Mary Jane's Farm Magazine Winner

According to Randomizer.org., our winner is Vicki from Virginia!!! Congratulations Vicki! Please email me with your mailing address using the "Contact Me" link in the right sidebar! I had 47 entries for this magazine! That's a new record! I will definitely consider this magazine again for a future give away! My next give away will be during the first week of February!

Thanks to all of you who participated!!!

Don't forget to check out the new forum! It's a great place to get to know each other. A link has been added in the header at the top of the page for easy access.

Soap, Soap, Soap

I finally got the chance to make some soap earlier this week. The holidays have kept me from it and I have missed it. Earlier this week I made some acne-fighting oatmeal and honey goat milk soap.


It has a very natural honey scent. This soap is as natural as it gets. I used ground oatmeal, goat milk from my Bella and honey from a local beekeeper.

And guess what's in here? I have been saving these plastic Kool-Aid containers for molds for awhile.


They were perfect for what I was wanting to make.


I decided to play with one of my new scents. I had some orange soap colorant and a bottle of orange essential oil.


I had to cut the plastic bottom off and use a can to push the soap out of the molds but it wasn't too hard.


Please excuse all the pics, I love this new lens. Look at that Bokeh! (the blur of the background).


and this soap smells so good! Only 4 weeks of curing and I can use it!


It's great to be making soap again. This week I'm making Fresh Rain. I'm hoping to make a blue and green swirl soap!

I also picked up all the supplies to make candles, my next adventure!!!

Don't forget about the Mary Jane's Farm magazine give away tomorrow morning!!!

Adding A Forum

I decided awhile back that if and when I reached 250 followers I would start a forum to go along with my blog. Plus it's a new year...time to add on! I have been receiving several emails with questions and questions are coming up in the comments that I would love to be able to answer in a way that other readers can see as well. What better way to do that than a forum for discussing all things "country"? You will either have to register and then log in to post or using the little blue G (for Google) or the F (for Facebook) etc. and link your accounts but it will be worth the time it takes, I promise!!

I have several categories and boards already up and there is a suggestion board. If there is something you would like added please post it on the Board Suggestions board and I will gladly add it. It may not be a terribly busy place but it will be a place to post questions and hopefully get the answers you are looking for and a place to share stories and photos!

So check it out!

My Country Blog Forum

Please let me know if you have any questions or problems getting in!

I will be adding a direct link back to the blog from the forum as soon as I get a small banner made for it and a forum link will be added in the menu bar here at the top soon.

I'll be posting about my soapy play day tomorrow! I made orange soap and honey and oatmeal goat milk soap!

Today I Play (January Give Away)

The new job went well yesterday. I did a lot of orientation, policy and procedure testing and staring at a computer screen. Thursday, I start some actual "job" stuff. I think I'll take today as a play day! It's been over a month since I made soap and I miss it!


A friend of mine sent me a box of essential and fragrance oils she found in a box of craft items from a yard sale so I decided to go through them this morning and see what I have. Lots and lots of different scents to play with. Some are labeled, some are not. The unlabeled are going in the "use for candle-making" pile. I haven't decided what scent I'm going with today but it will be a cold process soap and I will post the results on Friday.

My give away is for a year's subscription (6 issues) Mary Jane's Farm magazine.


(Photo property of Mary Jane's Farm magazine)

This is not sponsored by MJF magazine and I, in no way, benefit from this give away other than the good feeling I get from sharing it with my readers. I received an offer for a free issue a few weeks ago and took advantage of it. The magazine is full of wonderful ideas and articles on everything from gardening secrets to featured artists to growing organic foods. Check out the link above and see some of the wonderful things this magazine has to offer.

To enter, leave me a comment telling me you want to win! Contest ends Monday, January 10th at 9:00 a.m. central time!

My Goals for 2011

As a farm/country/gardening blog, there are many things I can think of that I would like to accomplish in the coming year. Below is a list of a few that I can think of right now. I am sure the list will grow longer as I mark off completed items throughout the year.

One of my goals last year was to find a miniature donkey and I completed that goal with 2 days to spare!

• Finish fencing our front lot for the goats and donkeys. It's 50% done as of right now.
• Find Dimple a girlfriend!!
• I always want a bigger, better vegetable garden.
  
• Start a large herb garden for growing my own herbs to use in canning, soap-making, etc.
• Can more. I would love to can some jams and jellies for homemade gift baskets this year.
• Candlemaking
  
• Work on different types of gift baskets using my Country Made Essentials.
• Improve and learn new soap-making techniques.
• Add at least 2 more milk goats to my herd.
• More chicks, guineas and hopefully geese!
• I also have a friend who has promised to save me turkey eggs for incubating this spring.
  
• Have a happy healthy and easy deliver of baby goats in the spring!
• Work on the barn and stalls, replace boards, gates, etc.
• More fish for the pond.
• Fill the barn loft with hay this fall for the coming winter and spring.
• Stock up some straw for bedding. There's a shortage this year due to the drought and lack of wheat grown this past year.
• A new longer, bigger, better clothesline!

I am telling everyone I am taking this new job (2nd job) that I start on Tuesday to support my habits.....animal habits!

What are your farm goals for 2011??