Simple Hand Treatment

This week, I will detract from my usual sharing of recipes that my family enjoyed during the week. After being forced to do hard labor by a bib overall-wearing warden, I mean helping my charming husband clear dead trees from the property, I A) did not feel like cooking and B) didn't have anything interesting to share. It's been a week filled with wiener roasts, mountain pies, and easy meals. Instead, I will share an easy skin care practice I have employed since the late 80s.

Do you remember Jafra Cosmetics? In the late 80s through the 90s, Jafra parties were all the rage. Women would gather at a friend or acquaintance's home, and a Jafra consultant would come in to share the bountiful benefits of said skin care, cosmetics, and cosmetic tools. Often, this make-up expert was a friend, family member, or neighbor who spent a few hours at a training seminar, learned the lingo of the pyramid scheme, and then convinced fellow women to join their ranks with promises of discounted beauty products and easy income. I know I was one of these women. I had no false illusions about hosting parties; I was far too introverted for that. I wanted to receive a steep discount on all the wonderful products that came in my sales kit. I believe that when it was all said and done, I owed Jafra more paychecks than I would like to admit.

There were many lessons to learn from this experience. First, I am not a salesperson. Second, the lipstick named Ole' remains a universal color for any skin tone. If I could get my hands on a tube of this, I would wear it every day. Third, there is an easy, almost instantaneous improvement in one's skin if one washes their hands with sugar, oil, water, and a gentle cleanser. Remember lining up in a single file line at your friend's kitchen sink during a Jafra party and having the "spa" experience of using a sugar scrub on your hands? Yeah, who knew Jafra was so forward-thinking? Sugar scrubs are all the rage some thirty years later. Genius.

At a Jafra party, you would use their delicious-smelling almond oil, sugar from your friend's kitchen, and the Jafra gentle foaming cleanser, finishing with Royal Jelly Milk Balm. I am sure none of these products were pure and clean and totally filled with garbage and fillers. But, hey, it was the 80s and 90s. We used AquaNet and poo-pooed parabens, and petroleum-based products were good for you! Believe it or not, I continue practicing this sugar scrub technique but with my own clean, pure products. I don't know about you, but my hands are rough this time of year. R-U-F-F, as one bib overall-wearing comedian likes to say. After busting my knuckles on a lampost, hauling wood, moving stones, and playing in the dirt, my hands look like they belong to an old farmer.

My go-to treatment is simple. I take a tablespoon of oil. If I am in the studio, I use almond oil or rice bran oil. If I am in my kitchen, I use olive oil. I take a tablespoon of sugar, mix it with the oil, and rub it vigorously all over my hands. I then use our foaming hand soap. This time of year, I like to use the honeysuckle scent. I then wash my hands in warm water. I follow this with a large dollop of our moisturizer. Again, this time of year, I like to use the honeysuckle scent. My hands feel soft and moisturized almost instantly, and I feel a little pampered. This sugar scrub is a simple practice that can be used whenever your hands feel overly dry, have ground in dirt, or need a little TLC.

On this sunny spring day, stay safe, be smart, and enjoy a little stroll down memory lane. Not all practices from the 1980s and 90s are misguided. Use clean products that are good for you, keep it simple, and keep washing your hands.

Farm Update

Each year presents a new issue and a new learning opportunity. This year is no different. Although we have had a relatively calm and uneventful baby season, we realize we have much to learn. Thankfully, the issues that we are facing are not life-threatening. However, they affect the overall herd health and must be dealt with quickly. It will take time, diligence, and care, but I am hopeful all will be well.

My herd has mites. Writing this makes my skin crawl. My girls have never had mites before, and I am disheartened that they are dealing with this now. I'm unsure of how this happened, where they came from, or the root cause, but it is quite obvious something isn't right. My black does appear to be affected most. Lily and Little Black have dandruff and bald spots; their coats lack shine and luster. I am sure if one has it, they all do. We treated them with a dusting powder to kill lice and mites. However, the girls need a good bath and some serious TLC. I don't feel comfortable bathing them until we have several days of 70+ degree weather. It won't do them any good to catch a chill. So, until the weather warms up above average and dries out, we can't bathe them.

Aside from bathing them, the barn must also be treated. We can't get the skid steer in to clean the barn when the ground is saturated, and we will create more of a mess than benefit them. I am anxious to get this done so they can feel better and begin recovering. Unfortunately, bathing the girls is no longer a one-person job. There are just too many of them. The Bean and I will spend several days bringing the girls out two by two, tying them to the Ranger parked on the driveway, and bathing them with warm water from the garage. I have researched, and a hot lime sulfur bath is the recommended remedy for treating lice and mites. I will also give the girls a haircut and do a sugar scrub on their udders while I bathe them. The sugar scrub helps keep their udders soft and supple. After nursing multiple kids, their udders need some gentle care.

Although mites are not ideal, they are readily treatable. The more concerning issue at hand is Boo's baby, Iris, aka Baby Boo. Baby Boo will be the last kid produced by my sweet girl Boo. I am so happy she is a doeling. However, Baby Boo has bowed front legs. From what I can decipher from my goat forums, Baby Boo suffers from Ricketts. This is also a common and treatable condition with selenium supplements, cod liver oil, and vitamins E, A, and D. I went to the pharmacy and our local farm supply store and purchased everything I needed to treat her. The Bibbed Wonder gave her her first treatment last night. From what I have read, this should clear up in a few weeks to a few months. Iris is the sweetest little girl. She is calm, docile, and intelligent, like her mother and grandmother. She is also the biggest love bug. Although her little legs are bowed, she is growing and thriving with the other kids. Right now, she is working on her bounce. I am confident she will make a full recovery.

The most upsetting situation is my girl, Red. Many of you may know that Red is my favorite goat. She is so sweet, intelligent, and loveable. I adore this girl. My friend Jenna, who went to Penn State for Animal Science, sat me down a few weeks ago and talked to me about Red's condition. Red is a senior girl and suffers from arthritis. Thankfully, she does not suffer from CAE, which is a horrible disease that is highly contagious. Red suffers from arthritis due to old age. My girl's hips are what troubles her most. I know she has difficulty getting up, especially when the weather is cold or rainy. However, I don't believe she has a poor quality of life...yet. Jenna told me that she doesn't think another winter will be good for Red, and I need to begin coming to terms with the fact that I may need to make a tough decision this fall. Losing my girl is not something I want to think about. However, I am committed to giving my girls the best life possible. If Jenna believes this to be true, I trust her.

I will talk to our vet about our options when we have our annual herd check. If I can give Red supplements to improve her mobility, medication for inflammation, and keep her comfortable, I will. However, if our vet says he agrees with Jenna, I will make arrangements with him to let my girl go peacefully while I am by her side. I sit with Red in the pasture on sunny days. Often, she lays her head on my lap and naps while I stroke her sides and scratch her ears. I want my girl to pass quietly, surrounded by her herd and the person who loves her. Losing my friend will be devastating, but I will do what is best for her. However, it will break my heart. Just like Scarlett O'Hara, I will not think about this today.

Most farmers don't offer their animals a quiet, calm, peaceful passing. When an animal ages out of production, it is sent to auction or slaughter. Even if an animal is sick or suffering, they are sent away to gain as much profit as possible from that living soul. I can't conform to this mentality. My girls are the reason our family is together, doing what we love in the place we love. They deserve respect, love, and gratitude. My dairy goats will always have a soft place to land, get the absolute best care, and never have to be frightened or stressed. It's the least I can do for the beings who have given us so much.

That is what is happening on the farm. We are busy preparing for our annual spring event. I am praying we have good weather and a good turnout. It is a lot of pressure to invite our friends to our farm. I hate the idea of wasting anyone's time. I know many of my friends drive an hour or more to join us, go above and beyond to be here, and make their lives more difficult by being here. However, they show up for me, and for that, I am grateful. So many variables are beyond my control, like the weather, attendance, and sales. I trust our soap family will come out to support these wonderful small businesses, but it is a worry. Please join us for food, fun, and supporting local handmade businesses on May 4th from 9-1 at 493 Tonkin Road, Indiana, Pa. We look forward to seeing everyone.

On this rainy spring day, stay safe, be smart, send out some good vibes for our farm family, join us on May 4th, and keep washing your hands.

Celebrating National Picnic Day

Picnicking farm style with my two favorite goobers

We have spent the past three days working outside. Finally, we got a much-needed break from the rain, so we took advantage of the sunshine and dry skies. I was excited at the prospect of working outside, cleaning up the lawn, and clearing fallen trees from the property. I enjoy manual labor, in theory. I like the idea of sunshine, fresh air, getting a nontraditional workout, and making progress on a few projects...in theory. In reality, by the time five o'clock rolled around on day three, I told my husband I didn't like his projects. This was not fun anymore, and I declared he was trying to kill me. His response was, "Just give me a few more hours." Sigh.

Wood is heavy, and I don't like hauling wood. I was excited about using the chainsaw, but The Bibbed Wonder shut that down before I completed the demand: "Oh, let me run the...." "NO!" was his response. No explanation was given to my request, not even an iota of thought. He simply shut it down and refused to entertain my one-shot at fun. I was too tired to pout or argue, so I just kept picking up pieces of wood scattered everywhere. Meanwhile, I was thinking what a dictator I married. How he thrives on taking away fun, and what a power trip he is on all the time. Seriously, he has cool toys and refuses to share.

Actually, it wasn't all bad. For the first two days, I genuinely enjoyed being outside and working alongside The Bibbed Wonder. He is the epitome of patience. Not once did he roll his eyes, act annoyed, or become exasperated at my lack of muscle and skill. The extent of my workload was jumping off and on the tractor to run the gates so he could move the wood to the burn pile created in the center of the upper pasture. This site was chosen because a large oak tree came down a few years ago and was a convenient spot to clean it up. We cleaned up a total of four downed trees, and we have three more to go. Thankfully, it rained today, and we are excused from tree duty.

We built the most enormous bonfire I have ever seen. This fire is going to burn for days. The Bean is home from school with a viral infection. The poor kid has the "Slap Cheek" virus. Her little face is red, lumpy, and swollen. Her skin is hot to the touch. She is running a low-grade fever, and she is tired. Yesterday afternoon, even her little ears were hot, lumpy, red, and swollen. I asked The Bean if she would like to get some fresh air and cook hot dogs over the world's most enormous bonfire. She readily agreed, and we began preparations for an impromptu picnic. We pulled hotdogs out of the freezer, gathered buns and condiments, chips, Oreos, and Mason jars of water, and ran everything out to the field on the Ranger.

The Bibbed Wonder lowered the tractor bucket, and we used that as a table and seat. The Bibbed Wonder and The Bean cooked hotdogs over the fire, and we chatted about this and that. It was by far the best part of the day. Eric claimed it was National Picnic Day and said we picked the perfect day for a picnic. The Bean and I never believe anything he says, so we had to Google National Picnic Day. For once, my darling husband wasn't pulling our legs, and I decided National Picnic Day would be my blog topic.

As we sat listening to the fire crackle, watching the goats mill about, and laughing over Eric's stories of his youth, I felt very grateful for our life. Yes, this farm is a lot of hard work; it's exhausting, and we ride a roller coaster of emotions on any given day, but the opportunities we are afforded and the happiness it brings us are priceless. And just like that, lunch was over; it was time to haul more wood, climb up and down from that God-forsaken tractor, and the feeling of being blessed was over. Insert a giggle and a wink.

At the end of the day, The Bean and The Bibbed Wonder decided it was a brilliant idea to cook mountain pies over the world's biggest bonfire. I declared I was out. I was tired of being outdoors, fresh air, fire, and hard surfaces. They stated I am a boob. I accepted this wholeheartedly; I ate pickles with peanut butter for dinner, drank a big glass of water, and went to bed at 7:30. Incidentally, I slept better than I had in a long time. There are benefits to manual labor. Today, I am grateful for the rain. I don't believe I could handle one more day riding around on that tractor and lifting large logs. I also believe that once a week during the summer, we will have a picnic for lunch and break up the week's monotony. Picnics make me smile.

On this blessedly rainy day, stay safe, be smart, enjoy the simple pleasures in life, like picnics, and keep washing your hands.