Saying Goodbye to 2010 and Hello to 2011!

I'm not sure where the year went, but I know it was a year of ups and downs for us.

I've had a few days off of work. And you would think that I would be busy around here, but I've been a little on the lazy side. Of course, this cold is hanging on, and makes me tired. 

I did make a nice dinner last night, and we've had leftovers today. I love leftovers! I had two turkey drumsticks leftover from Christmas and decided to boil them down and make some broth. I added the meat from the drumsticks to the broth, and then added celery, carrots, garlic powder and onion powder, salt and pepper. I let it simmer for about 20 min. or so, just until the carrots and celery was tender. I made up some instant rice (since that was what I had on hand) and added it to the soup. It was good!

Along with the soup I made Pull-Apart Garlic Buns, I found the recipe in the newest Taste of Home magazine (it's the small magazine that has the tear out recipe cards).

Pull-Apart Garlic Buns

2-1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 pkg. (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp. shortening

1 egg

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat the milk, water

and shortening to 120-130 degrees. Add to dry ingredients; beat until just moistened. Add egg; beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic; about 6-8 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces. Shape each into a bun. Combine paprika and garlic powder. Dip each bun into melted butter, then in paprika mixture.

Place six buns in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan; sprinkle with half of the sesame seeds. Top with remaining buns and sesame seeds. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled; about 45 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

For Christmas, I received a new camera. I love it! It does so much better than my old one! :) So, I've been using it quite a bit.  With the weather being a little yucky, I haven't had too much to take pictures of. Annie, our dog was the first "volunteer". She's not to excited about having her picture taken.

Emily is always up for having her picture taken. The trick is being fast enough to get a good picture of her before she moves. Thank goodness for digital cameras!

Emily received a kids makeup kit for Christmas.

I think we need to talk about how "less is more". 

 Emily with Tiggy, our barn cat.

I've brought him in the house before, but he is just too ornery!

Emily with Annie in the barn.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Hope you have a wonderful day full of good food, family, love and a good gift or two! :-)
We'll be staying home this Christmas...thats just how it goes on a dairy farm. My dad is planning on coming early in the morning and staying for the day (hoping more than one day, if we can talk him into it!)
We went to Christmas Eve service at our church. It was wonderful. They dim the lights, and we each get a candle. Of course we sing Christmas hymns and have a couple of songs sung to us. And we have the Lord's Table (communion).
The not so fun thing about this Christmas, I have a cold. Talk about not fair! But, feeling much better this evening. I am looking forward to tucking in tonight.
Our cows will be tucked in nicely tonight, and will have Christmas music turned on also. They are spoiled girls! They even get a little extra grain on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. :)

Merry Christmas!

Our Gingerbread House

Last weekend our milk hauler and his wife left a gingerbread house kit on the milk tank for Emily.
We put the house and sleigh together, and then turned Emily loose with all the candy, and I even dug out some tubes of different colored frosting. She had a lot of fun!

We have a cookbook winner!!!

After punching in all the info over at Random.org, we have found a winner!

Kate (aka Organic Tea by Kate) was the chosen winner!!  Congratulations!

Thank you everyone who commented and have become a follower of my blog! I hope that you enjoy the recipes that I have shared. And I will continue to share recipes that I make often, along with the daily happenings on our dairy farm.

There will be other "Early Bird Reviews" throughout the coming year, and there will be a few more cookbook giveaways! So keep an eye on this blog for more chances! :-)

Recipe Review #3! Chocolate-Caramel Brownies

Here is the final Early Bird Review recipe!
And today I will be randomly drawing a name from those who have left comments on the posts that have had the "Early Bird Reviews" badge (the picture at the top of each review post that tells it is an Early Bird review).
I can't wait to pick a winner!!
I will post the winner on my Facebook pages, Gooseberry Patch's Facebook page and on this blog!

Ok...so here is the recipe!

Chocolate-Carmel Brownies

21-oz. pkg. brownie mix

16-oz. container milk chocolate frosting

6-8 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping

Optional: chopped nuts

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Let cool. Mix together frosting and ice cream topping in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds; stir and spread over brownies. Top with nuts, if desired. Makes 2-3 dozen.

This is, again, so simple to put together, and so delicious! I love to bake with my daughter, but sometimes we are pinched on time, so something that is quick to put together is perfect!

Hope that everyone is all ready for Christmas, or getting the final touches done! I'm planning on making up some Buckeyes to give out this week. We've also made up gift baskets with cheese, crackers and some other goodies and have given them out as gifts as well. 

Tomorrow afternoon is our Christmas party at work, and I'm looking forward to that!

Today, along with the yummy brownies, we're also planning on making a gingerbread house! Our milk hauler and his wife left a gingerbread house kit on our milk tank on Friday night when they picked up our milk. Emily is so excited to do this! I'll be sure to post some pictures of this! I'm sure it will be a lot of fun!

Have a great Sunday, and Good luck in the drawing! :)

Recipe Review #2 and Giveaway Reminder!

It has been so hard choosing which recipes to make, since I really want to make them all. Actually, I want to make them all in one day, and eat them all in that same day!

Tonight, I made Double Chocolate Cookies. The first batch came out of the oven, and all I can say is YUM! I will be hiding these so that they stick around for Christmas cookie trays. Easy to put together. This is what I am loving about this book, the recipes are all so easy to make, and take little time! Perfect for those who are busy!

Double Chocolate Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup butter, softened

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Garnish: additional sugar (I used white sanding sugar for extra sparkle!)

In a large bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, butter and eggs. In another bowl, whisk remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and additional sugar.

Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and combine until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Form dough into one-inch balls; roll in the additional sugar. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

Just a reminder, you can also leave me a comment on this post, as well as any post that has the "Early Bird Reviews" badge on it, and be entered to win this cookbook! You'll be receiving it before it is available in stores!

Gooseberry Patch Early Bird Review #1!!!

I have received the newest cookbook from Gooseberry Patch to do an Early Bird Review! So, I've picked out 3 wonderful recipes to make! I've already made the first recipe, and it was delicious!

The cookbook, due in stores in January, is called 101 Cupcake, Cookie & Brownie Recipes.

The recipe I've made for today's blog post is called "Luscious Banana Bars". The recipe made about 3 dozen, and guess what?? We ate them all by that evening!! I had planned on saving some to give out with my usual cookie trays. They were so yummy! The best part, they were so easy to put together, and turned out so pretty!

Luscious Banana Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups bananas, mashed

1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup baking cocoa

Beat together butter and sugar; add egg and vanilla. Blend until thoroughly combined; mix in bananas. Set aside. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; blend into banana mixture. Divide batter in half; cocoa to one half. Pour vanilla batter into a greased 13x9 inch baking pan; spoon chocolate batter on top. Cut through batters with a knife to swirl. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool; cut into bars. Makes 2-1/2 to 3 dozen.

This is a wonderful cookbook! I think I could make each thing that is in it, and I most likely will, and my goal is to make many things from this book for my cookie trays next week!

Keep checking this blog over the weekend! I plan on doing the next two recipes soon!

You can also try to win this cookbook! Just post a comment to this blog post and/or the next 2 blog posts that is about the review recipes, and your name may be picked and you will get this cookbook sent to you!

Giveaway starts....now! It will end on Sunday evening at 6 p.m. Drawing will be 7 p.m. Sunday evening.

So make sure you leave a comment and enter to win this Gooseberry Patch cookbook!

Meatloaf...Perfect Comfort Food!

Gooseberry patch has reached 50,000 fans on Facebook! So, that means the 3rd chapter in their printable online free cookbook is available! I can't wait to try some of these recipes, and for me, fall and winter is the perfect time to cook up comfort food!
Hope you enjoy these! And if you get a chance, stop by their Facebook page and become a fan! :)


25 Meatloaf Recipes by Gooseberry Patch

Thanksgiving is Getting Close!

Thanksgiving is close, and it's good to take a day to be thankful. But, I really like to think of the whole month of November as being a good time to be thankful. Even during tough times, there is always something to be thankful for. 

We've had a rough year. But I can think of so many things that I am thankful for.

Last night, as I walked to the kitchen to get a drink, I stepped on a toy dinosaur, a marble and various stuffed toys. Our house looks as though Toys R Us exploded. I could see the toys as clutter and messy. But, I'm thankful that I have a wonderful daughter to scatter her toys out. And, thankful that I have a house that can get messy.

We still have our farm, and are doing what we love. Although some changes had to be made this fall, they seem to be for the best, and we'll continue hanging in there, and we'll see how we do things come spring.

I have a job, and it's close, and enjoyable. I am able to be home with Emily for the most part. And even on my latest night working, I'm usually home no later than 8:30. That's a blessing!

Our pantry is full. We even splurged and got a turkey early for Thanksgiving. And my dad will be coming this year!!

After several years of not speaking, my dad and husband have made peace and have a good relationship.

That is just a few things that I am thankful for. I really could go on with my list.

Of course, since Thanksgiving is getting close, I'm going to share a recipe that my Grandma made every year. As a kid, I did not like sweet potatoes, so I never ate this as a kid, but remember it was something that was made. Now, I love it! Not the best for my diabetes, but I'll just have a tiny bit!

Sweet Potato Casserole

1 (16 oz. can) sweet potatoes

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 egg

4 Tbsp. melted butter

1 pkg. mini marshmallows

Grease a baking dish (8x8). Mix all ingredients except marshmallows. Place 1/2 of mixture in baking dish. Dot with about 1/2 marshmallows, then add remaining mixture. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and dot top with remaining marshmallows. Return to oven and bake about 10 minutes.

A Good "Go To" Recipe!

I have been out of the blogging loop lately! Between working and having a stomach bug and then, most recently, a cold bug, I've just not really been up to doing much online.

I posted on Facebook that we were having Delicious Drumsticks tonight for dinner, along with mashed potatoes and a veggie. I've been asked for the recipe for those drumsticks. If you like Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, you'll find this recipe in their Farmhouse Kitchen cookbook. 

Delicious Drumsticks

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. pepper

6 chicken drumsticks

1/4 cup melted & cooled margarine

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flour, salt, paprika, and pepper in a bowl (I usually use a large Zip-Loc bag). Dip chicken drumsticks into the margarine and then coat with the flour mixture. Arrange in an ungreased 8x8 baking pan. Bake uncovered for about 50 minutes.

Makes 6 drumsticks.

This is a great recipe to put together when you are in a pinch, or just want something easy. It's a definite favorite in our house!

Who Likes Chocolate Chip Cookies??

Or should I say, who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies? They are my favorite! And with holiday baking coming up, cookie recipes are a must!

Gooseberry Patch has the newest chapter of their printable cookbook online!

25 Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes by Gooseberry Patch

Where did September go???

I can't believe that tomorrow is October! I'm excited! I really like the month of October. Fall is officially here, the leaves are starting to show their colors! Our anniversary is tomorrow. It's been 10 years! Al's birthday is October 4, and my birthday is October 8. On October 10, Emily and I will be traveling to my dad's to visit with him. That week will also be the Fairfield Co. Fair, and we will be going to that while we are there.

A lot of stuff going on around here this past month.

Emily is loving school! They had "picture day" yesterday, and I'm anxious to see her pictures! Along with her class picture...I may be able to put faces to the names that she chats about when she comes home. 

I have also taken on a part time job, outside of the farming and cheese business. We're still doing what we've always done...just in this economy a part time job may add a little more income and we won't have to worry so much this winter about groceries and utilities.  I'm working at our local diner, Beallsville Diner, which in my opinion is the best place in our area to eat! I have been trained as short order cook, but am going to be trained in everything... so that I can help out wherever I'm needed. I have to say, short order cook is not easy! On a busy lunch, dinner or football Friday night, it makes milking cows look easy!  I really enjoy working there, especially since I'm actually getting the hang of what I'm supposed to be doing. During the first week there, I felt totally lost!! :)  I'm thankful that the folks I work for are working with me on my Saturdays, and I'm able to make it to the farm market and sell cheese. 

I received a letter in the mail on Tuesday! It was from Gooseberry Patch!! In January I will be receiving their newest cookbook because they used one of my recipes! I'm so excited! Al doesn't mind my collecting cookbooks when I get a few that feature one of my recipes in it! Although...I have to admit, the size of my cookbook collection is getting a bit much! But, I don't think I could part with the, and I do make use of them.

That pretty much sums up our September so far...
Our weather is really feeling like fall, today it is rainy and cool. Perfect!! And I smell coffee, so I think I'll grab myself a cup of coffee, with pumpkin flavored creamer and then head in to work.

Emily is Officially in Kindergarten!

On Monday, August 30th Emily woke up at 6 a.m.
She wanted to know if the bus was coming. The bus comes by our place at 7:30 a.m. We got her dressed, brushed her hair, made sure her lunch was packed and ready (because the chicken patty on the lunch menu sounded weird) and made sure her backpack was ready. Her backpack is almost as big as her!

We waited in the milk house for the bus around 7:15, early because she kept asking if she was going to miss the bus while we were at the house. 

The bus pulled up, I walked with her across the road and she climbed up in the bus like she had done it every day! The bus driver gave me the look that said "you can go now, mom. She's fine."  I wonder if he has more trouble with us mom's than he does with the kids. 

She's loved school each day. In fact she was really bummed out that she didn't have to go to school this weekend, or Labor Day.

The "Back to School" Countdown

Why do I hear "The Final Countdown" music playing?

So, we take Miss Emily up to the school today to meet Mrs. Hendershot, her Kindgergarten teacher...we had to practice saying Mrs. and not Mr. We also had to answer the question, "what's the difference?"

Mrs. Hendershot is a really nice lady, and it turns out that we've met her son and husband, as they've been here at our farm before buying some cheese, usually around holiday time.  Emily did great, marched through the office doors..down the hall, and to her classroom. Then we walked into the classroom. My child went from a confident little girl, to an unusual growth on my leg.  We had to literally pry her off!

The funny part is, back in March when we took her up for registration, she cried when we had to leave, she had that much fun. I'm having some really scary visions of our first day of school. She's already stated that she wants to ride the bus. Wonder if she will be getting on of her own free will? Hoping that she warms back up to the idea of school by the 30th. Fingers and toes are crossed.

I've also broke out the camera today. Well, I should admit, I actually found it. It's amazing that I lost it in the first place. I don't know how I do it, but I lose things. All the time. And forget stuff. How early does a persons mind go wandering??

We've found ourselves "blessed" with about a dozen cats. They are cute. So, I took a few pictures of the littlest one. I call her "Chubby". She is very chubby.

Emily snuggling with "Chubby's" sister. We haven't named her yet. And I doubt that

 "Chubby" will remain the other cats name...but it is sticking for now.

I took this picture of one of our "dry cows" the day before she

had her baby heifer.

A baby heifer with her Mama. She is about

2 days old in this picture.

I just can't leave out my "feathered girls". They are so tame, that the white hen

actually came in the house...more than once!

I am off to make something for our lunch tomorrow.

 We are making cheese tomorrow and I like to have our lunch made ahead of time. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Antique Shopping

I really love stopping by antique shops, junk shops, thrift stores and yard sales. You can really find some treasure at these places! Emily says that we go on a "treasure hunt" when we go.

Yesterday, after Emily and I took some time to rest and feel a little bit better, and Al made it in from morning chores, we decided to go for a ride. You can only watch so many cartoons.  I suggested we go to the Barnesville Antique mall.  There are 3 floors in this store. All crammed packed with old stuff. Mostly glassware. Really, expensive, delicate glassware. And yes, we took Emily into this store. She did great. We did not end up buying anything that was broken...whew! And she loves looking at the different colors of glassware. The depression glass was a real favorite of hers. 

We found a couple of old De Laval signs. De Laval is a company that handles milking supplies, and has for years.  The signs are collectible.  We have one already that is in our cheese house, but it's always tempting to pick up one or two more! :) We didn't...but, I did tuck one away, just in case I want to go back and pick it up. 

I did take some pictures, though they are not the best. I forgot to take my camera. What was I thinking??? But, I did remember that my phone has a camera. So, I pulled it out and took a few pics!

Emily standing in front of the rack full of doll babies.

She would've bought them all, I'm sure!

The enamelware is something I really like.

I bought a large, yellow stock pot at a flea market for $8.00, found the

exact same one here at the antique mall for $24.00. I did good!

Glass, glass and more glass. And my daughter right there close to it!

She was interested in the old baby buggies and cradles

Odd N End stuff. I could've taken hundreds of

pictures of racks full of beautiful treasures!

I've also recently been doing a little "treasure hunting" at the Goodwill in Marietta. It's amazing what you can find there. A lot of stuff I pick up there for a song, I seen at the antique mall for quite a bit! I may have to brush up on my knowledge of what is collectible and valuable. Who knows what I may run across!

I found this platter at Goodwill for about $1.00. It's really

heavy and beautiful! Can't wait to use it this Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Since we've done a small antique mall with Emily, and found that we won't break everything in sight, our next antique stop will be the River Front Antique Mall in New Philadelphia, Ohio. If you have a chance to go there, it is an amazing antique mall. It can take hours to look through it all. And, the last time we went they had a little food stand to get a bite to eat and rest your feet!

Talking about Antiques just reminded me...there is 2 new episodes of Pawn Stars on tonight.

I love seeing what old stuff (or fake stuff) people bring into this shop.

Have a great week!

Lazy Sunday

Sunday morning for us is usually busy. Morning chores, getting showers, breakfast, rushing around getting ready for church.
That was my plan for this Sunday too, but Miss Emily was up most of the night with a fever and cough. I'm not feeling the best either, but I'm mom, so I am "grinning and bearing it". 
I actually feel rested this morning. Emily and I stayed in bed longer than usual. She brought some balloons that she was given into the bedroom, and we had a "sick day" party.  That involved making the balloons float above the air conditioner, throwing them around the room, and finally putting stickers on them. We also watched more episodes of Dora, Backyardigans and Max & Ruby than I can count. 

Earlier this week I picked out one cookbook to make my grocery list by, and also made my "Recipes to Try" list. I LOVE doing this.  Yesterday after coming home from the Marietta market, we loaded up in the van and went for groceries.  So, I'm anxious to pick out one of the recipes on my list to make for lunch. I'll be sure to take some pictures and post the recipe.

Our nephew, Martin went home yesterday. He was here for 2 weeks. We miss him, but we're so excited for him to be heading to college in another week! He is an awesome kid!

Not too much exciting really happening around the farm. This time of year is pretty much the usual work stuff. Al is trying to get the last hayfield baled for 1st cutting. We are so very late getting that done. But, the stuff looks to be pretty decent regardless.  After he finishes that field, we'll be starting on our 1st hayfield again for 2nd cutting. It's pretty much ready to go. Lots of 1st cutting hay bales need to be brought in to the barn before we can get 2nd cutting to far underway.  Hoping to get our pastures mowed before fall also. 

We'll be making a batch of cheese this Wednesday. We're making consistently, though, not as frequently as we had planned.  I should know better than to plan our schedule in March! I always say that our schedule is subject to change, and it usually does change!

I think Emily and I will mosey down to the barn, check on things there. Then make some lunch and maybe get some rest this afternoon. It's been a long time since we've taken a "slow day".  I think we'll enjoy it!

Free Cookbook!!

Gooseberry Patch sent me an email awhile back that was a survey. And those who fill out the survey would be placed in a random drawing. 

I was one of the random winners! So excited! It's one of the fall cookbooks, and let me tell ya, after all this heat and humidity this summer, I am read for FALL!!

The one problem....I can't wait to make some of the yummy recipes, but my kitchen just today was near 90 degrees. I am not turning my oven or stove on. Not at all.

I also need to go through the book, and this is my favorite part, make a grocery list and a recipe list and plan my meals. I love grocery shopping. I just hate being on a very fixed income. I could have so much fun in a grocery store with an endless amount of $$. I know...who wouldn't have fun with endless $$? haha!

Now, I am patiently waiting, well, not patiently, but waiting anyway, for the newest GBP cookbooks to arrive at our local gift shops. They say it will be next month or October. That seems like too long to me.

I've noticed some fall/autumn themed items showing up slowly at the farm markets. My friend Marge just made the cutest fall apron. It will be hard not to buy it! I've seen some really cute table runners that a lady made, several fall patterns from fall leaves to Halloween. I'm  hoping to remember my camera this Friday and Saturday to I can get some pictures! I'm always amazed at the unique and beautiful things that are made here locally!

Emily received her letter this last week from her Kindergarten teacher.  We go for a school visit on the 19th. Emily is able to take most of her school supplies on that morning, and we all get to meet her teacher and see the classroom. Emily is determined to ride the bus the first day, and she'll do fine, but will I????  We know her bus driver, in fact we go to church with his wife.  We went to Wal-Mart the other evening. She picked out her Tinker Bell back pack, which I was afraid would cost a bit, ended up it was on clearance for $3. She said she saw the red sticker on it and new it was on sale. That's my girl!! Bargain shopper from the get go!

I am off for now...we have a really busy week ahead! Tomorrow I'm off to Marietta for some diabetic lab work...I do hope the poor girl can get a vein this time..both of my arms were black and blue last time. Yikes!

Have a great week!

August? Already?

Where did the time go? I just don't feel like August should be here yet. I'm not ready! I don't mind that fall is getting closer. I enjoy fall and the cooler temps. But Emily will be going to Kindergarten at the end of this month, and I am not ready for that!!! She should not be 5 yet, either.

She's hyped about school. We went and got her supplies the other evening. She thought that was just the greatest thing to do. The hard part right now is keeping her out of it. She had her booster shots done last week. That was a lot of fun. :-P  We had to hold her down. She was pretty grumpy after that. Until I surprised her with a Polly Pocket doll. I had to do that for her to make me feel better!

Our nephew, Martin is spending a couple of weeks with us. He goes to college this fall. Again, where did the time go?!? Emily thinks its great to have him here...I'm sure he enjoys playing with My Little Ponies and dolls.. haha! I'll have to get a pic of that!

Our summer has been spent on the go! Maybe that is why it is going so fast. I've been doing 2 farm markets this summer and that seems to go well. It's a wonderful chance to talk with others about what we do and that we care about what we do and our animals. 

Our milk tank went kaput at the beginning of July. So we found a new (new to us, anyway) one, it was made in 1973. That's new compared to our old one, it was made in 1957. I guess 53 years for a bulk tank is good!  Getting our old one out of the milk house, and the new one in required us to tear part of the wall out of the milk house. Once the tank was in, the hard job was getting that big tank level. It took close to 6 hours or so. The new tank is cooling so well! Our tank holds 500 gallons of milk. Our milk hauler picks our milk up every other night.  So, each milking the girls give us approx. 125 gallons of milk during the spring and summer months. 

Al was supposed to get some hay baled that was cut and raked. Unfortunately, the rain that the weatherman said wouldn't be in until this evening decided to come in this morning. So, off to run errands instead. Plus, fix the tire on our milk wagon that we haul our milk to the cheese house with. Hoping that we can get it fixed without trouble today, because we are going to be making a batch of Hill Folk Jersey tomorrow.

Beautiful Sunset

We recently had a pretty strong thunderstorm go north of us, and it made the sunset for us look so pretty!
I love thunderstorms anyway, so I'm always outside when I hear the first rumble of thunder. I know, probably not the safest thing, but I'm usually outside in all weather anyway!

I grabbed my camera, and snapped some pictures of how pretty the clouds looked.

Sometimes for me, I need to remember to slow down, and take a look at whats around me.

Just seeing the beautiful sky and clouds makes any day feel more relaxing!

Medals Arrived!

It's been just about a month since we entered our cheese in the World Jersey Cheese Awards, and the other day we went to the mailbox and there they were!

It's still feels really cool to think that our cheese competed against cheese makers from other countries!

They are made out of Jersey Pottery, so they are made right on the Island of Jersey.

I just need to see about getting a display case made for them, so I don't mess around and

break them!

I have a lot of catchng up to do, and I plan on doing that this week.

The month of July has been so busy and hectic!