Time....is flowing like a....(raging white water) river....

At this time of year, I am abruptly and rather unpleasantly reminded that most of the time, I try to do too much and I am entirely too busy.  Being in school part-time is always a challenge.  I have four semesters left (which translates into one year and 4 months) and I really can't wait for that to be finished.  Working full time in a very busy and sometimes stressful job is another challenge.  Doing both at the same time, while also having a small farm is probably a sign of pending insanity.  Let's add in a few other things for fun, shall we?  Like...trying to keep spinning yarns for my Etsy store, taking care of a friend's 2 dogs for 3 weeks while he is in France (one of whom has decided my basement is her toilet), taking an exercise class once a week, trying to feed myself in a healthy way, sleeping, a bit of laundry, and the extremely occasional bit of housework, and it's like having a load of bricks dumped on your head.

All of this is why, unfortunately, I have done essentially nothing about the impending holiday.  It's not because I didn't want to, or because I didn't care, or because I didn't have the necessary items at hand.  No, it's just that I didn't have time.  So I didn't send any Christmas cards, and I still haven't sent any gifts.  I do have some gifts to send, some of which I have made, and which were thus late being completed because, yes....I didn't have time to get them done on schedule.  And suddenly it's here, and I just don't know where the time goes, and I end up feeling bad and grumpy about it, which does not assist in the holiday spirit.

I always make these grand plans to decorate the house properly and get all my cards done and get all my gifts sent well before the "deadline" and you know, it just doesn't happen.  Maybe, just maybe, it will happen the Christmas after next, when I will finally have my fourth degree completed, have the bar exam written and hopefully passed, have the barns and pastures set up the way I want them, have a more organized office, a more efficient feeding and watering schedule, and more TIME!  (and if anybody ever suggests my going back to school again, I shall promptly flatten them.)

So, apologies to everybody for not fulfilling my holiday obligations. 

I did somehow find time for some pictures, so here's the latest on the critters...

Pennyroyal, the Jacob ewe lamb, loves her new shelter.

...as does Miss Marshmallow.

Cindey Lou has made friends with a frizzle grey rooster - they always hang around together now.  It surprised me that he would choose such a tiny companion, but maybe he doesn't feel threatened that way.  Anyway, I am happy to see him out and about each day with his buddy.

Slim the brown leghorn hen prefers to stay inside the barn, but she is also doing very well.

And finally, the goats have all grown in their furry winter coats and are looking very fluffy right now.  Opal is particularly good at posing for the camera and showing off her goatie style.