Ice Cream Turkey

This Thanksgiving was a quiet one because the kids weren’t here. Jim and I had some welcome alone time. We had my parents over for a late afternoon lunch. We also had the pleasure of our dear friend, Anne’s company. She lives down the road, and is a regular visitor and confidante whom I rely on heavily. Anne is adorably crochety. She gets around admirably well with her cane and has remarkable energy for her 70+ years. The other day I walked in on Anne discussing the merits of kicking the crap out of bullies that might be bothersome with my third grader. You really don’t want to mess with Anne. But when she’s on your side there’s no one better who’ll love you more!

Every holiday that I get to spend with my father is a blessing to me. About twelve years ago he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. And he almost died. Thank the Lord, he beat it. If it weren’t for that he wouldn’t even know my youngest three children! In July, he had another bout with cancer. He had 34 carcinoid tumors removed from his stomach. Some were microscopic, but some were bigger from M&M to golf ball sized. Since then he has been in a world of trouble with complications, and has been mostly in the hospital. The worst part has been that he has had to have all his “food” through a tube. “TPN” for those of you familiar with it.

So this Thanksgiving my Dad was finally able to get back to eating soft foods again – YAY!!! Along with the mashed potatoes and dressing, we got an ice cream turkey from Baskin Robbins that he could eat. It was made of pralines & cream ice cream. I have to say that it was worth the hour drive over to West Mobile to get it! It was delicious. Dad didn’t want to give it back, as you can see.

(Oh, and by the way, can you tell that my Dad looks like a cross between Santa and maybe Kenny Rogers or Merlin Olsen or something? He’s so cute. He lives on the beach and wears a Hawaiian shirts EVERY day. Like every day. He has maybe 25, and one for every single occasion. Except a wedding or funeral. Then he will change. I think he thinks he’s Jimmy Buffet or something.)

The drumsticks on the ice cream turkey were made from the sugar cones and were filled with the ice cream too. The outside was topped with a caramel glaze that was so good! We all loved it. You can order them with any flavor you want inside, and there was a coupon in the newspaper the weekend before Thanksgiving. The kids are clamoring for us to get an ice cream cake now for Christmas because most of them didn’t get to have any before it was gone. It was such a hit! Sounds like this will be a repeat and will become a family tradition of ours.

What have you done over the holidays in recent years that was a hit that has become a tradition in your family?

December 6th, 2011 | Tags: Baskin Robbins, family tradition, ice cream turkey, pralines and cream ice cream, Thanksgiving, turkey | Category: Lifestyle, Tending the Hearth, The Alpaca Lifestyle | Comments (7)

Jim and our new cria

After a long deployment in Iraq, my sweetie, Jim Cocking, is finally home! Actually, he has been home a while. We’ve taken the last month to have a honeymoon. Kinda. As much as you can on a farm with a passel of kids and a herd of alpacas. So not much of one now that I think of it.

But it is wonderful to have Jim back home and not in harm’s way. And we love being able to communicate  face to face instead of by email. We have realized how many of our email convos have been misinterpreted because you can’t read the nonverbal and metacommunication. (Yeah, that’s a big fancy word left over from when I was a psychologist. I like to throw stuff like that around every once in a while so my parents don’t feel like my degree was wasted.)

In the above picture with my dear husband is another new addition we need to welcome – Princess Quita’s little female cria that she had with SCA Peruvian Magnum. This little girl is a beauty! She has a tremendous fleece that is already showing excellent bundling, crimp, and density. She and Princess Quita are for sale in our End of the Year Sale in a package that includes a breeding for each of them for $7,000 for those alpaca fans out there. Email me for more info.

November 2nd, 2011 | Tags: alpaca package, Alpacas, deployment, End of the Year Sale, fleece, honeymoon, husband, Iraq, Jim Cocking, Magnum, metacommunication, new cria, Princess Quita, SCA Peruvian Magnum, welcome home | Category: Alpacas, Lifestyle, New Additions | Comments (3)

Cute Critters are in 3D

On the way into the soccer fields last night, this darling little child says to me, “Mom, I want some food. Can we please go to the Confession Stand?”

Yes. She wants to go to the Confession Stand.

One green, one blue, and two red snow cones, two blue power-aids, one bottle of water, and one diet coke later, I make it out of the there.

I’m out 12 bucks. But as I try to balance 4 drinks, a fold-up chair, and my purse, I think to myself, “That was the easiest trip I’ve ever made to the Confessional.”

September 23rd, 2011 | Tags: Confessional, kids | Category: Tending the Hearth, The Daily Stuff | Comments (5)

This weekend alpaca farms across America will be hosting National Alpaca Farm Days on their alpaca farms. Our farm, Fairhope Alpacas, in beautiful Fairhope, Alabama will be open to the public on Saturday & Sunday, September 24 & 25th both days from 1-5 pm.
To find a farm near you, visit the National Alpaca Farm Days website and check out their farm locator. Go see an alpaca breeder near you this weekend to learn more about these magical creatures!
And if you do go see some pacas, come back and tell us about it in the comments section.

September 19th, 2011 | Tags: Alabama, alpaca breeder, alpaca farms, Alpacas, America, beautiful Fairhope, Fairhope, Fairhope Alpacas, farm locator, National Alpaca Farm Day | Category: Alpacas, Events, Farm Business, The Alpaca Lifestyle | Comments (2)

I have gotten over a dozen emails from CIABA about their unskirted fleece event. It sounded intriguing but I have to admit, I wasn’t sure what it was all about or why I should participate. I had some questions, and I thought some of you might too so I contacted Robin Alpert of CIABA and she was kind enough to enlighten me about this exciting new event!

AlpacaFarmgirl: Is this event the same as the AOBA new Cottage Fiber Show going to be? The guidelines/rules made it look like it was….but then if you don’t have to be an AOBA member or have the alpaca’s ARI…then it seems like no. So that confused me.

Robin of CIABA: Our event is not an AOBA event.  AOBA put out their new cottage classes after CIABA sent them a complete outline with rationale for our event.  You do not have to be a member of either organization to participate nor does the animal need to be registered.

AFG: What is the purpose of this show for exhibitors? Do they win anything? Are there prizes? I see that they will get evaluations…Are there different classes/divisions like a real show or is this mainly for people to send in and get a judges’ opinion on their fleece for end product use?

CIABA: The purpose of the event is to educate alpaca owners about their fiber and give them a place to sell their fleece.   We did divide fleeces into classes for clerical purposes, but fleeces will not be competing against each other.  They will be competing with a standard.  The prize is the information they will receive about their fleece and the chance to sell it.

AFG: What is the purpose of this show – for CIABA? What is their goal? Short term and long term?

CIABA: The purpose of CIABA has been and probably will be to educate alpaca owners about their fiber, introduce them to venues for adding value to their fleece, and helping owners to connect with manufacturers.  We are a nonprofit organization and try to keep costs low enough for people to be able to participate.

AFG: I love what CIABA is doing, and I would really love to help you get your message out there. I don’t think people across the country really understand what this is all about. Some alpaca breeders have had the benefit of hearing people talk about your mission, but there are a LOT of them who haven’t heard the word yet.

CIABA: This event is introducing a totally new way to think about alpaca fleece.  People are bound to be confused.  That is why we loosened the instruction for presenting the fleece.  We want people to learn what they are producing so they can make better breeding decisions.  CIABA wants to be the place people go to find out what is going on in the world of natural product manufacturing.  We started CIABA to help the whole industry.  Our “staff” is all volunteer.  People have put aside their personal interests for the good of the whole industry.  None of us expects to personally profit from the organization any more than all the other members.  I think that’s what makes it work so well.

AFG: One more thing. So for people who send in their fiber, what happens to the fleece after it is judged? I think I saw somewhere there was a discount for processing…? Also you said that you were trying to help them sell? Will there be people buying fleece there?

CIABA: There will be people there who are interested in buying fleece if the person wants to sell it.  Otherwise, the sorted, graded fleece will be sent back to the owner.  The best use part is to let people know what they can do with their fleece — what products are best made from it.  The participating mills area giving a coupon for 5% off on processing.

AFG: So CIABA is trying to give alpaca breeders another way of looking at their fiber. Send your fiber in, UNSKIRTED, (saving you the work & worry if you are new & nervous about how to do it), and their judges will evaluate your fiber and tell you all about it. From the perspective of the fiber industry. Forget the ribbons and the hoop-la of the traditional showring. This is a real-world, livestock production, “how are you going to make the best end-product” perspective.

Thank you, Robin, for answering my questions, and for all the hard work you do for our alpaca industry.

I love it! It is very practical, and a much needed point of view. And I love these ladies who give their time and tons of hours volunteering to CIABA for the love of our industry and alpaca fiber. If you have more questions please ask them below and Robin or Val will answer them. Find out more about the CIABA Unskirted Fleece Event. Entry Forms are here, and I strongly recommend that you consider joining CIABA. Visit their website http://www.ciaba.org

September 17th, 2011 | Tags: alpaca, alpaca fiber, CIABA, fiber, Fiber Event, Naked Truth, Robin Alpert, Unskirted Fleece Event | Category: Alpacas, Events, Fiber Arts, The Alpaca Lifestyle, Weekly Web Finds | Leave a comment

Who Doesn’t Like Breasts, Really?

I mean we start out life at our mother’s breast.

We all have people in our lives that we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE who have boobies. So we all want to wipe out Breast Cancer. That’s why I had to share with you this awesome opportunity that brings together two of my favorite things – breast cancer awareness & guerilla knitting!

BIG and SMALL, our boobies one for all! Invite your friends to this event and get everyone attending!

Knit Some Breasts for International Breast Cancer Awareness Day

October 1, 2011

Be a part of this Global YarnBombing Event. Knit it and Hang it up Guerilla Style. Document it, and your footage can be a part of a documentary on Yarnbombing. Cool, huh?

For more information and patterns go to:

http://thebigbreast.posterouse.com

Another Yarnbombing post you might like from Alpaca Farmgirl.

June 24th, 2011 | Tags: boobies, breast cancer, breast cancer awareness, Fiber Arts, guerilla knitting, International Breast Cancer Awareness Day, knit breasts, ta tas | Category: Fiber Arts, Fiber Arts Friday | Comments (4)

Actually I think Momma’s gonna be naming this one

As a mom you have the most enlightening conversations with your children while driving in the car.

My twin girls and I were discussing the new baby alpaca that had been born that day as we were heading home from softball practice. At our house everyone always wants to be the one to name the newest cria. The girls were rattling off names like Chocolate Chunk and Sprinkles for the brown little boy. Names were floating through the air like Gingerbread, Brownie, Fluffy, and Darren(?). One of the twins became insistent on the name Marcus. (I vaguely recognized this as the name of one of the boys in her class at school.)

I tried to explain to them that before we gave this little guy a name, I wanted to determine if he was going to be pet alpaca and needed a cute pet name, or if he was going to be a serious stud alpaca and needed a big deal name.

“…so we have to see if he’s not that great a male,” I finished. What I meant was that if he did not turn out to be a herdsire quality male, the girls would probably get the chance to name him Brownie IV or whatever they wanted. If he turned out to be fabulous, well, Mom was going to name him something fabulous and they could just call him whatever they wanted anyway…

“Oh, Marcus is not that good of a male.” my daughter said, obviously referring to her classmate that had given her the name inspiration.

I almost coughed up a lung. “What?” I sputtered.

“No, he’s really not, Mom,” she went on to regale me with stories of Marcus pushing her off the monkey bars, causing her to fall down and scrape her knee. According to her, Marcus was always interrupting her, and once he even cussed out the teacher and got suspended. That Marcus also had the audacity to tell people that he liked her. She went on and on about the trials and tribulations of going to school with Marcus.

At first I was ready to fuss at her for saying something so mean about a classmate. “Not that good of a male.” But once I heard he had bloodied her and cussed out a teacher, I wasn’t so sure…

So I just listened. And learned a lot.

But to hear my own words come back at me like that, “He’s really not that good of a male,” in her still baby-sounding voice, I have to admit I had two reactions:

1. It was hysterical! Knee-slapping funny.
2. And it also made me think, “Uh-oh. What have I done?”

Well, I guess what we’ve done is evaluate “males” as keepers or non-keepers in the genetic pool. And really, that’s probably not the worst thing when I think about it. There are a whole lot of men out there that my girls should probably think of as “non-breeders”. It’s just not usually politically correct to talk about it that way. But let’s face it. She’s starting to weed out the “bad” ones already. so good for her. it’s better than the alternative.

right?

Oh, let’s face it. She’s in elementary school. I’ve got a long way to go…

My little darling with my fiance Jim at Disney World this New Years. She knows her momma thinks this male is a keeper!

February 18th, 2011 | Tags: alpaca, Alpacas, herdsire, little boy, naming alpacas, non-breeders | Category: Alpacas, Lifestyle, Tending the Hearth, The Alpaca Lifestyle | Comments (8)

I had to share with you this lovely Valentine that was sent to me by Valerie at the Blais Alpaca Company. Heart be still. She is so creative!

Hope you are all having a Happy Valentine’s Day!

February 14th, 2011 | Tags: alpaca, Alpacas, Happy Valentine's Day, The Blais Alpaca Company | Category: Alpacas, Lifestyle | Leave a comment

These days I see knitted things everywhere. This is my son’s favorite. He wants to know where he can get this car. It is attractive, non?

But  what girl can’t resist a little “bug” as we used to call them? Though I’d be concerned about getting a snag…

This adorable hand-held sized VW Camper Van was blogged by made by a pattern by Leah Sutton and blogged by handknittedthings.blogspot.com

Hooray for something we can actually knit!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday Folks! It has been a year now since I turned this fiestivity (I know that’s not really a word, but I like it) – over to Wonder Why Gal. And I could not be MORE THRILLED that I did. How ’bout you?

I mean that girl rocks! She is the ultimate fiber diva as far as I am concerned. Always into new things, always with the passion for the fiber…I mean…WOW!~ I am sooooooo happy that she is doing Fiber Arts Friday now. So please continue to participate, and keep sharing your fiber activities. She has taken my original idea and made it even better than I ever could have.

Thank you Andrea. From the bottom of my heart. I love you!

February 11th, 2011 | Tags: Fiber Arts Friday, knitted bug, knitted wheels, VW Camper Van, Wonder Why Gal | Category: Fiber Arts, Fiber Arts Friday | Comments (14)