(5/3/16) Laughter is the Best Medicine

May 3rd, 2016

I've been pondering various topics for this post, and I keep going back to the funny things that happen around here involving the Trio...then I wonder if I will be able to adequately write about these occurrences to where it's funny for my readers. Sometimes you just "had to be there," you know? Well, what's life without a little risk, am I right? So let me share a few of the funnier tales from Blaine Fleece & Fiber!

In the wide world of yarn and fiber, there are some really excellent indie makers - and some of them have the cutest names for their businesses!  one of these is Wooly Wonka Fiber - don't you just ADORE that name??? It kind of got stuck in my head, and I giggled over it for a bit, and then I thought about corresponding names for the Oompa Loompas...and then I GOT IT! Woolly Wonka and his Ewempa Loompas! And because I enjoy sharing silliness with my sheep, I went outside and told Mikey all about it - yes, I do talk to my sheep, I really hope this doesn't shock anybody at this point! So I asked Mikey, "Mikey, how about I call you Woolly Wonka, and your sisters can be your Ewempa Loompas!" Without missing a beat, Mikey sneezed on me. I kid you not - a big, sheepy sneeze, all over me. Sheep sneezes can be quite messy, and clearly Mikey was not impressed with my proposed name-change, or my silliness, so I got sneezed upon. Probably for the best as I don't think I could have convinced any of them to wear top hats or wigs:

Another funny occurrence...well, funny for me as I didn't actually have to do anything except drive the van...happened on our way back from shearing this year. The Shearing Bee at Lee's place is always interesting, and goes as smoothly as can be expected with 6 people and 26 sheep! Last time, back in October, I didn't stay with Mikey while he was being sheared, and we paid the price for that because he thrashed and was very upset - and got a very personal part of his anatomy clipped by the shears. I vowed never to let that happen again, so I stayed right with him the entire time, talking to him in my Mama-talks-to-baby-Mikey voice, reassuring him that all was well. I don't think he believed all was well, but he didn't struggle this time, so it was definitely an improvement! I did the same with Black Velvet and Panda Bear, and everybody got through shearing unscathed! What was hilarious (and quite touching, to be honest) was that Mikey was DETERMINED to get to the front seat of the van on the way home - I don't know if he just wanted away from his sisters, or if he simply wanted a different view - or if he wanted Mommy - but that sheep was Mr. Problem Boy on the way home from Lee's:

See that look on my son's face? That's the look of a tired boy, straining to hold back a 180-pound sheep from making his way to the driver's seat of the Sienna. While Mom takes pictures. Elise was a bit more cheerful about it - or else she just puts on a brave face while hilarity ensues!

Finally, I'd like to share with you just how smart my sheep are...I'm sure many of you have heard the myth that sheep are dumb animals. Much of this reputation is due to their nature as flock animals - they have very few ways to protect themselves, so when they are frightened, they flock up - they stick together, which can make it very difficult to move them out of harm's way (thus the need for herd dogs on the big sheep farms). People get frustrated with them and assume they're just stupid because of how they behave, when actually, they behave that way because eons of evolution have taught them that that is their best chance for survival in a threatening situation. But I digress...sheep are NOT dumb, and my Trio prove this quite often because...they know words. Nope, I'm not kidding. They know the words "bread" and "num nums" - when anyone says "bread," they perk up and look around for a bag of bread to magically appear, and "num nums" refers to their sweet feed that they got over the winter to add calories to their diet. If I make the mistake of uttering "num nums" now, they either look up the hill toward their feed bowls that are no longer being used, or they actually run up there, like they used to do when I would bring out their morning sweet feed. So...proof positive...the vast vocabulary of my sheep - bread and num-nums - means they are highly intelligent ovines!

I hope this post of silliness finds all of you doing well - our house is currently infested with a sinus/bronchial/blech plague, so there is much sniffling and coughing happening. You can probably understand why I'm currently looking for any kind of medicine - laughter or otherwise! Thank you for reading!!!