The girls wanted to get him something for his birthday, but he really doesn't want any material things. He's more of an experienced kind of guy. So, I came up with the idea that the girls should cook a traditional Japanese dish for supper that night. Perfect!
They decided to make nikujaga, something their families eat often (and the first thing both of them thought of when I asked for ideas). Here's the ingredient list they sent me:
G really didn't make this surprise easy on us! He kept messing up our plans. The girls and I had made plans to cut up the veggies the day before his birthday, prepping things after school before he got home from work. But G worked from home that day!
My alternative plan: sneak the ingredients to my in-laws and drop the girls off there after school. Then G volunteered to pick them up from school that day! 🤦♀️ Thankfully an errand called him away and I was able to bring the girls to Mama H's house (their name for G's mom since her name is hard for them to say) to secretly cut the vegetables. G thought they were playing foosball.
Birthday day dawned. G thought his mom was cooking vegetable lasagna for his birthday supper.
He went to work. I picked up the girls from school, again planning to drop them at Mama H's so they could finish cooking. We arrived home and prepared to go next door... Guess who was upstairs home from work already? 🤦♀️🥴
An unexpected phone call distracted him enough for the girls to sneak next door without him noticing.
And then... disaster. Our boss goat Ilsa has been lethargic and droopy the past few days. We had treated her with natural remedies, but they didn't work this time. G found her on her side in the goat shed paddling her legs unable to get up. I remember that happening when I had sheep growing up... Only one ever recovered from that. Even with those dire memories, we called a vet. He thought it was polioencephalomalacia, which is a vitamin b deficiency. It's treatable, but many times the animal is too far gone by the time you figure out what the disease is.
We rushed to TSC to buy a b supplement, both injectable and oral. We treated Ilsa at 7:15pm. Her next dose is at 11:15pm, then 3:15am. Basically every four hours until she's had six doses. We'll see what happens. This deficiency causes brain problems, so her chance of recovery depends on how much damage her brain has undergone. I'm not optimistic.
We did take a break from goat care to eat supper. It was amazing. Hohomi and Yua did a fantastic job cooking everything. Delicious rice, tasty main meal, and Japanese snacks for dessert.
After supper we went back to the shed. Ilsa was still alive. We sat with her a while. G changed into barn clothes and made himself comfortable next to her. Gerda came and laid down next to her mom. I tried not to cry...
We'll see if she makes it through the night.
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