A Nice Surprise

Our neighbor came pulling up with his team of Percherons pulling his buggy the other morning and asked us to hop in for a ride, if we weren't busy.(It didn't matter how busy we were, we weren't going to pass that up!) He was going to be giving wagon rides at his house later in the day for a party and was taking the horses out for a preride to let them get any restlessness worked out. (As it turns out, they pulled beautifully with no problems, but it is always a good idea to do that, no matter what.)
It was a very nice and peaceful ride and we chatted about different things. He asked what had brought us to this part of the country. I briefly told him why we had come here. (All of that will be explained in the Journey-To-Simplify posts I've been doing as soon as I get them going again!) When I finished my husband said, "So, you could be looking at a rich man, but instead you're looking at a poor one." I kind of under my breath said something like, "There's more than one way to be rich.", but before I could finish our neighbor said, "I think you're rich."
He and his wife both work full-time and have a very nice place. She pays someone to do her housework because she doesn't have time. He has a saddle repair business on the side but he said he can't keep up with it. When they need or want to do something at their place they can afford it. He told us that it was his birthday and when we said that we hoped he had a great time at his party, he told us that just having the time to hitch up his horses and take a ride was all that he wanted. It really meant a lot to him.
As you can imagine, comments like that do a person a world of good when it comes to keeping in mind what is really important in this life. And, when the going has been rough, it can make all the difference.
We're keeping both hands on the plow again.
Hope you are, too.
Nancy

Journey To Simplify-Part Ten

"You will never have to move again. I'll never let happen to you what happened to my dad.", were the words that my father-in-law spoke to us when we moved onto the farm. Shortly before he passed away his closest friend paid him a visit to warn him that his present wife was not going to do what she had promised him she would do with his farm and estate, according to his wishes. That his children would never see any of it. If only he had heeded the warning. Immediately after his death, his wife went out on the town to celebrate; and our lives became a living hell. To be continued... Nancy

Journey To Simplify-Part Nine

The house wasn't in nearly as bad a shape as the previous one, but it did need a new roof, septic system, lots of cleaning, and new paint. We had many many wonderful times there, also. We had laying hens, meat chickens, steers for beef, turkeys, goats, and a large garden. Our lives were full of joy and, because the plant had closed, Jack was home all day and we felt like we were finally getting to where we wanted to be. We started raising quail for falconers, as falconry was very big in the area. We all came to love doing this and planned to keep on with it. We were able to spend much time with Jack's dad which became even more important when he passed away two-and-a-half years later. Not knowing what the future held we planned to continue on with what we had been doing. We had no way of knowing that we were about to enter a time of very deep trouble.
To be continued.....

County Fair

The county fair started off with bull riding last night. That is one dangerous profession! I noticed that many of them kneel after a safe ride and give thanks. That was very good to see.
Our granddaughter won a fiddle contest again recently. She did so well! She had to wait two years to be in this one because of other commitments, but this is the one that kind of started the whole thing. She is getting ready for the State Fair contest right now so she and the young man who is accompaning her brought their instruments to the fair last night and practiced. That was a highlight for me! I could never tire of hearing her play. This young man won the banjo contest at the same gathering the other day and is self-taught. He plays the guitar when accompaning her.
I read that the garlic seeds are like miniature cloves (you can tell when you take a close look) and take two years to make a regular clove when planted. I have lots of them and want to try it. They were very easy to take off of the flower. We'll see what happens!
Hope you're enjoying summer!
Nancy

Green Beans And Garlic For The Pickin'

Put 8 quart bags of green beans in the freezer last night and picked that many more again tonight. I also dug the garlic. I always get SO excited about the garlic! It is such a blessing. I love smelling it when I'm digging it. I'll clean it up and then hang it in the laundry room to dry. There were some cloves left in the ground last year and they went to seed so I'm trying to find information on saving it. Does anybody have experience with this? I don't knoww if you can grow garlic from seed or not.
I apologize for the lack of pictures. I have tried to tranfer them from my camera and for some reason it's not working. I won't give up, though!
Hope you're finding joy in your work today!
Nancy

Unusual Sighting On The Homestead

I looked out the livingroom window and saw the dog chasing a very large white bird full speed ahead up the road. It was a peacock! There are two of them and we don't know where they came from. I gave Duke a good scolding and told him to leave it alone, so we'll see if they come back. :-)
You just never know, do you?
Nancy

Journey To Simplify-Part Four

Jack worked for a local rancher for a year, which was a wonderful experience. An opportunity then came up for an excellent job and he got it. We lived like everyone else for the next eight years (Yep. Eight years.) and in that time forgot about our vision to live on the homestead. We were so far removed from it, in fact, that we bought a house in the city. Things didn't go well there. One day a woman that was at our house, who I barely knew and Jack not at all, said to me, "You two need to remember what your dreams were in the beginning." Just like that. Out of the blue. After she left I started thinking. What dreams? Did we ever have any dreams? I honestly couldn't remember. But, that was the start of a process that led us back to the right track.

Nancy

Dairy Things and Simple Life

I added 1/4 tsp. lipase powder to two gallons of milk for mozzarella cheese this time and it does have more flavor. Now I need to have people do a taste test and tell me if they like it better with or without. I'll let you know how it tastes on pizza!
Someone asked why their homemade butter doesn't taste good and it is because the buttermilk wasn't rinsed out well. Easy to fix! The butter has to be rinsed thoroughly after it forms to remove the buttermilk. Otherwise, it will not keep well and will taste sour. Be sure to save that buttermilk that you pour off of the butter before rinsing; it makes the most wonderful biscuits, pancakes, muffins, etc.!
I've been giving a lot of thought as to why a person simplifies their life, after someone made an observation as to why we might be doing it. There is a lot of talk about this subject these days because of the economy and other things going on. As soon as I get my thoughts together I want to explain what led us down this path and why we pursue it.
Stay tuned and have a great day!
Nancy