Happy Friday!
"Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable."
- Mary Oliver
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Happy weekend! It's been the quickest week around here, since the kids were off school on Monday for MLK Day followed by two more cancelled days due to cold, leaving just two days of school for them this week. Lucky ducks. Of course the extreme cold makes for so much more work for farmers, so the adults around here have had such a busy week. Since Jesse took a few extra hours insulating the barn before winter, we've (thankfully) been able to keep the water running. I mentioned the importance of water in a post this week, but cows (especially dairy cows) need A LOT of water and continual access to water is of vital importance. In our barn, each cow has access to a water cup, which is fed by a water line and fills as they drink. It seems the girls were drinking in perfect timing, as we've had barn temperatures just under freezing but flowing water! It's the little things on a farm, really. In fact, I've read a statistic that farmers are among the happiest people on earth, and I'm certain little joys like flowing water are to blame. Every day, we're faced with potential disaster on a farm, so anytime we walk into a peaceful barn it feels like a win! And just like the quote above, we have to keep room for the unimaginable--both good and bad, around here. So in that, we're faced with God's graces almost daily. A regular reminder that we aren't, in fact, in full control of our lives. I'd say that's a lot to do with happiness.
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In celebration of January's cold, we thought it a perfect time to bring back hot cocoa gelato. Though it's frozen, the milk chocolately flavor and finish of tiny marshmallows is the sweetest way to embrace these cold temperatures. And I wanted to bring back some chocolate to prepare you for what's ahead- Valentine's Day, of course! We're dreaming up quite the gelato menu for Valentine's Day, and I think you'll be pleased. In other gelato news, we've restocked our vanillla peanut butter swirl! It seems you all loved it as much as we did, so we refilled the freezer for. ya. And we restocked our strawberry and mixed berry yogurts, as well as plain yogurt this week. We're trialing a new container and I'd love your feedback!
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And one more thing: BEEF IS BACK! It's been a long time coming, but good beef takes time. Our beef is raised on pasture locally and even dry-aged for added flavor and better texture and it's ready! We have roasts, brisket, steaks (Delmonico, Ribeye, NY Strip, Sirloin, Skirt and Eye of Round), soup bones, beef short ribs, and so much ground beef! Our steaks are seriously so good: cut at at THICK 1.25in, they will easily feed two for a steak dinner better than a restaurant: trust me! We're so excited for you to try this beef, finally restocked (but it won't last long)!
January Farm Shoppe Hours:
Saturday 10am until 2pm
Sunday 1pm until 3 pm
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Links + finds from the week:
- All Creatures Great and Small, my new favorite show, a British drama that's sweet and fun enough for my whole family. It's hard to find something we can all sit down and watch on a Sunday or evening when we get the time, but this one is perfect.
- The perfect winter moisturizer stick, I use it year-round on all of us (baby, too)!
- The kids and I are starting a "Sunday cake" tradition (on the weekends I'm home), and it's getting 10/10 ratings thus far. We started with this staple.
- Even though it's hard sometimes, we all feel better after we force ourselves outside each day, even in the coldest temperatures!
- I finally grabbed sun-dried tomatoes to make this chicken crockpot dinner I've been seeing everywhere!
- Though it's not easy to stand strong against a teen and her phone, the results of phone-free time are staggering.
Have the best weekend!
We'll be at the farm shoppe both Saturday and Sunday and hope to see you, too.
Lisa