My day started out strange and went weird from there. I had planned to get up at 4:20, take a shower and head across the street to work. Alas, it was not to be. A bit before 3, the dogs started going nuts, so I woke up. I heard someone knocking, so I went into the kitchen to see who was at the door. My daughter was (supposed to be) sleeping upstairs, but it turns out she was awake. She had texted Gen, her best friend, to tell her she was dizzy and had a horrible headache. Good thing Gen was watching movies at that time! Gen’s mom, Stacey, drove her here to wake me since they didn’t know if it was an emergency or not. Gen and I went upstairs to find Bela on the bed, afraid to try to get up and come downstairs. She didn’t want to fall down the stairs. (At this point, I would like to say that I nominate Gen as best friend of the year.)

We helped Bela to the living room, Gen and Stacey went home, and I tried to evaluate the situation. Her temperature was normal, but her head was really hurting. She tried to sleep, but I was wide awake, so I threw the dogs out long enough to feed the cats. Since Bela was semi-resting on the couch, I left the dogs to guard her and took my shower. I went to work early, but I was home frequently to see if Bela was any better or worse. Her headache lasted quite a while, but now she is feeling much better. My friend and fellow blogger, Laura, suggested that Bela could be dehydrated. You’ll hear more about Laura later.

Once I got to work and the cook arrived, I had a cup of coffee. I was thinking about getting another cup when I heard Tammy rummaging around downstairs near the laundry room. She said, “We don’t have coffee!” I thought maybe the kitchen had run out, but the store would be open soon, so I wasn’t worried until she started explaining why we had no coffee. There was a problem with the cord of the coffee maker! Tammy said it sounded like a shotgun being fired when the coffee maker gave up the ghost! It scared the stuffing out of her. The maintenance man came in and worked some magic. He must have good repairman juju because the coffee maker was revived!

In between sips of coffee and loads of laundry, I walked home (again) to check on Bela. Her headache finally let up, but she said she was really tired. She drank some water and went to sleep. Again, Chance and Boxi were guarding her. When I say “guarding” her, I really mean to say they were taking up as much space in the bed as possible, burrowing under the covers and kissing her at every opportunity. Boxi is the master of stealth kissing.

I went on about my business and finally finished laundry. Laura was having her yard sale for the second day, so I went over to hang out with her so she wouldn’t get bored. She informed me that one of the goats was sold. I saw the crate, so I peeked in. Sure enough, there was the goat. He was lying quietly which surprised me. I would have expected him to be bouncing around like a kid. (Yeah, I know!) Artis, neighbor and friend, was also on hand. The fellow who bought the goat loaded him up and left.

We hadn’t been chatting for long when a huge, dark cloud headed our way. The wind was blowing the clothes off the tables, so we just knew rain was soon to follow. Laura’s youngest woke up right around the time we figured we better pack it in. Artis grabbed baby and supplies and headed for her house. Laura and I would box things up and put everything in the garage. As Artis was leaving, I heard Laura say, “Thanks for helping me cut the goat.” After I made sure I heard what I thought I did, I decided that would explain why the goat (kid) was so quiet in the crate. Laura and Artis had taken his dreams away when they castrated him. (Shudder!) Poor little guy. I did ask Laura if she had plans to fry those mountain oysters for dinner. They weren’t on the menu, but she pointed them out to me. Eeeewwwww.

My day did not turn out as planned, but it sure was interesting. Guys, if you see these two ladies, RUN!

Artis, castration expert

Laura, mom, friend, blogger, castration expert