Why I Haven't Written...

I haven't posted a thing in over two months. Not that I haven't wanted to, but because my dad was dying. On August 1st, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The cancer we were told was gone in April came back in full force. It invaded my dad's back, his pelvis and wrapped around his spine. There was only one thing the doctors could do and that was 10 sessions of radiation to try and halt the growth of a tumor on his spine that could paralyze him before he died.

I got to see him one last time on a long weekend trip to TN. We prayed, laughed and cried together. Just a little at a time because he was so weak. And even though we didn't say anything to each other that hadn't already been said, it was precious to hear those words of love again. Because he was my daddy and I was a daddy's girl.

 I worked beside him from the time I could walk. He would put me to work with a 2x10 board and a hacksaw and say "Cut this for dad". I would work for days!! The best thing my dad ever did for me was not to treat me like a girl. I am the oldest of three children and I was just his child. I could do anything that he did including castrating bulls and backing up a trailer with an off-set hitch. Some things I could do better, like round bale and run the headgate on the cattle chute.

 The reason I love the farm is because of my dad. He is in everything we do. Even at the end, he wanted to know what was happening on the farm. I miss him so, but I don't wish him back. There is only so much pain and suffering that you can watch before your prayer becomes "God, you can take him now. Please." My dad was a Christian and was welcomed home by Jesus and all the saints that have gone before. He is with his parents, his beloved aunt and uncle, his dear friend Arnie, and my friend Eleanor. And those are just the people I knew. He's with Moses and Peter and Paul. I can hardly imagine what that moment is like...but, man, what a moment!!

 We buried my dad on Wednesday, September 7th. Three years to the day from when we baptized my oldest daughter. I don't grieve so much for me. I had the best part of my dad. But I grieve for my children. They will never go fishing with Papa. They will never learn to build things with wood in his shop. They will never get to ride in the 4430 with him. They will never get a whisker rub. They will never know, first hand, the love he had for them. Oh how that grieves me! His memory will live on in the beautiful wood pieces he created, the quilt pieces he cut out for me, the things he taught us. I cross-stitched him a picture that he hung in his office for more than 20 years. It says "The greatest gift I ever had came from God and I call him Dad"

The last picture I have of Dad.  He's with Kiddo3, she was 5 months old.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I can hear you asking, "Why, for Pete's sake, would I want to make my own laundry soap?" I asked that myself when I first read another blog telling me how to do it. But then, after spending an obscene amount of money on a box of detergent that lasted just a couple of weeks and had names of things I didn't know and fillers that I didn't need, I took the bull by the horns...err, grater by the handle...and I did it.

It was fun, easy and oh-so-economical. Personally, the three criteria I use to evaluate a project. I love my new soap and I know you will, too.

Here's how you do it:


You will need a box of Borax, bars of Ivory Soap, and a box of Washing Soda (NOT baking soda). All of these are easily found in the laundry aisle. They are on the bottom shelf, however, because the stores know how easy and cheap this is and they want to hide them from you. I found all three at both the big-box store and the grocery store.

Oh, and you need a container to put all this wonderful detergent! This cookie jar was a wedding present from a dear friend (hi Sherry), but the cookies got so dry that I couldn't use it for that. I couldn't part with it and now it is displayed prominently in my laundry corner.


Unwrap your bar of Ivory soap with your blurry hand.


You can cut the bar into chunks and put it in your food processor with the S blade. I tried, but my processor is so wimpy and worn out that it didn't work. The soap kept getting stuck. So I got out my grater used the small holes. This extra step took seconds and wasn't hard at all. Like I said, if you have a normal food processor, you shouldn't need to do this part.


Lovely mini-curls of Ivory soap!


Add 1/2 cup of Borax to your food processor with S blade.


Add 1/2 cup of Washing Soda. Yes, I know there isn't a half cup there, but a spilled some into the processor already and had to compensate with less in my measuring cup. There are some of you (like my sister) who would probably toss the whole thing out and start anew with EXACT measurements, but not this fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants gal!


Now we have both the Borax and the Washing Soda in the food processor. I add these before the soap because when I first did this, the soap (being kinda soft) gummed up the blade. But when I changed the order and added the soap last, it worked great!


Then take your in-focus hand and add the mini-curls of soap via the food chute (Is that what it's called? I don't even know. We'll just call it that...OK?) as the processor is running. I found that a handful at a time works great and didn't gum up my wimpy processor.


Let it run for just a short time, 30 seconds or so. I'll admit I never timed it, but it felt like that long.


If you were worried that there would be clumps of soap in your detergent (like I was), no need to worry. It's the consistency of store-bought detergent.


I did the entire 10 bars of Ivory soap and it exactly filled my cookie jar and it took me about a half hour (that's with the gumming of the blade the first time and grating the soap by hand). I still had Borax and Washing Soda left over!


The best part about this whole thing is that you only need a tablespoon. You read that right a TABLESPOON for each load of laundry. I don't have a special washing machine, just your normal tub-style, but I did read that this detergent is good for HE machines as well.


Kiddo3 had some concerns:
"But Mom, how much does this cost?"
I'm glad you asked. The Ivory Soap was around $5, Borax $4 and Washing Soda $5. VERY inexpensive!

"But Mom, will it get even my brother and sister's clothes clean? The ones they wear in the mud puddles?"

Why, YES! It does!
If it can get those clothes clean, yours will be great!

Final comments: It smells nice, not perfume-y or chemical-y. Easy to make. Economical. Effective. Really, what more could you ask for??

The Recipe:
1 bar Ivory Soap
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda

Go forth and make your own detergent!!

Chicken News

Our chickens are laying wonderfully! Lots of beautiful, nutritious eggs are plucked from the nest boxes every evening. The only problem is that demand is far outpacing supply! It is really neat to have so many people want our eggs, but it saddens us that we can't fill everyone's order. This week we have 22 dozen eggs and orders for 27 dozen!


So to remedy that problem we ordered 75 Black Australorp pullet (girl) chicks. But we didn't think that would be quite enough, so we added 25 Ameracauna's. They are the two-toned ones in the picture. They look like wild chicks, pheasants and such. In about 20 weeks, they will lay blue-green colored eggs!


Kiddo1 loves to hold the new chicks.


Here's my handsome, plaid-clad husband moving the laying hen pen.


The hens run forward to the green grass, bugs and such. They love it!!


When we move the young chickens, they are about 5 weeks old, we have to be careful because they don't know the routine.
Hubby pulls from the front of the pen, but his presence scares the wee chickens and they run to the back. This isn't good because the back is moving forward.

Kiddo1 knocks on the back of the pen to move them forward and then no one gets rolled out the back or stuck!


The Black Australorps love to chase around after bugs and eat the fresh grass.


Some cricket or tick is going to be toast!


Who needs TV when you've got 75 chickens to watch??


The chickens have a beautiful lake view estate:

Why God made washing machines

We've been mournfully staring out the window because we can't get into the garden.


To say we have a lot of water is an understatement.


And with that water comes puddles...lots of puddles.


And that is why God made washing machines!

The Old Girls Move Out

The original plan was to move the laying hens out of the hoophouse and onto the pasture around April 15th. But the snow didn't leave and the grass didn't come and they had to stay another two weeks.

Before they could move, we needed to outfit a chicken pen with nestboxes so that they could lay their eggs in the straw-lined comfort they have become accustomed to.

John built five nestboxes on each side of a 10 foot by 10 foot pen.


We had to catch the hens in the hoophouse. There are no pictures of that because it took both of us and it was still a circus!

All 38 of them love their new home, they started eating grass right away!


Kiddo1 helped me line the nestboxes with straw.


Then we carefully placed one egg in each nestbox. This fools the chickens into thinking that another hen layed her egg here so it must be a safe place. Within a day or two, all the chickens will have layed an egg in a box and it will be routine.


These pens will be moved every day to fresh grass. It should only take 10 days for the rich orange color to return to their yolks...I can't wait!

The New Chicks Move In!

On Thursday morning we received a call from the post office saying that our chicks were here!

Yes, the chicks come in the mail from Iowa. They are hatched and packed into boxes on Wednesday morning and we get them Thursday morning.

So we loaded up the boat to go get them


The kids were excited to open the box and see what was peeping in there! (We have to open the box at the post office to have the post mistress certify if there is any death loss.)


Henry didn't want to touch them right away, but he sure liked it when dad held them.


Jana was in love at first peep.


We brought them home in the boat. Jana wanted them sitting right next to her. We wrapped them in a coat to keep them warm.

This is the brooder before we added the chicks. It's an old stock tank that works great in our garage. The tank keeps the drafts away and allows the heat to remain where the chicks are.


There are 75 Black Australorp pullets (girls) in there! The future laying hens of Morning Joy Farm.


As each one is taken from the box, I have to dip its beak in the water and make sure it swallows. From then on they know how and where to get a drink. The food is natural, they know how to do that.


A close-up of one of the girls.


There's a feed pan under there somewhere...I told you it was natural!!

Just going for a walk

Five years ago when I first drove over the hill on this little township road and saw the beautiful landscape that my boyfriend lived on, I gasped. A lovely lake surrounded by rolling hills, it was perfect! I could see myself living there and in just over a year...I was!


I firmly maintain that no one has a better view when they garden than I do. Sparkling water, the associated wildlife, it's gorgeous!


But, on occasion, that beauty turns against me.


There is a road under there...honest!



The two small dots on the horizon are our vehicles. We are walking 1/2 mile through two fields to get to them. And we've been doing it for three weeks, including Easter morning for sunrise service! (We started walking at dawn.)


When Kiddo3 and I go to work, John and the big kids come out to meet us! (And it almost makes the walk worthwhile.)


As much as this is inconvenient, I would rather have to walk to my car and have my house be high and dry. Which it is. Thank goodness.

We've been told we are "on-the-list" for building up our road. We've submitted all the required paperwork, photos and documentation. Now we just wait.

But, good news!! The ice is gone and now we can use the boat. I'm sure I'll have pictures of that...