yogurt

I like yogurt but it does not always like me.  But I had a yogurt parfait at lunch recently and I did not crash that afternoon.  It was a "aha!" moment.  I have been crashing in the afternoon and having troubles finding what I really needed to eat.  My naturopath was telling me it is an adrenal crash and I believe it but I still needed something.  The yogurt and nice beasties worked.  The thing is that if there is yogurt in the house my Beloved eats it and it starts getting very expensive.  I do not like the least expensive yogurt on the shelf.  I always seem to like the most expensive yogurt! 

What is the answer?  Make your own of course.  But I normally do that in my oven with my oven light as a heat source for the beasties to grow and be happy to make my yogurt.  My oven light went out during my Christmas baking and I needed to find an alternative.

I got on the internet and found out that YES! I could use my crockpot to make yogurt.  This was very simple.

Yogurt

Whole milk

Heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup active yeasty beasties yogurt (same as bread, just different!)

My Beloved wanted me to try making yogurt with heavy whipping cream in it so I did.

Very every two cups of whole milk add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream to your crockpot.  Fill the crockpot with this mixture until about 1 to 2 inches from the top. Cover.  Turn on low for 2 1/2 hours.

After 2 1/2 hours, turn off and unplug your crockpot for 3 hours, never lifting the lid.

After 3 hours, put 1/2 cups of yogurt in a small bowl.  Uncover the milk/cream mixture.  Take two cups of the mixture out of the crockpot and whisk it into the yogurt.  When well mixed, pour it back into the crockpot with the rest of the milk and stir well.  

Cover.  Wrap with a thick bath towel.  Let sit for a minimum of eight hours.  I let mine sit for closer to twenty.

Unwrap and you will have yogurt.  It will be on the thinner side.  If you wish thicker, line a colander with a clean towel.  Pour the yogurt in.  Cover with a plate and let drain for a couple hours or until it is the consistency you wish.

Yummy very smooth, very rich yogurt!  Without breaking the grocery budget or running to the store every two days.  I may need a larger refrigerator (smile).  I may try it with hempmilk and probiotics for my Beloved.  Hmmmmm.

aerial yoga

When I have been weaving for any length of time or sewing or cooking or gardening or.....  I start to ache.  That is the arthritis and chronic pain syndrome I have.  I find yoga helps even though I really do not like it.  Russell and I were looking at a friends pictures and were like "why is hanging upside down and what is she doing?"  Come to find out she was doing anti-gravity yoga in Salt Lake City.    We do not have such a place but we did some research.  There is an aerial yoga manual published which is similar but different.  The idea of doing yoga while hanging from the ceiling or upside down really appealed to me, especially since it is supposed to decompress your joints and back.

Russell got the silk installed the day after Christmas.  With the book, this is really cool.  I have to admit that there are some fearless people around here so there is a bit of looking at the world upside down.  It is decompressing my joints but I am surprised how much muscle I am adding.  I can already tell there is a difference and I am using the silk everyday.  This is actually on top of the twenty minutes of yoga I do everyday just to get moving.  It is so cool!  But not tonight.  I am so tired I am about to fall over and I have a few chores to do.  Tomorrow I will fly again!  

My name is Viktor!

This is the last of the kid gifts.  As I said previously, my creativity when it comes to normal looking dolls or bears or such is really not great.  But let me do a monster or strange type creature?  Very cool!  I went through my scrap pile and came up with a black corduroy and a cool grey blue green cotton.  I layered the cotton on top of the corduroy and stitched it down to give the body of the creature some interest.

I then went back into my scrap pile and used a tattered cashmere sweater, ribbons, and leftover pieces of a different cotton for the hair.  I sewed the body together with the hair inside.  Turned it.  Stuffed it and added red and purple eyes.

My name is Viktor (with a good thick Transylvanian accent).  I have red and purple eyes that will see through all!

And outrageously gorgeous hair!  (Yes, he is little bit vain).

I live in this faboooolous birch tree bag!

I enjoyed making him.  He has lots of character!

the loom is warped!

I promise I will get back to Christmas and I have some new recipes to share (and actually try) but my loom is warped!

Once the warp was wound, I had to tie each of the selvage ends to a dowel to tie to my loom.

I moved the warp from the warping frame to the loom my Beloved built me many years ago.

The warp gets tied and tightened to the loom.  It has to be stretched so it will weave easier.

The last step was too tie the heddle on.  I have to admit that is only the second time I have done all of this and it is still a learning process but you know what?

But with all that:  I AM WEAVING!  I am so excited.  It took me about eight hours to get all the warping and additional tasks done to start weaving.  The weaving is going well but I have only been able to do a little bit because there is life outside of weaving.  It includes food and skating and sewing and work.....  I am rather busy, are I not?  This makes me smile though (smile).

warping on New Years Eve

I have been having a craving to weave for the last couple months.  Trying to work and setup a loom during the holiday season is a bit difficult.  Today was one of the first quiet days I have had.  I know I should be finishing more Christmas projects but this was just for me.

My Beloved had some stray lumber in the right lengths which I used for the warping frame.  I took two dowels and tied them down with yarn I do not particularly care for.  I do not know why I bought it.  Maybe I was given it????

This is what the warping frame looks like when it is put together.

I am using a cotton warp yarn because my spinning is not good enough yet to make a continuos yarn that does not break.  I still spin too thin at times which work well with crochet but not warp.  I have tried this past!  I tried to keep the warp about 1/4 of an inch apart but the selvage really controls that.

I put a selvage on each edge.  My Beloved built me a Navajo loom a bit ago and this is how put a selvage on.  This is also the point where you are supposed to be able to sleep and eat.

I had this grandchild all day.  My tall short person was hurt last night so she was not in the place to watch over him.  I had a few interruptions so I will see how the warp works.  

This step is done.  It still needs to moved to the loom.  It only took four or five hours to do this but it is a have to step.  Just for me.  I am going to make a yoga rug.  We have been enjoying a small handmade wool rug I picked up for our yoga.  We decided we needed a larger one.  This is how we are going to "buy" one (smile).

(Tall short person's friend was very fascinated with this.  He had never seen anything like it, even with eight sisters)