How Do I Think I've Changed?

"How do you think you've changed most since switching to farm life?"

This was asked of me on a previous post.  As sit here I'm trying to figure it out.  It's not an easy question to answer.

Before I start anything I want to remind you that when we moved out to the farm I was 16, now I'm at the ripe old age of 24.  So, it's hard for me to say "I've changed here, here, and here because we are now living a farm life.".  I have a hard time saying that some of these changes come from being in the country vs. these changes coming from my being eight years older.

Its really not easy for me to see how I've changed, I'm sure that my parents, older sisters, And some close friends could point out the places that I've changed, but I'm having a hard time to pinpoint where I have changed.  The biggest way that comes to mind is how I look at food and the processes it takes to get to my plate.

When I was 16 I never thought about how my food got from a living in a cage or on a farm to my plate.  I was just happy to have it on my plate or to be able to cook a meal with it.  Now, I pay attention to where my food comes from, how was it raised, what did it eat, etc.  These things come into mind when I shop for food & how I cook the items I am given to cook with. 

Not only do I look at my food different but I've been able to raise or make a lot of foods that I never thought I'd be able to make. I can plant, grow, and harvest a garden.  Now I did do this a little bit when we lived in Houston.  But never as big as the one I did out here.  Also I've learned to not just go to the store and buy what ever veggie plants they have on hand. I plan the garden with what I know we will eat, what will grow in my part of Texas and what I can handle growing.  (Small note, that while I can do the garden I don't any more, that pleasure is all given to Linnea now that I'm busy making cheese.)

I can raise a chick from chick hood to an age where it is either able to be butchered or starts laying.  I can then either butcher out the chicken or continue to feed to the chicken and get eggs from said chicken.  Now, I will tell you that I am not keen on chickens and I tip my hat to those people that raise them so I can have eggs and chicken.  Now, while I was one to help with the first (and second) batch of chickens here on Swede Farm I am not the a chicken farmer and leave that honor to Emma.

Lastly (for now at least) I can deliver goats.  Oh, sure my mom was a midwife I had seen a number of my sisters born before I moved out to the farm and I had considered being my mom's assistant, but I never though I would deliver goats!!  Now I have and when I look at our animals I can normally say "I remember when you were born" or "Don't you EVER give me a kidding like you did this last year around!"  But then my favorite is "You can repeat this year's kidding if you want!".  lol

Then I can take these babies that I helped deliver and help raise them to an age where we milk them twice a day everyday & then turn around and make that milk into a product I can sell.  Either a pasteurized milk that can be sold at market or yogurt, cheese, flavored milk, cajeta, etc.  And enjoy ever minute of it.

Lastly (not food related) I help to keep my family clean by making soap with our goat's milk.  Not only something I enjoy, but something that brings me a little money and that I can do while still staying home and helping the family.  :-D

I'm Still Here!

For those of you who didn't know it over the past month I've spent three weeks staying 2 hours north-Northwest of New York City and the past week in Boise.

The work in New York is nothing different then I am used to from here at our farm.  Just different ways of animal management and cheese making, main reason I went to New York the first time was to learn how other people do animal management and cheese making.  It's the best way to learn...From others who have been doing it longer then I have.

This time around I went up to help with chores & cheese making so that they could build a new barn.  Since I already knew what I was doing it was easier for me to fly up their & help with chores and other farm things instead of them hiring a new person up there & spending time to train them in all things goat & farm.

In previous years when my time in New York was over, I've either drove down to Texas (hauling goats) or flew down (best way at the time.) This year I kind of did both...I flew from New York into Boise for the American Dairy Goat Association's (AGDA) Yearly Convention & Meeting.  After a week I drove down with another goat breeder.

All this to tell you....The first day there I did the all day Pre-Training Conference, taking the first steps in becoming an ADGA judge.  Becoming a judge as been something that I've wanted to do for years now.  (a friend reminded me earlier today how she has know me for seven years and as long as she has known me I have wanted to become a judge.)  I didn't go through the entire conference, meaning I don't have my apprenticeship.

Of course, now looking back I'm kicking myself that I didn't go the entire way, but it's a lesson learned and I'm sure there is a reason that I didn't get it.  I may never know it and in the end it may just be because I was scared and lazy.

I can remember hen we moved out to the farm (remember I was 16 when we moved out).  There ere a few people that told my parents "Why would you do this to your kids?!?  I grew up in the country and moved into the city as soon as I could.  Your kids will be doing the same thing! As soon as they can they will be off the farm."

Eight years later and I'm still on the farm.  Not only am I still on the farm, but I'm here by my choice doing what I love and taking what steps I can to go father in this industry.

I'm taking internships and classes to advance my knowledge of goats and goat cheese.

I've started my own business of making & selling goat milk soap.

I help in as many ways as possible to advance goats and people's knowledge of them.

I've started taking the steps to becoming a judge. 

I enjoy what I do.

I enjoy selling at markets and meeting people.

I enjoy educating people about goats & their products.

Yes I have made my own choice to stay here.

And as long as it is God's will I will be living on the farm helping my family with the family business

My Brother on My Date

In the past I've been know to say "I have a date with our large screen TV."  when ever there is something I want to watch that evening.  Apparently Timothy has forgot that I say that. 

This afternoon Timothy asked me if I as going to go with Him, Noah, and Judah to their scrimmage this evening.  I told him "No, I have a date tonight!"

Timothy "A what!?!"

Me: "A date."

Timothy: "With who?"

Me: "Our TV."

Timothy: "Uhhh....Who is Art V?"

Me: "OUR TV!"

Timothy (while he looks at me strangely): "Your weird!"

**For those of you that don't know I'm a baseball fan and I am referring to game seven of the NLCS between the St Louis Cardinals & San Fransisco Giants.**

My laptop's Death In Whey

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while, you will remember that I've had a bad history when it comes to laptops.  In my defense, none of the damage done to my laptops was done by me.  In each case someone else was borrowing it (with or without permission).  Thus making it not my fault, but my problem.  :D

A year and half ago (can't believe it was that long ago!) you'll remember my laptop was dropped in whey by Linnea.  It's been asked that I expound on how it all happened.

To be truthful the main reason I didn't post about this back when it happened is because I didn't want to dwell on it as I was not having the best of attitude about it, esp when Linnea was in the room when I was talking about it.  Now I've let it go (again, mom was right.  My sister is more important then the laptop or the money she might have owed me to repair it.) and the other reason was because I didn't get all the details until months later.  So, here goes (with a reminder as well)....

As I was driving to the Rodeo it was raining, I was late, trying not to stress out or speed when I got the phone call.  (Just FYI I HATE driving in the rain.  I'd rather drive all night, then an hour in the rain.)  I notice it's home calling (and I only left the house 10 minutes before) so I answer it (Using a hands free device of course) to Linnea on the other end.

Linnea:  "Katie since I'm bottling the chocolate milk for you so you can go to the Rodeo"--(mind you to work, but she forgot that part!)--"Can I use your laptop to listen to music?"

Me (Keep in mind I don't like driving in the rain): "Yeah! Sure! What ever!  Don't hurt it!  Bye."

A few hours later I halted in my coffee making, cobbler serving job to answer the phone.

Mom: "Katie, Linnea had your laptop in the dairy & Grace went in there to help & some how in the transfer of workers your laptop was dropped in the whey.  It's sitting in rice right now, & we can see how it's working later on when you get home."....

Weeks (close to months) later I found out the true "gory" details of my laptop's death.  Turns out that Linnea in her 14 year old mind thought it would be OK to put the laptop on top of a cutting board and then place the cutting board on the only flat surface she could think of--Across the bucket that the whey drips into from the hanging cheese.

Then when Grace came in one of the two girls (I will probably NEVER know who) knocked the shelf that the bucket was sitting on.  That caused enough vibration on the shelf to rock the cutting board into the bucket of whey, thus causing the laptop to slip into the whey. 

Make sense?  Didn't think so,  lol  I'm still trying to figure it all out myself.  But, now I'm two laptops down the road and the whole episode taught me a couple lessons....Never answer a questions about lending my things to any of my sisters, while driving in the rain and never let Linnea borrow my laptop in the dairy (or around anything liquid).

That just might be one of the times when I shouldn't have answered the phone and just told them, "I was driving" the next time I talked to them.  But, oh well there's a reason for everything & maybe Linnea Listening to music as she placed my laptop in a precarious position was meant to be that laptop's last act of service.  Doesn't mean I like that it drowned a sticky & wet death!  lol

And there is the expounded story of my first laptop's death.

HELP!!

For those of you who have been reading this blog from the beginning I'm sure you'll remember about my learning disability  If not here is a reminder.  :D

With it comes great writers block, so I'm asking for help,  What would you like me to post about?  What questions do you have about the dairy, my soaps, my siblings, my life that I have not covered over the past few years.

What thing in my life have you wondered about, but never could figure out how to ask me?  (If you've ever had that problem.  :D ) 

If you are that person, this post is for your?  What do YOU want me to blog about?  What would you like to ask me?  Ask away, I need help for blog topics and while I know people have asked me things & given suggestions in person.  I tend to forget what they are when I go to sit down and talk about those topics.

So, please help!  Bring on the questions!

Contentment

A word we hear all the time, but do we think about it & what it means?

I've been told my entire life I should be content with what God has given me or where he has put me in my life. And I was, or at least I thought I was. But, I like everyone else go through stages in my life.

I will not forget one night when I was coming home from a midweek market and at the end of what had been a bad day earlier...Maybe I had argued with my mom, maybe one of my sisters had taken an article of clothing, or wonders of wonders, maybe the fact that I had to many siblings in my bed caused me to have a bad night sleep. Honestly it doesn't matter why the reason, but I was in a foul mood & feeling sorry for myself.

As I was speeding down the freeway listening to Trace Adkins' “Just Fishing” on the local country station. I was grumbling to myself “I really wish my dad would take me fishing, She has no idea what she has there!”. After about two minutes of that self centered thinking while listening to the Tracy sing about not missing moments in his daughters life. The song ended, an add came on, & I changed the channel...To my ever faithful baseball game.

And then it hit me...I was not being content with my life and what God had given me!

Here I was thinking about myself and how I'd like to go fishing and my dad would never take me. Only to forget about the things he had done for me.

I forgot about all those evenings he spent watching baseball games with me. The times he stayed home from a night out with mom (or even the night he came home from a date with mom) to watch a special moment in baseball with me (whether it was that big or not).

I failed to take into account all the money he had spent getting me tickets, even though he knew the Astros were going to lose that night.

I neglected to bring to mind all those hours he spent trying to make me feel better as I shed many tears over the Astros & Red Sox shortened season.

There I sat thinking about my dad not taking me fishing (something that I haven't done in ages & can live without) and I was failing to be content in the dad that I had, the dad that had indulged my passion (or one of them) for years. I failed in being content with my dad...A dad who has done nothing but be the best dad he could be.

That caused me to think. If I wasn't content in that, what else was I not content in? While there are many things that I am or was not content in I pray & work daily to remedy them. It was a hard lesson to learn in the dark on a road by myself. But it was a lesson learned, that hopefully one day will show in my life. That one day the years my mom & dad who have worked tirelessly to show & help me be able to live a content life will come to pass.

While I know this is something my parents have spent years trying to get across to me (Because I was not content with some aspects of my life...Such as lack of fishing with my dad). Maybe this year, this month, this week, this day will be the time when I can remedy that. And be a witness for the Lord & make my parents proud of the daughter they have raised.

With God's help only can that happen. And in the future hopefully I will listen to a song, see a moment, think a thought that will not lead to me being discount in my life, but that will lead to me counting my blessings and thanking the Lord for all that I have been given.