Pam's Perusal

Hey y’all! Yes, I know you’re all livid with me for not keeping in touch…but I promise I’ve been really busy! Actually, I can’t gab right now either (I have to go make bread and do yoga RIGHT NOW,) but I thought I’d put the following article in the blog for your reading enjoyment (hopefully!) Let me know what you think! Don’t forget, we have comments disabled now because we were receiving downright obscene garbage; but we do so want to hear from you, so go to our “contact us” page and send us a message!

Simple Original Skincare
by Pam Custer

We humans only get one cloak of skin, and your skin is the visual representation of yourself that is presented to the whole world. These two obvious facts are the very reasons that skincare is such an important issue! When most people think of skincare, they automatically assume that the topic refers to which products to use for a skincare regime. Then, one must question “Should I use synthetic or natural products,?” and, of course, “Which type of skin do I have?” These are questions that must be answered before you can even begin to contemplate a regular skincare program, but there is a much more foundational principle to having great skin! This fundamental truth is that your skin is just another one of your body’s organs that must be properly cared for to look its best and function at its peak.
Healthy, glowing skin can be possessed by any man or woman of any age! Armed with a little knowledge, you can take action that will ensure that your skin looks its very best for many years to come! At the most basic level, your skin is your body’s largest organ of elimination. What this means in practical terms is that the more junk your skin has to eliminate, the more it has to work. Don’t you feel and function better when you’re well-rested as opposed to when you have had a hard day’s work? Well, your skin is no different; the less it has to work, the better. In addition, lots of the things your skin must deal with on a daily basis are substances that can clog or distress its many pores, causing visible irritation in the form of rashes or breakouts. So, the idea is to ease the burden on your skin…lighten its work-load, if you will.
Two of the most effective ways to assure that your skin is not unnecessarily oppressed are to limit your exposure to bodily toxins (external and internal) and to maintain a healthy diet. Clearly, your skin can be bothered by toxic substances that come in direct contact with it; but, do realize that toxins that we ingest in food, drink, and air can also have a detrimental effect on the health of your skin (in addition to other body systems.) The next matter to consider is that of diet. Years of experience and experimentation have proven that good nutrition is an integral part of vibrant health…your health as a whole, which, of course, includes the health of your skin. Hence, a sound, consistent program of wholesome, nutritious fare is a necessary part of a good skincare regime.
So you see, the good news is that the rudimentary elements of having great skin are not only simple, but they are, for the most part, within your control. Before spending any of your hard-earned dollars on skincare products that may or may not work, act on these simple, essential principles and revel in the difference they make in your complexion!

As usual, I don’t have long to write, but I just wanted to tell you all “hey!” We have so much going on…you should see all the wonderful goodies that Kayla and I have canned lately - strawberry preserves (two different recipes,) peaches, peach preserves, spiced peach jam, hot peppers, pickles, and green beans. With the extra peaches, Kayla also made popsicles and fruit leather. Praise the Lord, the garden is doing very well! (The strawberries and peaches were purchased elsewhere.)
Our farm seems to ATTRACT animals…one day last week, Titus and Philip were out riding their new miniature horses, and they came home with an extra! An animal that looks like a cross between a mini horse and a donkey followed them home. (I’m calling it a miniature mule!) We have tried in vain to locate its owner…Of course, I think it’s adorable, and I hope it just stays here! I have visions of training it to pull a cart…
Then, Fiona (my dog) tried to catch a baby rabbit, but Dave rescued it…so it now resides in our kitchen and goes by the name of Peter (Rabbit.) It is SO cute and will soon be released far away from Fiona!
Last Thursday and Friday, we put our first round of chickens in the freezer - not a pleasant job, but well worth the effort! We’ve been out of chicken for a while (we don’t do store-bought,) so we are extremely happy to have some now! We have our own feed recipe mixed for these birds, they are rotated to fresh pasture twice a day, and they live a wonderful happy life until they fulfil their purpose. This great care makes for really good food…and I know good food!

The last several days have been so busy and full…I am always thinking about writing to let all of you know what we are up to, but I never can find the time! That’s good, though, because it means that we’re being productive!
I did get the lemon ice cream made…and it was very tasty. But, even Brian (who DETESTS sour things,) said that it could use twice as much lemon juice! We just didn’t get the full lemon punch that we had expected. Oh well, we’ll just have to eat lemon ice cream again soon!
We also got more garden stuff in, and we drove over two hours east to get some new pigs! I have a thing about raising Tamworths (they’re a heritage breed from England,) and they are not widely available. In addition to getting two “feeder pigs,” we went ahead and bought a male and two females to start our own Tamworth breeding program!
This week has been just as busy. Yesterday, we had an “errand day.” We spent all day roaming all over the countryside and got some important errands taken care of; that is always exhausting for all of us! This morning, while the rest of the family moved all the animals to fresh paddocks, I got two batches of sour cream making and started some cream cheese. Then, I cooked up a new recipe for chocolate pudding, which we enjoyed later with lots of fresh whipped cream (of course!) While it rained all afternoon, we played Scrabble and Phase 10!
I put supper together and, then while Kayla milked, I made some brownies to eat with yet more ice cream (vanilla this time!) Kayla says to let you know that we have ordered a new ice cream maker. (Our old one is dying from sheer exhaustion! I don’t think it’s a commercial model; it simply can’t keep up with our ice cream habit!) The new freezer will have a hand crank AND an electric motor (just in case!) You can expect to hear about those adventures soon!

Well, one set of grandparents (Brian’s dad and step-mom) came to visit this week. That was the first of our family to see our new home in Kentucky. We had a wonderful visit; the dreary weather just made the coffee and conversation that much more cozy! As usual, Kayla outdid herself preparing food for our company, but I’ll let her tell you more about that…we are always “stealing” each other’s news!
Speaking of food (!,) I made two gallons of yogurt this past week. It turned out SO good. It is very thick and yummy, and is one of those foods that make me happy…well, OK, lots of foods make me happy! But, I am always glad to produce a really good-tasting food that is really healthy. The probiotics in yogurt are supposed to be so good for you, and my yogurt has all the added benefits of the RAW milk because I don’t heat the milk above 110 degrees. Of course, we have the assurance of knowing exactly what the cow ate and how she lives…does it get any better?
While I’m on dairy…we have so been enjoying all the wonderful foods that we have because of our milk cow! We have recently weaned Minnie’s 6-month-old calf, so we are getting about four gallons of milk a day! What that means (besides lots of milk) is plenty of butter and cream; cheese and whipped cream; yogurt, pudding, and ice cream! All this is, of course, in addition to the milk that I use for soapmaking. The family milk cow is an incredible part of God’s creation for which we all should be truly thankful!
That’s all the time I have for now…but I’ll leave you with the idea of LEMON ice cream. That’s what I want to make next…I’m not really into citrus, but that sounds like it will be so good (like lemonade on a hot afternoon!) I’ll let you know!

A cold rainy Sunday afternoon…the perfect time to pour another cup of coffee (half caff) and blog!
This past Friday, we started our day by going to the home of a lady that had advertised some furniture on the radio. (We are in the market for furnishings for our KY house.) She had a wonderful pine bench that now lives at our place! It turns out she just moved here from GA, just about 30 minutes from our GA home! We really enjoyed talking to her; it seems that we have a lot in common! But, what I really must tell you about is her CATS! Now, I have always considered myself a “dog person,” but I have NEVER seen cats like these. Donna raises and shows Oriental Short-Hair Cats, and they are perfectly exquisite! They are beautiful (tall, slim, slinky, and graceful,) and their personalities are equally incredible - friendly and playful…just adorable! At any rate, I was completely smitten, and I sincerely hope that there is an Oriental SH in my future!
Later that day, we attended a “Farm, Home, and Garden Expo” here in Columbia (KY.) It was a great source of info and was an interesting way to meet a good number of the locals. There were helpful booths from area businesses, lots of friendly people, and even a free meal at suppertime!
That evening, we scouted out a music “jam” that we had heard about at the local music store. (Brian and Kayla feel it is an absolute necessity to visit a music store in every town that we are ever in!) We met more locals and played and sang with them for a while…
It was an interesting experience, but we all left smelling like we had worked as chimney sweeps for a week…it seems that an obscene amount of people in Kentucky smoke!
All in all, we had a full, fun day; it was especially nice because we had decided that we would take the day off from working at our place. The weather was ratty and rainy, but we spent all day inside at some place or the other, so that didn’t much matter! Of course, for me, the highlight of the day was meeting Donna and her impressive cats! (You can scope out these cats online, but websites don’t do them justice…you simply must meet one in person!)