I have two things to mention before I head out the door with Linnea and Noah for the Woodlands market.
1) Our backup washer is broken! Laundry is backing up at an alarming rate, we are stuck without our main washer while the new part comes in and I think I might scream if we go one more day without washing laundry! (Just in case you missed it this pas week my mom was talking about our new jobs and mine was laundry)
2) What is up with the weather?!? Here it is two days left until June and it's feeling like March. Not like I am complaining, I love it!! But I am wondering what's gong on. :D Oh, well I'll enjoy it while I can and stop complaining.
Have an enjoyable Saturday and Sunday!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Laundry Woes
This post could also be called "I Hate Top Loaders!!"
Having a large family we do our fair share of laundry in a day. I have had people tell me that we do more laundry in a day then they do in a week. So, you can imagine the amount of work that our washer and dryer have to do. :D
Normally we don't have any problems with our dryers. As long as we keep them clean they are steady machines and work almost nonstop with no problems at all.
Now our washers are a totally different story, or used to be. It used to be that we would have the one main working washer and then two backups (yes, two!). Whenever the main washer went down, we would pull it out, put in a replacement and wait for Sears to come out and repair the main washer. When the backup would break it would be off on its way to scrap land, due to the fact that we were normally the third owner of it and it had seen better days. :D
Over two years ago we got a new washer, because our old one had died and with our warranty Sears had to replace it. We got the top of the line as good as it gets and as large as it gets front loader. It seemed at the time that we were always calling out sears to fix something on our old front loader and we thought that the same thing would happen with this, but at least we would get on top of laundry while it was working.
Well, not with this one! With over two years of owning it, this Friday will be the first time Sears has had to come out and work on it. Now, we have had minor problems with it, but nothing that Linnea or any one of us other girls could not fix. We are counting our blessings that way at least. :D
But as we wait for Friday to come around I sit here trying my best to stay on top of laundry with a top loader that holds less than half the load of my front loader and wounding what we ever did before we got the top loader! I can't wait until it's fixed and hopefully I will be able to stay caught up!
But, just to let you know---I HATE top loading washing machines and I CAN'T wait until our front loader is fixed!! lol
Having a large family we do our fair share of laundry in a day. I have had people tell me that we do more laundry in a day then they do in a week. So, you can imagine the amount of work that our washer and dryer have to do. :D
Normally we don't have any problems with our dryers. As long as we keep them clean they are steady machines and work almost nonstop with no problems at all.
Now our washers are a totally different story, or used to be. It used to be that we would have the one main working washer and then two backups (yes, two!). Whenever the main washer went down, we would pull it out, put in a replacement and wait for Sears to come out and repair the main washer. When the backup would break it would be off on its way to scrap land, due to the fact that we were normally the third owner of it and it had seen better days. :D
Over two years ago we got a new washer, because our old one had died and with our warranty Sears had to replace it. We got the top of the line as good as it gets and as large as it gets front loader. It seemed at the time that we were always calling out sears to fix something on our old front loader and we thought that the same thing would happen with this, but at least we would get on top of laundry while it was working.
Well, not with this one! With over two years of owning it, this Friday will be the first time Sears has had to come out and work on it. Now, we have had minor problems with it, but nothing that Linnea or any one of us other girls could not fix. We are counting our blessings that way at least. :D
But as we wait for Friday to come around I sit here trying my best to stay on top of laundry with a top loader that holds less than half the load of my front loader and wounding what we ever did before we got the top loader! I can't wait until it's fixed and hopefully I will be able to stay caught up!
But, just to let you know---I HATE top loading washing machines and I CAN'T wait until our front loader is fixed!! lol
Monday, May 25, 2009
Last Saturday
Much as I would love to cheat today and just send you over to my mom's blog to hear how last Saturday went, I know that that wouldn't be right, so I will do my best and pray that you can understand it, as I am still trying to catch up on my sleep and think I might have caught "the show bug".
Well, we got up real early; I think we beat the rosters this time. lol At the early hour of 3 some of us got up, while the others crawled out at 3:30. We had to milk, morning chores, load up two vans for market, the rest of the stuff for our show, a trailer with 7 goats, the blue van and the white geo for those going to the goat show, all before 5! And we came pretty close; with me pulling out after dad at 5:15 and the only thing that someone had to go back for was Dad's cell phone. :D
Well, dad dropped all 11 children and 7 goats off at the fairgrounds in Hempstead and left with an old friend for the Austin market. With the help of the older girls we got all the goats and children settled, Christin working on the food for the concession stand with Emma, Sara watching the toddlers, Grace and Linnea working on finishing up the goats for the show, while I headed out with Liberty to pick up doughnuts for the exhibiters.
After I got back I had to look at a goat that was limping and unlike all the other shows where mom gets to make the decisions on whether we keep in animal in the show or scratch her, it was my decision and left me a little uncomfortable since this was mom's pride and joy I was thinking about! So, I got a second opinion and they said it would be best since she would be knocked down in the line for limping. So, that is what I did, much as I hated doing it!
After I finished telling mom and Grace about what I had decided I then checked on Christin and Emma, helped a little with the food and then headed out for the breeders meeting, as soon as that was done I helped with some paper work, checked on all the kids to make sure that Christin and Emma knew what to do with the food. Grace, Sara, and Linnea knew what goats to show, when, were, and all that. And that Timothy, Liberty, Noah, and Judah where behaving themselves for Nathan. After all the children were checked on and everything was as in place as it could be, I headed over to my ring to learn about my new job, ring secretary.
It took a little bit of learning but I got it down, (yes, right at the end of the show) and I am still trying to decide if I want to do it again next year. lol We will have to see.
As for what our goats did, I am still trying to figure that all out. The only one that I really saw placed was my goat. I had a break in my ring for a few minutes due to waiting for another breeder to come out of another ring, so I went to see how my sisters were doing. I got there just in time to see that my goat, the daughter of my first goat and one of the first to have our heard name was being placed FIRST!!! She even topped goats, that had her beat last year and breeders that have been in goats longer then I have been in this world!! There are no words to tell how happy and excited I am. Especially because I came within hours of emailing someone and telling them I was going to sell her! She's a keeper and was so even before she stepped into the ring, but having a judge tell me that I am going in the right direction is just amazing, considering five years ago at this same show I didn't know how to better a goat or even one breed form another!! :D
Emma went second in showmanship, Linnea went second. Libby did REALLY well with an animal that was almost as tall as she is. Sara didn't do as well, but she is still working on it and not quitting! Timothy didn't do too well, but then he never really wants to do it until right before they go into the ring.
Christin did very well in the concession stand, considering there were times when she had to do it by herself. But, we were able to raise some of the money needed to pay the vet bill for Grace's horse and still feed the kids at the show and that night after we got home. :D
We were all dead dog tired when we got home and almost all crashed not to be waken until 7 the next morning. I think we have mostly gotten over it, but we will have to wait and see. :D
Well, we got up real early; I think we beat the rosters this time. lol At the early hour of 3 some of us got up, while the others crawled out at 3:30. We had to milk, morning chores, load up two vans for market, the rest of the stuff for our show, a trailer with 7 goats, the blue van and the white geo for those going to the goat show, all before 5! And we came pretty close; with me pulling out after dad at 5:15 and the only thing that someone had to go back for was Dad's cell phone. :D
Well, dad dropped all 11 children and 7 goats off at the fairgrounds in Hempstead and left with an old friend for the Austin market. With the help of the older girls we got all the goats and children settled, Christin working on the food for the concession stand with Emma, Sara watching the toddlers, Grace and Linnea working on finishing up the goats for the show, while I headed out with Liberty to pick up doughnuts for the exhibiters.
After I got back I had to look at a goat that was limping and unlike all the other shows where mom gets to make the decisions on whether we keep in animal in the show or scratch her, it was my decision and left me a little uncomfortable since this was mom's pride and joy I was thinking about! So, I got a second opinion and they said it would be best since she would be knocked down in the line for limping. So, that is what I did, much as I hated doing it!
After I finished telling mom and Grace about what I had decided I then checked on Christin and Emma, helped a little with the food and then headed out for the breeders meeting, as soon as that was done I helped with some paper work, checked on all the kids to make sure that Christin and Emma knew what to do with the food. Grace, Sara, and Linnea knew what goats to show, when, were, and all that. And that Timothy, Liberty, Noah, and Judah where behaving themselves for Nathan. After all the children were checked on and everything was as in place as it could be, I headed over to my ring to learn about my new job, ring secretary.
It took a little bit of learning but I got it down, (yes, right at the end of the show) and I am still trying to decide if I want to do it again next year. lol We will have to see.
As for what our goats did, I am still trying to figure that all out. The only one that I really saw placed was my goat. I had a break in my ring for a few minutes due to waiting for another breeder to come out of another ring, so I went to see how my sisters were doing. I got there just in time to see that my goat, the daughter of my first goat and one of the first to have our heard name was being placed FIRST!!! She even topped goats, that had her beat last year and breeders that have been in goats longer then I have been in this world!! There are no words to tell how happy and excited I am. Especially because I came within hours of emailing someone and telling them I was going to sell her! She's a keeper and was so even before she stepped into the ring, but having a judge tell me that I am going in the right direction is just amazing, considering five years ago at this same show I didn't know how to better a goat or even one breed form another!! :D
Emma went second in showmanship, Linnea went second. Libby did REALLY well with an animal that was almost as tall as she is. Sara didn't do as well, but she is still working on it and not quitting! Timothy didn't do too well, but then he never really wants to do it until right before they go into the ring.
Christin did very well in the concession stand, considering there were times when she had to do it by herself. But, we were able to raise some of the money needed to pay the vet bill for Grace's horse and still feed the kids at the show and that night after we got home. :D
We were all dead dog tired when we got home and almost all crashed not to be waken until 7 the next morning. I think we have mostly gotten over it, but we will have to wait and see. :D
Friday, May 22, 2009
Capra-Cino
This article is by the same lady who wrote yesterday's article. I am posting this as I run out the door with two sisters to go help get fair grounds cleaned up for our local show, but more on that later. :D
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Look out Starbucks, here comes Swede Farm Dairy Capri-Cino
A few weeks ago at the Bayou City Farmers Market, my family picked up a new, but delightfully healthy vice in the form of chocolate goat's milk from Swede Farm Dairy. The dark chocolate, not too sweet blend of goat's milk has become the drink of choice and new dessert around our house. So, while picking up my family's weekly supply of chocolate goat's milk, I was delighted to try a sample of the Swede Farm Dairy's newest creation, goat's milk "Capri-Cino."
LeeAnne Carlson, owner of Swede Farm Dairy, compares the Capri-Cino to the taste of the bottled Starbucks cappuccino drink. She's right in that it tastes similar, but her goat's milk version is so much better. Like in the formulation of their chocolate goat's milk, the Dairy has managed to create a flavored drink that is rich in flavor without being too sweet. The Capri-Cino has a pervasive coffee flavor, similar to the flavor of coffee ice cream but without the heaviness that ice cream and commercial cappuccino drinks carry. An added bonus to the goat's milk version is the very simple ingredient list of goat's milk, coffee extract and agave nectar. Stop by the table of Swede Farm Dairy to sample a taste of their new drink along with the other varieties of goat's milk, yogurt and kefir they produce.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Markets
All right then so, I haven't had the time to do what I wanted this week to talk about our markets, due to the fact that I am trying to keep up with all our products and get ready for our goat show this coming weekend. So, I am just going to copy and paste a couple articles that talk about us and hopefully in the sometime near future I will be able to do what I had planned to do.
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Baby goats from Swede Farm Dairy at Bayou City Farmers Market
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Meet the Swede Farm Dairy goats and taste their delicious varieties of goat's milk
Baby goats from Swede Farm Dairy at Bayou City Farmers Market
This past Saturday at Bayou City Farmers Market, Swede Farm Dairy brought a pair of t
win
kids from their goat farm. It's "kidding" season at Swede Farm Dairy owned by Tim and 
LeeAnne Carlson. The Carlsons, along with their eleven children, raise goats and produce delicious goat's milk, yogurt and kefir that is brought to the Saturday morning Bayou City Farmers Market and the Tuesday evening Houston Farmers Market at Rice University. Check out their blog to keep tabs on the new babies being born, and for all the adventures at Swede Farm Dairy. Their website explains how they care for their goats, and how the milk is minimally processed. Their passion and love for what they do is clear when you read about their commitment to their dairy and their family.
In addition to their addictive blog, the Swede Farm Dairy website is a fantastic resource to learn more about the benefits of goat's milk. Goat's milk is often used as an alternative for people who cannot tolerate cow's milk. In addition to several varieties of milk, Swede Farm Dairy also offers yogurt and kefir. Their website also has a link to their hand-made goat's milk products including soaps, candles, lip balms and products for mothers and babies.
This past weekend I picked up a quart of the chocolate goat's milk, and a quart of the vanilla bean yogurt fresh from Swede Farm Dairy. After the initial tasting, the chocolate milk didn't last long. It was a huge hit with my family, especially with my husband who has trouble digesting cow's milk. The goat's milk "chocolate milk" has the flavor of rich dark chocolate without being overly sweet. My family has already requested more when I visit the Bayou City Farmers Market this weekend.
The vanilla bean yogurt was saved for a special dessert Saturday night. We sliced up some fresh market strawberries and poured the yogurt over them. The vanilla bean yogurt lives up to its name, very creamy and full of tiny black specks of vanilla beans. The yogurt lasted a little longer than the chocolate milk, only because I rationed it for the berries. We tried it over blackberries with mango chunks, which made a great dessert, but would also make a great breakfast topped with granola. Vanilla bean yogurt will also be on my list as I visit the Carlson family, and their baby goats this Saturday at the Bayou City Farmers Market.
Monday, May 18, 2009
I've Decided......
That this week I am going to talk about the Farmers Markets we go to each week. When, what, where, how, etc. All of it! By the end of the week y'all will know a LOT of what goes on in the dairy!! :D
This post was just to let y'all know that, but I will say that I an a friend (that I met a market no less!) made it safely to and from the market last Saturday. It was my first time going to a market all by myself, the first time I had ever driven the stick shift without a parent in the car, AND the first time I had ever driven the standard father then five miles from our house!!
Yes, I did stall (more then once), yes I was slightly late, and yes we did have fun! I am also learning that I LOVE to drive it! If only I don't get whip lash while trying to perfect starting! lol
This post was just to let y'all know that, but I will say that I an a friend (that I met a market no less!) made it safely to and from the market last Saturday. It was my first time going to a market all by myself, the first time I had ever driven the stick shift without a parent in the car, AND the first time I had ever driven the standard father then five miles from our house!!
Yes, I did stall (more then once), yes I was slightly late, and yes we did have fun! I am also learning that I LOVE to drive it! If only I don't get whip lash while trying to perfect starting! lol
Friday, May 15, 2009
Goodness!!
Back in November I thought getting ready for one market was enough stress and work for one day. I mean getting up no latter then 5 every Saturday to pack how ever many ice chest we would need with mil and product to be out the door by 6 is a lot of work, right?
Well, back in early April I learned I was wrong! :D Getting ready for one market it's near as stressful as getting ready for TWO markets in one day. That is where you pack no less then six ice chest with ice and product and the last car to pull out of the drive way can pull out no latter then 6:30! Double work, double product and same amount of time. lol
Well, now I am learning that yet again I was wrong! Right now the only thing more stressful then the past two months will be tomorrow!
Tomorrow is the day when I will have to get up at sometime, that has yet to be decided to pack at least 9 ice chest to be ready for the first car to pull out at 5! Why?
Well, we are adding another market to our list of markets. :D We have been trying to add this market to our list for about a month now, but to no avail. Now, we are able to do it. Dad will be going to Austin with Christin, Mom will be going to Houston with Emma and Seth, and I will be going to the Woodlands with a friend. :D
Dad will be leaving at 5, Mom will be leaving at 6, and I will be leaving at 6:45. In following weeks mom and dad will switch out markets and children going with them, where as I will be switching out siblings going with me, until this market takes it's break at the end of June.
Now, that I have updated the world on what has been going on this week to keep me from posting on here, I am off to make sure everything that I have to do for tomorrow is completed, so that I can get into bed early, because it promises to be a slightly stressful day for me! (Not only am I going to be getting ready for three markets, but I will be driving the standard for the a distance for the first time!)
Pray for us!!
Well, back in early April I learned I was wrong! :D Getting ready for one market it's near as stressful as getting ready for TWO markets in one day. That is where you pack no less then six ice chest with ice and product and the last car to pull out of the drive way can pull out no latter then 6:30! Double work, double product and same amount of time. lol
Well, now I am learning that yet again I was wrong! Right now the only thing more stressful then the past two months will be tomorrow!
Tomorrow is the day when I will have to get up at sometime, that has yet to be decided to pack at least 9 ice chest to be ready for the first car to pull out at 5! Why?
Well, we are adding another market to our list of markets. :D We have been trying to add this market to our list for about a month now, but to no avail. Now, we are able to do it. Dad will be going to Austin with Christin, Mom will be going to Houston with Emma and Seth, and I will be going to the Woodlands with a friend. :D
Dad will be leaving at 5, Mom will be leaving at 6, and I will be leaving at 6:45. In following weeks mom and dad will switch out markets and children going with them, where as I will be switching out siblings going with me, until this market takes it's break at the end of June.
Now, that I have updated the world on what has been going on this week to keep me from posting on here, I am off to make sure everything that I have to do for tomorrow is completed, so that I can get into bed early, because it promises to be a slightly stressful day for me! (Not only am I going to be getting ready for three markets, but I will be driving the standard for the a distance for the first time!)
Pray for us!!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Shoes
I hate shoes!! I'm glad we have them, there are days and things I would not want to go without them, but other than those days in August and those jobs in the animal pens, I hate them and wish I could live without them.
Without thinking I have run out and served costumers in my bare feet. I have slipped my shoes off during market more times than mom cares to know about, I almost ran over to our neighbors to the west without shoes on yesterday! And have asked to go to friend's house without shoes, I am not the type of person who likes to show shop. I only like to own three pairs of shoes and all of those would be cowboy boots if I could!
I think one reason is the fact that I can never keep a pair of regular shoes or sandals for longer than two months, if that long! Ever since I was 8 I have had the worst time getting shoes to last me a year. And this goes back to when I lived in Houston, so there is no blaming the "rough life" of the country on it. I didn't wear them that much, only when I left the house. Which was maybe four times a week and one of those was for dance, so I only really wore them out of the house three times a week.
It started out, where we had to buy a new pair every year--A new pair of sneakers, a new pair of sandals, and a new pair of church shoes. Not all at the same time, but at least one pair a year.
Then it moved to a pair every six months. Church shoes might last me a little longer, but sandals and sneakers, NEVER!
Right before we moved out here it changed to sneakers never lasted me longer than four months. No, matter the brand, the style, the age, or the amount of wear, I could take a new pair of shoes and wear them out in four months.
I was known to wear a hole into a pair of keds in one wearing. It's gotten to the point where we don't buy sneakers for me anymore, we just buy the $5 sandals every month during the summer and during the winter I wear my cowboy boots.
But, even the boots don't last for every. My dad has to replace the soles in his boots every other year; I have to replace mine every year. We bought a pair that looked brand new at our thrift store last August; the soles need to be replace and not just the first layer, but the entire thing! It's horrid, how I go through shoes!!
Two weeks ago mom found some shoes that would work great as farm shoes on sale. She also found the same style in a nice blue that would work great for errands and church. First she found them at the Hempstead Wal-mart for $3 a pair. Then two days later I found them for $1 a pair. We now have around 30 pairs of the shoes in blue, black, red, orange, pink, tan, and one other color I can't think of right now.
They are really cute and everyone loves them, but me. They hurt my feet!! But I am wearing them to see if plastic can last, if it does I might invest in a couple pairs of crocs. But at this point I am wondering if I can even wear them!! So, if you see me at church, market, or running errands with a limp, you know why. :D
I had a picture of all thirty pairs of shoes lined up in the front hallway, but we seemed to have lost the camera again!! :-S So you will just have to imagine 30 pairs of shoes lined up. lol
Without thinking I have run out and served costumers in my bare feet. I have slipped my shoes off during market more times than mom cares to know about, I almost ran over to our neighbors to the west without shoes on yesterday! And have asked to go to friend's house without shoes, I am not the type of person who likes to show shop. I only like to own three pairs of shoes and all of those would be cowboy boots if I could!
I think one reason is the fact that I can never keep a pair of regular shoes or sandals for longer than two months, if that long! Ever since I was 8 I have had the worst time getting shoes to last me a year. And this goes back to when I lived in Houston, so there is no blaming the "rough life" of the country on it. I didn't wear them that much, only when I left the house. Which was maybe four times a week and one of those was for dance, so I only really wore them out of the house three times a week.
It started out, where we had to buy a new pair every year--A new pair of sneakers, a new pair of sandals, and a new pair of church shoes. Not all at the same time, but at least one pair a year.
Then it moved to a pair every six months. Church shoes might last me a little longer, but sandals and sneakers, NEVER!
Right before we moved out here it changed to sneakers never lasted me longer than four months. No, matter the brand, the style, the age, or the amount of wear, I could take a new pair of shoes and wear them out in four months.
I was known to wear a hole into a pair of keds in one wearing. It's gotten to the point where we don't buy sneakers for me anymore, we just buy the $5 sandals every month during the summer and during the winter I wear my cowboy boots.
But, even the boots don't last for every. My dad has to replace the soles in his boots every other year; I have to replace mine every year. We bought a pair that looked brand new at our thrift store last August; the soles need to be replace and not just the first layer, but the entire thing! It's horrid, how I go through shoes!!
Two weeks ago mom found some shoes that would work great as farm shoes on sale. She also found the same style in a nice blue that would work great for errands and church. First she found them at the Hempstead Wal-mart for $3 a pair. Then two days later I found them for $1 a pair. We now have around 30 pairs of the shoes in blue, black, red, orange, pink, tan, and one other color I can't think of right now.
They are really cute and everyone loves them, but me. They hurt my feet!! But I am wearing them to see if plastic can last, if it does I might invest in a couple pairs of crocs. But at this point I am wondering if I can even wear them!! So, if you see me at church, market, or running errands with a limp, you know why. :D
I had a picture of all thirty pairs of shoes lined up in the front hallway, but we seemed to have lost the camera again!! :-S So you will just have to imagine 30 pairs of shoes lined up. lol
I forgot.....
I have talked about who I am, my family, our dairy, and every now and then I talk about our daily lives. I have told about how the names came up for the farm, my business, and my blog. I have talked about my jobs before now and what I am doing now. I have talked about my siblings, animals, and car troubles.
But I forgot to give a warning! I meant to post about this on day one or two, but completely forgot to do so. I have thought about it on and off since I started and mom and dad told me I should explain/warn about my misspellings and grammar. But it's one of those things for me that is hard to explain. It's hard enough in person, but on a computer? Oh, even worse!! At least, with the computer I have links I can send y'all to for all your questions. lol
I am talking about is my spelling and grammar. If you have any doubts about this, which I doubt you do, by now. You can contact my mom and dad and ask them about my years in school. Those were the days when they were thankful that they had decided to home school me. :D
I have Dysgraphia, and no I am not misspelling this! I call it a broken link between my mind and my paper (or computer screen). I know what I want to say, but half the time I cannot get it on paper they way I want to, I know how a word should look, but I can't tell you how to correctly spell it. Most times I can tell you when it's in correctly spelled, but for the life of me I cannot tell you how to correct it. When I need spelling help, I call on Grace. I have been calling on Grace since she was 12!! It also affects my writing, my 12 year old sister can write better than I can.
Here is another description of Dysgraphia.....
"Dysgraphia" is a learning disability resulting from the difficulty in expressing thoughts in writing and graphing. It generally refers to extremely poor handwriting."
In the years that my parents have been teaching me, we have learned a lot about Dysgraphia. First we have learned that it is an inherited trait. Not just from parent to child, but in the family, from what we can see some of my other family members (not my siblings) have it and I figured if my uncle can advance in the army with it, I can live on a farm with it. :D
We learned early on that spelling bees were NOT for me that if I had to have a spelling test, it had to be on paper or else I would NEVER get a word correct. (Ask my dad about the times he has had do to the tests, shudder!!).
As for papers, you should never expect a paper within in two weeks! It would take that long for me to try and write up quick draft. Even if it is a subject that I like such as baseball and American History, it would take me forever to get my thoughts on paper and then it was only half of what I wanted to say and not that great. :S
I think this blog has greatly surprised my parents in many different ways. In the first place, the fact that I wanted to do it, that I asked for it and I got it. Second, is that I have been posting this often and that the posts have not all been short posts. And thirdly is that it has stayed around for this amount of time. :D
Now, yes it does have its misspellings and yes the grammar is not the best, but the fact that I am trying is what pleases them. Now I need to work on perfecting my grammar and spelling. Something tells me this is going to be a lifelong job. At least, I know I can do other things well. :-)
But I forgot to give a warning! I meant to post about this on day one or two, but completely forgot to do so. I have thought about it on and off since I started and mom and dad told me I should explain/warn about my misspellings and grammar. But it's one of those things for me that is hard to explain. It's hard enough in person, but on a computer? Oh, even worse!! At least, with the computer I have links I can send y'all to for all your questions. lol
I am talking about is my spelling and grammar. If you have any doubts about this, which I doubt you do, by now. You can contact my mom and dad and ask them about my years in school. Those were the days when they were thankful that they had decided to home school me. :D
I have Dysgraphia, and no I am not misspelling this! I call it a broken link between my mind and my paper (or computer screen). I know what I want to say, but half the time I cannot get it on paper they way I want to, I know how a word should look, but I can't tell you how to correctly spell it. Most times I can tell you when it's in correctly spelled, but for the life of me I cannot tell you how to correct it. When I need spelling help, I call on Grace. I have been calling on Grace since she was 12!! It also affects my writing, my 12 year old sister can write better than I can.
Here is another description of Dysgraphia.....
"Dysgraphia" is a learning disability resulting from the difficulty in expressing thoughts in writing and graphing. It generally refers to extremely poor handwriting."
In the years that my parents have been teaching me, we have learned a lot about Dysgraphia. First we have learned that it is an inherited trait. Not just from parent to child, but in the family, from what we can see some of my other family members (not my siblings) have it and I figured if my uncle can advance in the army with it, I can live on a farm with it. :D
We learned early on that spelling bees were NOT for me that if I had to have a spelling test, it had to be on paper or else I would NEVER get a word correct. (Ask my dad about the times he has had do to the tests, shudder!!).
As for papers, you should never expect a paper within in two weeks! It would take that long for me to try and write up quick draft. Even if it is a subject that I like such as baseball and American History, it would take me forever to get my thoughts on paper and then it was only half of what I wanted to say and not that great. :S
I think this blog has greatly surprised my parents in many different ways. In the first place, the fact that I wanted to do it, that I asked for it and I got it. Second, is that I have been posting this often and that the posts have not all been short posts. And thirdly is that it has stayed around for this amount of time. :D
Now, yes it does have its misspellings and yes the grammar is not the best, but the fact that I am trying is what pleases them. Now I need to work on perfecting my grammar and spelling. Something tells me this is going to be a lifelong job. At least, I know I can do other things well. :-)
Sunday
I was going to sit here and tell y'all all about a normal Sunday at Swede Farm. But as I was thinking about it while cleaning up the processing room, it occurred to me that there is not really a "normal" Sunday at Swede Farm!
Oh, there are things we do almost every Sunday, such as go to morning service at church, go to Central Market, and have 'dunch'.
But, it's never the same. If we go to Central Market before church depends on when we get up, whose milking, what animal problem comes up, who can find their shoes, who can't find the shirt they want to wear, do we have to change a diaper at the last minute? The reasons never end!!
What we do after church depends as well. If we did not go to Central Market before church there is a high chance we will go afterwards, mainly because a lot of our products have stuff bought at Central Market. Such as the coco powder, vanilla bean paste, and coffee extract. Then there is the bulk candy section for the youngers, bulk coffee for the olders and bulk tea for those that don't drink coffee.
After that we might need to go to Sams for dog food, HEB for detergent, or Wal-mart for food, sewing stuff, or printer ink.
Then there have been the days were we did nothing but come straight home, only to find that a goat has kidded, that changes your day right there!! Or to remember that we are out of a product and have to get it made before Tuesday’s market.
There also the days were we go to an Astros' game, park, museum, or friend’s house.
In truth there is never really is a "normal" Sunday in our house and never really has been.
When we lived in Houston, we might have had a normal Sunday morning where we got up around 8, eat breakfast together, all got dressed, and then headed out the door to Sunday school and Church. After that just depended on what our parents wanted to do for the day. Did they want to go to the Art museum or the zoo? Did someone invite us to their house or did we invite someone to our house? Do we have a birthday party to go to or is there one in our family? And then there was evening service to go to.
So, I could say we used to have normal Sunday mornings, but that changed when we moved to the farm.
Now, on the farm we have to get up between 5-6. Milk the goats, do all morning chores, get all thirteen of us dressed and out the door. If we are going to Central Market, then we have to leave no latter then 8:30, if not then we can leave no latter then 9:30.
We rarely get home before 1:30 and more often than not it is between 3-4 when we get home. We start chores immediately, eat dinner and all end up watching T.V., either Iron Chief America or Baseball, all depending on who has the remote control at the time.
The main reason we have to get up so early and get home so late is due to where our church is located. Our church is in Bellaire, it's the church we went to when we were living in Houston. At that time it was 10 minutes from our house and we loved it! Now, it is an hour away and though there are things we miss because of distance, we still love our church!
As I was thinking about our Sunday's and how there never really is a same Sunday any more. Or my other days, where I could sleep until 9 and stay up pass midnight and not have to worry about anything, I had a TON more time to read, play, and laze around. I was wondering if I would ever really want to change, go back to the days in Houston where they were a bit more predictable, laid backed, more church, baseball games, and reading. I came to the realization, that though I did enjoy those days and that I do still miss evening service, and a game a week, I don't think I would want to go back to them.
For one reason, I enjoy going to Central Market for breakfast and coffee. For another I LOVE my animals, I love seeing my siblings running around on ten acres and not being confined to the cull-de-sack that I was. (And even then it was the last 8 years of living in Houston, before that it was just the back yard!) They get to play more baseball and have less chance of breaking a house or car window.
And even though I do miss my 20-30 baseball games a year I would never pass up the chance to meet the people I have through goat showing, markets, and other farm related outings. I would never pass up the chance to milk a goat, raise a kid from birth to milking and showing. See those annoying chickens peck in the yard or hear the rosters crowing at all hours of the day and night. We have horses, which I never thought I would have, even though they do take a bit more money than I thought they would, I enjoy riding them!
No, if I had a choice of moving back into the city or staying in the country, I think I would stay in the country.
And no, I am not saying that I will live here forever, because for all I know God has planned for me to get married and move out of state, into another city. Though, I do not know what he has planned, I do know that I have enjoyed both ways of living that he has given me so far. :D
And that if you had told me on my 15th birthday that by the time I was 21 I would be living in the country selling our goat's milk at Farmer's Markets at least three times a week. That I would be planning on getting my concealed hand gun license, that I LOVE cooking venison, would own my own business, be helping with the family business and starting a new one with my three sisters’ right under me, I would have laughed and thought you were going off your rocker!
But, here I sit with all of those things going on and grateful that God has put me in this place and I can't wait to see what he has planned for me in the future, be it tomorrow, next year, or ten years from now!
Oh, there are things we do almost every Sunday, such as go to morning service at church, go to Central Market, and have 'dunch'.
But, it's never the same. If we go to Central Market before church depends on when we get up, whose milking, what animal problem comes up, who can find their shoes, who can't find the shirt they want to wear, do we have to change a diaper at the last minute? The reasons never end!!
What we do after church depends as well. If we did not go to Central Market before church there is a high chance we will go afterwards, mainly because a lot of our products have stuff bought at Central Market. Such as the coco powder, vanilla bean paste, and coffee extract. Then there is the bulk candy section for the youngers, bulk coffee for the olders and bulk tea for those that don't drink coffee.
After that we might need to go to Sams for dog food, HEB for detergent, or Wal-mart for food, sewing stuff, or printer ink.
Then there have been the days were we did nothing but come straight home, only to find that a goat has kidded, that changes your day right there!! Or to remember that we are out of a product and have to get it made before Tuesday’s market.
There also the days were we go to an Astros' game, park, museum, or friend’s house.
In truth there is never really is a "normal" Sunday in our house and never really has been.
When we lived in Houston, we might have had a normal Sunday morning where we got up around 8, eat breakfast together, all got dressed, and then headed out the door to Sunday school and Church. After that just depended on what our parents wanted to do for the day. Did they want to go to the Art museum or the zoo? Did someone invite us to their house or did we invite someone to our house? Do we have a birthday party to go to or is there one in our family? And then there was evening service to go to.
So, I could say we used to have normal Sunday mornings, but that changed when we moved to the farm.
Now, on the farm we have to get up between 5-6. Milk the goats, do all morning chores, get all thirteen of us dressed and out the door. If we are going to Central Market, then we have to leave no latter then 8:30, if not then we can leave no latter then 9:30.
We rarely get home before 1:30 and more often than not it is between 3-4 when we get home. We start chores immediately, eat dinner and all end up watching T.V., either Iron Chief America or Baseball, all depending on who has the remote control at the time.
The main reason we have to get up so early and get home so late is due to where our church is located. Our church is in Bellaire, it's the church we went to when we were living in Houston. At that time it was 10 minutes from our house and we loved it! Now, it is an hour away and though there are things we miss because of distance, we still love our church!
As I was thinking about our Sunday's and how there never really is a same Sunday any more. Or my other days, where I could sleep until 9 and stay up pass midnight and not have to worry about anything, I had a TON more time to read, play, and laze around. I was wondering if I would ever really want to change, go back to the days in Houston where they were a bit more predictable, laid backed, more church, baseball games, and reading. I came to the realization, that though I did enjoy those days and that I do still miss evening service, and a game a week, I don't think I would want to go back to them.
For one reason, I enjoy going to Central Market for breakfast and coffee. For another I LOVE my animals, I love seeing my siblings running around on ten acres and not being confined to the cull-de-sack that I was. (And even then it was the last 8 years of living in Houston, before that it was just the back yard!) They get to play more baseball and have less chance of breaking a house or car window.
And even though I do miss my 20-30 baseball games a year I would never pass up the chance to meet the people I have through goat showing, markets, and other farm related outings. I would never pass up the chance to milk a goat, raise a kid from birth to milking and showing. See those annoying chickens peck in the yard or hear the rosters crowing at all hours of the day and night. We have horses, which I never thought I would have, even though they do take a bit more money than I thought they would, I enjoy riding them!
No, if I had a choice of moving back into the city or staying in the country, I think I would stay in the country.
And no, I am not saying that I will live here forever, because for all I know God has planned for me to get married and move out of state, into another city. Though, I do not know what he has planned, I do know that I have enjoyed both ways of living that he has given me so far. :D
And that if you had told me on my 15th birthday that by the time I was 21 I would be living in the country selling our goat's milk at Farmer's Markets at least three times a week. That I would be planning on getting my concealed hand gun license, that I LOVE cooking venison, would own my own business, be helping with the family business and starting a new one with my three sisters’ right under me, I would have laughed and thought you were going off your rocker!
But, here I sit with all of those things going on and grateful that God has put me in this place and I can't wait to see what he has planned for me in the future, be it tomorrow, next year, or ten years from now!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day!!
Mom,
You held my hand when I was small,
Taught me how to see
the wonder it it all...
You gave me love, hope, and faith
With all your heart
and all your Grace...
You are a treasure of wisdom, true...
But most of all, Mother...I love you!!
Love, Katarina
The above is what is on the gift that I gave my mom this year, and I really do mean it!
I LOVE YOU MOM!!
More on Driving
All right, it's been a week since I got my license. :D I've driven the one mile down the road to our friend, who we bought our fist goats from, I have driven to the Seger's to get some hay, I have driven to three markets, and church, I do believe that is all. :D
At church last Sunday I got a lot of "Well it's about time!", or "Great! Just let me know when you are going to be on the road!” As if you can miss our big blue van! lol (I even have gotten it here on this blog!)
At church last Sunday I got a lot of "Well it's about time!", or "Great! Just let me know when you are going to be on the road!” As if you can miss our big blue van! lol (I even have gotten it here on this blog!)
Last night was at first fun, and then turned a little stressful as I headed to market. Chris and I headed out right on time with everything we needed for the market...Ice chests, change box, market box (two in fact) sign, water, and MP3 player! lol
as we get close to Collage Station, I start watching for my exit, I wanted to make sure that I didn't get lost. And what do I end up doing? What else is there for me to do? I take the wrong exit! (At least, that is what I thought at the time.) I circle around, get back on 6 and take the exit that I thought my dad had told me to take. Only to find out when I call mom (and don't ask me why I call her! lol) that the first exit I had taken was in fact the one I wanted and I had already driven by the market TWICE!!
So, we get there with ten minutes to set up. We set up, buy some peaches, and wait. We hand out samples, sell milk, buy more peaches, pack up and leave. :D All in all, there were no problems and it was enjoyable.
Being the coffeeholic that I am I was desperate for a cup of coffee and I was NOT going to go to Starbucks!! So, I park the car what seems like a block away, go in, get my coffee and Christin's tea and then head to Taco Bell for dinner. As I pull out of Taco Bell mom calls asking me to stop and get some diapers at Wal-mart.
Right before I pull into Wal-Mart, the car did something funny. I can only explain it, as a hiccup. It felt almost like the car hiccupped, it was really weird! At first nothing happened and then it felt as if it wasn't working right and I notice then that I am going 35 and the speedometer has me at O MPH! Oh great!!
So, I go in get the diapers. Go out and start the car. The speedometer is still not working and I can’t put my finger on it, but it just does not seem like the car is working right. I send in an SOS call to mom. After about ten minutes of mom going back and forth between dad (who is a Little league game) and myself, they decide that she is going to drive the blue van out and we will either switch cars or she can call the tow truck.
So, there I am stuck in a Wal-mart parking lot for the next 45 minutes and for the first time in weeks I had left my book bag at home. I saw it as I was walking out the door and thought "I'm not going to need that, I am either going to be selling milk or driving, I might as well leave it here". Sure wish I had brought it with me. I ended up going into Wal-Mart and buying a book that costs more then $5 for the first time an at least a year!
So, Chris and I sit and wait, Chris sleeping and I reading. When mom gets there she drives the green van for a couple of miles. At first it acted up and we thought that we might have to call the tow truck. Then it decided to start working correctly.
We got home around 10 o'clock, where I then crashed, thinking that cars are way too much trouble! But, also looking on the bright side, at least I didn't run out of gas, get a flat tire or end up in a crash. (About ten minutes after I got to market, dad had called telling me to be careful while driving, because he had just driven by an SUV un it's roof and he didn't want that happening to me.)
Now, to see if they will let me out on my own again.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Driving
It has become a joke among people who know me, about when I will get around to getting a license. :D Whenever I make a comment about my car, my license, driving or anything along those lines, I get rolled eyes and "Yeah I'll believe it when I see it!”
I never really wanted to get my license. I had seen more than enough accidents to make it clear that I didn't want to; I would rather let my experienced parents drive. Plus I never really had any where to go. The only place I really liked going I either went with my family.....Ballgames, church, market.....And if there was a time when I wanted to go somewhere by myself that tended to be the library and dad works two blocks from one and mom is always driving by one so she would drop me off while she ran her errands. So, why pay for insurance, take time and add stress to our lives by me having a license? Well, that is what I a little over two years ago. :D
I was a month short of my 18th birthday when I got my permit. And I didn't even want to get it! One Friday mom and I were going to bible study and left early one Friday morning, mom never telling me why. Once we got in the car she said "We are surprising your dad, you getting you permit TODAY!!” (Surprise my dad?!?! What about surprising me?!) So, I got it, passed the written test with flying colors got my permit, walked out to the car and got in the passenger seat. lol There was NO WAY I was going to drive then! That night I showed dad the permit as we walked down the street to go to an Astros game. He was so excited he wanted me to drive home! NO WAY! Not, in the dark, not in down town, and not for a while!! Little did I know he would have me driving in the country in the dark for my first time! But, I did and I survived.
Well, I drove almost everywhere afterwards, that I could. Getting as much practice in as I could an enjoying it VERY much, much to my surprise. I have some great memories from learning to drive. :D Most of them have to do with something that I said and dad's reaction. I am sure that he never thought it would be this bad to teach me to drive. (Hey he's been "teaching" me since I was 8!) One of them is from my first time behind the wheel. I am coming around a curve way to slowly, but I didn't want to go any faster. When dad asked why I replied with "There is a mean looking bull on the other side of that fence, and I don't really care to find out if he is as mean looking as he seems!" That left dad speechless for a few seconds!
When a year came and my permit expired we planned on getting my license ASAP, but so much came up, a sick grandfather, a new baby, two out of state trips, the dairy, never really giving us a free Tuesday to go in and get it.
Now here we NEED me to get it, the Woodlands market is my market. With mom and dad at two other markets at the same time, they need me to be filling in there. I will be driving there ever week; a license would be a nice thing. :D We tried three times to get it. Tuesday I couldn't take the test because the ground was wet and it might rain and Wednesday I couldn't take it because one of the workers had to go get her husband, who had been flooded down in Hobby.
After two days of trying to get it and nothing happening we went in the third time, yesterday around two. We would have gone in bright and early, but mom had a Dr. appointment and I had a late start on the yogurt. So we get in there and I walk up and the lady says "I thought you would have been here earlier!" Oh, boy! So, we get an appointment time, and then go out to sonic. What fun, mom and me time!
We get there, pray (as I am sitting in the car near to dying!), start the test with the inspection, the lady gets in the car, looks back and sees our white board from market the night before and asks "So, what do y'all do sell milk?" "yes, mama goat's milk, chocolate milk, yogurt, kefir and a new coffee flavored milk drink" (The salesperson in me kicked in! lol) "I think you know some friends of mine _____, I think they used to buy your milk, they said it was great." (And yes, I did know them).
So, we go on with the test were I flunk parallel parking, but did well on everything, but one turn and passed. She was so busy asking me about my siblings, family, goats and dairy that she forgot to grade me until she was getting out of the car! And no, it was not my fault! I was not going to talk, because I was advised by more than one person not to, but I do have to answer questions when asked, don't I? lol
So, we go into the office and as she is getting my information she asks me if anyone in my family will be in Hempstead tomorrow, because she would like some chocolate milk. lol
So, I got my license, didn't kill anyone or even come close :D made a sale, and kind of enjoyed it. :D I now can drive and prove to people that I am as old as I say I am! Now I need to get driving a standard down pat.
I never really wanted to get my license. I had seen more than enough accidents to make it clear that I didn't want to; I would rather let my experienced parents drive. Plus I never really had any where to go. The only place I really liked going I either went with my family.....Ballgames, church, market.....And if there was a time when I wanted to go somewhere by myself that tended to be the library and dad works two blocks from one and mom is always driving by one so she would drop me off while she ran her errands. So, why pay for insurance, take time and add stress to our lives by me having a license? Well, that is what I a little over two years ago. :D
I was a month short of my 18th birthday when I got my permit. And I didn't even want to get it! One Friday mom and I were going to bible study and left early one Friday morning, mom never telling me why. Once we got in the car she said "We are surprising your dad, you getting you permit TODAY!!” (Surprise my dad?!?! What about surprising me?!) So, I got it, passed the written test with flying colors got my permit, walked out to the car and got in the passenger seat. lol There was NO WAY I was going to drive then! That night I showed dad the permit as we walked down the street to go to an Astros game. He was so excited he wanted me to drive home! NO WAY! Not, in the dark, not in down town, and not for a while!! Little did I know he would have me driving in the country in the dark for my first time! But, I did and I survived.
Well, I drove almost everywhere afterwards, that I could. Getting as much practice in as I could an enjoying it VERY much, much to my surprise. I have some great memories from learning to drive. :D Most of them have to do with something that I said and dad's reaction. I am sure that he never thought it would be this bad to teach me to drive. (Hey he's been "teaching" me since I was 8!) One of them is from my first time behind the wheel. I am coming around a curve way to slowly, but I didn't want to go any faster. When dad asked why I replied with "There is a mean looking bull on the other side of that fence, and I don't really care to find out if he is as mean looking as he seems!" That left dad speechless for a few seconds!
When a year came and my permit expired we planned on getting my license ASAP, but so much came up, a sick grandfather, a new baby, two out of state trips, the dairy, never really giving us a free Tuesday to go in and get it.
Now here we NEED me to get it, the Woodlands market is my market. With mom and dad at two other markets at the same time, they need me to be filling in there. I will be driving there ever week; a license would be a nice thing. :D We tried three times to get it. Tuesday I couldn't take the test because the ground was wet and it might rain and Wednesday I couldn't take it because one of the workers had to go get her husband, who had been flooded down in Hobby.
After two days of trying to get it and nothing happening we went in the third time, yesterday around two. We would have gone in bright and early, but mom had a Dr. appointment and I had a late start on the yogurt. So we get in there and I walk up and the lady says "I thought you would have been here earlier!" Oh, boy! So, we get an appointment time, and then go out to sonic. What fun, mom and me time!
We get there, pray (as I am sitting in the car near to dying!), start the test with the inspection, the lady gets in the car, looks back and sees our white board from market the night before and asks "So, what do y'all do sell milk?" "yes, mama goat's milk, chocolate milk, yogurt, kefir and a new coffee flavored milk drink" (The salesperson in me kicked in! lol) "I think you know some friends of mine _____, I think they used to buy your milk, they said it was great." (And yes, I did know them).
So, we go on with the test were I flunk parallel parking, but did well on everything, but one turn and passed. She was so busy asking me about my siblings, family, goats and dairy that she forgot to grade me until she was getting out of the car! And no, it was not my fault! I was not going to talk, because I was advised by more than one person not to, but I do have to answer questions when asked, don't I? lol
So, we go into the office and as she is getting my information she asks me if anyone in my family will be in Hempstead tomorrow, because she would like some chocolate milk. lol
So, I got my license, didn't kill anyone or even come close :D made a sale, and kind of enjoyed it. :D I now can drive and prove to people that I am as old as I say I am! Now I need to get driving a standard down pat.
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