Song of the day: “Man down” by Rihanna. It comes and goes, and changes places with others, but on the overall this is the most consistent song of the past couple of days.
Started yesterday taking the cheeses from the salty water and set them out to dry on a big sieve. Now we’re going to see how that works, that’s for sure. I wonder. A couple had swollen from the twelve hours in the salty stuff, and one (the herbal mix cheese) was close to crumbling, but other than that they held okay. There appears to be a semblance of a crust forming, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Hah.
After that, well, the cheese making stint is over, and life as we know it, is gradually returning back to normal…for as far as it’s normal. Hah. The majority of yesterday was spent down in the pool apartment, putting in that boiler for Sally.
I was just there for the grunt work, seeing as whenever it’s about plumbing, big brother knows more about it than I. This meant that he did the big parts like using the big angle grinder on the wall and taking out about three inches of wall to make the boiler fit.
For the most part I was going back and forth up the mountain, getting whatever tools or supplies he needed to get the job done (I find this ten times more exhausting than just working on some project. Waiting and then hauling butt, you can never really get started, if you get my meaning?) This meant that I got a lot of mileage out of yesterday, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in regards to exercises. Hah. I didn’t have any in the morning, so that was a good substitute.
But anyway, there were masks involved, heavy machinery like the angle grinder and the jackhammer, but come afternoon we got to hanging the boiler in place. Fit like a glove too, which is a relief, I tell ya. So the boiler is now running on a timer. Considering there are four of those monsters in the house, and the low wattage that we’re allowed ‘round these parts doesn’t allow for all that many machines at the same time. But anyway, they’re all set to different times, so it should be okay.
The boiler in place and the mess we made dealt with…for the most part anyway, I once again went up to get supplies for big brother as he set to fixing the tubes of the basin water system. Dratted corner flew out the other day, so watering had to be done with the water main while he fixed the tubing with PVC glue and put in a new connection.
Did some sorting through the glass supply with grandpa. Almost lost a pile to that, since we were searching for a matte glass in the back. The whole construction almost collapsed, forcing me to serve as support beam of sorts while grandpa started taking away the other side. Hah.
Today, no time for a workout again, since tenant’s caregiver had to go to her other job, and I needed to help her change and walk her down to my terrace where she could spent the afternoon in a pleasant mix of sun and shade. Once she was settled, her drink and all her things with her, big brother and I headed down into the yard.
Since I’d already run down during laundry to open up the seedbed and greenhouse (the sun was fierce today, and I didn’t want to risk having the plants losing liquid to the burning sunshine) I could head straight for the seedlings and start gathering the best ones for transplantation into the yard.
Today was iceberg slaw and onion day, in case you’re wondering. Put in 32 slaw, which are looking absolutely adorable in-between the cabbages. So beautifully light green.
A bag of Stuttgarter reisen and a bag of Red Kame onions were planted as well, which made for interesting experience, bending over and breaking my back over the chore. Seriously, I took about half an hour to relocate my spinal disks. Hah. I did opt to do it barefoot (first time this year), knowing that it would do my feet a world of good. It was interesting to do that again, now that winter has gotten rid of all my calluses, I felt like a friggin’ rookie hippie walking down there. Hah. It’s going to take some getting used to again, that’s for sure.
Chaos has been feeling particularly uncomfortable since the day before yesterday. You see, he overate, and since his metabolism is so ridiculously low, he’s been hauling around this huge round belly for two days, moaning and groaning, and wanting nothing more than to snooze the day away. Since he appears to be so uncomfortable, I let him for the most part. Gawd, I really have to keep him out of the whey food. The trouble is, he is sooooo outraged with me, whenever I drag his butt into the cabin after he’s eaten his fair share. Seriously, if he could talk he’d be, “Aww, come on, boss. I’m hungry. I’m a growing boy, and I need food.” Hah.
Gada, is as of yesterday on an anti inflammatory, rather than prednisone. Since the prednisone increased her appetite to a point where she couldn’t stop eating, and gained at least fifteen pounds, I asked the vet for something else and am now trying it out.
As for editing…big brother is feeling a bit under the weather, so we’re not making a lot of progress. We’re about halfway through the paper edit, and so far we have not come across more than just a handful of inconsistencies and a load of typos. Hah. We’ll get there yet.
So, that concludes today’s blog, I guess. Lots more to do, including another edit, cooking (kale with mashed potatoes and a load of butter, thank you very much) and if I can swing it, as short, little, itty bitty nap. *sigh*
Showing posts with label cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheese. Show all posts
Monday, March 5, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Cheese, cheese and more cheese
Song of the day: “Next 2 you” by Chris Brown and Justin Bieber…again. Not that I mind the song, I like it after all, but it’s just a little embarrassing since I don’t know all the lyrics yet. Hah.
Busy day for as far as I’m concerned. It all started yesterday when we discovered that the boiler we had bought for a bargain (it had been damaged during transport, so they took 150 off the price) was too damaged for use. Big brother and I messed with it for more than two hours, trying to fix the problems it had (bent in three different directions, a few missing screws, non-functioning display, and so on and on) but in the end failed in our endeavor. It was really a lost cause, so we packed the bloody thing back up, put it in the car and departed to the city…again.
The positive news of that disaster was that we got a phone call of that shop owner we got milk from the last time. Turns out he had restocked wrong again, and had 175 liters of whole milk that he needed to get rid of. They were a couple of days past the expiration date, but since he is no longer allowed to sell them after, he figured he could do us a favor, for the dogs and us, of course. (He’ll be getting some ecologically grown veggies in the near future, hah.) Milk and cottage cheese, in fact. This of course meant that all that milk had to be processed ASAP…but I’ll get to that later. First the geyser story.
We got the hardware store on time, talked with the girl who sold us the thing, and got to an agreement of exchanging the geyser for a boiler instead. Darn it. We had so wanted a geyser because the three in the house are already drawing more than enough power, thank you very much. Ah well, no helping it. Sally does need her shower fully functional and since the boiler is much bigger than her geyser used to be, we’re going to have to use the angle grinder to open up the entrance of the niche in which it hangs. Boy, is that going to be a mess. That bathroom is tiny, with only a small window and a door that opens inward. *sigh* We’ll just have to wait and see how that works out then. It would have been nice if we’d done it today, but there was all that milk. Hah.
Oh, there was a workout yesterday, of course. It went rather well, even though I was ridiculously late getting started. Since the entire workout now officially takes an hour and a half (if I don’t rush it, which is not good) I was running behind on everything for the remainder of the day.
Got news from the computer repair guys that they’re not sure yet about big brother’s computer. They’re still running diagnostics, and won’t be able to give us a definite price until after Monday. Darn it. Poor big brother. So bravely trying to remain positive, but also clearly pessimistic whenever there’s no news. Ah well, we’ll know next week.
Once at home, it was time to prepare. Cheese making (or paneer, depending how you wanna call it, hah.) Yep, pans were taken out of the closets, half a gallon milk bottles got carried down, vinegar, salt, lemon juice and cheese cloths.
While big brother checked the packets of cottage cheese and threw them in the big freezer, cousin Ed and I started on the milk. Using three bottles per time, the cheese got made and bagged so we could freeze them too. Yay. We did have to get rid of some of the older bags of veggies, but since they are, as of today, boiled in whey and tossed into the small bathtub for the dogs’ dinner, they’re not by any means wasted. Yay.
So yeah, last night, while editing an occasional page, half of the milk was processed into a crumbly cheese that will be frozen for the next few months’ use. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it. Hah. Did get to bed in time (sorta) and had a good night’s rest (sorta) only to start again around noon today. Yay.
First there was laundry, however, along with a nice quick trip into the yard where everything got checked (that last rain did the smaller cabbage plants a lot of good; they were preening) before I head for the greenhouse to open it all up, select some fresh tomatoes which were ripe enough for shelf ripening. We got quite a lot at the moment. Six pounds, maybe. Awesome.
Then it was up for breakfast. Pancakes of whey, which is really nice and incredibly healthy because there are so many minerals in the stuff. And all this while cousin Ed had already started early and had dealt with three new batches. Yay.
My turn, and since I felt like experimenting, big brother made three molds and a press, so we could see what kind of hard cheese we could make of the curd. They’re now, after seven hours of hard work, under the press, and doing fine, I think.
The dogs love this experimental food thing. In particular because they get to clean dishes (now don’t say eeewwww, we wash it afterward) scrape out pans (yes, those too) and basically devour anything that falls, either accidentally, or on purpose. About four hours into the endeavor they were snoozing with fat stomachs. Hah.
Except Chaos and Groovy, the latter of which had found the bathtub filled with food and was hanging in it as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Chaos, in turn, didn’t appreciate this form of gluttony, and was trotting back and forth behind the boxer, barking his head off in outrage. Seriously, I could hear him cry, “What are you doing, you vile creature? Why are you eating MY food? Get out, get out, get out!” while Groovy continued on as if he didn’t hear a thing. *sigh*
Tenant came down from her place and sat on my porch for company. The sun was bright, the air not too cool and the sky without clouds for the most part of the day. Perfect outside day. She’s doing better, by the way. Talking clearer again, more THERE, if you get my meaning.
At the moment the rest of the dogs are eating, unsure whether they are able to finish the lavish meal, but sure making an effort. Hah. Heck, even Knight II is still eating.
I better start cleaning up. We made a mess with this cheese making business, and there is still lots to do before the end of the day is there. If am looking forward to that time, however. I think I’m running on fumes again.
Busy day for as far as I’m concerned. It all started yesterday when we discovered that the boiler we had bought for a bargain (it had been damaged during transport, so they took 150 off the price) was too damaged for use. Big brother and I messed with it for more than two hours, trying to fix the problems it had (bent in three different directions, a few missing screws, non-functioning display, and so on and on) but in the end failed in our endeavor. It was really a lost cause, so we packed the bloody thing back up, put it in the car and departed to the city…again.
The positive news of that disaster was that we got a phone call of that shop owner we got milk from the last time. Turns out he had restocked wrong again, and had 175 liters of whole milk that he needed to get rid of. They were a couple of days past the expiration date, but since he is no longer allowed to sell them after, he figured he could do us a favor, for the dogs and us, of course. (He’ll be getting some ecologically grown veggies in the near future, hah.) Milk and cottage cheese, in fact. This of course meant that all that milk had to be processed ASAP…but I’ll get to that later. First the geyser story.
We got the hardware store on time, talked with the girl who sold us the thing, and got to an agreement of exchanging the geyser for a boiler instead. Darn it. We had so wanted a geyser because the three in the house are already drawing more than enough power, thank you very much. Ah well, no helping it. Sally does need her shower fully functional and since the boiler is much bigger than her geyser used to be, we’re going to have to use the angle grinder to open up the entrance of the niche in which it hangs. Boy, is that going to be a mess. That bathroom is tiny, with only a small window and a door that opens inward. *sigh* We’ll just have to wait and see how that works out then. It would have been nice if we’d done it today, but there was all that milk. Hah.
Oh, there was a workout yesterday, of course. It went rather well, even though I was ridiculously late getting started. Since the entire workout now officially takes an hour and a half (if I don’t rush it, which is not good) I was running behind on everything for the remainder of the day.
Got news from the computer repair guys that they’re not sure yet about big brother’s computer. They’re still running diagnostics, and won’t be able to give us a definite price until after Monday. Darn it. Poor big brother. So bravely trying to remain positive, but also clearly pessimistic whenever there’s no news. Ah well, we’ll know next week.
Once at home, it was time to prepare. Cheese making (or paneer, depending how you wanna call it, hah.) Yep, pans were taken out of the closets, half a gallon milk bottles got carried down, vinegar, salt, lemon juice and cheese cloths.
While big brother checked the packets of cottage cheese and threw them in the big freezer, cousin Ed and I started on the milk. Using three bottles per time, the cheese got made and bagged so we could freeze them too. Yay. We did have to get rid of some of the older bags of veggies, but since they are, as of today, boiled in whey and tossed into the small bathtub for the dogs’ dinner, they’re not by any means wasted. Yay.
So yeah, last night, while editing an occasional page, half of the milk was processed into a crumbly cheese that will be frozen for the next few months’ use. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it. Hah. Did get to bed in time (sorta) and had a good night’s rest (sorta) only to start again around noon today. Yay.
First there was laundry, however, along with a nice quick trip into the yard where everything got checked (that last rain did the smaller cabbage plants a lot of good; they were preening) before I head for the greenhouse to open it all up, select some fresh tomatoes which were ripe enough for shelf ripening. We got quite a lot at the moment. Six pounds, maybe. Awesome.
Then it was up for breakfast. Pancakes of whey, which is really nice and incredibly healthy because there are so many minerals in the stuff. And all this while cousin Ed had already started early and had dealt with three new batches. Yay.
My turn, and since I felt like experimenting, big brother made three molds and a press, so we could see what kind of hard cheese we could make of the curd. They’re now, after seven hours of hard work, under the press, and doing fine, I think.
The dogs love this experimental food thing. In particular because they get to clean dishes (now don’t say eeewwww, we wash it afterward) scrape out pans (yes, those too) and basically devour anything that falls, either accidentally, or on purpose. About four hours into the endeavor they were snoozing with fat stomachs. Hah.
Except Chaos and Groovy, the latter of which had found the bathtub filled with food and was hanging in it as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Chaos, in turn, didn’t appreciate this form of gluttony, and was trotting back and forth behind the boxer, barking his head off in outrage. Seriously, I could hear him cry, “What are you doing, you vile creature? Why are you eating MY food? Get out, get out, get out!” while Groovy continued on as if he didn’t hear a thing. *sigh*
Tenant came down from her place and sat on my porch for company. The sun was bright, the air not too cool and the sky without clouds for the most part of the day. Perfect outside day. She’s doing better, by the way. Talking clearer again, more THERE, if you get my meaning.
At the moment the rest of the dogs are eating, unsure whether they are able to finish the lavish meal, but sure making an effort. Hah. Heck, even Knight II is still eating.
I better start cleaning up. We made a mess with this cheese making business, and there is still lots to do before the end of the day is there. If am looking forward to that time, however. I think I’m running on fumes again.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Milk, milk, milk
Song of the day: “Haven’t met you yet,” by Michael Bublé. Thankfully the classics gave me a rest today. Yesterday, however, Doris Day’s “perhaps perhaps perhaps” was still there. Hah.
So I’m a tad tired, which is weird, since I slept more than enough hours last night. Ah well, I’ll just have another early night today.
Did a workout yesterday morning, naturally, but today I totally didn’t feel like it, so instead I opted to run up our incline a couple of times, which really makes for a fantastic substitute. It’s a 45 to 55 degree angle, and works better than a Stairmaster. By the time I reached the top of the drive sweep, I almost passed out. Hah.
But anyway, yesterday’s workout was business as usual, followed by a laundry session and then getting ready to go to Marbella. Yep, time to face the masses in search of glass fiber putty. We need to make repairs on the old camper (springing leakage all over the place) and in town they no longer have the tube of hardener. In fact they haven’t had it in more than three months, which makes this trip kinda vital.
Did a few groceries, visited a friend at the same time. Turns out he had 140 liters of milk that had expired the day before. He wanted to get rid of it, so we offered to take it of his hands. Which brings us to the majority of the activities since then. Processing 140 liters into a cheese-like substance is not easy, I assure you, and apparently 140 liters is more than approximately 70 dogs can devour. Hah. The whey is incredibly good for them, but since the stuff won’t hold they’ll have to go through it fast. And boy have they been trying.
Seriously, there is fortitude necessary to make your way through a child’s bathtub in search of the bottom, but Chaos, Tadaika, Labhana, Bambi and Indigo made an effort. They round as barrels at the moment. Knight II, on the other hand, who could easily eat up to twenty pounds according to the program on animal planet, barely managed to liters. He’s such a whiner when it comes to food. I swear, if I didn’t put it in front of him, he wouldn’t bother.
But anyway, made some serious fresh cheese last night, this morning and right now. I’ve got nine 2 liter bottles to go and then the lot is processed. Have I ever said that processing food is exhausting? It is…but also worth it. Yay! I love nice gifts like that.
Added to the pleasure was old bread for the dogs, which they positively love. Seriously, there are times I think that our dogs enjoy bread and raw veggies more than meat.
Also went out to get sand last night, which allowed for a short walk with Knight II. He was of course his whiny self (seriously, for such a majestic creature he’s incredibly whiny about some things) and rushed back to the car vying for his favorite spot.
Yesterday’s edit went rather badly. It didn’t help that I really wanted to go to bed, but still, another three pages got done. Just hope that today will allow for that at least too.
Which brings us to today, eh?
So there was the run, I mentioned, and my doubting for a minute or two…or twenty to go back to bed.
A busy day, all in all. I started it off with…well, the L word, and then started on breakfast of stirred eggs and veggies. That done, along with a quick chat with tenant whom I set up to paint her cabinet doors on her own, I unloaded the car of sand, and cleaned the lot out so the sibs could load up later for the market.
Next I went down into the yard. Big brother was digging out the batches of potatoes that didn’t survive the rain, and ended up with two crates of potatoes for his efforts. I decided to hunt pumpkins. Found five of ‘m hiding in the vines and bushes. Also gathered some tomatoes, herbs for cream cheese later on, and a few peppers.
Only found a few bugs during the whole episode, which is good, and the first broccolis are forming at last. After that rather calming session in the yard, we went up and decided to change the schedule a little and managed to (after preparing dog food with the many, many liters of whey) get in two hours of editing before we resumed work by starting on a frame and door for the storage of fuel and oil changes and such.
Dinner was next, and since tenant had already cut all the veggies for me, it was easy as pie to prepare. Hah.
Which brings us to now, five hours later and 30 liters more of whey that has been separated from the future cheese. Am going to freeze most of it, mind you. Can hardly expect us to eat that much of the stuff. There’s like endless pounds of it.
Well, I’m going to enjoy my tea now, put my foot up, because it is burning somewhat fierce, and try to get some edits done. Gotta go.
So I’m a tad tired, which is weird, since I slept more than enough hours last night. Ah well, I’ll just have another early night today.
Did a workout yesterday morning, naturally, but today I totally didn’t feel like it, so instead I opted to run up our incline a couple of times, which really makes for a fantastic substitute. It’s a 45 to 55 degree angle, and works better than a Stairmaster. By the time I reached the top of the drive sweep, I almost passed out. Hah.
But anyway, yesterday’s workout was business as usual, followed by a laundry session and then getting ready to go to Marbella. Yep, time to face the masses in search of glass fiber putty. We need to make repairs on the old camper (springing leakage all over the place) and in town they no longer have the tube of hardener. In fact they haven’t had it in more than three months, which makes this trip kinda vital.
Did a few groceries, visited a friend at the same time. Turns out he had 140 liters of milk that had expired the day before. He wanted to get rid of it, so we offered to take it of his hands. Which brings us to the majority of the activities since then. Processing 140 liters into a cheese-like substance is not easy, I assure you, and apparently 140 liters is more than approximately 70 dogs can devour. Hah. The whey is incredibly good for them, but since the stuff won’t hold they’ll have to go through it fast. And boy have they been trying.
Seriously, there is fortitude necessary to make your way through a child’s bathtub in search of the bottom, but Chaos, Tadaika, Labhana, Bambi and Indigo made an effort. They round as barrels at the moment. Knight II, on the other hand, who could easily eat up to twenty pounds according to the program on animal planet, barely managed to liters. He’s such a whiner when it comes to food. I swear, if I didn’t put it in front of him, he wouldn’t bother.
But anyway, made some serious fresh cheese last night, this morning and right now. I’ve got nine 2 liter bottles to go and then the lot is processed. Have I ever said that processing food is exhausting? It is…but also worth it. Yay! I love nice gifts like that.
Added to the pleasure was old bread for the dogs, which they positively love. Seriously, there are times I think that our dogs enjoy bread and raw veggies more than meat.
Also went out to get sand last night, which allowed for a short walk with Knight II. He was of course his whiny self (seriously, for such a majestic creature he’s incredibly whiny about some things) and rushed back to the car vying for his favorite spot.
Yesterday’s edit went rather badly. It didn’t help that I really wanted to go to bed, but still, another three pages got done. Just hope that today will allow for that at least too.
Which brings us to today, eh?
So there was the run, I mentioned, and my doubting for a minute or two…or twenty to go back to bed.
A busy day, all in all. I started it off with…well, the L word, and then started on breakfast of stirred eggs and veggies. That done, along with a quick chat with tenant whom I set up to paint her cabinet doors on her own, I unloaded the car of sand, and cleaned the lot out so the sibs could load up later for the market.
Next I went down into the yard. Big brother was digging out the batches of potatoes that didn’t survive the rain, and ended up with two crates of potatoes for his efforts. I decided to hunt pumpkins. Found five of ‘m hiding in the vines and bushes. Also gathered some tomatoes, herbs for cream cheese later on, and a few peppers.
Only found a few bugs during the whole episode, which is good, and the first broccolis are forming at last. After that rather calming session in the yard, we went up and decided to change the schedule a little and managed to (after preparing dog food with the many, many liters of whey) get in two hours of editing before we resumed work by starting on a frame and door for the storage of fuel and oil changes and such.
Dinner was next, and since tenant had already cut all the veggies for me, it was easy as pie to prepare. Hah.
Which brings us to now, five hours later and 30 liters more of whey that has been separated from the future cheese. Am going to freeze most of it, mind you. Can hardly expect us to eat that much of the stuff. There’s like endless pounds of it.
Well, I’m going to enjoy my tea now, put my foot up, because it is burning somewhat fierce, and try to get some edits done. Gotta go.
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