The bed and breakfast house was built in 1981 and the cabinets reflected the times. They were hand constructed, and the craftsmanship was very excellent, however; the wood was plywood with oak veneer. This kitchen was also one of the poorest laid out kitchens I have ever seen. The homeowners planned the house and built it themselves and shouldn't have. They were also left handed. 

My first preference would have been to relocate the uppers to the opposite wall, where there were no cabinets at all and put the fridge in the left corner to the left of the sink and change the range to a gas drop in on an island in the centre with seating on the side where the fridge and stove are now located. There was just enough room to do that renovation in this kitchen and I had planned it carefully, but it was too expensive. So, the next best was to give the kitchen a facelift. I had considered painting the oak cabinets green, but decided to go ahead and antique them instead. It is a long and paintstaking process to do that. 

The doors had to be removed, cleaned, lightly sanded and undercoated with white first. They got two coats of white latex. Then they were stained with an oil stain. Now, oil stain over latex does odd things , and unless one is familiar with the process, it is best left alone. I have done that before on several occasions. One of my careers, my favourite one, was an interior designer, and although I did not do this type of faux painting for clients, I learned how to so I could give them advice or instruct the painters properly. So, the oil stain was applied and then in spots, a second coat was applied. Then there is a very long wait for the doors and cupboards to dry, especially right then, since our weather was wet and rainy, wouldn't you know it. 

The walls were a beautiful red before, which complemented the oak that had quite an orange tinge to it. Now they are a light celery green, painted with Bioshield organic clay paint. The double sink is new as is the faucet and the rest is as it was, except for the two windows, which were replaced due to condensation warping the wood when the house flooded last February. The blinds are also new and are the type that have no cords and are simply pulled down or gently pushed up. I will be making some rustic burlap and fabric curtains too. 

The kitchen features a hand wash station and three sinks, all required for a commercial license. Now, I can bake and cook and package goods for sale there, as well as run the bed and breakfast, now Moose Hills Inn, a full facility little establishment. I hope you like the kitchen results! Come and stay a while next time you are in town. Love to have you!

Jade is a purebred Maremma, albeit a small one. She and her sister, Jenna, came to the farm at what was supposed to be 8 weeks old. They were scrawny and scared of everything and everyone, especially sheep. Sheep? They were supposed to be livestock guardian dogs, who lived with the sheep and kept predators away. Not a chance! 

When they were taken to the vet's for their checkup and health assessment, I was told they were 3 months at least and Jade was pregnant, so likely even 4 months. They were not fed so they pulled wool from the sheep and ate that for a little bulk and scarfed down whatever grain they could before being knocked away by  a ewe. Jade had a broken hip likely from being kicked, but it was too late to fix and would always bother her a little, especially in the cold when she was old. She was terrified of a man wearing a hat and so was Jenna. 

Jade was a sneaky little girl, never coming out exactly and taking what she wanted, but kind of sneaking it and running. She has not outgrown that. For a while she was eating eggs and then I managed to stop that and she seemed to leave them alone. Now she has started again. She goes into the coop and sneaks them out of the egg box, one at a time, then runs to a hiding spot away from prying eyes of other dogs and me, to break the egg open and eat it. 

I recently changed the toilet seat in my house and had the old one hanging around. It is the right size opening for a chicken, but not for a Jade. She cannot go into the chicken coop anymore, but the chickens can pass freely. Perfect. I screwed it in place and created a barrier, outsmarting that smart pup! For now anyhow. When spring comes, the ducks and chickens lay eggs everywhere and anywhere on the farm, just not usually in the egg boxes. We shall see how that will work out then, but for now, Jade is no longer able to get the eggs. Ta da!

There are billion things that could go wrong with life, from conception to death. Few are perfect human beings or life forms, if any. We are only just beginning to have some understanding of the plant and animal intelligence. For example, one Korean elephant, who lives chained in a tiny (for an elephant) enclosure, has learned to mimic actual words of his "keeper". He has the ability and as it turns out, elephants can communicate long distances in a very low level of sound, beneath that of most human hearing. How many other species are talking to each other, but we are simply not aware? I want to go let that Korean elephant out of his prison and return him to a group of friends in a place where he can call home. 

My daughter is studying to become a midwife. Babies are miracles, endlessly beautiful and most times, they are perfect. Sometimes, though, there are real problems that are horrific. Deformities, tumours, obtusions, oh the list can go on, do happen,  and each parent is hopeful that their child will be perfect and grow to be a contributing member of society one day. We all want to be normal, and have normal children. Elephants want to live normal lives doing what elephants do. Sometimes man is so cruel, keeping captive such an intelligent beautiful creature for what reason? 

But how normal do we have to be to fit that description? As a farmer, I see little ones born and hatched that do not quite fit the description of perfect. Are they to be let die on their own, or to be quietly dispatched, killed or as some term it, put down? When it comes to human children, when do we make that decision? If a baby is born so different that it has no chance for a normal life, what do the parents do? Hope for a cure or a treatment or a miracle? 

As it happens at this moment, I am so grateful that I appear normal, or relatively so, to others. I am not though. I have  deformed spine, very crooked, in an S shape, called a scoliosis. It causes me constant pain and is worsening as the forces of gravity pull down on it and the aging body can no longer fight the compression. Although the deformity is not terribly obvious, in certain positions, it is clearly so. Over the years I have learned not to be in those positions, not to let others see the mistake of nature and certainly not to succumb to the pain and suffering it causes. I try to be normal. What does living in chronic pain do to a person though? 

Well, I guess it is like everything else. One can wallow in self pity, use the problem as an excuse not to function at one's optimal level, or resort to drugs and alcohol or a combination of both to relieve pain and drown sorrows. Or, one can grasp the reality that it is what it is, it cannot be changed and in order to get through life, one must do the best one can in all respects. Physical limitations aside, one must try to compete with those who are more perfect and complete and whole and be as normal and 'well' as can be. So I do. And I have. And I plan to continue to do so too. 

If you see me, if you ever meet me, I am trusting that you would never guess I am broken, that my body has defied me, that my pain is a companion I can never be without and that I would be at least 3 if not 5 inches taller if I was OK. I want to be that person that looks and acts normal. I want to be whole and happy, just as we all do. The elephant in chains wants to communicate to his keeper in his own language because he can and because the keeper makes no effort to speak elephant, but the elephant needs companionship and acceptance for whom he is. We all do. 

So, the Fat Ewe Farmer has a secret, or had. I am currently 62 and take no medications at all, not even aspirin for a head ache, 99% of the time. There are those times when I cannot function and must be konked out with narcotics because the pain makes being alive and normal impossible, but fortunately, that only happens once in a year or two. Keeping physically active, taxing my body with the exertion of farming, eating what I grow and produce, and staying healthy will serve me in good stead. Hopefully I can grow old and keep my mind and body in decent shape so I am not a burden to anyone at all. When I hear folks say they cannot do something because, I want to tell them they can, and not to give in or give up. Keep going, one foot in front of the other, two steps forward and one backwards sometimes, but keep going. So says the farmer from the Fat Ewe. And that is as normal as I am going to be, but at least I am remaining positive and happy. That counts too. How about you?

I was getting a truck insured yesterday and the lovely lady there helping me was inquiring about essential oils for dogs. Her dog went missing during some fireworks a while back and she called me to see if I had found him, but I had not. I did not realize it was she who called until our conversation. 

It seems her family member is part of the marketing group of Young Living Oils and treated her dog with a mix of essential oils in a neutral pharmaceutical base cream. I flatly told her that dogs should not be indiscriminitely treated with essential oils. Their sense of smell is a hundred times more potent than ours and while essential oils are powerful medicines, the use of them for pets or children (who pound for pound breathe in a much higher concentration of the oils than adults do) should be strictly limited unless under the care of a registered or experienced aromatherapist and that does not include the propoganda sellers of multilevel marketing companies. There are some dangerous practices going on out there, sanctioned by those who have no clue what they are doing. One of them is using the essential oils as a supplement taken internally for health. Another is using the essential oils on the bare skin neat, not diluted at all. 

Then there are those who think they know. The all natural soap makers are one of those groups. They indiscrimitely use essential oils as fragrances. There are quite a few different methods of making soap, but the two most popular are cold process and hot process. In cold process soap, the essential oils are added once the lye and oils have combined to make an emulsion and in hot process, they are added after cooking the soap, rendering the lye used at that time. The problem with cold process and essential oils is that large quantities must be added in order to keep the scent in the soap and with hot process, there is evaporation of some of the volatile compounds in the oils. Both require more essential oils, but even so, over time, some of the delicate oils will lose their scents. The soap makers themselves can experience nose fatigue, or the inability to smell the essential oils from over exposure. And dwelling in a home where there are too many essential oils evaporating from soap is also unhealthy and can cause health issues, from severe headaches, breathing problems, anxiety, and much more. 

And there is another more major issue. Combining essential oils because they smell nice together is not always the solution to creating fragrances. There are synergies in the combinations, some which should not be used together. That practice demonstrates a lack of knowledge of what essential oils do and what their purpose actually is. Although generally not a dangerous thing to do, it is expensive and does not serve the plants well. Wild harvested plants are going to suffer the same problems as palm trees and are already in danger of over harvesting in many area. Sandalwood and frankincense are two examples of this. 

The practice of using essential oils at random to scent houses and other dwellings should be banned, especially in public places where children are. It irks me to no end when I read that the diffuser is running all day and half the night to make the house smell nice. Only a little research will clearly demonstrate that it is never recommended to randomly diffuse essential oils continuously or indiscriminitely mix them or expose sensitive individuals, pets or children to the oils. Some should never be used around children or pets, yet those diffusers are on and blasting out the strong scent all day long. 

The problems are only just beginning with the awareness of essential oils moving further into areas where they were previously unknown. I urge those who are curious and unschooled to learn all they can before delving into the use of these precious plant gifts. In my apothecary there are many many essential oils, yet I rarely diffuse them, except for explicit purposes and do not randomly use them to scent soap or lotions. I have a respect for the plants taken to create the oils and care about the species welfare. These commodities are gifts from nature, not to be carelessly employed at whim. It is only going to get worse too, as the promotion of naturally scented products seems to be a growing sector, yet the creators of such do not have the knowlege or skills to be using essential oils properly. How sad for all of us and especially for the plants that may go the way of the palm tree. Please, please do educate yourself if you plan to use essential oils. To everything there is a purpose under Heaven and these presents are not to be squandered randomly. Be wise. Be intelligent and protect yourself, your children, your pets, the elderly, those with compromised systems and above all, the plants and trees that offer their substance for our healing. Thank you. 

The floors were mopped, the toilets scrubbed, the dusting done and the vacuuming meticulously carried out. There are always a few last minute things that will need doing. I need to pick up two bottle of water for the dispenser. There is now a reverse osmosis tap on both floors, but people still love chilled bottle water. The cooler also has a mini fridge at the lower half, so honour system drinks will be kept there. 

A few changes will be done with the registrations as well. Upon entering the facility, the guests will have to register, even though they have provided a credit card to secure the room. There is some legal stuff they need to agree to, now that we are a full facility with a class 3 license. That allows all meals to be prepared, plus catering. The kitchen is under restaurant rules too, meaning that guests are not permitted in the kitchen at all. I have already been asked about renting the whole house, which is possible, however; does not include the kitchen. The reason for that is because there is food stored there and it is from government inspected sources and needs to be free of possible contamination. The kitchen is to be kept locked except when occupied. 

The signs will go up tomorrow. Alberta Bed and Breakfast has been a good source of customers and we will be on that site again, plus a few more. I am still debating about Air B n B, which seems to be where everyone is shopping these days. We are not really a vacation destination though, so maybe not. 

The Inn can sleep up to 8 guests. There is an infrared treatment room as well, plus a choice of oil annointing. That service is for guests only. Meals are currently for guests only too. It is a hard decision when the locals are always asking me if they can book dinner for two. That may come in the future, but for now, we will see how it goes. 

Tomorrow is the official photo session and then the website will be launched officially. It is mostly done, just not online. 

I absolutely love doing the bed and breakfast. It is my heart to be a servant I guess. I love to provide the best for my guests and treat them to authentic gourmet meals and special treats. The camaraderie shared between us, if amenable with the guests, is wonderful. They share some of their life stories and I share some of mine. They are such fascinating individuals! They make the work all pleasure. 

So tomorrow is the official day. Yahoo!  Wish us well!