Today was a whirlwind of activity, and tons of fun!

Here’s how it went.

The People: Fantastic. The best people in the world are people who read this website. I’m always amazed by your energy, kindness, ideas, and good vibes. It was a very fun day for me.

The Workshops: Soapmaking and Preserving (BWB canning). I’ve done a lot of cheesemaking, breadbaking, and candlemaking workshops now. I’ve never given workshops in soapmaking or preserving. I’ve been doing those things for years, but haven’t taught them. I was worried particularly about giving a good soapmaking workshop, so I prepared heavily in that department. I didn’t spend as much time preparing for the preserving workshop, and that showed. The preserving workshop was last in the day and was a bit rushed. Now that I’ve got my soapmaking workshop skills down, I need to focus on preparing my preserving workshop skills better.

The Food: That worked really well, at least I thought so. I had eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits for breakfast, and deli meats and cheeses on Grandmother Bread sandwiches for lunch with some homemade root beer. Later in the afternoon I had some fresh-baked cherry crumble and at the end of the day we had roasted garlic jelly over cream cheese with tortilla chips. (The roasted garlic jelly was one of the preserving activities. That stuff is AWESOME. Everybody loved it. It’s downright addictive.) The food for meals was prepped in advance and just whipped out when needed, so it worked out nicely in a busy day.

The Time: I need to work on balance. Coming to Sassafras Farm is not just about the workshops, it’s about the farm and the animals, too. When balancing two activity-packed workshops in a day, I have to make time to tour the house, the barn, and the fields, plus visits with all the animals. I want coming to Sassafras Farm to not just be a day in a “classroom” but an experience, and I have to learn to work all of that into the day. It worked out okay and I think everyone had fun, but the preserving workshop was rushed as a result so I definitely need to do better with my balance.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my attendees here today for being experimental subjects! Thank you to Shelley and Don, who also showed me how to band Cookie Doe’s baby boy, and April (Murphala) and company who came all the way from Indiana!

I got so involved in the workshopping that I didn’t take many pics.



If you’re interested in coming to a workshop at the farm, I am scheduling workshop Saturdays for the last three months of the year (October, November, December). These are create-your-own-days for groups of two to eight. You can choose from cheesemaking, candlemaking, soapmaking, preserving, and breadbaking. Right now, the price is $110 per person for a full day (two workshops) which includes the workshops and the “all-farm” tour with breakfast, lunch, snacks, and supplies–plus take home what you make. The price is set low on these workshop days because, honestly, I need the practice! I’ll give you everything I’ve got to make your day special. Where will you stay if you are from out of town? See my Suggested Accommodations page.

I’m planning a very cool series of monthly workshop Saturdays for 2013–the price for those days will be higher (I’m planning to keep these as low as possible) to cover the topics, some of which will involve some special helpers such as my “guide” Adam. Stay tuned for more info coming on those workshops toward the end of the year.

Meanwhile, if you’re interested in a create-your-own-day workshop day this fall, let me know at CITRcontact@yahoo.com OR if you’re interested in a full-on blast, come to the CITR Retreat! We do have spaces available and have opened more classes. Register here.

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