Blahging About Blogging

My very best blog friend 4 Shoes is back to blogging!
You really have no idea how happy this makes me, she has inspired me to blog again and now I want her to blog every single day!
It seems as though most of my circle of blogs fell out of the loop somewhere along the line and moved to the ever expanding, thought sharing, junk food shaming, over memeing, totally addicting, soul sucking Facebook.
There I have watched children grow, marriages come and go, holidays celebrated and meals prepared.
It is so satisfying and such a quick fix, but here's the problem, I have no reference on my life.
I don't post about the happenings of my day or the funny or horrible or horribly funny things that happen and even more often don't happen in my own life.

When I started this blog it was The Trailerparks Farm.

It was a place for me to post every day about what was happening within my family and for my family as I cared for our aging grandparents, but it quickly turned into a thing that I loved to do and I found a community that made me laugh and sometimes even cry as they shared their lives with me and the rest of the world.
And so, I blogged.
And blogged.
And blogged.
And blogged.
And then, I stopped.
And now I have no reference to the things that have gone on in my life, except for what sticks to the sticky part of my brain and the BIG stuff that I would remember anyway.

I want to get back to my blogging basics and start posting all the boring stuff.
Pictures of cats, crappy arts and crafts and I want to talk way too much about the kid that calls me "Tranny" because he can't pronounce a hard "G".

And I suppose if I talk too much about that stuff, you could just click out and go find something interesting on Youtube or call your mom or something.

And I guess if you're one of the thirtytwoeleventeen people that end up here because you think I'm the Dirty Jobs Fat Bottom Farm (I'm not) you will figure it out and keep looking for them on Google
(They're not there) and just for the record, our farm is NOT named after their farm, we were fat before they were on T.V and our fat bottoms are donkeys not goats.
Jack asses, fat donkeys, fat asses, can't say fat ass on the internet, fat bottoms, Fat Bottom Farm.
Donkeys.
And I do make soap, but I do not make goats milk soap because I do not have goats.
I have donkeys.

And a pig.

And sheep.

And dogs and geese and chickens and some cats.

None of which would make very good "milk" soaps so I stick with the basic home made, cold process milk free soaps that you can buy here at the Fat Bottom Etsy.

So, what all of this has been about, is, I'm going to try to get back to some basic blogging, and if most of my other blogging friends are gone, I hope to make a lot of new blogging friends who like to talk about a lot of boring stuff and look at pictures of cats and kids and crochet projects, and cake, and soap and failed craft projects that would have been better off just left looked at on Pinterest.

Sound good?
Good!

Peas.

Lambs!

We're lambing!
Belle was first to go and had twins, Juanita and Hermano...

Wendy and Juanita

Then Jesse with a little ram lamb, Juan Pablo (The Bachelor)
She surprised me with a baby in the bushes, but they're both safe and sound in the barn now.

I have three more ewes I'm watching so that means endless trips to the barn all the while crossing my fingers and hoping for more twins.
The barn is to far in decline to lamb again next year, so I'm banding all the little rams.
I'll pick up some used sheep now and again just because I have so much pasture I need to keep down and don't tell me to get goats because I've had goats or should I say goats have had me...
No more goats.

I'm busy building up my soap supply again and have one batch ready and more on the shelf.
If you have a special request let me know, handmade soap is a great house warming, bridal shower and even baby shower gift.
There is nothing better than gentle handmade soap for little ones with sensitive skin.
Also, if you make your own laundry soap my plain and scented bars work wonders in the wash!

Today I'll be listing some Farmers Market.
The scent is light with bibb lettuce, basil and rosemary and no added color.

On the rack is Farm Flowers.
Scented with lilac, honeysuckle, sweet pea and lavender, it smells just like a fresh cut bouquet!
And...
Oregon Blackberry.
Smells like a bowl full of ripe berries with a pinch of crushed blackberry leaf sprinkled in on top.

Next on the list is some mango peach, I can't wait for that one!!

How about some candles...?

Peas.

My Favorite Post

This is an old post and one I like to re-post every year in honor of my very good friend Becky on her birthday.

This is Becky.

When Wyatt was five Becky decided a good pet would be a turtle.
A turtle I thought... Not much effort would go into the care and feeding of a turtle.
Turtles are quiet.
Turtles don't stink.
Becky said she knew someone who had a turtle that was like seventeen years old, so obviously they're a good return on your investment.
After very little thought, I agreed and Becky and I were off to the local Pet-Smart in anticipation of the best pet purchase ever!
We walked in, and there she was, quiet in her tank, looking at us with those big sad turtle eyes, begging us to choose her and take her home and love her forever.
At that moment, I felt like the best Mother and biggest humanitarian.
Giving this cold blooded little creature a home, and giving my son what would surely be a childhood filled with wonderful memories of he and his turtle.
We would call her "Sweetie."
As we walked to the car I reached out to hand Becky the box that held Sweetie, and as I recall, it was there in the parking lot that Becky gave her first initial cringe of fear and maybe even a wince of disgust.
Hmm... I was confused.
I asked Becky why she would encourage my to buy Wyatt a turtle if she was, might I say, a little repulsed by the animal,
Becky looked at me and shrugged and replied, "Your Kid."
We returned home with Sweetie to what I assumed would be squeals of joy and laughter.
Instead, I was met with stand offishness and a little reservation.
My son looked a me and said, "a turtle?"
Whatever.
I liked Sweetie.
It turned out, like things usually do with kids and pets, that I was the sole caregiver and companion to Sweetie.
Wyatt would take her out to "play" but it didn't take long (usually between 31-33 seconds) for him to become bored and walk away forgetting to put her back in her bowl.
The search for Sweetie would then ensue, with nobody wanting to be the one to find her as she would usually be a cold clammy bumpy surprise between the couch cushions hiding under the cover of darkness.
Even I was a little creeped out by that.
That Summer, Becky and her boyfriend Pumpkin Head were in the midst of buying and remodeling a new house and while they did they stayed in a camp trailer that lacked many of the normal comforts of home so Becky would often come to the house and use our washer and dryer.
One evening, while we waited for her wash to finish we decided to open a box of wine and do some online shopping and as I often did while relaxing around the house, I had tucked Sweetie safely in the front of my bra where she could be warm and comfortable instead of being alone in her bowl and that, I assure you, was more than Becky could stand.
A turtle in my bra.
It gave Becky a giant case of the heebes, so I did what any good friend would do and took it upon myself to help Becky get passed her fear and loathing of Sweetie.
After all, the turtle was her idea.
I took sweetie out of my bra and told Becky she had to hold her
I think I might have even called her names and tried to shame her into bonding with Sweetie.
She really didn't have a choice, it was either be a big baby or hold the turtle.
So she held Sweetie high and at arms length and started petting her shell.
Sweetie liked that and poked her head out and looked at Becky as if to say "thank you."
Becky was surprised to find she was not as repulsed as she had expected to be.
Sweetie wasn't so bad, in fact, I thought for a minute maybe Becky was beginning to like Sweetie as she started softly rubbing her her neck.
Before I knew it, Becky was holding Sweetie to her face, talking smoochy talk and caressing Sweetie's neck as Sweetie bobbed her head up and down, up and down, stretching her neck out as farrrr as she could.

And that's when it happened.

Before we even had time to prepare ourselves Sweetie ejaculated all over Becky!

Her neck and bare shoulder were instantly covered in a sticky, gross, white, slimy, ooze. 

The situation quickly grew out of control.

Madness ensued.

Becky was screaming, tears falling down her cheeks.

I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.

Sweetie was on the kitchen table sound asleep.
I wanted to help Becky, I really did, but I couldn't.
I. 
Could. 
Not. 
Stop. 
Laughing.
I have tears in my eyes and I am laughing right now.
I don't remember what happened next, and really, who cares what happened next.
My friend Becky made Sweetie the happiest turtle in the trailer park that night, but sadly it was also the end of what may have otherwise been a beautiful relationship.

And that my friends, is my favorite post :)

Pink Eye and Bikini waxes

What a weekend...
I think I want to start spending my weekends in the Poconos.
Mind you I have no idea where the Poconos are but I've heard a lot of people talking about spending weekends there so I think I want to go too.
Especially if you don't have to do dumb stuff there like cook and clean.
6 got home Friday afternoon and after he got all his work junk done we had to go to town and buy him new pants and new shoes and then we refi'd the loan on the truck because we got our interest rate dropped which lowered our payment so we had to fill out all that paperwork and then get back to town to Fedex it back to the bank and then we had dinner and then it was to late to clean the mother clucking garage!!!!
I can't believe it.
I think he needs to just bite the bullet and go back to work for Safeway.
We figure if he had done that we he got home from Iraq we would be through the hardest part already.
See with Safeway you bid runs based on seniority and when he went to Iraq he lost his seniority so he might only work two days a week but the thing is he can make almost as much in two days as he can in a full week driving for anyone else AND he's home to take care of our falling down farm.
Seriously, there is so much that needs to be done and it seems like every week we don't get one thing done two things fall apart so I think he just needs to come home.
That of course means more cooking for me and having to sit in the uncomfortable chair but I guess I'll just have to learn to sacrifice.

Molly Mule has pink eye.

She has pink eye so she has to have drops twice a day, well I guess it isn't really drops it's a gel, but she loves having it done because she gets a marshmallow afterwards.

Mules love marshmallows.

So do donkeys.

And sheep.

And goats.

Little Judy is growing up before our very eyes.

I decided it's best not to create another monster like Belle, so I send her out with the big kids during the day instead of letting her stay in the house with me like Belle did.

Belle still barks from the barnyard when she wants out and thinks she should have a seat on the couch instead of a bed in the barn and gawd knows I can't have two like her.

Judy seems perfectly content to go out and tag along although I'm pretty sure the other three think she's a real pest. 

Pearl and Nanny both get really annoyed when she tries to nurse on them and Belle won't even let her get close.

We're meeting Wendy for dinner in town tonight.

She's getting really close to being done with her hours at school and has already passed her state boards.

You know it's a proud moment for a mother when her daughter completes the entire beauty school course.

I was just a mere manicurist and always dreamed of a better life for her.

The world is her oyster now and I think she has a very bright future in permanent waves and bikini waxes.

Peas

Happy Days

Sorry I missed you yesterday, Wendy surprised us at 6:15 in the morning.
Wyatt was just getting ready to head out to the bus when the dogs went bananas and Wendy bounded through the door!
What a great surprise and I'm sure I don't need to tell you that of course Wyatt did NOT want to go to school if his sister was going to be spending the day, but I kicked his butt out the door anyway.

I guess the douchebag actually has a job and it's somewhere down the highway past our house and that's why he dropped her off so early.
Wendy say's he's a rigging repairman, but I can assure you I wouldn't want any rigging on my job site that that sfb (sh!t for brains) worked on and anyway I'm sure he's nothing more than a glorified gopher.
No offense to gophers.
But I'm not going to say anything bad about that waste of breathe today because this is all about the good time we had yesterday.

What contributed to our super fun day yesterday was this...

This is Judy.

She's a surprise sheep :)

Her mother is one of the 100 year old ewes that my Grampy had and there are only four of them left.
I guess Dan the Ram took a fancy to one of those old girls and look what they made.

A little Judy ❤

That ewe is so old we were surprised she was even able to carry her and let me tell you, she is one little teeny tiny lamb.

We watched them together for quite a while and then decided we needed to load her up and bring her down and make her a spot in the recovery room with Pepper.

We mixed her up a bottle and made her a nice warm bed and she settled right in

 Wendy is the one that chose the name Judy.
Wyatt and I had decided on Blossom after Wyatt had told me she was a he and we had named him Shaun, but then Wen came out and said we needed to name her Judy since Grampy loved Judge Judy and since she was going to be carrying the lineage of GPK sheep she needed to be named in honor of him.

She's a good eater...

And she's sooooo sweet

In Other News

I think you should probably be sitting down for this.

Today I received child support from that Jackass 4&5!

{Wyatts Dad}

That M'r F'r called on Saturday to tell me that his Captain on the boat he fished last summer paid the money out of his own pocket because the state was so far up his a$$ about paying and threatening him with an audit.

Like that was my fault.

Keep in mind this is the first time we've heard from him since July.

And he's NINE years behind in child support.

He played the injured party card and yelled at me and told me what a terrible person I was for making his boss pay all that money and he hoped I was happy. 

I told him the only thing that could make me any happier was if he were to be hit by a bus.

Then he asked to speak to Wyatt and that's when sh!t really hit the fan!

Wyatt was so calm and so cool and in no uncertain terms told that Jackass just what he thought of him.

He asked him if he knew when his birthday was and of course Jack didn't know and when Wyatt asked if he even knew how old he was that idiot said fourteen!

Wyatt is eleven.

Oh well, at least we got something.

I'm taking Wyatt to Toys-R-Us this afternoon after school to get a new Bionicle to celebrate our financial windfall.

I'm sure it will be the last we see for awhile.

Today I'm making candles.

Life is good.

Peas.

The Duck And The Dog

Welcome to Farm Friend Friday!
Be sure to check out all the other fabulous farm blogs at the Verde farm!



Wyatt is still sick today.
I wish there was something I could do to make him feel better, but I think we're just going to have to wait this one out.

I have a beat up duck in the garage.
I have a beat up duck and a blind peacock in the garage and the peacock is none to happy about having to share his digs with the duck.
Pepper has been blind since we got him so he sleeps in the garage because he wouldn't be able to make his way in the hen house at night with rest of the flock, but the duck is in the garage because of the Bad Baby Buddy.

You see Buddy spends his day taking stock of the livestock.

He makes his way from one pasture to another making sure everyone is doing what they're supposed to be doing, but his favorite stop is the barnyard with Belle, Nanny and Pearl and of course all the birds.

He spends hours down there playing, mostly with Belle because Pearl doesn't really like to play...

Pearl can be a real grouch.

And since Nanny is still getting a feel for the place she isn't much fun to play with either.

But his favorite game is herd the duck.

Not herd the goose, because that game always ends up with Buddy getting goosed, but herd the duck is usually a safe bet but yesterday while enjoying a rousing game of herd the duck the duck made the mistake of going in Pearl's pig house and Buddy played herd the duck a bit to rough and the duck took a bit of a beating and so that's why I have a beat up duck in  my garage this morning.
Don't worry about the duck though, she's living the good life in the garage and probably thinks Pepper is without a doubt the best looking duck she's ever seen.

That's all I've got today.

Oh wait.

Did you watch Idol last night?

What do you think of the new judges?

Ok, that's all.

Still no call about the job.

Peas.

Tuesday Morning

Well yesterday I wrote my first resume and cover letter.
I was going to have my smart friend Deborah read it over before I sent it in, but I got ants in my pants and just hit send without it being proofed and now I bet they think I'm a big stooge especially since I sent it in the wrong format and they had to send it back and I had to resend it in the right format.
GahhhhDuhhhh.
I never heard back from them yesterday either so I'm sure they probably looked at it and went yeah right whatever weirdo.
That's ok, I'll just practice asking if you'd like fries with that.
Would you like fries with that?
Great! Would you like fries with that?
Okeydokey, fries with that today sir?
Ummm, alrighty then and would you like fries with that?
See how diversified I can be?
I could probably even get a shake in there if I had to.

Looking for a job blows.
I have applied so many different places and I don't even hear back and they were all stupid places anyway and then I see the listing for this job and it sounds so perfect that I wish I never even saw it because now I'm sad that I won't get it :(

Ok, whatever, chin up moving forward.

I'm almost finished with a very cool "shabby chic" "cottage rug".
Good marketing huh?
It's kind of pastely eastery colors that would go really good in a laundry room or a nursery or a shabby chic cottage done in a big stitch that makes the rug oober soft I hate it when the dogs lick themselves when I'm trying to talk it grosses me out and I loose my concentration and cozy under your feet.
If I finish it today I'll take a picture and post it on the fat facebook.
I wish the weather would clear up so I could get some more pictures of Nanny.
You know who I haven't talked about for a long time?
Astro.
The catastrophic cat.
The whirling white wonder.
He is easily as big or bigger than Pansy his calico counterpart and always causing trouble, in trouble or contemplating trouble.
He goes everywhere leaving a wide wake of destruction in his path.
He chases chickens, stalks peacocks, lunges on the lambs and lays in wait for the pig.
That cat is T.R.O.U.B.L.E
Isn't that a Loretta Lynn song?
Lucky for him he's the cutest cat in the world.

Ok, I'm done.

Peas.

Bee Blog

We never got any stupid snow.
Oh I know that none of you really feel very sorry for me because you all have stupid snow of your own, but I would really like just one big snow this year.
Just one.
And it doesn't look like I'm going to get it.
Oh well.

Tonight Wyatt and I are going to our first OSBA meeting.
Do you know what OSBA is?
I'll tell you.
Oregon State Beekeeper Association!
This Christmas I bought some honey from Honeyrun Farm who bought some slippers from me so I wanted to return the kindness and purchase something from her Etsy shop.

Little did I know that this honey would be so beautiful or that the taste would bee so amazing so the day It arrived I immediately got online and ordered some for my sister and she loved it too!
And then I started thinking...
We could grow honey.
We could be bee farmers!

So I've been tossing this thought around a lot and on Tuesday I decided to email Jayne at Honeyrun and ask her some questions and she gave me some answers that led me to the OSBA that just happens to meet six miles from my house TONIGHT.
I'm really excited to find out if this is something I could do...
6 says it's a bad idea because I'll have all the bees named and bee bringing the bees in the house.
Whatever, I will not. Not on purpose.
Anyway, you know what they say...
Whatever will bee will bee.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Peas

Get Rich Quick

Anyone on my email list, look out...
I've decided to give all those get rich by forwarding to six people emails a try.
I am SO tired of being poor! Argghh!!
Heres the deal, I need your help.
We have this beautiful farm, there has to be some way we can have it work for us, but I just can't figure out how, so I need you to help me come up with some ideas.
I would LOVE to have a pumpkin patch, but the cost of ground prep is pretty steep.
I would also love to do an organic garden and a roadside stand, or even sell to local restaurants or green grocers but I have no idea how or where to begin.
I know there's a way, I just need to figure out the how.
Have any ideas?

Wyatt's home from school today because they're forecasting snow and if he gets sent home on snow route I can't get to him because I'm a weenie and won't drive in the snow and it's to far for him to walk.

I need to go to town and pick up an anti-biotic for Nanny this morning.
She has a puncture wound on her neck from when she got beat up so bad before we got her and it's looking kinda ugly.
I swear she is the cutest little thing, and once again, like every other four legged hay burner on this farm, she came to us with the warning that she's pretty "stand offish" and doesn't really like people and then she turns out to be a snug.
She comes running to the gate whenever we go out, greeting us with her little smokers bleet.
She totally reminds me of a short little old lady who's smoked for forty years who should be wearing big glasses and a house coat.
Most goats say maAaAaa, Nanny says meh.
Very funny.

Ok, I'm going to go rummage through my sheets and start putting a new rug together today.
I think I'll do some spring colors.

Have a great day!

Cupcake Casserole and A New Nanny

Big blog day today!
I have so much to talk about, but first lets start with this...

Nanny

This is Nanny.
As you all know we lost Timber last week to a parasite carried by white tail deer that is deadly to llamas but has no effect on other animals. Losing Timber was not only heart breaking to me but also to Belle our little orphan lamby. I have been trying all week to decide what I could do for Belle.

 Should I put her back in the big pasture with the other sheep? No, they don't like her and the donkeys won't have anything to do with her either. If I just wait a while will Pearl come around and be her friend? No, Pearl is an old egg stealing grouch who wants no part of baby sitting a little lonesome lamb.

Ornery old pig.

I just didn't know what to do and it was looking more and more like I was just going to have to let her run free with the border collie.

Until...

Yesterday was donkey and mule pedicure day and Randy showed up right on schedule at 10:00 a.m.

I noticed him taking a closer look around the farm than usual but didn't think anything of it until halfway through the first horse mule when he asked where my goats were.

I reminded him that I had traded my goats for Molly {the mule} because the goats kept escaping from the barnyard and coming up on the deck and head butting the slider trying to come in the house.

Oh, he said.

Why, I asked.

Well, he said "My parents had two goats, but one died and now the surviving goat is really sad and lonely and needs a friend."

omg.

So, as soon as we were finished with the feet the family loaded up in the old red farm truck and took a drive to the top of Wildcat Mountain to take delivery of a goat, and the goat we got was Nanny :)

We all had quite a laugh when we got our first look!

Here, I'll show you her picture again,

Seriously, what kind of goat is that!

Erin says she looks like an oompa loompa and I think Erin's right.

But Belle loves Nanny and Nanny... Likes Belle and Pearl is free to do her own thing without the bothersome baby following her everywhere she goes.

I really love a happy ending, don't you :)

Cupcake Casserole

Ok, so for a week or so I have been talking about my cupcake casserole and lots of people have been asking for the recipe.

It's a cinch to make and really delicious so here's the how to in easy to follow directions.

First assemble all your ingredients.

Follow the mixing directions on the box and pour the entire mix into this....

Bake at 350 for 35-38 minutes and then let cool.

After it has completely cooled, frost with your favorite frosting, mine is buttercream.

WaaLaa!

Cupcake Casserole!

Ok, last but not least,

Big Blog Giveaway

For the rest of the month of January I will be hosting a blog extravaganza.

All you have to do is follow the farm on the blog facebook page, see that little facebook box over there on the right? If you don't already follow the farm click the "like" option, and if you already follow the blog on facebook you're golden. Keep in  mind, I had to create a new facebook page because I permanently messed up the first one and had to start over, so make sure you're on this one.

http://facebook.com/thefatbottomfarm

Ok, so the deal is, all you have to do is leave a comment on facebook, it can just be a one word comment and you're in.

What do you do if you don't have facebook? 

Why leave a comment here of course!

What will you be recieving?

Let me tell you!

You will be receiving SIX cotton dishrags and two bars of handmade cold processed oatmeal soap!

But wait, that's not all!

You will also receive one six ounce jelly jar all natural soy candle!

Can you believe it!!

Wow.

I was going to post a picture of the loot all together, but I didn't get it all made in time yesterday because of the Nanny Goat mission to the top of the Mountain, but here's an idea of what you'll be winning...

Six glamorous dishrags

Two bars of soothing oatmeal soap

And a candle that I haven't made yet :)

Ok, I gotta go, but remember, you can't win if you don't play!

Peas.

Ramblings...

Um, I think it was yesterday that I said our year was off to a great start.
I spoke to soon.
We lost Timber yesterday and I now believe it was a parasite carried by white tail deer that hit both Tina and Timber. I found them both laying in the same position within a month from one another.
My heart is broken beyond words.
I can't talk about it anymore.

Wyatt goes back to school tomorrow and even though I love having him home, he also kind of sort of drives me nuts.
Today we will spend the day crafting together and maybe make a cupcake casserole and finish off his last day of freedom with Hamburger Helper (gag) for dinner.
He'll eat it, not me.
It's his last box of Christmas Hamburger Helper and he has loved each box more than the box before. (gag)

I think I'll make some soap today and maybe start a rug.
I need to do something to keep my mind occupied because if I don't I start bawling just like I'm doing now because I'm talking about it after I said I wouldn't talk about it.

6 is on his way home from the frozen north and should be able to spend at least one day at home this weekend.
I start thinking of all the projects we can get done in a short amount of time the minute he tells me he's coming home.
This weekend I think we need to tackle the big burn piles left over from when we had some hazard trees taken down in the mobile spaces.

I really wish he could get a week off and that we had a bazillion dollars so we could do something about the falling down barn.
It's not one of those cool old falling down barns, it's just a mid century fixer upper that has past fixer upper stage and gone straight to falling down stage.

I have to say, I'm really happy to be back on Blogger.
I missed my updating blogroll and love feeling like part of a blogging community again.
A friend of mine just started a knitting blog, Grammie Vee's Knitting and I'm so glad she chose to do it here.
If you love to knit or crochet you will love her blog, go check it out!

First Yearly Report

Good Morning and Happy 2011!

Who would have ever thought huh? That sounds so sophisticated... 2011, like we should all have our act together or something.

We had quite a lot going on this holiday season and I can honestly say I'm glad we're on the other side of it now. Not that it wasn't all warm and wonderful, but I swear, holidays don't necessarily bring out the best in me. I think I come from a long line of holiday misfits. I nearly had an all out emotional breakdown over the whole Wendy/douchebag situation bright and early on Christmas morning. I seriously have never felt such contempt for another human being in my life, and that's saying a lot and thats all I have to say about that.

We had some serious livestock management issues over the holidays too. Joe somehow managed to squeeze his way through a break in the fence and was found loitering in the mobile spaces on more than one occasion which landed him and Molly the Mule on lockdown in the yard.
And by yard I also mean patio.

Ew. Skunk.

6 wasn't home enough to get the fence fixed when the ground was thawed out enough to drive new fence posts in so their three hour tour in the yard ended up being two weeks in the yard and let me tell you, that's a lot of horse poop in the flower beds!

After months long and heart felt deliberation we decided to find Joe a home with a kid who would give him a job. Wyatt had good intentions when we got him, but he kind of lost interest somewhere around the feeding and caring for part and that isn't fair to Joe.
So old Joe came to us in pretty skinny sorry shape, but he left here with a fat belly and a warm wooly winter coat to go to live with a twelve year old girl, and really, is there any better way for an old horse to start a new year than with a twelve year old girl to love... I think not :)

Wyatt is still home from school until Thursday.
Whats up with that?

You may have noticed that you came back to Blogger to read my stories today... My brave and daring move to Wordpress wasn't all that I'd hoped it would be. I wanted to set up a page where I could sell my wares, and Wordpress doesn't support any kind of sales platform, only donations. They are pretty restricting as to what they allow unless you host your own blog in which case you can do whatever you want, but Blogger is easy and free which made it the best plan of action. So welcome back everyone!

Ok, I have to go feed everyone, see you tomorrow!

Post Christmas Post

Ok everybody, this is it... The last blog post of the year!!!

When everyone is home it's just to hard to sit down and get a thought out and since Wyatt is with my Mom this afternoon, I thought I would belt one out while he's gone.

We had a fantastic Christmas. Very modest, probably the smallest one I can ever remember present wise, but I'm telling you, it was so cool! I felt like the gifts we gave we gave because we felt them, not because we felt we needed to and there was never the feeling of having to shop just to have a gift to give. I gave 6 one thing, he gave me one thing, Wyatt only got a few things and they were things that were really special to him and Wendy only got a few things. I'm telling you, NO pressure and it was so refreshing!



Later in the day my Mom came out and we had an early dinner with her and then just sat around eating cupcakes and cookies and fudge and candy all day!

I'm telling you, a minimalist Christmas is where it's at for this family from now on. I think I've been so caught up in the feeling of having to out-do myself every year that I lost track of what it's really all about and it took Wendy to point it out for me...

It's about family.

Thanks Wen.



I made some castile soap yesterday and the color and scent ~ juniper breeze~ turned out SO great, I can't wait to cut it tomorrow!



This summer Kenna needs to come down and we can do a soap tutorial on the blog.

Kenna makes really beautiful soaps and is the one who taught me how to make soap!



Lets cross our fingers that kenna doesn't get angry that I jacked this photo from her Facebook shall we :)

We still don't have the falling down fence fixed and so I still have a bony old brown horse and a stubborn spotted mule in my yard. I don't mind, I like having them out there, but 6 doesn't like them in the garage.



As soon as the weather is decent and 6 is home for more than a day we'll get the fence fixed, but until then they have to stay in the yard or else they wander up in to the mobile spaces and the trailerpark people don't appreciate that too much.

Do you have any big New Years plans?

We don't.

I'll be in bed before midnight for sure but I think I'll make some more cupcakes and a nice dinner. Or maybe just cupcakes for dinner.

Do you have any resolutions?

Wyatt asked me the other day if I had any and I told him yes, to maintain the weight of a seven-foot tall man. He just shook his head and walked away. Whatever, I least I'm realistic.

Ok, I gotta go, see you next year!