Dailey Bred Farm

A New Beginning

{ 09:34, Tuesday, September 2, 2008 } { 2 comments } { Link }

I am so dense. And proud. And selfish. I don't think those are the words that people who know me would usually use to describe me (I guess I'm also sneaky) but it's so true!

I have homeschooled my children all of their lives. They have only been inside a classroom when doing extra things with their dad. And I am proud of that....partly in the good way (thank you God for allowing it and giving me kids that are easy to teach) and partly in a very bad way ("Isn't it nifty of me to sacrifice my own desires to stay home?") The last two school years I have felt enormous pressure (self induced, I am now finding...thus the dense) to make sure I find and co-ordinate all of my children's school and that it isn't like anyone else's. I wanted to be seen as super mom that did all the right things while being COMPLETELY different from "the world." It was in large part about how I would appear to others! Not entirely, because I am a firm believer in schooling at home, but selfishly, I was pretty impressed with me. I like it when my friends think I'm great. How ridiculous! We have been so blessed with each other (husband and I have been together since I was in high school...another source of that good/bad pride thing) and with wonderfully healthy, smart children. We had so little to do with what God has poured on us! Yes, we made some right decisions, but we also made some very poor ones that the Lord STILL used to bless us. How can we take credit for any of that? Even looking at it all written out, and seeing the ugliness of ME, I still have to fight down the hideous pride-self monster.

The last four years have been the strangest of our lives. We have moved six times and lost our closest family friend to a hidden drug addiction. My husband, the stereotypical engineer, decided to change careers and become a middle school math teacher, necessitating three years of full time teaching while at the same time full time grad school. It cut our family income in almost half. And put us nearly $40,000 in debt. And gave me a husband who gets up and goes to his job gladly. And gives us nearly three months of true family time spaced out over the year. And brought us even closer to our children. God brought us through the yuck, to this place of refuge...for how ever long it lasts. As He always has!

All that long winded confession to say, I have changed our style of schooling completely and I feel FREEDOM from so much of that pressure I had placed on myself. I have released control of the planning of the children's school and it is a relief! Now I can help them with their studies and enjoy the time with them, and not be the one that has ultimate power. Ultimate power is a heady thing for a fallen Mom! It will be a change. It is public school curriculum, and I have always used Christian based. It will mean discussions of truth and righteousness and the way other people view the world. I has the potential to be iron sharpening iron. IF I can remember humility, unselfishness and thoughtful thankfulness.

It's all done

{ 07:09, Saturday, August 30, 2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }

And boy am I glad! The question now is...will we ever raise chickens for meat again?

I ordered 50 with the understanding that our landlord would pay for feed and we would raise and butcher. At the end he would get 25 and we would have the rest for our freezer. We ended up keeping four as layers (they look and lay like Austrolorps...were they really Black Cornish Cross?) and butchering 12. Four we gave to our friend for helping with the butchering and feeding while we were gone to Mexico. She is also canning four for us. So I have three cut up for fryers, one whole roaster and the eight quarts of canned, precooked meat. Sounds alright, but it was an awful lot of work!

In other homestead news...the potato crop was mediocre. There were approximately 60 pounds but we planted almost 10 pounds of seed. That's only six pounds to the pound of seed and I had figured 10 pounds. The tomatoes are still only producing eating quantities, so I haven't gotten any canned. The beans are lovely plants but a little fruit. We had great onions and garlic. So it looks like potato soup this winter!

We sold all of our Nigerian Dwarf goats to one family. They are just too hard to milk for us, so we downsized to the two Nubian girls. We'll be breeding them sometime in the next month. Another deciding factor in the decision to sell is the price of feed. It's $13 a bag and we were using about three a month for animals that weren't contributing. Now that the chickens are gone as well as those seven goats, we'll be back to our $40 a month feed budget.

School starts on the third. We are doing an online charter school, so we are on someone else's schedule for the first time ever. I am glad to have someone else doing the planning but apprehensive about doing anything "public" school. I hope it all goes well.

Husband (Didaskalos) and I are celebrating our 18th anniversary on Monday. We may go have dinner out (his mom sent us a little paper present) tonight....or we may wait until Monday and take the kids to see a cheap movie.

I suppose I should end this ramble and ramble on out to the dump so that the pickup is clean before the busy week. Not any deep thoughts today, just an update on the Dailey Doings!

Safe and Sound

{ 01:16, Saturday, July 26, 2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }

T.T. was found! Thank you all for praying. He misunderstood his mom and arrived at the meeting place two hours late. I can't imagine being S.T.! Thanks again!

URGENT prayer request

{ 06:38, Friday, July 25, 2008 } { 3 comments } { Link }

A family from our church is at Six Flags in California and their youngest son is missing. Please pray the T.T. will be found. Thanks so much.

Summer is fleeting

{ 11:14, Thursday, July 24, 2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }

Already it is time to plan for school. I tried so hard to get everything set up and ordered before we went to Mexico, but here we are at the wire and I still have about $100 worth of curriculum to buy. And school supplies. And finish painting the dining/school room. And build the bunny/worm hutch. Other than that, I'm ready!

I always look forward to the beginning of a new year...and the end of one. It seems I have looked ahead too much, probably missing lots of blessings in my desire for the next thing to come along. My daughter went on her first teen only movie night. With a teen driver. All the way to the city. I missed things while she was growing up and while I don't want to step back and do it all over (things just get more fun the older they get) I do feel a little sad that her time with me and homeschool is not going to be too much longer.

The day is so pretty and the garden is calling. The goat needs milked and the chickens need fed. I love this life.

Ten Years Ago...

{ 11:41, Friday, June 13, 2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }

SisterLori, here you go.

1. Ten years ago I was pregnant (as usual for that time) with my third and living in Vernonia.

2. Five to-dos....finish mowing the lawn, finish planning school for next year, finish painting the dining room, clean the fridge, clean out under the kitchen sink.

3. Snacking....besides my nightly popcorn (which I like with salt, pepper, garlic and parmesan cheese) I like triscuits with mozarella cheese and green spanish olives, broiled.

4. If I were a billionaire I would pay off all of my friend's and family's student loans, buy a nice big place with a nice small house and travel around the world helping mission organizations that really help people.

5. I've lived in 28 houses over the course of my 37 years. 25 of them since D and I married in 1990. As far as states go...Oregon, Montana, Iowa.

I don't know how to tag, so I guess the line ends with me...sorry all!

His ways

{ 10:52, Monday, June 9, 2008 } { 2 comments } { Link }

Isaiah 55:9 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than yours.

This morning as I was enjoying the quiet of a sleeping house, I started thinking about my paper (written) journal. I was thinking that I have a few thoughts to write down...mostly the things that come to mind while I'm mowing the lawn

....when this scripture came to mind. How many of the entries in that journal are my thoughts and how many are His? How many are my low ways and ponders, and how many are His high ones? I would be embarrassed to look back I'm certain. So many of those little words are whines or requests or "deep" thoughts of my own. I spend much more of my time contemplating my own agenda and wisdom than Truth. That's my prayer today....that I will spend my limited human energy on the ways and thoughts of the One who matters. Please, Lord.

It Seems....

{ 10:50, Tuesday, June 3, 2008 } { 3 comments } { Link }

that we are not meant to mow our yard. In the last three weeks we have (and I mean "I" because it was I who did the driving) broken the blade (mowers can't eat bricks) broke the safety switch (again) and broke the drive belt. I have a race track around my back yard because it died in mid mow, and the machine is still sitting there because I also ran it completely out of gas!

Sometimes I let these silly little things get me so frustrated. I let the inconveniences of this 'ol life really get under my skin, and for some reason, it's easier in my human-ness to let those things stick...not the joy and peace of God. I need to remember to keep "stuff" in perspective....unmowed lawns are nothing in the grand scheme and even my embarrassment over the state of my yard is so trivial!

End of School

{ 03:02, Wednesday, May 28, 2008 } { 3 comments } { Link }

Today was our last full day of school. Tomorrow E has her end-of-5th-grade-necessary-for-the-state Test. C already took hers, because she was the only third grade tester in our town we had to go to the city. The third grade test has different instructions and so requires a different tester. That meant that the teacher who does the testing would've had to hire another teacher and charged us for it. We drove the 45 miles and took it with the bigger group. It was C's first (3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grade tests are required in our state) and she weathered it well.

After all the testing is done and everyone is all legal, we have our First (hopefully) Annual Homeschool Formal. SisterLori and her DDs and myself and my DCs are putting it on. We all have our lovely things to wear and our flowery decorations (the theme is A Meadow in Springtime) the making of some delicious finger foods. I still have a couple of mending things to do on the clothing to make them modest family friendly, but it should be only an hour or so. I hope it turns out fun for all.

Now that the main part of school is finished, we have clean and organize on Friday. I like to tidy up when we're finished then in the late summer we can be all excited to get our things out to begin again. This year we are going to do a reading program all together as well as the older children doing some math with their much "mathier" dad. I enjoy lower grades math, up through about 6th grade. After that I can stumble my way through, but not explain very well how to do the processes. I think that's why God's best is to have two complementary people raising children....we fill in the gaps for each other.

We have three weeks to prepare for our mission trip to Mexico. We'll be gone for 10 days. After the 4th of July, DH is teaching summer school for the rest of the month, while the two older children each have a camp and we all have VBS. The first week of August is county fair, where we'll camp out while the kids show their animals and the 22nd through 24th we have a camping trip with some friends in southern Oregon and the 25th school begins again! That's the summer on Dailey Bred farm...it looks tiring! Throw in gardening, milking and kidding, cleaning stalls, moving animals, keeping the house up and WOO BOY! Such is life.

The Cake

{ 10:35, Tuesday, May 6, 2008 } { 2 comments } { Link }

I am not much of a sweet eater, but this little cake is so good, not too sweet and doesn't make any left overs. It's just right for our family of six to have a little desert. It was originally out of a magazine I got to look through while SisterLori drove to an event, but of course I tweaked it to be what I like.

Lemon Poppyseed Bundt

Grease a small bundt or bread pan. Heat oven to 350.

Cream together:
    1/4 c butter
    3/4 c sugar

Add:
    2 lightly frothed egg whites
    1 t lemon extract
    1 t poppy seeds
Mix on high for one minute

In sifter put:
    1 c + 2 T flour
    1 1/2 t baking powder
    1/4 t salt

Alternately add sifter mixture and
    1/2 c milk

Beat until well mixed. Makes a thick batter. Spoon into bundt and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn onto plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Spring?

{ 10:12, Wednesday, April 30, 2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }

Is it really the last day of April? This year seems to be a test of our mental fortitude...or possibly I am just over sensitive to most things right now. The last year was (actually last two have been) long and sad for our family and so I think I am anxious to get planting and working outside. Perhaps this rainy/snowy/windy spring will help me to get my house in order so that when I can spend more time outside, it won't get quite so ever whelming inside. Perhaps. In any case, I am definitely in a funk and want to get past it.

Yesterday we had an unplanned day off school, so I drew a new chicken house. We have access to lots of kiln dried 2x2s and we just got a new batch, so I want to try my hand at framing something rather than cobbling something together. I also want to make it very movable so that when we go on our merry way, it can come too. And also cute. I want to put a window box on the front with flowers or herbs in it. It is to be a little larger than 6x6 (enough room for about a dozen chickens) and about 7 1/2 tall. I will try to take pictures as I go along. A new project also helps my state of mind.

Our meat chicken experiment seems to be going fairly well. They eat about 50 lbs a week. Thankfully we aren't paying for the feed because it is $21 a bag! Ouch. The man who is paying for them wants all organic. I am just glad to have them off the porch. The broody hen only hatched out one chick that she kicked out of the nest and it died. She tried to set a new batch but I told her "NO!" and so she's just sitting on two probably rotten eggs.

The little goats are growing like crazy. The mommas are skinny little girls, though, so we need to get the babies off of them for at least part of the time. They are so fun to watch. My Nubian doe isn't due to kid until July, but she's looking really good now. I'm hoping for a couple little girls out of her....one to keep and one to sell. It will be a good time to sell, because they'll be cute for county fair.

It looks like this post turned out to be mostly a whiny update of the farm. I'm suppose I'm just not philosophical today, just hanging on to the Promises and looking for the sun (or is it Son?)

Snow, snow, go away!

{ 10:38, Sunday, April 20, 2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }

Today we woke up to snow...again. I'm sure that is nothing for those of you back east or in the real mountains, but for us, who sometimes have no snow for a whole year, this is a surprise. Especially two days in a row. Yesterday it was all gone by 10am and we had sun, snow, rain and hail off and on the rest of the day. We saw the remains of at least three accidents. Over all, though, we had a good day. We went to lunch and then a movie with SisterLori and her mister and girls, then wandered the mall a little. We all like to cruise the Christian Bookstore, so we did that, but only made minimal purchases-just enough to have a treasure to bring home, really. Mine is a new tea cup with a sheep sitting at a bistro table, reading. It has a good reminder printed around the rim, "This is the day the Lord has made." It's cute and big enough to hold a real cup of coffee, not like a typical tea cup.

Today is a normal Sunday for us. Didaskalos (husband) teaches Junior High Sunday school and I usually sit in. Then we have a singing, praying, communion, teaching service. I know many churches don't serve communion every week, but ours always has. Our Sunday worship time was originally set up as close to the early church's Lord's day celebration as possible, with breaking of bread/remembrance being in the form of unleavened bread and grape juice. I look forward to this time for many reasons. Different men in our church give a short thought or meditation, and the different styles and perspectives are inspiring. Then it is a quiet time while the men serve all the congregation and there are many weeks that this is the longest quiet prayer time I have. I also like to think of all the churches around the world doing the same thing, not at the exact same time, but with the same thoughts....thankfulness for what Jesus accomplished with His sacrifice.

I am not exclusive. By that I mean I do not believe every Christian has to worship in the same denomination or type of service, but I am so thankful for this place of safety and renewal for my family, and I would want all to have the same wherever that takes them. I have been in a church where there was so much strife and such lack of unity, true worship was exceedingly difficult. That is not what God intends our set aside time to be. It is supposed to be a time of edification and strengthening for living in this dark and fallen world. If you don't have that, I pray you are able to find it. Happy Lord's Day.

Bad Homesteader

{ 10:46, Sunday, April 13, 2008 } { 2 comments } { Link }

I was a terrible homesteader today. It's a sad fact, but I must admit it. I have raised goats for quite a few years, but haven't ever had Nigerian babies born on our farm. They are just so tiny! The time came to disbud them, which is my least favorite chore of the whole year, and I just couldn't do it. I only have a full sized iron and while it would do the job with multiple burns, I just couldn't bring myself to do it to those little bitty heads. Last weekend a very nice man who raises LOTS of Nigerians offered to do it for us with his smaller iron and I jumped on the chance. The trouble is that put it off another week and the poor little bucklings horns were really, really big and it took a very long time to do the job. I vow here and now to never do that to another baby animal.

It's kind of like disciplining my children.....I do not enjoy having to punish them, but I know that if I don't it now, it will be more painful later on. Because as a child I felt my father was a little heavy handed in his punishment, I was often too light, but now as I have been at this parenting thing a little longer, I see that we have to do what we think is best at the time. What is different about Daddy and I is that I have a huge, helpful resource that he didn't use....prayer. Remembering to utilize that resource is sometimes tough in the heat of the moment, but that's what I'd like to be able to do consistantly!

Lord, please help me to be a better steward of the animals I have chosen to care for, but so much more to be the best parent I can be to the four small arrow-gifts you gave.

Chicks

{ 10:43, Saturday, April 5, 2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }

Like so many of us who frequent the feed stores, I'm a sucker for chicks. Early in the season we made a deal to raise meat birds for our landlord on shares. He is paying for everything and we are doing the work, and with a tight budget and prices the way they are, we decided we couldn't pass it up. I also thought that it would help with the chick cravings. Except that I already had myself set on a few Cochins or feather footed Bantams. That's all. Just a few. But again, I was trying to be good and NOT give in to it and just be happy with the babies that will be at freezer camp in two months. But as usual, I justified and we now have banties. Our eldest brought home four but the cat leaned on the plug (as best I as I can figure) and unplugged the heat lamp so we now have two. And a broody hen sitting on nine eggs, of which half SHOULD be roos which will be freezer campers as well, leaving us with just the right amount of replacement hens...see how tidily I justified! Happy spring!

New Babies at Dailey Bred

{ 10:12, Wednesday, February 27, 2008 } { 5 comments } { Link }

This was how our afternoon was spent yesterday. My daughters Nigerian Dwarf doe had triplets, two does and a buck. I am amazed at how something so tiny can be an entire goat! If they weigh two pounds I's be surprised, and all very healthy and eating well. They already have names, but the only one I can remember is the all white, first born is Selena. The little boy my mother calls Cap'n Crunch, but their names are all Elvish sounding so Ellesmira will have to put them on her blog.

At Home Goals

{ 10:21, Thursday, February 21, 2008 } { 3 comments } { Link }

In my quest for more contentment at home, I have rearranged our week. Piano lessons and library day have been switched to Wednesday. We lead the first through fifth grade kids group at church on Wednesday, so because that day is already an out of the house day, it's become the all around busy day. That leaves Monday and Tuesday as at home all day, days.

We also want to be more consistent in visiting both sets of grandparents. Thursday we already have dinner with all of my mom's side at her mom's, so I hope to put something in the crockpot for the potluck and go see my dad's parents. I realize what a blessing it is to have three out of four of my grands still alive....and want to spend all the time I can with them.

Another goal (that will be very hard for all of us) is to make one day a week completely computer free. We all enjoy the internet and also some games, but it really can start to be an idol, at least out here on Dailey Bred Farm. Getting husband on board with this may be very tough, but after his school work is done, I'm sure he'll see the logic and the spiritual implications.

We are planning to do a meat chicken project this spring as well. We want to grow as much as possible, and our landlord has offered to pay for all of the birds and feed and housing if we will do all the work. It seems a God sent with the price of food these days, so even though I have some reservations with doing any kind of project with him as a non-believer, we may take the chance. This once.

It seems I have been on a ramble this morning, but I know how much I enjoy hearing what all of you are doing in your lives and on your homesteads.

Eating well

{ 11:04, Sunday, February 17, 2008 } { 3 comments } { Link }

I have a question for all of you homemakers. How do we go about feeding our families best with husbands who work outside the home? The best is good sized breakfast, main meal at mid day and lighter supper. This is the way humans had always eaten until the industrial revolution and now we have a huge rise in obesity and intake related disease. Can we get back to this part of healthier eating? Does anyone have any practical ideas? My husband takes left overs for lunch, but it is usually the previous night's dinner, then he is seldom home before 6pm. How do I feed him his main meal (the one most likely to contain meat) at noon? Is it just not possible and we'll just have to be content with eating healthy food, and not be concerned about what, when?

What's for Dinner

{ 10:12, Monday, January 28, 2008 } { 3 comments } { Link }

Today after school the children and I went to help Sister Lori work on finishing her big move. I wanted to come home to dinner nearly ready so I tried a new recipe. Here it is for you to try...we all loved it.

Hawiian Chicken

3 large chicken breast halves, in 1" cubes
1 can pineapple
1/2 cup chopped ham
1 cup ketchup
1T soy sauce

Mixed in the crockpot on high for 6 hours. Serve over rice.

Simple

{ 06:11, Friday, January 25, 2008 } { 3 comments } { Link }

It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.
~Bilbo Baggins

Is it bad to quote fictional characters? I hope not, because I like this one.

The Morning

{ 10:35, Wednesday, January 23, 2008 } { 2 comments } { Link }

Why is it that extreme cold makes the prettiest mornings? It is 22 degrees this morn and the view from my chair is just beautiful. I face due west and the frost is thick and the sky is pink fading to the palest blue. The light fog is hovering right on the edges of the hills and field. I can see a few of the neighbors sheep all fluffed up and looking for breakfast. The road is a bit icy, so the few cars that are traveling are going very slow, keeping the noise down. Lovely.

Yesterday was another cold one, but the blessing of the clear sky is the afternoon sun. We spent a good while working on the garden. It's a mental pick me up to "get some sun on my bones", as well as do some needed preparation for spring. I set up all the cold frames to start the little broccolis and such and put up an extra fence to keep out the naughty chickens who would love to try my seedlings. If today goes as well, I will get half of the hoophouse prepared for planting the heat loving plants in a couple weeks. My rabbit is living in there now, dropping her extra special fertilizer in my summer pepper bed.

Spring is coming. Thank you, God for the changing seasons!

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