Making yoghurt the right way, or, don't do what I did

So, I bought a yoghurt-maker. It cost $45. The product was inedible and acidic, and I gave it to my neighbours after only three uses. Complete waste of time and money, and I felt like a dope afterwards.

Don't do what I did.

You can make yoghurt with stuff you already have in the house (for tools- although you might want some butter muslin if you want to drain the whey from your yoghurt, which makes it more lactose-intolerant-friendly), and you can re-use the same batch a couple of times, but make sure you get a new starter culture every couple of batches for optimal flavour.

Here are some good online instructions-

New England Cheesemaking Company- Yoghurt info page

Make yoghurt in your oven

There's a lot more to it than was covered in the info booklet that came from the yoghurt-making-machine. Which I had to download and print because the company was too cheap to include it.

That thing about hindsight is so true.

Something else you can do in the fall

How to prune a berry bush at the end of the season.

Battening down the hatches

It went down to -6 C last night... Winter arriveth. (Yes, I know I made that word up, but it does follow the rules for Old English ;)

This winter I'm going to make sure that all the windows have proper, heavy-duty curtains on them. I got a pair of blackout curtains from Canadian Tire (on sale, woot!) this past summer, and they made a world of difference keeping out the heat. I'm also noticing that they trap the cold air nicely against the glass. I get the feeling that if I put them in the basement (walkout basement with acres of glass thanks to a passive solar design) that it will make the temperature much more habitable down there this year. Things might heat up okay during the day, but at night it's downright cold. Also, it's time for the yearly trip to the hardware store for large plastic sheets packaged up as 'winterizing kits', and attaching them to my big windows. It's a bit of a job, but it works great.

This year I'm buying myself an electric heater that looks like a small wood stove. Since I'm never going to get a real one, I guess I can use my imagination and pretend... There's only so many wool socks you can put on and still fit inside your shearling slippers, and fingerless gloves are nice and all, but they're hard to type in and my fingers *still* get cold.

That basement room is going to be comfy, darn it. I'm tired of freezing my buns off.

Ban single use plastic...

This is a great video I just saw on Upworthy:

Sharing around to help raise awareness...

Some local food places in my area

 There are some fun places to visit in the area around where I live. I'm going to miss being able to go to most of them when winter hits.

 http://www.stjacobs.com/farmers-market
This is where I go to buy most of my food through the majority of the year. There are some things you can't get there, like yoghurt, but the quality of meat, cheese and veggies makes up for that. Also, there's a bulk food stall (which won't be back until the burnt-down building is rebuilt in a couple months) that has pretty darn good prices, and a particularly finely-ground almond flour that is good in baking.

http://www.martinsapples.com/retail/retail-home-page
This family-run orchard is almost within walking distance of me. They have a well-stocked store that also offers some other things than apples.

http://www.lyndonfishhatcheries.com/publicfishing.html
I went to Lyndon Fisheries with my dad a few weeks ago, and it was a nice afternoon. It is definitely a great place to take young kids to learn how to fish. The taste of the fish, however, was kinda not so nice- really fatty, and there was just something not tasty about it. It might be fun to host an event there sometime, though.

http://www.herrles.com/
Herrles is a farm-stand store that is open seasonally and offers local produce. They're closed now for the season.

http://www.naumanfarm.com/
Nauman's has pumpkins. Lots 'n lots of pumpkins. Plus, a corn maze. I go there to pick strawberries and raspberries in the summer. Nice folks.

http://www.localharvest.ca/
*THE* place to find local farms and food in our region. The mapping feature is particularly helpful.

More experiments with cheese

I need to go to the farmer's market today and pick up some beeswax. I have a 'Farmstead cheese' ripening and drying on my counter right now, wrapped up in clean cheese cloth, and it needs to be waxed and then stored in my fridge. I hope it tastes okay in four months... It's a bit of a gamble. But, it smells quite nice right now, so I hope everything goes well.


Here are some links for more info if you're interested-

Dr.A.R. Hill, Dept. of Food Science, University of Guelph


A couple of Canadian companies that sell supplies-

http://www.makecheese.ca/
http://glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca/

And one American one (which has an awesome recipe section and a monthly newsletter)-
New England Cheesemaking Supply Co.



And if you go completely insane about cheese and want to learn more...

Cheesemaking Technology course, University of Guelph



There are also weekend 'artisinal' cheesemaking workshops offered all over the place. You can use Google to find more on that topic.

Passing along some of the goodies from my course

How to get the best soil for your garden...

The Soil Food Web

Plants have existed on the earth for at least a billion years. During that time different plants and organisms found ways of working together in mutually-beneficial ways.

Different organisms work together in your garden to create healthy soil- bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, microarthropods, and larger organisms. These organisms work together to support the healthy growth of plants by suppressing disease, retaining nutrients in the soil and drawing them in to make them available for roots, decomposing waste materials, and conditioning the soil so that roots can grow down to the depth they need.

Plants use photosynthesis to recycle carbon dioxide (CO2) into sugars. These sugars are then used to increase the size of the plant, or are bonded to other nutrients (such as phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium, calcium, etc.) to transport them to where they need to go inside the plant. These nutrients are found in the soil, and scientists have found that more than 48 are essential to growing plants.

If you believe the fertilizer companies, then apparently you only need three- nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, the NPK you see on the bag.

Nope. You need a lot more than that.

However, if you have the right balance of organisms they do all the work of converting the pebbles, sand, clay and organic matter into all the minerals your plants need to grow. The rest is supplied by air, water and sunlight. The nice thing about that is that the plants and organisms will work together and provide for themselves. Humans don’t need to do anything more than provide the best environment for them to thrive. 

If you use chemicals to kill off insects or weeds it will also kill off your useful organisms as well, and then you need to spend even more money to put more chemicals on your soil to keep up the fertility. This is good for the chemical companies, but not as good for you (or your soil).

Use Compost to Inoculate Against Bad Bugs

Compost comes already full of bacteria and fungi, they were the organisms that turned your food into dirt. If you keep your compost pile aerated (not compacted so air can get in), just moist enough but not wet, and give it enough time to kill off weed seeds and plant pathogens, then you have the perfect booster mix to stimulate good growth in your garden.

Keeping air in the mix means that aerobic bacteria (those that live in environments with air) will be the dominant form in your compost. This is good, because they fix nitrogen into the soil for your plants to use later. If the compost pile is too wet or compacted, then anaerobic bacteria (that don’t use air) will grow, and they use nitrogen and make it into an ammonia gas, which then leaches out into the air. Not so useful for your garden, and stinky, too. Also, anaerobic bacteria didn’t evolve to work in soil with plants, so their presence in your garden can keep fertility levels down for a while until they dissipate.

If your compost is smelly and black, then putting it into your garden will harm it in the short term instead of helping.

However, if, whenever you do significant tilling (digging, turning the soil over) you also add compost, then it will repair any damage to the natural organisms in your soil, and replace them with new ones.

So, how do plants use these bacteria and fungi? They squirt out sugars, proteins and carbohydrates into the soil (basically, they make cookies), to attract the particular types that they need to the area on and around their roots. These bacteria and fungi excrete (yes, poop) out nutrients, and then they, themselves, become prey for the larger predators (protozoa and nematodes), and also the insects which prey on them, which adds more nutrients from the remains. The larger predators eat basically everything, which reduces the ability of harmful bacteria, fungi and insects to get near your plants to feed on them. They get out-performed and eaten.

A study by the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University showed that in one acre of woodlot soil in Michigan there were one million different species of bacteria, five hundred thousand species of fungi, thousands of kinds of protozoa, and hundreds of species of nematodes.

If your garden can get that prolific then you’re doing very, very well. Good quality compost can help you get as close as possible.

If you see water puddling on your soil after a rain, it means that there isn’t enough organic matter and air in your soil, and optimal organism growth isn’t possible. Add more compost and composted manure, and… Voila!

Wow. September was harder than I thought it would be...

But, in the meantime, I've started the Urban Agriculture/Horticulture Certificate through the University of Guelph. My freak-out was (as is usually the case) completely unnecessary. I'm enjoying doing the readings, and learning quite a lot in the process.

I've volunteered to be in charge of my co-op's community garden, and I'm looking forward to running some seminars this fall and winter. Some of the ideas I've come up with were 'what to do with your garden in the fall- what you can plant and how to prepare it for the spring', plus some general information ones like 'composting basics' and 'beneficial insects'. I was also thinking about doing a craft for building an Insect Hotel. It would need to be this fall before the snow hits the ground. We could do a nature walk to collect items. (I'm talking myself into this, now, and it's getting more and more exciting).

One other thing to pass along- this nifty list of 23 Smartphone Apps which will help you figure out everything from when to water your garden, to inventorying your food by best before dates, and finding what's in season in your area.

Hey folks... we made it into Fall. Time to start thinking about wool socks and cocooning with garden catalogs again.

Now is the time to start thinking about spring

In the garden, that is. Harvests have peaked, and will continue to trickle onwards a bit for the next month. Then comes cleanup, setup, and planting those things which can overwinter.

I just found the best wiki ever- Practical Plants

You can set search parameters by hardiness zone, soil type, amount of sun received, and more. Then, you hit 'go' and find the plant that fits what you needs. There's a list at the bottom of the page, organized by uses (such as adhesives, poultices, jam, soap, paper, paint, etc). The list is extensive.

Also, starting now you can do soil tests, soil amendments, and set up raised beds. I'm thinking about ordering some soil test packages just for interest's sake. I'd like to know the NPK (nitrogen, phosphate and potassium) levels in my backyard and veggie garden.

My local farmer's market just had a major fire

Thank goodness the whole place didn't burn down, but the main building, where I did a lot of my grocery shopping, is now nothing but a huge pile of soggy ash.

Thankfully, Charles Quality Meats has a stall at the Kitchener Market as well on Saturdays. It's not as convenient, but I've been wanting to check it out anyways, I guess. Not a happy reason to be doing so, though. I wonder if they do a farm gate type of sales as well?

I was half-considering setting up a stall at the St. Jacob's Market myself. Looks like that will be put off until next Spring at least.

Home made cheese

I have to share this fabulous resource with you- The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. I saw this DIY intro to cheese kit at my local foodie independent grocery store, Vincenzo's, sometime last year, but I couldn't convince myself to buy it. The price tag of $30 was a bit steep, it seemed to me. But, the thought lingered. I had tried making cheese a few years previously using instructions off the Internet, but the operation failed, and I couldn't figure out why. I asked a few people I knew who liked to cook, but none of their suggestions seemed helpful. So, it remained an unexplained failure.

The local grocery store has a little café, and my husband and I have taken to going there, as their coffee is respectable, their pastries are excellent (so I hear from him), and they have other selections of things I can eat which won't half kill me. One of those treats is cheese. So, a couple weeks ago on one of our visits, I wandered over to the exotic cheese cooler. Applewood smoked cheddar rolled in paprika from England, brie from France, a few things from Scandinavian countries, plus some good home-grown products as well. As I was deciding on which little slice of creamy calories to buy my eyes were drawn to the shelf to the right of the cooler. There sat three or four of those cheesemaking kits that I had seen before. On an impulse I picked one up. It just fit into my Bag of Holding (aka. purse satchel), and I had a little bit of spare cash as my first full EI cheque of the summer had come in.

I bought it. Chris rolled his eyes.

I opened up the package, read the booklet. One of the things that I saw in the instructions was that white vinegar was used in one of the steps. I can't use white vinegar in anything, including the dishwasher, as I'm so extremely sensitive to grains that it makes me sick. Cider vinegar is my only option. I asked around on Facebook on the various medieval re-enactment cooking groups that I belong to, and the opinion came back that it would be an acceptable substitute. I knew from canning that they have the same pH balance. It also made me wonder about commercial cheeses, and if I had been mildly poisoning myself. All the more reason to try making it for myself. Now I had incentive, and then the box proceeded to sit on my kitchen counter for a couple weeks as I got up the courage to try it.

My dad, in support of my cheesemaking efforts brought along a bag of 2% milk and a 1L carton of half and half cream (which also languished in the fridge for a couple weeks, until Chris ran out of his regular milk and started to use that up). He couldn't find the regular homogenized for some reason, but I figured it would be okay. The milk hadn't been ultra-pasteurized (UT) or ultra-high-temperature pasteurized (UHT) like you see in the sterile, shelf-stable cartons.

It wasn't until I was back at work in the school library in the last week of August that I finally decided to go for it. However, I was also home for a couple days because I'd had a molar extracted. Go back to work for a couple days, then take off again to have your face messed with... and stay home with an ice pack and T3 feeling sorry for yourself. I was feeling sorry for myself, so I decided to try making cheese. It might have been the codeine talking. I decided to try feta.

I *know* it was the codeine's fault that I mis-read the directions. Instead of dissolving the rennet tablet in 1/4c water, I got it confused with the 2c for the light brine soaking solution. There were no curds. In fact, it looked just like my last attempt. Tiny little blobs bobbed in a pure-white mixture. I dumped it down the sink, rinsed the pot and utensils, and went and sat on the couch with an ice pack for a bit. I read the directions again, and saw my mistake.

Fine. I'd messed up one batch. This time I was going to make it right. And it was going to work, dammit.

When I had the energy and the hole in my jaw wasn't bugging me so much, I made a trip to the health food grocery store on Bridgeport. Healthy Foods and More. I like the people there. The owners are kind, their employees are funny and helpful, and they have a lot of stuff that I need. Some of the prices even rival the prices I can get through my co-op food buying group from the Ontario Natural Food Co-op. Not all of them, obviously. Some stuff is super-expensive, but if you're canny it can work out. Plus, they have baked goods that my daughter can eat, and a flour-less brownie made with black beans (and lots of sweetener). One of those, and a big can of coconut water is my occasional Friday treat. After one of those I don't often need supper.

Anyways. I found some milk that was on sale, two 1L bottles of organic goat's milk, and two 1L bottles of Guernsey cow milk. I tried the goat's milk first, as it's apparently great for feta.

The nice thing about this recipe is that you don't even need to turn on the stove to make this cheese. Hot water, a clean pot, clean kitchen sink, and the dairy thermometer that came in the kit are all you need to keep it at the right temperature.

I followed the instructions. I made cheese. I cut it into blocks. Raw, it tasted pretty darn good, but it needed to soak for 10-12 hours in a saturated brine solution. That next morning I looked upon my cheese, and it was good. I saw my neighbour walking her three dogs, and ran out to her with the cheese for a first taste-test, wearing my bathrobe with nothing under it, and bare feet. She was pleased to try the first fruits with me.

It was like eating a cheese-textured salt lick.

I thought I had failed yet again. I almost threw it out. One last desperate read through the instructions, and it said that the cheese had to rest at room temperature for a couple days. I gave it one last go, and put the cheese blocks in a plastic container and popped one corner up so it could breathe but would keep out flies (and cats- hopefully).

The next morning it tasted much better, but still too salty. I'm not the biggest fan of salt, so I soaked the cheese in some water to try and leach out some of it. It worked. The cheese was a little squeaky, but the amount of salt left in it was just enough to flavour without taking your tongue off. I shared some with my next-door neighbours, and ate about half of it myself. I figured I was due, since I still couldn't eat solid foods after my tooth came out.

It tastes great with cucumber, and I'm sure it would make an excellent cucumber, tomato and fennel salad.

What I didn't realize when I bought it is that if you follow the directions carefully, you can have about 10lbs (or 4.5kg in metric) of cheese. So, for $2.50 (the average price per packet of starter culture from the kit)+ milk = $8.50 for 1 lb/.45kg of organic goat's milk feta... That's not bad. If I didn't want to go organic it would be even cheaper.

More stuff for my dream-house

I tried having chickens a couple years ago, but we don't really have the space. Plus, raccoons ate them. They busted into my chicken tractor by main force. My daughter was devastated, and I was sad to have not provided safe enough space for my 'cuddle chickens'. (They liked to sit on my head when they were feeling nervous. It was funny.)

But, the dream still lives on.

For those of you who are dreaming, or can start making this a reality, here's some good ideas I found the other day.

Making a dresser into a brooder for chicks
You can use a dresser you find on the side of the road... And when it's too yucky to be used anymore, off it goes again. It's doing two of the Three R's all in one go!

A very cute 'chicken garden'
I'm not convinced about the pathway, but it will be pretty for one season at least.

I know it's strange to be in lust over a house...

But, I want an Earthship-type house so badly it hurts. I have spent countless hours researching them on the 'net, dreaming up ways it could work, doing my own modifications in my head... I have it all worked out.

Except for how to afford it.

That's a bit of a sticking point, really. As you might well imagine.

But, since this is a blog about all my innermost dreams and fears, here are some links for stuff that are Earthship-y and would be useful in and/or around an Earthship.

A rocket stove mass heater
(more efficient than a regular wood stove, so therefore great for frigid Canadian winters)

The Earthship homesite

A video showcasing how they're built

In my head, you could make a strawbale wall on the interior south-facing wall in between the outer, solar-collecting windows and the interior of the house. The exterior windows would keep rain off the strawbales and therefore avoid the CMHC's problem report showing the outcomes of mold in our humid summer weather (most prevalent on the north sides of houses where the sun never heats them up). There would be many windows in the interior strawbale wall to let in light (especially in the winter when the angle of the sun is lower), and the wall would help keep heat in during the winter, and keep heat out during the summer. Add to that a rocket stove/bench in the living room (vented to the outside) and everything would be peachy

Plus, a root cellar in the earth bank (with a door on the north-ish wall to keep it cool and damp), and a strawbale/earthship henhouse on the other side to keep the cluckers happy. They'd be chilly in the winter, but never freeze. And they survive that sort of existence just fine.

It would work. It would so totally work.

Unfortunately, my husband is married to his bicycle, and likes to commute to work. It's a noble, sustainable idea. But. Earthships can only be built in the country, not in the city. This is a Pushme-Pullyu sort of argument/discussion/angst session that we've been having over the years.
Also. He can't live without his coffee shops. Another thing you don't find out in the country.
He'd be happy in a downtown condo, riding his bike everywhere and drinking coffee in cute little coffee bars with sarcastic baristas. I hate traffic noise, and am getting seriously fed-up with society in general and neighbours in particular. My favourite thing in the world is silence and green spaces...

And, we can't afford to build one right now, and might never in the future.

*sigh*

What to do?

Taking a leap of faith

I'm really good at doing that... but, unfortunately, it's not always rewarded.

However, I can't see the downside of signing up for the University of Guelph Sustainable Urban Agriculture Certificate. If nothing else, I'll become even more uber at gardening, which is not a bad thing at all. I've got some veggies down pat, but others are a bit more touch-and-go. For instance, I have no clue why my climbing zucchini is withering and dying. It's just turning yellow/brown and almost literally melting. I've grown bush zucchini before and *never* had this problem. Maybe I'll get some pro-tips from these courses.

I have some grand ideas about offering my services to local co-ops who want to start community gardens, or upgrade them. I could give seminars on basic stuff, and go out to do soil testing, looking for the best sunny places to plant, and whatnot. Perhaps do little group sessions on how to grow veggies and herbs in your back/front yard.

It would be an enjoyable way of getting a bit of cash in the summer when I'm not at the library. There are so many books out there that it almost seems unnecessary, but not everyone is comfortable learning from that format, and I'm good at explaining things in a simple, helpful manner. This could be good.


Up the Local Organic Food Revolution! We have nothing to lose but our trowels!

Bruce Peninsula: Whale Island

Bruce Peninsula: Whale Island, a photo by Gaiagirlv2 on Flickr.

We went camping this weekend as one last, extended hurrah of summer. My husband enjoyed sleeping on the new cot we got him. It's apparently more comfy than the couch, so this is good. Perhaps I'll be able to convince him to go more often. Especially if we go to gorgeous places like the Bruce Peninsula and he can bring his camera. It's an Unesco World Biosphere Reserve for a Very Good Reason.
I even survived swimming in Georgian Bay. Once you numb down it's quite refreshing. It even felt really good on my back. I was a bit worried that it would cramp, but the cold water did wonders for the usual, consistent, minor inflammation.

Peach jam and pesto

Those are the items on the list today. I had to run to Home Hardware to get another couple of cases of jars. I seem to have run through all of mine this year. Perhaps I should start asking for them back from people...

Home Hardware is a dangerous place. I started by also picking up three clearance sale bags of onion sets, and ended off with an ice cream maker. All perfectly logical (of course). I've been meaning to get an ice cream maker for a while, as it will help me in my quest to reduce my food miles and garbage. The apple corer/peeler/slicer will help with the apple sauce I'm planning on making later in the fall. See? Logical. (and so were the towel rack, toilet paper holder, and leafy garden doohicky)

Ahem.

Off to make that jam now. Unfortunately, the tomato sauce didn't go off so well. It was too 'tomato-y' apparently, and a bit too acidic. Not sure how to fix that.

Cute monster: danger sign

Cute monster: danger sign, a photo by Gaiagirlv2 on Flickr.

I found my first Tomato Hornworm today. I'd only ever heard of them, and I didn't know what the cute little green caterpillar was when I found it clinging to the underside of a tomato leaf. So, it came home with me to be identified and shown to my daughter.

Much to my chagrin, it seems that my over-exuberant tomato plants are now a very large buffet. It's quite likely that the little green monster isn't alone. They never are.

The wiki article on them

The Birds and the Bees- of a different sort

A couple things really disturbed me today. Someone out there in the blogosphere mentioned that monarch butterflies are almost gone, and I got to thinking... I haven't even seen one this year. I'm pretty good at noticing stuff like that. I asked a few friends in different places, and they said they'd seen maybe one, two at most. One has a monarch caterpillar in her backyard on the milkweed she let grow for just that purpose. I've seen lots of cabbage moths, and one other butterfly. I don't know what kind, just that it was one of the orange varieties that isn't a monarch.
The other is that I have seen almost no bumblebees. I saw my first one last week. First one of the year.
Also, not so many flies. Of any kind. But, certainly more flies than bees.

Monsanto tried to discredit and ostracize Rachel Carson in the early 60's, when they were doing to nature what they're doing again right now.

We need another popular wake-up call like Silent Spring, but I'm afraid that people don't care as much about insects as they do about birds...

Ontario bee-keeper loses 37 million bees
A catastrophic year for bee colonies- The Globe and Mail
Loss of bees affects plant's abilities to reproduce- NY Times

They're actually so much more important.

Dead. Tired.

It's going to be a short one tonight, as we ran around a lot today, played with puppies for two hours, and made a 2 hour trip up to Vaughan to see the Bass Pro store that my husband's parents like to talk about. (That's 2 up and 2 back).

Honestly, it's more like a theme park than a store. Severe kitch and cheese syndrome. But, we did pick up a cot for my husband. He's never liked sleeping on the ground, so this might make camping less of a trial for him.

I'm feeling impatient with myself tonight. I wish I was in better physical condition. I'd really love to be able to go on a bike tour with my camping gear. It would kill me right now, though.

However, here is a short list of places I'd like to see/go/do:

La Route Verte in Quebec
and
The Iron Curtain Cycle Path

And I was right. The run and then fencing practice killed me... Dead.

So. Tired. Today.

Dog Days

This is my last week of summer before I'm back in the library. I'd better make it last. Although, getting a steady income again will be nice.

I discovered this morning that I can outrun my husband... but only when he has a mild lung infection. (Just you wait, Henry Higgins... I'm catching up.) My daughter still outruns me like I'm standing still. I may never catch up to her. And I'm perfectly okay with that. You go, girl!

Yesterday I dug out the bottom of the composter in our backyard, and then shoveled it all back into the top again, as it hadn't finished digesting. When we moved in the entire bottom of the thing was filled with shredded paper, and very little else. So, we cleaned it out a bit, threw some stuff on top, and left it to digest for a couple years.There were still some shreddies in there when I dug it out, and some very fragile eggshells (still in their halves, which I crushed). It was dry as a popcorn fart, too. So, I went in from the top, shoved everything down, mixed it up a bit with a pitchfork, and then watered it. That should get the everything working again. Air and water, and a bit of afternoon sunshine to speed up the thermal processes. Go, bacteria and fungi, go!

The soil in our area is pretty much pure clay, and this was worsened by the fact that the developer of our co-op stole all the topsoil (after he agreed to leave it, and we paid extra for that priviledge- he sure made off like a bandit that day. literally). So, consequently, the gardens in our backyard are not as nice as they could be. We've put in some compost, but it still dries and cracks in the heat. Hence, starting to kick the composter into gear. I expect there will be plenty of good, black dirt by next spring. Well, for one garden anyways. Probably the one that I grow my backyard veggies in. My community garden plot is completely set up after my dad's birthday gift to me of a small bale of topsoil. It's been fabulous this year.

Time to stuff some lunch into myself, and then off to the park to poke people with blunted weapons for a few hours. I'm going to be hella tired tonight after the run, and then this...

Can, can, can you do the can-can?

I went for a run this morning when everything was shiny with dew. Leaves glistened in the sun. It was quiet. A hardcore runner gave me a friendly wave of brotherhood and nodded at me. I replied with a cheerful 'morning'. That felt good. I don't like passing snobby runners who don't acknowledge your existence. Well, more like getting passed by and eating their dust.

I say 'going for a run' because it's a generic statement that everyone knows what you mean when you say it. Sort of like 'let's go out for coffee'. Even if you don't drink coffee, that's okay, because the act of going to a place that sells coffee is enough. You are socializing. So, I am 'going for a run', but it's really more like a dogged jog. With lots of walking. The rest-walks are becoming fewer and shorter, so I feel justified in continuing to say 'run'. I'll get there some day. Slowly. I get the feeling that I'll always be a racing snail. It still feels good, though. And that's what counts.

My kitchen is covered in fruit. I have so much canning to do it's insane. But, I am very glad to have found a Bernardin pectin that is gelled with calcium chloride (** edited to note: It's calcium ascorbate, not chloride. It's a type of vitamin C, not a salt. The salt is used in pickles.) instead of sugar, so I can make jam with my own preferred amount of sweetening. I tried peaches with nothing, but my dad, who agreed to be my guinea pig quite happily, says that it's not quite enough like jam. So, next batch gets some sugar. Just enough to make it sweet without rotting out your teeth.

There is one last batch of chutney to go, and then I'll make some tomato sauce for my husband and daughter. That's actually something that I miss quite a bit. Tomatoes make lots of things taste better, and they're a great meat tenderizer.

Ah, well. At least I still have pesto. Winter is going to be difficult, though. No fresh basil. I'll have to buy my pesto pre-made.

*sigh*

The Journey of a Thousand Miles

There's a gorgeous half-moon hanging in the almost-midnight sky. I'm up too late- way too late for someone who is by nature a morning person. But, I have to say that I'm frustrated. And worried. Trying to balance way too many spinning teacups; so many that I might be able to join the circus, except they're all in my head... and honestly, nobody wants to see that.

I'm starting this journal to bring some sense and clarity to my thoughts, without all the distraction of 'regular' social media. I get the feeling that Facebook is training my brain to be twitchy, random, and worried all the time. Sort of like a small rodent.

I need to start writing again. Last time I tried this I achieved great success through journaling. So. I'll try that again. Things in my life have come a long way in the last eight years. Building on that success is slow, and sometimes painful. True personal growth is rarely easy.

gnothi seauton- know thyself

This is also going to be a record and dumping ground for my eco-freak tendencies. There will be veggie gardens, organic soap and clothing, and home-made cheese. Also, paleo and extreme-celiac-friendly recipes. And, some grumbles about my learning disability when I'm feeling sorry for myself, which is less often, but it's still something I'm getting used to knowing about five years after diagnosis. Sometimes there are growing pains.

Well, the moon has moved a fair chunk since I started writing this, and I'm starting to feel tired.


Time for bed.