Goat Milk Soap, Farm Bounty

I'm doing a little advertising here for Annie (she doesn't know) at www.anniesgoathill.com and her blog is http://anniesgoathill.blogspot.com/. I've been wanting to try the goatmilk soap and lotion, and ran across her blog. SO, awhile back, I ordered some! I've already about used up one of the soaps even tho they do last longer than a regular bar of soap. I ordered some honeysuckle scented soap and lotion and some lavender scented. She also sent me a sample of plumeria.

Let me tell you, I love them! The soap lathers well and smells wonderful, and you feel squeaky-clean, not dried out. I have to hide it from my husband so he won't use it. The lotion is one of the best I've used. It slips on easily, feels smooth and satiny, and I've started wearing it under my make-up. It doesn't make me oily and feels better than my regular face lotion. When you're 52, you need all the moisterizer you can get. This is good stuff, people! Just wanted to give you the heads up. (sorry I took this picture on my un-made bed as I was running late out the door this morning!)

New topic - can you stand another post about my garden? Well, you're gunna haf to ennyway. I am having so much fun (and work) in my garden and I have been bringin home produce the last few days. Here's a pic of what I got yesterday:

I put up 5 quarts of green beans, there's onions of course, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, I dug a few new potatoes to cook with some beans, and two big Walmart bags of plums! Guess who is making plum jelly tonight!!! I do this every year. I have a little plum tree but Dad has a huge one and I make it nearly every year. Gardening and putting up stuff is a project that my Dad and I do together. I've also got plans to make my Mamaw's Spicy Pickles. I'm saving up my cucumbers AND I grew some dill this year for that little project. I also have some garlic growing and I'll add the peppers to the mix for spice!

This isn't all the bounty. I've gots lots more beans, peppers, broccoli, onions, etc., in the garden. The okra is doing well, but I didn't buy enough plants. Same for the eggplant. I'll do more next year.

I don't know if I'm at the point that I'm saving any money yet on produce. I bought alot of started seedlings and small plants this year because I don't have a place to start them. Tony says that he's going to build me a greenhouse at some point. We had lots of rain awhile back, but it's beginning to taper off and we're having to water. And when you add in all the work, I don't know if it's been very cost effective this year. We'll have to see how we can cut corners in the future, but for now, we can enjoy our home grown veggies and know where they came from and how they've been taken care of.

My plans are to photograph the jelly and pickling process and share with you. They are both great recipes that I've had much success with!Look how purty these plums are! I had to pop several in my mouth as I was washing them last night. Yum. Love em! I gotta get my jars washed and I bought Sure-Jell and new lids yesterday. I still gotta get sugar. I've got my pickling salt, dill, peppers, garlic, celery for the pickles, but will need apple cider vinegar, too.

I absolutely LOVE doing all this. I feel so old-fashioned, but I'm afraid that the younger generation is going to lose all these old skills. I hope there's enough of them out there still to keep up the old ways and keep passing them down. My daughter is not interested, but perhaps in the years to come, she'll come around. She'll feel more domestic after she marries and settles down.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Random stuff....

I promised a picture of the new young lady in Adam's life that is bringing him home to Texas more often. I think she's a doll!I ran across this photo the other day. Thought I'd share it with you. This is my daughter wearing my wedding gown & holding the veil. She found it in the closet and wanted to try it on. It's a perfect fit! Just don't notice the other kids laying on the couches, the fan in the floor and the half of a dog in the foreground. Oh yeah, the TV.This is a random shot of the side of what was once an old sand floor garage. We're using it for storage right now. We plan to pour a concrete floor in. We started to take it down and build a new metal building for a garage, but couldn't bring ourselves to do it. I'm planning a flower bed along this side with daylilies, roses and blue plumbago. I love perennials. I think the oranges of the lilies will look good with the rusty old roof. That roof still doesn't leak...A few shots of my garden (again- ya'll gettin' tired of it?) Shed in the background, sunflowers on the back right, potatoes on back left against the picket fence, corn in front of potatoes, zucchini in the foreground and peppers just the right of those.

CAn you see the tomatoes peeking out from under the leaves? So far so good this year. Last year, I found ONE of those huge light green caterpillars eating his way through one of my plants. Squashed him good! So far, none this year. Below are some green beans about ready for picking. I am trying something new to me this year. I'm staggering planting times for the green beans and peas. That way, they won't all be ready at once and I can harvest and put away in the freezer at 2 different times.

Ok, here's something I thought I'd try - I thought it'd be too hot here in Texas, but so far the broccoli is alive and kicking. I've got several plants and they all have some big heads of broccoli in them almost ready for picking. This is an older picture where they're still kinda small. Also, I had a problem with something eating the leaves, but fortunately sevin dust has taken care of that.

I'll leave you all with a couple of shots of the afternoon sky last week while I was weeding. I was hoping for rain, but we didn't get any at my particular location until a few days later. There were storms blowing up all around us - to the north, to the east and to the west. It was beautiful, it was windy, it was cooler, it was humid, there was lightning and thunder, but not a drop at our farm that day. I sure enjoyed watching the sky tho.

There's nothing like a stormy, cloudy sky to make one feel so insignificant on this big ole earth. And when the sun is trying to peak through amidst all that wonderment, it makes me think that heaven is coming down and the light of the Lord is shining on my face!

Til next time, take care my lovelies!

I Won a Giveaway!

Sorry I've been MIA the last couple of weeks - it's been crazy busy around here. Every spare minute I have (which is not many) is going to the garden. It's so relaxing and enjoyable tho! I don't know how I got to be so sweet and tasty to all the stinging critters this year - chiggers, mosquitos, little biting flies, no see-ums - you name it - it finds me! I don't think I used to be this way. I guess they're just worse. Even my husband is getting more than his usual share.

Here's one of my two wagons at the farm. Just a little bright spot. I have a red wagon, too. They both already had little rotted edges in the wagon just enough for water to drain out and not the dirt. I love 'em with flowers planted in them.

Do you see this beautiful candlestand on the dresser and the vanity? The one with the crystal on top and the pearls, the flowers, and ribbon? Aren't you envious??? Well, I am the new owner of this lovely piece of candle artistry! Sher over at Old Time Me Artist recently had a giveaway and she pulled my name from the hat! She had made a blue one, I think, and then when I won, she asked me what colors I would like - of course, it had to be pink! She's so sweet, AND so creative! I would never have thought to make something like this! It's so unique - now I gotta get over to Hobby Lobby and buy a little pillar candle to put in it - pink, I think!We had a wonderful time over the Memorial Day weekend. Adam showed up and surprised us all. It's usually several months that we go inbetween visits from him from Nashville. I wonder if a particular young lady from our town has anything to do with it??? I'll show you a picture later when I get them loaded!

Another little bright spot by the garden shed...

Meanwhile, update on the garden - I'm gonna have to pick green beans this afternoon. They are about ready. Squash will be ready by this weekend I'm sure. We'll probably have squash coming out our ears! You can only eat so much squash at one time ya know.

Here's our beans - I put up an old rotting picket fence for the beans to climb on. I think I bought pole beans. If they're bush, then so what. I still like the fence up there. It looks real 'gardeny'. (is that a word??)
Taters are doing well, corn's up about 2 feet or so, peppers are growing and I've got tomatoes, too, about to ripen. Things are going well. I sure am enjoying all ya'll's blogs and seeing what ya'll are doing this almost summer!!!

The Garden, etc.

My garden is coming along. I am posting a picture here of it not quite finished. I've since planted corn and green beans and the corn is coming up nicely. I'll get some updated photos for you soon. I've spent the last few days weeding. We had alot of rain until this week and the weeds have really loved it! You won't see my tomatoes here as I moved them over to a more sunny spot. They are in the "orchard" area, as Tony calls it. That's where his pecans, peach and plum tree are. May have to move the entire garden over there if it doesn't do well here this year!


That old fence you see in this picture is coming down soon. We are having pipe fences put up instead. I kinda like that "old timey" fence - looks real "farmy". But we're moving it out about 10 feet on that side of the house to enlarge the front yard and to give us more garden room. I still will probably have to put up some kinda wire fence, too, to keep the critters out. I'm still dealing with moles, however. They like to pull things down from underneath the garden! My dad says we have to share a little with the critters. Well, my garden is not big enough to share! I found 8 different runs yesterday weeding. We've put out traps but so far, they've eluded them and managed to spring 'em without getting caught. Another trait of sandy soil - moles...

This year I planted onions, yukon gold potatoes, some little red potatoes, purple hull peas, cucumbers, yellow & zucchini squash, a few okra just to see if they would flourish in my sandy soil, different kinds of peppers, eggplant, corn, green beans, corn, and a few broccoli (probably got em in the ground too late this year). I really didn't get to enjoy my garden much last year because of being so sick, but am really having fun with it this year.
One of our dear friends, Jay, brought Tony an oak tree to plant in honor of his dad who passed away 3 weeks ago. Some of Tony's office folks brought us a Japanese Red Maple. They wanted to give us something that would last. Tony's dad left us the farm. I really thought that was especially thoughtful to receive these trees. I'm going to have a couple of plaques made for both trees.
We're moving Princess home from college this weekend. I really dread it - the moving part - not having her back home. Her "stuff" has grown and maybe doubled since she left in August last year. We're renting a UHaul truck with her roommate's family and are going to get it all at once and bring it home. Plus we have to clean her apartment real good. Saturday's going to be a long day...

Help - I'm covered with chigger bites! Working at the farm my legs and a couple of places on my arms have unbearably itchy chigger bites that are driving me crazy. I've been using Camphophenique, but it's not helping much. I went to the CVS and they don't carry Chigger-rid anymore. I wonder if Walmart does... I couldn't hardly sleep last night for scratching! I'm using insect repellant while out there, but probably should have re-applied it. Think I'll run to Walmart at lunch...

New topic... I came across this mama donkey and baby the other day down the road from us. They actually let me get this close for a picture - didn't run away at all...

Well, I guess that's all for now. Have to scratch my chigger bites...*$*#(&@#$(*&@$^@$#

Senior Ring for Josh

Hello dear blogging buddies. Sorry I've been away for so long. We've been so busy since the funeral of my dear FIL - with his estate, with my sweet MIL, with the farm, etc. We've hardly had time to think. I think when everything hits my husband, he may crash and burn. It's been two weeks now. My MIL even with her dementia has accepted that her love is gone on to heaven. She misses him so, and wishes to be with him every day. They would have been married 60 years this September.


I just wanted to check in with you guys. I've been reading when I can at work. This has been about the only place I've been able to keep up with you. Our homelife is so busy lately with all that has gone on that I hit the door running when I get off work and fall into bed exhausted. Work is almost a refuge sometimes. It's the one place that I can sit and be on my own time, my own schedule, and nobody's hollering for me to do something. Has it ever been that way for ya'll?


On a more happy note, my middle son, Josh, received his college Senior Ring in a special ceremony last week at his university. We are so proud. It's been a long time coming as he floundered around for a couple of years before deciding what to do and how to get serious about it. He has been on the 6 year plan. (I'm being sarcastic) So we are thrilled. He won't actually graduate until next May, but we can see a light at the end of the tunnel for him (and a raise for us!)So I'll leave you with this picture of me and my handsome son. He hates having his picture made, but I think even HE was proud and didn't seem to mind this time.


Be back soon with pictures of my garden. It's going pretty well, altho I had to replant my corn and green beans... (the dove and crows have been picking at the seeds...)