Toms Father’s Day present I wrapped in TSC (farm supply store) flyers. Gramp loves this store for all his haying…he sure is doing a lot of haying lately…his wallet was falling apart so I bought him a new wallet…after a lot of research to find the right one. 
We are starting our preserves. The kitchen will be producing some strawberry jam. Does anyone have any wonderful recipes for jam? We have tried making it with less sugar but it seems to never turn out the same. We purchased 6 flats today, three cleaned…tomorrow three more to clean. 
Gramp and I are getting married on August 11th, 2018. There is so much we have to do to get ready as we are getting married here at the farm. We are building the little chapel we are getting married under….we are very excited…the countdown is on 56 days to go…trying to think of a hashtag for our wedding to list pictures …any ideas??? We have a countdown on mugs we write in each day for the countdown..I changed Gramps to 363 days today to see if he was awake…lol
Missy our barn cat had a litter of kittens….Gramp reached in to get some eggs from the nesting boxes and there was five little kittens. We left them with Mama so she could feed them for 6 weeks. Than I had to take 3 to get them forever homes. We still have two “Billie” and “Sapphire” They are both thriving and eating well. I am an animal lover at heart ❤️ so I am having trouble letting them go. We already have three dogs and a cat, two horses and lots and lots of laying hens. Missy was spade this past week. We did not want to add to the cat population anymore. She is recovering and will be out roaming the barn again soon enough.
Gram is starting to do some haying, a lot of work and the weather has to cooperate to be able to cut and bale without rain…yesterday I did the parts run for the rake, had no idea what a spring, bolts etc were but sure learnt in short enough time. I told him I am his business manager for the haying..lol
The flowers are blooming and the birds are singing this morning…everyone is happy at Peaceful Valley farm today…
We have been doing some traveling for awhile now. When it is cold at home we hit the warmer climates. We have travelled quite a bit and some of the challenges of traveling and getting to your destination can be daunting at times. I always pack too much and we end of bringing what I never wear. We usually go away for extended periods of time, from a month to three months. Some of the things I learnt this trip, was to pack light tops, with a variety of solids pants, capris or shorts and a few pair of slip on sandals with a pair or two of dressy shoes. If you are wondering if you should bring it, don’t as you can always shop when you get there…lol…we could always use some retail therapy…It is difficult when cruising as you have to bring formal wear and smart casual to wear to the dining room, however you should bring half as much as you think you will need. We always carry with us a luggage weigh scale as airlines are strict in the weight of your bags. We have acquired duffle bags that we are able to collapse put in the suitcase for those purchases you are going to make on your trip. Another tip is to bring what you think you will need in case you get sick as it is difficult in countries that the language is an issue to be able to buy what you need based on your knowledge of what you can buy in Canada. We have learnt a lot about medical insurance and what countries will accept coverage and through our experience many require you to pay up front and get your money back from your insured when you get back. Very important you read your coverage and know exactly what you are covered for and are not covered for.
I make a list list of what I will need when away and before I leave I check the list to make sure that everything on it is packed. If you need currency of the country you are going to visit…check with your bank to see if they can order it in for you…my experience is to give this at least a week to come in. Most countries accept US dollars, however there are those market stalls that only accept their money. Also check to see what the better exchange is for you to purchase in. Also note that at times when you leave that country that currency may not be exchangeable back to your local currency when you arrive home. Always look online or through a currency exchange centre what the exchange rate is for that country you are in at the present time. This will give you a basis to know if you are getting a fair exchange rate when you are purchasing in the local currency.
Hope you are having a wonderful Easter Monday!
We are excited for our website to be launched. I will be posting a variety of content…looking forward to sharing many adventures with you!!!
Who can take a rainbow
Wrap it in a sigh
Soak it in the sun and make a groovy berry pie?
The Candy Gram
Oh, the Candy Gram can
‘Cause she mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good.
Oh, who can take tomorrow
Dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream?
The Candy Gram.
Oh, the Candy Gram can
‘Cause she mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good.”
Wow, thanks Sammy, that’s a glowing tribute. But you didn’t mention the maple syrup—I can work wonders with that too. Good stuff just seems to grow wild around here and I do admit to baking-up a trail for the grand kids to sniff-out all the way from the city to grandmother’s house just about every chance I get. They love running around and enjoying the 25 acres of heaven we are so blessed to own. They feed the horses and birds, pick up the eggs from the chickens, eat a peck or two of berries and play in the pool and playground Grandpa Tom made special for them to enjoy.
It’s true that we—or me, at any rate—were kind of farm newbies when we bought Peaceful Valley farm back in 2010. We’ve had our experiences with horses and cows and birds of many a feather, but now we concentrate mostly on the smaller animals—the chickens and the bees and other more stationary critters like maple trees and berry vines. And through plain hard work, my organizational skills and a penchant for list making—two things that Tom sometimes calls by other names—we’ve finally come into our own. And if, on a particular Sunday, we all need a bit of a sleep-in, I just go out to the barnyard and instruct the rooster not to crow.
But farm living isn’t all dungarees and pitchforks. Around here—where the flowers bloom like Geisha girls and the sunsets seem rouged by L’Oreal—it’s more of a compliment to mother nature than a contradiction that a lady of taste should harvest from her own silo of sparkle or barrel of bling from time to time. I mean, a girl has to compete with springtime somehow! If you should catch me in one of my many gardens, deep in mutual solicitation with my flamboyant cohorts—I to them with a pruning or a misting and they to me in a pageant of whispers that hangs like fairy dust just beneath the breeze—you’ll see that the counsels of beauty go both ways. I’m sure my grandfather, the Master gardener, cherished these bestowals as I am learning to.
Now if I can just bring myself back in from the garden for a moment, I’ll just say that I’d love for you to come with us on our journey of living and learning the ways of farm life. I hear that somewhere over across on the other side of the website Gramps is telling some stories, too, but without any of the juicy details and with all the dates mixed up. So stay put and you’ll get the full chronological renditions of stories of farm life, travelling, lyme disease (more on that later) sprinkled with all kinds cooking and baking tips. I even have a list of secret recipes as long as my arm, but you can’t have that…because my bracelets are on it.
Let’s talk some Grandma talk….
