Earning the Sweets

Did you earn your sweets this Halloween?

Our boys trudged around the neighbourhood in the pouring rain dressed as firemen.  They were not particularly bothered by the awful weather but it made their night to encounter some real life firefighters who were also out trick or treating in the downpour.

In my opinion, these highly motivated candy collectors earned every treat that they managed to stuff in their pumpkin bags.

I, on the other hand, earned my Halloween sweets by shovelling five tonnes of gravel into my barns.  I literally moved two small mountains of rocks using my own brute strength and a heck of a lot of determination. 

I won't discount the possibility of some divine intervention too.  When you are walking a mile in your father's shoes (or in my case, shovelling a mountain in my father's boots), you can't help but feel that he is up There sending you strength, energy and perseverance.

Any treats we eat tonight are certainly well deserved!

When Gravel Teaches You a Life Lesson

I made a promise to myself today.  When somebody asks me for help, I am going to say, "Yes.  Absolutely.  I'll be right over."

Upon receiving word that my previous offer of help moving my pile of gravel back to the barns had been postponed indefinitely, I was left scrambling today to find another way to move five tonnes of rocks.  We have a big rainstorm coming and snow starting next week, so this was not a task that could wait for "indefinitely".  After racking my brain for a solution that would not cost an exorbitant amount of money nor involve me wheelbarrowing the gravel back myself, I put in a call to a kindly gentleman farmer down the road.  I do not know this man well at all but I do know that he has a big tractor.  I crossed my fingers.  His response, "Yes.  Absolutely.  I'll be over this afternoon."

The thing about asking for help is that, in my experience, people don't do it unless they feel that they really need it.  I would venture to say that most people, myself included, will go to substantial lengths to get something done themselves to avoid inconveniencing others by asking for assistance. 

So, when someone does ask for help, even if I feel like saying, "I can maybe spare an hour at the end of next month", instead I am going to say, "Yes.  Absolutely.  I'll be right over."  Because that is the kind of person I want to be.

A Slice of a Day

We all have our daily battles.

Today Seamus battled with his flu vaccination.  He was feeling brave and ready to do it, until we arrived at the doctor's office.  We had talked about the benefits of getting the shot, what it does in your body, and how it would feel like a pinch.  We recalled that he has had plenty of uneventful vaccinations throughout his life, including a flu shot every year so far.  Then Daddy, Liam, Alistair, and I all got our shots with absolutely no fuss.  Even Alistair - he did not even flinch.  Finally, it was Seamus' turn.  The nurse looked at him and he screamed like a banshee.  Everyone in the waiting room must have thought that we were murdering him.  There was crying, thrashing, wailing, you name it...oh, the drama.  "But Mama - it hurt SO bad!" Sigh.

Speaking of things that hurt, Ian injured his arm yesterday trying to start the pressure washer.  Given that it is still tender, he was not looking forward to battling the chunks of cured pork belly that he smoked yesterday into bacon slices.  Luckily, he borrowed an electric meat slicer which made the work a breeze.

My battle for today was getting all three boys and all the farm animals to bed tonight while Ian worked late.  I had to resort to TV for the older boys so I could nurse Ali to sleep and get the animals in their barns before dark.  My homemade cream of mushroom soup was a bust for dinner.

I normally do not cave to fussy children's food aversions, but it was late and everyone was tired out from fighting their respective battles.  The boys ended up eating Cheerios with bananas for supper.  They went to bed happy with the flu shot drama finally forgotten.

Goodness, what a day.  At least Alistair had a great one.

All I can say is that we had better not come down with the flu after all this!

KOKO

Just another day on the farm...

Munchin' some grain.

Smokin' some bacon.

No peeking!

Buildin' some gates.

Washin' some eggs.

Growin' some greens.

Beets.

Chard.

And the world keeps turnin' and we keep on keepin' on.

Outsourcing Lawn Maintenance

When you do not have to mow your lawn, it leaves you with lots of time to undertake other very important endeavours, such as:

Keeping warm by the fire.

Hosting a very merry un-birthday tea party (for no reason except that it is fun!).

The big boys made the un-birthday cakes.

Liam and his party guest Ralphie
(whom I sewed in home economics class in high school).

Homemade jams, jellies and scones.

Buttering a scone just right takes lots of concentration.

So does drinking tea without spilling.

The last of our garden cucumbers were put to good use.

Even Daddy got talked into sitting down for tea.

Seamus' creation.

Liam's un-birthday cake.

We served black currant tea with goat milk.

Seamus invited blue elephant, his piggy bank and a half dozen chicks to the party.

Taking a nap.

All three boys had three hour afternoon naps!
Apparently tea parties are tiring.

Making a pot of cream of chicken, leek and potato soup with fresh, just out of the oven bread.

There goes the last of our garden potatoes.

And most importantly, reflecting on what a wonderfully relaxing day it was.

Now if only I could teach the sheep to shovel snow, then we would really be in business!

The Biology Behind the Beauty

Inspired by Cheryl's suggestion for a good autumn activity for kids, the boys and I experimented with leaf chromatography today.

It was the perfect fall activity for boys who love to destroy things.  Liam picked two of each colour of leaf from the yard and cut them up into a million tiny pieces.  Seamus crushed the bits to smithereens with a pestle and mortar.  We mixed in some rubbing alcohol and set a strip of coffee filter in the mixture.  And then we waited.

Neat, huh? The boys were not super interested in the science behind chlorophyl or chromatography yet but they loved seeing the various pigments run along the strip.  They are planning to use them to construct a mobile for over Alistair's crib.  This was definitely a worthwhile activity for kids that warrants repetition when they get older and can appreciate the biology behind the beauty.

A Squeaky Clean Husband

I have always wanted to make my own soap.

Now that Martha and Mellie's milk production is in full swing, I have surplus goat milk to experiment with.  Armed with some advice from soap making guru Jayne, a Grandma-sized babysitter for Alistair, a highly reviewed goat milk soap recipe, and a strong desire to overcome my fear of working with lye, I finally felt ready to embark on my first goat milk soap making adventure.

I started the night before by freezing my raw, filtered goat milk.

Then next morning, I cut the frozen milk into chunks and slowly stirred in the lye keeping the mixture as cool as possible on a bowl of ice.

I then melted the solid oils (coconut oil and shea butter) and then mixed in the oils that are liquid at room temperature.

Using the immersion blender, I mixed everything together until the saponification process began; in soap making terminology this is called "trace".

I blended until medium trace (pudding consistency) and then poured the mixture into a silicone mold.

I let it harden enough to be removed from the mold and set the bars on a towel to cure in my closet for 6 weeks.

Here is the recipe I followed.

As with anything new, I would do a few things differently next time.

1) The recipe makes a lot; I would cut it in half.
2) I would freeze the milk in a thinner layer so it is easier to cut into chunks.
3) I need to do more research on the amount of fragrance to use to get a lasting scent - I think it is more than I used because my soap does not smell at all despite using a whole bottle of sweet orange scented oil.
4) I over-mixed because it was difficult to fill the mold properly.  I will mix to thin trace next time instead of medium.

Aside from that, things went really well for my first time.  I can definitely see how some people find soap making addictive.  I cannot wait to try again, improve my process and make "prettier" bars.  How the heck we will use of all the "imperfect" soap I make in the meantime is a really good question.  It kind of reminds me of all the "failure" loaves of bread Ian ate while I was refining my bread making skills.  I can make a mean loaf of bread now, though.  Maybe my soap making experimentation just means that, from this point forward, I will have a very clean husband.

Goat Milk Soap Recipe (I already halved the recipe for future use)

Coconut oil – 10 oz
Olive oil – 10 oz
Rice bran oil – 2.5 oz
Avocado oil – 2.5 oz
Castor oil – 2 oz
Shea butter – 2.5 oz
Sweet Almond oil – 2.5 oz

Goat’s milk – 9 oz
Lye – 4.5 oz