This Week On Leegacy Family Farm - 9/7/13

  Life on Leegacy Family Farm has been busy this week, and we've been countin' our blessings.  What with the beautiful weather we've been having, we've found it difficult to stay inside for very long!

And with dreams of having a real working farm, we continue to try and get the old farm spruced up, fencing added, barns repaired, systems and spaces organized, and various other things.  This week we decided to pressure wash the house and one thing led to another.  Once the house was clean, it seemed logical that the porches should be repainted. 

Which is why all the rocking chairs are sitting in the front yard.

But once the work was done and the rockers put back in their places, we were very pleased with the results and ready to rest for a spell.  And cool off at the creek.  And admire the beautiful blue skies.

The painting continued on the side porch, and I love the light grey paint.  It actually looks blue to me.  And I do love blue.  My husband used to say that I'd probably paint the green grass blue.  If I could.:)  But green is also beautiful. :)

And since the porch was fresh and clean, the canning jars in the windows had to be washed, right?  Right!  Abi did think to turn them upside down instead of right side up.  Hopefully they won't get as dusty and be as hard to wash before canning.

And a friend of our family has provided a wonderful work opportunity.  He needs small trees for a project, and we have lots of little trees needing to be thinned out.

The three oldest fellas continue to milk in the mornings and evenings, build off-the-farm, and then come home and work in the evenings.  They are preparing a pole barn for this years hay and some traveled to Alabama for the day to help my dad (Papa) on some projects he can't so easily do anymore.

We continue to enjoy the ocra this year.  Yum!  And we continue to experiment with just how many vegetable plants we need to grow to feed our family and have some extra.  Always lots to learn around here!

And the girls have been canning apple pectin, apple butter, and LOTS of the last of the tomatoes for this year.  And preparing a fall garden.

Saving to buy a little piglet.  Like Farmer Boy.

Bethany's been canning and sewing.  And canning some more.

Re-stocking the pantry with this years bounty.  We are thankful!

If the grandparents are reading, I'll have to post later about their little job!

The jars on the left are green tomatoes.  The West Ladies gave us the recipe and it's also in their cookbook.  Do you have a copy?  If not, you can purchase directly from them on their Homestead Blessings website!  Won't those be delicious this winter?  Reminders of summer time fried green tomatoes.

This week has also included good food (chickens turned out extra tasty this year),  good fellowship with new friends and old,  and trips to the creek to cool off and celebrate the completion of a days work and blessings.

Tiffiny (and others) keep the good bread coming.  And Emi stays busy making the butter for this large crew.:)

And now it's time to wrap up another week and prepare for the best day of all.  Sunday!  From our home to yours, hope you have a VERY blessed weekend.

While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, night and day, shall not cease.   Genesis 8:22

Thoughts On Labor Day And Good Work Ethic

Here in America, many celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of every September.

And while there's a bit of debate as to who actually started it, we do know that President Grover Cleveland signed the bill making it a National holiday in 1894.

This holiday occurs just as summer is winding down and many Americans enjoy an extra long weekend and maybe a cookout or some sort of time spent with family and friends.

And while our family will be spending time with friends this evening and also enjoying a time of learning, we've been laboring around the farm this morning and thinking about the great value in learning a good work ethic and about the intrinsic value of hard work.

Many of you have probably heard of Dr. and Mrs. Raymond Moore and their studies concerning children and education.  They very much believed in balancing study, work and service.  And not just mental work.  MANUAL work. 

They believed that study should be matched with readiness, manual work/ entrepreneurship should get equal time, and that hard work and selfless service in the home and community build character like nothing else can.

And while the work opportunities in our homes and communities will probably differ in many ways, opportunities abound for everyone.  

Our family has always enjoyed keeping a read aloud going, and many of the books read many years ago and  to the oldest ones are making the rounds again.  I especially love those which model a good work ethic and respect.  Do you remember Five Little Peppers?  The children are all very eager to help their mother and one another and whining is not an issue.  Refreshing!  We also love Farmer Boy.  Do you remember the lesson Almonzo learned from his father concerning what a half dollar is?  "It's work, son," Father said.  "That's what money is; it's hard work."

Father reminds Almonzo how many potatoes had to be raised in order to earn that half dollar.  he reminds him of the process-from start to finish.  He teaches him the value of hard work and wise spending.

What a benefit it is to those who are learning  to work alongside their parents and siblings and who grow up knowing just how valued their service is to their family, church and community.:)

And as a family, we're reminded today of the need to pass the knowledge and skills and good work ethic on to the next generation.  If's very easy to call on those who are already very capable and who've already learned the skills needed to carry out tasks.  But the younger ones also love to learn and do, and I believe they're done an injustice when we pollute their thinking and give the impression that work isn't a good and noble and honorable thing.  And how very grateful we are for the privilege of learning and laboring together.  Included below are some quotes concerning work/labor.  Enjoy. And have a very blessed day!

1.  Elbow grease gives the best polish.

 

 

2.  Every man's work shall be made manifest.  1 Corinthians 3:13

3.  The labourer is worthy of his hire.  Luke 10:7

4.  Many hands make light work.

5.  There is no substitute for hard work.  Thomas Edison

6.  The average person puts only 25 percent of his energy and ability into his work.  The world takes off
      it's hat to those who put in more than 50 percent of their capacity, and stands on its head for those
      few and far between souls who devote 100 percent.  Andrew Carnegie

7.  He who would eat the kernel must crack the shell.  Latin proverb

8.  If a man will not work, he shall not eat.  2 Thessalonians 3:10

9. Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted.

10. The highest reward for man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it.  John Ruskin

11. If there is no wind, row.  Latin proverb

12.  By the work one knows the workman. Jean de La Fontaine

13. He that would have the fruit must climb the tree.  Dr. Thomas Fuller

14.  The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.  Vincent Lombardi

15. The greatest weariness comes from work not done.  Eric Huffer

16. Hard work is painful when life is devoid of purpose.  But when you live for something greater than yourself and the gratification of your own ego, then hard work becomes a labor of love.  Steve Pavlina

17.  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for man.  Colossians 3:23

We've Been Gone Toooooooo Long !

Dear friends and family, it's been so long since our last post that I hardly know where to begin!  But I was reminded today of how very much my family and I appreciate you all and I had to find time to let you know. 

Our summer has been incredibly busy and has included computer crashes, broken milk fridges and meat freezers, flat tires, farm tours, family gatherings, broken hay machines, fencing, newly born piglets and rabbits, sweet guests, new meat chickens and layers, processing, ongoing work on a farm website, and wonderful but busy days here on Leegacy Family Farm. And that is why we haven't posted all summer long.:(

 

 

But a friend phoned us yesterday and wanted to know the EXACT location of our new home.  We haven't seen him since leaving Alabama and he was going to be flying nearby and thought he could fly over and say hello from the sky!  This young friend and his wife have sent us flowers on both anniversaries of the tornado and Tom's home-going.  They, along with his parents and extended family have been a great blessing to us.  And SO HAVE YOU.  He asked us to be ready at around 5:30 this evening.  I was taking a short nap upstairs and was suddenly awakened by a very loud noise. I remembered that Bruce would be flying over, bolted out of bed, ran to the balcony, and noticed that the others had already gathered outside and some were at various locations on the farm and preparing to milk..  His helicopter kept circling overhead and then hovered over the front field.  We could see arms waving and it was all very exciting.  And close.  And sweet.  And even the chickens were excited. And memories flooded our minds of the kindnesses shown these past two years and of the many prayers lifted up on our behalf.   And I just had to write and let you know how very grateful we still are.

Before Bruce flew over, I was trying to explain to my nine year old Melanie just exactly which Bruce I was referring to.  When I mentioned the flowers he sends on Tom's home-going anniversary and described his wife, parents, brother and sisters, she knew exactly who I was speaking of.  But she misunderstood which anniversary and thought that today must be the anniversary of the day Tom and I married.  She quickly ran outside and gathered a vase of flowers.  She then ran upstairs and came back with a wedding picture of me and Tom.  She set her late Mamaw Lee's gold colored eating utensils next to my dinner plate.

I was puzzled as to what she was doing until she wished me a happy anniversary and apologized for not planning a *real* party.  I then realized the misunderstanding.  Her gestures were so sweet.  And my heart was full of gratefulness.  For family.  For friends.  For you.  I hope you are all well, and I hope we'll be able to post more often.  The old pictures above are of our Tom, one of his sweet sisters, and *Old Blue*.  The truck.  The photo's were provided by another of my sweet sisters-in-law.                                                                               Blessings,  Sherry

Soapmaking On Leegacy Farm

We've been reading about how in pioneer days a family could make a years worth of soap from a barrel of ashes and about twelve pounds of fat from their hogs.  And of how a new family might be welcomed to the neighborhood with a jug of this soft soap since they wouldn't have the needed ingredients for making their own until they had pigs to slaughter. 

 

While we have been saving the fat from our pigs, we haven't used it (yet) for making our soap.  Someday!  And while we haven't learned to make lye from ashes, we'd sure love to learn.  Someday!   But my daughters have been saving batches of the goat's milk in preparation for making milk soaps.  For us, the milk soap was a bit trickier and the first batch didn't turn out right.  But we were very pleased with the following batches and are very glad to be able to put the milk to good use!

The coffee soap is really good for exfoliating the skin and cleaning one's hands.  And we especially like it because it can be used very soon after making.

Chocolate swirl turned out great and I had to remind the younger ones and myself that it's NOT for eating.:)

The soaps include essential oils and the one above has a citrus smell that we all really like.

Along with making soaps, there has been a flurry of activity around the farm as we are preparing to participate in a local Arts and Ag Farm Tour.

The whole family - from the oldest to the youngest - are busily making things for our little farm store and getting the fencing repaired and the property cleaned up and ready for the farm day.

It's kept us extra busy, but it's always good to have a deadline, of sorts, for getting things done.  We're learning that there's much to do in getting a *working* farm up and going.  And while we're new at this and sometimes feel like *greenhorns*, we're very thankful for the opportunities we're given, and we're thankful to know that there are always new things to be learned and new skills to be acquired.  In other words, life should never be dull!

Do you have any favorite soap recipes?  We've acquired recipes from online and from the following books:  Milk-Based Soaps by Casey Makela and The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch.  And from The West Ladies, a talented family who have dvd's covering all sorts of skills which are helpful to know!

Blessings,

Sherry

My Young Artist Goes To The Printer's Shop!

He draws.  A lot.  He doesn't take lessons yet, but my twelve year old draws almost non-stop.  When he's doing math.  When he's reading.  When he's trying to complete a writing portion of his school work.  I used the same textbook to teach the nine children before him how to read. But once I started using the Alpha-Phonics book to teach Jeremiah, the bottom portion of many of the pages sported a handsome drawing of some animal or person from one of the many historical periods he'd studied.

It was agreed that I'd take him to see the printer Miss Vicki recommended just as soon as he could complete three farm type drawings.  The pictures/note cards would be his contribution to stocking the little farm store we're working on. I thought it would take days. He was very eager.  It took a small portion of one.

His father loved to draw.  When his side of the family held a bridal tea for us, before we were married, Tom wanted to attend with me.  He did.  And his fifth grade teacher was also there.  She'd actually saved a set of red bird pictures he'd drawn while in her fifth grade class and she gave them to us as a wedding gift.  Wasn't that sweet?  And I was very familiar with the story he'd told me of having been in her class.  She recognized his gift and encouraged him.  In fact, he spent so much of his time drawing that it was soon apparent that he hadn't learned his multiplication tables and had to spend evenings with his mother helping him catch up!  And his mother must have worked diligently with him.  He learned to love math as much as he loved drawing.:)

This was Jeremiah's first time to really handle a business transaction.  But the gentleman who owns the print shop was so very kind.  He spoke directly to Jeremiah concerning his little business endeavor.  And he gave him accounting tips (save your receipts) and a history lesson concerning the old printing machine in one of the above pictures.  His father and a friend started the business back in the 50's.  And now the son is the owner.  He explained how technology has changed and how many printers of the past were missing two of their fingers because of equipment which was less safe. And I'm reminded by the events of this week, and in seeing Jeremiah's face frequently break out in a large smile, of the importance of encouraging our children and others in using their gifts. We never know how a kind word or bit of advice might benefit someone and brighten their day.  And I'm also reminded of how grateful I should be to the many who have encouraged me along the way.  And my family.  And if the grandparents are reading this, your copies will be in the mail.  Soon!

                                                   Blessings,

                                                   Sherry