The New Goat Palace

The New Goat Palace is finished!
First, a few pictures:

As you can see, Gabby and Champagne are already comfortably settled. I know it looks a bit strange, the tall roof structure in the middle, but there is a method in our madness. The side panels for the little goat house in the middle are easily removable. They hang and are stabilized at the bottom.. We install them when cold weather hits.We hadn't installed them yet when I took these pics.
I moved Nina and Lily in with Patches in the milking doe pen so she wouldn't be lonely. When she gets closer to her due date, she'll be moved to the new goat palace.
The plan is that the new kids will (eventually) populate the new goat palace, the milking does will be in the milking does pen and the bucks and wethers will be in the main goat pen.
So THAT project is done. I'll take a pic after we have the panels up for cold weather.
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On to cookie recipes.
Do you make Rice Krispie Treats? So do I! They are quick and easy.
But............kind of boring after a bit.
I follow the basic recipe and add my own twists.
Other things I add:
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Walnut pieces
Pecan pieces
M & M's (red and green or Christmas, pastel ones at Easter)
Slived almonds
A bit of cinnamon
Salted peanuts or mixed nuts
Drizzle chocolate on top
Some of my cajeta
Or I skip the Rice Krispies completely and use Chex Mix!
It is so easy to play with the basic recipe. The kids favorite is walnuts and semi-sweet chocolate pieces
My fav is pecans and some cajeta mixed in..Or salted peanuts and cajeta mixed in. Good stuff!
Use your imagination and go with what you like!

Morning Surprise!

I went out to feed the animals this morning and got a bit of a surprise.

See the wee pygmy goat in in the back there? That is my neighbor Franks wee goat. He has two, see?

 The charming doe with the lovely beard who is currently on MY side of the fence and the little buck on FRANKS side of the fence.
The doe came over to join my little herd by going under the fence here:

Wang has been mooning over the wee doe for weeks. She was pregnant when Frank got her and she kidded yesterday, however the tiny kid only lived about an hour. Sometime during the night, she managed to burrow under the fence. My little herd welcomed her and shared their hay and Wang and Geordi have been cuddling up to her.

Frank just left to go bury the kid and will be back later to retrieve the doe. We will be doing some fence work on both sides today.
Until then, his pygmy doe will be visiting with the herd here.

Still Building...

Yes, we are still building the new goat pen here! The Darlin' Man is a stickler for doing things right, so ever board, every little bit of fencing, every screw has to be perfect! (Thank goodness he doesn't watch me sew, lol!)
He, his son, my son AND a friend have been working on it all week.
Problems have added to the time, of course.
We had a small sandstorm, it took longer for the concrete to cure than we thought it would, and we had to work around the Darlin' Man's work hours (as well as his friends) and his sons school hours a bit.
My son would have done more during the day....BUT the Darlin' Man wants to be here for every single bit of the build. So, the best my son or I can do during the day is clean up work on the build site.
We should get finished this evening. I hope!
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This dang cold is still hanging on. I am doing much better (and many thanks to all y'all that have sent me get well wishes!). I think I am keeping Halls Menthol-lyptus cough drops in business! They seem to be the only thing that helps keep my head clear and stop the coughing. I am down to two or three cough drops a day. Much better than the 10 or 12 a day I was taking a couple weeks ago! I am totally out of my homemade disinfectant that I make, so I need to get some more lavender flowers when we go to the store. I swear, I think it works better than Lysol.
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Ugly Betty has still not laid any eggs. She has a sweet personality, though. Pender is still mooning over her and courting her through the pen fencing. It is fun to watch his courtship.
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We are about to enter the sandstorm season here. Saturday high winds are predicted, so I am doing the little things I have come to do to avoid the worst. First, I do laundry...all the laundry I can. I do not want it hanging on the line when the sand hits! Second, I vacuum and dust all I can. I know I will end up with sand and dust in the house, but you have to apply yourself to cleaning it up before, during and after to stay ahead of the worst!
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I love the cooler weather we are having. I sleep better at night and feel more full of energy during the day. I am looking forward to the holidays. I am going to posting some cookie recipes in the next few days.I LOVE baking cookies! Makes the whole house smell wonderful!