Prodical Blogger Returneth

And I'm back!

Did you miss me? I sure missed you. I had trouble concentrating, couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't compose operas. One day I even picked up the phone to call you but was afraid some other new blogger you were following would answer. How awkward would that have been? Breaking up-even temporarily-is hard to do. So glad we're back together.

But still..What a fabulous blog-cation. I am refreshed and recycled. Good as new. While I resisted the urge to blog and to read other blogs I did play around with the looks and layout of my blog. I even added pages at the top and dropped in several hundred different backgrounds before deciding on ...green.

And my novel? The whole reason for taking time off from blogging? It is done and query letters are on their way to prospective agents. What have I done?!?! Want to follow along with that drama? Check out my writing specific blog over there...to your right.

                                                             

Subtle Hint

I highly recommend the same type of vacation for all of you. Not that your blogs are stale or anything but mine sure was, worse than day old donuts out of a dumpster.

I should know. I've had my share.

So what else did I do with this time off?  In addition to my novel, and the O'Shaughnessy Writes blog I started TWO more blogs. Some women crochet, cook or run for office. I like to blog. The others are about my family genealogy and about material belongings. Both will serve as foundations for two other books I will self publish for my kids. I'll make them public later on. Since Blogger is still free, seemed like a great place to dump a large amount of data and photographs.

And just makes it that much easier for our government to snoop into my personal life. Because you know how interesting I am to them.

So how about some farm updates you ask ? There have been a few. They are in order of frustration.

1. Farm Sale. Our interested party is no longer interested. Yes, after four long months of conversations, financial sharing, employee training and business projections...he decided it was best for him not to invest in a farm at this time. We found out last week. BUT...from ashes come...dirty hair or something like that. Anyway another couple is interested and working to secure financing.
We remain hopeful. We're idiots that way.

2. January was a terrible month weather wise. The extreme cold proved too much for three of our older calves and we lost all of them in one night even though they had good bedding and adequate housing, At 5 months of age you don't expect such sudden deaths but then again this has been our worst winter in decades. We also lost a few piglets and a couple chickens. The farmers themselves, outside of several falls on the ice...persevere.

3. We discontinued our wholesale agreements with the four grocery stores we served. After 5 years of deliveries and meat juggling (do we sell the burger to Chicago ?, Peoria ? or keep it for next weeks lasagna? They were disappointed but understood. Even though we so enjoyed seeing our name in the grocery store aisles, we feel great relief and now our customers who come direct to our farm will have more meat to choose from. Sort of a Lose-Win-Win scenario.

4. After several years of fighting the good fight regarding raw milk regulations in Illinois, I resigned from the self-appointed leadership position of the raw milk farmers.  At the end of November IDPH pulled the plug on our group and told us Thanks for All Your Work but We Really Don't Need you Anymore. Now the proposed rules go up the chain of command. So it is  a good time for us to let another farmer or consumer lead the fight. We will continue to sell raw milk off of our farm until they drag us off.

I'm a big girl so hopefully they will go after the lightweight farmers first.

5. We continue to dream about The Poor Farm, see the specific page above that I've dedicated to this topic, but the new home plans are on hold now that the farm did not sell. In the meantime we use the 7 acres for target practice.


Enough updates for now. I have things to do...like get back on all YOUR blogs and see what trouble you've been stirring up.

Stop Peeking

HEY! What are doing? I told you I'm taking a break and I meant it. That new header (additional photos, deletion of photos, change in blog width, possible addition of an instagram video) is just a figment of your imagination and may not even be there when you come back February 1 like I told you to. Now go on...get outta here.

Merry Christmas and A Blog Break

“All good things arrive unto them that wait and don’t die in the meantime.”
Mark Twain

It's time.
After 3 years of steady blogging it's time to say goodbye.

Relax, take a deep breath, put down the stiff drink. It's only a short break and its not personal OK? I love you guys and cannot imagine my life without you. (Well I can but it would be bad PR if I said that)

The facts are this. In October 2010 I visited Ireland, alone, and started my novel. A story that has been burning a whole in my head for at least a decade. That week in Oughterard, County  Galway, all alone was amazing. I wrote all day every day. Hours and hours at a makeshift desk in this wee cottage. I took short breaks each afternoon to gather food and drink and enjoy the countryside.

I continued to write when I got home but progress was slow.  I let life get in the way. In the last 6 months though I've gotten serious about my novel and rewritten most of it. I am now finally at the point of near completion. How many times have I uttered those words? I've lost track.

My goal is to have it ready to send out to prospective agents by Feb.1 In addition I will be making changes and updates to this blog which definitely needs a face lift and a tummy tuck or three.

I am also planning a new blog which will focus on my novel, other writings and creative writing in general. I've been so inspired by other writers who have done this including a couple of local Chatsworthian authors, Kelli Lowery Beck  and Erin Beck.

To do all this I must cut out any extraneous distractions which, for now,include this blog and my personal Face book.  In addition there will be no more cooking, cleaning or TV watching for the next five weeks. No, I have not yet informed my husband of this. I figure best to wait until I'm SURE he's completed his Christmas shopping for me. I will continue to make brief posts to our Farm Face book Page.

So long then blog buddies. I'll see you on the other side of 2014, February 1 to be exact.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy Birthday Dusty

Thelma Lucille "Dusty" Durham O'Shaughnessy
Approximate age 13
1927-1998

It doesn't matter that she has been gone over 15 years. Not does it matter that my life is uber full of farm responsibilities, family obligations and the joys of GK's to distract me.

Furthermore it matters not that my teen years with her were rough on us both. I was a rotten kid pure and simple. She was a first time parent with poor parental role models. A few run away events, one that took me to South Dakota via hitch hiking and kept me there for over a decade plus I wasn't the best adult child to her after I returned to Illinois in the late 1980's.kept our relationship partially strained.

I was so busy back then don't you know?

Nor does it matter on her part, that her hillbilly ways could be embarrassing. She never left a restaurant without a pocketful of sugar, salt and pepper packets and maybe some silverware if the lighting was bad enough, and her manner of dress was often hysterical. She invented the "mommy jean" and the "boyfriend sweater" always wearing garage sale clothing and hand me downs too large for her, long before they were known as vintage, a trait I have now adopted myself.

What does matter is that every year, on her birthday the 23rd of December, I miss her so much my heart tightens up in my chest like a heavy ball of metal and my eyes flood over with sappy memories.  Memories of her bright blue canvas Kmart shoes, which I have kept,  and how she could never manage to totally mix in the powdered cheese with the rest of the boxed macaroni.

Nothing like a BURST of dry orange powder, mid chew, to perk up ones day.

So, here's to you Ma...happy birthday!

Saponification Sunday...Patchouli Flashback

 

 

 

 

Incense.
And Peppermints.
Pink Floyd and his Brick Wall
Inagaddadavida Honey...Don't you know that I lu--uve you?

All that and more flashes through my brain each and every time I sniff one of my Patchouli bars. It is definitely one of those love/hate scents. Customers will take a big sniff and either announce "ewww" and throw it back in the rack or they will swoon as they hold the bar close remembering that two week run-away trip with those 16 year old Molter Twins in their Blue Chevy Montrose Playing van with the shag carpeting that actually covered the floor, walls and ceiling of that vehicle.

The stripe is made with comfrey powder
Chamomile flowers on top

Or is that just me?

Yup, I get all that from one sniff.  I am very smell focused. For those who have no clue: Patchouli is a species of plant from the genus Pogostemon.  (must be a Pokémon relative!) It is a bushy herb of the mint family, with erect stems, reaching two or three feet in height and bearing small, pale pink-white flowers. The scent is heady, musty, earthy and so rich it never seems to fade from my soap bars.

But I tend to be a little heavy handed with my essential oils. Yes, they are expensive, especially when you use the premium EO (about $10 an oz) and not the average Patchouli (about $6.50/oz) but I hate when I pick up a hand crafted soap somewhere that brags of their EO scent but when you pick up the bar...no scent, or a very weak one.

For my two pound recipe I use 2 oz of Patchouli oil. Or if using it to "ground" another sweeter EO, I will use 3/4 oz and then 1.25 oz of the other EO be it Lavender, Grapefruit, Geranium Rose or
Peppermint.

Granted small amounts of EO's can be added for their non-scent qualities and one needs only small amounts (depending on the EO) to benefit from their anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, mood elevating etc...qualities but for a "scented" bar...you might need to do more than wave the bottle over your soap.

Of course too much of any EO, ones like pure cinnamon, can be very irritating to the skin so READ UP before you use in your soaps. So back to my Patchouli Soap, 2 oz of the EO will run me about $20. I get 7 bars of soap, each weighing about 5 oz each from my 2 pound recipe. Thusly each bar in EO alone costs me $2.85.

This does not even include the cost of all my other ingredients like coconut, avocado and castor oils, lye, plant materials for coloring etc. But other EO's like Sweet Orange are much less expensive running just $3.50 for 2 oz or about 50 cents a bar. I could charge for each bar based on the cost of the ingredients but instead I just let the law of averages settle it.

Besides, we original hippies are a dying breed, if we want to shower with a soap that makes us smell like we spent 5 days in the rain and mud at Woodstock WITHOUT showering then so be it.

Soap being packaged in my dining room
for Christmas gifts.
Shhh, its a secret .

Sew What?

I am a woman of many talents. I can chew gum and walk simultaneously, as long as someone holds my hand.  I can hum the tune to most any 1970's sitcom. I can laugh just like Woody Woodpecker. I can put in my earrings without a mirror.

But, sadly, I cannot sew.

My saintly mother, the coquettish one peeking out from behind the tree, did her best to teach me.  She even left me her coveted finger protection thingy. But to no avail, her lessons did not stick. I have adapted though and over the years, tape and staples have become my best friends.

Recently though I scored a beautiful green wool coat at the resale shop Frugality in Fairbury, Il where everything is 99cents. Or sure, sometimes the size tag has the name of the last owner scribbled on it in permanent marker, but sew what? I always fancied being called Nadeane.

What I did not like was the 1980's style gold presidential (?) buttons. So I bought some silver ones on line with a Celtic design of course. The price was five times what the coat cost but sometimes a girl just has to splurge on herself.

Cutting the old buttons off was no problem but how to attach the new ones? Tape didn't hold and the glue wasn't strong enough either. Staples had no place to attach themselves. Looks like I was going to have to put on my big Yaya panties and actually SEW them on. Yikes.

A needle was located (stuck into a candle buried in my junk drawer) but proved impossible to thread. How does anyone actually see that narrow opening at the end of a needle? Searching though my sewing supplies I ran across this doohickey.

Google-ing the photo and watching a 30 minutes You Tube demo and I was on my way. Needle threaded.

But how to knot the end? A sudden flashback of my mothers strangled finger tip and once again, I was ready to advance.

Several bloody sticks later (the red helped mark the spot for the return of the needle) and I was done. Counting the You-Tube video time, it only took 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Just 5 more buttons to go!

Nothing says Christmas... Like Conceal and Carry

 

Please excuse me, while I cling to my guns and my religion, and recommend a little special something for those men who have not yet decided on a Christmas gift for the woman they love. Might I suggest the Gibson City Conceal Carry Class ?

Of course jewelry is wonderful* or perhaps a pure silk scarf from a wee shop in Galway, Ireland or a simple black pattered blouse perfect for all non-hog events but nothing says I Love you more than a good self defense class, followed by the best in Conceal Carry Instruction.

Now, I am not suggesting that every woman should carry, it's a decision to be taken seriously. But for those who wish to learn to do so correctly and through the expertise of professionals, rather than fly by night scammers, then this class is for you. 

I met up with the guys teaching this weeks Conceal Carry Class, several months ago when I took their Home Defense Class. I had had some handgun experience thanks to my father who started me off at age 12 and my son Colton who did the much improved teaching several decades later. But I was far from proficient. During the self defense class I was retaught the basics and given solid range time.

But, you know me, never satisfied. So I signed up for the Conceal Carry Class offered by two of the same officers, Steve Cushman and Anthony Row. Although I have spent time in between classes, target shooting with my sons, I knew it wasn't enough and was nervous the night before class.

Did I have enough ammo? Would I remember how to load and unload my pistol? Would they make fun of my crappy cardboard carry box? (I bought a real gun case months ago but can I find it in this pit of a house? No I cannot. Don't worry, nothing is in it. I never opened the box it came in) But as they did with the self defense class, Steve and Tony went out of their way to make the entire class feel comfortable even though we came from a wide range of experience levels.

And they did not make fun of my crappy cardboard gun carry box either. At least not to my face.

The program was well organized , well presented and well executed. What I mean by that is this. What they actually taught in class was exactly what they practiced on the range. Although the atmosphere of the class was casual we knew there would be no deviation from the rules when it came time to use live ammo. Step away from your gun meant STEP AWAY.

The expectations were high and regardless of your skill level, beginner to competition winner, you were expected to follow the same sequence when preparing to fire. We were taught about the various types of guns, and given the opportunity to handle them as well as various holster types. (Surprisingly though, they had not heard of the Flashbang Bra Holster. Always eager to help I did my best to share what I know. What can I say? I'm just generous that way.) We also learned how to clean our guns, how to aim, how to fire, how NOT to write in our instruction books (my bad)  and how to keep ourselves and our range mates safe at all times.

Sure there was dry material that had to be covered including the actual FOID and Conceal Carry Laws but Tony Rowe went through them quickly enough to keep our interest but slow enough for us to understand the material. He also was polite enough to ignore the guy in the back who was snoring.

Actually range time was well organized with individual instruction and guidance available for those who needed it. What I appreciated the most was the attitude of "take your time" that was repeated over and over by both instructors. The class was not intended to be competitive, there were absolutely no dumb questions (well, not they ever let on) and there was plenty of time after class to try other guns or get additional instruction if needed.

Unfortunately in Illinois there are those with very few qualifications being allowed to teach Conceal Carry Classes. The state has specific topics that must be covered in class but they don't tell you HOW to teach the topics. In addition, it is possible for an individual with very little actual experience to meet the instructor requirements whereas the Gibson City Conceal Carry Instructors have a combined 50 years of firearm experience.

Don't forget to read all the fine print before choosing a CC class. Some will charge for the first 8 hours, another fee for the second 8 hours, an application fee, a range fee, a gun use fee, a safety glasses fee and ear protection fee plus a separate "certification completion" fee. When added up this one Chicago Area class came to over $500. The Gibson City Fee is $200 with reduced fees for groups and those with prior experience such as vets. 

To learn more or to register just go here http://gcconcealedcarry.com/  and if you don't think the lady of your life is ready for a Conceal Carry class (or lets just say she's already COMPLETED her class and scored 30 out of 30 ) then let me also recommend a pair of SOMA ultra comfortable PJ's.

Can't you just imagine me (oops, I mean HER) in these?

Another great website specifically for woman who choose to carry a firearm is The Well Armed Woman. Tons of information there. ENJOY!

* The above necklace was made for me by Jody McGill of Galena Illinois. Each piece is original, handmade and gorgeous. She is a very rare jewelry artist in this day and age of made in China cheap crud.