Not Worth It?!

This summer my nephew came from the East Coast for a visit. He loves animals, music, science, and most of all, computer programing. He fit it fairly well since those are the same things that we enjoy. Well... maybe not the computer programing as much, but animals, music, and science are on our list!

Vet2Be on the left, AJ leading Janice on the right.

AJ loved the goats. He didn't mind milking and he didn't mind playing with the babies. He spent quite a few hours a day programing on the computer, but he seemed to  genuinely like the animals. We even let him show a few goats at the County Fair.

He drank 1/2 gallon of goat's milk every day.

He told his mom he wanted goats.

He told me his mom said, "They aren't worth it."

I told AJ, "She's right."

Hmmm..... AJ wasn't sure what to think about that for a moment.

Goats cost money, so does their feed and housing, so do vet bills. Goats take time, especially milk goats. You have to be there to milk them, and you have to work with them and treat them like pets if you want them to be easy to milk on the stand.

So.... no, goats aren't worth the money.

But I told AJ that his computer isn't worth it, either. A computer doesn't pay for itself in what it produces. Neither does AJ's cat, Koda.

I asked him how much money Koda brings in. AJ answered, "I don't know. He doesn't share his money with me." Funny kid!

I was trying to tell AJ whatever hobby we choose to enjoy doesn't usually give a monetary return on the investment we put into it. If we pay for violin lessons for our kids, those lessons aren't going to 'bring in the money.' If we have a dog or a cat, they certainly don't give us something in return that would cost less at a store. The reward we receive is much different, and we believe, much greater.

For some reason people think that farm animals have to give back what we put into them. Our family came to the realization that we will never make any money raising goats or horses or sheep or anything else. We do it because we enjoy it, and because Vet2Be wants to be a veterinarian some day. We do it because it teaches him and the other children how to work, how to plan for the future, how to love somebody more than themselves, how to sacrifice something now for something you want in the future.

Around here most of the teenagers are interested in their cell phones, X-boxes, and their clothes. Very few think about next week, let alone next year, or 5 years from now. Most of them can't think outside the box. Most of them can tell you what is on TV tonight, but very few can tell you what the stars look like on a clear summer evening. Most of them have earbuds in and know the latest music, very few can tell you what it sounds like on a moonlit night out in the field. Often they think about the next minute, but they can't think something through. Most can't follow through unloading a dishwasher, let alone caring for an orphaned lamb. Patience and gentleness aren't usually in their vocabulary.

We didn't start farming and raising animals on purpose to teach our kids these things. The kids wanted the animals, and we jumped in for the ride. I am amazed at how much we have all learned about life by raising a few horses, goats, and sheep. I am surprised at the difference between our kids and the kids who attend the local high school. Our kids aren't perfect, not by any means! But they can often solve problems by thinking outside the box, and they can stick to a task, even an unpleasant one, until it is done. They have goals in life and know that the road to the goal isn't always pleasant and it isn't always easy, but it is worth it.

Is having a hobby farm worth it?

You bet! But it sure costs alot of time, money, hard work, heart-ache, and patience!

We consider it 'tuition costs' in the school of life.

Not Dead Yet!

I was honored last week by being part of an interview for New England Cheesemaking Supply Blog's September 15th entry. I love their blog and have often found so many helpful hints and ideas as well as cheesemaking inspiration. It is one of the blogs that I regularly visit!

One of the questions that Jeri asked me is one I get asked quite often, "How do I find the time to make cheese?" or "How do I find time to ______ (fill in the blank)?" I don't really see myself doing as much as many people think, but I do believe that "I'm not dead, yet!" and "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

What does that have to do with my life? Well.... If I want to learn something new, then I start. I don't sit around and just wish I could do it. I try to spend my time the same way I would spend money, carefully.

Some people assume that I grew up on a farm with animals, enjoying knitting, spinning, reading, and playing music in my spare time. They imagine me canning and preserving food in the late summer, and pressing cider in the fall, quilting and sewing in the winter, and snuggling up next to the fire with a good book in the evenings, all the while enjoying a loving family spirit. Quite an old-fashioned life!

I didn't. Far from it. I come from a twice-broken home that has been touched by many hardships from suicide and drug abuse, to alcoholism and neglect, from AIDS to poverty. Pretty much normal for many families during the last 40 or 50 years.

When I got married 30 years ago about the only thing I could do was make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and do laundry. That's it. I was going to school, and so was Hubby.

I got pregnant within 4 months (woops!) We decided before we married that I would stay home and raise the kids. If we had 'em.... then we weren't going to send them to daycare. We also knew that Hubby would graduate with his Ph.D. in Chemistry. Those were two goals we were not going to deviate from them no matter what! I look back now and think we were absolutely crazy! But we did it anyway!

That meant with Hubby going to school and me at home with the baby instead of working outside the home. I had to figure out how to save money. I learned how to bake bread, cook potatoes a million different ways, sew clothing, and generally do things in as inexpensive way as possible. In the 10 years it took Hubby to graduate and do his Post Doctoral Fellowship, I learned alot! We only took out one student loan and never were on government assistance like many of our peers were.

I had gotten used to 'just doing it' because I had to, then I realized I enjoyed trying new things and learning new skills. I also learned how to deal with 'unwanted results'. Some people would call those 'failures', but I like what Edison is supposed to have said about making a better light bulb:

"I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work." -Edison

He also said: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." and "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."

When I set about to learn something new, whether it was sewing, knitting, crocheting, cooking, baking, preserving food, cleaning, raising children, playing guitar and banjo, song-writting, blogging, pottery, quilting, soapmaking, cheesemaking, I realized that I would learn how to NOT do something quite a few more times than I would learn how TO do something. Hubby is a scientist, so he has the same attitude. We both put our shoulder to the wheel and get to work.

And since I'm not dead yet, and I don't sit around waiting for life to happen to me. We tried to raise our children with the idea that being able to read was 'magic'! If they could read, they could learn anything! And it's true. I've learned so many skills by reading first, trial and effort next. Hubby has even learned how to build violins through books!

I'm also a religious person, so there are a few scriptures that come to mind as well. Mathew 17:20 says, "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Mark 9:32 says, "...If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."

I figure, if faith as small as a mustard seed will move a mountain, and all things are possible if I believe, learning a new skill is probably easier than moving a mountain..... so of course I can learn something new. I just have to take the first step by opening a book, asking someone that already knows how to do it, taking a class, or experimenting on my own.

One last thought. We do what interests us, in other words, our hobbies take up our free time. If your hobby is the latest TV show or playing the latest online game, great! I don't spend much time watching TV (except for watching some Great Courses or Christmas movies while cleaning the kitchen) because I would rather be doing something else. I've weeded most of the unwanted time-eaters out of my life and spend my time on things that bring me enjoyment. Life is about choices, choices in attitude, choices in how we spend our time, and in how we view our life.

So, get your overalls on and do something new! After all, you aren't dead yet, either!

And leave a comment. Let me know what you do in your spare time! I'd love to read about it!

Prayer of St. Francis

I ran across this prayer again the other day. I love it. Although we are not Catholic, I think there are many parts of different Christian faiths that are wonderful and teach us much about living in the world today. This is one of those short sermons that reminds me of why I am here on this beautiful Earth.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

where there is hatred, let me show love;

where there is injury, pardon:

where there is doubt, faith ;

where there is despair, hope

where there is darkness, light

where there is sadness, joy

O divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

Valuable mistakes ...

Every habit...

Shift your attitude...

Opportunities...

Clearly at hand...

The test of integrity...

Blessed are those...

More isn't always better...

Helping...

Our Primary Work...

Wonder Drug...

Whatever Course You Decide...

Hard Work...

Our whole family laughed at this quote ... then we got back to work.

Never enough...

Some days I feel as if I am far behind and will never catch up. Some days I wonder what I have really accomplished during the day, the week, the month, or in the past year.

One nice thing about blogging or journaling (yes, I keep a journal, too) is that I can look back and see that there have been many things that I have done over the past year. There are things I have learned and things that I have accomplished.

Winter is coming, perhaps that is the reason I look back and wonder if I got enough done through the spring and summer. It seems that there are never enough hours in a day to do all the things that need to be done.

The good thing is that I am never bored and I don't have time to watch TV. I find joy and satisfaction in the many other things that I do each day, knitting, quilting, making cheese, making soap, playing guitar, visiting with friends, helping neighbors, teaching Vet2Be, spinning, and blogging.

We were told in a recent sermon to find some quiet time each day to listen to the Holy Spirit and to learn more of what our Heavenly Father wants us to do. It is a blessing to have to milk every morning and to spend time with the animals each day. It gives me and Vet2Be a chance to ponder and meditate while our hands are busy.

Work is a blessing. I am grateful that we have so much of it in our lives.

Security...

Know Christ...

Live your life...