Taking Pics for the Website and More Updates from #9 Farms and this Weekends Event

Hello and a big welcome. If you had noticed my flipflopsandpoptarts.com website was down for several days and OH MY GARSH what a MESS! None of it was simple Bruce and I both spent days on the phone everyone we talked with sending us from one provider to the next....from Google, to Icann, to all the providers of the website......finally there was this one guy named Brian and He IS a SHINING STAR! He and another assistant were able to fix the problem that more than 10+ people and hours on the phone couldn't do. So Bravo Brian! If you didn't see it down then no biggie you didn't miss anything...We went to the Smithfield Farmers Vendor Appreciation dinner last night and it was very nice, super awesome to see the other vendors and chit chat for a bit. See the numbers for the year which improved nicely from he year before at our motto of the year "steady as she goes" Everyone seemed to be doing well and we picked up our new applications for the 2020 year. The first market is one on March 14 which will also be the same day as the St. Patricks Day Parade. So get your green out and ready to see all our smiling faces at the March 14  Smithfield Farmers Market behind the BSV Bank on Main Street in Smithfield Virginia. Then Grand Opening day will be April 04, 2020 we will not be there that day as we have the Daffodil Festival in Gloucester Virginia. The times will be 9-12 Saturdays for the Smithfield Farmers Market. 

My neighbor brought over the Girl Scout cookie sheet and of course the boys wanted me to order one of each and some more than one of each.  We did Girl Scouts for 15 years and our troop took some amazing trips from selling cookies one year when Colby was born Alexis was one of the Councils top sales girls. I was even the Service Unit Cookie Chair for many years and the counties cookie cupboard too. So PLEASE do remember the girls this year when you are out and about or they come to your jobs, community centers etc. I have also been working on getting some of the other shows ready for the year. That is a job in itself for sure. Like when I make posts it takes days to get them done....I can only sit for so long for one I got to keep busy. Plus as you know so much work here. 

We were checking on all the bees yesterday midday and I pulled out one frame o honey just to see where they were in the middle of winter. Look at that beautiful sight. It looks so wonderful.....of course in the process I got a few fiends to land and help me with that frame. 

A video on some of our bees in the bee yard up by the high tunnel 

Yum Yum! The sweet taste of honey.........Love 

One of my handmade beeswax candles. Look at the bee getting ready to land on the beeswax candle. Note the white on the candle that is the beeswax "bloom" a note that its pure beeswax. 

The elderberry bushes are starting to bloom already yay! 

I love pouring my Buddha candle and it sells right regular, which in turn makes me so happy. 

So our market manager wants pics of everything we do and those of you who know me, know this is all the real deal....we make our soaps, we make our pickles, our jams, we make all our products except the essential oils...and I said to my customers I went that route before and there is no way I can do that. 

you can watch my video in my certified kitchen of the pickle making 

cinnamon pickles which are always a HUGE hit 

bread and butter 

The are the Polish Dills with yummy garlic 

Bread and butter out of the canners 

They are always so pretty and taste like candy oh so yummy

These are the owl soaps so when we are pouring we always have a tad bit more so instead of wasting which I am a firm believer of NOT wasting anything we pour it in these little adorable owl molds. 

Selling some of th bracelets I make at the market, I sit in the bed at night and set goals to what I need to get done that night. So if I say I am going to finish up five bracelets then that is what I do. 

 So when the soap comes out of the mold it s a 15 lb mold remind you and then we cut the large log not three five pound blocks then into bars.

A YouTube video of us cutting the soap and how we do it 

       

More soap drying on the racks.

Which I was also happy to receive the request from the Georgia Peanut Institute again this year yet another commission to make the peanut butter soap for them again, YAY!!! So happy to make it and makes me so HAPPY they asked me! #HappyDance 

So I worked and worked on the rest of the post and it didn't save it...oh wow I literally typed and typed for an hour...now to start over.......head hung low! 

Rats!!! Now I am finally back to the post its now Saturday...ok so like a week of working on this and still no post. 

Yesterday on Friday I made two jams the strawberry rhubarb and strawberry jalapeño as I had sold out and had to make more. As you know all the rhubarb comes from Wisconsin from my daughter Alexis, who has some in her yard and Garrett's grandma Charmaine has a lot in her yard that has some of the biggest leaves ever....it grows well up north however not so well here due to the extreme heat. 

Well I am back again and now it is Tuesday morning....yesterday was super busy we made our order deliveries in Suffolk but not any further as I had to take one of our dogs to her check up appt. in Greenbrier so we made two trips to Virginia and did the normal stuff here so it didn't leave us much time to parade around town with more orders. We have this show this weekend in Fayetteville North Carolina so that will be quite a ride. On Sunday I made Strawberry Pinot Noir Jam for the Valentine's Day Uncorked Event. 

Go HERE for the Link.  You will see the sponsors and vendors and look at some of those other folks we will be selling with. I am so excited.!!!! 

okay LOL now its Wednesday...it seems it is so hard for to actually finish somethings as I am always doing something other than sitting down. 

So every day and night I am cooking something so I shared how I cook all these yummy sweet potatoes and trust me it is so easy!! 

I have been hooked for awhile on the Instant Pot so much so I have THREE a 6qt. I got when they came out, then an 8qt. I watched and watched till it went on sale and I bought that one, then I thought well I cooked so much I could use that 3qt. and one day it was on an Amazon special so I got it. Bruce says all the time WOW these things are the greatest!! He used to say the Crock Pot was (and it still is) the greatest invention ever!!! LOL Now he keeps saying those Instant Pots are the best!! No objections there!! 

Here is the rice I cook in my Instant Pot and how it is so easy and like every night I cook rice...the boys love it and there are never any leftovers. 

Making rice in the Instant pot. 

Colten and Dusty have been having fires in the pit for a. while now, enjoying the evenings outdoors and one night Colten actually cooked some chicken and venison burgers on the fire. He overcooked them a bit but everyone still ate them.....

When Ledger goes to Target he is quite a shopper, it was warm that Sunday in Wisconsin despite al the snow on the ground.

for Christmas the boys received these awesome golf clubs with these adorable bags. Alexis said she found them at Target. What a great find!! These boys have played with their clubs and bags, and the balls. Everyday since they got them. Riggs even slept with his putter. Adorable! ledger laughed and laughed "you slept with your club" LOL 

That much warmer Sunday with snow on the ground. I would of still been frozen...lol. 

I was so GLAD to know that Punxsutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow so we are expecting an early spring! YES!! 

2020 so lets HOPE for early spring this year. 

This is where we will be the day after Valentine's Day ......<3 EXCITING!! If you go to this page you can see all the venue and sponsors and vendors. It is in Fayetteville NC so we are very much looking forward to this. We are so very thankful for Holley and Amanda for that they did to get us into this really big event!!! We will be selling our Mead there and we can't wait. You can see the post here of when we got our ABC License. Just look at the line of Vendors that will be there! 

Vendors

Thanks again for stopping by.....

HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND 

HUGS,  

DAWN 

Also Note I added in the current up to date shows as of now some further out I know we will be at but too early to list

On February 22, 2020 we will be at the Grassfield High School Spring Craft Show in Chesapeake Virginia 

Our following show after that will be the Smithfield Farmers for the Shamrock Parade on March 14,  2020 which we are super excited to see everyone!!!!!!! 

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A BIG Weekend Ahead of Us Lots of Pics

Hello and welcome it has already been a busy morning, I came into to drink my coffee and as always wanted to make a blog post......but honestly I have no time as I have so much to do today...as tomorrow I have to set up for the Gloucester Daffodil Festival which is a HUGE event and so well put on, a lot to do for everyone....food, crafts, art, games, learning......the list is endless not to mention BEAUTIFUL....the flowers speak for themselves. You can see some of my pics from last year HERE 

if you can make it out to the festival it is well worth it we are excited. 

The pic above is just the cutest.....Hippy and Miracle riding in the John Deere Gator to the pasture....they used to run right behind me or whomever was taking them but now they have discovered FRESH DEWEY SWEET GRASS awwww so yummy and tasty they just can't help themselves. They were riding up front but Bruce decided to put them in the back and away they went just perfectly fine. Hippy and Miracle were two born recently of seven right now that the moms rejected....you never know why but it happens. One of the kids she kept but Hippy she said no way....so he has been bottle fed since birth and he is doing just fine, we called him Hippy as he had this little tiny hip area which now is not a thing probably how he laid in utero. Miracle born to another doe we call her Peanut she rejected her....well I literally spent three days making her eat and Bruce told me.....she will be a Miracle if she makes it....I never gave up.....and now look.... an adorable little girl goat named Miracle with a heart of gold and runs to us the minute you call her name. Runs as fast as she can. 

Riding away now "momma stay behind us jic" 

Peach habanero jam I made yesterday along with regular peach jam so I will have lots of that this weekend 

Peach Habanero Jam 

This is a queen cell that the queen larvae is inside you can see it I also made a video for you to be able to hear the bees and see them flying around 

 bee larvae 

more pics of the bees look at those worker bees go 

THIS WEEKEND FROM 9-3 at Hickory High School Colby and I will be there along with many many other vendors It is a great show with a tremendous amount of wonderful things to buy....and a lot of my art buddies will be there with their goodies 

This is this Saturday and Sunday Bruce and Colten will be here you can see more of my pics from last year HERE  or go to their site for more info 

Of course I got ya covered with pickles 

Pickles from #9 Farms 

More pickles 

These are the habanero pickles 

I will have eggs too 

These are some of the eggs I collected one afternoon in my new basket from my friend Aylene.....THANK YOU Aylene its perfect 

strawberry jam in my 15qt. copper pot 

strawberry jam 

strawberry jam you can see more pics here of strawberries at #9 Farms 

Every week we meal plan with the help of Colby as he sets what the "boys" want to eat...and of course spaghetti around here is a huge favorite. 

This was my meal chickpea pasta, Tuscan spicy tomato sauce and Tuscan organic kale ......can I get a totally to the MAX YUM Factor .....FABULOUS 

Me making jam on my new gas stove which is like a REALLY BIG DEAL HERE as I have wanted this gas stove my whole married life and finally its is production....have not baked in it yet but that's coming 

You can see how awesome it is it was very expensive and HEAVY to put in but so worth it!! 

I am so VERY VERY VERY HAPPY to have it and my sweet apron from my granddaughters Samantha, Dakota, and Clarrisa 

Some of the plants from the greenhouse this is the pumpkin on a stick which is actually an eggplant 

more pics of the greenhouse I have a video on all my plants 

some of my pepper plants all grown from seeds 

the tomato plants all grown from seeds 

wanted to share my new hat my friend Angela Cartwright she comes to a lot of the shows I am at.   She knits amazing works of art makes her own patterns and everything. This is my new shirt handmade by Stitches by Julia on Etsy. I can't wait to wear this Saturday to show Angela.....she walked over and handed it to me and said this is for you. I LOVE IT! Its adorable in the new spring colors coral and so very soft. The shirt is amazing too...keeps me warm. 

HOPE you guys have a great week, and weekend and if your in the area stop by the shows....Hickory High School and/or Daffodil Festival. 

Dawn Gallop 

#HAPPY SPRING 

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