Where Have I Been?!?! …Confessions

I know you’re well aware that I haven’t written in over a year. Why? The answer is simple…I haven’t had time. It’s also quite complex…I haven’t had the nerve or better yet, the insight to write this. Recently, a new outlook hit me, so here goes…

In October of 2009 I lost my job – very unexpectedly and without the payment that was due to me for the previous month of work. I had bills to pay and in my mind Christmas was creeping up on me at an alarming rate. After I stopped crying, I picked myself up and I did what I know…I started making things. The list of new things that I wanted to make actually started to come to life. I was happy.

During a relapse of self pity Mr. looked at me and said, “If you could sell things from here, I would be okay with that.” I was baffled. “Sell what?” I asked. “Sell the things you’re making. If you can make enough money to help pay the bills, I’m okay with that. You’re happy doing this,” he said.

I had just been given the green light to do what I love – make things. I went for it and I went for it big. I got gutsy and I signed up for a craft show. Just one; just enough to test the waters. I loaded my table and sat and waited… and I fought back tears. Did I just spend money (that I didn’t have) on supplies to make things and I’m not going to sell a thing? And then it happened. I sold something and then something else.

I had confidence and I was going to make this work. By mid December I had enough confidence that I opened my big mouth at a local store and asked for a meeting to discuss selling my wares. She said yes. By mid January 2010 she had placed her initial order. I couldn’t have been happier.

Fast forward to now… I make and sell hair bows and accessories for little girls and women and I have another product line of goat milk soap and lotion. I sell at the Farmers’ Market, craft shows and I have six retail stores that carry my products. I have a website for my hair bows and accessories that is fully functional and a website for the soaps and lotions that is in the development stage.

I did it! So what’s the big deal and why so secretive? The entire time I’ve been doing this, I’ve been thinking, what does making girly hair bows and accessories have to do with being self reliant?

And then one day recently it hit me like a ton of bricks…DUH!!! It has everything to do with being self reliant – I am reliant on myself to make and sell my products to be able to pay the bills.

So there you have it… No super duper, top-secret plan; just me finally getting out of the way of myself and looking at things from a different angle.

All the while I’ve been busy with all of this, our farm life has story after story that you need to get caught up on. It will just have to be after the fact.

Egg Shell Seedling Starters

Have you checked the 2010 Egg Counter lately? I'm amazed at the number of eggs that 11 hens have produced thus far...239 in the month of January. Wow!!!

So what does a person do with all of those eggs? We didn't sell many this past month because everyone thinks (as we did) that hens don't lay very well in the winter. We've eaten many baked custards, we've eaten breakfast for dinner many times and we've given many away.

It really bothers me that we just throw away the shells. Well we don't throw them away, we compost them, but surely there's something else that can be done with at least some of them.

Here's what I came up with.


It's my little (hopeful) herb garden. I have basil, chives, lemon balm and sage planted. That little "holder" is a tea light candle holder.

So far the only thing to sprout is the basil and the lemon balm. The only thing still living is the lemon balm. I don't know what happened to the basil, but my little sprouts died.

I think it's been long enough, so I'll have to replant. Maybe the seeds are bad??

Potty Training and The Farmer's Almanac

Yes, the two things are related. I never would have thought, but I am a true believer.

At the end of December we pulled out the panties and the potty chair and got everything ready to start…again. It was a no go. I had to do several loads of laundry on day because we only had 6 pair of panties. Day 2 was much better. Only a few accidents. Day 3 was non-existent; she refused to put on the panties.

I was talking to my mom about my frustration and she recommended that I check the Farmer’s Almanac. Do what? She explained that they have days that they recommend that you do things like this. Hmmm. We have a Farmer’s Almanac, but I thought it was for the weather and planting, not potty training. What did I have to lose?

I pulled out the Farmer’s Almanac and checked. Nothing. I read the chapter on how to read this book twice and I still couldn’t figure it out so I went to the internet. And guess what I found. This is awesome! It tells you the best days to do all sorts of things. I found it. There are 10 days every month that are the best for potty training. For January it started on the 12th.

I decided to give it a try according to the Farmer’s Almanac, so Tuesday, January 12th, we started again.

January 12 – 3 accidents, but went several times in the potty
January 13 – 1 accident
January 14 – 1 accident in a diaper while running errands (perfectly acceptable and understandable)
January 15 – More errands. Every store we went into she asked where the potty was. While at the grocery store I abandoned the cart with Mr. and we ran for the bathroom. The big potty with no little seat freaked her out and she couldn’t go. She finally had an accident in her diaper on the way home.
January 16 – 1 accident while trying to get to the potty.
January 17 – No accidents
January 18 – No accidents

I’m convinced. I recommend that everyone in need of potty training (or a million other things) give the Farmer’s Almanac a try. Please note that when I talk about our success I’m only referring to when she is awake. She still wears a diaper at nap and bed and she wakes up wet from both, but 2 diapers a day is a considerable improvement.

Homemade Coffee Creamer

This post is co written by my alter ego, El Cheapo. I started my search for a homemade coffee creamer recipe in an effort to save money. But after I found the recipe I realize that it's also Self Reliant, so to me it's a bonus.

This is super simple and yummy!

The base for the recipe is one 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk plus 1 ½ cups milk. Whisk together until combined. That's it.

Now comes the fun part...flavoring.

My first (and only) batch I made chocolate vanilla. I added 1 Tablespoon Cocoa and 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract. After I stirred these in I poured the mixture into my recently emptied store bought creamer container and shook it until the cocoa was incorporated.

I haven't tried any other flavors, but don't worry, I will. As I try other flavors I'll keep you posted.

Green Onions Grown in Water

I got this tip from watching Food Network's "Next Food Network Star" several months ago. The winner, Melissa D'Arabian, gave this tip in one of the episodes. She said that you can keep green onions alive in water and the green part will continue to grow. The tip caught my attention immediately, but I don't use green onions frequently, so I pushed it to the back of my mind.

This weekend it surfaced when I had to make a special trip to a grocery store that I rarely visit just for green onions. They were sold in bunches of 6 or 7 and I only needed a few, so I decided to give Melissa's tip a try.

I added them to a cute little bud vase on my counter on day one. They were perky and cute. All was well. On day 2, Mr. said, "Your onions are turning yellow and drooping." I had nothing to lose and decided to keep going.



Today is day 6. Look at the new growth emerging. It works!!! Maybe I'll use green onions more often if I don't have to make a special trip to the store to get them. And now that they're green, it feels kind of like Spring in my kitchen despite the frigid temperatures and piles of snow.

Introducing - 2010 Egg Counter

I don't know about you, but I'm very curious to see how many eggs we'll get this year. So I'm going to keep you posted along the way with an egg counter that you'll see on the upper right side of the page.

We currently have 11 laying hens. Remember those cute little babies that I introduced this fall? They should begin to lay in March. At that time we'll have 18 laying hens (hopefully).

Here's a recap of the first 2 days of the year:

January 1 - 10 eggs

January 2 - 6 eggs

Grand Total - 16 eggs

How many will we have by December 31, 2010? Only time will tell.

Brrrr...It's Cold Outside

While I'm unthawing after evening chores, I'll tell you a little bit about taking care of livestock in the frigid sub zero temperatures of the Midwest. The thermometer is currently at 9 degrees Farenheit, which is a huge warm up from -1 that it read this morning.

My parents asked this very question a couple of weeks ago during our last sub zero stretch. I think they asked out of curiosity, but mostly to be smart @$$3$ about the inevitable answer. In short...it sucks!

So how is it taking care of livestock when the mercury doesn't even reach zero? The most obvious first answer is that the worst part is frozen water. But that isn't the worst part. Frozen water is not nearly as bad as the buckets of water that you have to carry out to them.

Why?

It's below zero and you're dealing with water so you can't wear gloves. So you're hands FREEZE! And as much as you'd think that is the worst part - it's still not.

The worst part about taking care of livestock in sub zero temperatures is that you're dealing with fresh water while not wearing gloves, so your hands freeze from the air and then they get wet and what do all of the animals' enclosures have in common? Metal latches.

I have a very real and very probable fear that my hands are going to freeze to one of the metal latches while trying to get in or out.

It's amazing what you can do with your hand tucked inside the sleeve of your coat. I've learned to open and close latches, but it's inevitable...I'm going to forget. I just hope that Mr. pays attention to the clock and comes out to check on me.