Hello all, just a very quick update. I'm very tired and I just want to go to bed. I stayed up last night to watch the Love Saga on the Hallmark channel. Think cheesey paperback novels all set on farms of the past. The best part of the saga was the movies went in sequential order, a continuing journey through these peoples lives. I had to record the last two movies the whole thing ended at 6:00 this morning, I made it to 2:00am.
Today we cleaned all animal housing, the goats and chickens are resting peacefully on completely clean bedding. It will last till the morning when they mess it all up again, kind of like my house. I'm in charge of the chicken coop while Joe handles the goat house, both jobs have there hazards. There is a chicken we have dubbed Pecker, nasty old bird who loves to peck ANYTHING. As I was cleaning the dropping board today she decided it would be just great to take a chunk out of my head. I'm going to eat her. Joe on the other hand was shoveling out Oreo & Brownie's side of the pen, Ore, I guess was quite fond of her mess and Joe was really ticking her off. Every time Joe bent over to scoop up shaving she would ram him as hard as possible in the backside. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Finally she got totally fed up with him and went for the front side, Joe took her down with the sleeper hold. I wish I had a camera so I could share with you how completely ridiculous a grown man looks wrestling a goat. I'm laughing so hard right now I can barely see. Ain't life grand?
Sad bit of news, we checked the bees today and both hives are now gone. My one weak hive did not survive this winter. Joe and I are trying to figure out if we should try again next year or not. I love beekeeping, I just don't know what to do.
My gardening guru/nemesis Tony has already started his pepper & eggplants. I guess I better get a move on. His plants will be 2 inches high by Monday morning. I'll start tomorrow.
Soap News! I'm almost afraid to write this in case something unexpected happens. The Frelinghuysen Arboretum of Morristown is going to feature Secret Garden in the Haggerty Education center. There will be a picture of me, a small bio and a display of 6 soap fragrances in the lobby. The soaps will be 3 ounces for $4.00 and be labeled for Friends of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum. Cool huh? I hate pictures of me, I asked if I could just put a picture of the goats, but they said no, people want to see me. God knows why. Anyway if you're around the Arboretum in April & May stop in and check it out.
Well, I've got to get some sleep, back to work tomorrow.
Good night all...
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
I have to add this little story I got today in my email from a good friend, it made me think, maybe it will mean something to you too.
Carrots, Eggs, & Coffee!
A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee. You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'
'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
This week has been relatively uneventful, a good thing in my world. The goats are well and eating way too much of their favorite hay. Two emergency trips to Tractor Supply to restock are just too much. I've go to look for a local source for hay. Bees are quiet, I hope the hive will survive this very cold winter. That little tease of a warm day makes spring seem too far way. I love the spring, everything new and fresh, the smell of the potting soil as I start all my seeds even all the mud is great.I made potting soil soap, it smells just like a big bag of seed starter when you first add the water, wonderful, probably will never sell but I love it. The chickens are laying like mad, best flock I've ever had Meyers Hatchery has wonderful birds if you're ever in the market. The weather keeps them inside a bit more, twice the clean up but think of all that fertilizer for next year. Everything is a circle, everything effects us all, I hope I can teach my children that.
I did a show a Livingston Mall, met some wonderful crafters and got some good tips. I also came up with a new table set up, but forgot the camera, it's good I think. I'm going to try and set it up again and get some pic's to share with you as soon as the snow melts. New shows so far are Normandy Park School in Morristown April 20th 6:00 till 9:00, hopefully the Green Fair here in Madison no date yet and I'm sending an application out to the Chester Craft Show, it's juried so I'll just have to wait and see if I pass inspection. I think this is the year for a Garden Party, I'd like to invite my favorite crafters to set up out back and invite anyone who'd like to stop and enjoy the garden, shop, meet the critters including baby goats and make new friends. I'm thinking late May if the yard drys up on a Friday during the day. I'll check the Farmers Almanac for a good date.
I'm talking to two different ladies who may be including my soap in their line ups for this spring, I'm very excited and hopeful we can come to a mutually agreeable and profitable arrangement. Please keep your fingers crossed.
I almost forgot, I hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day! My husband, being who he is, came up with such a unique and thoughtful gift I have to share it with you. He search his favorite place to shop...ebay and found two lovely vintage soap dishes to start my new collection. He said that when we get our store (do you love this guy?) we can make a display wall of vintage soap dishes either behind the counter or in the restroom. Too cool! I'm a very lucky girl. On that note I will end this post hoping that the adversity we face makes only coffee. I will be a breakfast blend, I like the sunrise and new beginnings.
Carrots, Eggs, & Coffee!
A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee. You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'
'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
This week has been relatively uneventful, a good thing in my world. The goats are well and eating way too much of their favorite hay. Two emergency trips to Tractor Supply to restock are just too much. I've go to look for a local source for hay. Bees are quiet, I hope the hive will survive this very cold winter. That little tease of a warm day makes spring seem too far way. I love the spring, everything new and fresh, the smell of the potting soil as I start all my seeds even all the mud is great.I made potting soil soap, it smells just like a big bag of seed starter when you first add the water, wonderful, probably will never sell but I love it. The chickens are laying like mad, best flock I've ever had Meyers Hatchery has wonderful birds if you're ever in the market. The weather keeps them inside a bit more, twice the clean up but think of all that fertilizer for next year. Everything is a circle, everything effects us all, I hope I can teach my children that.
I did a show a Livingston Mall, met some wonderful crafters and got some good tips. I also came up with a new table set up, but forgot the camera, it's good I think. I'm going to try and set it up again and get some pic's to share with you as soon as the snow melts. New shows so far are Normandy Park School in Morristown April 20th 6:00 till 9:00, hopefully the Green Fair here in Madison no date yet and I'm sending an application out to the Chester Craft Show, it's juried so I'll just have to wait and see if I pass inspection. I think this is the year for a Garden Party, I'd like to invite my favorite crafters to set up out back and invite anyone who'd like to stop and enjoy the garden, shop, meet the critters including baby goats and make new friends. I'm thinking late May if the yard drys up on a Friday during the day. I'll check the Farmers Almanac for a good date.
I'm talking to two different ladies who may be including my soap in their line ups for this spring, I'm very excited and hopeful we can come to a mutually agreeable and profitable arrangement. Please keep your fingers crossed.
I almost forgot, I hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day! My husband, being who he is, came up with such a unique and thoughtful gift I have to share it with you. He search his favorite place to shop...ebay and found two lovely vintage soap dishes to start my new collection. He said that when we get our store (do you love this guy?) we can make a display wall of vintage soap dishes either behind the counter or in the restroom. Too cool! I'm a very lucky girl. On that note I will end this post hoping that the adversity we face makes only coffee. I will be a breakfast blend, I like the sunrise and new beginnings.
Monday, February 7, 2011
It's been a long time...
I seem to have broken my promise to keep this current, I'm going to try very hard to come up with just the right schedule. Perhaps soap making Monday thru Friday, Saturday barn chores, and lastly Sunday will be for blogging? I will figure it out.
It would be impossible to recap so many months of activities so just highlights. The balance of the summer was relatively uneventful. Goats did very well, the babies are beautiful and no longer babies. I lost 1 hive of bees and the second hive was pretty weak by fall. We have our fingers crossed the hive will survive this snowy winter. The garden lays quietly waiting for spring. I have purchased sooo many seeds in hope of spring. I will start planting in the next few days. I start them in my sun parlor, (my husband's whole family calls the room that, who am I to disagree)soil, water, a space heater, plenty of sun and they will grow. Truly a miracle, something so small and insignificant creates the very plants that feed my family and friends. I'm going to try to grow a few new things this year, including potatoes, purple potatoes, how cool is that? The chickens are tremendous, the best flock I have ever own. We are still getting about a dozen eggs a day. In fact I have about 12 dozen eggs right now, they are yours if you want them, just let me know you're coming. The holiday season was tremendous, I still can't believe the response we had to our soaps and our new milk & honey lotion.
The big news is Kota, my 4 year old goat is expecting. The Saturday after Thanksgiving Kota was in season, for those of you unaccustomed to this technical term, she was in the mood for love. I called my friend Amy, better known as the goat guru, and we loaded Kota in the Astro van and drove to Stillwater to meet Spencer. You would be surprised how many people stare at an Astro van painted a great deal like the Scooby Doo mystery machine with a very excited goat staring out the back window. It made the trip even more memorable. When we arrived there were no candles, music, or quiet conversation, it was straight to business. To say the least Spencer and Kota are very good friends now.
New soap scents! I'm doing so many new fragrances for 2011. I've decided to go with categories. Florals, of course, new this year blue hydrangea & sweet pea Green Scents
bamboo & hemp (my fav), Veggie Scents tomato leaf & zucchini flower and my crazy impulse scent potting soil, it smells just like a new bag of damp dirt, I LOVE IT!!! No one else does yet, but you never know. The lotion is awesome, I'm probably not suppose to say that, but it really is! I'm doing 5 scents sweet grass, lettuce, gardeners, zucchini flower, & lemon grass sage. I put it in these 5 ounces plastic bail jars, the old fashion kind with the silver latch. Very cool.
I'll be at Livingston Mall this Sunday the 13th from 11:00 till 6:00, come visit. Check out the website secretgardensoapofmadison.com, I met a new friend who's going to help me improve the website to better reflect our business and be able to take credit cards. WooHoo! Lastly, I will do my best to update my blog and keep anyone interested up to date on the happenings here at Secret Garden.
A great read that I highly recommend "The Seasons on Henry's Farm" by Terra Brockman definitely in my top 10 books.
It would be impossible to recap so many months of activities so just highlights. The balance of the summer was relatively uneventful. Goats did very well, the babies are beautiful and no longer babies. I lost 1 hive of bees and the second hive was pretty weak by fall. We have our fingers crossed the hive will survive this snowy winter. The garden lays quietly waiting for spring. I have purchased sooo many seeds in hope of spring. I will start planting in the next few days. I start them in my sun parlor, (my husband's whole family calls the room that, who am I to disagree)soil, water, a space heater, plenty of sun and they will grow. Truly a miracle, something so small and insignificant creates the very plants that feed my family and friends. I'm going to try to grow a few new things this year, including potatoes, purple potatoes, how cool is that? The chickens are tremendous, the best flock I have ever own. We are still getting about a dozen eggs a day. In fact I have about 12 dozen eggs right now, they are yours if you want them, just let me know you're coming. The holiday season was tremendous, I still can't believe the response we had to our soaps and our new milk & honey lotion.
The big news is Kota, my 4 year old goat is expecting. The Saturday after Thanksgiving Kota was in season, for those of you unaccustomed to this technical term, she was in the mood for love. I called my friend Amy, better known as the goat guru, and we loaded Kota in the Astro van and drove to Stillwater to meet Spencer. You would be surprised how many people stare at an Astro van painted a great deal like the Scooby Doo mystery machine with a very excited goat staring out the back window. It made the trip even more memorable. When we arrived there were no candles, music, or quiet conversation, it was straight to business. To say the least Spencer and Kota are very good friends now.
New soap scents! I'm doing so many new fragrances for 2011. I've decided to go with categories. Florals, of course, new this year blue hydrangea & sweet pea Green Scents
bamboo & hemp (my fav), Veggie Scents tomato leaf & zucchini flower and my crazy impulse scent potting soil, it smells just like a new bag of damp dirt, I LOVE IT!!! No one else does yet, but you never know. The lotion is awesome, I'm probably not suppose to say that, but it really is! I'm doing 5 scents sweet grass, lettuce, gardeners, zucchini flower, & lemon grass sage. I put it in these 5 ounces plastic bail jars, the old fashion kind with the silver latch. Very cool.
I'll be at Livingston Mall this Sunday the 13th from 11:00 till 6:00, come visit. Check out the website secretgardensoapofmadison.com, I met a new friend who's going to help me improve the website to better reflect our business and be able to take credit cards. WooHoo! Lastly, I will do my best to update my blog and keep anyone interested up to date on the happenings here at Secret Garden.
A great read that I highly recommend "The Seasons on Henry's Farm" by Terra Brockman definitely in my top 10 books.
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