Covered Over...

I haven't had time to write much to post lately (other than the nuke stuff) even though I've been extremely busy. Fortunately I had a few things in the pipeline.

Having decided in the last year to make cheese and to cure meats, I've accumulated a lot of equipment, supplies and tools for those passions over the winter months, with no 'real' home for those things. So I'm busy installing a wall, lots of shelving, painting, and totally re-organizing my general prep area.

Along with that newly acquired pile of accoutrements, my walk-in pantry somehow became Fibber McGee's Closet over the winter, attracting every single thing that I was too busy (or too lazy) to put away properly... to the point I couldn't even walk in there anymore without jeopardizing life and limb!

Plus, it's that time of the year... getting the garden ready to plant, and putting in some early cold-hardy vegetables. In my case, there's also lots of clean-up in the herb garden which is shared by some tall ornamental grasses. I leave all the growth from the previous summer in place, hoping for some protection over winter... which is good for the plants but makes more work in the spring. 

I continue trying to keep rosemary alive in the ground over a winter, this past winter by piling mulch over them; I cannot bring them inside for winter thanks to my cats. It doesn't look like I have succeeded yet in keeping one alive. Sigh. When I lived in Asheville (one full zone warmer) my rosemary bushes were 4-5 feet tall!


Oh, and I've been making cheese, too... but nothing new to show you. If you've seen one big pot full of milk cooking that's then been cultured and then cut into curds, you've seen the beginning of most cheesemaking. What I'm making now won't be ready to taste for months, so why bore you with more photos of "cooking milk" and "cutting curds"??

To add insult to injury, it snowed March 28 on my just-planted early vegetables, and I also have an intestinal bug. Still. Ugh.

Gads! I didn't think things could get worse, foolish me. One of my dearest friends died yesterday, after battling cancer over and over. That's a hole in my heart that cannot be filled except by keeping the wonderful memories in it.

I'm taking a fairly short break from posting. I may even drive to Florida for my friend's funeral if I can figure out the finances.