Roofing mess, crafts, holidays

Rain over the next three days will test the coating I applied to the roof of the goat shelter yesterday evening. It took me all the time I had between getting off work and the quickly approaching nightfall to get the roof coating applied. It will make the roof look uniform. It will protect the roof for many years to come and it will seal some of the holes the rain was dripping through. A few of the holes will need further attention, but for the most part, I was able to coat over most of them. I put on some older farm cloths to work in because applying this type of coating makes a mess regardless of how careful I could have been. I ended up not getting much on me, but I was thankful what I did get on me was not on my better clothing. It is something that will never come out. I have had the roofing material for a few weeks but have never taken the time to get the chore done. Now it is done. Check that one off my list.

My biggest challenge during the process was keeping Scamp away from the ladder. He is our only horned goat and he is well aware of his advantage over all the other goats. He likes to get his horns hooked into the fencing and pull with all his might against the fence. I have had to reinforce the fence in the areas he likes to attack the most. For him, it would have been better if I had used cattle panels for the enclosure, but it was too expensive at the time. Mama has talked about getting rid of him but has taken no action yet to do so. Anyway, he would not leave the ladder alone. Even when I was on it. He would hook his horns on a rung and pull back against the ladder. I have no idea what he hoped to accomplish but my weight on the ladder held it in position when I was on it. Every time I got off the ladder, he renewed his efforts to topple it. It made for an interesting contest during the time I was working on the roof. Shooing off the goat. Containing the mess. Trying to keep my roller brush out of the tree limbs.  But I was able to finish just before dark – which comes now at about 6:30. Heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow and possibly Wednesday. That will tell me how much more work I have left to fully seal the roof. As a fallback the bucks still have the igloo doghouse to retreat into if needed.

Mama is driving to Kimberly’s today. They are at the point of finishing up a lot of items they will try to sell this Saturday at Trade Days. I brought a few items to work to set on my desk to see if I could drive any interest among my coworkers. So far that has not been overly successful, but Mama and Kimberlyn are hopeful the flea markets will be kind to them. There are a few things they have made that are unique. Among my favorites is the Christmas donkey.

They also have one of a wolf done in an American Indian theme that is going to sell quickly once it is displayed. On one side it reads, “Feed the good wolf”. Mama and Kimberlyn are both excited and scared to market the items. It will be fun to see how this venture of theirs turns out. For their first time at Trade Days they will have a lot more than just their crafts. They will have garage sale items as well. I do not know if that will be an attractant or a deterrent, but that is the plan they have put together. I am praying they do well.

Mama and I are looking forward to the holidays. Thanksgiving is now only three weeks away. We have a few things to get done in the house and at the farm to be ready for all who will be with us that week. I have scheduled some time off that week to accommodate those plans – and to give me more time to visit. We always have a big organizational and cleanup task when we prepare for guests. Mama and Victoria tend to leave things out after they have used them – especially Mama’s craft items. That produces a lot of clutter on surfaces all around the house. Tabletops. Countertops. Every corner in the house is filled with stuff. Fortunately, all the items that we accumulated for Cori and the kids were taken to Honduras already, so the spare bed is usable now. Still, we have a lot to do to ready the house for the holidays. I am still of the opinion that we should have people over at least every month just so that the house gets a thorough cleaning on a timely schedule.

But at the very least, reorganizing and decluttering will make things easier as Mama gets help decorating the house for Christmas – after Thanksgiving.