Ready For Adventure

Well, it's been too long since I last blogged. But life has been busy, so I have a lot of excuses for my lack of blogginess. I've felt something like a chicken with it's head cut off..... and have been able to relate to Prince Humperdinck when he said,"Tyrone, you know how much I love watching you work, but I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it; I'm swamped."

It's been one of those moments where there are a billion things to get done and not enough time to do it all. Needless to say, it hasn't been an unenjoyable period of time. I was able to attend a single ladies retreat in the beginning of February which was edifying, fun and I met so many nice gals!

Then in the later half of February my good friends Hannah and Mike were engaged..... to be married on the 8th of March!!! This past weekend!!! Really it was something like 18 days to plan. And 18 days were quite enough. Everything came together wonderfully.

 Mr. Kubetz gave an excellent message!!

My dad married them!

 Hannah was a beautiful bride and Mike, a very handsome groom.

To make matters even better, my awesome friends Robbie and Courtney came up!! And I just love their spontaneity: On their way up they stopped to go skiing.... and then drove more.... and then stopped at a hotel to go swimming.... and finally made it to my house!!! .....and the next morning, before the wedding, they went out for breakfast at the local Norwegian restaurant, then making it to the wedding just in the nick-of-time, zipping into their seats just before the processional started!! =D If you ever need advice on how to pack the most fun into one trip just ask Courtney and Robbie!!!

To top things off, the cake was awesome... and they decided to use the little clothes-pin bride & groom I'd made for Hannah when I heard she was getting married. I hadn't thought of it being a cake topper when I made it... but it looked so cute next to Mike's toy John Deere tractor! =D

Mike's Aunt Lori (and also the wife of the farmer Hannah's been working for) helped with the organization, orchestration and decoration of the whole event. Literally, the wedding wouldn't have been half as classy and lovely if she hadn't participated. She's quite a talented lady and she made the cake too!!! 

We decided to take a few pictures.... the three of us besties: Courtney, Sandy and I!!  ...and so we made the guys be in a picture too, and this is what happened! Hehe:

They are so funny!!!!

All in all it was a beautiful day, the weather was unusually gorgeous and warm, and everyone had a fun time!!!

Now that the wedding's over I have to pack and prepare like crazy... because on the 12th I'm headed to Colorado with my bros, Isaac and Channing, to visit my aunt & uncle and also my cousin Dustin!!! We're all so excited!!!! 

...oh, and did I mention that during all of this wedding planning and vacation preparing I had a short time to prepare an article for the local newspaper that I'm writing for now (which I'm very excited about)! Wheeew.....

I'm looking forward to taking it easy for two weeks out West.

Anyways, I doubt I'll be posting again until April. BUT.... ya never know. ;)

"Look at all this milk!"

As you know, we sold our dairy cows, but being spoiled and rather used to drinking our pure, unadulterated raw milk, we kept a few cows. At first we were only milking three and since we had calves to feed there was no spare milk to drink. Then our most favorite and highest producing cow freshened and we had a surplus of milk! ....and a few days later our pet cow, Maggie, freshened! So we have milk coming out of our ears! Since it is (sadly) still illegal to market and sell raw milk we have had to think of ways to use up what we've been blessed with.

I haven't minded the extra work as I've been able to experiment in the kitchen with recipes I hadn't been able to try before! =) Butter, butter milk, ice cream, sherbert, panna cotta...
I thought I'd share a few pictures.... so your mouth could drool a little, too. ;)

So first it started by letting the cream rise. Jersey cows are know for their high components (i.e. their milk comes with a lot of cream!) and butter was in order:

 

Our antique butter churn with wooden paddles. It does the trick!!

Well, we can only go through butter so fast, even though my family is known for going through (at least) a pound of butter a day. I decided it would be wise to make ice cream:

Vanilla came first.

...next it was strawberry.

I also made some Lemon Sherbert (not pictured), which didn't look as pretty but tasted incredibly good!

Through a perusal of the milky recipes the internet had to offer I learned of an Italian dessert, maybe similar to flan.... though easier to make, called Panna Cotta. 

The reveiws online were raving about how easy and tasty Panna Cotta was. I simply had to try making it. The results were rewarding... and everybody enjoyed it!

Since I didn't have the little dishes, known as ramekins, I made it in a big pan which worked nicely as well. Of course I had to share all of my baking adventures on Snapchat. My poor Snapchat friends. ;)

I used a cookie cutter to make the experience a bit more delightful, and since Valentines Day is this weekend, a heart was the shape of choice.

This is a recipe worth making!

Yesterday was my brother Channing's 18th birthday so I had to bake a cake. It was supposed to be a Black Forest Cherry cake. 

 

I started following the recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens cook book only to get to the dry ingredient section and realize I was supposed to make something gluten free. I had to call my sister and get a different chocolate cake recipe... and I ended up combining the two (since I'd already made the butter & fudge-like batter supplies). I used ground flax meal and coconut flour instead of all-purpose flour... I added extra eggs (like, 6) and added some extra virgin olive oil. It turned out to be the most delicious and moist cake I've ever made. And I've made a lot of cakes!

I made a "Fluffy White Frosting"... which consisted of egg whites, cream of tartar and a sugar-water syrup. It was so tasty that I had trouble keeping everyone from eating it before I was able to frost the cake!

Well.... I thought I'd finished making the cake. BUT.... adding a little chocolate really made a world of difference!! I think it turned out to be the prettiest cake I've ever made as well. :)

 So when are you coming over to try something sweet?! :)

Better Late Than....

So I had a birthday a few weeks ago. It was extraordinarily fun mostly because of the wonderful people I have in my life, whom I am ever thankful for. I just wanted to share some of the pictures:

I started off the day by milking cows for Tyler... bright and early at 5:45. I guess it was fitting since I was born at 5:25am. Then my friend Sandy took me out to the Norske Nook for breakfast!! =)

Sandy, looking lovely as usual.

Trying to take a "selfie" is harder than you'd think. =P

A few days prior to my birthday my Grammy M., my cousin Julianne and my sister Emily & her two little babes went out to eat at Olive Garden!

Julianne purposefully posing for a "blackmail" photo! She's not afraid to be silly for a picture! Just one of the things I love about her!!! ;)

 My lovely sister, Emily!

And alas... there are no pictures of Grammy. :(

....but Alice and I took one together!! :)

Then at the last minute my mom and I were trying to plan dinner and in order to have artichokes I had to drive 30 minutes to the city to get supplies. I stopped on my way home to snap a picture with my friend Jon, who shares the same birthdate!! =)

I barely made it home in time to milk cows! ...but I had fun with the ladies.... and Sandy told Tyler to make sure to give me a bonus or a beer for my birthday! Haha! My friends are awesome! =) Ty was a bit confused as to why I didn't just take off on my birthday, but I suppose I miss cows and milking is fun..... and you should do fun things on your birthday, right?

 When I arrived home from milking my family had a most delicious meal ready! My favorite: artichokes, pork steaks and sweet potatoes!! ...and my little sister, Janelle, made me the most incredible chocolate cake!!! It was SO MOIST and it was gluten free, too!! Double bonus!

I was given the fun "Happy Birthday" wine glass from my friend Courtney's mom! =D

Over all it was a really fun day. I was able to spend quality time with my family and friends, not to mention the thoughtful birthday calls and a gazillion messages on Facebook. :) I'm a lucky girl.

Like A Box of Chocolates

Sometimes, amidst the swirling chaos of life, I forget to just chill and remember that life is like a box of chocolates:
Simply try new things, don't attempt to finish the pieces that you almost broke a tooth on because the caramel filling was as hard as plastic, savor every sweet and exciting bite of goodness... and be sure to thank the Lord for the guide on the lid of the box....

Mullein Flower Oil

In the Fall, as the golden rod is displaying it's yellow hue, you may notice some tall, straight plants with yellow flowers at the top. Mullein plants. You can see them in ditches all over the country side. Unique looking.... with big, fuzzy, wooly leaves.

They are biannual. The first year you can spot their leaves growing among other wild foliage. Then in their second year they send forth a tall shoot, where at the top you will find a lovely cluster of small, yellow flowers. (look up mullein plants on Google for an image)

This past Fall I went on a hike with my friend, Hannah, to pick mullein flowers. We gathered maybe a cup or two and then set them out to dry just for the evening. This was a good idea because there had been plenty of bugs we'd managed to bring home on the flowers.... who, fortunately, crawled off my collection before it was time to bottle them.

After a short airing-out period I put the flowers in a small jar, covered them in olive oil and put the lid on, beginning the cold infusion method of making an herbal remedy. The next day I opened the jar to remove air bubbles that had been trapped (sort of like you'd do when preparing a jar of veggies you are about to pressure cook). Sealing the lid back on I left the jar in a sunny windowsill and let it alone for almost two months. Then, when the time was right, I strained the flowers from the oil, discarding them. I put the oil into cute little jars that I'd purchased on amazon, which may have been the most fun and exciting part. :)

The next step was to wait..... for someone to get an ear ache!

Sure enough as the season grew colder and sickness was starting to plague the community, my brother developed a terrible ear ache.
Now I've heard that antibiotics help fight an ear ache but each year, as the immune system becomes resistant to the antibodies, the ear aches hurt worse and worse. ....and ear aches are painful enough. If the mullein flower oil worked then this would be good news, indeed.

My mom warmed the oil up and dropped it into my brother's troubled ear. He'd had the ache since the day before and hadn't slept a wink because the pain was so unbearable. Literally, within less than 5 minutes, he'd fallen fast asleep and received much needed rest because the oil had provided relief. The mullein flower oil was a success!!

Although I can't say for sure, I believe the infusion is supposed to relieve swelling, pain, and fight infection, though it cannot be used on a punctured eardrum. Some say they use it on other external issues as well. I still have a lot to learn about the mullein plant and it's healing properties but I am quite happy with the results it's flowers produced!

For more information, Google, "Mullein Oil for Ear Pain". I also found a lot of helpful advice for how to administer the oil on Greenster.com.

How To Use Mullein Flower Oil:
-Warm oil slightly, put some into the affected ear with a medicine dropper and plug loosely with a cotton ball.
-Don't use if ear drum is punctured.
-In addition, echinacea and goldenseal are supposed to be effective in helping fight ear aches.

Genesis 1:29, "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth..."

Born for Adversity

Someone once said, "Show me your friends and I'll show you your future." Well, I can't see the future but if I can judge what's to come in life by the quality of the friends I have then I need not worry.

The number of people who have reached out in response to my family's change of circumstances has been incredible. So many folks have reached out in encouragement, sympathy, empathy and hope for our future. It is hard to lose something you love... but it is never so difficult when you know there are so many people who are right there, ready to share your burdens.

Some days, when grief has taken it's toll, it is easy to forget how much help it is to have friends. What a beautiful thing friendship is. In this world it is easy to become distracted in the day to day plans, disconnected in the frenzy and leave those around us to worry about their own problems... while we drown in ours.
And yet I have been touched by the comments and messages and words from so many friends. It only reminds me that I am not alone in my struggles.

In fact, just knowing this relieves the load immensely.

I suppose after God designed the family unit and the relationships therein, he knew that there was one more aspect that mankind would need, to carry on through the tests of life: friendship.

It lightens the heart to know that one is not left to wade through the mire of change alone.

I've written on the subject of friendship a number of times in previous blog posts, but I'd like to take this opportunity to simply thank my friends... just for being my friends. I am so blessed. It is an honor and privilege that I do not feel worthy of, to have such wonderful friends as you all. I appreciate your companionship, your kindness, your support and encouragement.

Thank you.

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Starting From Scratch

It's 2015. I wouldn't mind a big year full of nothing. No excitement. No problems. No pleasures. Just routine. Work. Milking cows.
...but that's not going to happen, is it.

Oh well, ...act now, cry later. That's how I deal with things. If I cry at all. I over-do the happy side of things sometimes because I'm afraid to let my emotions show. So when they do come out of hiding it's more like an explosive network of bombs.... unraveling each issue I've been bottling up since who-knows-when.

I suppose it's all a part of the growing up process. Problems help bring out our worst so we can see it in the daylight and figure out how to address it and move beyond it. I remember from drivers ed, I.P.D.E. ... Identify. Predict. Determine. Execute. Sounds like a good strategy for dealing with life issues.... not just automobile experiences. As General George S. Patton said, "A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."

The point is that one should have a plan. Any plan. Yet, nothing sounds interesting to me right now. I have 500 projects I could work on. Things to create, things to make, participate in, accomplish, clean... you name it. ...but the center of my schedule, the one thing that was always sure, was my job milking our cows. It wasn't just a job either. It was my identity, my purpose. 

Just a few weeks ago I was talking to an old homeschool friend and we were discussing careers. She'd just graduated from University, was about to marry a guy who'd also graduated from University and they were moving to the big city where their careers would take place. What was I doing? Milking cows. Of course that didn't sound very lofty to my friend and it didn't matter to me what she thought of my occupation because she didn't understand that though my vocation sounded humble the cause was noble. It seems to me that people don't understand farming much unless they've truly come into contact with farmers or participated in agriculture.

I never imagined myself to be a career chick. I never cared to be out there in the work force, to be the bread-winner. In fact, I thought I'd get married young and have a bunch of kids. It sounded like a nice life plan and it didn't have the big, red debt score to add to the "I do" list. Since the marriage thing didn't happen, I focused on milking cows. Well, I focused on milking anyway because I enjoyed it. It could be difficult, challenging and yet equally rewarding and satisfying. I liked the routine, the passion, and the bigger purpose for dairy farming that reached beyond our little farm. Making food for the world. Now that's something big. Though being a milkmaid sounded menial to others it did not bother me because I knew my worth.

Then, yesterday we took my job, took my purpose, put it on a trailer and sent it down the road to someone else, somewhere else. 

What am I now? 

I am starting from scratch. Scraping together my desires and looking for some all-purpose super glue, in hopes of re-purposing my purposeless being.
 
O.K. ... I'm being a little extra gloomy. It's not as bad as I'm making it sound. I know I am pretty lucky and maybe in my next post I'll be able to tell you just how lucky, fortunate and successful I am. As General George S. Patton also said, "I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom."

Right now it's about not dwelling at the bottom end of things. It's about getting up and carrying on. Winston Churchill said, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

So I am searching for the courage. The courage to try new things. Searching for ambition and searching for purpose. I know it's all waiting out there for me... at my disposal. Time to bounce back and advance into the future. 
It's the idea that things happen for good reasons and the best is yet to come. It all hinges on hope... that mere thread of possibility.