Blue Rose Dairy

Good Morning:

Well as you all suspected we are running around like a chicken with its head cut off. We are up to four different markets right now. I am making cheese three days a week, between 35-50 gallons a batch. We are just about ready to put our second batch of aged cheese in the cave over in Adna. The sunshine is going to shine today and that gives me energy to do this running around stuff. So lets recap the week:

April 6th - We took a trip to Olympia to tour the capital building and walk along the waterfall. It was great. The picture is my grandson and granddaughter and thier mom from Montana the other daughter and husband are from Texas and then of course my two daughters and I - David was taking the photo. My daughter wanted to try a new cheese, dill and lemon rind. I made her a small round to take with her. Of course we all tasted it and it was good.

Tue. April 7th - We got our chores done and did some of our homeschooling. We have our house back after having it full for 5 days. Food, visiting and catching up was good. We got busy cleaning up the farm and lost track of time. I made dinner and was getting ready to sit down and eat when the phone rang and it was our Master from Hope Grange.... reminding us we had a meeting and the speaker would be there at 7pm. We ate in 10 min. and got to the grange a little into the speakers talk - but we made it. We got home around 8:30 pm. The guy that spoke at the grange was from Raintree Nursery... and he had some great tips for pruning and some information on some new plants that are coming out for the NW. I think I still had some labeling to do for the markets - since we sold out almost all our stock last weekend. I made a batch of Chevre.

April 8th - We had three does kid, one had triplets 2boys and 1 girl. The other two had twins one buck and doe and the other two does. Its funny because most of the people that want kids from us want does and my goats are having a hard time delivering for me. Anyway all these kids are sold except one buck. The other 8 does left are bagging up so hopefully its will be soon. The Olympia Farmers Market is coming this morning to inspect us -make sure we are doing what we say we are doing. And they said we are alright to sell at thier market as a guest this year. So we will sell at thier market on Thur. starting April 16th. We started chores a little late due to our running around, David went to town to get dog food, grain. and also Hay this morning,and cleaning up after a full house of people. Danyel had biology this morning too. Cloe our Anatolian got bred today so we'll have puppies soon. Bernie is the dad. We are also trying to turn Cloe loose with the goats in the barn. She does fine in the barn but when we take her out to the pasture she is afraid to come back into the barn so that is a tug a war. We have tried everything to get her to come back in. Maybe its just time. David was trying to dig a hole in the top field and he broke his tractor its 5:30pm so off to the tractor store to get parts. Looks like we are not going to make it to church this evening. By 7:30 he had the tractor running again and came in to eat dinner. I am still labeling cheese for Pikes Place on Thur. We sure used alot of cheese last weekend. I think I went to bed about 10pm - after along day.

April 9th - we have a 4-H club meeting to finish up some of the loose ends for our 4-H sleepover. The club must finsish thier Risk Map so I can take it down to get it laminated. The sleep over is the 25th. - Jami and the grandkids are leaving about 7am for Montana to pick up her husband and come right back as her dad has cancer and isn't expected to live much longer. David left for Pikes Place at 6am and I am woring on packaging cheese today for this weekend. Our fresh feta is ready to be cut and packaged so I'll work on that. The rest of the feta will go into the olive oil for marinating. I need to call Thurstan county about the health certificate they were suppose to be sending me and I haven't recieved. We need that permit thing to sell on Thur at Olympia. I have to get some brakes pads for David cause his friend is going to change his pads on the car while he is at market on Sat. in Longview. I also have to call the Seattle Art Musem and get information on how to do thier visa purchase. The new visa machine is working great. Danyel had biology today and we got some math done. Our house is quiet. I am getting my last min. stuff together for my Sat. market.

April 10th - David took his order for the Seattle Art Museum, and left at about 6am for Seattle. He called me and said he was in Seattle by 7:40 this morning -the traffic was really light. I am making Black Jewels and NW Comfort today. So I'll be home all day working on the finishing touches of labeling and weighing and making some aged cheese. I have a guy coming out to pick up his kid. Danyel has biology today. We got some lititure in today as well as some math. David got home about 7:30 and the girls and I had just got in from doing chores. It was a busy evening - we had to pack up both vehicals for Sat. market - tents, tables, ice chests (packed), garbage cans, hand washing station, money box, and anything else. We got done about 11pm. And I went to bed. I have to be up at 4am .

April 11 Sat.- I was up on time went out and finished the cheese process, cleaned the milk parlor for the girls. Got the girls up at 5am to do chores they need to leave at 7am for Civil Air Patorl. I am leaving at 7am I am going to Tacoma and David leaves at 7:30am for Longview. All's quiet on the home front as everyone is leaving. I didn't sell as much as last weekend but the weather was really messy. David did about the same as last weekend. We all got home close to 4 and 4:30pm. Some people were here to pick up thier baby goat at 4:30. As soon as we get home I head up to the milk parlor to clean it and set it up for the girls to start milking. We are having something easy for dinner like Pizza. By 8pm we are all in the house, David is home with the pizza and we can put our feet up.

April 12th - We got up did chores and went to church. It is a quiet Easter. I put a ham in before we left for church. No one is coming for the holiday. The older children are in Portland at thier dads bedside. And that is alright with me - cause that is where they should be. Jami and the grandkids are coming here tonight and then will leave tomorrow for Montana to pick up her husband and then head back here to Oregon. They got here about 9pm and the kids went to bed and we all followed shortly behind.

April 13th - We got up at 6am and got busy doing chores. Jami and her children got up at 6:30 and got ready to leave by 7am. They have to go over the mountains and there is word that snow is coming and she wants to beat it. She did too. David went and got hay at 9am and when he got back and the hay unloaded we left for Olympia to get that health certificate for Thurstan county. The girls are staying home today. No biology for Danyel as the school is taking the WASL. I have a lady wanting to come and get a buck kid today when we get back from Olympia. We got the certificate - it was easier than Longviews. And then had a few pit stops before we got home. Turned in my cookbooks to be put together, picked up labels. Then stopped at the health food store and picked up some sesame oil. Then onto walmart to get a few things. We got home about 1:30pm. We unpacked and got back in the car to head to Portland. We are going up to see my X. Heather my #2 daughter is up there as well as her aunts and uncles. It will be good to see the family - Akin's. We got up to the VA hospital about 4pm. Visited with eveyone and prayed with the family. On our way home the girls called to say they were doing the haying. So that gave David and I an opportunity to go out for dinner and take our time coming home. We ate at the Oak Tree in Woodland. It was great to spend some down time with my husband. We got home around 9pm. Watched some Tv and wind down.

Tue. April 14 - The weather is good enough to start one of the burn piles on the top field. The girls opted to work on the burn pile than do school work. Had to take Bernie to the vets. He has been limping. When we got to the vets he stopped limping but the vet checked him over and didn't find anything wrong. So I don't know. I made Chevre this morning and will make feta this afternoon. We got chores done and the girls spent thier extra time helping with the burn pile.

Got news this evening that my kids dad was talking and eating and laughing - things may have turned around. Pretty Cool. We ate some pasta from the market on Sat. Broccoli,Chicken Fetachinie (spelling wrong). It was great. David will monitor the fire alnight. Cloe was loose all day and she went out of the barn and CAME BACK IN on her own. WOW! I really want to leave her in the pasture with all the goats loose so she can have her puppies in there too. She has always been with the bucks so she wouldn't get bred. But since she is she can hang out with Bernie in the big pasture.

April 15th _ We have a 4-H meeting this morning and Danyel has biology. David is going to starat another fire since its going to be nice out. I am working on my cheese in the processing plant. I have three different cheeses going at the same time.