At Pretium Libertatis: A Female Doctor Working in Germany Warns the World

http://www.bobbyanding.com/2015/10/a-female-doctor-working-in-germany.html?m=1

My Last Sip

This morning I used the last of the raw goat milk in the refrigerator. This is amazing milk from my own herd of miniature Nubians. The herd I can’t milk anymore because I’m destroying the joints in my thumbs. I’ve hand-milked my girls for 13 years and now I can no longer. This is likely my very last cappuccino made with raw goat milk.

It looks good you say? That’s because it is. Better than Starbucks actually and that’s saying a lot considering I have a small (big) addiction there.
Here’s my recipe: (I don’t do exact)

• About 1 cup of raw goat milk steamed – and even better frothed.
• Espresso – more shots are better
• Raw honey and raw cocao powder
• Raw EV coconut oil

I tend to overdo things. Since I can’t milk the herd anymore I’ve sold some of the goats to pay for my next hobby… Which may not be any easier on my hands, truthfully. If I decide to do something it’s a little too much or a little too many.

So I’m learning Scrivener and studying writing at the same time. And still homeschooling, because, you know, too much is never enough.

Learning doesn’t come as easily for a woman creeping up on 50. At least not for this one.

I’d like to spend all my days sipping cappuccinos and riding my horses, but I’d also like to write some books and, oh ya- get a flock of sheep. Because, that’s why. Why not?

My days are busy and full. Full of people and animals I love. Juggling it all is a First World Problem. I’m not complaining. I just want to do it all well. That’s a problem. I’m not an over achiever in the normal sense. Well, maybe I am that but I’m not a perfectionist. Not even close.

Here’s an example of More is Better around here: we have 19 dogs right now. No lie.  True, 14 of them are puppies that will find their new farm or ranch to patrol in a couple months. Our Maremma LGDs have been busy with summer lovin’ and now I’ve got puppies out of my ears.

So I also usually have litters of barn kittens and chicks. This year I had 17 goat kids born. We got a pair of Sugar Gliders at the fair…

And we still have Mr. T the Russian Box Tortiose. Although how he can be called “Russian” is beyond me since they hale from the Middle East. Then there’s the Beta fish… and the ankle- biter dogs.

Sometimes it’s all overwhelming. I need a vacation but who on earth would be able to keep up with all this while I escaped  for awhile? Nobody’s that crazy. Hey, wait…

I do try to work out once in awhile and also do my yoga asanas. And I have t forgotten about learning Hebrew, but I’m putting that off until my youngest son learns to read. Too many alphabets and aleph bets to keep track of.

I was able to get a few good rides in on my mare, Fancy this year but it wasn’t nearly enough. Horseback riding is particularly good for your soul I promise. I need some more of that.

My husband on the other hand likes football and crossfit. He has a chocolate milk addiction that’s as bad as my Starbucks addiction, but somehow we make it work 😄🏃🏽☕️

We are convinced we must make all this craziness we share work. Because little people. The next generations. I think it’s rare that people consider others over themselves these days. Including their own offspring. Does anyone care anymore that families are fractured and that it’s  crumbling our society and moral compass even? I have to wonder about that kind of thing but if I let myself go there, especially watching marriages of people I know drop like flies, you know… I’ll do it too much.

So these are things I’m thinking as I sip my last rich, creamy, and so-yummy -goat milk-from-my-own-herd cappuccino this morning.

Time to crack open my Bible and enjoy the best part of my excellent days.

 

 

The Cottage: A Review

I Read Michael Phillips The Cottage in the cozy, rainy last few days. Very appropriate considering the setting for this slow paced tale is the wet Shetland Islands, more specifically Whales Reef. I enjoyed my tea along with Loni and David, the main characters in this sequel to The Inheritance. I read that book several months ago and even though I felt it was a little slow, I found myself checking frequently for the next novel finishing up this story! I have found the pace of these books to be to my liking after-all.

There’s plenty of intrigue and mystery surrounding the complicated family ties, which go back centuries, the inheritance of not only millions of dollars in assets- the entire Island and more, but also title and tradition, duties, and then of course, the people of the Island and responsibilities to them- even if they don’t seem to appreciate the efforts. (at first)

The author has conveyed a real sense of place in his setting descriptions. I would love to visit the Scottish Isles now! He has also given us some believable bad guys, a hero to root for, and…loose ends so we are fit to be tied waiting for the next book. That’s okay because I have found myself getting lost in this place that Mr. Phillips has created. I’m looking forward to another book coming out hopefully soon. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in The Cottage. If you like a long, cozy read in front of a fireplace, you’ll not want to miss The Cottage.

~I received a copy of this book free from Bethany Hose Publishers in order to read it and give an unbiased written review.

About the book:
When Loni Ford is informed that she has inherited property in the Shetland Islands, she laughs. She wants nothing more than to sell it and be done with it. But when she arrives in the North Sea enclave, she is stunned to find that “the Cottage” is not at all what she expected, nor is David Tulloch, the man most of the islanders believe to be the rightful heir.

The locals could hardly be more surprised that the heir is a woman–and an American. Loni, in turn, finds the islanders quaint and a bit behind the times. Expecting David to be as provincial as the rest of his clan, she discovers that there is far more to the man than meets the eye. And there is something about the peaceful atmosphere of the place–and the character of its most prominent citizen–that soon gets under her skin.

Beneath the peaceful surface, however, change is threatening the island of Whale’s Reef. David’s cousin Hardy Tulloch, whose claim to the inheritance now in Loni’s hands was backed by oil investors, has not been deterred in his aim to control the island. But his co-conspirators have plans of their own, plans that put Loni’s very life in danger.