Making and doing around the farm...

Just a few things I've been doing the past week.

I made some fresh plantain salve. It'd been awhile since I'd made any. And I'll be heading back to the farmers market this Saturday. So I thought I better have fresh stuff to take. I need more jars. I still have some in the pot. I made a dozen. So I'll get a few more boxes, because I have calendula salve to make too.

Yesterday, I made feta cheese. I am getting well over a half gallon of milk from Freja each day and we can't drink it fast enough. So I decided to make some feta. I love making feta. Then I marinade it in olive oil with garlic and herbs. SO good! This will be ready Saturday. Already have some sold.

This is the calendula petals infusing in olive oil. I really like this salve. I've been using it on my face the past few months and I like the results. Better than plantain. Calendula takes care of the dryness. And it's a lot gentler to use in sensitive places. Great for babies too.

I am almost finished with my Sunburst Granny square bed spread. I'll take a pic when I'm all done. I take it with me to Mrs. T's, on my days to stay with her. I have made most of it at her house. And some more at the eye doctor with my mom. And in the motel when I went to the fiber show in Townsend. So it's been around.

I have a lot of the cotton yarn left, so I decided to try to make a blouse for myself. I started yesterday. Maybe by the time I'm finished, I'll have lost more weight and can wear it. I really have no idea how to make a blouse. Just guessing at it. It'll probably be like a tank top. And very colorful!

Speaking of weight, a friend was asking me about my weight loss journey the other day. She said I should blog about it. I told her I sort of do here. But not enough. So I might just start another blog, dedicated to this new way of eating and living. Will have to think more about it though.

So here is my favorite salad. I went to 2 farmers markets Saturday. I got some fresh salad greens, romaine lettuce and spinach from one farm. Then some really nice looking beets with pretty greens. So mixed all those up with the beet greens. Then I add dried cranberries, chopped walnuts and either Gorgonzola or Blue cheese. I love Superberry fruit vinaigrette, but the store where I shop didn't have any. I got a raspberry instead. Pretty good, but too sweet for me. So this is either my lunch or dinner several times a week. I love it. Very filling too.

I need to take my new bike back to the store where I bought it. I went for a ride a few days ago and it was torture! It took forever to get up a little hill and I was exhausted. When I got home, I aired up the tires, thinking they might have been low. Then decided to check the brakes. My friend who I ride with, said last time we rode that she kept hearing my bike scraping, like the back brake pads were rubbing the rim. Well, it is. Very tightly too. No wonder it's so darn hard to ride! And I should have lost 15 pounds.

And this mess. Oh my. I don't know if I'll just have to cut it. But I was spinning, or have been spinning, this very fine Merino roving I had bought. For hours. And it broke a few times. I would always find the end. But not this time. It is nowhere to be found. I posted on the fiber art forum for help. So I tried tape, a toothbrush and a vacuum. Nothing. Someone else suggested some Tequila, which I would have drank if I'd had some. Or poured it over this and lit it on fire. VERY frustrating for sure! Has this happened to anyone else? What do you do?

I don't know if anyone else watched the Duggers on TLC. But it was one of my favorite shows. I am so bummed right now about what's happened. And the fact that it happened over 12 years ago makes it even worse. Because to me, it's in the past, Why bring up the past? They got counseling and went to the police, although a few years after the fact. But still did. I just hate that anyone in the public eye is subject to all kinds of  talk and gossip and people making assumptions about them. Like Paula Deen last year for something she said 30 something years ago. Good grief already! I am not condoning child molestation at all. It is bad. But he was 15 for crying out loud! And he got help. So did his family. Anyway, enough of this. I'm just upset about the whole thing and what people are saying about them. Just makes it worse for people who are trying to live right and be good people.

I hope you all have a wonderful day. Memorial day. Makes me think of all the men and women who fought and gave their lives for us to have the freedom we have today. Thank you all so much!

Birds

 I kept seeing birds flying into the milk room yesterday. Then saw this. A pair of barn swallows is building a nest. I love it! Now I can't wait to hear little babies soon.

These little chicks are being bad. I let them in the coop this morning because I was bringing the 4 legged creatures over. Now I guess they don't like being penned up. Mommas are not happy anout this situation at all.

In the garden this week...

I am amazed at these tomato plants! Already have little green tomatoes! And the smell so good. I love how tomato plants smell. I just go out there and rub a leaf all over my hands so I can smell it all day. They should make tomato perfume. How cool would that be? Then in the middle of a cold winter, you could spray some tomato smell on you and it would remind you of summer and a big red ripe juicy tomato! Oh my, that sounds so good!

So, my husband came out to the garden a few evenings ago, to check it out. I put him to work, like all good wives should do when their husbands wander out to the garden, right? It was cool, he had nothing else to do obviously. So I made him stake the rest of the tomatoes. He's gonna be eating these soon, so why not work a little? He did good. Now I just need to tie them up. They are growing so fast!

This is a Rutger tomato plant. I have 10 of these. I think there are 40 plants, 5 different varieties.

This is a Black Cherry plant, with little green tomatoes! I can't wait til these are ripe. They are an heirloom cherry.

This is the yellow squash, zucchini, cabbage and pepper row. The squash and zucchini just grew like weeds the past week or so. I've lost 2 hot pepper plants. Don't know why.

And the corn looks pretty good so far. I need to get some more to plant where lots didn't come up.  But haven't grown corn in a few years.So excited to get some good fresh "roastin' ears", as my husband calls them.

Looks like all the sunflower seeds I planted down the middle of the crowder peas row are coming up. That should be pretty.

It was so cold today here. I don't know what's going on, but I'm glad. Because the shearer has yet again put us off til NEXT weekend, if nothing happens. This has been going on since March. The lady up the road who has 15 Finn sheep didn't even get hers sheared at all last year. She's supposed to get her sheared by the lady doing mine. So no wool for her for 2 years. I sure hope my sheep's wool is going to be ok, waiting this long. I know I will be much better when they do finally get sheared. I have been stressing out about this for too long now. I think I will be looking for another shearing person for next year.