S is for Slacker, of which I am the queen.
It is also for Secretive that describes how I have been feeling lately.
And Selective which is a very nice way to say I am very, very picky.
I am itching to make
Burridge Lake Aran Afghan but would really like to know how to take the directions and make a chart. Hmm, first I hated charts and cried with a headache any time one crossed my path, now I beg for them. Any suggestions?
Life has been full of ups and downs. Some relationships have ended while others either flourish or struggle to hang on. I hesitate to blog much anymore. It makes me somewhat uncomfortable at times now for reasons I cannot define. Bear with me while I find my way again.
Apple butter has been 'put up'. 2 batches worth, 16 jelly jars which is about 8 pints if I remember correctly. This second batch I let cook overnight in the crockpot so it would be thicker. My $2.99 food processor made quick work of the final pureeing (that looks weird!). Now to secure apples for sauce and maybe pie filling. I put my dad on the job of getting some since I've been unable to get up to the orchard Denise told me about. Thursday was to be my day for errands which included finding a bushel of apples and buying cheese. Weds. night, the brakes went out on my van so Thursday was taken by Hubster fixing them. By the time he was done, it was too late for me to head to Amish Country. There was time but with weekend traffic and the stops I needed to make, it would have been a disaster. Hopefully, I'll get there soon because we need some decent cheese.
Yup, fairly local cheese. Like much of blogland, I am reading Barbara Kingsolver's
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Having grown up with huge vegetable gardens and raising our own beef and pork, reading this has been in many ways, a journey back to my childhood. In other ways, it has helped me see how much food is really available locally. CSAs are not abundant in our area, I've not found a truly local source for meat, blueberries, pears, flour, salt or sweetener(sugar) yet but I am willing to look. We are going to try square foot gardening next year because it makes more sense to me, will be easier for me to tend and Hubster can trim the yard right up to the boxes without damaging the garden. I hope to compost more (a paper shredder would really help add to that pile!), buy in bulk whenever possible and continue to cook largely from scratch. Back to that cheese. For roughly the same price I pay at WM, I can get fresh cheese that beats the socks off the mass produced stuff. And I get it with a smile, thank-you and please come again!The girls have noticed the subtle differences in taste and how the butter "changes color with the seasons. Things our grandparents took for granted.
