Reason #104.5 to be a vet

There is such a thing as a wheel of vomit. Did you know that? It tells you how to make a dog vomit.  It might work for children too. I don't know. I've never tried it.

I need to share this picture. 

Thanks for understanding. 

If you recognize these tights, raise your hand. 

our winter travels and travails

Alex and I don't get to have too much time off together nowadays, so we have been enjoying the few precious days off we have had this winter break.

We took a quick jaunt down to Springfield to see some of the sights. We were lucky enough to be there while the presidential family was also visiting and got a couple pictures with them.

We were too shy to ask for a picture with Larry the Cable Guy and Pres. Lincoln, especially since I have no idea who Larry the Cable Guy is.

We saw our first Frank Lloyd Wright house, the Dana-Thomas house, which was "simply awesome" according to Alex.

We also took a quick saunter up to Chicago. Alex was able to enjoy his first real Ukrainian meal since his mission. He kept saying how much it tasted like the real deal.

We visited our favorite art institute, the Art Institute of Chicago, and we both found some pieces we identified with.

Alex also really liked this one:

I'm not sure why he liked it so much, but maybe it had to do with this part.

No! Not the dead rabbits. The cat eyes, of course.

We all know how much Alex likes cats. 

Thanks Andersons for joining and putting up with us!

Most of all, thank you Christmas and New Years for falling on a Tuesday instead of a Sunday like you did last year because it means I actually got time off from work. Yay!

Its that time of the year again

when we regale you with all the accomplishments of our family in 2012. Actually, most of our accomplishments this year revolve more around what we didn't do rather than what we did.

I (president), for instance, didn't get fired and didn't get sued. I put over 1500 miles on my bike getting to work and back and managed to avoid the sculpted physique that many bikers get.

Alex (supreme dictator) didn't get kicked out of medical school and is now halfway through his third year. He has not yet decided what kind of doctor he wants to be. Any input would be appreciated.

We didn't lose our house and we didn't get divorced. We are happier and more beautiful than ever. We didn't get in any car accidents. I did bounce two checks of my own and one of someone else's. We killed 4 rosemary plants (working on the 5th)  and couldn't get our basil to grow.

Lucy and Lola didn't bite anyone that wasn't family (they almost never do) but bowled over (and probably mortally terrified) a few kids. They are now officially middle aged dogs.

Master Ruben managed to not get arrested.

The chickens and rabbits managed to not escape or get eaten (at least the rabbits that are still alive did not get eaten.)

Ok, a few things that actually did happen to us this year.

We had a great road trip out to Utah/Idaho. See blog post here.

I went all home ec and did some canning and quilting. 

We had a goat roast.

We made a bunch of cakes. See here and here.

All in all, it has actually been a fabulous year and we are so grateful for the many blessings in our life. Most of all, we are grateful to be able to celebrate this special time of year and remember the gift of God's son to the world and to each of us. We wish you all the very best coming year. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

With love, Katie, Alex, Lucy, Lola, Ruben, Johnny, Frankie, Wasabi, Jadwiga, Yaroslaw, and Bogdana

the end of an era

...or...

in loving tribute to my French Alpine dairy goat Makala

Tomorrow my goat Makala will be euthanized. She has had painful front hooves for a number of years and has gotten to the point where she cannot walk on them anymore, but instead hobbles around on her knees (carpi). She would have been 15 in February, which is a ripe old age for a goat.

I showed sheep in 4-H for a few years before I had goats. The ultimate 4-H showmanship competition was called the round robin where the top two showmen in each species (hogs, beef, dairy, goats, sheep, meat goats) competed against each other and showed every species and it was kind of a big deal. There were so many people showing sheep in those days that it was very difficult to make it to the round robin in the sheep division. I decided to branch out and show goats when I was 14 or 15 which was convenient because someone had just donated a goat named Aphrodite (Afro for short) to my mother because she saved the goat's life after roaming dogs nearly took her life (true story). So we bred her and I planned on showing one of her kids in the fair. However, that year Afro happened to have a buck and a hermaphrodite (what are the odds?) Luckily, I found a goat lady nice enough to loan me one of her does to show. Her name was Jazzmine and she was a beautiful doe and not only did I win champion dairy goat but I also won best dairy goat showman and was able to compete in the round robin. Lo and behold, I actually won the dang thing. Those were the glory days. With my taste of fame, I couldn't stop there. I purchased Jazzmine's granddaughter, Makala.

Afro and her two kids.

I loved having goats and seeing the kids (so cute) and don't remember minding the milking all that much (thanks Jessie for splitting it with me). I wish I knew back then how delicious goat cheese is so I could start to learn how to make it, but alas, I was a teenager and what teenager do you know that wants to make goat cheese? I used to love preparing Makala for the show, bathing her and clipping her hair down close so you could see all her sleek curves (although I did hate clipping off her goatee) and shaving her udder with a razor and oiling it up. She really was a beautiful goat. I think I may have won grand champion goat with her too. She knew her name and I would walk in the far side of the animal barn at the 4-H fair and call out "Makala" and I could hear her calling back to me.

Young Makala. Apparently I though it was ok to wear short shorts.

I was looking through one of my 4-H project books from 2000 and to answer the question "What have you learned from yourself by taking this project?" I answered "I have learned that dairy goats are my very favorite animals and I hope to raise them for many years to come."

There was also a question "What have you learned about your animals from the records you kept?" where I answered "I learned that dairy goats need quite a bit of grain to be able to milk." Which is a lame answer and I am pretty sure it is lame because I never kept very good records and just made stuff up the week before the books were due. Hm.

Makala and her two kids. One of those is Mayzie Lou who survives her.

Then I grew up and left home and for the most part forgot about her until I would visit home and trim her hooves. She was a good goat and I am grateful for her and that, because of her, I still want to have goats in the future. Next time I will learn to make cheese.

My parents have been good enough to give Makala and her daughter Mayzie food and shelter for the past 11 or so years I have been out of the house, and I am grateful for that. (Not to mention the food and shelter they provided for my goats while I was still living at home. They pretty much paid for everything and I was just a free loader. Some things never change.)

Why my wife is awesome

Because she writes me love notes all the time.

Like this

All notes from Katie and one from Jeff. Thanks Jeff ;)

Actually, this is Katie here. I can't get Alex to write any blog posts anymore so I have to extol all my virtues for him.

I do want to say one thing I really like about Alex. Here is an example to illustrate: I got home this afternoon from cutting down invasive species in a nearby restoration park with the park district ranger guy and some volunteers (actually, we were cutting honey suckle. I told you that was a weed here, mom) and mentioned to Alex how much I had enjoyed it and maybe I should work outside all my life. He looked at me seriously and questioned if I really did want to be a farmer (I keep talking about how I want my milk goat and milk sheep) with a tone of voice that indicated if it was what I wanted, we could make it work. (Until I reminded him how much time and money I invested in vet school and that knocked him back to his senses.) That is the thing about Alex. He always wants me to a) be happy and b) pursue my dreams, of whatever size or type. Take the rabbits, the sewing machine, the bike, the whole vet school debacle experience and probably lots of other things. I really, really love this about Alex. I never feel boxed in and I always know that he will support me in whatever weird thing I want to do next (until, that is, I go off the deep end. He will have to draw the line somewhere.)

Thanks Alex.

irksome

This morning I was digesting my oatmeal and doing some laundry and I innocently look out the window and WHAT DO I SEE!?!?!

Squirrels feasting on the crabapple tree!

Count them - at least nine!

Friends, this disturbs me. It does not bode well for our poor little peach tree next year. 

Brains

Whew. Now that we're down to one reader again, I can share the good stuff.

If you are unfortunate enough to eat at our house, you might get served brain.

Our philosophy is, the more brains the better. You have your choice between normal white matter brain and hematoma brain. Take your pick. You will be asked if you would prefer frontal, parietal, temporal, or occipital lobe.

Any suggestions on what to get Alex for Christmas? He says he wants a certain board game but I was thinking more like socks or a rain gutter cleaner or something.

Nerdiest costumes on the block

Today I am wearing a nondescript gray sweater. It has a few brown spots on it that I didn't notice until I got home from church.

Someone at work a few days ago told me that I looked like a milkmaid. I guess that is good because that is just the look I was going for...

Anyway, this year for Halloween we had a great idea for costumes. I thought they would be so cool that we might actually be popular (with the added benefit of not offending anyone) at our ward's trunk or treat.

The plan backfired because most people don't actually know what a fomite is and thought we made the word up. In fact, my spell checker is telling me that fomite is not a real word. Or maybe people misread it and thought it said "vomit". I can see why that wouldn't be such a popular costume.

Maybe next year we will go as MRSA.

Ruben turned 13 this week. He is already living up to the "terrible teenager" stereotype; sleeping in late, refusing to go to school, sneaking out past curfew, and smoking pot with his friends.

Happy Birthday Ed!

Here is our e-card.

Happy Birthday remix

In case you didn't believe me about the six cakes, here is proof.

We had just enough left overs to make us happy.

In exchange for a piece of cake, we requested a haiku. Of course, many people took their cake without leaving us a haiku, just like voting (or taxes? Just trying to fit in with the times here). That's ok - we still love you.

Our favorite haiku was from Holli. She gave me permission to share.

Alexander likes dogs,

speaks Ukrainian, Russian,

wears lycopene shirts.

Katie rides her bike

she eats rabbits and heals pets

gorgeous to the core

chemistry boy's girl

veterinarian's husband

sweet loving couple.

Our second favorite haiku was from Noah. He sure didn't give me permission to share.

The cops look at me.

They want me in their prison.

I won't be taken. 

Our third favorite haiku was from me. No one asked me permission.

Hi. I'm a mammal. 

I'm supposed to nurse my young

and I have some hair. 

Ok. Enough poems.

For Alex's birthday weekend, we also visited the Great Pumpkin Patch (or GPP if you're cool) with some friends, Mark and Jill. I don't have any pictures of all of us to post (but maybe if they send me some I will post them - hint, hint) but here are a few others. 

I found me a kid. A cute one, even, with awesome hair. (Ok, he technically belongs to Mark and Jill. I was just BORROWING him.) Notice the Noah's ark of squash. Things like this I love about the Midwest. 

To my great surprise and delight, I was reunited with my good friend that I haven't seen for a couple of years. Last time I saw him was in Nauvoo, so I was very happy to see him at GPP. We didn't have a lot to say to each other, just like last time.

Hasn't aged a bit. (Nauvoo, IL, 2008ish)

We won the pumpkin pageant. 

My talent for the pageant was gourding. 

I am Lucy and I approve this message. 

Happy Birthday, Alex!

a haiku birthday

for the love of my long life.

here's to you honey.

eight years ago to-

day- that's when the deal was sealed. 

I showed up that day

with a Jamba Juice

pumpkin smash for your birthday. 

then it was for real.

don't let this girl go.

she brings goodness into your life.

good food makes good love.

now, eight years later

I don't have pumpkin smashes.

but six cakes instead.

hope it is enough. 

maybe next year we will find

a pumpkin smash. yum.

so, comments are great

especially in the form of

haikus. please. thank you.

Stuff growing in my house

I have no announcements. Alex has no announcements. There is nothing to blog about.

Except for this persistent question: why can't we grow basil?

Case in point:

This pathetic plant is the only thing that grew out of three entire seed packets we planted this year inside and out. It is a sad little basil plant. 

Here is the basil's kitchen island neighbor, a mum that I bought in April and never got around to planting. I think it is a little late now.

This is my husband sweeping up the shards of a glass that I broke as I was shoving stuff around on the kitchen island trying to take these awesome pictures. 

Here is a peace lilly growing in my house. For those of you with cats, these are actually not lillies of the sort that will kill cats like Easter Lillies. These are totally safe to have around cats. 

Finally, a picture of stuff growing in my freezer because Alex and I cannot eat cookies and muffins and bread fast enough to keep them from filling up our freezer. Feel free to stop by and have a cookie anytime. 

PS I hope no one was blinded by the whiteness of my skin in our new blog theme picture. 

Nothing like watching onions carmelize

which is what I am doing right now. So the other day the women in my congregation were asked to come up with a list of their five favorite things for a 'guess who' activity we had. I nearly agonized over it - I mean, how can anyone possibly choose their five favorite things in the world? Such a broad and personal question about all that you value and cherish in life. And only five?! Come on. So I thought about it and eventually came up with a sanitized version that I felt comfortable sharing with women I don't know very well. Of course, it started with dark chocolate, had something about good books and Alison Krauss in there, and I could not resist adding a sixth item which was goats.

After the whole thing was over and I had to tell most people which list was mine anyway in exchange for them telling me which one was theirs and I still didn't get enough names to win and after we all laughed over the person that somehow included "monkey organ grinder" in their list (thanks, Dr. Clark), I decided I had approached it all wrong. No one cares if I love dark chocolate. I mean, I do, but don't most women? So here is an non-five top list version of my favorite things.

Favorite current picture:

 

(Thanks Nat Geo. I am not a violent person nor do I condone violent animal behavior. But it is a cool picture)

Favorite artist: Allison Krauss

Favorite herb: basil

Favorite thing to do that is expensive: travel

Favorite magazine: National Geographic

Favorite thing to buy for my bottom: recycled toilet paper (because toilet paper is not a good reason to destroy old growth forests, in my opinion. Amazing how hard it can be to find 100% recycled TP. Try it some time. And please dispense with any preconceived notions that it will not be pleasant to use. You are welcome to try it out at my house any time)

Favorite thing to wash my clothes with: cold water detergent (why pay to heat your water when hard working chemists have developed detergents that work in cold water just as well?)

Favorite feature about my dog Lola: her soft, squishy lips

Favorite vegetable: toss up between asparagus and beets

Favorite thing to do that is/can be cheap: shop at thrift stores

Favorite smoothie and oatmeal flavor: pumpkin

Favorite thing to do that is even cheaper: watch international films from the public library

Favorite way to get to work: bike

Favorite hot drink not prohibited by the Word of Wisdom: Inka

Favorite fruit: raspberries

Favorite CD: The Secret Garden musical

Favorite book currently: An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. Single-handedly teaching me how to cook

Favorite animal I do not currently own (although my parents would say that I do if you ask them): milk goats

Favorite thing I wish I knew how to do: sew

Any important categories I missed?

I think Alex should share a favorites list. Anyone else agree?

general conference is coming!!!

When you let Alex out of his cage...

This sort of thing happens.

Alex went in with Ricardo, a good friend of ours, to purchase a young (live) goat and turn it into dinner. They both worked very hard to kill the goat (humanely of course), dress the carcass and prepare it, dig a fire pit, light a humongous fire, and cook the goat for 12 hours.

Ricardo with the pre-cooked goat wrapped in burlap.

The goat was buried overnight in a bed of hot coals. Here they are unburying it.

An old wheelbarrow provided part of the oven over the goat.

Out comes goat.

The goat getting unwrapped on the goat table. Eager onlookers await.

The finished product. It was good. It tasted... goaty. 

Alex decided a) he learned a lot in the process, b) he doesn't love the taste of goat meat, c) goat anatomy is more fun than rabbit anatomy. 

His wife decided that medical students don't really have time to take on side butcher jobs.