What do you think about when you daydream about your perfect summer? Do you think about spending your days on a quiet beach or maybe endless hours fishing on a quiet lake? For me I imagine simple pleasures of play and relaxation at home. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE a vacation away from home, but as a mother I've come to the realization there is no such thing as a vacation when you've got a small child. My duties follow me everywhere, there is no rest for a mama.
When we lived in the RV we had visitors and summer parties, but we couldn't accommodate many people, especially for more than a day. So far my favorite part of this summer has been having friends and family visit. We have had so many visitors in the last couple of weeks and it has really helped drive home the fact that we have our own space here. It is ours to share, it is warm and inviting (if you don't mind a little dust and dirt), and we give really good hugs.
This month we had an especially busy 12 days with my dad visiting. We haven't seen him in a year and a half and his 12 days here weren't nearly enough for me to get my fix, but I won't complain too much! We got a lot accomplished while he was here and I think he got to relax in between projects. I helped him put gutters on the shed that houses the chickens, and they're very grateful! He read a massive pile of books and played dinosaurs with his goofy granddaughter. He spent a couple of days clearing the overgrown banks of the creek in front of the house, and the snake sightings have already decreased! Best of all, he was able to sit and enjoy the peace and quiet of our 16 acres. He met our incredible neighbors who all seemed to enjoy chatting with him. We even had an exciting 24 hours without power the day after he arrived. My childhood was full of camping trips and the time without power was practically stress free as we just worked together like we did on one of our many camping trips. Luckily my mom gifted me a beautiful, large percolator when we first moved in, and we had a wonderful morning sipping coffee in the backyard.
When we lived in the RV we had visitors and summer parties, but we couldn't accommodate many people, especially for more than a day. So far my favorite part of this summer has been having friends and family visit. We have had so many visitors in the last couple of weeks and it has really helped drive home the fact that we have our own space here. It is ours to share, it is warm and inviting (if you don't mind a little dust and dirt), and we give really good hugs.
This month we had an especially busy 12 days with my dad visiting. We haven't seen him in a year and a half and his 12 days here weren't nearly enough for me to get my fix, but I won't complain too much! We got a lot accomplished while he was here and I think he got to relax in between projects. I helped him put gutters on the shed that houses the chickens, and they're very grateful! He read a massive pile of books and played dinosaurs with his goofy granddaughter. He spent a couple of days clearing the overgrown banks of the creek in front of the house, and the snake sightings have already decreased! Best of all, he was able to sit and enjoy the peace and quiet of our 16 acres. He met our incredible neighbors who all seemed to enjoy chatting with him. We even had an exciting 24 hours without power the day after he arrived. My childhood was full of camping trips and the time without power was practically stress free as we just worked together like we did on one of our many camping trips. Luckily my mom gifted me a beautiful, large percolator when we first moved in, and we had a wonderful morning sipping coffee in the backyard.
My dad has a "just go and do it" personality, and if something gets in the way of him accomplishing a task he always finds a way around it. His time here helped me motivate and refocus myself towards the goals that I have. His visit paired with a friendly email from a great customer asking if I could find more eco friendly packaging really motivated me to think more about the packing materials I use.
As of right now laundry powder can be purchased in quart jars or plastic bags. The jars can be refilled over and over again, and originally I planned on offering refill bags at a discount. If you've ordered a jar or jumbo can before you know I send you discount codes to use when you order refills. But, I haven't been able to find the right packaging to offer refills the way I first imagined. The plastic bags were working okay, and I started focusing on new products and many other things. Eventually, looking for the right packaging fell to the wayside and now I've picked it back up. Soon I will be offering eco friendly paper bags filled with laundry powder. You can use the bags to refill jars or keep the powder in the bags in your laundry room. Whatever works best for you. The bags are recyclable, too! I'm still working on finding the right kind of labels that won't hinder their ability to be recycled. Once I get this first set of bags ready to go I'll start looking at increasing the line into different sizes to accommodate all your personal needs.
I ask you all to have patience as I attempt to equally divide my time with family and friends, the farm, Niffer's, and just a wee bit of me time. Now with the garden producing beans and tomatoes, and more, I have to balance the time I have with things I want to do and things I need to do. For example, I need to process and can what I am growing before it spoils and the whole process is totally new to me so I am learning as I go.
While my dad was here he helped me can watermelon rind pickles, pickled beets, and sauerkraut! The beets were grown in the garden. It felt so good to dig them up, wash and process, and can them. The feeling of accomplishment was so great. The watermelons and cabbage for the kraut was grown at a local farm. My awesome neighbors loaned me their propane burner so I could can outside and what a wonderful help that was! With the daily temperature in the 90s, canning inside is out of the question!
As of right now laundry powder can be purchased in quart jars or plastic bags. The jars can be refilled over and over again, and originally I planned on offering refill bags at a discount. If you've ordered a jar or jumbo can before you know I send you discount codes to use when you order refills. But, I haven't been able to find the right packaging to offer refills the way I first imagined. The plastic bags were working okay, and I started focusing on new products and many other things. Eventually, looking for the right packaging fell to the wayside and now I've picked it back up. Soon I will be offering eco friendly paper bags filled with laundry powder. You can use the bags to refill jars or keep the powder in the bags in your laundry room. Whatever works best for you. The bags are recyclable, too! I'm still working on finding the right kind of labels that won't hinder their ability to be recycled. Once I get this first set of bags ready to go I'll start looking at increasing the line into different sizes to accommodate all your personal needs.
I ask you all to have patience as I attempt to equally divide my time with family and friends, the farm, Niffer's, and just a wee bit of me time. Now with the garden producing beans and tomatoes, and more, I have to balance the time I have with things I want to do and things I need to do. For example, I need to process and can what I am growing before it spoils and the whole process is totally new to me so I am learning as I go.
While my dad was here he helped me can watermelon rind pickles, pickled beets, and sauerkraut! The beets were grown in the garden. It felt so good to dig them up, wash and process, and can them. The feeling of accomplishment was so great. The watermelons and cabbage for the kraut was grown at a local farm. My awesome neighbors loaned me their propane burner so I could can outside and what a wonderful help that was! With the daily temperature in the 90s, canning inside is out of the question!
In other farm news, one of the chicks we raised has started to leave blue eggs in the nesting box. Our Easter Egger "Woody" has been the first of the three chicks we raised to lay eggs. The other two, Peep and Tom haven't started to lay yet, but I doubt it will be much longer. Peep is our other Easter Egger and Tom is a Rhode Island Red. Our other 4 chickens we acquired full grown and they are also Rhode Island Reds. They've been slacking on the egg laying as of late, so a future post might include a recipe for home grown chicken stew! (I'm only kind of kidding... It is why we have chickens!)
 Woody's very first egg! | Another neighboring farmer has cut our fields so he can bale it for his cows. Once he's got it all baled I think I'm going to start letting the chickens out to roam. I tried before but the grass was so high I didn't have a good line of sight to keep an eye on them. I do believe they'd appreciate the fresh pickings outside their yard! |
That's enough for today, now that we aren't expecting many more visitors I can get back into writing more often. I enjoy writing updates about what is happening around the farm and what I'm working on next for Niffer's. Many times it's all related and intertwined. Do your best to stay cool, relax, and enjoy the sunny days as much as possible!
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