RMFIH '14 - Raise the Roof

We're going to bring today's RMFIH '14 even closer to home. In fact, we're going to bring it right next door.

Jim and Dot have needed a new roof on their house for, well,  for years, but they didn't tell anyone. They just didn't know how they would pay for it, or how they would get it done. Over the last year, it has become impossible to hide the fact that every time it rains, the house leaks like a sieve. Granted, we live in a desert, and we don't get a lot of rain, but when it comes, it comes with a vengeance.

For the last four months, the roof has been covered by a big blue tarp held down with old tires and bricks. If there was ever any doubt that we're a bunch of red-necks, we pretty much dispelled it forever.

After spending months, worrying about it, and talking about it and thinking about it, Friday Brian and Jim got up on the roof and started lifting shingles to see just how bad it was.... It was really, really bad. So Brian calls me at work to ask if I could get anyone from the office to help. We knew it was last minute, and all these guys have young families, with obligations of their own, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

I hadn't heard back from anyone by the time I left for home, so we assumed we were on our own.

Around six o'clock, JD Called to let me know he and two other guys would be there at eight a.m. to help out, and maybe a few more would be able to come. They could only stay until noon, but they would be there.

Hooray!

At eight o'clock sharp, JD's truck rolled in and six guys came piling out. They got right down to business and climbed up on the old rotted roof. It was like we had set six little whirlwinds loose up there. They managed to accomplish in three and half hours what it would have taken us all weekend to do. The roof was completely striped, the old rotted sheeting was torn off, trusses that needed shoring up were repaired and most of the sheeting had been replaced.

As they drove away at noon, Brian and I looked at each other with the same thought in our heads: Thank God they could only stay until noon, we were exhausted!

The roof isn't quite done yet, but we never would have gotten nearly this far without help.

Thanks JD, Josh, Kyle, Matt, Manny and Rich!

RMFIH '14 - A dogs best freind

This one is a local story from around Thanksgiving. Not only should we help each other, we should be willing to go the extra mile for a furry friends too.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20131101wounded-pit-bull-saved-sensation.html?nclick_check=1http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20131101wounded-pit-bull-saved-sensation.html?nclick_check=1

Restore My Faith In Humanity 2014

So it's a new year. 2013 ended with a whimper, leaving a slightly bad taste in my mouth. In an effort to not dwell on the negative, I'm starting a new project: Restore My Faith In Humanity.

As part of my effort to remind myself to be positive, no matter what, to see the silver lining, even when I would rather just wallow in self-pity, I am scoring the internet, talking to strangers and keeping my eyes open for examples, big and small of people doing good deeds for others.

We're starting out with this: a yahoo story about a guy in PA taking time to help out the elderly in his town during the recent cold snap, by delivering anything they need so they don't have to venture out into the cold.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/pizza-store-owner-delivers-medications-to-residents-during-blizzard-232427794.html

Stay tuned for more stories of inspiration, or add one yourself.

Smile! It will really piss off a grumpy person.

While I was attending an open house at a friend's farm this past weekend, I had a woman call asking if she could come out to the farm and see the alpacas. Of course I told her she was welcome, but that weekend would be tough, maybe she would be able to come to our open house in a couple of weeks? That sounded like a plan to her, she started to ask for some more info and then said, well that's alright, you update your blog.

..... Uh, yeah. About that blog.

 

Obviously, I have not been keeping up. I'm not even sure where to begin. We attended the annual Fall Festival up in Pinetop again this year. Sales were pretty good, beating last year. Sales aside, we always have a good time at that show and it's great to see our show friends again. This year we were next to a woman that makes clocks out of old door hardware. I was highly impressed with her work, but couldn't think of a spot to put another clock. Maybe next year.

I also went to the Southwest Fiber Festival down in Tubac earlier this month. That was a long drive, but well worth the effort. We blew away last year's numbers.

This coming weekend is an off weekend for me, then it's three weekends worth of shows in a row. The weekend before Thanksgiving we'll be up in Sun City West at a new show we're trying out this year. Then off to Chino Valley for the annual Christmas Boutique at Singletree Farm. Finally ending up at out place for the 7th annual open house here.

The weekend after out open house, our partner farm, Mesquite Valley Ranch in Gilbert will be hosting another open house, but we'll be resting up and getting the house decorated for Christmas.

And then I'm going to take a nice long nap.

So I've finally managed to get some work done out in the shop. I've been avoiding the place for the last couple of months, well, because it's 130 freakin' degrees out there and I'm totally sick of being hot.  But show season is rapidly approaching, and I've got to get some product put together or the alpacas won't eat this winter.

 Actually, as fat as they've all gotten, it probably wouldn't hurt them to not eat for awhile, but they can get quite whiney when they are hungry and the constant humming would probably get distracting.

But I digress...

I got about two dozen skeins of yarn dyed up and a bunch of two ounce batts ready. During the month of October, there is a yarn crawl organized for the state of Arizona and Tempe Yarn wants us fully stocked over there. We are also donating a hand-woven rug to Tempe yarn as one of their giveaways for the event.  So all you yarnies, make sure to stop in and show Tempe Yarn your support.

Kittens, kittens and kittens, oh my!

Oh Happy Day! We spent the weekend trapping kittens. In the end we caught thirteen really, really pissed off  cats. An achievement I am particularly proud of as we only had 12 traps. I have become a very efficient cat trapper and earned myself a spot on the Spay and Neuter Hotline's Facebook page. Makes me kind of wish I had showered before schlepping all those cats up to Tempe.

Any hoot, there is a single holdout left in our colony and I'm 80% sure it's a male, so I'm less stressed about catching up with him than I was about getting the females before they all reach breeding age. He won't be making kittens on his own. Our colony has gotten as big as it ever will (PLEASE!).

For any one keeping count, we have spayed and neutered 31 cats since the end of May.  I swore this would be the last generation of kittens, and I think I am winning the fight.

And once again, Brian spent some time being amused by drunken kittens wandering around the property. The kittens were less amused.

and then there is Yoda.

I know this blog is suppose to be about alpacas, but lately our lives have been revolving around kittens (okay, my life. Brian is far less concerned about the fuzzy little buggers.)

The count for kittens under the house is now at thirteen. Actually it has always been that high, I just finally managed to get them all out in the open for an accurate count.

Plus one in the house.

Yes, there is a kitten in the house, on purpose. In the open, not hiding under the floor boards. For a two to three week period, the momma cats developed a nasty habit of scattering kittens everywhere; under hay bales, under car parts, in between  irrigation pipes. Which is fine except that the kittens, now having to wait until their mothers came around to feed them, would start yelling at the top of their little kitten lungs for a meal. It was very distracting.

I finally started gathering kittens up and stuffing them back under the house where their mothers were hanging out. (Here cat, you lost this!) This plan was working rather well until we came across the last lost kitten. When I went to fetch him from under the hay, I discovered that he was not in great health. His eyes were swollen shut and he was just bones and fluff.  Stuffing him back under the house would probably just mean a slow death.  I challenge anyone to  condemn a kitten to a slow death. Even the most hard-hearted villain would have a hard time doing so.

So he came into the house so I could clean him up, feed him and make him well. While I was washing out his swollen eyes, Brian made a comment: "He looks just like Yoda. Hi Yoda!"

Crap.

Well now he has a name, we have to keep him. So Yoda, weighing in at a whooping 12 ounces, became a member of the family.

Now two weeks later he has more than doubled his weight. His eyes are looking good and he has gained enough confidence to lie on his back and play with Molly's nose. Molly for her part, has agreed not to eat him.  Even Daisy will play with him on occasion, but only when the mode hits her and on her terms. (which usually involve her flipping Yoda onto his back with her nose, then stomping on his belly.)

Even Dot has gotten in on the Yoda bandwagon. When she comes to get the dogs for doggy daycare, Yoda goes with her. Can't have him spending all day by himself, after all.

One of these days, I'm going to get back to writing about the alpacas, I promise.