10/15/2010

A Date Long Ago

In my very first post, A Quick Intro, I told you that the Builder and I had been on a date. I also hinted that I'd let you know where we'd gone.


So, I'm now ready to bare my soul. The Builder and I went to a class on....


... Pig Husbandry.


Okay, okay. You can stop laughing now. 


We were - actually, we still are - thinking of getting a couple of pigs. We'd buy them when they were young; we'd feed them up; then we'd fill our freezer.


Simple.


And none of these things are a problem to me per se. 


My problem is the months we have Pinky and Perky. I go out every day to feed them. I talk to them. I get to know them. To like them. Dare I say....to love them. 


I know how it'll go.


'Hi Pinky. How are you this morning?'


'Oh...grunt...not bad, but that wind was cold last night.'


'Aww, honey, I was thinking of you through the night. I was all cosy beside the Builder, and I couldn't but think of you guys out here in the cold.'


'Thanks, Mummy. I knew you'd be thinking of us.'


'Oh, where's Perky?'


'He's gone for a wee run. He was putting on a bit of weight, and he wants to run it off.'


'Uuhhh...run it off?'


'Yeah - you know, in this day and age, you don't wanna be ....well, putting on the beef. Well, not beef as such. But, er, you know what I mean'


Perky would then come back, sweating, but delighted over his new fitness regime.


How am I to tell them that they are supposed to get fat? That the whole reason they have come to live next door to me is...is...well, you know...to, er, get fat.


It's not for our friendly, daily chats. It's not to amuse our kids. It's not even to keep me company.


Its - you know - for the freezer. Gulp. I said it.


And now back to the original point of this post - to answer a question I'd left hanging.


Our 'date' was to a Pig Husbandry class.


It was great. But for now, we have remained a pigless family.


I wonder why.

10 comments:

  1. My big vacation within the first ten years of our marriage was to a cattle expo. No, don't be jealous!I don't mean to be bragging, but it was the ONLY vacation after our honeymoon.
    Regarding pigs, we have raised cattle here forever. We have chickens and pigs. We have also had milk goats and turkeys in the past. I think our whole family would agree that the pigs have been the least endearing. Cattle are warm and fuzzy, some you like and some you don't. Goats have distinct personalities. Chickens, well, most are just chickens. Turkeys are amazingly friendly and rather innocent. Pigs can be a handful when they get out. I find them disgusting enough that I have a whole new feel for the times when I tell a child they eat like a pig or keep their room like that. Hubby dropped a pen in the fenced area where we keep the pigs-gone!They are the easiest to ship to the "vacation" that they don't return from. Now, the movie "Babe" had me convinced that they were all little darlings. I'll stick to the movie!We will keep raising them because they grow out so quickly and there is a large customer demand for non-factory raised pork.

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  2. Haha!!

    I like the sound of Patrice's comments, pigs aren't usually cute or cuddly!! Go for it!

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  3. I just realized we started our blogs exactly one week apart (I started March 25th of this year)!
    I'm glad I found your blog, or that you found mine so I could find yours... whatever. I enjoy your blog!

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  4. Hi, Anne! It's so nice to learn about your life, esp. that you're a Christian Scot. My daughter spent 5 weeks in Scotland this past summer, and loved it. I got the sense, though, from her stories, that there weren't a lot of Christians there. So I'm encouraged to hear your story! You don't happen to know any eligible young Christian men in the 22-25 yr range, do you? :)
    Take care, Cindy

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  5. Cindy here again, from the above post. My name says it's Al b/c I used my husband's google account. And I meant to say I live in Virginia.

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  6. Oh you're all very hard on the pigs.....!

    Hi Cindy! Nice to 'meet' you. I wonder where your daughter visited in Scotland. Pity she didn't make it to Lewis, and we could have met up! Next time....! Please keep in touch

    Love, Anne x

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  7. It was good to hear from you, Anne! My daughter stayed in Glasgow; she took 2 college classes while there. She did make it to Mull and another island, and loved those, too. She definitely wants to go back some day. My husband actually has a bit of Scottish in him somewhere; our last name is Thomason. But we haven't done the genealogy or anything.

    Do you have a telling of your salvation experience on your blog? I'd love to read about it.

    Cindy

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  8. Al, If you go into the August posts (in the sidebar), you will see a post called My Testimony. I actually wondered whether I ought to post it or not....in many ways, God's dealings with us are so personal - not that we don't want to share them - quite the opposite! - but it's hard sometimes putting things online, when what we write is just going 'out there'! Hope this makes sense!
    Love, Anne x

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  9. Ahh ha ha ha. I am still laughing and thinking about your conversations with the piggies. I think I would have all the same range of emotions that you have in considering pigs. We have raised almost everything else, except pigs. I have to agree with Patrice about turkeys... very sweet and companionable... it does make them hard to well, you know...send away for vacation; We didn't drip too many tears for the geese when they well you know went away for vacation, we even had several volunteers to speed them on their way. But our daughter Marie became very attatched to one goose in particular, which she will have to post about one of these days... it was a cute story. Unfortunately around here coyotes often got our chickens, geese and ducks before they you know, went way on vacation. And as for the cows, I ask not to be told the details when they go on vacation.... they tend to break my heart. The goats luckily were used for milk, so I never feared their depature. Such fun thoughts.

    Oh, by the way, did your daughters ever create blogs, and if so, what names did they come up with?
    Much Love,
    Pam

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  10. Oh, Pam, I'd really struggle with cows too. It's the eyes.....
    I can't but laugh at the thought of Marie and the goose. I have such an image in my mind of M and her pal, the goose, waddling behind her. Too funny!

    And so far - the girls are blogless.... so little time...
    Love, Anne x

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