June WAS dairy month

Boy, I was messing around today and I found this post that I had started back in June.  It was entitled "June is dairy month."  Well....seeing as how it is now September and really more like October....I changed it to "June WAS dairy month" and will continue to tell you what was on my mind...back then.....in June....when it was dairy month.

Ok....well.....The Dairy Farmer isn't a real huge fan of facebook.  Shocker.  He's really not a huge fan of this blog.  In fact, I'm really not sure he's a fan of me.  Especially after I used my facebook connections and promoted that June IS dairy month.  I had to make sure the world knew it....or the few people that actually stick around to listen when I speak.  By golly, THEY knew it was dairy month.  Well, a friend asked me if The DF and crew would be willing to go to our local downtown farmers market some Saturday morning and promote dairy. 

Of course....he would LUHHHve to do that.  There is nothing my guy enjoys more than talking about dairy.  And what he loves even more- is talking about dairy with.....people.....in......<gasp> publik.   Yes!  I made The Dairy Farmer leave the farm- on his day "off" and stand around with other people and talk about farming!  He was...oh what's the word?  Thrilled...yes...that's it....he was thrilled.

So, we loaded up the punks and a calf and drove the swaggah wagon downtown to set up our stand.  Wait....no....we did not take a calf.  We took the next best thing, our Great Dane, Abby- who looks an awful lot like a calf.   <herein lies the reason I couldn't finish the post.....the day after we did the market was when we found out our girl had effing cancer>  

She drew them in far and wide and The Dairy Farmer found himself knee deep in farm talk with many local folks from our area.



  We had a lovely stand, lots of dairy related trinketry and even a trivia board that the kids and I created.  It wasn't real busy since it was so early in the season.  But, many folks stopped by and as the day went on, The DF loosened his tie and started enjoying himself.

<I find this hilarious....it was NOT that bad>

Here is our trivia board.  I just might start testing all of you, farm following friends, just to see how much I have really taught you.

Ahh....a glimpse of the wizard.  Doesn't happen often.  Considered yourselves blessed.

We all had a really nice time.  The market is great and we enjoyed our time away from the farm, to sit with our family....and share our story.  People are always genuinely interested when they hear we own a dairy farm.   Even though it seems like our day to day life is about as interesting as watching paint dry.....folks removed from the farm have LOADS of questions about it.  

It's good for me to give The DF a kick in the pants and make him go out and mingle with his peeps.   And trust me, he enjoyed himself.....he enoyed himself with a hot dog and he enjoyed himself with a whoopie pie and he enjoyed himself with a mint tea.   And let me just give a shout out for the mint tea- DAY YUM!  That stuff is the shiz.....trust  <sorry....I am messing with The DF right now....he HATES when I talk/write like that and I want to see how long it takes him to see it.>  

But.....to give you an idea how good the tea is.......the very next Saturday- The Dairy Farmer was back at the farmer's market- in publik- just to get another glass!

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It pays to play

In honor of our blogiversary....I had an idea rattling around in my empty gray matter.  I thought we should give something fun away to one of our farm following friends.  So, I told you if you commented, your name would go in a drawing to win something cool.  Well.....three of our loyal subjects commented and well....dog gone it, we'll give you all something!

Congratulations to Danielle D, April R and Guilford Gardens!  You each will receive one of these:

Cool, right?  Wear it with pride, ladies.....wear it with pride.



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I Will Survive

First I was afraid
I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live
without you by my side
But I spent so many nights
thinking how you did me wrong
I grew strong
I learned how to carry on......

 

that's right, Gloria Gaynor....sing it sister.  That is my life's theme song over the last 11 days.  You see, I am pretty sure I have been to h-e-double hockey sticks.....and back.  I have been without internet <sound of you hitting the floor>. 

I know, I know....it's hard to believe isn't it?   First, The Dairy Farmer, in polyurethane induced delirium, decided to get rid of TV in our house and now we are going full on amish by ditching the internet. 

Not exactly how it happened, but it wouldn't have surprised me if we had started hand milking cows and riding horses to The Wal Mart.   It wasn't intentional, well....the giving up of the TV was.  You see, The DF has been threatening for years, to do away with the blessed machine of evil that resided in our living room.  I said....go for it.  The TV does nothing for me. 

Contrary to local legend....us stay at home moms do NOT sit on our sofas watching our stories and eating bon bons.  In fact, I had a conversation with another SAHM friend today and neither of us know what a bon bon is.  Truth be told, I sit around on my couch all day, watching my stories and eating ICE CREAM...get your story straight. My husband is a dairyman.   I single handedly support the dairy industry and.......I have the thighs to prove it.

Train derailed...sorry.   So, when The DF refinished our floors, we did not hook up our television.  We all detoxed fairly well.....and made it for 14 full days without watching.    Our brains were clearer, our eyes were brighter.....my word....we felt ALIVE!  Ok, 14 days later, the TV came back on and we have returned to our dull, listless lifestyle.  Just in time too.....Grey's Anatomy starts tonight. 

Now, the internet thing was not planned.  Our modem died.  Easy fix.....they shall send us a new one, we'd have it in 6 days.  Yes, you heard me correctly, SIX days.   As The Dairy Farmer has said to the women of this family one too many times.....I sucked it up, sister and set about living in our cyber free zone. 

I do happen to run a home business and working without a net.....HA...get it..."net"....like without internet.  I kill me.   Well, working without it just doesn't work.  I can't communicate with customers and I can't send out specials and I can't place orders.   And for the love of pete....I had no idea what you good people were doing because.....I DIDN'T HAVE FACEBOOK!

I became a junkie going cold turkey.....I was sick.....I was pale and

shaky......I....needed......wifi......and I was going to get it anyway I could.  

I started going to my friend's house.  First....on Tuesday.   Then on Thursday.   Then, my modem still didn't arrive on Friday and I was there every day.....all the time.....so much so that her husband started thinking he had two wives.  And that wasn't below me.....I would've cleaned or done their laundry just for a wifi fix......or since you all know the secret......I would've sat on her couch and eaten her bon bons just for a glimpse of email. 

By Monday, we still had no modem and it was taking its toll on our family.   We all were glassy eyed and nasty as a bobcat with a burr under its tail.   The DF called our company and found out that the order for the modem wasn't processed....but they PROMISED they'd overnight it and we'd be back online by Wednesday. 

Wednesday came.....the modem showed up and we hopped right back online....to 987 emails.   Amazing what happens without a computer.   Life stopped for awhile.....I realized how many things I couldn't do......but I also realized what I could do.  I suddenly had all this free time.....what on earth to do with it?  I read a book.   I also realized that the "thing" in my living room is not really a giant ipod dock....it's actually a treadmill and it WORKS! 

The internet is back and my life is running smoothly again......but I am going to keep reading and good heavens......I may just keep exercising.  Yeah....right.....I give that 14 days too. 

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Never Forget.....

Ten years.....so hard to believe.  Seems like just yesterday and also like a million years ago. 

Everyone has a 9-11 story.  It's an event that will forever be etched in our memories.  Where we were...what we were doing....who we were with.   At least we are here to remember.....so many are not.  Ones that were in the towers that day or in the Pentagon or on Flight 93.  And of course, the countless numbers of military men and women who weren't in any of those places....but willingly gave their lives to bring justice to our country. 


We had just returned from a wonderful weekend at the Jersey Shore with my family.  I was taking my oldest to school that day.....a normal day.....just like any other.  I was just pulling into the garage with Jr. Edition who was only 7 months old and heard that the first tower was hit.   I walked into my house with plans of putting Jr. down for a nap and turning on the news to see what this was all about.  Like so many of you, I'm sure, I didn't understand the impact of what was about to happen.  

As I walked in the house....my phone started ringing...WHERE IS YOUR SISTER??????   IS SHE OK??????   WHAT IS GOING ON?????  Call after call came in......because my sister worked in New York City.  I tried to get a grasp on things......I didn't know where my sister was.......I didn't know if she was ok.    Of course, cell phones were tied and we couldn't get through to her.   For days, we had no idea if she was ok.   She lived in Jersey and worked in the city, so we knew she was in there somewhere- because the city was locked down and there was no way she could go home.   I fielded phone calls for hours and tried to keep it together, but most of that day, I sat in front of my TV and cried.  Cried because I couldn't find her and cried for those countless people who were going about their day as usual......just like me and would never be seen again.....I cried for our country.....that was changed forever in a matter of minutes and for our world which would never be the same. 

We did finally hear from my sister and she was just fine.  Probably better than those of us in PA who lost about 10 years from our lives.  I asked her if she would be my guest blogger today.  She was in the city.  She was not downtown and thankfully, she was not physically affected......but as all of us....it was mentally and emotionally draining.   Her story does have a happy ending......and I wanted to make sure that we also share those good stories too.  The Dairy Farmer and I have commented that Farmin' in the Ville has become sort of an online journal for our kids.  We've just invited all of you to share in our farm life.  We do like to share about our farm....but we like to share about what affects us too. 

Here is my sister, Boo's momma, to share her story:

9.11.01

A day that changed my life in more ways than one.  I had just spent a long weekend at the NJ shore with my family, and was headed back to work on Tuesday. It was a gorgeous day and I was looking forward to having lunch with a friend. I got off the train at Penn Station and took my usual route to my office on Park Ave. and 27^th St.   During my walk, if I had looked to my right, towards downtown, I would have seen something strange going on at the WTC.   But I’m not a morning person, (I’m sure my family will agree) I had a mission, get out of my way and give me some coffee…  a thought that I’m pretty sure most New Yorkers have in the morning.

When I got to my office my coworker had turned on my radio at my desk and was listening to the news. He turned to me and said “A plane hit the WTC.” Again, not being much of a morning person, I didn’t feel like chatting that early and I didn’t think much of it, guess it was a small plane? must have been an accident? Then it quickly went to a bigger plane, maybe a 747?

Wow, how the hell could that happen? At the time our office wasn’t really equipped with super hi-speed internet, it wasn’t something we used that much, sounds weird to say that, right? So we didn’t have a lot of information streaming in very quickly. One of my coworkers was able to stream live video of what was going on but it was very low quality and very slow.  Then news came in about the Pentagon and that a second plane had hit…

My thoughts went immediately to my boss, she hadn’t arrived to work yet. She lived in Brooklyn and took the bus in through the Brooklyn battery tunnel, which is at the tip of Manhattan, and I knew the first stop the bus made was at WTC. I also knew that she would have been in that area at the time the second attack happened. I tried calling her but couldn’t get through.

We opened up the office windows and stuck our heads out to see if we could see anything, but all we could see was black smoke coming from downtown, the streets were filled with people walking uptown. Then people in the office started to yell about the first tower collapsing, All I could imagine were those huge towers falling to the side and the hundreds of people that would be in its path.  And then again to my boss, she and I were very good friends as well as colleagues. I was hoping she was one of those people that started walking uptown and was safe. Maybe she was late and stuck on the bus in the tunnel? Then the second tower fell. I was praying she was ok.

My phone rang, it was my lunch date, he was trying to get into the city from Queens but the trains were shut down. I told him what was going on, the city was shut down. He said “Ok, I’ll figure out a way, call you later.”  I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I waited to hear from him. We all weren’t sure what to do, I couldn’t really call anyone, the phones were tied up and it was hard getting through to anyone. So there wasn’t much for us to do other than sit and wait. The head of our department called us together as a group and I’ll never forget what she said: “Our lives will be changed forever.”

We could hear the fighter planes flying overhead and saw cars driving on the street that were covered in dust. We tried to get some lunch, but no one was really hungry. I had heard that my boss was ok, a huge sigh of relief. Then my phone rang again, it was my lunch date, he was uptown, by the 59^th St. Bridge, he was on his way to my office. As everyone was trying to escape the city by bridge, he snuck past the policeman and walked against the crowds. I couldn’t believe it. 

Since I lived in NJ, I was stuck in the city. There were no bridges I could walk across to get home as the people who lived in the other boroughs could do.  All transportation was shut down. So my lunch date came to my rescue and we decided to walk around. The sea of yellow cabs were gone, people were walking in the streets and the sounds of sirens were never ending. We went to a bar for a beer, the Lakeside Lounge, we played Ms. Pacman, the one that looks like a table, where you sit on either side. They also had a photo booth, so we took some pictures.

By around 8 o’clock we heard the NYC subway had re-opened and were able to head to Brooklyn. I was able to get a hold of my boss later that night. She told me her bus stopped at the WTC, the bus drive told them to get off. They were all confused but did as they were told and as soon as she looked up to see what everyone was talking about, the second plane hit. She said she ran, she didn’t even know where she was going, all she remembered was hiding under a park bench next to a woman somewhere near the water. Then as the towers began to collapse she and a few other people ran into a store. She said the smoke and dust was so thick she couldn’t see in front on her face. She ended up walking over the Brooklyn bridge and was able to get a ride home. I was glad to hear she was ok.

On Wednesday I had to head home, the smoke was still rising from the WTC site, the city was eerily quiet, I felt like I had dust in my mouth, as I passed people on the street we all knew what the other person was thinking. I could feel my anxiety level rising, I just wanted to run and get home as fast as I could. On my daily walk to the train I always passed a firehouse. There was a fire truck parked in front that must have been by the site, it wasn’t fire engine red anymore, it was completely white.  And in the white were hopeful words people wrote using their finger. Days following there were hundreds of “Missing” signs put up everywhere in the city. It still makes my heart ache to think of all those faces, knowing they weren’t coming back.

I know there are many stories from that day, some that are/were much more tragic and my heart goes out to all those people and their families. I’m thankful to say my story had a happy ending, my lunch date is now my husband (I mean really, walking over the 59^th St. bridge to come and get me? I knew he was a keeper :) And now we have a beautiful little girl, some of you may know her as Boo. We will be sure to tell her our story…

Tragedy affected us all that day.  In our sermon this morning, our pastor talked about 9-11 changing us from "me" to "we."  It's true.....we watched our entire country come together in unity.   We gave of our time and our money and some of us....our lives.  We prayed.....for those who died, for the families left behind and for God to have mercy and we loved..... we loved our spouses a little more that day and hugged our kids a little tighter that night and generally, treated each other with a lot more respect.  Here we are, ten years later.....still standing strong.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 

I Corinthians 13:13

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Happy Blogiversary!

Happy blogiversary to Farmin' in the Ville!  It's been one year since I decided to overwhelm you with my mad writing skillz and useless farm knowledge....aren't you so lucky?  People from far and wide (or maybe...like...two friends) kept saying I needed to "blog."  What the heck for, I thought?  My life is so dull and boring, what on earth would compel people to read about cows and manure? 


Well.....I thought it over and ...heck....there are blogs out there about much more mundane things, so why not?  And one year ago, this very day....I wrote this:  MY VERY FIRST POST. 

Wow....I read back over this blog and think, by golly, I AM entertaining.....NOT!  I am pretty sure The Dairy Farmer (who I KNOW reads our blog) sits and shakes his head. 


We have a small following....maybe tens of people read this.  We do have 230 friends on Brechland Farms facebook, so that's cool and I do see that Farmin' in the Ville gets about 200 or so views when I post.  The whole goal was to share our farming life and spread some knowledge.   When you figure that less than 1% of our population still farms....and the food you eat comes from those farms......well, many of you are pretty removed from your food source.   


What you probably weren't expecting was to be privy to all the "other" stuff too.....you were there through  my major illness, our loss, ,my HSUS rantings  and of course the almond milk debacle.  But, you've all hung in there and kept on reading....and hey....some of you even told your friends!

In honor of our one year anniversary- I have 2 special things planned.   One.....I am going to giveaway some blog candy. I do this on my stampin' blog, but it's a little tricky to have a giveaway for the farm, because we only have milk and butter and they are hard to ship. 

But, I have an idea rolling around in my head....so leave us a comment (either on the blog or on facebook) and I'll put you in a drawing for something real special!  I promise...it's worth it!

Two.....I've asked a guest blogger to join me today to celebrate.  You all know him.......you all love him.....it's none other than......<drum roll please>..........The Dairy Farmer!!!!!

me:  Welcome Dairy Farmer.....thanks for joining my blog chat.

The DF:  kay

me:  we've been blogging about our farm for a year now.  What is it you'd like to say to all our farm following friends out there?

The DF:  Drink your milk.

me:  anything else?

The DF:  nope

There you have it folks...let's give The Dairy Farmer a round of applause!  Thanks for stopping by and sharing a little bit of you with us.  

Oh wait.....you have something else to say?  Please....go right ahead...this is your blog as well as mine.

The DF:  I'm glad you amuse yourself.

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Remembering....

If you are a scout, today is wear your uniform to school day.  This normally occurs early in the school year.....gives those boys something to be proud of.  It's particularly important this year.  Since the 10th anniversary of September 11th is coming up, the boys are asked to wear their uniforms today... in honor and to remember.

Farm boy, Jr. edition is 10 years old.  He was only 7 months on September 11, 2001.  He doesn't remember, but he's trying.  They have been discussing it in school this week and I heard how proud his teacher is at their interest and their maturity as they try to understand something that is sort of foreign to them. 

We looked at some pictures and videos from that day.  Of course, the ones that upset him the most are the photos of those people hanging out their windows so high up above the crash site...unable to get out.  But, don't those pictures upset us all?  I can not imagine the pure hell that must have been going on inside a building that would make jumping out the better option? 

So, I am proud of my scout.  He wears his uniform very proudly.  He has learned to honor those who serve our country.  His leader has taught him to salute a military person and say thank you.  And, Jr. does not take this lightly. 

The other thing Jr. does not take lightly is food.  He is a growing boy and it cracks me up that he's got meat on a stick in his right hand.  I made him stop for a quick picture and noticed that he was taking his sausage out to the bus....it is a long walk to the stop.....and breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. 

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A public shout out

I feel compelled to share something today.  I don't often post twice in one day, but I just want to say this:  The Dairy Farmer and I have awesome kids.

That doesn't mean that The DF and I are awesome parents.....I am sure we are messing up our kids pretty good.  I often tell the oldest that I am sorry she is our starter child.  The one on which we learn what not to do.  But, we have been blessed by God with these two....he has given us very special kids and entrusted them to us....and I am pretty sure I don't tell them enough. 

I'm hoping that they read this some day and understand how much we love and appreciate them (and I am going to start them a "therapy" fund for when they get older and realize that we really didn't know what we were doing).

Today, in particular, it was again brought to my attention that I have awesome kids.  You see, dairy farming isn't an easy job.  Most of the time, it's pretty stressful, and I can only imagine how hard it must be when you are a kid.  We try hard to run our farm and still have "a life."  But, sometimes work gets in the way of life and sometimes it can suck. 

This weekend was an example.  Grandma wanted to have her grand babies for a sleepover.  That was not a problem but they had to wake up early and be home by 7:30am to go to work....on a Saturday.  I don't know if you remember your Saturdays when you were 12.....but I sure know that mine consisted of SLEEPING IN!  It was my day off after a long week of school.  Saturdays were long, lazy days that belonged to me.  But, not for my kids, they work every single weekend. 

Of course, one of them came home ill.  Which put another kink in our "life."  Luckily, we have wonderful friends and they came through to take Jr. Edition to the demo derby Saturday night, something he looks forward to for the entire year.  He got home late and fell into bed....only to be awakened early this morning to again, help feed calves.  He willingly got out of his comfy bed and stumbled out to the barn, allowing his sister, who had been up vomiting during the night, to sleep in. 

Now, today was a special day....because a very special friend was having a birthday party this afternoon.  Jr. and I headed over while The DF stayed with the sick one.   We had a lovely afternoon visiting, but just as a "kids vs. adults" wiffle ball game was about to start, I had to call Jr. over and tell him we had to go home to work. 

I was expecting a heavy sigh, or an "oh man", but Jr. said goodbye to his bud, thanked the parents and got in the car.  WOW.  I complimented him on how mature he is and thanked him for being so willing to go home.  Jr. looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and said "it is what it is."   WOW.  I am sure, when you are 10 yrs old, there isn't anything harder than watching a bunch of your friends go off to play, while you leave to go to work.  I have awesome kids.    

I do love our farm life.  We are lucky that we have employees who are reliable and allow us to have a life.  We aren't tied down all the time, but it is a 24-7, 365 job. Well....way of life actually, and it's a life that is teaching my kids responsibility, reliability, the value of hard work, the value of a dollar.....and that we are here to be good stewards of the land and take care of God's creatures.  Their lives are entrusted to us and if we do not take care of them....they will die.   A hard lesson to learn when you are a kid......we lost a little calf today. 

Well, that's really all I needed to say.  I just wanted to have a proud momma moment and remind myself that I have awesome kids.  Oh.....at this moment, The Dairy Farmer took Jr. back to the birthday party, thank goodness for holiday weekends and friends who live real close! 

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Special visitors......part 2

So, I told you about mantis visiting our farm....that was pretty cool.  I mean, he is one of the Furious Five and all, but he didn't whip out any mad kung fu moves (that I saw anyway).

The people that found mantis.....well.....it was none other than Boo, my better than sliced bread niece and Boo's momma. 

Boo is off school for a few weeks and after the punks and I went "up" to visit, Boo and Boo's momma were coming "down" to visit a few days later.   Just so happened that a big ole hurricane named C'mon Irene was barrelling up the east coast, heading right toward Boo and Boo's new house!  Even though they had plans to visit, they came early.  And none of us complained. 

They packed up their car with all the important things, like Boo's ipod so she can watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,  Boo's best friend- Kitty and Boo's snack.  Boo likes Ritz mini peanut butter sandwich crackers.  But, she takes them apart and eats the peanut butter out and puts the crackers back.  If Boo ever offers you some of her snack...... chances are, she's already chewed it, sucked it or licked it first.  Your best bet is to just say no. 

We always enjoy our time with them.  It makes things fun!  And part of the fun, is making that city girl do our farm work.  She's not yet two, but girlfriend knows how to feed a calf......and I bet there aren't too many toddlers in Jersey who can say that!

It just so happens that a few days before Boo's Big Visit......we had a set of preemie bull calves born.  Oh my word.....are they ever cute!

We weren't sure what to call them.......The Dairy Farmer suggested Mutt and Jeff, but that's just too predictable.   Farm Boy Jr. Edition said ......Sherlock and Sammy.  Why Sammy?  Because Watson was too hard to spell.  Duh.  

Sherlock and Sammy are PERFECT for Boo.  Just like Goldilocks and the Three Bears....these calves were "just right."  

Now, remember.....Boo is almost 2.....and these calves are smaller than her.   They come up to my knee.  Most newborn calves are mid thigh height.....or taller.   Right now, she's saying "milk pease"  and someone will bring her a bottle.  Because around these parts, Boo is royalty and she has two punks who wait on her hand and foot.  

Good work, Boo.  After she was done feeding Sherlock and Sammy, she went and collected buckets for the big calves and then she personally blew off all the flies that kept landing on their milk.  Our calves have never had it so good.  Thanks Boo, you made our job so much easier.   You come back and help anytime. 

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Special Visitors

We had a special visitor at our farm this week.  When we went in to feed our hungry, hungry hippos the other day, this lady was hanging out on the fence.  I'm going to assume it was a lady.  I have heard that after they mate, the ladies bite the heads off their husbands. So... true that, sister.....true that.   I kid, I wouldn't bite the head off my dairy farmer.....well....not literally.

Now, the people who found her are very, VERY special visitors and I'll save that for another post. 

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