The Great Fowl Debacle

Since moving to the farm I have wished for chickens. Black and white zebra ones (Barred Rocks), red full feathered ones (Rhode Island Reds) and the ones that look like they have been fluffed with a blow dryer (Silkies). Jer said no no no on the hairdo chickens cause they aren't the best egg layers and they aren't big enough to eat (I'll get some someday I just wont ask first). 

I have also been reading on ducks and how they are very proficient in eating SLUGS. I loath slugs. I think we should salt every single one! Ducks are also egg layers and I hear the eggs are super yummy. Khaki Campbell's were my ducks of choice. They lay about 300 eggs per year. Omelet anyone?

So after begging Jer I bought 3 chickens and 2 ducks! When we went pick up little critters the kids were super excited. They were cute little fur balls. We intended on letting them grow out of their baby feathers at Tucker Creek Ranch (Jer's parents farm) because our barn doesn't have power and the babies need to be under a heat lamp for a few weeks. We just needed Daddy to get home from work!

Daddy gets home we shove dinner down our throats and head to TCR. What happened next happened in the first 5 minutes of walking into the barn. Brace yourself!

The goats make a racket when anyone walks in the barn because they think it is dinner time so Jer grabbed a bucket of grain and slide the door open to feed them.

Jameson and Madalyn walk over to pick out which pen we were going to put the babies in and Jameson declares "There is a DEAD goat!"
I set the box of babies on the ground walk 10 steps to see what the kids are looking at.

Jameson screams! "GET OUT OF THAT BOX"

I look over to see a barn cat INSIDE the box of babies.
Jameson runs over and grabs the cat who promptly scratches him. 

I glance into the box.

A dead chick. A maimed duck.

Jameson bursts into tears.

Madalyn cries "THAT was my FAVORITE chick!" (we had them about 1 hour at this time)

Jer walks in from feeding the goats and asks "what is going on"
I reply "we have a dead chick. The cat jumped in the box" 

and start to nervously laugh. 

(you know the laugh the one that comes at the most inappropriate time when your brain gives you two choices cry.. or laugh. Since I don't cry much my brain thought a good time to laugh. Not a full on laugh just a nervous giggle. I know what you're thinking... worst mother ever! Judge if you want, but it had been a stressful week and I swear this stuff only happens to us!)
Jer tells me to "get out of the barn and bring the kids home!"
I walk out of the barn where the kids were standing crying and Jameson says "DADDY NEEDS TO KILL THE CAT. SHOOT HER WITH A GUN! I HATE THAT CAT!"

Ok.. more laughing.. cause wait.. Jameson just said that?? My little animal lover wants to shoot the cat?

Both kids cry all the way home and talk about what jerks those barn cats are. Good thing it is a short drive.
I get the kids home and in the shower. While Jameson is in the shower I wonder about the symptoms of cat scratch fever.. I refrained from WebMDing it cause we all know I would have had Jameson diagnosed with some awful disease within minutes. I would have been staged in the driveway with Jameson buckled in waiting to head to the ER with a cat scratch when Jer got home! 

I apply meds to the slash on Jamesons belly after the shower and both kids fall asleep on the sofa.
Jer comes home after getting a fowl fortress set up to ensure we don't have a midnight massacre.

We have added a few more chicks to the fortress cause Jer says "if you're going to have chicks you might as well have more than 3"
Jameson has gotten over wanting to kill the cat and Madalyn hasn't even asked to go see the chicks. 

Jameson has also informed me that "sometimes farm animals die and we need to get used to that" I wonder if he will feel the same way when it comes time to butcher the chickens for dinner? Time will tell. In abut 4 weeks.

Blessed is me...

BEST pancakes!

My friend Alaina shared her pancake recipe with me a few months back and I made them last Sunday for the first time. They are amazingly delicious and very filling. I wanted to share the recipe because even Jer who doesn't love pancakes likes these! I made up a few batches of the mix to have on hand so I can just scoop what I need. This is a double batch cause our kiddos will eat them throughout they day if there is any leftover.


Pancake batter
2 cups mix (see below)
1-1/4 c milk (any variety will work I have used cow and coconut)
1 cup cooked oats or mashed banana* (I have also mixed cooked oats and applesauce)
1 TBSP honey
2 eggs **
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon (I added this cause I think all pancakes are better with cinnamon, but you could leave it out)

depending on how thick or thin you like your pancakes you can add more mix to the batter. I like mine to be a little thick so I add about 1/4 cup extra mix.

* 2 pkg instant oatmeal is about 1 cup and you can find good instant oats in the health food department
** if you can't have eggs sub in 1-1/2 TBSP water, 1-1/2 TBSP oil and 1 tsp baking powder per egg


Mix:
2 cups ground oats. (just whiz in the blender)
2 cups flour (I use Bobs Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour)
4 TBSP sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp salt
I hope you like them as much as we do!


Blessed is me...

Farmhouse pictures!

 I was going through the pictures on my phone and found the 'before' pictures from when we first bought the farm. The changes are amazing!

Bathroom 1

Really nice wallpaper, no sink and you had to get in the shower by squeezing by the toilet.

 Laundry room/entrance
Note on the before picture all the brown on the ceiling.. that my friends is RAT PEE!

The new pantry and hall tree were made with wood from our barn, Jer's parents barn, Uncle Dan's house and from Jer's grandpa's wood pile.

Kitchen
2 layers of wallpaper to be taken down!
The 'new' cabinets were moved to this wall from about the stove area.

Open shelving pipes were custom made by J.H. Boatworks (cause Tim and Deb love me)
Only downside is the dishes on the way top have to be washed before I can use them cause they get greasy and dusty.

Jameson's Bedroom
GROSS carpet and moldy walls.

Madalyn's Bedroom

When we took the closet out you could see through the wall to the outside.

 Master Bedroom
Yellow walls and green carpet. This was Mrs. Kraft's bedroom.

Dining Room

There were FOUR layers of wallpaper! I saved the chandelier and it will go into the master bathroom when it is done being remodeled.

 

Fireplace
I love our fireplace! The wood, tin and nails were all found in the barn. The pegged piece is from the stable and was used to hold the halters for the Kraft's Draft Horses.

We aren't finished yet, but I love love love our little farmhouse. I feel like I have been here all my life. I wish that Johnny and Jean could see how much love bursts inside these walls. I know Jean would love to see Jameson with his barn boots on headed out to mend fence with Jer and to see Madalyn standing on a stool wearing my apron mixing cookie dough.





I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world. — George Washington

Blessed is me...

Fog

 The fog is thick and heavy at the farm (and likely all of Clatsop County)

It lays upon the fields.
The mountains are covered and unseen.

The sun is rising but is hidden behind the thick blanket of mist

 

and caps over the tall trees

birds nestled up high can be heard with their morning song

 

There is always hope that the sun will burn it away and shine bright on the day, but

sometimes the grip of the fog is so tight that it holds on until very late in the day revealing only a short glint of light before it is covered again in the darkness of night. 

Where is the sun?

I never question that the sun is there. I know it is. I just can't see it.

The fog wont last forever.

Soon it will come to pass.
Like many things in life it is temporary.

Trials.. Temporary

Sadness.. Temporary

Stress.. Temporary

Sickness.. Temporary

Life.. Temporary

Just like the fog sometimes these things burn away quickly and pass, but other times they linger and hold on.
It seems like the fog (trial, sadness, stress) will never lift.
Where is the son?

When will He shine?
Then I remember.. He is always there, always shining.
Sometimes I just feel like I can't see or feel Him, but He is always there.

Burning away the trials of life.
Shining bright like the sun.

We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! 1 Corinthians 13:12

Blessed is me...

There are these girls

Friend

noun

a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

a person who gives assistance

a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile

I have a lot of these, but there are some that are more. They are special.

They are what some may call BEST.

They are all different and yet all the same.

Some are tall (okay taller than me) and some aren't

Some are skinny and some aren't

Some can cook and well some can't

Some believe in God and some don't (yet)

 Some I have known since preschool

 Some are even LIBERALS!
Some were in both my weddings

All are Momma's
One is a doctor (what can I say I have smart friends!)

They know when I am sad

They know how much I have always wanted to be a mom
They know I yell at my kids and sometimes Barbie loses her head

 They know when I am mad at Jer
They know that a hot shower is where I de-stress

They know if I cry it isn't gonna be just a little and that I am at my breaking point
They know that I am not as tough as I act
They know most everything about me

We can talk about nothing and everything all at the same time

We can text all morning long even though we may spend days together

We can save the world over coffee, a haircut or a martini

We laugh until our bellies hurt

We swing in the rain cause one is sad

We get lost when we go to the city

We get to be ourselves
We pray for each other

I know not everyone gets to have this and I get to have it with more than one.
I know that if I called every single one would answer
I know that days or weeks can pass without a word and we will pick up right where we left off

I know that they love my family
I know they would do anything for me. my kids. my husband
I know they are all just who I need them to be

I love them just as much as they love me

I would answer when they called

I love their families
I love that I get to share in life with them

I love love love every single one

They are my best

Blessed is me...

When life gets heavy.. rest.

The quiet of the morning makes my mind wander.

My love and my kids are still snug in their nests.

Snoring dogs.

Barn kitties who just became mommas meow at the back door.

Frogs croaking, birds singing and the sun rising over the mountains with colors so vivid I wonder what it looks like on the other side of heaven.
log trucks rumbling by
So quiet, so peaceful, so still in my corner of the world.

But, the world seems to be spinning out of control.
What used to make sense now doesn't. 

Facebook is hard to read.

The news is hard to watch.

abortion, politics, no faith allowed in the military, NBA players deemed heroes because they are homosexual, war HEROES forgotten, hungry children, babies who have no one to call momma or daddy, addiction, sadness in so many.

What once seemed easy now seems hard.

One day runs into the next and I feel like I missed it.

Life for so many seems like a daily struggle and sometimes I am no exception.

Some days are hard.

Some days I wonder if the world will stop spinning just long enough for me to gain a little control.

It wont.
I like to be in control.
I like to have a plan.
I like to know what is going to happen next.
Right now I have no control
Right now my plans keep changing.
I have no idea what is coming.

What I rest in is the God is in Control.
God has a plan.

He knows what is going to happen next.
His plan is going to be HUGE!
Rest.
Resting isn't easy for me.
I am a doer.
But, I have no choice.
I have to rest.
I have been in a funk that I just can't shake. I can't shake it cause I am trying way to hard to do it my way. In the quiet of this morning I finally realized that if I just STOP trying to do it my way it will work out just right.
I don't have to fix everything.
So, today
I am a daughter of the One True King
and I am choosing to 

REST in His plan whatever it may be.
Resting in His timing.
Resting in Him.

He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

Blessed is me...

When I grow up

A little girl age 11 walks into Ardelles hair salon to get a haircut by her Auntie Nancy and decides then and there that when she grows up she will be a hairdresser.

Since 6th grade I wanted it. I had no idea at the time what it meant, what it would take, where I would work or how much I would love it. I just knew I wanted it.

Fast forward to beauty school. I hated it!
EWW shampoo sets on 100 year old ladies who left a 10 cent tip

People with the NASTIEST feet you could imagine

Perms

Hundreds of haircuts

Waxing (oh waxing where you could leave with just half and eyebrow)

An instructor who told me "you'll never make more than minimum wage" Real nice..

My first job was with two women who encouraged me, supported my thirst for wanting to know more at Hair Extremes. I then moved onto work in a few of other salons in town.

Xclusive

Dynamics

Bellisima

Each owner taught me different things. What to do and what not to do. 

I wanted more. I wanted better. I wanted MY OWN!

I started Salon Boheme by purchasing a salon from someone else. Jeremy and I had been married a year and Jameson was baby. It was little.. just two stations. I had a couple girls come and go and one day in walked Tabbitha. Messy blonde hair. Perky. Looking for a different place to work.

 I thought she was just perfect.

We went from working together to finding out that we were A LOT alike. Sometimes we even share a brain and finish each others sentences.

Michelle would soon be graduating from beauty school and we needed to find room for her especially since I talked her into going to school and working in a salon instead of doing everyones hair in her kitchen!
Do we remodel the little Duane St. salon or expand?!
EXPAND!

We moved onto remodeling the old Astoria Beauty College building.

Commercial Street brought us Gretchen, Joni and Carol

Joni first. She approached me looking for a job at the suggestion of a mutual friend.

Joni knew Carol from her previous salon/spa and asked if I would be interested in her offering massage with us. I'm so glad Joni asked!

Carol started out doing just chair massages with us and eventually came aboard full time.

Gretchen and I went to beauty school together and I wanted her on our team.

She was very well known for doing amazing acrylic and her clientele took off!

These girls brought energy, excitement, fresh ideas and knowledge.

A few others came and went and our lease was about to expire.

Renew or move?!

We moved AGAIN.
On to Marine Dr.

It is our home. We feel settled here.

Candy joined us with her soft spoken gentle touch. This girl is a wealth of knowledge in the skin department. She knows more about skin that I even knew was possible!

Gretchen "retired" we still miss her and love when she comes by...

Along came Chelle and then Tesa.

Chelle and I went to beauty school together. We knew of each other and thought we knew each other, but really only knew what we heard.

 She has been a great fit to our family.

Tesa is our newest girlfriend.

She is excited about everything new and can't wait to try all the new fun stuff. She is a natural!

When I was 11 I had no idea that one day I would have a salon of my own filled with girls that are more like family.

We have had wedding, babies, divorces, graduations.

We have cried together

We have laughed until our bellies hurt

We support our community

We love our clients

We are a salon/spa like no other in the county (if you ask me)

I wanted a salon where people loved to come and hated to leave

I wanted a salon where people left feeling empowered 

I wanted a salon where clients felt safe leaving cause there was no gossip

I wanted a salon full of positive women

I wanted a salon with books to read instead of smut mags

I wanted a salon that felt like home

I wanted a salon where education was required
I wanted a salon that was set apart from others
I wanted a salon that people wanted to work at and never leave

I wanted a salon that you could leave feeling better than you came

I wanted a salon that supported the community

I wanted a salon where hugs were the norm

I wanted all of it and I got it

Sometimes it is hard

Sometimes I don't want to do it

Sometimes I can't wait to get to work

Sometimes I am super excited about haircuts

Sometimes I joke about waxing off peoples eyebrows.

Sometimes I drive by glance inside and think "that is mine" with tears in my eyes

Sometimes I get overwhelmed

Sometimes I overflow with JOY because of it

Everyday I am grateful

for the clients that fill more than our chairs, but also our hearts

for the girls who live my dream with me

for a husband who supports me no matter what

for the hugs I get to give

for 

Dreams that come true

Blessed is me...