Lake Erie road trip!

A long week with a long 4 day weekend that screamed for a road trip. Sunday was the big day for one. We met my In Laws for breakfast then all of us drove up to a local metro park for a nice 2 mile walk. Then we were off to the Bay Village area up by Cleveland/Rocky River. I use to take Panda and Lil man up to the Lake Erie nature and science center followed by a jaunt on the beach searching for sea glass. This day was an introduction for Frog to the ritual of our Lake erie trips. Of course Lil' Man has a VERY strong direction to fishing so The Captain took him out on the rock pier to try his hand at the "big water" fish. If you click on the picture below of Panda and frog combing the beach for their glass treasures, you will see Lil' Man and his daddy fishing from the end of the rock pier.

And just in case you have never found or seen Sea Glass, here is a look at some the afternoon treasures:

After just 1 1/2 hours, Frog was tired and panda had wet feet.

A great day at the beach of Lake Erie. A bit of an overcast with sunny spots but the wind was not too cold as of yet. I was surprised by how much cleaner it was since our last visit. Much less plastic bottles and litter. We did find a few spots which brought images of night time beach bonfires. Lots of drift wood that have fueled them too.
Today was my visit to the orthopedic surgeon for my arm. I have carpal tunnel and am having it operated on in mid November. Which means i have to re plan my Florida December trip to the next week of the Captains vacation. Which I plan to schedule in late March or early April. That will give my hand and arm enough time to recoup and a drive of almost 20 hours will be doable. This time I just wont tell anyone when I am coming since this is the second rescheduling of my trip.
I need to re-organize the Goat cabin before the sun goes away...
Sweet Dreams,
~Tammie

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Strong Canadian Dollar Means Price Drop For GoWFB.ca

Wholesale Furniture Brokers has announced a price decrease on their Canadian website (www.GoWFB.ca) in response to the appreciation of the Loonie. Select manufacturers based in the U.S.'s online listed price is lowered 5-10% for Canadian shoppers. These include listings from Lifestyle Solutions, Fairmont Designs and Modus Furniture. Here are a few notable listings of Modus Furniture that have recently been reduced:


4pc Nevis Low Profile Panel Bedroom Set - $1999 - $1749

4pc City Leather Low Profile Bedroom Set - $2559 – $2299

4pc Nevis Platform Bedroom Set - $1799 - $1689

4pc Milano Low Profile Bedroom Set - $2359 - $2189

4pc City Sleigh Bedroom Set - $2879 - $2589

4pc Milano Leather Panel Bedroom Set - $2439 - $2249

4pc City Low Profile Bedroom Set – Hudson series - $2689 - $2489

4pc Milano Panel Bedroom Set – Nevis series - $3689 - $3399

4pc Nevis Spice Low Profile Bedroom Set - $2199 - $2049

Nevis Spice Bed only - $689 - $649

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Roxbury Sofa Bed Limited Time Offer

Wholesale Furniture Brokers has discounted the beautiful Roxbury Sofa Bed by an additional $50 to just $499 for a limited time! Free shipping is even available to customers along the West Coast.

This offer is only good while current supplies last, so hurry!

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The garden's last offering..

Tractor boy has been itching to try out his new cultivator. So I gleaned the garden of any last bounty and uprooted my permanent plantings before turning it over to him. I was surprised by what was hidden amongst the neglected foliage and unturned soil. Potatoes, onions, a basket filled with green tomatoes weighing as much as Frog. (about 30 pounds).The pumpkins were harvested a few weeks back and placed to rest on the table, awaiting their turn in the kitchen.
The garden after pulling all greenery (big ones anyway) except the Morning Glory wall:
And after Tractor Boy had his way with it- The yellow shovel handle is where the Morning glory wall use to be. Panda is standing in the corner of the added space for next years garden:
I believe he added an extra 8 X 20 space to the back end of the garden. He will be out this weekend to break it up more and help add in the compost before we let it rest for the winter.
Fernie has gone to live with Roseanna. She left Thursday. I know she will become stronger and improve in her health with the decision I have made. We will have the chance to purchase her back after her health is back in perfect order AND we are moved into our permanent Farmette.
I am trying to look at our situation optimistically. Real estate is not moving well for anyone- anywhere in the U.S. So I need to chin up and deal with what we have for now. We may be here for another year- which is why I let tractor Boy play in the garden and expand it. Life changes everyday in this house. If we are here for next year's garden season- I WILL be prepared.
Mulberry mead is on its last stage. i am bottling it tonite and will be saving a small bit for tractor boy's father. He is rather excited to try my home made brew. Brave chap I tell ya. At least he has not asked about The Captain's experiment with Moonshine. That stuff stinks!
I am working on a few projects to start up my Etsy shop again. The Captain has moved the children into the smaller bedroom for winter and placed my sewing and computer items in the larger back room. I can keep children out- that means no more crying fits because a certain child came in with a juice cup and ruined a months worth of sewing from grape stains and... None of it washed out either. This room is locked at all times and only I have the key!
I really enjoyed making the Picnic lawn blankets and shoulder bags. I am working on a few to see if they work well with the Etsy audience. Others have encouraged me to do those "craft bazars". I feel those are more for older woman and not my style. But who knows what tomorrow will bring...
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie

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Chia and her massages- a silent video

When Chia first entered our lives, she was not too keen on being touched. I could barely get past her neck- if I was lucky. It took just a few short weeks of daily massage, slowly working further and further till her entire length was tolerated. She still does not like her back legs touched, but I'm not complaining. She has come a long way. All animals benefit from massage as long as it is not too rough and done properly. Have an animal that is a bit stand offish? That is how Chia began. Now she rubs up on me. Animal massage should be used on more farm animals in my opinion. The trust you build from the touch of your hand will benefit and amaze.
Just as it has for us.
How do I massage her? With a few basic moves. Nothing too in depth and never for more then a 5-10 minutes. I brought her to drool for the first time today. I so wish it had been on the silent video, but Panda somehow missed the button for the first one. We had to retake twice. This is the only time she has ever had 2 in one day.
Never- EVER massage ON the spine. Always massage on the sides of the spine gently, avoiding any bony/protruding areas. You may cause severe damage or discomfort if rubbing/massaging a spine or bone.
Pay attention to how I massage her neck. Just the gentlest , yet firm touch or "swipe over" should be used in such delicate areas. Start slowly and work your way from their head towards their back legs. Soothingly speak to them so they know your intentions are good. Be sure to not think of all the bad stuff from your day. Try to think positive and bright. They will be able to sense if you are in a rather cruddy mood and not "into" what your doing. I always walk away from it with a lighter heart. It's like a form of meditation for me. My mind just wanders on a cloud far away.. Seriously.. I just go blank and only pay attention to her and my hands.
I advise anyone who would like to try their hands at massage to first read a "how to" guide which is easily obtained from your local library or borrowed from a friend. The basic strokes for human use are the basics for animals. If you are lucky enough to find a book on animal massage, then do read up. You will find after practicing that every animal you meet- gets the basic strokes instead of a normal "petting".I find myself massaging the neighbors dog. A friends cow. (yes.. a cow.) and every time I go out to feed the girls I mindlessly massage. Your touch will never be the same.
I do not use any oils or lotions when I do massage on animals. The hair seems to be a great buffer from your hands and their skin. If they have not been cleaned, I warn you. Your hands may be rather unattractive afterwards.
This silent video is a rather quick rub down. Not her normal ritual. She had just endured a long one which I thought Panda was recording. So we did a retake with just a few minutes instead. My arms and hands were rather sore already.




It's not a professional video. Its not a great video. It is just to give you an idea of what my insane self really means when i say "I gave Chia her massage". Be sure to share the touch and enrich an animals life.
Have you massaged your goat lately?
Sweetest dreams,
Tammie

*DISCLAIMER* I am not a professional animal massage therapist. I just play one in the above video. I am in no way responsible for anyone who imitates or tries to massage an animal or human. You do so at your own risk. I just have a diploma in Massage therapy and am not licensed. Proceed at your own risk.***

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Not so perfect 7 acre homestead

I was afraid this would happen. A great place for someone else, but not for our family. As we walked in the door, we were hit with the immense smell of cat. The kitchen was a 3 feet length of counter with a sink, a stove, and a fridge. Barely room to turn around with more then one person in it. The bathroom was a tub- no shower- a commode 6 inches from its edge and a sink just far enough away arms length. I could go on and on about the disappointment and load of work needed , but instead i will just leave it as- The house is not what our family could work around. Too much would need to be done and the price to high for building another home and tearing the old one down. Maybe for someone else who has the money to throw around, but not for us. The repairs would cost more then what the home is worth. We are better off starting with vacant land and building new.An area where would have put a large garden. i just loved the massive willow trees placed throughout the property.

I will continue our search and am determined we need something before this place sells. Which brings me to a good tid bit of news from our realtor. A woman is looking for a home that she can have her mother live with her too. Our realtor told her of our home and it's great layout for a "mother in law suite" in the rec room. The rec room is separate from the rest of the basement/garage plus has the right spots for a bathroom and small kitchenette area. It has its own entry from the house front and small "porch" area under the upstairs balcony (front door).
The woman is interested and we decided to lower our price to perk it more.
I do not know if anything will come of it, but time will tell. I just have lost all patience with the realty business.
Fernie will be going home with Roseanna. I cannot get the anemia to go away and do not wish to sell her to someone who could not give her the attention she needs. Roseanna said the Anemia is very hard to rid out of the system and takes time. Time and experience I do not have to offer.
Roseanna will get her back into great health and will have her prepped for another family's milker. A brighter future then anywhere else I was able to find.
Chia will be going to her new home in Mid October, but I will share more of that in another post.
Until then...
~Sweet dreams, Tammie

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Country Living fair weekend & slideshow

We enjoyed ourselves- more so because we were together. So many great items in all the booths/tents. We went Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday they had over 6,000 people and man was it crowded. Plus, all the lower priced items (great stuff for under $20 US dollars) were for the most part gone since the Country Living Fair began on Friday. We did get to stop at The Farm chicks Tent and Panda was rather struck with their vintage wall paper necklaces ( she purchased the 7th one down in the link). I bought my pink tractor bumper stickers but they were all out of the pink Farm Chick & tractor t-shirts... I was rather disappointed. I had hoped to get both us one of those. I guess I could always order them, but it would have been more enjoyable to have purchased it there. I wanted to ask them so many questions about the starting up of their venture and gush about how much I adore their style. But of course my shy side came out and I was afraid to sound like a bumbling star struck goof. I had planned to purchase one myself but was hoping for the pink T you see them wearing on their site. I was in the hopes that if we came back Sunday, they would have more out, but they were sold out completly on the T's I wanted. And of course their tent was packed with so many women admiring their wares. (who could resist their eye catching Pastel fabric banner across the front? It pulls you in to more wonderful items and the 2 Farm Chicks themselves. Did I mention I got a bit shy? ) Be sure to check out their site for more great items and wonderful Farm Chick inspiration!
We toured the grounds and workshops of David T. Smith. Which is where I found a pottery jug I really liked. It is in the slide show- the middle orange one with the horns.
It was priced more then I could see reasonable ($165), but then again I am not coo coo for coco puffs ( meaning I'm not the kind of person to justify a purchase price just because it is made by so and so. Maybe i'm just too cheap. Maybe i'm just not into pottery enough to justify it).
I did not have hundreds of dollars to spend but we did walk away with some great finds on our small budget. We picked up 5 great vintage skeleton keys. 3 of which have hearts for the key head hole. We also purchased some great smelling candles and glass votives plus another wooden 6 pane window. It needs cleaned up like I did with the others and will be adorned with the candle votives we purchased- a whole new project with nature art.( The last one i hoped to have done was not a success. Most of the pictures came out horrible- either from cropping them for a 5X7 pic or from the 1 hour printing. More on that later)
The window cost just $5 since it was the last day & they did not want to put any back on their truck . That was the extent of our take home finds.

I did discover an artist I really enjoy.
On the second day, I fell in love with the booth of Irene Gates. Her paintings held me in a trance. An inner comfort is felt when seeing her art. They pull you in and add a sense of familiarity. There were a few I fell hard for and although I would have loved to purchase one, I could not. I did not leave with out her card and hope to soon see a website showing all of her pieces. There were so many. I could not choose just one! Here is a link to one of her paintings- and it truly does not do justice to what I saw in her booth. Do not get me wrong, Chicken girl is wonderful, but her work at the fair appeared to have more life to them in my eyes. Besides, the internet picture does not do her justice. Unfortunately, she does not have her own site as of yet,but her "store" name is Sparrow Reed Folk art and they are based out of Douglas Michigan.
She will be at the "From our hands" show on November 9 and 10th in Columbus Ohio. This link will take you to the show's site for more information.
If you get a chance to see go, be sure to seek out Irene Gates and experience her paintings.
There is so much to be done and we were only gone 2 days. I best be off to finish it all before viewing the house.
Sweet Dreams,
~Tammie

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