Cozie Blog

I’ll start with pleasant news and then move downhill from there.  First off, JAYNEE was the winner of the tote bag contest, which I completely forgot about [shame on me], but am now ready to mail out.  So if you’d be so kind as to email me your address Miss Jaynee, I’d be happy to send it out. [fellowrandomone @ gmail.com]

A couple days ago at work I spotted an older couple picking out some patio furniture, so I went over and asked if they needed any help, and then got them to sign up for a Home Depot card so they could get $25 off.  It took longer than usual due to computer issues, but they were very kind and gracious.  In an attempt to keep them entertained during the wait, I made note of the fellow’s pen, which he insisted on using instead of the cheap-o one I offered him.  His wife started bragging about how he made it and then she showed me the ones he had made for her, all out of wood.  They really were pretty, and I jokingly declared, "*I* want one!"  Their card finally got approved and I waited through line with them to make sure they got their discount and then I walked their very cozy new rocking chair out to their vehicle.  The fellow stopped me before I walked off and opened up a case full of pens he had made and then handed me one to keep.  I told him I couldn’t take it, but he insisted, saying it was his ministry and then he informed me that it was made from olive wood which came from Jerusalem.  They were just so kind through the whole thing and I almost cried.  I gave the wife a big hug and shook the man’s hand.  So maybe that wasn’t as touching to you as it was to me, but I sure liked them a lot.

Now onto the goat butchering news.  You didn’t think I would actually skip it, did you?  I’ll start off by saying that I did edit some of the pictures so they are not so gruesome, and I am even putting warnings on them before you click so that if you don’t feel like seeing a goat being gutted and carved up, you don’t have to.  Also, I don’t post these for the fun of it.  I don’t want to be accused of being heartless;  I’m just showing information.  If you’re a meat-eater, no ranting.  It’s how you get your meat.  If you’re a vegetarian, you deserve to rant, because I’d be grouchy if I was grounded from steak, too.  On to my story.

The great ROY Family came over so that Mr. Roy could show us how to do it.  Now, the fact that *he* was teaching us made it a bit more stressful, because he prefaced the whole day letting us know how a certain friend of ours (a boy) was grossed out and couldn’t hardly get himself to gut the deer he shot with a *machine gun*.  So I knew from the start that I had to be very un-girly about the whole process, or I would be in his next story.  And let me tell you, I thought I was ready until I was in the kitchen and saw my dad and him putting up a rope.  I suddenly had  a feeling that my head was rolling off my shoulders.

After eating a very large cheeseburger, I was told, "Annie, get your gun."  Again, I thought I was prepared for everything as we led two goats out to the "square", which is a bit of pasture across our pond.  I put two bullets in my gun, one for each.  Big mistake.  Always load more than what you think you need.  Let’s just say that I got a little woozy, my bullet didn’t go high enough and Mr. Roy had to grab the gun from me, shoot, reload quickly and then kill the other one.  With that bit of hysteria over, it was time to gut them.  That meant deep breath, act like you’re not grossed out, and put on that fake non-chalant smile.

A lot of "Now, take this…."  "Umm, ok, keep going?"  "Yes, keep going…."  "Ummm, deeper?"  "Yes, deeper, but don’t puncture that!" and other such things went on.  Dad held the goat up while I did the dirty work and our instructor explained that he was exactly that: instructor only.

above: gutting Z

above: gutting J

above: finishing the gutting on J

After that, we loaded the empty goats into the quad-trailer and tried to start the quad.  We have to pull-start it, like a mower and it is exhausting.  Dad wore himself out, Ryann tried it, Mr. Roy tried it.  After literally 15 minutes of this, I remembered that I had left it in reverse and it has to be in nuetral to start it.  I said in a quiet voice, "Um, is it in reverse because I backed into this spot and *thought* it popped back up, but maybe not."  Dad looked down, popped it up, and started it with one pull.  Everyone but dad about died laughing.  I felt bad, because he was sore for the rest of the day.

Anyways, after getting back to the house, Mr. Roy and dad strung up the first carcass and started skinning and cutting.  Once we got started, I was in charge of getting the meat off the legs and shoulders while they got the back straps, tenderloins and ribs.

This next picture really isn’t that gross, but it does have a carcass in the background, so I’m putting up the caution thumbnail just in case.

And, me getting meat.

We got approximately 30 lbs. of meat.  We are cooking some up right now.  I snuck a piece and it is some of the best stuff I’ve ever had.  I think I can do this whole goat-eating thing.