Dee Dee Bridgewater ... Crossing off Burundi

Well ... I'm not at all surprised to be on the sale list either. Bill has been groaning and sighing every time he looks at me all winter. He says that he bought me for my beautiful blue-grey colour ... and hadn't bargained on my fleece being so long and primitive. He keeps grumbling about it not being a fleece type that he wants in his flock AT ALL! So ... I knew that I'd be here.

Yesterday, Bill got a call ... and the Burlington Handweavers and Spinners Guild want him to come and do a presentation about Shetland sheep and their wool. He was VERY excited about the opportunity to share his passion with this fine group of people. He puts together a slide show with pictures of sheep, histograms, fleece samples and stories for each one. People really enjoy his presentations. ... Anyway, this group is going to PAY Bill ... and that money will go toward saving another baby in Africa through Bill's Mother-to-Child HIV Prevention program!

You can be SURE that I'll be included in that presentation of his ... as an example of the type of Shetland that he DOES NOT LIKE! BUT ... I won't care ... because ... on Sunday someone came for a visit and fell in love with ME ... :-). I can't say who that is just yet, but she might be taking me soon ... and she thinks that I am BEAUTIFUL ... ;-)

Anyway ... I get to tell you about the next country to be crossed off the list in Bill's quest to save 55 babies in Africa.

Burundi ... Life expectancy at birth - 50.81 years ... people living with HIV/AIDS - 250,000 ... deaths due to HIV/AIDS - 25,000 (2003 stats).\

49 more babies to save and we'll then have all of the countries in Africa crossed off ... and we can start again ... :-)

Happy Valentine's Day ... to my family ... :-)

Well … it is Valentine’s Day … and I don’t want to miss this opportunity to introduce you all to the REAL loves in my life. Sure, I love my sheep … but my family … I love them all ... beyond words!

We are a non-conventional family, to be sure … but no less ... a family … :-)

We phone each other often and get together when we can. We like get-togethers that centre around a meal … and food preparation. Our meals take a long time and are filled with conversation, compliments, laughter, good natured teasing, wine and love.

Sometimes we disagree … but always we love each other. We hug a lot … and try to end most visits or conversations with those three simple words … I LOVE YOU.

So here we are … my most amazing and totally wonderful family … :-)My wonderful room-mate Gene ... who moved to the middle of nowhere with me ... and puts up with me ... and my sheep ... ;-) Yah gotta love the man!

Me ... part of the family to be sure. Actually ... I love myself, too. It hasn't always been that way ... but ... I do love who I am, where I am, what I do, and what I care about. Too bad it took me the first half of my life to get to this point ... hehehe
My son Chris, and daughter-in-law Kerri. They live a little over two hours away in the BIG city of Toronto and have very busy lives, so I don't see them as often as I'd like to. Chris and Kerri, I hope that you know how deeply and totally I love you both!
My daughter Kate and son-in-law Tim live about 10 minutes away, so we get to see them more often. Above is Kate ... yah gotta love that smile!

Below is Tim ... who seems to make Kate smile ... ;-)

I love you both as well, and am thankful to have you close by. You must know that ... :-)
And this ... is my Grandpuppy, Sydney. She is a six month old Yellow Lab. Of course, she has stolen my heart as well. I love you too, Sydney!
Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

I love you!

Dad/Bill

Finally ... an Update ... :-)

Well ... it has been a while ... so here it is ... finally ... an update ... :-)

The first weekend in February I went to Michigan to hang out with my friend Stephen and his Mom. We wormed his flock and made a list of sheep that Stephen thought he might be able to part with. It was GREAT fun.

Came home to a TOTAL winter wonderland ... and lingering frigid temperatures. I will be stocking up on aerosal spray cans if this continues ... hehehe

While stuck inside due to the chill ... I have been working hard to evaluate ewes to determine which ones I will be able to part with. Seems that I own 82 ewes ... not quite all of them are bred, but ... I still HAVE that many ewes. If lambing goes well, and I am SURE that it will ... I'll likely have 20 to 30 ewe lambs that I want to keep ... what with the AI and all.

Next year, I plan to have no more than 65 ewes ... and then 45 the year after that. Hmmmmmm ... 82 plus 30 = 112 ewes/ewe lambs. That means that I need to sell 47 ewes this summer in order to reach my goal!

Soooo ... to help me to reach this goal ... what did I DO??

I bought another ewe!!!!!!!
Meet SheltrgPines Zimbelstern ... who will be coming 'home' this Spring. Is this a sickness, do you suppose?

hehehe