A New Cart for Ali

A trip to the zoo for Father's Day

A bunch of Fluff!

This is the Good Life!

Ali and Waldo and her New Pink Cart!

Good Morning:

Well Blue Rose Dairy has been busy this week. We are doing 8 markets a week. We picked up our 10th market on Wed. at Steilacoom. We sold 350 pieces of cheese this week which is up from last week by 20 pieces. We are supplying cheese to 94th Stewart Restaurant in Seattle, Country Folks Deli & Bistro in Longview. And will have about two more restaurants ordering this next week.

I made Chevre this week as well as Black Jewels, N.W. Comfort, Grande' Rosa and Pepper Rosa. As well as 9 gallons of yogurt. We are naming our yogurt "Goat- Gurt". My parents came over on Tue. and Friday and helped label and weigh cheese. This is a family affair for sure.

Our house looks so nice. My brother will come after the 4th of July and finish the trim and deck. One of our refrigerators went out this last week. I am down to three refrigerators and its hard to keep everything cool. We are going to go next week and buy another refrigerator. (One of those is in my house). Today we got me a industrial style Kitchen Aid mixer. David will take my other one and have it refurbished so I can move it into the house. The bigger one will work great in the processing plant.

We had a new great niece born this last week too. Cassandra had her baby. Congrad's to You.

It seems we keep running around here. I don't think I get much time to rest. We are still homeschooling too.

Danyel took her dog, Maggie and had her spayed on Monday. So she has been on bed rest for this week - the dog.

I should make note the girls are paying for these things themselves. I still can't believe Ali saved $500 for that cart.

Fathers Day was spent at the Zoo in Portland. Heather and Jamie and our grandson CJ met us there. I had made a picnic lunch to eat at the Zoo. We had chicken, salads, rolls, cookies. It was a great day to visit the zoo.

Well enough. I have to get dinner done so we can go see Star War's at 9:45pm tonight.

Have a great evening and think of me at 5am cleaning the parlor and getting ready for a busy day tomorrow.

New Look to Blue Rose Dairy

My brothers business
Before

After

Well I guess the biggest news is our house. My parents paid my brother to paint my house. Well this week was the week. They worked on it for 5 days and then the rain came so they will be back to finish the last of the trim and stain the deck.

It looks great! Thanks mom and dad and Steven.

The farmers markets are going well. We are all feeling tired but still going strong. We pick up our tenth market on Wed. of this week. People are looking for us and the Chefs at the markets are using our cheese to demonstrate with. That's great. The more people know how to use our cheese the better for us. We have picked up a couple more small restaurants. Keeping up with making cheese three days a week is quite the challenge. I need to stay home those days and that almost seems impossible. There is always something pulling me away from the farm. Anyway it is getting done. I am not getting a head though as we seem to be selling it about as fast as I make it. One of our refrigerators went out so I am down to three refrigerators and that doesn't hold all my cheese. So I am having to package more cheese than usual. A friend has an extra refrigerator and they are going to sell it to us... soon I'll have my fourth back.

The car's water hose to the heater broke the other day and it goes to the doctor on Monday to get fixed. Danyel is having her dog, Maggi fixed on Monday too.

Ali went and ordered her goat cart this last week and it will be here this next weekend, florescent pink with a pink seat too. She can't wait. She saved up $450 and bought it.

Today is Father's day, Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads. So for David's gift we go to the Zoo. This year its to the Portland Zoo. A long time ago we asked David's parents to buy our family a zoo pass and they have done it ever since. We use to go all the time --- but farm life and cheese making and Farmers Markets keep us from enjoying it very often. But David's favorite place is the zoo. So we will be leaving as soon as the milking and chores are done.

Danyel just came in and said Waldo (Ali's cart goat with big horns) just had one of my younger boar bucks stuck in his horn and now the buck can't walk. So David is moving him to a pen. And Waldo is going to have a pasture all to himself. Possibly one more goat to add to the butcher pot too. (Not waldo - I already threatened Ali with that and he was saved last year).

There is never a dull moment on the farm that's for sure.

The puppies eyes are starting to open. We have to chain Cloe in the pen - she wants to hide the puppies. We don't let anyone in the pen so she will feel more protected. Once the eyes are all open she won't want to move them anymore. Those babies are chunky and cute. I don't have a new picture of them yet. As soon as their eyes are open I'll post another one. Heather has picked her puppy out and we have picked ours out. So now the litter is open to get your puppy. We are doing a stimulus package special $1500 a puppy.

Both parents are working and are AKC

They can leave in one and a half months from now. So Aug 1 they are available to take home.

The girls babysat some friends animals this last week. So every evening after chores we drove over to their house and fed their animals and watered their plants. We had their milk doe at our house too. They got home yesterday and had to come right over - bearing gifts of Thanks. I even got something. That was so sweet of them.

Oh yes I started a cleansing diet this last week. Candida. Anyway I am feeling better and its been a challenge. I can eat veg. and meat. I am doing well on it. I haven't killed anyone yet so that is good. My mom is on the Atkins diet for a few months too. So its good to have someone to talk to about the NOT EATING.

The girls and Amanda (sort of an adopted daughter) gave a goat clinic this last weekend and they had about 10 people come to it. It was great. The girls each gave demonstrations about different things and then they followed up with a tour of the dairy and some cheese tasting. The comments the kids got after the class encouraged them to do some more classes. So if your wanting to learn more about goat care from some down to earth kids that have been there done that and are still doing it - this is a few classes that you'll want to check out. They are doing four classes each with a different topic and they are not connected so you can take the ones that interest you. They are charging $20 for each class.

#1 Breeding July 12th from -2-5pm

#2 Goat Nutrition Aug. 9th- 2-4pm

#3 Goat Hoof Trimming Aug. 23 -2-4pm

#4 General Goat Class Sept. 13 - 2-5pm

My next cheese class is fast approaching too. So if you haven't sent in your money do so cause there are more than 25 that want to attend. It will be first come first serve. Thanks to for all the participation in those classes.

Well I'll stop with the news and say have a Great Day and smell the roses.

Puppies and Cheese!

This is Cloe and her puppies on 6/12/09

Good Morning:

I thought I'd up date you since the puppies change so fast.

On Wed. we got our cheese ready to go to Olympia and Broadway in Tacoma. We packed the cars that night ready to leave Thur. am.

The markets on Thur went well. People were buying for graduation parties - so that went very well. David brought home from his market strawberries and I brought home smoked salmon. We had strawberry shortcake and garlic and dill chevre and salmon on bread --YUM! On my way home from Olympia I had to run out to Adna and pick up two rounds of our aged cheese so David could take them Friday to a new Restaurant - 94th st. Restaurant in Seattle. Danyel and Ali cleaned the house while they were home. We unloaded cheese and started chores. Then I could sit down and relax.

Friday I was swamped with cheese.... had to package, label and cut, about 250 pieces. My parents came over and helped me cause I wasn't going to get done. Danyel's last day for Biology. One less place to drive to everyday. We will continue homeschooling through the summer - just three days a week and only work on three subjects.

The girls are babysitting a friends farm so each evening after our chores we drive 6 miles and go do their chores. Luckily they don't have near as many animals as we do.

David got home about 9pm after really bad traffic. He worked at Pikes Place Market all day. He also got new orders from the Pikes Place Creamery, which is carrying our yogurt and our chevre.

We unloaded David's coolers and then loaded up both or our coolers for Sat. market.

Sat. I was up at about 5am cleaned the parlor and packaged yogurt and put the feta in the refrigerator - and was on the road by 6:15am for Adna to load up and pick up Meg at Blacksheep creamery. We were on the road by 6:40 for Puyallup. David got up and hayed the goats and filled the grain cans in the parlor and then he was off for Longview at 7:30am. Danyel and Ali were also getting picked up for Civil Air Patrol at about 7:30am. They will get home about Noon. David got home about 3:30 and got unloaded and paperwork done. I got home about 4:15 after dropping Meg off at Adna. David helped me get unloaded and cheese counted. And he turned around and headed back to Longview to go pick up a pressure washer at Rogers our friends house. He was home by 9:30pm. Amanda got here about 9pm - she is spending the night and tomorrow the girls and her are putting on a goat clinic here at the farm. I ran the girls over to the Jones to take care of their animals at 8:30pm and was home by 9:30pm. I think I went to bed about 10:00pm. I have to say since the TV switch thing - our TV isn't on so much. We get 7 channels - most which are OPB. Its awesome.

Sunday is crazy; 5am up to do chores and milk. 7am the girls get dressed for Civil Air Patrol - I'll take them to the airport. At 8:30 one of them will be fl ying a glider, and the other will follow in about 1 1/2 hours. David and I should be picking them up about 1pm no later. David and I will go to church at 10:30 where we will meet up with Shawn and Susanna and they will come home with us. I'll heat up some chili and we'll have lunch. Heather and Jamie and CJ will also be here about 1pm to eat lunch with us. Then Amanda and Danyel and Ali will put on their goat clinic at 2-4 today. At 5pm our Worship/Potluck starts and so do chores. We will probably worship until about 9pm. I want to make a batch of my non-pasteurized cheese today too It will take about 2 hours to get it into the molds. My new hose works so good and sure makes my life easier. Then its to bed for this one tired lady.

Well I hope I didn't give any of you heart problems or Anxiety after reading my week.

Have a Great Day - Plan our your days so they don't look like mine.

Puppies!

These are three of the 10. The different colors.

WE HAVE PUPPIES!!!!

Hello: Here I am again. Another month has almost passed by since I last wrote. We are crazy busy now. We are doing 7 markets a week and by the end of this month it will be 8 markets a week. We are rotating 4 markets on the weekend. As you can see these are a few of our new additions to the farm. Cloe had 4 males and 6 females. They are cute. We are going to run a special economy stimulus sale on these puppies.... $1,500.00. So get your order in. I'll be putting up pictures here as they grow, so everyone can see what these pups are going to look like. They should be ready to go to homes in 8 weeks - First week in Aug.

Last week we sold almost 400 pieces of cheese at the farmers markets. Thats about 57 pieces per market. So I am making cheese and packaging it. It seems packaging is the bigger project. We have picked up a couple more resturants and possibly two wholesale distributers too.

My parents are paying to have my house painted this next week. My brother is a house painter and he will be doing it for me. It will be white with Navy blue trim and a purple back door. I can't wait. Thanks MOM and DAD!

The new hose that brings my milk down to the processing plant works great. It takes about 15 min. to fill the pasturizer. My back will be saved now. The cheese is turning out great. Our aged cheese is now out of the cave and selling well. I am also selling quarts of yogurt - only by order though. And that seems to be going well too.

We had a load of chips dropped off today so we can pick the date to clean the barn. Probably next month.

Two of our vehicals are having issues. The van is having altimers ( it can't remember where to put the gas to run the van) The car's heater hose from the radiator broke - we have a bypass one on right now with the part on order. We don't know what we are going to do about the van. I guess that one costs a bunch of money to fix the computer.

Our house loan is being looked over to see if we can redo it for a better rate. So don't know how that will turn out.

Our does are done kidding for the season. And we have one kid still on bottle - Ali's pack goat for fair.

The girls are both saving thier money for big projects. Ali is buying a cart for her goat. Danyel is paying to have a hernia removed from her pack goat kid. I sure am glad its them and not me.

Today I have to package about 100 pieces of cheese and lable it too.

Danyel only has one more day of school for her biology class. We will be homeschooling all summer - a few days a week. We are paying the girls to clean the house on Thur. when David and I are both at markets. Its nice to come home to a clean house.

My parents are up from Arizona for the summer. This year they brought up thier bus and are staying in it, in Centrialia at some friends house.

The girls and another friend are putting on a goat clinic here at the farm this weekend on Sunday the 14th at 2pm. The cost is $15 a person. They will cover health, feet, feed, and good care of your goat.

So I wanted to get you all alittle caught up on our life here on the dairy. You have a great day. And put your feet up for me.

Last week in May

Our New Lambs!

Good Morning: I know your surpised to see a blog so soon. Well I am inbetween cheese making days and so I thought I'd write. Our Memorial Day was very nice. My parents came over for a short visit. We went to some friends house for a BBQ. We took potatoe salad and cheese and crackers...of course. We stayed until 5pm and came home and did chores. I worked in the processing plant cleaning and getting ready to make cheese on Wed. Oh yes, my hose that I was so excited about was to short - so now I have to get about 30 more feet....have to wait for the farm store to order some more hose now. I was so bumbed. Oh well I'll be carrying milk for the batch on Wed. The processing plant in town came and picked up my milk on Sunday evening - only 100 gallons. So thats why I can't make cheese till Wed. We only have four baby goats left to bottle feed. And two of them will leave this next weekend. Only to return in a week to be goat sat for a week. Ali has picked out a pack goat and its in this group and then a single buck that will probably join our freezer goat bunch when its weaned. We are all done kidding until July if those two does took. So we are onto bigger and better things.

We are working on our new loan - so we can stay here. With the economy and all, its crazy with the finances. We pay what we can and try and sqeeze by on the other bills. We are one of those families that don't have health insurance - and no unemployment left to speak of. But somehow we are doing it and we are still here on the farm. I think God has something to do with it personally. But It will all work out the way its suppose to - because we do trust the Father Above. We are thankful for what we have and enjoying the grace God has given us.

David has a new market tomorrow starting.. Tumwater. Its a short market 11-2pm. We haven't done this one in two years. So it will be interesting to see how it is now. We have plenty of cheese left from last week - so I don't have to package and label for tomorrow. But will be back into swing of things Wed.

My chevre turned out great yesterday. I took it down from hanging and put it into the refrigerator. This will be packaged for this week. My Grande' Rosa and Pepper Rosa are getting a nice rind on them and will also be packaged up Wed. I think I'll be making NW and Black Jewels on Wed. I'll have helpers here to learn how to make cheese and run a dairy all day... so lots of help. Ya!

Maggi and the Frizy

David has been working with Maggi (border collie and blue heeler mix pup), to catch a frisby. She is doing great. So when we go outside there is Maggi with her frizby wanting someone to throw it for her. We also have a lambs now. They will be put in the freezer about October. One of them is for my daughter and her family. And two for us. We also worked on a new flower bed in front of the milk parlor. But the other new garden is where our blueberry's are. David made it square and added the plants we bought from the Herb Festival. It looks great. That is the other photo.

Our Blueberry garden

Well I'll write more as soon as possible. Have a Great Week!

Memorial Day Weekend

Good Morning:

These pictures are of our 4-H sleep over weekend.

I just want to say that I really enjoy writing to you all when I get a chance to sit down. Its a great jounal of our life on the farm. I know sometimes its kind of dull - but then there are the times when things are hopping. So put on your running shoes for this weeks blog;

May 19 - This was a day off - truely. Couldn't make cheese didnt have enough milk, goats have been liced and wormed and the girls have been trimming toes during milking. I did go out and clean the processing plant and dust the high spots and scrub the low. My inspector is coming tomorrow to test the thermometers on my pasturizer and inspect the farm and the processing plant. We worked on the yard and my parents came over. I made dinner for us all and looked through old pictures they brought me. (Boxes and boxes) Mom decided after a friend passed away that she didn't want us kids to have to go through all her stuff when she passed away. So she thought she would start disperssing it now. So that is what is going on. And since I am working on the family photo album I should get the photos. They are great too. Looking at people that are not in our lives any longer and remembering. So today was a relaxing day.

May 20th - I made some Grande' Rosa and Pepper Rosa, 50 gallons so it makes about 35 pounds of cheese. I had to package and lable cheese for market on Thur. This is going to be my first day alone at the Olympia market. David will start Broadway in Tacoma market. So I need to have alittle extra cheese packaged cause you never know what your opening market day will be like. The weather is suppose to be sunny so that always helps bring the people out. The girls worked onHistory and math and Bible today for thier homeschool class. David did running around picking up bits and peices of stuff. Like grain and Hay and such. We didn't get to go to Church this evening - due to the extra things going on this evening. The goats are producing great and everyone is healthy. We do have one doe with diahrea in a pen and are doctoring her. She doesn't look very good... but you never know.

May 21 - We were both on the road about 7am for market. The girls are home today. I left them with some chores and some schoolwork to do. Market was pretty good. I met alot of nice people at this market. David did pretty good at his Market too. When we got home at about 4pm the girls had thier friends over. I paid Katie and Nichole for helping the last weekend milking and doing chores while the girls were gone. I have to package up an extra 20lbs of chevre for the Seattle Art Musem order. And David will reload up the car for Pikes Market tomorrow. My parents came and picked up the girls and took them to where thier motorhome is parked right now - so Ali could climb under it to get a number off the front axel.

May 22 - David left at 6:15 and took Ali incase they get really busy due to Memorial Day. So it was Danyel and I all day. I had so much cheese to label and package it wasn't funny. I started working on packaging cheese while Danyel milked the goats this morning and finished about 11pm. We had to borrow vaccum sealer bags from Black sheep creamery - I ran out... OOPS!

They loaned us some and I was on my way again. Danyel and I did some running around after Biology. I started making cheese in the morning too - Chevre. I thought about the milk I'v been hauling down to the processing plant - 52 gallons each batch. Its heavy and time consuming. So we went to the farm store and had one of the gentlemen help us figure out how or what we needed to make a nozzel for the bulk tank and then buy 70ft of hose. I think it will work. We got home and I finished my cheese and tried my new contraption in the bulk tank... it fits. I'll try and make cheese on Sunday after church. It was really pretty out today and I washed the table and chairs on the deck. Watered some of the plants and planted a few more in the pots.

David and Ali got home at 7:30pm. Danyel was n't finished milking yet cause we started at 6pm cause it was pretty warm out. My back hurts and so do my legs. But all is well at the dairy.

May 23- I was up at 5am to clean the parlor and cut up samples to take to my market. I need to leave at 6:15 or close to that. I am driving to Adna to pick up Meg (Black Sheep Creamery) and we are car pooling, or as it is truck pooling to Puyallup for the market. We arrived at about 8:30 in puyallup and the market starts at 9am. David went to Proctor street in Tacoma and had left our house at about 7am and was set up ready to sell by 8:30am. I did get set up in time and was selling right off the start. I am inside the pavillion and in front of one of the big open doors. So I wore my coat all day at the market while it was hot outside. But the market was busy and I sold alot of cheese. At this market there are three cheese venders. David did very well at his market too. I had David buy some pork steaks at the market for dinner. He also brought me a bunch of spinach and some greens. We were both home about 4:00 and I went out and cleaned the parlor then hung my chevre that I made yesterday. Then into the house to cook dinner. David unloaded and counted the cheese and the tills. We all got to sit down about 8pm. I fell asleep about 11pm but took a nap at about 6pm for half an hour. Ali had a friend spend the night - so they slept in sleeping bags out in the barn in thier fort.

May 24 - Sunday. We got up at 6am and went out to do chores. I cleaned my parlor and then headed to the processing plant to clean and wash dishes. I want to be ready to make Black Jewels and NW Comfort today - using my new hose to get the milk to the pasturizer. I'll let you know how that works on my next blog.

You all have a great Memorial Day and remember the men and women that have given thier all for us to enjoy the little freedoms we now have. Please enjoy these freedoms as it may be the last ones you'll know. And you need to remember what it feels like so we can again work for our independance when the air has settled. Have a great day.

Back in the Saddle Again!

Good Morning: Ice and One of our Boar bucks lounging --- One of Ali's frogs

Well chores are done. I am in the house and its only 8:30am. Pretty good for lately. The girls have run down to the neighbors to check on her stuff while she is gone. David is on his way to pick up two round bales of hay. The house is quiet except for the crunching of dog food by the Maggi. The weather is kind of foggy and the moisture is in the air. Its suppose to be a nice day today. The local processing plant is coming to pick up my excess milk which is over 200 gallons for this week.

My parents are in town so they came by on Wed. to see us and bring me some goodies... books photo's, towels, and linens. And my understanding is they have more for me.

I thought we had this week pretty together but plans changed about Thur. morning. The girls left by 4pm for the Search and Rescue Confrence in Randle. Thier friends, Katie and Nichole came and spent Thur. - Sat. morning here to help me with chores. It worked out great. I sent them to do the haying, graining and watering and I milked and cleaned the parlor. I didn't have time to make much cheese this week. I did get 100 gallons of milk turned into cheese.... but I have to say it got away from me this week. So David had market in Olympia on Thur. and Then Pikes on Friday. Sat. morning we both left the farm at about 6:45am for our farmers markets, David was in Longview and I was in Tacoma. Our sales were pretty good. Katie and Nichole finished milking Sat. morning and then thier mom came and picked them up. When Katie comes she has to bring her milking doe which works out great for all of us. But this week I had an email from a gentleman who had a nubian doe he wanted to give to me.. she was dry. So I asked him if it was alright to give the doe to a 4-H member in my club and he agreed that was fine. So Katie went home with two goats on Sat. She was very pleased and can't wait to show the doe in the pack compotition at fair this year.

David and I drove to Battleground and went to the herb festival on Sunday. What a nice relaxing day. It's not often we get to be alone and go somewhere fun.

David bought some tomatoe plants at the farmers market on Sat. and so Sat. evening he built a raised flower bed and planted the plants. So our goal at the Herb festival was to pick up some herbs for his rose garden he's working on and to get some more veg. for the raised bed.

We got some cucumbers and squash to plant on the edges of the tomatoe garden. Can't wait. We got some fennel, basil, lavenders and a few other herbs to plant around the farm.

We got some goat milk soap at the Herb festival too from Silver Star Farms - awsome soap. David found a planter there too for his strawberries. We stopped at a garage sale and picked up a few things.

This morning we are going to do some lititure and bible study for homeschooling. Danyel has biolgy and Ali will work on her science. I need to find places for the pictures mom and dad brought to me and do some laundry. Won't make cheese until Wed. morning so I best use my time wisely and get some stuff done around the house. David wants to mow the lawn and plant plants.

Have a great Day