Catching Up

Hot chocolate's served, grocery list is made out, seed blocks are watered, and all's right with the world.

Yes, special hot chocolate was called for this morning, as we experienced a bit of snow. Probably our best one so far this winter, but still not much. Enough for 15yo daughter and 5yo son to scrape together a small snowman. And it continues to flurry, even as the snow quickly disappears on the grass. The hot chocolate I made was "Hot Chocolate to Die For," except that we're about out of cream, and rarely if ever keep half-and-half on hand. (What's the point of half-and-half, anyway??) I made the semi-sweet version, since that's the kind of chips we had enough of. It's incredibly rich, even when made with whole milk! I can remember years ago (even before we had children, I think), when Keith made some with cream, I couldn't even drink a full cup, it was so rich!

We made seed blocks last Thurday for tomatoes, peppers, and a few herbs. We have a few more to make in a week or so, then we'll be done with indoor seed-starting (I think). Today, I noticed a few sprouts of some peppers and feverfew (an herb that, when used early enough, helps with migraines, and of which I'm hoping to have a bountiful crop!!).

My last batch of soap is in full use now, and turned out well. The one I helped a friend make will be ready for use in a few days, and is looking good. (We're looking forward to seeing that family sometime next month!)

A cat has adopted us. She's a young one, and still somewhat small, although from the sounds of her and Scruggs last night, we may well be having some kittens in the not-too-distant future. We really need to name her, I guess. Right now, she's still "the black cat." She seems much more self-sufficient than Scruggs ever has; it would be nice if we could get her out to the barn, and let her and the future kittens keep rodents at bay out there. It would also get the cats away from the kitchen door, where they are a loud nuisance everytime we open the door.

(Not a great picture, but she's something of a difficult subject!)

We're enjoying kefir and kombucha, thanks to friends giving us starters for both. We drink the kefir, usually, with sweetened strawberry puree and a bit of cream--delicious! And the kombucha, we just strain and drink. On my first batch of kombucha, I had to check with the friend I got the starter from: were the brown colonies of gooey icky-looking stuff okay, or had I done something wrong? She said they're actually a good sign, and good to have. She (and we) strain that off, but she said her husband actually drinks that! I'm not that tough, yet, although, as I told her, I've had to change my ideas about what's good and bad in the last few years, as I study and learn more about our food supply and what is truly healthy!

Mary Susan