Good morning – and it’s almost Merry Christmas! (Did you know that Merry meant Mighty and not Jolly as we’ve come to know it? Well, it did! Just a little info to lighten your day).
We are rescheduling our training for licensing day until after January 5th – I caught a cold. Been a while since that’s happened. I think it’s directly related to getting myself unhealthy during the rush of the craft season. The food alone was not what my body needed. A lack of rest showed in almost all areas. But – I digress . . .
I was going down to start the process of learning how to pass my State’s requirements for Cosmetic Manufacturing. These rules are much more rigid than the FDA’s which is good for you, our customers. I will now be using a, (maybe 2), commercial kitchen(s) to produce all products except soap. (Soap is not regulated as long as it makes no claims except for cleaning).
We packed all the things that we would need and then the rain hit this morning. Besides having a very foggy head, I was worried about driving 2 hours through the storm. So, I’m putting it off. I’m hoping to do a test run in the morning and then do the real thing in the afternoon to save a bit of driving and time. Still don’t know if this is possible – but we’re hopeful.
Of course, as soon as I called and cancelled, the storm stopped except for the wind. Now we’re chasing the roofing metal around the yard putting things on it to keep it in place until it’s put on the new hay storage area. Whew!
It looks like all the goat ladies are pregnant that should be and that we will have an abundance of milk and cheese this spring. Can’t wait to do another cheese class! This year we will probably add hard cheeses as well to our class lineup.
Did you read that we will have a raised bed gardening bed class starting? We will be making a bunch of beds for the new blueberries (100+). We learned what we think is a great way to raise lots of food in a small area. It will also make unusable ground into great soil. We have an added trick that we have learned and it really helps to make beds fast and nearly weed-free.
All in all, it was a great season. Using the craft fairs as advertising to tell people we are here and wanting to help them in their quest for health worked well. We were able to talk to a LOT of people and make a ton of new friends.
In less than 1 month we will be starting the produce in the basement. The boys will lose the ping pong table again unless Pat comes thru with a different set up like he’s planning. I hope to have all kinds of organic and heirloom seed planted and ready for the raised bed gardening classes.
School calls and the boys need my attention.
You all have a blessed and safe Christmas, New Year’s and Holiday Season and come visit!
The Goatwoman,
aka Marilyn