Happy Post Thanksgiving

Yep, I'm bad again. I've been at the ranch twice since my last post. I'm preparing to move my office and life has been crazy! O.K., here goes:

My daughter, Shelby and I, spent Thanksgiving with Rick, Pati and 14 of their closest family and friends. We had planned to pick up our dear friends, Bob and Jackie, but Jackie had surgery the week prior and wasn't feeling very well. We really missed their company. Good news...Jackie is feeling better now. Everyone brought different dishes that were YUMMY! Rick's smoked turkey and Pati's Au Gratin potatoes (with REAL cheese from Switzerland) were the icing on the cake!

Great company, conversation, food, libations and......Peaches & Cream added a new cria for our entertainment :) Yep, she delivered a darling little girl just before everyone arrived. She's a brown and fawn pattern that looks like gravy atop mashed potatoes. Rick thought her name should be Taters N Gravy. Nah! What's so amazing is Peach's little girl last year looks just like this, with a different dad.

I decided to halter up Felix and show him off to everyone. Most of the people were in the house, as it was pretty cold outside. Rick opened the door, and in we walked. The only problem, though....they have tile floors. Felix lost his footing and played slip and slide and was having a hard time getting up. With Pati's help, he made it back up on all 4's and we headed back outside.
Felix was a sweetheart and let people rub his neck and top knot.

Thank you, Rick & Pati, for a great Thanksgiving Day.

Since I was there on Thanksgiving, I decided I wouldn't go Saturday as I had to clean my garage. After 2 days of cleaning, I finally finished Saturday afternoon. I was having Alpaca withdrawals and knew I couldn't wait a whole week to see them again. So, I went Sunday.
Fred had a date with a girl Saturday (drive-by breeding) and she slimed him, big time! I guess that's a no. So, Sunday, her humans brought another girl over. She really liked Fred :)
Since breeding has been suspended until December 12 for the girls that live at All American Alpacas, I took off for the fields to take pictures and spend some time with the herd. Pati Cake is very independent and doesn't spend much time with mom. Princess seems to be O.K. with that. Pati Cake likes to hang out with the boys. She, especially, seems to like Christopher and Majik. I have high hopes for her and Majik when they grow up :) There are so many new crias running around, in every color imaginable (and some colors you wouldn't imagine). I could sit on the ground and watch them all day. Check out the picture I took of Tonto :)

Rick, Pati and I took Felix, Alpha and Aerosmith for a walk. Pati was looking at Alpha's fiber and noticed, when you part it, there are patches of silver strands running through it. For awhile, we had detected some silver spots on him, but they seemed to have disappeared. Obviously, with the fiber growth, they were hidden. So, now we are back to wondering what color he is going to be. Right now he is considered light brown, but MAY turn rose gray. Holy smokes! Would that be cool, or what? I, kiddingly, said I didn't want ANOTHER rose gray. Yeah, right! His fiber is fantastic, so I think we may have a chance at some nice ribbons in 2008. After his walk, I held him while Rick trimmed his toenails.

I noticed that Star and Meg Ryan weren't joined at the hip today. They are, usually, inseparable. Maybe one, or both, of them are really pregnant. It's been a challenge for both of them (not to mention for me). They spent most of the day in separate fields. Hormones? I sure hope so.

Finished up the day helping with treats, which is one of my favorite things. I'm their best friend when I walk in the field with the blue bucket :)

Rick is leaving tomorrow for a 5000 mile transport, stopping in Northern California, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. He'll be back in about a week with Show Me The Money (Mo). My girl, Vanilla Sundae, will have her very first date with Mo in mid-December. She's ready. I'll be out at the ranch Saturday to help Pati trim teeth and toenails. I can't wait!

Wow, I almost forgot! On November 12th, we weighed Felix and Alpha. Felix: 102.5 pounds (1 year, 3 months old), Alpha: 80.7 pounds (1 year, 1 week old)