Finally the rain has come. Not in time to save our garden but that is ok there is always next year. We of course are stepping back and regrouping. We are still getting requests from local restaurants, etc but unfortunately there isn't much we can do for them. We haven't been able to get the green houses up that we want, yet. We were able to save quite a bit of seed from this past season so we should be pretty good to go.

I am working full time in the Crumb Stash, my best friend's new bakery. I am in charge of jellies and jams and general helping out. It has been a ton of fun to work together with her. I am also taking the time to finish my cookbook and a few other books that I have started. My web store has been moved over to Plunderhere.com. A wonderful little auction place that is growing by leaps and bounds. Family oriented and very friendly. Fees are nominal especially when compared to eBay.

Miss Claire is enjoying 3rd grade. She has absolutely wonderful teachers this year and is excelling to her full potential in school finally. She has discovered reading for fun and can be found with her nose in a book no matter where she is. She has also sprouted so that she is almost as tall as mommy. Apparently daddy has blinked and didn't realize that his baby girl (almost 9) has started growing up a bit. However, one of the neighborhood boys hasn't blinked and has been coming by to show off bike tricks and tease Claire constantly. She hasn't a clue and just thinks "he is a pain in the butt." But it is an age old story that continues whether we want it to or not. Oh he is a 4th grader. This of course is a big deal within Claire's circle of friends. Which seems to have grown this year. After so many tragedies the last few years, I can really see my happy go lucky little girl has come back to me. She has finally come to terms with the loss of her grandmothers, her sister and everything that she thought would always remain. She laughs, jokes, plays, sings (bless her heart she sings as bad as her mother), enjoys life, is back to being very artistic. It is just amazing. There is always talk of how resilient kids are. I truly believe they can only be that way with love, patience and understanding. Someone once told me that if you treat children like they are broke they always will be. To point I think this is true but they will not bounce back with out the help and understanding of their family.

Then there is Mr. Morgan. What can I say, almost 3 yrs old now. Rowdy, adventurous and extemely sure of himself. He actually made it through the night last without an accident. Potty training is coming a long pretty well. Had to explain to Mr. Mom that kids will not stop what they are doing to go potty. It's not laziness just a kid, that's why their are parents (or one of the many reasons there are parents). We have the wonderful job of making them stop to go potty. On other Morgan fronts, he is talking beautifully, no more baby talk unless he is trying to be cute. Superman is the ultimate hero, Carebears are pretty cool too (if he thinks you are being mean he will lift his shirt and do the Carebear stare). He has discovered books and loves going to the library to get a new book every week.

Well, it's a Saturday morning and other than the library and taking some pictures of our truck so we can sell it we have nothing really planned. The house is company ready, mount washmore is more of a hill now and I am going to be lazy for the first time in I don't know how long. I am going to curl up with a book and read for a bit, maybe even take a small morning nap. Then we will go to the library. We will have a late lunch early dinner, of what I have no idea but it will be good. Possibly some steak fajitas.

Enjoy your saturday!!

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I don’t think I have posted a full update in a while. At this point as far as our garden goes, the summer veggies are spent. Just not enough water for the plants no matter how much we put on the garden, we can’t complain however. It was a 1^st year garden at it’s current location. As many of you know we answered an ad in the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association newsletter and got free access to 5 acres this year. It did very well all things considered. We will spend the remainder of this year amending the soil, installing proper irrigation (not the makeshift one we have now), and designing the layout of next year’s garden. We will be installing hoop greenhouses there and fixing up our little one here at the house. The income from farmer’s market and CSA shares is missed but we have found the beginning of the substitution for it. A wonderful auction site called Plunderhere.com. The link to our farm store, that we moved over there and a referral link if you are interested in buying or selling are in my signature. We have also begun seed saving from this year’s garden so we should have plenty of seed and a lot less start up cost in the spring.

The school year is getting ready to start for young Miss Claire. She is very excited to be starting third grade. We have re-organized her bedroom, set up a desk for her and have almost finished school shopping. Her uncle and aunt will be picking both Claire and young Mr. Morgan up early tomorrow morning for a weekend of fun and shopping, visiting with their Pa-Pa and a lot more.

Mr. Morgan is growing by leaps and bounds. He is almost completely potty trained and enjoys wearing his big boy underpants now. He speaks very well for not quite 3 and has mastered the use of the computer to play his favorite Nickjr games. Right now his heroes are Superman and the Care Bears. He can identify quite a few shapes, tons of colors and is learning ABC’s and 123’s. He can count to 15, though counting to 5 is much easier for him (you know the drill you have to the count of 5 to stop or get out of whatever).

Hubby and I won’t be starting back to school this fall as planned. Financial Aid made some major mistakes and screwed up our aid completely. So we will go back in January.

I have started writing again and plan to complete one book per month, there are only about 6 started at the moment. I have moved my current eBooks from Lulu.com to my eStore on plunderhere.com.

The hens have refused to lay in this horrid heat, I honestly don’t blame them. Miss Shelby the rabbit has been spending her afternoons stretched out on the couch in the front room. Often our couch is filled with children, cats, dog and rabbit. All just chilling, napping and snuggling, yes, you read that right all of them on my couch in harmony. The cats think the rabbit is a wonderful pal, the dog honestly I think he could care less as long as he gets a corner, the kids fit in some how between all the animals. Oh and our one surviving chick from this spring has grown into a beautiful hen, who does occasionally visit inside the house as well. She thinks Miss Claire is her mommy and will sit on her shoulder. Our rooster Spurs has finally gotten all of his feathers in and is absolutely handsome, he knows it too.

Well off to finish packing the children’s bags for the weekend. Apparently they need bathing suits as well. I am not sure who is more excited my kid brother or the kids. He is not my only brother but right now the only that is either human or actually stateside.  

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Things are crazy hectic here as always. However, I did play hooking from gardening yesterday. The house kind of got cleaned and so did the front yard, it no longer looks like a disaster zone, just simply lived in with children and animals. While hubby worked outside and had child detail (today was his turn), I also got to finish another eBook, a how to build chicken coop and tractor, greenhouse and compost bin with recycled materials. Basically how we got our stuff built with minimal cash outlay. I also put in the basic materials if you can’t find recycled ones. There is a link to my lulu.com store in my signature. I have my web store back on line and my monthly newsletter might get done before next week.

 We have enjoyed the rains from Sunday’s tropical storm Barry. The ground is staying moist, garden is now really showing signs of progressing, finally. Not for a lack of keeping things watered but there is just something different about rain water. My husband thinks it might be the ionization in the clouds. Whatever the reason it was a blessing. Now mind you I am not complaining but with the ground so wet turning the last couple of acres to prep for fall crops is hard going. The ground is wet and bogs the tiller down and the riding mower gets stuck then and we spend a good 45 minutes getting it all unstuck to do it again for 30 minutes. I am not complaining remember that.

 Farmer’s Market has been a roaring success for us considering a strong lack of produce. That should change over the next few weeks, only for the better. People still have a problem realizing that we don’t have tomatoes because they aren’t in season. Produce stands and other farmer’s markets have them because they bring them in from other states or from greenhouses. Our CSA, well for our second year, I can’t complain, we have had some turn over but have a long enough waiting list that we can replace lost members. We had a few disgruntled because we skipped a week. There was no produce, we did everything in our power and don’t regret it a bit. Installing a make shift irrigation system and keeping the plants alive worked, the rain is making them grow and produce now. A few were disappointed I stopped doing baked goods unless it was a special request. Oh well, the vast majority are thrilled with their packages which are getting larger by the week. I do now understand why so many CSA’s require the season be paid for upfront. I structured ours so that people pay a membership fee and then pay weekly. I was looking at economic factors facing everyone. Well I am not changing pricing this year, cost or structure, but will do something different next year, to ensure I am not stuck with produce for CSA members that could have been sold at market. I do have a list of people to call if we have extra packages but it’s a timing thing. They are not always available when we have the produce and we strive to make sure everyone gets the freshest stuff possible.

 School is over, DD came home crying the last day because she thought she would not see any of her friends all summer long. Oh the woes of an 8 yr old. However, she has been to a birthday party already, visited with and played with friends. She goes every day to help “take care” of a friend who started the summer off with two broken arms. Morgan, well we had a break in potty training but we are now back in full swing, to the point where he gets very upset with himself if he has an accident. We bought a cheap wading pool for the kids to splash around in. We have, through freecycle, gotten a huge swing set; built them a small club house (same style as we built the chicken tractors). And we have set up a “kids only” area.

 The home gardens are just about done and the raised beds are being cleaned out and gleaned. We are going to have all of herbs and flowers growing here. It will just look much prettier and be easier to keep some of the herbs contained. We planted quite a few out at the market garden for companion planting and it seems to be working well for insects and even keeping deer away so far. Now if only I could figure out how to safely keep a couple of Nigerian Dwarf Goats I would be in heaven. We have turned the chickens completely loose, not using the tractors for now. I was worrying so much with the heat what would happen if we were out at the market garden and they ran out of water. Well, these happy ladies are laying even better, getting much plumper than before and in general enjoying life more.

 We have had some tragedies in the rabbitry and with the impending summer heat we are going down to one rabbit for now. Once we have the time to set up an automatic watering system and build a proper bunny barn we will get back into rabbits. One rabbit that we can move into the shade by the chicken coops is much easier to ensure the care of. With the cost of feed going up and several lost litters, even a doe already to heat exhaustion, we have to cut our losses. The baby chicks we bought 8 weeks ago are doing beautifully. They are growing slower than usual but we tried something different this year. We did not buy chick started. We started them out with corn meal mash, then slowly cut back on the amount of goat’s milk we added until they were eating dry. They are still getting some oatmeal mash with molasses in it. Their growth rate is similar to that of chicks raised by their momma, no started, no hormones to promote fast growth. They are all natural from the get go. They are feathering out nicely and will get nice and big soon. They are on regular cracked corn and a healthy dosage of bugs and greens in their little coop.

That's all the news that's fit to print at the moment.

Take Care and have a wonderful day!

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The end of February or so I had announced that we were forming a cooperative with a neighboring farm. Things just didn't pan out as well as expected so we are working independently. However, this has not affected our CSA members in any way shape or form. We are still rocking and rolling away.

We have peas, onions, cabbage, cut and come again salad blend, beets, swiss chard, radishes, collards, bunching onions, lettuce all coming up nicely and should be ready to start our season. We have had several delays and might see one more. We want to make sure we can fill our baskets to the brim.

DH has made the decision to work with me full time on the farm. Especially since we have acquired access to an additional 5 acres 35 minutes from the house. It has been such a joy to work day in and day out with my husband. I can't describe it. It has made things tight financially but we are being very frugal and making what we have work. We have used 99% recycled materials in building our raised beds, greenhouse and chicken coops.

We have a beautiful laying flock now and are getting tons of fresh eggs daily. We have built chicken tractors so that we can move them around the yard and keep them out of the garden. DH has made an irrigation system in the backyard. We are hoping it will work on a larger scale out at the other property.

Upon checking the gardens yesterday we did notice that melons, squash, cucumbers have started to sprout. It is so exciting and satisfying to see what you can do with your hands and see it come together. The whole family feel such a strong connection to the earth, it is as if we can feel it's energy flow through us when are working it.

Well, it's off to work I go. I will post more when I come in this afternoon to finish up some loss mitigation phone calls. We are also working as loss mitigation consultants, we try to help people save their homes from foreclosure.

Love, hugs, positive energy to everyone!!

~~Blessed Be!~~

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I am getting more and more excited as the days go by we got some beauitful composted manure. I wouldn't even it call it manure, it looks like dirt, feels like dirt, even smells like it. We have 6 raised beds filled now and ready to go. We will be putting cold weather crops out over the next 10 - 14 days.

Seeds are starting at the green house at the other co-op farm. Raspberry bushes go in the ground tomorrow, they will be hayed and covered until the danger of frost is gone. With the heavy rains the other night we were able to see that the beds drain well, there were no pools of muddy water.

Claire worked very hard today and enjoyed herself. Morgan worked and played today as well. Both are very happy and tired children. Well it's off to bed for this farm girl. Tomorrow is yet another day of hard but pleasurable work. I love playing in the dirt too and seeing everything come together.

Night all!!

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Oh my we have been busy. We have started a small cooperative with a neighboring farm (Paisley Gap). Sold all CSA shares via the co-op. Plants started in the greenhouse, rebuilding our chicken flock. Cleaning up the yard from winter muck and mud. Bought a small truck and had a very good friend of ours (who does beauitful wood working, email if you are interested in some of his work) put the sides on the back of the truck.

We are still waiting for our lady rabbits to take a breeding and actually give us some nice healthy litters. With the weather warming up this should go well from here on out. If the ladies choose not to breed well then they will have to be replaced.

We will also be suppling a local restaurant with fresh produce during the growing season and if the rabbits ever get going we will also be supplying rabbits to them as well. It is all very exciting.

We are going to also start a small landscape/lawn service this year. And we have almost completed training to become loss mitigation consultants (we will be able to try and help people stay out of foreclosure and keep their homes).

As for how we are gardening, since spring crept up faster than expected and we had some weather delays we have decided to go with lasagna gardening to get our first crops in and then work on building more raised beds as the season progresses. With warm sunny days the urge to be out playing in the dirt has become unbearable. So after a nice late breakfast we will be venturing outside to complete the first bed and have it ready for planting by tomorrow at the latest. We have enough "stuff" to protect from frosts so we should be in pretty good shape.

Oh..I guess I should explain lasagna gardening. You layer cardboard, newspaper, hay/straw/mulch whichever is on hand, then compost and then you plant. As time goes by during the season and subsequent years the soil becomes very healthy and well amended.

Ok..off to make a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, toast and eggs. I will try to post more often!!

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Well, for most people that would mean the end of the week. But there are always something going on around here. I need to take pictures of the extra cages added to Rabbit Alley. We are awaiting the go ahead on a bunny swap. We are trading our two Holland lops for a Californian Buck, named Surfer Dude and a beautiful Harlequin named Shelby. I know their current mommy very well. Dude has dated our Miss Alice before so we are hoping to hook them up again. We have decided that our Rex crew is still a bit on the immature side. I have also somehow managed to get involved with a group of meat rabbit producers who want to actually promote the industry. I know I need another project like I need another hole in my head. But I can justify the time, it will help with selling fresh fryers. J Once our production is up we will be visiting the local processing center (USDA inspected) having our fryers butchered, packaged and frozen. They will include the farm logo (when I get around to designing one),name and contact info on the packaging…we can store them in the freezer we are planning on getting.

We are also seeing a small increase in our CSA share purchase and that is probably due to the new pricing structure. I decided not to do the local farmer’s markets this year. I am however, adding a drop point in Winston Salem it looks like. Actually most of my customers are coming out of that area. Mt. Airy still has quite a few backyard gardeners though that is slowly changing as a new wave of transplants comes in. Many are from regional and northern metro areas. There is also an increase in the Hispanic population who enjoys and is used to buying their produce in open markets. It’s sad but many of the sellers at the local farmer’s market do not enjoy mixing with other cultures, not an atmosphere I want to be a part of. So other than a drop once a week in Winston I will be selling out of the front yard.

This brings me to the fairly finalized plan for what produce we will be offering. I am not done with the herb list yet but this is what I know we can get out this year for sure. J

·        Beans (several varieties)

·        Tomatoes

·        Cucumbers

·        Squash (including pumpkins)

·        Gourds

·        Greens (Spinach, Kale, Collards, etc)

·        Cabbage

·        Broccoli

·        Cauliflower

·        Peppers (hot and sweet)

·        Onions

·        Leeks

·        Potatoes (white and sweet)

·        Brussels Sprouts

·        Radishes

·        Carrots

·        Beets

·        Swiss Chard

·        Oriental Vegetables

·        Mushrooms

·        Peas (several varieties)

·        Salad Greens

·        Strawberries

·        Mulberries

·        Black Raspberries

·        Oregano

·        Thyme

·        Marjoram

·        Basil

·        Chamomile

·        Feverfew

·        Horehound

·        Savory

·        Garlic

·        Shallots

·        Mints

·        Catnip

·        Coriander/Cilantro

·        Chives

·        Dill

·        Borage

·        Parsley

·        Rosemary

·        Lavender

·        Anise

·        Sage

·        Watercress

·        Chervil

·        Lemon Balm

This weekend’s plans include cleaning the basement and getting it ready for finishing, marking out the spots for the raised beds, for terracing in the back, finalizing plans for the greenhouse, hoop greenhouses, and figuring out what to do with that back ¼ acre once we clear it. I have gathered all info and will be purchasing beneficial nematodes for pest control, ducks to help with weeding and for eggs, chickens for eggs, guineas for larger bug control (I also just happen to be weird enough to enjoy the boogers) and while we happen to have a fairly good population of red wrigglers (earthworms) I am going to purchase some anyway so that we have a decent population of them for sale for bait and to keep our compost piles in good working order.

Well, it’s time to get dinner on, still not sure what I am having, I am so lost without having planned a menu, I really need to re-do my control journal, I am going crazy without it!!!

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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We have been working to get Morgan back on a regular sleep schedule. Today we went ahead and kept him up with no nap. He fell right asleep tonight. I am trying to reclaim my house from disaster. Kitchen is almost done, living room and bathroom are near completion as well. The bedrooms won't be a very big deal those are mostly straightening. Once all of this is done we will be cleaning the carpets.

We are holding off any more outside work until after this weekend. Recovering from the holidays has been a chore. We have no plans for New Year's Eve, most years we hardly manage to stay up to see the new year come in.

Jay is adjusting to the cats being in the house. And I think he is even beginning to grow fond of them. This is a new experience for us. I leave the bedroom window open for them to go in and out.

One of my goals for ending the new year is to have my blog, farm website and partner site. This includes current pictures information etc. I am also updating my farm newsletter and adding a newsletter to my partner site. The partner site is called High Tech Homestead. We have just about solidfied plans for the farm for the new year. It looks like things are going to be going very well. I am writing up press releases for local newspapers and for some online places. Rankings in the search engines are getting better. I have also just signed up for a parnter page through google for the farm and will be doing it for the other sites as well.

I have accepted a position as a volunteer on the marketing board for Food for Everyone Foundation. That takes some time as well, I am learning the ins and outs of working with a non-profit organization. There are of course pros and cons to this type of business. But the rewards of helping others around the world are astounding.

Well, off to finish up office work and get my happy rear to bed.

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Well, there are just a few days left in 2006. First the first time in a long while I am looking forward to the new year. Webstie updates are almost complete, the first press releases are almost done. It is just moving right along. Our family is happy and healthy and very thankful for an excellent Christmas.

Well, I am going to slip back into bed for just a bit, then it is time to clean house and get it organized. Tomorrow will be the basement. Friday the rest of the outside. ;)

Blessed be!

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Merry Mote,

Good Gracious it has been so hectic here. Jay is still working in Louisiana. He will be remaining there and visiting home when he can. Looks like he will be starting training for electrician's helper in February through the IBEW training center in Baton Rouge.

The kids are both doing well. Morgan has begun potty training. Claire is excelling in school. They have adjusted well to having just mommy around though they both want their daddy. It has been an interesting time for me. We have done brief periods of seperation due to work before but this is going to be the longest stint yet.

I was swamped with orders for holiday baskets, baked goods and fudge. I have managed to get almost all my orders out. I have one more dress order to finish up and get out. And one more quilt to finish repairing for a customer.

I have almost completely re-organized the house. There are still a few things to tend to but they are getting done. The outside is really starting to come together. I am hoping to get some of my CSA customers to agree to come out and help with outside work in lieu of some of their cash payment. I will be getting free wood pallets from our local newspaper so that I can put in grow beds in the front and back. We have 1/4 acre or so in the back that needs clearing. I am hoping to use some of the pallets to make nice wooden board fencing around the property. If all goes well I may even have some goats this spring. We definitely are working on getting more chickens. I will not be doing farmer's market this year as it is hard to find day care for weird hours during the week and someone to watch on Saturdays. So we will be setting up the front yard and porch to have our own farm stand.

I am now officially part of the marketing board for the Food For Everyone Foundation. It is a volunteer position. I will be updating my farm website and my partner website High Tech Homestead to reflect this and the products offered for the foundation. All monies earned by the foundation go to fund mission projects to teach people how to grow their own food using a specific method, the Mittlieder Method.

I am making up my list now of produce and herbs that I want to grow next year. We just finished letting the last of the tomatoes ripen in a basket in the house. They have been dehydrated and put up. We had a surprise we though we lost the onions and leeks we had planted but now they too have been dehydrated and put up. There are still some lettuce volunteers popping and giving us some fresh lettuce for salads.

We will be breeding our rabbits in the early spring. We had such horribly hot weather that no one is taking at the moment. We will hopefully be able to replenish our herd of rex's and nz rex crosses this year. Right now however, they are providing our compost pile with a rich supply of manure.

Our compost pile right now consists of veggies scraps from the kitchen, rabbit bedding, rabbit manure, leaves, newsprint, coffee grounds, egg shells, tea bags. It is getting a very ripe odor to it. I didn't anything fancy, it is a pile off to the side of the yard. I turn it every couple of days. One of the other uses I will have for those wooden pallets will be to build up worm beds so I can just throw my compost stuff on top of them and let them to all the work.

My daughter has begun her own little crafty enterprise. I had obtained some used baby food jars. Well a ton of them actually. She is painting them with acrylic paints and sealing them. She has sold quite a few of them lately. I am using them for dried herbs. They make beautiful votive and tea light candle holders as well.

I learned a couple of lessons in the past week. One is very important. Do not put your dog's run out where you hang laundry, especially if you have a fairly steep slope to your back yard. Let's just EEEWWW gross. The other was more fun and will be very useful in the future. A new friend of mine gave me a drop spindle to use and gave me my first spinning lesson. Actually Claire came home from school just in time for this impromptu get together and learned as well. My friend Jody, who I met through the local freecycle yahoo group, had dropped by and we were sharing quilting work, sewing tips, general girl time chat and she brought out the spindle and some wool to work with.

Well, the house is quiet now, the children are fast asleep in their beds. The cats are coming in through the bedroom window and settling in for now. The dog has taken his spot up on my bed and is snoring softly with the occassional dispersal of a green cloud of fumes. He loves liver but it has awful side effects for the rest of us.

I am going to make up my to do list for tomorrow and a generalized list for the rest of week. Double check to make sure all clothes are laid out. Bookbag is packed and ready, snack for Claire is ready to go. Then I am going to soak in a hot tub of epsom salt, relax and take myself to bed.

Blessed be from the menagerie.

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Well, Jay is off and safely in Louisiana for work. He is missed greatly by us all. However, we are moving forward. eBay sales are picking up and we are gearing up for our holiday season here on the homestead. We are currently taking orders through the farm store for holiday baked good trays and baskets. Offering a wide variety of items including diabetic baking.

We are going full speed ahead with holiday decorations for both the home and for sale, many of which will be loaded up this weekend on to eBay. We are set and reayd and waiting for new bunnies to be born, with the weather getting so cold at night there is concern for their well being but we have good mamas so they should be ok.

We have survived Claire's illness, Morgan's teething, Claire's sprained foot and now Jay being off in Louisiana. We are not relocating or making any final decisions just yet, Claire still has about 6 and a half months of school left, so that will give us time to see how things are going.

It had been a while since I had popped in so I wanted to just give everyone an update. I will be updating our farm and eBay newsletters this week as well.

Have a great day everyone!!

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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We got through Morgan's teething, bless his heart that was rough. Just as we were getting used to sleeping again Claire came home last Wednesday very sick. Headach, sore throat, stomach ache, fever. Took her to the doctor the next morning surprise, surprise strep. She got worse and worse over the weekend. Turns out she had a virus on top of the strep, she ended up dehydrated. She had sores in her mouth and couldn't talk, eat and refused to even drink. She gave us quite a scare. We had taken her back into the doctor, she was given some pain med and cream to use. Today she woke up feeling fine, still tired but in much better spirits. She is staying home from school again tomorrow to finish recovering and we have had to postpone her birthday party.

Jay is looking at starting a new permanent job next week. He will be going to Louisiana to do post construction clean up. The area there that is seeing a huge boom in building is about 30 miles north of Katrina's path. There are houses and offices going up all over the place. So it will be just me and the kids until the end of the school year. We will have periodic visits when we can.

Morgan is speaking in 3-4 word sentences and we can understand about 80% of what he says. Right now a shoulder shrug or the plain word no seem to be his favorite responses. He doesn't walk anywhere, his little legs look like a pair of pistons going a hundred miles an hour.

I am working on my writings, which will be going up on the farm website soon. I have also opened a full fledged eBay store that is doing magnificently. This is our off season income for the farm. We haven't had a chance between illnesses, unexpected bills and what not to get our greenhouses up and going. However, we have been working the soil, by spring it should be a wonderful dark brown almost black. Granted with Jay gone it will be mainly myself working. Claire does a wonderful job when she does work, but she is only 8 yrs old, not quite ready to take on a full work load.

Some of the things we have been selling are quilt books, craft books, novels, fabric, we are starting to load up christmas items now. In the near future there will be home decor items, purses, herbs and spices, candles, soaps. eBay is giving us such a broader market it just absolutely wonderful.

Well, I am off to bed. I had a dress order come in tonight that is going to have me quite busy.

Everyone have a wonderful night!!

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Claire's foot is healing nicely. Morgan is almost done with cutting his two year molars, thank God. We are having some really good success selling craft books on eBay. Quilts are picking up, slacking off on dresses right now. I might just switch to making flannel night gowns. Birthday preparations are under way for Claire's Halloween Birthday party. I have gotten into the habit of starting weekly topics on a couple of Yahoo groups that I own, CountryFamily and FrugalHomesteading. The responses to this has been pretty good.

I have some phone calls to make tomorrow about squaring away places to set up on the weekend with baked goods and crafts and then this spring I will set up for CSA drops and produce sales. One of the next things I will do is get my newsletter going again. And I need to finish updating my website.

Those last things will be finished once I complete the reloading of software. I had a hard drive crash over the weekend. I just hate reloading software.

Well anyway, off to relax a bit for the night.

If you are interested here are the links to the current eBay sales.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Applique-Masterpiece-Little-Brown-Bird-Patterns_W0QQitemZ160041460389QQihZ006QQcategoryZ3110QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Once-Upon-a-Quilt_W0QQitemZ160041460419QQihZ006QQcategoryZ3110QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Baltimore-Beauties-and-Beyond-by-Elly-Sienkiewicz_W0QQitemZ160041383718QQihZ006QQcategoryZ3110QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Reflection-of-Baltimore_W0QQitemZ160041460429QQihZ006QQcategoryZ3110QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Snippet-Sensations-by-Cindy-Walter_W0QQitemZ160041460453QQihZ006QQcategoryZ3110QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/The-Art-of-Classic-Quiltmaking_W0QQitemZ160041460474QQihZ006QQcategoryZ3110QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Theorem-Applique-Book-II-Summer-Splendor_W0QQitemZ160041460501QQihZ006QQcategoryZ3110QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Well, luckily there is no frost this morning but it sure is cold. We need to go and get some more hay for the rabbits. They have eaten most of what was in their cage and I want them to have some for nesting as well since chilly weather has settled in. We are also going to go to Lowe's Hardware and get boxes to place over the gardens and some nice large heavy duty black plastic bags. We also need to pick the last of the tomatoes. We are going to wash them in bleach and store them in the basement. They will still ripen, but it will only be teh ones on top. A method I read about on one of my yahoo groups. So we will see how it goes.

I am also considering, after we finish cleaning the basement, of setting up a garden area down there for winter time. It is climate controlled down there and we have flourescent lighting so we should be able to get some things to grow. A small herb garden, tomatoes (taking cuttings today to root), peppers, cukes, lettuce, spinach. I am also going to move my compost containers into the basement and make sure that they are loaded with worms.

On another note, Morgan is battling 2 yr molars, he seems better today. Claire's foot is well on it's way to being mended. She is walking without crutches. When we are not looking or she doesn't think we are looking there is no limp. However, if she knows we are watching she will limp for our benefit.

The website has been updated again and will continue to be updated almost daily right now.

Well, that's all for now, need to see to the family.

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Well it's bound to happen when you have an active child. Claire and I went to the school's Fall Fling (PTO Fund Raising Carnival). I was volunteering at the clown booth (the clown was late and we never did get to see him). She had bought her tickets and went to the hot air ballon club house thing to jump. All was going well and she was having a blast with her friends. Then it happened. Someone came running to the clown booth asking for Tammy. Well there were several adults in the room with the same name. When asked for a last name I was standing hoping it wasn't my name. Sure enough it was Curry. "Your daughter fell and we think she broke her foot."

Now one must understand that the soon to be 8 yr old is very tall and uncoordinated, bless her heart she trips over her own feet most days. Well, she apparently was coming out of the jumping thing and bounced out the way she was supposed to and landed wrong on her right foot. I could see the swelling from the door of the gymnasium. Huge red bump on top and she was crying and shaking. Someone had thought to get ice to put on her foot but they didn't move her. Well, I scooped her up and headed for the car. Luckily someone came over to help me carry her the last little bit. This is no small girl.

We went home to grab the insurance card and head over to the emergency room. She got quite a bit of sympathy and loving from daddy who was staying with Morgan, who had spent the afternoon puking. We lucked out when we got to the emergency room. They had just cleared out. We were taken straight back. They gave us a room with a tv and turned it on the cartoon channel. Claire laid out on the gurney and relaxed until the doctor touched her foot. Well off to x-ray we went. They let me stay with her while they did the x-rays. The longest part of waiting was the xray results. Luckily nothing broken, some soft tissue bruising and a sprain.

Today while her foot is swollen, she is now chomping at the bit and wants to go outside. She has lost patience with being off of her foot. Finding activites for an active child who is cooped up is  quite a chore. She has colored, read 5 of her little books, started a chapter book, drawn, colored, wrote poems and painted. She keeps wanting to take a nap but isn't quite tired enough. It will get better soon enough but don't you just hate it when the kids are hurt and there isn't a whole lot you can do about it?

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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This week we are relaxing and concentrating on our home. This weekend at the Thistle Meadows Wine Tasting Festival we were a smashing success. I had stressed and worried about not having enough inventory, but it all worked out rather well.

Tomorrow we are taking 3 breeding pairs of rabbits to their new owner in Lexington, NC. Jay spread more bunny mulch on the garden yesterday. We finally bred Miss Alice to one of the bucks who is leaving tomorrow. She is a different bun today. Which is a sign that she has taken. The breeding pair of Rex's that we are keeping have been bred as well. They are due to kindle on November 3rd so on Halloween we will be putting nest boxes in.

We are making plans to get hay for the winter and to get the basement arranged for crafting and children's play area. We are hoping to get shelving up and put some kind of remanent carpet down in the play area...and maybe some dollar store tile down in the crafting area. I don't if I have posted any of this before or not. I am thinking I have. My mind is mush at the moment.

We might pick up some chickens tomorrow at the stockyard, not sure yet just need to see how things go.  :) I really miss having fresh eggs and I keep getting requests for them..so if there are some at a good price already laying, I just might go for it.  :)

Well, since I can't seem to think straight any more, I am going to call it a night. I will finish catching everyone up tomorrow night.

Don't forget to check out the updates to the farm website. www.menagerie-farm.com

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Well it was a long tiring day but a good one none the less. We sold out of all baked goods except a few loaves. We have a lot of interest for next year's CSA. Several quilt orders. Demonstrating quilting was a blast. The kids both had fun and I think even Jay had fun as well.

I will post pictures of everything and everyone as soon as I can get my camera working again. It is having memory issues.

Morgan did not take a nap but we have had no melt downs either. This is a major accomplishment for the 22 month old. The gentlemen next to us Larry Cox, a local high school science teacher in Alleghany County, raises honey bees and was there with a hive for show, a lot of sourwood honey and even some tulip poplar honey. Morgan became fasicnated watching the bee's buzz around in their glass hive.

Claire got to watch someone make baskests by hand, she was learning how to make bobbin lace and spent quite a bit of time learning about guitars and banjos and listening to JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians).

Jay kept watched over the children who ran in every direction, took care of bring food and drinks back to the table and was supportive of the whole venture. If he hadn't been there to help with the kids, it would have been a miserable failure. He has moved into the role of Mr. Mom for now, as the fall/winter projects of the farm center more in my domain of cooking and sewing. We can say that the farm is almost completely supporting us at the moment. We won't ever be rich, we don't want to be. But I honestly think that even our little 3/4 acre of heaven will be perfect for us for now and support us quite nicely the way a homestead should support it's family.

Well, off to relax and recover from today's event. We still have the wine tasting festival next Sunday in Laurel Springs, NC to gear up for. So there will be no time off until after that. There is also the volunteering at the school, doctor's appointment and a bunny run to make this week. So as usual I will post when I can. I wish I could post daily but such is life. :)

Blessings to all.

PS Don't forget tonight is the fall equinox!! ;)

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Well we are down to the 11th hour and the push is on to finish up for the festival in Sparta. I also need to fix the farm website again. Today and tomorrow will be sewing, part of the day on Wednesday. After that it will be nothing but baking and printing.

I will post more this evening on how everything is going.

Have a great day!

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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Well the yard is mowed, the garden is cleaned up and looks so sad with just three huge cherry roma tomato plants left, but they are still in such good shape I couldn't pull them and they are still getting tons of flowers and new fruit so they got to stay. We are going to spread the organic fertilizer/lime combination we have made, then throw down bunny mulch/compost, grass clippings and then cardboard on top. Let it all rot and just before we turn it all under again we are going to add sand. This should provide us with a wonderful rich soil that is almost like loam. Once that is done the green houses will go up.

I will post pictures later on tonight for the fall farm tour.

This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

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