the cheese which was DELICIOUS!

Goats have a way of making everyone happy :)

Another Mom - wanting her head scratched. I happily complied...

Baby sleeping....

Janie from a publication with her goats. You can read more about it here:  Janie said this is a ton of work. They work from 6:00 a.m. to midnight every day...but, Janie is doing EVERYTHING at her farm. Most other people have someone else collecting the milk and yet another group making the cheese. Janie is super industrious...and her caring really shows as her farm is beautiful, the people happy and the goats are super happy and extremely well cared for.

This is me...trying to figure out how to get one of these goats in my purse to take it home....

So, what do they do with all the baby goats, you ask? They keep the females for breeding and milking. The males, when they reach a certain weight, are sold. I will only sell my future goats to licensed vegetarians....

It was an awesome day. I learned so much, made some new friends (both four- and two-legged) and can't wait to go back.

Visit to San Diego!

I went to see Jen a few weeks ago. We had a blast -- tons of stuff to do, great food, shopping,  lotsa laughs, wonderful tea at Teavana and a super haircut. I love Jen, and love that she lives in San Diego...

We attended a conference at Thomas Jefferson School of Law - Jen goes to night classes there, and will be going full time soon. She will graduate in a year or so and then take the bar exam and then....who knows. I predict some ultra cool company (aerospace maybe?) will grab her and make her an offer she can't refuse :)

This is her professional head-shot as they call it. Gorgeousness!!  She is currently working for a Federal Judge in downtown San Diego and will be heading to the east coast this summer for work at the Department of Defense. Like I said...she's going places.

 Here's her school which is conveniently located right across the street from her apartment.

Here's Jen's balcony taken from the patio on top of her school across the street :) 

And Buddy eating on the balcony...Buddy eats a lot :)

We had tons of fun, shopping, eating, going to the symphony, and doing a little glam along the way!

Jen looking beautiful!!  See the Coronado Bridge in the background? We ran across that last Spring...was a blast you can read about here -

Buddy always has to get in the picture....

Glamming it up at Sophora...

Can you tell which eyebrow Jen "designed" :)   

And to top it all off, a new haircut!!!! Yep, daughters are great at keeping their Mom's in style :)

It was awesome - great times, many laughs, many things accomplished, long walks in downtown San Diego and best of all - time with Jen. Going back to run a marathon in June....we'll see how that goes!

Cirque de Soliel DRALION! - and a trip across the border :)

I've never seen a Cirque de Soliel show -- and have always wanted to. Well, I finally did --- Ron and I went to Hildalgo, Texas to see our first show -- we ended up with front row seats and it was AWESOME. It's hard to explain these productions -- the talent, costumes, music, laughter, gasps in response to the athleticism of the performers -- so much going on and so much to watch and see. You can bet we will be going to more Cirque de Soliel productions. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!

2 story trampolines....

Following that (a tough act to follow!), I experienced another first as the next day, we crossed the U.S. border in Progreso Texas - Nuevo Mexico  and did the Mexican tourist-for-a-day thing. It was a blast - so much to see, bartering to do, and feeling blessed to be an American :)

We ate lunch at the Red Snapper --- the food was incredible, and the atmosphere so much fun. Mexican Mariachi/Country Songs and even some dancing on the floor. Definitely going back -

This is a fancy vegetable slicer...I bought one :)

We had so much fun - I love South Texas, and spring break, and eating fresh tortillas and washing windows, and getting carpets and tile and closets cleaned and new plants put in and walking on the beach and most of all - spending time laughing and smiling. Blessed beyond measure.

Tumbleweed Texas Houses

I went to Austin to learn more about this...not that I think I can live in a house with less than 200 square feet, but, it would be nice to have a small house while working on the FARMhouse that will someday be a home. Jay Shafer, the owner of this company, gave a 2 day workshop that included everything from what kind of appliances, showers, and zoning laws to think about as well as tons of  house plans. They are remarkable - easy to maintain, transportable and certainly eco-friendly in so many ways. Some are made from new materials, others are made from reclaimed materials -- beautiful pieces of wood and other construction materials that, wastefully, end up in landfills.  Ron can build anything - so can his son. Ron's Son, daughter-in-law, Ron and I listened and learned and thought - a lot. There's lots of good ideas -- which were rehashed over a super lovely dinner we shared. It was an awesome weekend --- and tiny house ideas will undoubtedly lead to bigger dreams coming true. Make sense? I'm excited about it -- build a tiny house, stay there while working on the bigger house and getting chickens and goats and all the rest planned out... Audrey could come and stay in the Tiny house :)