Koselig: my new favorite word

Farmer J and I really enjoyed this article:

http://m.fastcompany.com/3052970/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/the-norwegian-secret-to-enjoying-a-long-winter

And we LOVED the word and meaning behind the Norwegian word: koselig 

This fellow blogger wrote a great post all about Koselig!  Check it out! It's worth the read.

http://afroginthefjord.com/2014/02/02/how-to-make-things-koselig/

I'm only a quarter Norwegian and Farmer J is even less Scandinavian but we may just end up naming this place "Koselig Farm".

But maybe that is too much coziness to live up to?

Right now I'm laying on the couch, with a fuzzy robe on (sheep print no less) with a warm kitten on my lap and looking at the twinkling lights of our Christmas tree. 

Now... If I couldn't hear my boys playing like wild animals in the basement, I'd be in a state of "Koselig." 

Wishing you all lots of koselig this winter and holiday season.

Welcome!

New owners, new door. It's an odd tradition, but with our first home and our first farm rental, Farmer J painted our front doors (remember the bright red chicken coop door) a bold color. Ever since we traveled in Ireland, we have loved colorful entryways into homes.

I decided to paint our back door (we have the typical farmhouse where no one uses our front door but always comes in the back).  

Reasons for painting the WHITE door:

- we live on a farm

- we have some boys who often have grubby hands

- the wreaths I hang for the different seasons got lost amongst all the white

- the hardware store was running a special on paint

- I found a paint color I was dying to have somewhere in our house

Here is our old white door...

And then after these steps,

The color is Railings by Farrow & Ball. 

http://us.farrow-ball.com/railings/colours/farrow-ball/fcp-product/100031

The color is a steel grey/blue- that really will look different depending on the lighting and time of day. It was a nice contrast to paint with a dark color after so much white in the kitchen! Kitchen remodel pictures coming soon!

You'll see more Farrow & Ball colors in our home in the future...and some of their wallpaper (if I win the lotto)! 

In case you are intrigued...or recently won the lotto yourself...

http://us.farrow-ball.com/patterns/wallpaper/fcp-category/sub?gclid=CLafi6z5k8kCFY-CaQodEQgJrA

Here is the door all finished!  All it took was a few hours, three coats and less than $15 dollars in paint and supplies! Not too shabby, if I say so myself!

Reason # 457,479

That I love Farmer J:

He makes us homemade cinnamon rolls with caramel sauce.  

Cow bell...no, goat bell

Ciaran and Padraig now have "antique" cowbells from Switzerland. I say antique, because we got them in an antique store after our fondue lunch last week. 

Now, we can find the ever escaping goat boys more easily, when they've "gone walk-about" (yes, I am quoting Crocodile Dundee!)

And, they just look so cute with their Swiss bells!

Ciaran is healing nicely, with all this beautiful weather and scratches from his human parents helping him along.

Knock on wood, but besides loosing a few chickens, we, and mainly I mean Farmer J, are doing pretty darn good keeping our ruminants, birds and bees happy and healthy.

Speaking of happy, this kitten is practically smiling!

Goat mail

Ciaran- you've got mail!

Our little black goat is healing nicely! Just this morning he and Padraig were butting heads and "playing", as wee goat boys do!

PIGS

Norwex

Thank you to Sue, Joyce, Meredith, Dixie, Jill and Sue for heading out in the blustery weather to learn more about Norwex!  

And more big Norwex news...Norwex is now in the UK and Ireland! 

Vacation

My day tomorrow...

three words:

Norwex

Vacation

Pigs

All better!

Now we just have to keep and eye out for infection!  

Off to the vets office

We are only minutes from the country vet clinic so we are headed in...two adults, two kids and one baby goat- all in the mini-van.

The vet said the wound isn't through to his abdomen, which is very good news for Ciaran. 

The only bad part of this trip is passing by the corn fields, recently harvested, that are being sprayed and injected with liquid manure! Nasty!

Pray for Ciaran

Our wee little black goat was attacked in our back yard by a country neighbor dog. The vet is on the way and we are getting ready!

I have a freshly baked cookie for the vet for coming out on a Sunday night!

All in one day...

Finn (this guy)

1.) refused to eat his ring worm treatment

2.) accidentally scratched me

3.) puked on the carpet

And then, for the grand finale...he ran up the ladder I was standing on while painting and knocked over 1/2 gallon of paint on the floor!

Yeah! Good times!

Pumpkin for breakfast...

...followed by a little brush from Farmer J!

Kitchen project coming along...

The ceiling and wall painting is so close to being done!

Color on ceiling, cabinet and walls is Swiss Coffee by Behr. 

Painting is even more "fun" when I'm fighting for ladder space with these two!

TV dream come true!

I've been dealing with my inoperable oven by watching the BBC series, "The Great British Bake Off"! Two of my favorite things in one show: baking and Britain!

Stateside, you can find episodes on PBS, Amazon Prime and YouTube!

Check out this entertaining, positive, interesting and overall, just lovely, series! 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b013pqnm

Addicted to sugar!

Yep! I am! I blame my sweet tooth on my Scandinavian heritage!

But, I'm trying to use more natural, less processed sweetners in our cooking and baking!

For example, Pickle REALLY wanted Cream of Wheat for part of his dinner. Why not? Our oven still doesn't work so another "breakfast for dinner" it is!

I told the boys they could pick maple syrup (100%- not Miss Aunt Jimima) or Mima's honey to add a little sweetness to their hot cereal!

They both picked maple syrup!

From my heart to yours boys!

Didn't this just happen...

Oh, look! All our sheep and goats are frolicking on our front yard!

I admit, today was beautiful and a great day to bust loose....but, I'm getting tired of sheep/goat round up on Wednesdays!

Guess what Farmer J will be doing tomorrow? Mending fences, anyone!?!

Fresh, crunchy hay, and some verbal praise from this shepherdess, and they were back in their pasture! Once it gets dark, the ruminates like to be cozy and near the barn! Thank goodness for daylight savings time.

This guy also soaked up some sun before the early sunset! 

Goals for 2016:

No escaping ruminants

No cats on the counter

Gotta dream big!