Make Day of the week

Hello again:
It seems I'v not written for a long time. How time flies when your having fun. Or when you have little mind left and just don't notice the darkness outside. Which may describe me... all days running together.
Thur. I went and got two rounds of Hay at noon. Danyel had Biology and I made Chevre. That evening I went to W.O.W. at our church (womens gathering) at 6:30pm. David took the day off.
Then on Thursday without much warning our 13 year old foster son was moved. No word to where and No good- byes. No explanation to what is going on. Just ordered by the courts was all we got. We packed up his stuff and the State came and got it and picked him up at school. Good By foster son. I don't know if I can handle this states protocol for handling foster children. So right now we don't have any foster children and I am not sure I want anymore at this point.

Well on Friday of last week I got up at 5am and cleaned the parlor and then cleaned the processing plant. My inspector was coming at 9:30am - He showed up at about 8:40. He inspected my dairy and checked the thermometers on the pasteurizer. In all we got a 100% on everything. Then I hung the chevre after he left. I had a tour show up at about 11:30am and they bought some milk to make cheese. I home schooled the girls on their Thanksgiving Unit. I also packaged up 60 containers of Garlic & Dill Chevre and 40 containers of Chevre. I labeled 50 marinated feta packages and 30 each of Feta, Grande Rosa and Pepper Rosa. When I lable cheese this is what I do: I have to first write the date they were made or when they expired, then weigh them and put down the oz. and the grams, then I have to price them. Then I have to peel the lables off and put them on the cheese packages. So it takes me about 3+ hours to do all that cheese I said I did. When David got home he unloaded his cheese and we counted the cheese and the bank. Then about 9:30pm we load it all up again for two markets. Do the paperwork in double and start all over. I got to go to bed about 11pm.
Then Sat. morning got up at 5am and clean the parlor and take down the chevre and put it in the refrigerator. Then into the house to turn on the coffee pot. Got the girls up at 6am and they started their chores. David got the haying and watering done. He left the house at 6am and I left at 6:30am. We both had to stop and buy ice before we left town. The girls were picked up about 8am for Civil Air Patrol - they had to wear their blues and take their BDU's (camo clothes) for some uniform inspection thing. They will be home about 12:20 today. The weather was great and the market was a little slow. We both did fair at our markets. I got into town and had to run by the store to get supplies for the family gathering on Sunday. After that stop it was right home. 4:30 was already here and I was getting a headache so thought we best get our chores done right away. I cleaned the parlor and the girls rounded the goats up. I then went and unloaded the truck and counted the cheese and put it away. I had re-salted some feta on Friday also and so I had to brush off the salt and put them back into the oil. The salt make more of the whey come out of the feta and makes it dryer. Then I went inside and took some asprin and laid down on the couch and that is where I stayed until about 10pm and I went to bed. The girls had to make their own dinner and fend for themselves. When David got home he asked me a few questions and I answered and that was it for me.
Sunday morning I was up at 5am to go out and clean the parlor and leave for Pikes Place at 6am. David had the girls up at 6am to do their chores. They had to meet his mom in Longveiw at noon to leave for his nieces for the family gathering. I had all the stuff ready for thier pot luck meal. David made up a cheese basket for his niece as a house warming gift. So off to Kalama they went. He had a good time and the girls did too. This was a memorial for David's grandpa who passed away last month. I was at market and it was slow. We were down about $100 dollars from last Sunday. I got home about 7:30 and the chores were all done and the girls were fending for themselves for dinner. I unloaded the car and counted the cheese. David had to go get grain after he got home too.
This morning the same routine. I am making Grande & Pepper Rosa this evening. We are getting low. And then on Wed. I'll make another batch of Aged cheese. The chevre in the refrigerator will last us this week. I have a cheese class on Sat. so I'll be getting ready for that.
Well that is about it for this last week.
Have a Great Evening and relax.

Cheese Baskets Ready!

Publish Post

Well I got away with it most of yesterday. Birthday's are not my thing so when mine comes around I try and lay low. I just don't like the fan fare. If you want to do something nice for someone do it on an unsuspecting day not on an obligation day. It means more for me on the other days. Anyway I do get calls from my parents, and children (most of them) and the youngest girls even got me a card. Which was really cute... There was a cow on the front behind a fence "Your Day. Your way. Your say." You open it up and it says "Its your birthday - milk it for all it's worth!" That was really funny.
This is one of my cheese baskets - $42
I made up David's cheese for market, garlic and dill and plain chevre. He loaded up the truck last night. Yesterday the girls had to go get some more shots for their school records. And we went by the 4-H office and picked up our club information. I am going to try and sell Christmas Baskets of cheese this year. So I ran by the dollar store and got a basket. When we got home David and I arranged the cheese and took pictures so I can put it on a poster to be able to sell them. We will make them up and deliver them to one spot in Longveiw the week before Christmas. I'll try and sell them at the Bazzar I am going to the first part of November. I think we will try it at Pikes Place too.
Speaking of Pikes Place that will start the first of November. I have to gear up for this market. We go through so many samples and not as much sales. At the farmers markets we use little samples and sell lots of cheese. Anyway David will have to stop by Cash and Carry after market on Sat. and get some more yogurt containers, chevre containers, tester spoons, toothpicks and sacks for the first of November. We will also be doing a market in Tacoma on Sat. too.
I caulked yesterday and I have to say it looks so good in the milk parlor. It closes all kinds of gaps and looks finished. But I am going to see if I can get a different caulk, because the one I got stays soft permanently and I think I'd rather have one that dries hard. Anyway I will pick up some more today and talk to the guys at ACE hardware.
I am going to start a batch of Grande' Rosa and Pepper Rosa today and also some yogurt and buttermilk. David cleaned all the dishes in the cheese processing plant yesterday for me and so I am ready this afternoon to make cheese. I will run Danyel to biology, deposit some money in the bank, pick up a few groceries and then pick up Danyel and head for home. She is going to work on her Biology project and I am going to work on cheese. And maybe caulk a little.
David and Ali are at their last Broadway Tacoma Farmers Market. I sure hope he sells a good amount of cheese today. They will be home about 4pm today. Then we have to milk, eat dinner and be at a football game at 6pm (or David has to).
I have said before we do foster children - but I won't talk about them on my blog except to say, this one is in football and this is his last game and its at home. So depending on where I am in the cheese process determines if I go. (Personally I don't enjoy freezing, getting wet in the rain to watch football and I have already gone to one of his home games this year - There was a total of 6 games and two were at home. And this time is David's turn. Did I mention the team is 5-0). Anyway this evening will be another run time.
Ali has to finish packing this evening for a Civil Air Patrol weekend at Lake Mayfield. She will earn a rank up doing this. We will run her up tomorrow evening.
Well life is good, well maybe great - we have a roof over our heads, meat in the freezer, and a job we enjoy, and a great family to work and play with. I don't care whats going on in the rest of the world as long as my world is working well. I guess I am an ostrich with my head in the sand.... but it works for me. Have a Great Day regardless of the hurricane outside your door.