I made a commitment to blog more often and here with my last post on March 31st and this is the first moment of peace I have had to actually write a post. The crazy part is my last few months would require 8 posts so I am going to try and condense. I swear I do more in a day that most do in a year…

I could bore you with more medical drama but I mean seriously who the hell wants to wait 3 months to read about how my liver is failing, the number of doctors I have had to see, the rant I really want to write about insurance and drug companies prices, how many times the lab guy “thinks” he has found a vein, the increasing amount of drugs I am now taking, the life changing news I have received recently on my health or the drama of trying to write a living will… not this girl! No – I decided to tell you today about the FUN news in my always changing, never boring and loco-life.

As you all know by now – we are living in Millbrook full time. I have truly fallen in love with country living and all the craziness it entails. I mean the fact that my problem is now avoiding road kill rather than pee on the streets of NY is hysterical. Or the main number on my phone is not the mani/pedi place on the Upper West Side but is now the “Hay Guy”. I love that I say out loud at least twice a day ” I need to take shower” because I am covered in goat POOP!

Goat Hill Manor has grown.. it basically has exploded with feet – lots of 4 legged feet.

We adopted 3 mini horses in the past 3 months from Lucky Orphan Horse Rescue. How did that happen one might ask? We saw the post on FB that they needed a home, that they were related and would like to be adopted together. Since I know SO much about horses – NOT – we asked the founder Deanna to come and do a “home visit” and make sure we could handle the 3 minis at our home. She gave us the A-ok and so maybe two days later… off a trailer walked three gorgeous and sweet mini horses. I really didn’t care that we didn’t know shit about horses – I just knew they would be cared for and loved and get to live out their lives HAPPY. We named them for my grandparents and my mom – Frankie, Alicia and Angela. They are happy, they love treats, they are together, they are here to live out their best life and we LOVE them. And no, they are not available for “pony rides”.

Because we DO NOT believe in moderation of any kind around here – or maybe I should rephrase for – my husband’s sake – because I DO NOT BELIEVE IN MODERATION OF ANY KIND… we also adopted 3 lion head bunnies. They also are living in the Ritz Carlton of Bunny houses but they hate us. There is literally NO love from any of them. The run when we come. They hide when we try and play. They literally are “feed us Baby Field greens from Adams Market, give us water, give us a cat tunnel to play in and LEAVE US ALONE.” They are not cuddly, they could care less if we live or die. I am convinced they have tank tops they wear when we are not around that say “LEAVE US ALONE”. But like the horses we find them sunning in their condo complex with their legs crossed like bikini models and we have named them Rachel, Monica and Phoebe. 3 guesses for what TV show we like! They also have a name for their casa – THE FLOP HOUSE.

Finally in the world of animal hoarding… we just received our special delivery from Sunflower Farms in Maine.

I saw a facebook video over a year ago of 30+ goats in PAJAMAS, jumping all over a barn in Maine and I knew I wanted their goats. I mean who doesn’t make life decisions from Youtube….so I put our name on a waitlist probably a year ago and that year flew by because just a few months ago we were told we were first on the list to pick out new babies. At first is was supposed to just be two babies but then that turned into four. Don’t ask and I am not telling… They arrived yesterday and they are literally the cutest and LOUDEST babies I have ever seen. So far we have names – Patches, Giblet (don’t ask), Banana and we are still pondering another doozy of a name for the last nugget. They are soft and sweet and SO loving – except Patches who is the smallest and fastest little bug ever. He is determined to outrun you and every other goat in the yard. He’s so small he would make a seriously great prize fighter.

Ok so you’re all caught up on the petting zoo at Goat Hill Manor – so now onto the insanity of the “store”.

I was sitting around with a diabetes diagnosis and wondering what else I could add to my already full, breaking, overloaded plate – and what came to mind was a cute small town ice cream store – a place where the residents of Millbrook could hang on a hot, humid night with their friends and family and have an ice cream and find nostalgic candy. We were invited to open at a location that seemed great to start but after some MAJOR hiccups it didn’t work out. I mean what does a city girl know about “septic systems” and “sewer problems”. I was seriously bummed as I had put so much work into the concept and as the idiot I am had sunk a shit load of $$ into the space without knowing about these issues. I had my first experience with a Village Planning Board meeting and pleading my case – tears and all. All to no avail… but as my my mom has always taught me – stop trying to shove a circle into a square because it just means it is not supposed to happen. So I stopped shoving!!! Instead a miracle happened and the RIGHT location happened.

We love love love a local restaurant Barbaro   and they own a large building behind their restaurant where a lovely gentleman was renting it as an office. He met with us and agreed to split the space in half and voila allowed us to open Samantha’s Sweet Shoppe!!!!  

It took us about 2 weeks of removing things from the old space and rebuilding the new space (an expensive lesson) and on Friday June 28th we opened. From the custom hand illustrated wallpaper, the nostalgic candy we sell, the local ice cream and the incredibly popular soft serve “TWIST” – we are off to quite an amazing start. I sat outside over the weekend and watched families with kid’s faces covered in chocolate and knew it was exactly as it was and is supposed to be! It’s a piece of perfect in my new hometown! I am so proud of the space and the design and the location and it has my name on it! I was reminded when I was a kid – going to places like Disney or anywhere you would buy personalized keychains and cups and only ever saw “SAM”. Never a Samantha. Now it’s all I see everywhere.

The town of Millbrook have been so incredibly supportive and patient in our first “soft week open”. My friends have been so loving and kind with my almost broken heart. The employees are all residents of the town – some of the kids this is their first real job and that fills my heart even more.

So there ya go – the last three months. We inherited 10 new animals, opened an ice cream and candy store and I haven’t even told you all of it. I am off to enjoy the long holiday weekend, try not to hoard any more and continue to live my best life on Goat Hill Manor.