First on-line sale!

Whoo hoo! I got a notification while babysitting today that I'd just sold my first item on Etsy. :)

It happened to be to a reader of my blog, so "Thank you, ____________" (you know who you are)!! Hope the soap is very much to your liking!

I had a shorter day of babysitting today, so when I got home, I set to work at making more soap to fulfill the good sized order I received from a friend. While I was at it, I made a few other kinds of soap, so those will be appearing on a certain website sometime in the future. My mom had found a blend of oils that was supposed to smell like "Fresh mown hay" and ordered it, as it sounded unique. Well, it came in the mail the other day and it's unique alright! Not a one of us thinks it smells anything like freshly mown hay, but it does smell like a flower garden, so I used some of that to make a lovely pink soap. Now to think of a more fitting name for it....

Thankfully, those who were under the weather here are much improved today and back to working. Praise the Lord!

The girls (Johanna and Tracy) were a lot of fun this morning. I took pictures, but it's late already, so I'll get them loaded here some other day.

Good night, all.

Now you can visit my "Etsy shop"...

 Whoa, I didn't realize I was falling so behind in my blogging.... 

Well, Saturday was a beautiful day, weather-wise. I went out on the deck-swing to enjoy the warmth for a while and watched as Millie panted in the sunshine.

 We still have some snow left...

 The new heifers have settled down very nicely and don't even move away from the fence anymore 

when Millie barks at them.

Yesterday, the guys worked all afternoon on getting things out of the Quonset as they needed to clean off one of the trucks and get the skidsteer out to be able to unload an engine that's being delivered here one of these days.  I made yogurt, and then whipped up a batch of my friend, Miranda's (THM approved) recipe for strawberry and chocolate Jelly Rolls (they disappeared way too quickly). 

Also, I set up a shop on Etsy for hopefully selling soap! :) 

If you're interested, you can check it out here: 

www.dakotaprairiesoaps.etsy.com

I still want to list many more soaps there, but I ran out of time. 

Today, I received a good-sized soap order from a friend so I'm super excited, because you know what this means, right? Yep, I get to make more soap!

Last night, Andrew was sick most of the night. Mom was not feeling well the day before that. I'm guessing it is the same thing my dad had last week. Thankfully Mom and Andrew are much better tonight. Please pray that this quickly passes and that nobody else gets it!! 

I babysat today and the children were very good. Johanna sure was full of questions when we got to talking about a calendar, of all things. She was very curious about all of the more unusual "Holidays" (Flag day, Presidents Day...), but she wasn't very fond of St. Patrick's Day because I mentioned the word green and her favorite color is PURPLE. :)

There, now you're all mostly caught up. 

I'm counting down the days to Saturday. Anybody want to guess why?

Spending time with the Littles...

I spent most of yesterday and today with Johanna, Tracy Jo, and Baby Vonn. <---  That little one is growing by leaps and bounds it seems. My arms sure get tired after holding him for a while anyway, so either he's getting heavier or I'm getting wimpier. ;)

Yesterday, my mom and Andrew went to Bismarck to attend some hearings at the Capitol; to listen to Mr. Michael Farris speak about the Constitution; and to run some errands too. Andrew bought some parts for my car...

I'm not sure what everyone was up to today here, but when I got home, there was a delicious feast set out on the table, so someone was obviously very busy in the kitchen!

Here's wishing you all a blessed weekend. May the Lord guide us all on that straight and narrow path each day.

~ February and Winter thoughts ~

"February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March." - Dr. J. R. Stockton

"He knows no winter, he who loves the soil,

For, stormy days, when he is free from toil,

He plans his summer crops, selects his seeds

From bright-paged catalogues for garden needs.

When looking out upon frost-silvered fields,

He visualizes autumn's golden yields;

He sees in snow and sleet and icy rain

Precious moisture for his early grain;

He hears spring-heralds in the storm's ' turmoil­

He knows no winter, he who loves the soil." 

- Sudie Stuart Hager

"Every mile is two in winter." 

- George Herbert

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home." 

- Edith Sitwell

(And my favorite: )

"In winter's cold and sparkling snow,

The garden in my mind does grow.

I look outside to blinding white,

And see my tulips blooming bright.

And over there a sweet carnation,

Softly scents my imagination.

On this cold and freezing day,

The Russian sage does gently sway,

And miniature roses perfume the air,

I can see them blooming there.

Though days are short, my vision's clear.

And through the snow, the buds appear.

In my mind, clematis climbs,

And morning glories do entwine.

Woodland phlox and scarlet pinks,

Replace the frost, if I just blink.

My inner eye sees past the snow.

And in my mind, my garden grows."

- Cynthia Adams, Winter Garden

Fish!

 Have you ever tried getting a clear picture of a fish who can't hold still for a second? I found it doesn't work very well with my phone camera!

My friend, Emmy requested pictures of my new fish, so here is one, Emmy:

The new ones are called "Danios".

 Can you see my old Pleco hiding here?

 ...and some more old and new blurry fish...

It was a busy day at home for all of us. Andrew changed the lights in the chicken barn as they'd BOTH burnt out recently. He also did some paperwork and wrote up some testimony to share at the Capitol tomorrow at the hearing about a possible Constitutional Convention. Jacob showed me how to log-in to Bismanonline so I could post my first ad there.  Mom and Jacob worked on a mountain of laundry and then Mom spent a few hours on the phone with various people. I worked on some paperwork, room de-cluttering, and letter-writing I'd been wanting to get done. My dad is thankfully MUCH better today and was up and around again instead of flat out on the couch (thanks for praying if you did)! He fed the cows both times today.

 I boiled up a big 'ol kettle of our homegrown potatoes to mash for supper, thinking there would be lots of leftovers, but there is maybe 2 cups left? That won't go far at the next meal.

It was a good day, and tomorrow I get to see "My Littles"! 

Ick.

My dad feels very sick. 

Please pray for this to pass quickly (with the rest of us staying well)!

Dad and Mom's big news!

Today was definitely a day to go down in Bornemann history....

My parents now OWN their farm, officially (as in, having it all paid off)!!!

HOORAY and PRAISE THE LORD!

When in Bismarck on Friday, my dad bought this ice cream cake to celebrate:

 So happy for them!!

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Last night, Lauretta invited me over to visit her and Josephine, and it got kinda late 'til I got home (are you shocked?) and got ready for bed, so that's why there was no post last night...

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This has been a busy and tiring day.

Mom, Josephine and I went up to Bismarck to sit in on a hearing about "Common Core". It started at 8:00am and (with a break in there) lasted about 5 hours.  The room was PACKED (Josephine and I had to stand a long time, until some people cleared out), mostly with people opposed to Common Core.

 See if you can find my mom...

 The "Wheat" lights in the ND State Capitol...

 Josephine and I went up to the top floor to see what we could see...

 Mom took this picture of/for us...

Oh, and want some more exciting news? 

.....

Ready?

.....

I bought 5 new fish today for my aquarium!

You probably thought it was something really exciting, didn't you? ;)