(no subject)
Apr. 3rd, 2011 11:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
camwynI have a big orange cat curled up in my lap, purring. Sometime soon I am going to have to get up and get dressed and head to my parents', but for now I am enjoying the company of one of my household carnivores and the knowledge that he trusts me and finds contentment in my presence. He could be anywhere else in the apartment that he wanted, including the sunny windowsill or the cushy foot of the bed, but for right now, he's here with me.
Yesterday I spent three hours on my bike. This is not as much distance as it may sound, because that time was spent in Manhattan. Manhattan is not a good place to have to ride a bike. There are bike lanes, sometimes; they often have taxis in them, or double-parkers, or delivery trucks that have to be there because otherwise they'll disrupt most of the flow of traffic and get their unloaders killed. There are potholes. There are streets that don't actually have two-way painted markings, just dual arrow signs to indicate 'oh, yeah, there'll be cars coming at you now'. There are seven-block stretches where the city's ripped up the asphalt in preparation for smoothing new stuff over it all at once, but the street's not closed off yet, so you've got to ride down abraded streets and hope you aren't tearing up your tires. There are stoplights every street or two, and there are millions upon millions of other people driving and walking and doing all kinds of other things that you have to watch out for. It's a little nerve-wracking. I managed anyway, just not with any kind of real speed or distance, and at the end of it I had two gallons of Tonjes Farm Dairy non-homogenized whole milk and a Denmark 12-quart stockpot to show for my efforts, as well as twelve miles for the day to my name.
I've got about two pounds of mozzarella cheese in the fridge right now. I decided that later this week I want to make some pizza, so I made the cheese for it- I'll be making the dough too. The whey got cooked and acidulated to get me ricotta. Haven't decided what to do with that yet. I'll think of something later today since fresh whey ricotta shouldn't be kept for long. It's not much, maybe a cup or so, but it's really quite nice. Haven't given any to the cats. Seems like even a tiny amount of dairy causes Shula to have difficulties later in the day. I'm not going to give him something he likes if it just makes him do ungodly things at the litterbox. He trusts me. I'm not going to hurt him.
One day I am going to look up how to build a solar still or atmospheric condensor or something of that nature and build one, if it's not too hideously complicated. Partly for the experience but mostly for the right to say I made my own water. I make no claims at being truly self-sufficient. I'd have to be able to forage if dropped in Great Swamp on my own for that. I'd have to have land and seeds and a well and all kinds of things and farm the wheat and animals that I'd be relying on to make the stuff I use for dinner and knitting and what have you. But there is something about knowing that I could get a resource by my own efforts if I had to, or that I could prepare something with a lot less help than most, that I get a charge out of. I may not be able to build a computer from stone knives and bearskins, but I can at least make thus-and-such from the raw ingredients, without having to rely on prepackaged combinations and components I know nothing about.
Yesterday I spent three hours on my bike. This is not as much distance as it may sound, because that time was spent in Manhattan. Manhattan is not a good place to have to ride a bike. There are bike lanes, sometimes; they often have taxis in them, or double-parkers, or delivery trucks that have to be there because otherwise they'll disrupt most of the flow of traffic and get their unloaders killed. There are potholes. There are streets that don't actually have two-way painted markings, just dual arrow signs to indicate 'oh, yeah, there'll be cars coming at you now'. There are seven-block stretches where the city's ripped up the asphalt in preparation for smoothing new stuff over it all at once, but the street's not closed off yet, so you've got to ride down abraded streets and hope you aren't tearing up your tires. There are stoplights every street or two, and there are millions upon millions of other people driving and walking and doing all kinds of other things that you have to watch out for. It's a little nerve-wracking. I managed anyway, just not with any kind of real speed or distance, and at the end of it I had two gallons of Tonjes Farm Dairy non-homogenized whole milk and a Denmark 12-quart stockpot to show for my efforts, as well as twelve miles for the day to my name.
I've got about two pounds of mozzarella cheese in the fridge right now. I decided that later this week I want to make some pizza, so I made the cheese for it- I'll be making the dough too. The whey got cooked and acidulated to get me ricotta. Haven't decided what to do with that yet. I'll think of something later today since fresh whey ricotta shouldn't be kept for long. It's not much, maybe a cup or so, but it's really quite nice. Haven't given any to the cats. Seems like even a tiny amount of dairy causes Shula to have difficulties later in the day. I'm not going to give him something he likes if it just makes him do ungodly things at the litterbox. He trusts me. I'm not going to hurt him.
One day I am going to look up how to build a solar still or atmospheric condensor or something of that nature and build one, if it's not too hideously complicated. Partly for the experience but mostly for the right to say I made my own water. I make no claims at being truly self-sufficient. I'd have to be able to forage if dropped in Great Swamp on my own for that. I'd have to have land and seeds and a well and all kinds of things and farm the wheat and animals that I'd be relying on to make the stuff I use for dinner and knitting and what have you. But there is something about knowing that I could get a resource by my own efforts if I had to, or that I could prepare something with a lot less help than most, that I get a charge out of. I may not be able to build a computer from stone knives and bearskins, but I can at least make thus-and-such from the raw ingredients, without having to rely on prepackaged combinations and components I know nothing about.
