Cheesemaking Bliss

As I mentioned in my last post, I am making cheeses this winter.  I came upon the idea when looking through a rather odd cookbook that I picked up at a library book sale for 25 cents.  The author, Carla Emery, talked about cheesemaking as something that all homesteaders should do at least a bit of, and to not get to hung up on fancy-schmancy methods and details.  After all, she reasoned, people have been doing this sort of thing for centuries without the benefit of climate control and immaculate sanitation techniques.

This advice really rang true for me.  Almost nothing about my food prep areas would be considered ideal by the typical modern foodie. (Except perhaps for Sandor Katz, who seems to have a reasonably relaxed view toward sanitation.)

"So, how has it been going?" I hear you ask.

Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli *

It's been a rough week and a half.  Extreme weather has denied my sweet hubby and I our preferred lodgings in our half finished little cabin in the woods. The roads have impassable to anyone on earth, but my intrepid middle son (who thankfully made the long trek to pick up our milk a few days ago). The windows got beautifully frosted,

and the icicles kept growing.

Mindful Monday

One small step for man,

one giant leap for mankind.

Neil Armstrong

1969

And Then There Was More

It snowed!

Not the usual Tennessee snow with 1 to 3 inches of accumulation, then maybe a little "wintery mix", then complete meltdown by the following morning.  No, no! Not that at all.  Around SIX inches fell before we went to bed Monday night.

Mindful Monday

Dawn came up from the couch of her reclining,
 . . . 

with fresh light in her arms for gods and men.

Homer

The Odyssey

Mindful Monday

After all . . .

Tomorrow is another day.

Scarlett O'Hara

in 

Gone With the Wind

Margaret Mitchell

Infrastructure

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I am a big advocate of anyone entering into sustainable living by simply dropping their present life and moving onto a piece of land with next to nothing, and frankly not even much of a plan.  It's what we did roughly 24 years ago.  That method shows you what you are made of, and clarifies your personal set of needs (everyone's are unique).  In a general sense it has worked out well for us, and though it has taken quite a while, in many areas we have achieved serious success.  Besides, if we had waited to begin living sustainably until we had all our ducks in a row I doubt we ever would have.

Mindful Monday

But tomorrow is a new day will be. 

Past was is today. 

What now is will then tomorrow as now was be past yester.

Leopold Bloom

from

Ulysses

by

James Joyce.