Dreams in Summer

Each summer, we look forward to Sean's family arriving for the warmer months. Now that his parents are retired, they are able to travel more; splitting their time between North Carolina, Florida, and Maine. While it is always lovely to visit and spend time together, it adds another layer to our lives. Instead of us working until sunset most days- we try to stop early for dinner or a game of cards when it is possible. And, feel self-inflicted guilt when it is not. ♥

This year, they are coming just days before Creatively Maine Pops Up again in Bucksport- for the first time, we will be opened July and August! Instead of focusing on weekly markets and weekend craft shows, I will spend the next 62 days at the shop. When I am not studying for Christian meetings and preaching the Word, milking goats, making cheese, tending animals, home-schooling girls, making soaps, scents, bee's wax wraps and massage melts, and restocking shops. It is going to be a BUSY summer. Thankfully, I am never alone. There is Sean. And, again this season, there is Shea (from Gentle Meadow Goat Farm). This would not be possible without them. Having never opened in the summer months, this is a risk- but one entered into thoughtfully with lots of HOPE.

So, with thoughts of our upcoming summer schedule clearly before us, Sean invited me to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary a little early (like, 6 weeks early) since last weekend was realistically the only weekend we would have free until September. I already shared what romantic people we are. So it will come as no surprise that we celebrated our love and marriage by spending the weekend working together, completing projects to make our homestead more homey. It was perfect. Really.

New doe pasture lands.

We expanded both the doe and buck pastures by adding 150 feet of fencing to the does and an additional 100 feet of fencing to the bucks' pastures. This means our hay bill should lessen some- easing the cost of feeding this year a little.

We received the huge roll of greenhouse plastic gifted to us by our friend, Jenny of Pebblestone Farm. This will be the year that our greenhouse dream becomes a reality. We live in zone 5A. To be able to grow much of our own food nearly year-round and provide for ourselves and the families that have purchased CSA shares from us is a GIFT. We spent some time fencing the front garden beds and planting seedlings of tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, kale, broccoli, lettuces, and the like.

Bergamot, Stinging Nettle, Lavender, Oregano, Dill,
Lemon Balm, Peppermint, Anise, Apple Mint, Orange Mint,
Wintergreen, Thyme, and Chives

Almost to the front door. We need about 10
additional pallets to finish this project and then,
PAINT!

We found more useful pallets to fence the new path into our home. It will be completely lined with edible, perennial herbs. There is more to be done to it, but a good start has been made. The best part? Total cost so far is less than $50 and that includes the landscaping fabric, pebbles, and additional ornamental plantings! The girls are saving their pennies for a trip to Italy this fall and have cheerfully agreed to paint the fencing for me for a reasonable price.

Farm sink finished, counter tops tiled, and copper back splash installed. 

Sean has been working on our kitchen over the winter months. He installed this back splash to tie into the copper accents in our farm kitchen. I am in love with the look. It is EXACTLY what I envisioned. Sean will paint the ceiling with a fresh coat of paint tonight and other than replace the kitchen window and build my new farm table and benches, the kitchen will be finished!

Half way there! 

Finished!

For my part, I spent a little time spray-painting some Silkweeds DIY finds gloss white enamel. I reupholstered the seats with upholstery Sean and I found at Marden's for only $1.99/yard. (I grabbed 5 yards of the fabric so I can create bench cushions once I have benches and have a little left over for when the cats claw the seats and I have to redo them.) I love the finished look. The accent chairs are just what I wanted. I love the lines. I wanted chairs that were substantial, but still feminine; fabric that was "country" without being "dated". I am pleased with the results.

Eve checking out the new pasturage.

There is a saying, "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." By the end of the weekend, I could barely walk. My arms and legs are covered with fresh scratches from brush and thicket and new, blue bruises from carrying posts, buckets, and stray goats. My nails were crusted with dirt. Each night we crawled into a warm shower to remove bits of bracken, sweat, grime and tangles. Being clean never felt so lovely. We ordered out for pizza because we couldn't move another muscle to cook one night. We warmed left-overs the next. All the while, we talked and dreamed of the homestead we are carving out together. Best. Anniversary. Ever.... So far.

Monday came and life's rhythm resumed. Sean's week will be split between working on a concrete project at the beginning of the week and building a 10 x 10 woodshed he's been hired to construct at the end of the week. I spent yesterday cleaning the house with the girls, making chevre, yogurt, and feta, watering the gardens and completing the animal chores so that when Sean got home, we could eat dinner together as a family. I noticed that Phoebe-goat is definitely getting closer to kidding. It should be any day now. We are hoping for twin lamancha does. Of course, I am obligated to add, "but as long as they are healthy, we don't care if we get bucks." Between us, alive bucks are better than sick or dead kids of any kind- healthy does are better, though. And, healthy lamancha does are better than better. I'll post images as soon as she decides to kid for us. She is kidding much later in the season than we ever planned, but it's something to look forward to.

Thanks for visiting with us today, friends. We love your company.
~Sean and Sonja ♥

Recycled, Reusable Beeswax Cotton Food Wraps

I am always looking for new ways to save money, stretch our budget, and add to our sustainability. I was intrigued when I came across a post on facebook from My Healthy Green Family and thought to myself, I have to try this out. I am aware of many reports about BPA leaching into food from plastics, but I confess I have not changed over from using disposable plastic containers and using products like Saran wrap® to cover our food. Until now, I just did not have a suitable replacement. That changed yesterday when I followed the directions and created my own Reusable Beeswax Cotton Food Wraps.

I used a couple of clean 100% cotton pillow cases I had on hand and some sheets of 100% beeswax which I had tucked away to use for candle making one of these days. All that was left to find was an old cookie sheet and a large paint brush that I would never use for another purpose again.

I began by preheating the oven to 180*. Our oven begins at 200*, so I made a guess. Once set, I turned my attention to measuring out four 8 inch squares in my fabric. Because it occurred to me that the left over fabric would be perfect for new spring valances over my kitchen window, I cut them out with that in mind. (I purposely left myself long panels of the fabric with a pocket sewn into it already. This will save me some time when it comes time to whip up those curtains.) Following the straight line already afforded in the checked pattern as my guide, it was easy to cut out the squares I wanted. I decided to cut out two additional 12 inch squares for covering larger bowls and plates.

The next step was to cut the beeswax into small slivers. The article I read suggested shredding the wax for better coverage and that probably would have made for more uniformed coverage, but I did not want to have to wash the beeswax from my good (read that only) grater, so I used my scissors and it worked out just fine. I placed 2 squares of fabric side by each on my baking sheet and sprinkled the wax slivers across it. Remember the wax will expand as it melts. Less is more in this case. It is easy to add more wax if you need it. I think starting with too much max might make the fabric harder to fold around bowls, the wax might flake away, or it might leave unsightly globs on the fabric.

Once I thought I had enough wax covering my fabric, I placed it into the oven. I used the timer on my oven to find that it took just about 2 minutes for the wax to be completely melted. Using pot holders, I removed the pan from the oven and used the paint brush in a swishing motion from center to sides to evenly distribute the wax, fully coating the fabric. You can tell that it is fully coated because the color of the fabric becomes darker and appears wet. I used my fingers to remove the waxed fabric to a drying line to cool. I did not find it uncomfortably hot to use my fingers, but they were coated with beeswax. I considered that a bonus, hot wax treatment, too! :) If you prefer, you could use tongs to remove the fabric from your pan, though. Within minutes the fabric cooled and was ready for use. In the image above, the wrap is easily folded around the edge of the bowl and no additional fastener is needed to secure it, but if you are concerned, an elastic band would do the trick nicely, I think.

To wash the wraps, the article suggested running cold water over them. Curious, I did not wait until they were soiled to attempt that. Because the wax permeates the cotton and coats both sides, the water beads up nicely and runs off. I expect that any food particles that stick to the wraps will come off easily. And, I experimented with swishing them around in warm water for a few minutes to see if the wax would run off. It did not, but the material seemed to soften somewhat from its original semi-hardened form. Once dry, it re-hardened into moldable sheets. I suspected hot water would not be advisable to use and did not push my experiment further to see for myself.

The entire project from beginning to end took about an hour to create 6 waxed cotton food wraps. I love how this project came out. So much so, that I plan to create more using local beeswax and recycled cotton to sell at the farmer's markets and craft events I attend this year. Now, I have an inexpensive, reusable, washable solution to storing and preserving my family's food in the refrigerator that is completely all natural. That is a win-win-win in my book!  I am reconsidering those plastic tubs holding other food items lurking in my fridge. Hmmm.....

I have a couple other posts in the works for you all that include updates on homestead happenings, pictures and videos, and information about the upcoming Open Homestead Day on June 21st. I'll get them posted through this week as I can. Thanks so much for visiting with us today. I am really glad for your company.

Have you tried reusable food storage options? Which work the best for you?

Sonja ♥