Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Not A Machine

On this beautiful Sunday I have several things in the works. Part of which is good old housework (that I never get much done, and I realize it cannot be a priority), catching up with people, and feeding newborn dairy goats. Yes, it is busy, and I am tired. What am I going to do about it? Write some thoughts here, head for a power nap, and then tend to the animals. I do all of this because I want to. It is not a burden. If a part of this were a burden, I would be figuring out how to make it what it should be, a joy.

Something has been on my mind. I am not an expert, but I still feel the need to write when something sways me. I never want to lead anyone down the wrong path. Honestly, I am not trying to lead anyone, period. But when I feel strongly, I write.

A few days ago, after I said to a wonderful lady that I am close to that I was swamped, but happy, doing what I want to do, the person replied to me, “I feel like a machine.” It saddened me that someone would feel like a machine.

We are not machines, we were created to be human. We started our lives without a care, but we were made to grow, to think, but not to work so hard that we do not exist inside. When we feel like a machine we are lacking something. And it often means we need some “me time.” “Me time” could be an hour, a day, or even a regular time and place to ourselves.

Everyone deserves a hobby, or a task that makes them feel good about themselves. It will not be tasking work as long as you enjoy what you are doing. We all need healthy outlets. The outlet may be your own business (doing something that you are passionate about), exercising (and I need to do a LOT more deliberate exercise myself), time alone, sleep (but not too much)…or just doing something that uses your mind, stirs your inner-soul, and helps you to feel good about life again.

I am not going to preach, because I have no right to do that. I can only speak from my own heart. To wrap this up…if you find yourself feeling like something less than human from day to day, do something about it. Be happy. We can all do it! Serving others is not a bad thing, but make sure you serve yourself too! When I feel that weariness I begin to evaluate several things, such as, what do I need to give up? What do I need to do for myself? And what can I change? If I cannot change something for the better (and I do not try to change others), then I find a way to do what makes me feel happy otherwise. Do what is best for you, nobody else will do it for you, it is not their job!

Take care…and I hope you are having a beautiful Sunday too!

Love Those Ears

How about the ears on the wether? Thought you would smile at this one!

The first is the Orange Cream goat milk soap, cut yesterday morning. Orange with a light vanilla scented topping. Good enough to eat? I love the color.

And I am not opposed to publishing the “oopsies.” In the Annie’s Goat Hill soap shop I do not have many throw aways, seriously, a total of 4 batches since I started making soap in 2003. After contemplation, I ditched the first batch of goat milk soap last year because the lather was too sticky (not even good enough to give to a shelter, always a consideration). I “people” test each and every batch at curing. Another batch was not appealing to the nose at all, and I will guarantee it would not have been pleasant to any human being. πŸ™‚

Anyhow, I did not cut this next batch until a few minutes ago. I had to do quite the chop job on it. It was not a total throw away. The top has been slivered off, too soft, and experience tells me it would not have hardened. It no longer looked like creamed spinach, thankfully, but unfortunately it looked like dark blue or purple ink. I was able to save a few bars, and I am hoping they will be usable once cured. If anything, a special gift for someone. I call it Unripened Berries.

To say that I am fond of goats is rather an understatement. I find goats to be very interesting.

A goat can be comical, stubborn, affectionate (yes, they can), smart, sneaky and the list goes on.

I can think of no other animal that can provide friendship, milk, and even meat, as well as a goat can.

This particular doe, Cammille, a reverse spotted nubian, is one that acts like she has a mind of her own (she does), but she sneaks in the affectionate act when you are not looking. The bottle fed doeling pen is right in front of Cammille’s pen. Each day, as I bottle feed the girls, I feel the tips of a goat’s ears lightly brushing across the top of my head. And I often get the chin laid on the top of my head as well. When I look up, I get the nose against nose…but wait…this is Cammille showing affection. She is slipping! πŸ™‚ Cammille, you cannot tell in this photo, is a big strong girl. One that will be with me on the farm as long as I can take care of goats, and as long as the good Lord allows her to remain here. Her daughter, pictured in my blog post on 3/21/09, is a beauty as well, even though she is the product of a nubian/boer breeding, I am strongly considering raising her as a dairy goat. A gift to me!

If you can stand some more goat talk. I have to tell you the youngster story behind Cammille. She is fondly nic-named “Snake Eyes.” When she was young she would get this “look” in her eyes, and she would stand very still and quiet as the look crossed her face. The next thing you knew she would head butt every animal around here, hence the nic-name, the sneaky little doeling, Cammille!

Anyhow, that is my goat talk for the day.

Have a good evening!

As promised, the cutting of the soap today. I love the periwinkle blue/purple lilac soap.

Today’s soap is (to the left) orange vanilla cream (the yellow topping will eventually turn a light tan) and the second type I have not named yet. It was supposed to have been a lighter shade of green, not the color of creamed spinach. πŸ™‚ We shall see what happens as it cures!

Do you see the three batches of plain white goat milk soap?

I do not see them either. Today has been a “goofy” day, as I like to call it at times. That means it is a good day, very beautiful outside, and I feel extremely content, but something just happens at each turn of the corner. I do not believe it is because it is April Fool’s Day…but then…perhaps it is just the thought of it being that particular day, a day full of surprises.

I had decided that Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps was going to step off of the colored soap path, but today as I closed the shop door behind me, and as I sorted through the bottles of essential oils and fragrance, the color wheel started turning in my head again. It looks as if color, occasionally, is to stay. If you want a non-colored soap, I will have them in stock, if you want color, I will have those in stock as well!

Today’s soaps, left to right, are lilac, plumeria, and lavender. The color will be mainly on one end of the bar, and I am hoping for a lovely light swirl of color surprise when I cut the bars tomorrow.

There is something about tractors that grabs my attention, almost as much as barns, especially old barns. An old tractor has history under its fenders. It might have helped to plow a field, clean out a dairy barn, or perhaps helped with the family farm chores.

This is the latest tractor project, a 1956 Massey Harris Model 50. Yes, I know all of that. How I went from my office position behind 4 walls to this wonderful life is beyond me, but I absorb everything I can get because I love it.

My husband was the “driver” of the tractor. She does not run, by the way. The prior tractor owner used the Bobcat to lead the old gal out (flat tires were sunk in the ground). She went up on our friend’s trailer with ease.

I was going to make goat milk soap today, but I like to freeze the goat milk in one particular way, and I was not prepared. Tomorrow for sure!

Another tractor pic:

Due to the popularity of the sale, and due to the clearance of 3.5-3.7 ounce soaps in the the shop (the next generation of goat milk soaps are chunkier), the Brown Bag Special will continue through April.

After a great phone conversation with a customer a few days ago about her choice of soaps, I wanted to clarify that you can contact me if you want to place a Brown Bag order that contains your preference, your scent or type of goat milk soap. The ad states that the special order will contain soaps of “my choice,” but that is not set in stone. As always, I love to be of assistance, and will do what I can to provide what you might want or need, when available.

The Brown Bag special, can be ordered via a button at the bottom of my Soap Store page.

Have a great day!

I am pretty much too tired to write tonight. We went on a road trip with our good friends today and picked up a new “tractor project,” as we like to call it. Now there will be two antique tractors in our friend’s garage. When we get tired of restoring the one, we will work on the other.

We had kids throughout the weekend, 8 total. The milk is coming in good and strong now. I believe I have 5 dairy girls yet to kid.

Tomorrow I will post a few more pics of the tractor. I like the front end the best, the old grill area. This will be a long project, one that will probably take a couple of years to complete.

There are two things that seem to happen when we enter the goat kidding season. One is the Doe Code of Honor (Jennifer of Goats In The Garden) mentioned recently. This means we wait and wait, similar to the old statement about a “watched pot that never boils.”

If we are not waiting, we are being surprised, as we are today. Of course, I enjoy all of this, especially when I feel refreshed and not terribly tired. But even when I am that tired, I feel honored to be involved in such a wonderful event despite the fatique.

This year I bred the dairy girls to a boer buck. I keep my farm within certain numbers, approximately 30-35 boers, and the same number of dairy does. I love the hardiness of the nubian/boer cross, and I did not want to produce more dairy kids this year.

Many dairy farmers bottle feed their kids (calve, kid and lamb). That is my choosing. It was difficult at first, but now I appreciate knowing I am the one milking the udder, knowing the condition of each udder, knowing how much milk we are producing, and knowing that the milk is being pastuerized and is not passing along anything harmful to the dairy kids. It is a lot of work, and some day I may change my mind. For now, I still hold the dream of a large milking barn, a commercial operation, with udders that produce some mighty fine milk. And I will still make goat milk soap because that is my passion!

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started