New venture

I apologize for my prolific blog entries lately, but there is so much going on right now that I can't let too much time pass in between posts. Let me start out by dazzling you with this, a bouquet of flowers picked in my garden this morning. This is what I live for – beauty, heavenly smells, nature... Taking this picture was inspired by my friend Erin from Floret Flowers. She grows the most beautiful organic flowers, and if it was up to me, she would be more famous than good old Martha Stewart-Schmooart.

The newest exciting thing that's brewing in my life this week is a new outlet for my chocolate addiction: goat milk soap with Cacao.  I've been making soap for a while now, but have never put it out into the world.  I just finished curing a batch of coco and lavender soap that I made a month ago, and I have too much of it, so I decided to sell it.  Please don't roll your eyes at me.  I know, I know... do I really need another venture?  I love this soap because it looks like a chocolate bar - good enough to bite into (which I don't recommend).  It is also very creamy, nourishing and healing, so if you are looking for a gift for a friend (or yourself), consider supporting me and my little family.  Of course the goat milk is from my precious goaties, and the calendula was grown in my own organic vegetable and herb garden.  You can buy this soap in my Etsy shop here.  If you do buy some, please don't eat it.  Wash yourself.

Other going on's this week included, of course Father's day.  Steve spent 14 hours of it on top of a tractor, mowing some of his restoration projects, getting bounced around and saddle sore.  He rented a tractor over the weekend for the cheaper rate, which means he spent two full days, literally from sun-up to sun-down, on this machine.  Do you know what it's like to inhale pollen and dust for that many hours, your spine compacting over and over again, the sun beating down on you, inhaling diesel fumes?  Well.  I feel incredibly guilty thinking of my man spending Father's day (or any day) in this manner, just so he can bring home the bacon for his family.  And does he ever complain?  No!  (Unlike his wife, who is holding down the fort at home...)  I wish they gave out medals or something for guys like my husband.

When he finally came home Monday afternoon, we sat in the garden with a chilled bottle of white wine, marveling at the fact that we were actually sitting down, relaxing!  A neighbor walked by astonished, unbelieving at the sight of us actually doing nothing.  It felt mighty nice.

This week also is "Gramma camp" week, when our neighbors' grandkids (and our kids' best friends) come up from Seattle to spend a week in the wild.  They've been here for three days, and I haven't seen my boys much since then.  They literally live up the hill where the neighbors live.  They all run wild, do art projects together, and get immersed in all sorts of activities.  It is magical for them, and it's quiet nice for me.  The house is much quieter without the boys, and Eva and I get to spend girl time together.  This morning, we had breakfast by candle light.  We also went to the river, finding snail shells, and then stopped by to check on the pigs (who are growing and growing).  She also helped me with the Greek yogurt, because she loves eating it, and because she likes watching it drain (and she likes the sound of the whey drip-dripping into the metal bowl).

I will leave you with some snapshots from the garden this week.  Have a wonderful week!

Honeysuckle taking over the house.

Honeysuckle taking over the Alder tree.

Honeysuckle taking over the neighbor's fence.  She the Ancona duck on the left?

These are Kiwi blossoms on our Kiwi trellis!  There will be lots of them this fall!

A foxglove looking foxy.

Coping strategies, blooming roses, and a call for help

When we got little piglets several weeks ago, we had no idea they would be so personable and fun. The kids like to go into their pasture and play tag and hide and seek with them. The piggies love the attention and games!  They were especially fascinated by Eva's fairy dress, the same one she has worn every day for three weeks. Eva got a little scared when the pigs investigated her purple taffeta and tried to take a bite out of it, but her brothers came to her rescue.

The little guys (I am talking about the pigs, not my kids) are thriving on the whey I feed them from cheese making. Whenever they see me coming with the bucket, they scramble over each other to reach me first. When I mix the whey with their organic barley, they squeal and squeak with joy. Whoever came up with the term “eating like a pig” got it down right. They make a lot of noises and get incredibly messy when they attack their feed bucket.  And they get to dine with a view of this - fine dining at its best:

I spent this week being very overwhelmed, sad and grateful at the same time.  Between my friend being killed in a car accident and the Skagit River bridge collapsing, I am painfully aware of how suddenly life can end.  I am trying to be rational and not get a panic attack be calm every time Steve gets in the car, and I am trying to be optimistic driving over the many bridges one has to drive over in this watery state of ours without fearing that the minivan with my kids in it will plunge into the icy water.

So in these times of stress, how do I cope? Chocolate is the first survival strategy, of course.  Since I am still trying to eat very healthfully, I am eating 85% chocolate, which feels like medicine.  None of my other family members is allowed to touch this medicine at all cost.

Knitting is another trick in the bag for my mental health .  I have been cranking out lots of socks lately, just can't get enough of making them.  What an incredibly useful and pragmatic coping strategy, don't you think?

Another way to stay sane is gardening, weeding, and smelling the roses - literally.  June is a glorious month in my garden, because my roses start blooming now.  I have lots of Old English roses, not the fussy hybrid ones, and they smell intoxicatingly heavenly.  Eva is my little gardening helper, and she and I like to wander around the flowers, smelling them.

For my Type A German workaholic personality, getting stuff done also helps my mental state.  The other day, I made some of my luscious goat milk soap.  Kai helped me cut it up after its initial hardening period, and now it will sit quietly for a month to cure.  Can you guess how much soap we go through as a farming, living-in-the dirt, scratching-pigs'-backs kind of family?

One more quick thing?  Can I share something I posted on my Facebook page, and you read through it and do what you think you can?  Here we go:

Dear friends, some of you read my blog post about my friend who died tragically in a car accident. His wife Deborah Richmond Hallenbeck just received a bill from the towing company, who towed the wrecked car her husband was killed in. They are charging $900 to this grieving woman, who also faces funeral costs and many other expenses. 

It feels weird to do this here, but I want to help out as much as I can, and so I am wondering if people feel moved to do so, they would donate money to this cause. My friend Michelle Rogers and I are collecting donations through our paypal accounts. So far, we have raised $310 by selling goats. My paypal account is corinaschaedler@yahoo.com. I am going to the memorial today at 2pm, maybe I will see some of you there. 

Thank you, and hug your loved ones today!