animals, Art, holidays, pets, Uncategorized

Goat Repair

34 Comments

The handsome fellow in the header photo is a Julbukk. We have had him for many years, and I used to leave him and two smaller goat companions  and an Austrian straw girl displayed  in the living room year round.  He used to have a lovely beard made of  wheat berries.

About four years ago we adopted  a grey tabby cat named Luna. She was very, very interested in all the goats, but especially with the biggest one. She loved wrestling all the straw figures to the floor.  She also ate all the wheat berries off the big one’s beard, leaving him the emasculated, beardless goat you see today.

We trimmed the Christmas tree this weekend, and I noticed  this straw ornament and I got an idea.

I thought that this would make a lovely goat beard, and if I took it apart and carefully inserted the sprigs under his chin,  Mr. Julbukk could be restored to his former glory.  I will wait until after Christmas,  since I need the straw ornament to fill in a bare spot on the tree.

What good ideas have you come up with lately?  Made any good repairs?  Do you have any julbukken?

 

34 thoughts on “Goat Repair”

  1. Rise and Shine Baboons,

    My life is a process of preparing for a huge household repair right now. It is my only idea, or thought, right now. I ordered packing boxes from Costco that were uniform in size for easy stacking. Those were delivered elsewhere, never arriving here, so I am now contacting their customer service who says it was delivered. Now I must get my refund.

    Clyde, perhaps this is the mystery box that your son in Idaho received?

    We collected liquor boxes yesterday, so today I will continue to pack my kitchen up. Other than this, I am out of good ideas. Or bad ideas, for that matter.

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  2. No julbukken around here… Renee, I’ve noticed your furniture in the background of a few photos lately and we really like that style. Even the chair behind the goat; very nice.

    There are some theater set pieces left over from a show that I’m going to bring home as I can add some chicken wire and they’ll make nice little fence units for chicks next spring.
    We bought a Gator this fall; one of those John Deere things with the cab and box on the back. I hadn’t planned on getting a cab; we wanted a front windshield and roof, but figured to save money by not getting a cab. Well, when the time came, all we could find was one with a cab. And you know, it’s been kinda chilly and the cab was a really good idea. I’d highly recommend it. Now, come August, I’ll let you know if I still think this was a good idea. The windows roll down, it has heat, but not AC. and I really think it will be OK. Kelly has enjoyed it more than I have.

    The theater remodeling I’ve been dealing with has proved challenging as any remodeling project is. You never know what you might find behind that wall. Friday I finished framing in a new doorway. Discovered the floor is 1/2″ off level across 4′. Wow. Got the city inspector coming today for approval of the framing; hope we pass!
    So there’s been a lot of problem solving and repairs in this process.

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    2. Nice catch, Ben. The chair in Renee’s header photo resembles the classic Stickley furniture popular early in the twentieth century. Quarter sawn oak is so rich. When I remodeled my home I learned about Stickley furniture, which was then enjoying a second crest of popularity. I couldn’t afford it, but could afford modern “mission” furniture that copied Stickley’s style. I paired the phony Stickley stuff with knockoff Tiffany lamps, as some of you might remember.

      The leaded glass cabinet is pretty, too. And that grandfather clock is massive and reeks of charm. Like Ben, I’d love your home, Renee.

      Because my brain is like a crazy hodgepodge of old memories, the grandfather clock reminds me of a bit on the old Red Skelton show. Red is rushing to catch a train in some depot. He collides with a man lugging a grandfather clock. The poor clock goes flying and smashes into rubble when it hits the floor. Dusting himself off indignantly, Red says, “Sorry about your clock, fella. Maybe you should start carrying a wristwatch like normal people.”

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        2. Stickley- I wouldn’t have come up with that name. Mission style, yes, we like that. Usually can’t afford it either. Our bed frame is mission style, but nothing else is. Our neighbors have a lot of it. I enjoy visiting it when we house sit for them.
          And yes, quarter sawn oak is my favorite!

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  3. I am constantly re-purposing things, because 1) I don’t want to go out to stores during Covid, and I hate shopping online, and 2) I don’t want to spend the $. Will try to think of some examples.

    I should get a julbukken – no, wait! I should make one from… flower stalks left in the garden?

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  4. I have two julebukke, but neither of them have seen the light of day in several years. They’re packed away in a plastic box in the basement with all my other Christmas stuff. It makes both angry and sad to think about it. Sad, because there is nothing in our house that says Christmas, at all, and angry, because I have let husband’s total lack of any kind of Christmas spirit ruin mine.

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    2. Sigh.I know a little of what you mean. Decided to do it just for myself – I’ve honed it down to my favorite stuff, and give myself multiple days to just do a little at a time. This year he even helped the first day. (That said, then I had to compromise on a few things… : )

      Here’s an idea – open the box and pick out a few things to put out – just enough to make you remember it’s December, and take a picture of it. Maybe we could have a day on the blog where we see each other’s Christmas decorations – I’ve be willing to collect Baboons’ photos and send them to Renee.

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  5. One example – we gave up on having a coffee table – it’s just too crowded. We do have a small stool that we bring over to hold beverages when we watch TV. Since we only use 2/3 of the couch and if I sit right beside Husband, I now have created an “armrest” from our chess set with a throw pillow on it.

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  6. We moved here with a table too large for our apartment. A craftsman style table with four upholstered chairs and two leaves in very good condition. She has decided to get right of it after 7 years in this apartment. Our daughter’s family decided they do not want it. So we were going to give it to our senior support charity, which runs a very nice store with lots of goof things in it. And they pick up heavy items. But right now I would have to get it out to the curb for them to pick it up. I cannot lift anything that heavy, even an end of it. So I guess it stays longer. BUT she is planning to use a 42 inch square high gate l.eg table I built. We thought our daughter was going to take it so we bought four stools for it a couple weeks ago. Now we are very crowded.
    BTW in answer to a topic a couple weeks ago, you notice who makes these decisions.

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    2. Some of you probably saw Jacque Pepin’s wife, Gloria Evelyn Augier Pépin died on Saturday. There is a very touching obituary about her on his FB page. This part made me laugh: Jacques has said frequently, “We always do things my way when we agree. But when we disagree, we do things her way.”

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  7. We have a julebukke (or as they say in this vicinity, a straw goat) around here somewhere. It used to stand by the fireplace in a previous home and anyway the cat ate its beard off. What’s the deal with cats and straw goat beards? If I laid some stalks of wheat on the floor, I don’t think the cat would pay them any attention. It’s all about the context, I guess.

    Several people I know are eschewing putting up a tree, since few people other than themselves are going to see it. We’ve done most of our usual decorating, plus I’ve put up more lights outside than on previous years. I think we both agree it feels good to acknowledge the seasons and it’s a prompt to change our frame of mind for a while.

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    1. What is with cats and straw? What is with cats and houseplants? What is with cats and Christmas trees?

      We are not doing a tree this year, but not due to COVID. We are in disarray and will leave early, when our packing and the contractor has everything he needs here. No reason to set up a tree.

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  8. Hmmmm. Been thinking of this all day and I can’t think of any good ideas or good repairs that I’ve had lately. And sad but true, no goats.

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  10. I wish I had some clever repairs to boast about, but mostly I have aspirations. I ordered a thermal fuse for my rice cooker, but haven’t yet attempted to install it. It’s on my list.

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    1. I have a bathroom scale that suddenly doesn’t function. I figured it needed new batteries, but that didn’t do the trick. Any ideas for what to try next before tossing it in the garbage?

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  12. At this stage of my life I’ve been there and done that. I now operate on these two principles: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and if it’s broke, call someone who knows how to fix it or replace it.

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