The City Mouse in the Country

       A few days ago I posted that to a site that I belong to that deals with philosophy and religion.  I'm not sure where it's from or who the artist was that originally did the piece.  I would give them credit if I knew.          What intereested me to this little meme was simple.  People are willing to accept the idea of Intelligent Alien Life, of which we have no proof of, without question.   Yet refuse to believe what is true and provable because they are biased in their opinions or it contracts some other deeply held value or belief.      Again, this is a non political blog but, sadly, this article is going to touch upon some religious and political viewpoints that can be controversial.   So you have been warned.      However there is a really huge fallacy here first that needs to be addressed because everyone concentrates on the alien.   What this pos...

    **EDIT**  Someone just pointed this out to me in another group that I belong to that many homesteaders - or those attempting to homestead (or just simplify life like I'm trying to do) have must more to worry about than ceiling fans and paint.   They have drought, predators and wildfires to worry about.   It is a fair criticism.     I am not belittling those facts.   This blog is only about my adventures and worries.   I may have to deal with those things one day.   If I upset someone because of this piece I am sorry, that was not my intent.   However we are all on our own journey.  This is mine and I decided to share it with you.          In the past couple of days Susan and I realized something.   We had goals set for the winter, things that we wanted to accomplish...and for what ever reason, we failed to meet those goals. Even though winter is tech...

  Special thanks to USA Today      A friend of mine online recently stated that the state of Texas was having a "Come to Jesus" moment.  Meaning that Texans would have some hard decisions to make in the coming weeks due to the winter storm.   Because a lot of the problems that were caused by this storm could have been avoid in the first place by simply listening to experts and making simple adjustments.     My heart goes out to the millions of people who have been without power for anywhere between 24 to 36 hours plus at the time of this writing.   Not being used to that type of cold, they were simply not prepared for roads covered in ice or electric lines snapping.  They were not prepared for the fact that water lines can freeze and or burst in these types of conditions.       Not having to deal with these types of conditions on a day to day basis, they were simply unprepared.     ...

      I recently read something that both surprised me and shocked me.   I was not looking for a research project, I wasn't even looking for anything but a distraction.   The problem is this particular distraction combined a few things that I love.   Food, being one of them, and History being the other.   It also contained a mystery; which at first seemed like a shock.  However it really something I had never really thought about before...but after a day of research all the puzzle pieces fell into place and it made sense.     So what was the mystery?    Exactly.     Japanese, and to a lesser extent Chinese culture had never really developed a Cheese or Dairy Culture.    I knew for example that in Tibet and other areas Yak's were used for the production of dairy.  Yak's milk is around 6 to 11% butterfat, meaning that it is perfect for things like yogurt, butter and chee...

 **edit - I received some feedback that the links I share are not always visible.  So I am going to try highlighting them for now to see if that helps.** Maybe an actual photo of me?        Spring is coming, there is even a countdown clock for it available on the internet.  So far the winter hasn't been as bad as I had feared.   We have only had a few days where the temperature has dropped below freezing and for the most part the snow has been manageable.   I've managed to only have to shovel my driveway a handful of times this year.  We are currently experiencing the coldest snap of the year but the day is sunny and bright and that helps.     I have to admit that I'm not happy at this moment, being wrapped up in sweaters and wearing thermal pajamas to bed each night.  However, I remind myself that this to shall pass.     I moved South to escape the cold and moved back up north to escape the ...

     I don't know what attracts me to "Amish Cheese's."  I came across a few recipes while putting about on the interwebs and was taken by them.  They do seem rather simple to make and they require little in actual work but they do require time.  While not exactly a "set it and forget it" cheese, these cheeses often used milk that has spoiled naturally over time or "Clabbered."       Which, considering the Amish lifestyle, makes perfect sense.  The Amish are not a wasteful people.        One cheese that caught my eye is called Amish Cup Cheese.   It is a soft spread where you heated the milk to room temperature first (about 72 F) then let it cool, letting the curds seperate from the whey.    Then you add a bit ingredients and again...you "rested" the cheese for 12 hours before moving on to the next step.  Then, again add some more ingredients then rest for 5 hours before moving on.  It's...

      I was thinking about something that I posted on my companion Facebook page as I drove home my brother's house in Pittsburgh the other night.   I was also thinking about how in the previous week or so I had submitted some previous things that I wrote for review with a paying publisher.        A few years ago, I wrote a short story because it demanded to be written.  I was up every day for several months at 5 AM, writing for two or 3 or 4 hours.   The short story become a novella...then a novel.  I edited it and reedited it in the months since, then a published author friend of mine gave me an "in" with her publisher.  I submitted my work.   It was  rejected, which is not that uncommon.  I took the rejection letter in stride...and took their advice to heart as well.   They pointed out a few strengths and weakness's in my writing as well as giving me the tools to improve my work....