Bee~ Journal of then...

[Beekissed]

I haven't been able to be on here much lately - it is staying light later so by the time I get in the house it's past time to feed the kids, do the bedtime thing etc. . . But one of the first things I catch up on is your journal - I enjoy reading your stories.

Thanks! I didn't know so many of you folks read this ol' thing! Its really just a way to empty my head when I can, as things tend to pile up there.

I love reading about everyone else's SS life, as well. I haven't had time to get on here much, with all the time I'm spending at work and outside lately. I am going to have some major catching up to do.....the next rainy day without the boys at home, its me and this forum, baby!

Amos, I always felt it was the goats that you just squeeze without actually making the milking motion! Everyone is so different, and its more the better for it!

 

[justusnak]

Oh BEe, Im sorry....but I was laughing so hard reading your post on milking. I am SURE, that would have been me! We dont drink much milk either...so getting a milk cow would not make sence..but I like the "thought of it" However, right about now...I am likeing it through others experiences! LOL I hope you have a great weekend...with your guests...and I just know soon, you and Blossom will get a good routine going. One where no one gets "renamed"

 

[Beekissed]

Just, tomorrow I should have enough to make a little butter for my guests...... I hope! It seems funny to me now but I was having a real bad day.....I wish I could rewind it and watch it now so I could laugh my patootie off at the idiot I made of myself!

 

[Beekissed]

All the while, the woman is thinking, "I have to get to work, why in the h-e-double hockey sticks did God want me to have this blessed cow....I don't even drink milk!!!!!!!!!.....etc, etc." There were a lot of etc. in those thoughts, BTW!

I strained the milk into the pint jar that it didn't quite fill and sat down on the couch to cry.

The boys are sitting, frozen like rabbits, while the filth of frustration pours out of my gums......stress from work, my youngest getting ready to leave for basic training the next Monday, the garden not in the ground, getting company this weekend....all the feeling sorry for myself drivel that can spew from a hormonal woman's mouth.....you've heard it, girls...I don't need to explain further, as you have all been there!

Oh, Bee, what a story. I'm sure I would have been in the same boat as you. In fact, I also have company coming this weekend to stay all week. I've got so much to do to get ready and I'm so worried they are going to think my home STINKS with all the animals and their poo and the flies. *sigh*

Only God knows why he puts us on these paths, and we can only manage by trusting and relying on Him.

Have a great weekend!

Thank you, Becca! Words of comfort are wonderful to an aching ego! I'm having the same issues with the flies, not so much of the stink but the flies are of plague proportions around here! Erg! I'm trying to make things neat around here but with all the new animal projects going on and the place being run by teenage boys while I'm away....well, its not quite as pretty as it used to be.

 

[Farmfresh]

To get a book published just get some stuff on "paper". That is the first step.

We all want to read about what it was like growing up off grid and all Mother Earth News-ish. So tell the story.

After you get a little down on paper - we'll find you a publisher. You need a little for a teaser- then you negotiate for the book deal. I've not done this on a book scale, but I have done it when freelance writing. It is not as hard as you would think. All you need is talent (check) and a great story to tell (double check).

You CAN do it. I belonged to a writers group many years back and one woman who had SEVERAL books published had FAR less talent than you do. Publishers NEED new stories.

Now, about killing that little brown cow... Veal anyone?

 

[Beekissed]

Farm, I'll be counting on your publishing contacts to make my book dream come true! Heck, I'd kill Shade with my bare hands for that opportunity! Well..... I'll do that anyway unless she starts recognizing who buys the feed around here!

I know what you mean about the talent....I've read some books that I wonder about! How in the world.......

I've told my mother that I will be picking her brains about what started all that back to the land idea with her and Dad, anyway. Seems folks always like to hear about it....they find it quirky and somehow seem to believe that, the only people raised in a log cabin without running water or electricity, also sit on their porch and play banjo.....the dueling kind, if you know what I mean!

 

[2dream]

Bee a book would be a great idea. (Ummmm, didn't I say that months back). I will be ordering your first signed copy. (yes I will pay extra for it).

Do not rename your livestock while wild haired and hormonal - what a great chapter that will be.

 

[BeccaOH]

You know, you wouldn't need to start with a whole book right away. You could start writing articles (chapters) that you could sell to magazines like Mother Earth and such. Ever read Reminisce magazine? Tell stories about life off grid. Sell those first, then collect them into a book. You'd get yourself started with small goals that way, build a readership, and have those articles to show a publisher that you already have some publishing credit.

Memoirs can be hard to sell in most markets. Finding the right publisher for what you have would be the key. But in today's environment, it sounds like you have a story people would enjoy reading.

Go for it!

 

[Javamama]

Sounds like you will do better every day! I too understand the hormonal filth that sometimes spews...goes something like and everyone around is .
I saw on TV a few weeks back some guy was at a dairy farm in Switzerland and they tied the cow's tails up before milking so they wouldn't get manure flicked everywhere. In my coffee deprived mind, I remember something like a noose hung from the ceiling that they slipped the tail into. My DH grew up on a dairy farm, I'll have to ask him how they managed when they had to hand milk.

 

[lorihadams]

Hey Bee, you should time your next milking for when your company is showing up!!! They'd be in for a real good time!!!