[Living Sensical] You call this winter? Better take what we can get...
Back to balmy 40's winter temps, with the snow melted off. I'm back to writing, publishing, researching - and some butter and cheese making...
Hi,
Now we’re back up to “average” winter weather, which means balmy 40’s during the day, and sometimes not freezing at night. While it lasts…
Subjects this week:
Farm News - lack of snow, tiny home, making butter and cheese
Writing News - course results, new book - again, copywriting research
Farm News
And, just that fast, the snow is melted and we’re back to “average” around here. Highs are in the mid-40’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Bare ground, overcast skies. (What I used to call “Mizzery” weather - a play on our state’s name.)
But It’s very nice to get back to wearing a light hoodie under a jeans jacket, and skip the long-handled underwear for a bit.
The cows had broken down my single strand electric fence - all three of them that were supposed to keep them out. So I left them for the time, since it was so miserable out - for them and me. They didn’t bother the double-strand electric fence around the edges, so they only got out into half of the bales.
Since they only eat on average about a bale a day, I just left them. However, now I have to try and make them clean up what they’ve been laying on, which is near impossible, as they don’t like to eat where they relieved themselves, and they do that every time they get up from resting. Meaning, I’m probably looking to set out some more bales (I have them anyway) around the first of March.
Oh, and I put up some 1/2 inch wide ribbon polywire to hold them back into cleaning up the bales again, so they can’t say they didn’t see it. I don’t care how thick their winter hair coat is - it’s the reminder of how it stung the rest of the year that keeps them respectful. So far, so good.
Weather with two H’s
Been having fog the last three days. The problem is that there’s a lot of moisture in the air, from the thawing and runoff, but there’s a layer of ice right underneath the ground which is keeping things cool - and that makes the fog. Driving means you have to not mind stacking up a row of cars behind you so everyone stays safe. No one wants to try passing. And too often people are not putting on their lights in the day time to tell others they are coming.
The forecasts say no snow or bad cold weather for February. That’s not traditional to the weather - and why I keep hay bales on hand. But I just keep the catchphrase around about “whether” forcasters than “weather” and everyone nods.
Tiny Home Tales
We’re back to using only a single heater again, the other stored away - out from under foot, at least. That oil-filled heater keeps things about 72F or so in there. The biggest problem she has is cabin fever, as there’s only so much you can do in an 8’ by 16’ cabin, even with that loft above.
I’m out in the weather every day, twice a day, so it’s not so bad for me. And until my own writing-cabin is ready, I still write up at the main house daily.
So we take a trip to another town nearby for a restaurant and maybe shopping. And we’re meanwhile planning our own main house with this little cottage outside for visitors.
Her cooking is really good, by the way. And now I’m looking to cut back on eating again and lose this extra waist-padding I’ve stacked up In the last year of her great cooking.
Butter and Cheese making
We get a gallon of raw milk every other week. And my wife wanted to make butter, like my mother does. So we tried it. First in a small hand-cranked churn, then she moved to an electric hand mixer. No luck either way. Apparently the cream was too cold, no matter what.
So we’re making sour cream out of it, which is what you get when you leave it out and it cultures on it’s own. (Don’t try this with pasteurized cream - it will just rot.)
The simple recipe is: once you get it home, just put a loose cover on it (like flour sacking, or doubled-up cheese cloth) and after a day or so, the cream as risen to the top and you simply scoop it off with a small ladle. That’s your sour cream. Then leave the rest of the milk until it separates into whey and clabbered solids. Pour that out into a cloth (I put a bowl beneath that cloth to hold the liquid) and then tie up the opposite sides of that cloth (flour sacking again) and suspend it from a cabinet door over the sink, where the aforementioned bowl then collects the whey. That whey is high protein and chickens love it. Also, it’s good for plants if you water it down to a fifth. The natural biotics in the whey also help your garden soil in addition to that fertilizer. (Yes, you can freeze the whey until the ground thaws out, or use it on your house plants.
The clabbered milk makes cream cheese. A bit tangy, but not bad. The longer you let it hang, the firmer it gets. Refrigerate it and it will last a couple of weeks. I’ll probably start using this in my morning three-egg pan bread again. Delicious.
Writing News
The course has almost run it’s length. A few more days. Then, because no one objected seriously to having 7 days of content, I’ll keep that going with daily material.
If you go to my newsletter site (robertworstell.substack.com) you’ll see the columns across the top, with little day of the week symbols.
Thursday isn’t there, because that’s this main one.
Monday - Writerpreneur. This will take up my copywriting research after this.
Tuesday - Writing-Publishing. These will be essays from the rest of that book which includes the course. Out of my 15+ years of posts in this area.
Wednesday - Pro Writing. This is taking the Walter S. Campbell material and updating/revamping it for our age. We’ll start with how to write effective non-fiction.
Friday - Change Your Life. These will be essays from Earl Nightingale. And I have a fair bit of these already changed into videos…
Saturday - New Voices. This is my original fiction. We’ll be starting up by taking the stories in “Ghost Hunters Primer” which delivers all the main characters that show up through the Book Universe I built up over four years of fiction writing.
Sunday - The Art of Wonk. Which is whatever I’m researching on the natural principles of successful living. Yes, it’s based on a big book of the same name.
Plenty of material.
I’ve still got to get back to the homework/learning curve on how Substack operates.
But I still have these two books on Writerpreneur basics in the hopper to wrap up. This is what I do on the weekends.
I did get going on the copywriting research, which has been simply getting through the core books and classics in this area, then compiling them all into some sore of useful shape. Yes, another course and book.
But, again, I’ve got some four more courses and as many full paperback texts to get out to you. All about how to really succeed as a writer and make a living at it. Should be a wild ride.
Thanks again for opening this. And reading these books.
And leaving a rating on the Living Sensical site for the stuff you buy there.
And also leaving comments on my Substack site.
As well as leaving recommendations on Bookbub in addition to reviews anywhere else.
You know, that "paying it forward" kinda thing.
Do keep sharing these books and this newsletter with your friends, too.
I hope your life is not too interesting to be overwhelming, but sufficiently engaging to keep you amused. (Like some of us here...)
Robert
PS. Again, you can always email me about anything.
PPS. Do upgrade to the paid newsletter version. That helps me keep the lights on - so I can keep all this coming to you.
It seems the cheese making might be at odds with cutting back - at least it would be for me!!
The tricks with cutting back intake successfully are three: Portions, Sugar, Gluten. Smaller portions, as little sugar as possible (doesn't include honey), and staying away from wheat products which include the kernel. Fats are needful in any diet. Cheese in my morning pan-bread (made with almond flour) should be fine. IMHO.