This year, it's breakfast foods.

Several years back I got really frustrated with my kids because they all guessed every one of their presents under the tree. It took all of the fun out of it for me. I love the giving and anticipation of gifts. I was whining  having a spirited discussion about the problem with my niece, Shirley. She asked me why I didn't just not put their names on the gifts. "Okay, well I have five kids," I said sarcastically, "how in the world am I going to know which gift goes to who if I don't put their names on them?" Duh, Shirls. This is where my lack of imagination shows and hers shines. She suggested that I think of a theme and use those names. It was brilliant. I think that first year I used colors, the next year was mens names like, George, Fred, Pete, ect. One year was kinds of trees, another it was types of beans, another it was random numbers. This year it is breakfast foods. I think I was hungry for breakfast when I started wrapping the first of the gifts. We have Toast, Bacon, Eggs, Hashbrowns and Pancakes. When we have guests over that don't know about our tradition they always notice that we have weird names on the gifts and look at me like I am loopy. I suppose they could be right about that. Our tradition has become a lot of fun for me. Every year I listen to the kids guess who they think they are. They always try and apply logic to it, which cracks me up because it is totally random. For example, the color year; "Well I think I am blue because mom knows how much I love the color blue." The mens name year; "I think I am Pete because I used to have a canary named Petrie and they both start with the letter P." I get a ton of joy out of listening to these conversations. We also added to this tradition by having everyone write down their guesses and on Christmas Eve I reveal the person who is closest to having them all correct and they get to open the first gift. What are your unique family traditions?

Galloping Goats Farm: Help, I think I am having a mid-life crisis!

Galloping Goats Farm: Help, I think I am having a mid-life crisis!

Help, I think I am having a mid-life crisis!

For the past 6 or 8 months I have been feeling like I am on the verge of big change. I have been watching for it around every corner and I warned my husband that I felt it is coming. I found it! I had an epiphany; I am tired of raising goats! I know it's shocking. I have been raising goats for ten years. I have enjoyed almost every bit of it, even the bit that involves people calling me "the goat lady". Okay, that's not true; that part secretly bugs me. I still picture "the goat lady" as an unkempt, frumpy woman wearing dirty sweats, rubber boots and matching knitted beany in public. Why now? I have no idea. My soap business is pulling a profit for the first time since I began six years ago. It's harder to make a profit in soap when you are buying feed and everything else that goats need. Hmmmn, is the challenge gone? I don't think that's it, but it could be. That is sort of my nature; to always need to challenge myself. I turned 44 last week (maybe that's it) and I put my herd up for sale. I told a few people ahead of that but I am sure it is surprising to many folks. Don't panic, I will still be making soap. I have some fun new ideas in the works that I will tell you about as they become more of a reality. I will also still be making some goat milk soap. I am no dummy; I gave my two favorite goats and a bunch of equipment to my niece, who is also my friend....my really, really good friend (who may be reading this). So folks, be watching for big changes here at Galloping Goats Farm. There will be a name change for starters. I'm not ready to reveal it quite yet but I think you will like it.

"...Instead, I was a painter, and I became Picasso"

‎"My mother said to me, "If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope." Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso." Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)

What a great quote; I want to become a Picasso. Picasso is estimated to have created 13,500 paintings including designs. His engravings number 100,000 and he produced 34,000 book illustrations. His creations in sculpture and ceramics are 300.

I love art and recently had the opportunity to go on a field trip to the Seattle Art Museum with my #1 daughter's college painting class to see the Picasso exhibit.
 
 We had such a good time. We stopped first at the Asian Art Museum. I have to admit that my favorite part of this exhibit was outside at the koi fish ponds.

I had no idea how neat koi fish really are. As we stood by the edge of the pond admiring the architecture and the beautiful fall foliage the fish apparently saw us and gathered in front of where we stood. Even though I know that logically speaking they were waiting for food, it seemed that they were saying hello. Their sheer size of nearly two feet long was enough to impress us, not to mention their color. I never put much thought into the fact that the fish can see us standing above the water. What do they think, if anything? A fun question to ponder....

 We got back on the bus and headed to the Seattle Art Museum or SAM for short. I had never been and was excited to get to spend five hours there. We toured through the crowded Picasso exhibit, taking our time and admiring his great works. I rather liked his early works better than his later works. It seems the older he got, the stranger his paintings were. We were not allowed to photograph any part of the exhibit but here is a link to my favorite from the SAM website.

Two women running on the beach (The Race), summer 1922

http://www.picassoinseattle.org/art.html#7

I also learned that Picasso gave away quite a few of his works to friends and to his mistress but he never signed any work unless it was to be sold. Maybe it was his way of preventing his friends from the temptation of what he viewed as a personal betrayal.

My daughter and I meandered through the exhibits one by one, enjoying the art and each other's company.

Here are some:

This painting in the Renaissance Room had really nice color but I was really interested in the frame as much as the canvas. Framing is an art in and of itself and there was a lot of detail put into many of the frames of the works that we saw. I found myself studying the frames almost more than the art.

 This piece appeared to be made entirely from dog tags. It was even more impressive up close but the aerial view gives a better impression of the sheer size of it.

 Daughter and I both really liked this piece. Who hasn't felt like there is big black rat sitting on their chest at one time or another in their lives? The subject appears to be in a peaceful sleep. Appearances can be deceiving.

 This is the Porcelain Room. The size and volume are impressive and it was enjoyable to go through, though we did so rather quickly. It was pretty but not my cup of tea really.

 This is a close up of one of the pieces in The Porcelain Room.

 This room in the contemporary art area was both of our favorites. I really wanted to share the name of the artist but I seem to have misplaced the card I brought home about them. When I find it I will have to edit it in. These pieces oozed both simplicity and complexity. It is hard to tell from the first picture but each piece had a three dimensional element to it.
* I found it! Cris Brodahl.

Here is a link to some more of her works.

 We finished up at SAM as it was starting to get dark outside. We decided to start walking back to the convention center where we were to meet up with the rest of the class. We were an hour and a half early but we were tired and didn't really want to walk back in the dark on the streets of downtown Seattle. We found a quiet place with some comfortable chairs and a big window overlooking the street. As we rested we did some people watching, which is always fun. The light coming up from the street through the rain was creating some nice light so I snapped these pictures of my #1. It was a great day.

Giveaway!

Look who is doing a giveaway of my products! If you don't already read her blog, give it a whirl. I really enjoy reading Scribbet and asked Michelle if she would like to try my products. You all are welcome to enter as well. Have a lovely day!

New Products

I had so much fun making these new products I had to share them with you. I love it when I get to be creative with my soaps. It takes a lot more time but it is so much fun that it's worth the extra effort. Check it out.

This is a batch of watermelon soap that smells just like a juicy, ripe watermelon. My kids say that it smells like a jolly rancher candy. I had to make 3 separate batches of soap to achieve the look of the rind and seeds but it was well worth it. On some of the bars my "rind" wasn't set up as well as I thought so it moved a bit on me but the over-all effect is still great.

While this Lavender & Mint soap isn't a new fragrance for me it is one of my favorites and it turned out perfect this time.

This is a new fragrance for my line, Grapefruit. I swear it smells so good I wanted to drink the fragrance right out of the bottle. This was 3 separate batches to achive this effect but I think it looks really cool.

I am calling this one Girly Girl Soap to go along with my Manly Man Soap. It is a fragrance "type" of Philosophy's Amazing Grace. What a scent! I am in love with it! I colored it with a pink and purple swirl effect that makes it look as ultra feminine as it smells.

Last but not least, Lavender & Mint Lip Balm. We have Lavender Festival coming up really soon in Sequim. It is pretty big festival with farm tours and a big street fair. Our farmers market is open during it and we get a lot of the overflow foot traffic. I was brainstorming on something new I could make when I thought about Lavender Lip balm. Believe me, at the festival you find a lot stranger things that this. Lavender is actually a very nice tasting flavor but I thought since I love my Lavender & Mint Soap so much, why not a Lavender & Mint Lip Balm. I tried it, I liked it!

Market Dogs

It seems that the popular thing to do these days is to bring your dog to any public outing that you go to. I am not sure how this trend started. I have hypothesized that it may possibly be due to the busyness of people today. Maybe people are so busy working that they feel that they need to spend more of their off time with their dogs; you know the way people used to feel about their families? I could be totally off base. A friend said that he thinks people take their dogs everywhere to get attention. This may be true for some, maybe not for others. Regardless of why it is happening, I get to see all kinds of dogs at the Sequim Open Aire Market, which is where I spend my Saturdays, peddling my goat milk soaps and other skin care products that I make here on the farm. One thing is certain, if business gets slow there is no shortage of entertainment. So I started taking pictures of dogs that I find interesting for one reason or another and think it is time to share a few here. So, here we go:

                                                                 Long, Hairy Dog

Dog That Walks Himself

3 Legged Dog (who wouldn't look at me)

Smiling Dog

(pictures doesn't quite show how smily he was)

Dog In A Pouch

Dogs Being Strolled

(yappy buggers)

Dog Greeting Party

Dog In Costume

(she has an eye condition)

Dog Carrying Favorite Toy

Dog That Needs Two Pictures

This one was sent by a friend from another market and needs a title. Suggest one in the comment section.

Strange Dog

Huge Slobbery Dog

Just seeing if you are still paying attention

This is Maude

Hair Dog

As the summer market season wears on I am sure I will see more great dogs and I will be sure to snap a few photos to share with you.

Soap Art

I have been taking some pictures of my soaps and having some fun with editing tools. Just for fun:

This Is My Story And I'm Stickin To It

In my last post I talked about the newspaper reporter asking me about my hopes and dreams. Well, the paper finally published my story in last Sunday's paper. It was perfect timing too; I had been selling at a four day outdoor festival that I have never done before. The weather was terrible; rainy, windy, and cold. Not the kind of weather that makes people want to come outside and do any shopping. As I said, the story came out on Sunday and boy did my business pick up. I made half my money on Sunday alone. While thinking about why this occurred I realized that people just want to make a connection. I could have placed an ad, but I bet it would not have gotten me the same results. I love to think about what makes people tick and as I do more marketing and markets, I have come to realize that people just want to know you, or at least feel like they do. In my case, what you see is what you get. I don't mind people knowing me so I answer questions openly; I tell my story whenever someone wants to know it. I think in the world today people want honesty, and that is one thing that I am good at. So here is my story and I am stickin to it:

PENINSULA WOMAN: Woman creates own brand of goat soap

Cover photo by Chris Tucker / Design by Heather Loyd



By Diane Urbani de la Paz

Peninsula Woman


As a girl growing up in Joyce, Shannon Wiggins had a list of things she vowed to never do.
"I said I was never getting married; I wasn't having any kids. No animals. I wanted to live in the city," she remembers. These days, "my whole family cracks up at me. And I tell my kids: Be careful what you say you'll never do." Wiggins, 43, not only has five children and a barn full of animals now, this March, she had 12 actual kids, as in baby Nubian goats, on her Galloping Goats farm out in the country east of Port Angeles.
She bottle-fed the kids, to socialize them -- and the little ones, like their nannies, became quite friendly.
And though Wiggins has since sold most of the young goats, she still has 11 in the barn her husband, Mike, built for her.
Their farm is where Wiggins learned to make goat's milk soap, in part because all four of her daughters have sensitive skin.
She's built a business in which she markets Galloping Goats soaps -- from rosemary-mint to black licorice to lilac to patchouli-scented "Happy Hippie" -- to a devoted following.
Her acquisition of goats goes back to summer 2001, when Wiggins' daughter, Sarah, then 11, spent the summer with a cousin in Oregon. The family had goats, and Sarah came back home hoping to adopt at least one of her own. "Nooo," was her parents' answer -- until Christmas, when they decided to surprise Sarah with two young ones. Wiggins hid them at a friend's house and threw the girls off the trail by telling them, "We're getting pigs." On Christmas morning, the goats were revealed, Sarah and her mother joined 4-H, and they were off.
Wiggins had long wanted to make goat's milk soap but was apprehensive about working with lye and so spent a year studying the process. She's been making soap for five years now.
"I figured out the formula I like in the first few months. Now I get to play with color and scent," Wiggins said. "I ask the kids: 'What color does this smell like?'
"It's a creative outlet," she said, adding that her offspring provide her with good, fresh input.
Of the Wiggins' children, Steven, 24, Andrea, 22, Sarah, now 20, Libby, 18, and Grace, 15, the four daughters are living at home. Steven is an apprentice electrician in Monroe, while Andrea and Sarah recently returned after time in Canada and California.
"I really enjoy having them back home," Wiggins said. "They're all pretty busy," but the four help her with packaging and other chores.
"We didn't plan to have a big family," she added. "But I'm glad we are."
Wiggins met Mike back in 1994; each had two children from a previous marriage, and, she said, "we both had a lot of baggage."
But after a friend introduced them, and they had their first date at Downrigger's restaurant in Port Angeles, "we were never apart," she said. They had Grace together, and "the [wedding] ceremony was just a formality."
And despite her vow all those years ago to move to an urban place, Wiggins wanted to stay here so their children could know their extended family. Wiggins' father Bill Roden still lives near Port Angeles, as do three of her four sisters, Barb Camper, Dora Wilson and Ramona Cannon, and her brother, Mike Braack.
In addition to being a farmer and entrepreneur -- she doesn't mind the term mompreneur -- Wiggins is a teacher. She home-schooled her girls until this year, when Libby became a Running Start student at Peninsula College and Grace began taking courses at Olympic Peninsula Academy in Sequim.
"Mostly I love it," she said of home schooling, though of course there were some days when it was difficult.
This spring and summer, Wiggins looks forward to Saturday lunches with her daughters at the Sequim Open Aire Market, where she sells her Galloping Goats soaps. The market is one of her best outlets; she also has a website, www.WashingtonSoap.com, and sells her products at the Red Rooster Grocery in downtown Sequim.
This Memorial Day weekend, she's set up at the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts street fair, and reappear July 23-25 for Arts in Action on the Port Angeles waterfront.
Such festivals take a particular kind of patience, said Wiggins. When asked how she copes with the waves of passers-by who look and look but don't buy, Wiggins said only that she hopes she's gracious.
Windy weather can wear a vendor out, though. And then come the people who pause in front of the booth, turn their backs to it and talk to friends, blocking others' view.
"They don't realize," Wiggins said, "that they're basically ruining your business."
But mostly, she added, festivals and farmers' markets are ideal for connecting with people and introducing them to the beauties of goats and milk. "Goats are a misunderstood animal," Wiggins said. "People think they eat everything. But they're really very picky eaters. They like salal brush and blackberries . . . and I think fir needles are their favorite." Wiggins makes goat cheese and goat's milk ice cream for her family, and of course, they all use her goat's milk soap, made with shea butter, coconut and sunflower oil and natural fragrances.
Goat's milk is just plain mild, Wiggins said, and it's rich in vitamins A and D. She doesn't add chemicals, saying she wants to be able to pronounce everything in her soap. "She is such a great business person," said Galloping Goats fan Deborah Kirk. "We love the soap because it is healthy for the body. The skin being the biggest organ -- and we take in so many things through the skin -- to have Shannon's goat soap is awesome."

For guys, Wiggins makes "Stud Bubbles," a masculine-scented soap, as well as "Blarney Stone," inspired by Irish Spring and "Bare Naked," an unscented bar.

Mike, meanwhile, is a paper maker at Nippon Paper Industries in Port Angeles and restores old cars in his off time. The couple likes to go with friends to Reno for the Hot August Nights car show-swap meet-sock hop. And do they bring the kids? "Nooo . . . no responsibilities," Wiggins answered with a smile, adding that the girls, with help from the rest of her family, look after the goats.
Wiggins is a woman who's built a business that suits her perfectly and that gives her the right blend of work and family time. "I just try to enjoy every day as it comes," she said. "It doesn't do that much good to look that far into the future . . . whatever happens, I try to appreciate every day."

Galloping Goats Farm: What Are Your Hopes And Dreams For The Future

Galloping Goats Farm: What Are Your Hopes And Dreams For The Future

What Are Your Hopes And Dreams For The Future?

I was recently asked this question by a newspaper reporter that is doing a story about me. When she asked it I had a moment of panic. Argh! I have to have hopes and dreams? For the future? I told her that I really don't think that much about the future. I try to just live each day as it comes. Enjoy each day for what it brings. The problem is that this got me thinking after she left. What DO I want for the future? I keep thinking about it over and over. Do I need goals? Do I have to have goals? Okay then self, what are your goals? .....My goal is to be happy. Well, goal reached, I am already happy. My goal is to go where God leads me. I already try to do that. Be specific.....What about my business, I ask myself. Where do I see it going? Other people have asked me questions like this about my business also. I am never quite sure what to answer. My sister says I should grow my business large enough to hire some employees. She really loves my soap so she has grand visions of my future. I, however, am not too sure that is what I want. I can't imagine having a business that large. I enjoy my little hobby business. My parents owned a restaurant while I was growing up and I know they were married to their business. They had time for nothing else. I don't want that. What if I get huge and I don’t have time to play? What if I don’t have time for the farmers market? I can't imagine not spending my Saturday in the sun, talking to the public. And it is the best people watching place on the planet (I may be slightly exaggerating). Of course, I view that choice completely differently when it is raining, or windy and cold. But maybe having hopes and dreams for the future is over rated. After all, who knows what the future will bring anyway. I know things didn’t work out the way I planned it back in my youth when I was silly enough to think I had control over my future. If they had I would not be married, have kids or ANY animals and I would live in an apartment in the city like "That Girl" or "Mary Tyler Moore". That sounds just awful to me now so I am not sure I can be trusted to make plans for the future. For now, I think I'll just keep trusting God to take care of the details and pray that I don't screw things up too badly.

Is It Finally Spring?

The weather here in Port Angeles has certainly been strange this winter/spring. We got no real snow that stuck around during the winter months and now that it is supposed to be getting nice out we have had just about every kind of weather you can have. People in the higher elevations hunted Easter eggs in the snow this year. Just a couple of days ago we had cold, rain, hail, snow, wind and then sunshine all in the same day. That is what I love about the Pacific Northwest, you never know quite what to expect and about the time you might be getting bored with the weather, it changes. While unpredictable weather makes it hard to plan outdoor events it does make life interesting. You always need to have a "plan B" which can be a good life lesson. It is good to be flexible when things don't work out the way we expect. There are some things that are nice to be able to count on though, do you remember a few weeks ago when I posted that photo of my hyacinths just popping out of the ground? Well.....

Their smell is as lovely as their look.

I was wandering around outside with my camera (without a coat or sweatshirt!) today looking for signs of spring. Breathing in the rich aroma of the warm air mixed with allergens the scent of flowers and trees. Spring always reminds me why I live here.

 Another sign of the warm weather was my goats really enjoying their scratching post, aka a discarded street sweeper brush. I guess it is time to get rid of all that winter hair. I hope they know what they are doing; after all it was 30 degrees yesterday morning when I went down to do chores.

The baby goats are really enjoying this nice warm day as well

They were really into their sunbathing before they spotted me.

Their sleek black coats were like solar panels soaking up the sun. I would have joined them if they would have let me without jumping all over me. As tempting as it was I have a church board meeting this afternoon and I am pretty sure the other board members will appreciate that I decided against laying in the goat yard.

On days like this it is so easy to appreciate God's creation. It makes me very thankful that he has given us such diversity in the world.

The Fat Lady Has Sung

Well folks, the fat lady has finally sung. When I did my chores this morning I looked at my last pregnant goat closely. I knew it would be today or tomorrow but you know how they have been plotting to have their babies while I am gone? Well I decided to go to town and do a few errands; fooling her into thinking I would be gone long enough to have them without me. Hah, I fooled her good, came home sooner than she expected and caught her with the first beautiful little 6 pound doeling fresh on the ground. Look at those georgeuos spots.

 I quickly moved her into a birthing pen and waited some more. I was thinking that due to the size of this little girl and the huge size of mama I could get a whole lot more babies. A half hour later another kid is coming. Wow, another doeling! And she is super cute too. Black with a white splash and with a black spot right in the middle of the white splash. But she is huge compared to her sister, 8 pounds 4 ounces. Five minutes later another kid is coming, a buck this time and he is big too at 8pounds. Again super cute, tons of spots! Here is a shot of mama drying off babies.

 I sort of expected at least one more kid due to shear size of mama lately but I guess those big kids were taking up a lot of space.

 Here are all three

All of my waiting has been worth it and God has surely blessed me. Now I am excited to get enough milk to make some cheese.