One Month!

I've been in New York for one month!

One month ago I boarded a plain for the fourth time in my life. Only this trip was different from my other plane trips. I was not going to or away from family for a vacation. I was leaving for four months for an internship in New York. And this coming only two weeks after I told someone that "No, I didn't really see myself ever leaving Texas for any length of time longer then a week or two for vacation". (Never say never!)

Now, one month later I am counting the days until I can see my family & friends back in Houston for a few days. Yes, I miss my family! I miss the hugs, kisses, laughter, toddlers, older sisters, fights, debates, & everything else that comes with my family.

But I am taking each day that I have here & counting it as a blessing, as it's not every year of my life I will be able to spend months in New York & sight see everything I can on my day off. Nor is it every day I get to live on another dairy and learn many different things about goats, cheese, & showing.

The people I've met have been great, very helpful & friendly. Even if I do have a new nick-name..."That Red Sox fan". lol And then get to be told how "The Yanks ARE the best!". (Yeah, well...)

The weather is totally different, not as humid & rarely as hot as it is down in Houston. It's been very nice in the 70s to 80s with low to no humidity and some mornings or even some evenings being a bit chilly. Though, I am warned that in a month I will be coming into the cool months & will see some winter which includes snow, then they can start calling me a wimp instead of me calling them one. Meaning I will need some warmer shoes & a nice warm jackets. (Which means I will have to go buy some new shoes...Last thing on my list of things I like to do!)

It does feel a little weird not having toddlers or Liberty sharing a bed with me. I have played music any & all chances I get as it tends to get to quite here. :D And I am still having a hard time cooking for less than a half dozen people--More like cooking just for me. I've found that though I greatly enjoy cooking, like traveling alone it's not as fun to cook for oneself as it is for when your cooking for others as well.

Then there are the TONS of pictures I take to share with my friends and family so I can enjoy the trip & time here knowing that they will be able to see my trip at least a little bit through my pictures. And by the time I get ready to go home I am going to need to drive down as it will be better with all the things I will have bought for my family & friends for Christmas.

So, one month down--Three and half more to go. BUT in less then two weeks I will be to see my family & friends. As well as attend a very good friend's wedding, I can't wait! :D

Yesterday's Day Off...

So, yesterday was my weekly day off, and unlike previous weeks it wasn't was WAY full. :D Well, for Carlson standards. lol

Yesterday I spent looking at goats, visiting a cemetery, viewing the grounds at Vanderbilt, And touring the Culinary Institute of America. A laid back & enjoyable day, even though it did feel like home in the mid to upper 90s.

The first stop was a Cemetery in Rhinebeck NY. For those of you who don't know my family all that we LOVE visiting cemeteries. You learn so much from them, see so many interesting names, and learn about people things you might not have. :D


After that it as touring the grounds of the Vanderbilt mansion. Due to a prior reservation I didn't have enough time to tour the mansion it's self but it is the plans for sometime while in New York.




After the rose garden & grounds at the Vanderblit I went down to the riverbank and took some up close pictures of the Hudson river. Ever since I first saw the Mississippi river at the age of seven rivers have fascinated me and the Hudson was no different. (When I am rich, and have nothing else to do with my time or money I am going to travel down the Mississippi river lol)





After that it was on to the the Culinary Institute of America, something I would never have thought of if someone had not mentioned it to me. But I greatly enjoyed my time there!

A New Post!!

Since I've had people (mainly my sisters) e-mail me, face book me, leave comments, & call me to tell me that I need to blog more I am doing that.

The only problem is I've been a wee bit busy, had a touch of writers block, & lack thing to really write about (meaning the funny things that toddlers say.)

As of Wednesday I will have been in New York for four weeks. In that time I've shown in two shows, I've been to New York City, I've been to Pennsylvania, made TONS of cheese, helped with the chores, enjoyed the quite, missed my family, started skype, bought Christmas presents, met new people, & enjoyed my time. :D

Now to expound on all that! lol

I've gone to two county fairs and helped to show some goats, they have lots of dairy goats up here, as well of lots of shows. Many more then we do down in Texas.

In New York City I walked around eight miles. From Union Square to Central park and back again. I saw more stuff then I can remember, hence why I took well over 150 pictures. In Pennsylvania Lynn had a show that she was judging so I want with her, & while she was judging I checked out the local town of Lewisburg, and then when she was done we went & saw four covered bridges. Both days were long but enjoyable day.

I've been doing chores in the morning & then helping in the cheese room, I've learned how to make Feta & Ricotta and done TONS of chevre. They make a lot more cheese then we do, but then when your milking 120 goats you are going to be making a lot more cheese then a farm milking 36 goats. :D

I've enjoyed the quite, but then quite is also those times when I miss my family the most. I miss Seth running up to give me a hug, Noah & Judah asking a question about the farm or what I am doing. Or Liberty wanting to snuggle with me or Timothy asking a baseball question. Then I miss the older girls and any & all conversations that we have.

And I can't forget mom & dad and the conversations we have about baseball, cheese, dairy, farm life, soap, and life in general. At last but no least I miss Dixie's cooing. face book chatting, phones, & skype have made it all a little easier but not 100% completely easier. (Yes, I have been counting the days until I go back for a few days...16!)

Of course being up here I've seen & bought things that I know my family will love & can't WAIT until Christmas to see their faces when they see what I got them. It's one of the best things about being up here, getting great presents for my family.

The people who I have meet have all been great, now all of them have been related to goats in one way or another. Be it at the farm working on cheese or at shows showing goats. :D

And yes, I am enjoying myself. I am making a point of doing that. It's a little odd to bee sight seeing without family or friends here to do with me, so I've kind of compromised--I'm taking over 200 pictures every time I go out sight seeing. :D

Answers to Common Goat Questions

Someone asked that I give the answers to these common goat questions for those that do not have goats. And I am happily giving the answer as it will give me something to blog about & my siblings can stop face booking, e-mailing, calling, and leaving comments on my lack of blogging. (I'm having a hard time thinking of things to post about.)

Q: "Why do the goats not have ears?"
A: It's a breed of goat called LaMancha they are born without their ears.

Q: "Why do you milk the goat?"
A: So that we can have their milk to enjoy and to turn into many different products such as milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, butter, & soap.

Q:"Why do you cut off their ears?"
A: Because they are a breed of goats that are born without their ears and if I tried to tell a judge that they were Lamanchas with ears I would get disqualified. just like dogs have different type of ears so do goats. (While I point to
Nubian and Alpines.)

Q:"Can you drink goat's milk just like you drink cow's milk?"
A: Yes you can. Handled properly goats milk should taste VERY close to cow's milk. More often then not people tell us it taste like sweetened half & half. And it can be used just like cow's milk.

Q:"Where are their horns?"
A: We remove their horns at a young age for a number of reasons.
1) I have to handle these goats at least twice a day if not more and it's not the best feeling in the world to have a goat horn you. (Yes, I do know how it feels.)
2) They can cause harm to my other goats with their horns.
3) It's a disqualification in the show ring to have a dairy goat have horns.

And the answer that I have given on occasion but love to give more often...

Q:"Why do you cut off their ears?"
A: Because they are SOOOO good! They make the best appetizers ever!
What amazes me are the number of people who believe me & start to walk off with out a comment or even a look over that answer!

Ten Days Here...

Ten things I've learned in the past ten days...

1. There are goats in the world larger then my Dawn was.
2. Not having any children in the house can lead to a very quite house.
3. Eating with chopsticks isn't as easy as some people make it look.
4. Octopus is worse then canned mushrooms!!
5. I can not cook for less then ten people.
6. It can be cooler then 90 degrees in August.
7. 50 gallons of milk makes a TON of cheese
8. Reading the small print on a travel brochure is always a wise idea.
9. With only one person eating it, 1 gallon of ice cream can sure last awhile.
10. New York is a lot larger then I realized
    

Ten Days Away...

Ten things I miss about Texas...

1. My family!
2. Hugs from mom & dad
3. Toddlers in my bed
4. Talks with my older sisters.
5. Hugs & kisses from my brothers
6. The Heat
7. My church
8. Markets
9. Coffee from HEB & Katz
10. My Family!!

I Ain't in Texas anymore!!

Things that prove I am not in Texas (or even the south) anymore...

• You get funny looks when you ma'am or sir someone.
• Tea is NOT sweetened.
• An ice chest is a cooler and a freezer an ice chest.
• When you ask for Coke you get Coca-Cola.
  
• When it's 85 degrees, with 50% humidity everyone thinks it's WAY to hot (while I'm LOVING it lol).