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)

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

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)

We started the year with the kids being on time for the bus. For weeks they never missed it. Oooh! I was so proud of those usually sleepy little children!

Then routine began to set in. And slowly but surely they began to miss the bus in the morning. Guess who has to drag her butt out at the crack of dawn to the car to take them when that happens?

Chew got it!

It’s bad enough having to get up at 5:30 for the bus. But c’mon. They can get up when I wake them up. Heck, they can at least get out of bed within 15 minutes of being awakened, or take fewer than 20 minutes to find their shoes! One would hope.

A mother can dream…

For the longest time I couldn’t figure out a deterrent for missing the bus. (Lame, I know. I’m new at solo parenting and my migraine meds cause mental dullness. The kids love it! Not only do they have me outnumbered, but their IQ points are double mine these days.)

But after at least one of them missing the bus the last 5 out of 7 days I’ve finally figured it out. And the kids are so pissed!

From now on – you miss the bus –> ONE HOUR of SCOOPING POOP on the FARM.

From now on they can each miss it every day as far as I’m concerned.

Nuff Said.

October 12th, 2010 | Tags: alpaca, Alpacas, Husbandry, kids, poop scooping | Category: Alpacas, Husbandry, Lifestyle, Tending the Hearth, The Alpaca Lifestyle | Comments (8)

A couple of weeks ago I went out to the barn to see Rusty.  Rusty was our old Great Pyrenees livestock guard dog who has been with us for over ten years. He was one of the most incredible dogs I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

But that day Rusty didn’t know me. because he was dying.

I was filled with regret. I wished I had been there one more time with him. Why couldn’t I have just one more time to love on him, when he knew me? Why does death cheat us of our loved ones? – take them from us before we are ready? I wanted to know, anger burning, tears not stinging yet.

I took the kids out to see him. They looked at him and didn’t understand why he didn’t raise his head in greeting, why he didn’t look at them. My oldest explained that his muscles were in the process of trying to relax. His breathing was beginning to cease. His eyes had already stopped focusing. He was really gone already, his spirit seemed to have already flown away.

Rusty last November

The alpacas that he had guarded kept coming in and milling around. They didn’t seem to notice that their big protector was gone, but I did. It sliced through my heart like a hot knife cuts through butter. I swiftly hustled the kids out of the barn, swiping at tears with the back of my hand, forgetting the box of tissues I carried.

“How in the world am I going to dig a hole big enough to put him in?” I fretted to myself as I hugged my babies one by one as they walked by me on their way back to the house in the sweltering heat.

On my small farm we don’t have a backhoe, though it is at the top of the my wish list for my next farm. Let’s face it. Digging a huge grave in South Alabama in the summer is just not fun. Nothing about it is fun.

Usually when animals die on our farm, the children gather flowers and place them on the grave, especially if it was a beloved animal like Rusty. Usually they make designs like crosses and things. There was something special about how this time they just threw flowers all over with abandon for Rusty! He and his partner Joy, were our first livestock guard dogs. They have been with us since the the beginning of our alpaca farm. This was a sad day for us all.

We will really miss you old boy…..

Read more about Rusty here.

July 12th, 2010 | Tags: alpaca farm, Alpacas, children, funeral, grave, great pyrenees, livestock guard dog, Rusty | Category: Lifestyle, The Alpaca Lifestyle | Comments (20)

Roo and Katy

A couple of months ago I had the pleasure of meeting a fiber diva, Roo of Moonwood Farm whom I had long admired – in the flesh! I had heard about this incredible lady and I had almost gotten the chance to meet her at SAFF. But every time I had gone past her booth, she was mobbed with admirers. It’s true. She is so charismatic, and her fiber is to die for. When I heard she was coming to my farm, I knew I was in for a real treat!

My dear friend Pam Pullins, of Sweet Home ALApaca was bringing some alpaca girls down for breeding, and she was bringing Roo with her. Roo is someone who is well-known in the fiber world, to which I am a novice. And Roo is newer to the alpaca animal world, to which I am not. So this was a joy for us both.

It was so much fun getting together! We talked alpacas, fiber, and girl stuff. We got to giggling so much that Pam and I couldn’t stop.

I was doubled over laughing, we had so much fun. I wish they lived closer so that we could get together more often!

Pam and I really couldn’t get our serious face on for the camera, oh well.

Roo and I had a lot of fun getting to know each other and talking alpacas, fleece, and drum carders. I’m hoping to get a chance to learn from her in the future. She is an awesome talent. You can see some of her fiber art in her Etsy shop.

Moonbeams

Above are strips of fiber from Roo’s Moonbeam Club – 4 months subscription – long ago sold out, of course. Color me gorgeous, aren’t they to die for? Now do you see why I just had to meet this woman! She is an Alabama treasure. (Oh, yes, she is in Alabama!)

And, for an added bonus, how sweet is this, it was Roo, who went home with the sleepy Loretta from the How To Put Your Alpaca To Sleep Post. What a fun day we had. Makes me motivated to start playing more with fiber!

July 9th, 2010 | Tags: Alpacas, Etsy, Fairhope Alpacas, fiber, Fiber Arts, Fiber Arts Friday, Katy Spears, Moonwood Farm, Pam Pullins, SAFF, Sweet Home ALApaca | Category: Fiber Arts Friday, Lifestyle, The Alpaca Lifestyle | Comments (4)

photo by Ivar Vong of Oregon Daily Emerald

Participating in Wordless Wednesday

Read the Oregon Daily Emerald article about Audacious Alpacas at the Alpaca Festival of Oregon.

June 22nd, 2010 | Tags: Alpaca Festival of Oregon, alpaca show, Alpacas, Audacious Alpacas, obstacle course, obstacles, Oregon Daily Emerald, performance, Wordless Wednesdays | Category: Alpacas, Showing Off!, The Alpaca Lifestyle, Wordless Wednesdays | Comments (8)

This picture was shared with us by Pam Pullins of Sweet Home ALApaca. Thank you Pam!

This alpaca was not so sure about riding in the van – until she had the chance to play with these children. Apparently Loretta loves children.

They all wore each other out!

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

April 28th, 2010 | Tags: alpaca, Alpacas, Pam Pullins, sleep, sleepy, Sweet Home ALApaca, Wordless Wednesdays | Category: Alpacas, Lifestyle, The Alpaca Lifestyle | Comments (10)