Unwrapped!

And it's not even Christmas yet! :-(

This week I noticed Barbados' hind legs were out of his leg straps. He's a sweet boy and often comes to the fence for chin rubs, but do you think he'd come up when I needed him to? Noooooo. Yesterday he was naked (except for that gorgeous fleece, which I want to keep clean and free of VM) – and he still won't let me get a hand on him. Today he may look chocolate-dipped when I go out; it's been blowing and raining all night and that's supposed to continue all weekend.

It's just one more thing on my stress pile. I need to do a major sheep shuffle (my breeding group is STILL together), but just haven't had the block of time to do it. The few days off I have are consumed with getting Brian through his schoolwork and practice and staying abreast of mail and laundry; squeezing in time for 30-minute rides on my horse here and there feels like the only thing that's keeping me from unhinging. We're going to be gone all day tomorrow visiting my dad and his wife while they are on the west side of the mountains; looks like I'll be working sheep on Christmas Eve. Not that I mind that, but my DH can get kind of cranky when I don't treat holidays as strictly family time. Tough; this is our new reality.

At least I have Sabbaths. What would I do without this oasis in time to turn away from everyday work and worry to worship? I don't want to contemplate that; it wouldn't be pretty.

Here is something that isn't unwrapped yet, but promises to be a lovely gift:

That's it for today from . . .