“In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.” – Rose Tremain
I like quotes. I find quotes inspiring, insightful, thought provoking and wonderful spring boards for creativity. The Bibbed Wonder says it is the book nerd in me. My quick retort is math and science are great but neither would be possible without reading and writing. It is a left brain/right brain battle we have on a regular basis. I like the above quote and feel it could be applied to life, not just books. More specifically, it could be applied to my life. If you have read my previous blogs, you know I like to plan. I like to plan because I like to be prepared. I like to be prepared because I like to feel like I have control. I like to feel like I have control because it makes me less afraid and more confident. I like to feel less afraid and more confident because I am able to accomplish more. The universe, well sometimes and these days it seems more often than not throws me a curve ball. The universe knows I am not an athlete, it knows I don’t like sports that involve balls, it knows my chances of catching said ball are slim to none. Nope, the universe clocks me square in the face with a ball so hard it throws off my balance and leaves me reeling.
I am trying to build a small business. One has to wear many hats and be in control of things that may not always be in one’s wheel house. I am actually a novice at farming and goat care. I learn and continue to learn by experience. Last year, I learned some important lessons the hard way. I have a business based upon the production of milk from some very sweet, lovely lady goats. The success of my business rests upon the health, and success of my lovely ladies having babies. In order to have babies, there has to be a billy goat involved. I have stated before the sheer nastiness of a male goat. I protested a male goat coming onto my lovely farm ogling my ladies, disturbing mine and their peace, spreading his yuck everywhere…bleh. So, I relied on the services and knowledge of another goat farmer…first mistake, I gave up control…only one girl out of a dozen became pregnant. We barely made it through the year with milk, and finally, my lovely lady had to succumb to nature and dry off. We were left with no milk. No milk meant no moisturizer. It meant no moisturizer for a really long time. However, the tides have turned. I have my capable, if evasive Abu, everyone has had babies, and the milk is flowing and plentiful…take that universe!
We are finally ahead on milk. We are so far ahead on milk in fact that our pigs get milk every morning, our chickens get milk twice a day, our cats are fat and happy, and we are able to give milk to a family who has an orphaned baby goat. However, more importantly from a small business aspect, I can make moisturizer again. Although we have a freezer full of fresh, frozen milk for soap making; we need fresh, raw milk for lotion. It can’t be just any milk; it has to be our milk from our girls. Again, it’s a control thing. The difference is I know how my girls are treated. I know what goes into their bodies. I know that our process is clean and sanitary. I know we take every precaution to ensure that everything that touches our milk is sterilized. I cannot and will not give up that control to a third party ever.
Interesting side story, we had no milk and the first girl to deliver was a first-year mama. A doe, or female goat, produces more milk every year she has a kid. A first-year mama, doesn’t always make enough milk. That was the case with Cindy Crawford…I have triplets named after supermodels from the 90’s because they are all beautiful, long-legged divas…Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, and Naomi Campbell. I digress, I didn’t have any other milk from my girls, my only option was to purchase milk from the local health food store. The milk was raw but it wasn’t anything like our milk. It wasn’t thick and creamy, it had a goat-y odor, and it wasn’t pure, snowy white. My poor babies fought us on taking it from a bottle but soon gave in to hunger and mere survival. Once a few of my other girls gave birth, we had enough milk to feed Miss Cindy’s babies and they thrived. They took an immediate growth spurt and soon caught up in size to their herd mates. Interestingly, the left-over milk we had purchased, was rejected by our pigs. They wouldn’t touch it. The incredulous looks we received from our porcine princesses can only be described as, “What the hell!” I knew my girls and their milk were special. The porcine loves of The Bibbed Wonders life have proven it.
We will now spend the week catching up on our lotion inventory. I make ten to twelve jars of moisturizer at a time. We have now come up with a system to track dates, give our lotion a 4-6-month shelf life, and won’t sell anything that is over 30 days old. It’s a bit more work, a lot more paper work, but an important form of quality control. It is just one more way I can provide my audience with truly fresh products. You may have noticed that moisturizer inventory has been low or out of stock for quite some time. If you have a particular scent you are waiting for, I will make every effort to get it back in stock by the end of the week. I will have new and exciting scents coming out almost every week. I will also dabble in apothecary themed lotions like jewelweed for poison ivy; all things I am looking forward to and excited to offer.
I am so very grateful for the support that has been shown. The patience that has been exercised and the kindness that has been demonstrated. My daughter, my audience, and you my dear readers are my motivation to continue to learn, to grow, to be the best version of myself I can be. My ending is not yet written, but when it is, I hope it reads a life of love, appreciation, generosity, and never-ending growth…a legacy of kindness. As always, be safe, be smart, wash your hands, and keep earning your ending.
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