Maid-N-Meadows: Winter 2018 Update

     We are making progress, folks! Slowly but surly, the cheese facility is rising out of the dust! We had a good year this year and have so much to be thankful for. But watching our family and friends come together to help us get this building up has been the most awesome experience yet.
     This past month has been a nail biting venture for me. I don't think Daniel had any doubts, but having poured the walls last month, we were ready for pouring the floor this month. But the weather just hadn't cooperated. It was always too rainy and/or too cold to pour concrete. The construction sight became slick and sticky with red, muddy clay.
      After the long slog of prep work was complete and the footers were carefully dug, we were ready for concrete. We pounced on the first warm day, calling in all the help we could muster. Boys and men were working right up to the trucks pulling in with concrete, trying to get the rebar in to reinforce the new floors. Many hands make like work and, after three concrete trucks, the floor was in!

     It did not take long for the boys to latch on to this new success and jump into getting the walls up! We found this interesting fella that buys up all the extra and misfit supplies from contractors who are working on big jobs and then resells those supplies to people like us. It was a nice discount from the lumber yard and we like putting our money back into the local community. Here is another look at the overall design.

         The cave walls will be 2x6's so that we can incorporate more insulation. The office will be small, but we sacrificed space there to have a larger packing room. Plus there will be a loft upstairs that we can use as office space as well. The make room can accommodate two vats and a small soup kettle that can also be used as a vat for small quantities of milk....like sheep milk!

         Walls are coming up fast! I wish all aspects of the process went this fast. We are excited to bring the operation back home and get the next season started! See ya next year!

Married To An Ex-Mennonite: Part 1

            I have always had an admiration for those who lived the "plain" lifestyle and devoted their lives to work, family, and God. My mother once remarked that I was born in the wrong century. As a child I couldn't get enough of sewing and canning with my grandmother. A house full of children was always a dream of mine.....and I am blessed to say that childhood dreams can come true!
        When I met Daniel, I met a man in suspenders and a straw hat. He was recently expelled from the Tennessee Churches, a conservative Mennonite group with members mostly in Kentucky and Tennessee. His six sisters had moved out of his house shortly after he was expelled and though he still attended his former community's church meetings, it was not a pleasant or worshipful experience. His isolation was palpable. But he was making his way, forming new friendships and alliances with the rest of our farming community.

Maid-N-Meadows: Fall 2018 Update!

      Life feels so crazy these days, but I am happy to report that it is a good kind of crazy. After a long summer of chaos and endless days, we have reached a time of busy punctuated with times of rest. Plus! We are seeing the people we love and nourish us from before Maid-N-Meadows. The only problem is, now, we miss our market friends!
       We have been doing a lot of craft markets this past month and Daniel has enjoyed meeting new people. We are always blessed by the warm welcome and kindness we receive from the folks in the Springfield/Clarksville, Tennessee area.
      It was at these markets that our newest project/product made its debut. We have been donating our whey to Daniel's brothers hogs. They live an outdoor life with plenty of range and lots of opportunity to root and wallow. They also only eat GMO free feed and what they find in their outdoor environment. So they are pretty clean eating, as pigs go! We feel charcuterie is a nice compliment to cheese and these pigs fit the sort of practices we wish to promote. So we combined forces with Webb's Butcher Shop to create this summer sausage and snack sticks.
 

     The summer sausage has been a spectacular hit and we plan to make more when we run out!
      Progress on the facility is moving slowly. I am very worried we will not be able to pour the concrete floor as it is cold now and only going to get colder! Not getting this done would be a major problem as it would hold up the rest of the building process. We are not going to return to the old facility, so our cheese inventory would definitely run out come spring. So we sit at the edge of our seat as we do what we can to keep things moving, watch the weather, and ultimately wait for the temperatures to be right. All things work together for good, so we will just have to accept God's timeline.

     But with some major help from family, the walls are poured and standing strong! It amazes me how Daniel has experience in so many areas of construction and practical living! He will be able to head up the entire project, except for the part that the state is requiring our commercial plumber to handle.
       Also, the editor of Edible Nashville blessed us with a great surprise this fall when she included us in the latest edition! What we love about this magazine is that it focuses on the local food chain. From local grocers to local producers and makers, this magazine promotes community through food. Food has been a connector for eons and here it is again, bringing us together for a purpose greater than any one of us......which is to promote a hopeful and bright future for the next generation.

     Manuela from Ella P. Photography took our pictures for us! She handles big families like ourselves with ease and produced unique shots of our family on the farm. Little Beulah was just three days old in these pictures!

              Last, but not least, I want to share that we have been enjoying our little Beulah. We have taken some time to reconnect as a family and celebrate our blessings. She has many arms to hold her and everyone loves to dote over her. Even three year old Pilgrim likes to "pet" her. We look forward to a quieter winter with time spent with family and friends, Lord willing. We have a lot to be thankful for! Blessings to all our readers and thanks for coming along for the ride!
                                                                   Showalters

Baby Has Arrived!

           Just before all my sanity escaped me......Beulah Rose Showalter arrived. Jaden, the only girl of seven boys, had been hoping and praying this day would come! Finally, a sister to hold, dress up, and play with!

Maid-N-Meadows: Fall Has Arrived!

      Fall is finally here and with it comes a blessed cool down! Markets are coming to a close and the cows are beginning to wind down production. On the home front, school has started for the children and we are all counting down, waiting for baby Showalter to arrive.
      As an answered prayer, we have been awarded some help with our loan for a cheese facility at home from the Kentucky Office of Agricultural Development. They will guarantee half of our loan with an interest rate of 2.75% for ten years! What a relief! We are so ready to be home on our farm, full time! Get ready for the fall workbees!
     

                 It is a whirlwind of a time as we prepare to close on this loan, wait for the new baby, and try to get our hay up.....while still running markets, deliveries, and the cheese facility an hour and a half away! We are tired but committed to finishing strong and feel encouraged by all we have managed to do this summer.

        We splurged this year and took the children to the State Fair. Our first fair, ever, actually. We wanted the children to know how much we appreciated their hard work through the season in a way that celebrates our lives as farmers. Largest pumpkin contests, amid youth animal shows, spiked with ferris wheel rides, seemed like the perfect way to do that. The children have carried their weight during the hard times, as a family does for each other, and we have valued their insight and input in the operation.

        Fall is kind of like starting a new year! So many things shift in our daily lives! As the garden dies back and the leaves begin to fall, school feels fresh again and a whole host of hopes and plans come into focus! The weather is comfortable to work in as we catch up on the summer backlog. Tidying up the fences, or repairing feeders, there is no end to the work. Priorities decide what gets done and what waits.
        Winter preparations begin as we look forward to friends and family, gathered around hot meals and festivities. Bike riding as a family or picnicking with friends, has been something we have had to cut from the schedule due to lack of time. But we eagerly look forward to those leisurely times together, again!
   

Looking forward to a season of rejuvenation and rest as we cobble together a facility at home! Come say "HI!" at the last few markets of the season! We love seeing you and appreciate all your support and encouraging feedback!

Keely and Daniel and the rest of the crew!

USDA Micro Loans, State Programs, Banks = Small Business Finance

       

       We have to build a facility, folks. The business looks viable, we have learned all we can from our mentor, and having accomplished these goals, we have to reduce our travel time and stress levels by bringing this business back home to the farm. But being a young business and this being the first year of working it full time and relying upon it for our financial needs, we just don't have the funds to throw up a facility.
          Before starting to look for financing, I combed the internet looking for the experiences of others. But I mostly came up empty handed. Weird! I know we are not the only farmers who have needed financing. We hate borrowing as much as the next person, but when it has to be done, it has to be done....so here is a run-down of the options we found and some tips and mistakes we learned from along the way.

Crash! Burn! Rise!

     Life has been pretty intense! We have been doing all the milking, cheesemaking, packaging, marketing, and delivering cheese ourselves for the past two months. (Except for the fine work our distributors do....(I love you guys so much right now!!!)) With the cows and the facility a 3 hour round trip away and our markets and major buyers in cities that are a 4 hour round trip away, our weeks are maxed out. When we have part of a day off, we stare glassy-eyed into space, utterly fatigued and burnt out.
      Daniel continues to amaze me with his endurance and optimism. He goes without sleep and food in a race against time to keep up with everything. Meanwhile, I'm not faring so well. Be it pregnancy hormones, the 33 extra pounds, low iron levels, or all of the above, I can barely move and I am a blubbering mess.

      When I say blubbering mess I actually mean  a virtual meltdown where one is in a state of despair and questioning whether they can continue going in this direction. That's right! A year and a half in and countless hours, all our financial reserves and I am wondering if we should just quit.

• I miss my family being together. I miss my husband! 
• I miss sunsets and sunrises on the farm....quiet times and coffee time!
• I miss doing fun things on Sunday with the children...now I stare at the ceiling in exhaustion.
• I miss friends, family, vacations....anything fun.
• I miss real food....food that I cooked and does not belong in the sandwich category!

     After a particularly depressing attempt to achieve funding for the new facility, I just fell apart.

     A-N-D.....not quietly, in a corner, like usual! Due to missing a commitment, my family caught wind of my disfunction. AND.....they sprung into action. Food, transportation to a baby well care visit, help with clothes, and basically just meeting our needs where we are... arrived through thousands of miles of travel and efforts. I am still not exactly sure how to go on, but I have a few ideas.

     

         It is humbling to have a family that loves me that much...but I am so grateful. Everyone needs that kind of support sometimes and to be reminded that someone values them. I never want to abuse such support and I hate the inconvienence  they have suffered for it, so I want it to mean something. I want it to support fruit in me that is successful and stable. Also, a full cup has something to give to others! I desperately want to pay some of that love and support forward.

      The take away here is that in the crucible of life, family can make the difference between burn-out and hope. So on we go....with renewed strength and hope.