Last post of 2009!

It has been one of those years and I am glad to see it end on one hand, melancholy on the other… I learned a lot this year and I am thankful for the memories.

I learned how to make cheese this year as you know, and I learned the joys and difficulties of owning a cow.   (We get about a gallon and a half a day, so I have been making and unfortunately ruining lots of cheese!)   Right now I have cottage cheese sitting for the required 16 hours on the stove.  

I also learned how to make soap and found it to be less daunting than I expected!  (In fact I loved it!)

What was daunting was setting up the Farm Store (whose idea was that anyway??)!  But it is done, albeit with a few kinks and wrinkles, and is shoppable!  Here’s a peak at the last update before 2010!

If you happen to be interested there is a storewide sale!  20% off when you enter the code “LC2009”

Happy New Year!!!

Phatfiber Samples

The Emerald City Batts: Wool, Firestar and Glitz

The White Witch Batts: Romney, Silk and Firestar

They will be listed in the Farm Store soon.

The Other Side of Christmas

Finally we are done with all of our Christmas planning, events, and to do’s.  That means that I can do some relaxing this week.  I think I have earned it!

It is cold here in Michigan and we surrounded by snow.  I envy those who love this weather, especially since it lasts much longer than summer!   I find the dreary cold days very depressing…

and I look forward to the sun!   Mama Cow doesn’t seem to mind the cold though.  She much prefers being outside in the pasture to being left in her nice warm stall.

I will be spending the day inside updating the Farm Store a bit (today’s update is yarn!) and then a rousing game of War of the Ring with my kids.  

At the last minute…

I love Christmas but boy do I feel like I am behind the eight ball this year!   I am spending today cleaning the house and preparing the menu for our Christmas Eve party.    I love to go all out and generally buy a magazine with Christmas recipes but this year I decided to see if Allrecipes.com had what I needed.

They did!  We are having lots of yummy stuff including brie cheese (although I am sad to say that my cheesemaking skills haven’t been perfected enough to make my own).   Although, I will have to buy the brie, I do have Pepper Jack and Cheddar Cheese aging in the basement just waiting for the festive day!

I did take a bit to update the store for the last time before Christmas.   I can’t believe 2009 is almost over!!

Merry Christmas!!

The year in review…

It’s been a long, hard year (for more than just me I am afraid).   But…we made it!  And no worse for the wear!   Here are some highlights from the year:

 

It was a year of firsts…

My first chickens

My first cow

My first parrot (which turned into eight!)

and it was a year of learning….

I learned how to make cheese.

I learned the value of slow food.

I learned that now matter how much you want to give in, give up, or give out…you still have to do chores in the morning…and it’s worth it.

If there were words…

 

to adequately describe how fabulous my secret santa package from Marilla of Moonlight and Laughter was, I’d use them. 

I hope by now you have heard of Phatfiber.  I wonder if you know what a great group of women it is…

Thank you Marilla for the time you put into this package!

Dark chocolate is my favorite…

BFL in her Fire on the Mountain Colorway and it is stunning!

Milk Fiber in another beautiful colorway! 

How did she know my son broke my favorite mug?

Isn’t this a cute notepad?

oooh…..what’s this?

…salt and pepper shakers!!!

Aunt Dimity!!!  I LOVE Aunt Dimity!!!!

Handmade soap :)

and finally some pretty beads!

Wow, huh?

Milking time….

The Resident 9 year old has decided that she can milk the cow all by herself, thank you very much!

She gets the cow from the pasture, locks her the stanchion and finishes the milking in about 20 minutes.   She is very proud to be doing this all on her own!

 

 

 

 

When she finishes milking she is also in charge of straining the milk and cleaning up.   What a wonderful 9 year old!

 

Don’t worry, the barn cats are always there to supervise (and so is mom!)

I am a Secret Santa!! (among other things….)

First up (a day late!  Sorry we are buried under snow.)…

My Secret Santa package for the Phatfiber group:

Here’s what I included:

There’s the cookbook pictured above…

A Charlie Brown Christmas Coffee Mug…

 

 

 

A leaf tape measure (you really can’t have enough…I hope)..

 

 

A bag full of batt bits, there is Tussah Silk, Firestar and Merino…

 

 

 

And finally, in the corner a ball of soysilk.

 

 

 

The work on the online store is harder than I expected but I am getting there.   Soon you will be able to shop directly from www.countingsheepfarm.com.  Here is a sneak peak of some of the goodies going in the store:

Do ya want to wave?

I got in to google wave as I mentioned on my last post and I have two (just two …) invites left.   So…if you would like one just leave a comment and I will randomly select winners from those who leave a comment.   Winners will be chosen tomorrow!  Remember I need a way to contact you…

Google Wave…

What is it?   Well, I am not really sure…but I am on it!   Now if only I knew how to use it… At any rate how do you like my profile pic?

Old Man Winter

It wasn’t all that realistic I know, but…I really did hope you weren’t coming.  It is odd because my husband loves you with your blustery mornings and tempestuous snow storms.   My kids seem to enjoy you too.  In fact they are outside now, celebrating your return.  They happily donned all the required winter equipment and will probably be outside for hours.  Not me.  I will hide in the house.

I will hide in the house and occasionally glower out the window, wishing you had waited just a bit longer.  Eventually duty will call and I will trudge outside and begrudgingly acknowledge your stunning beauty.  I am sorry to be such a sourpuss but it just seemed fair that since summer never really came this year, you shouldn’t either…

Things that go bump in the night...

It is getting dark around 6:oo here in Michigan. That means I am milking Mama Cow in the dark. We have a routine so it is easily done and the shepherd has done a fabulous job building my milking parlor so it is well lit.

Milking generally goes like this: Mama cow is milked then waits in her stanchion while I run the milk into the house (safe from greedy kittens) and throw hay out in the pasture where she stays with the sheep. Then I come back to get Mama Cow and bring her back into the pasture.

All went as planned until it was time to throw the hay. As I tossed the hay over the fence I looked up and saw that about 300 yards away from me someone was standing in MY pines shining a flashlight at MY sheep! They must have heard the hay hit the ground because the flashlight suddenly went off.

Now, I am known for several things...common sense really isn't one of them. Despite the fact that it is hunting season (which means whoever it is on my property has a gun likely as not) and despite the fact that I am home alone with my kids with nothing but my fat butt for protection I decide to give the intruder(s) a piece of my mind. "Hey!" I yell and start down the path in the pitch dark to take confront the intruder(s). Luckily cooler heads prevail and it occurs to me that this isn't the smartest idea I have ever had so I turn back toward the house yelling "Todd! Someone is on our property!" Much to my relief I made it back to the house just as Todd drove in from work.

Todd drove around the perimeter of the property but didn't see anyone. We think they hid in the woods because they really had no time to get off our property in the time it took him to get the truck around even if they could run like the wind.

Honestly, we are easy to get along with...if you want to track a deer, knock on the door...but shining my sheep in the middle of the night? I don't like that so much.

Why am I doing this???

Twila and I walked out to the barn tonight, in the dark......we are both sick and neither one of us were very excited about milking mama cow. As we lean down about begin squeezing the teats, we watch the milk slowly fill the bucket and my head is pounding.

"Mama," Twila says "My head hurts and my stomach hurts......"

"I know, baby. Mine does too, but the cow has to be milked. Let's just get done as fast as we can."

The past couple of weeks have been difficult here at the farm. We have had many blessings and God is always providing but we lost one of our Icelandic Ewes.......then Nutmeg, one of my first two English Angora rabbits died.........then my sister's dog got loose and killed one of my prized Icelandic chickens. It is hard to have so many setbacks so close together. As I buried my precious hen I thought

"Why am I doing this??"

The work is hard. The day is long. The pay is non-existent. But, I can't stop. I can't give up........


I walked in tonight, strained the milk and with my head pounding sat down at my computer and read Farming in the Shade. Now I remember...........this is why I am doing this.................

Thanks again Lona. Your words always seem to come at just the right time.