Goat 4H

I didn't catch Westminster last night! I know all the winners are posted at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show site and the Best in Show dog was in the paper but I didn't look. I'm saving the suspense for tonight when I can watch the DVR recording. If you know who won, don't tell me! I'll post the winners tomorrow for those of you that care... HA


I picked Kylee up last night right after work and brought her to our house. She helped with chores and got a couple squirts of milk from Chocolate Chaud before she gave up and let me finish milking. She LOVES and I mean LOVES Mojo our big, black, kitty. She calls him Kong and he really IS the King Kong of cats. She pets him and he closes his eyes in pleasure, "yessss, human child, adore me!" Kylee pointed out that he has 6 white hairs on his chest and that makes him look more manly.


We ate left over Southwestern Chicken Soup and salad for dinner. The soup is chicken broth based, has chunks of chicken breast, corn, black beans, kidney beans, rice and salsa in it. When I was Kylee's age I would NEVER EVER have touched that soup. I would have gone hungry vs. having to eat something that "grown-up" and gross. I was the pickiest damn eater in the whole world.


I told Kylee if she didn't like it or didn't want the soup, we'd make something else for her. I have a thing about making kids eat food cuz I spend time in a bad foster home when my parents were going thru custody battles and if you didn't like what they made, they set a timer - if you didn't eat whatever it was by the time the time the timer went off you really got it with a belt or a shoe or a wooden spoon... anything that "sounded good" when the foster-mom smacked it against her hand.

I make sure Kylee knows she doesn't have to eat it if she doesn't like it. Nope. She dug right in and ate it up yum. I showed her all our salad dressing choices... out of ranch, italian, blue cheese, lime vinagrette, sundried tomato vinagrette and a sesame ginger dressing, she chose the sesame ginger. I let her taste it first to make sure she'd like it. I think she has an incredibly adult palate, which is great - makes it easier on me because she eats the foods we make and have around. I don't need to worry about making sure we have "kid friendly food" in the house.


We left for the 4H meeting. This meeting was MUCH better than the last general 4H meeting. There was an agenda, handouts, dates, times, information specifically about our project. I know Kylee was bored thru the last half, but things will pick up when we actually begin doing some hands on things and she did o.k. During the refreshments, a few of the Larson family members talked to her and I think she's beginning to recognize people...relax a little.


At one point the meat goat project leader was talking and Kylee whispered, "Meat goats?! Poor goats!"


*ahem* I did NOT tell her that Linus is now in our freezer! When she asked about him last week I told her that he went to his new home. I think adults should know where their food comes from, but I don't want to freak out a 10 yr old. I have no idea her family's stance on this and I'm such a small piece of her life. I'm sure we'll talk about it sometime... she liked Linus and said he was her favorite goat so I'm not about to tell her we killed him and plan on eating him! If it comes up, I'll talk to other moms about that whole subject because I really don't want to freak Kylee out about it. I don't want to scar her for life like Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs.

Clarice Starling: I went downstairs, outside. I crept up into the barn. I was so scared to look inside, but I had to. Hannibal Lecter: And what did you see, Clarice? What did you see? Clarice Starling: Lambs. The lambs were screaming. Hannibal Lecter: They were slaughtering the spring lambs? Clarice Starling: And they were screaming. Hannibal Lecter: And you ran away? Clarice Starling: No. First I tried to free them. I... I opened the gate to their pen, but they wouldn't run. They just stood there, confused. They wouldn't run. Hannibal Lecter: But you could and you did, didn't you? Clarice Starling: Yes. I took one lamb, and I ran away as fast as I could. Hannibal Lecter: Where were you going, Clarice? Clarice Starling: I don't know. I didn't have any food, any water and it was very cold, very cold. I thought, I thought if I could save just one, but... he was so heavy. So heavy. I didn't get more than a few miles when the sheriff's car picked me up. The rancher was so angry he sent me to live at the Lutheran orphanage in Bozeman. I never saw the ranch again. Hannibal Lecter: What became of your lamb, Clarice? Clarice Starling: They killed him. Hannibal Lecter: You still wake up sometimes, don't you? You wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the lambs. Clarice Starling: Yes.

During the ride home we played games. Somehow things diverted into silliness.... at one point I had her laughing really hard. Remember that song by Drop Dead Fred or something? "I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it huuurts!" I sang this in the weird Dead Fred voice but from Mojo's point of view. She looked over at me and asked in a suprised voice - "did you get that from Shrek?" I said - oh, did Shrek sing that? I don't remember. She sang it for me the way Shrek did and then she made me do each and every animal we have... she did some too. They were just silly. This is good! Normally she is SO quiet and reserved and when I'm goofy to try and draw her out it's met with crickets... no reaction... and then I feel incredibly lame. I think she's opening up and feeling more comfortable. She's gonna love the baby goats.