Goats away, Mrs. Claus’s nails, watching the fire, packing and planning

Friday afternoon, our two goats were picked up and taken to their new home. At the birthday party that evening the little goats were a huge hit with the two-year-old birthday girl and well as with all in attendance. I was going to ask for an update yesterday at church, but I totally forgot. My mind was occupied with other things, but Mama and I are confident that the little goats will ingratiate themselves to their new family in short order. Since the tow will become a breeding pair, there are some challenges to be overcome by their new owners, but that will all sort itself out quickly – otherwise they will have kids in their little goat yard well before they planned to do so.

Later that evening Mama and I met up with Red and Joanna so that Mama could apply the nails Joanne had bought from Mama. The nail sets were chosen to match the theme of each coming weekend’s Santa appearances, so this will be a regular Friday evening occurrence until after Christmas. We met at Dairy Queen in Decatur. Red and Joanna are always pleasant to be around, so we know it would be an enjoyable get together. We had a quick meal before Mama got started. I am not enamored with Dairy Queen food, but we made the best of it. Mama was hoping there would be a general interest in what was happening during the time she applied the nails to Mrs. Claus’s hands, but there was not – at least, there was not at that application. We still have four or five more times to do so. Joanna was certainly willing to be gawked upon for the application. She is a good sport and loves the Color Street appliques.

Saturday evening, we had our second of the two schedules Open House events. Only two ladies and one youngster showed up, but we had a great time. I reflected with Mama after everyone had left that it might have been better that we had limited participation for the two nights so that we could get used to what it took to be prepared and so that we could give individual attention to all involved in the application process. Of course, we were praying for a larger audience, but I am not convinced we were ready for that.  Saturday evening, all the ladies put on the Thanksgiving nails sets and Mama was supposed to get a picture of the completed applications, but she forgot. Likewise on Sunday, we forgot, so the event went undocumented. Mama made some nice sales from the two Open House events, but mostly this was a test and I think we profited from trying the idea out. Where we will go from here is still in question.

I started a fire in the burn pit on the patio just before the Open House started Satu evening and it was burning well by the time our guests arrived. I spent the evening sitting on the patio enjoying the fire. The night was cool, and the fire was warm. A wonderful combination. I am planning on repeating the process Thursday evening after we finish our Thanksgiving celebration. I was thinking we would have a crowd for dinner that day, but all our potential invitees have made other plans. Trace and Krystal and the kids will be with us, so we will have a busy houseful, but it will be more manageable and more intimate than originally planned. It should be a good downtime for everyone. A bonfire is always a good centerpiece to relax around, and the evening is forecast to be cold. A fire will be nice.

Thanksgiving morning, I will be dropping Victoria off at the airport. Her flight is scheduled to leave DFW at 5 am, so she will need to be at the airport by 3 am or very nearly so. Destination Honduras. The packing has been happening in earnest as she tries to stuff all the items shipped to us for the trip into the suitcases she is allowed while not exceeding the weight limit of each. Truly a challenge. Cori uses these visits to Honduras as a means of delivery of needed books, difficult clothing items, unavailable supplies and generally available goods from the US to her family and friends in Honduras. It is a good opportunity to get the goods in short order and we go not mind. However, it can be a chore to get everything to her with limited means to do so. With that as our goal, we are packing, weighing, repacking and reweighing suitcases to meet the requirements. What does not make the trip with Victoria will go with me and Mama when we go in February. Lord willing!

We are still working on getting to New Jersey over Christmas. So, our Honduras trip is on the back burner for the moment. Hopefully, we can get both trips sorted out soon.