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and she had some goat milk that has developed a funny taste from being held to long in the refrigerator. Well, the general idea was she wanted to make some goat's milk yogurt and was it still okay to use?? The answer is a definite yes. We use this type of milk to make yogurt and yogurt cheese. We put the goat's milk in a glass gallon jar and add yogurt to it. We use cow's milk or goat's milk yogurt to get the culture in the new batch..about 1/2 cup. We use a high top cooler. It's called a double six-pack cooler with a high top. The gallon jar fits in snugly and we pour in the fairly warm water about halfway up the jar and close the top. Cover with a large bath towel or a blanket and you will have yogurt overnight or a little longer. No use of electricity. If the yogurt has a distinctly sour smell or just smells funny, drain off the whey. Use cheesecloth or a piece of curtain and drain it like cheese. This will usually get rid of the smell. It stays in the whey and the resulting cream cheese yogurt can be mixed with herbs and used on bread or crackers. The whey is fed to the pigs and nothing gets wasted.

We are getting ready to put in the solar panels. We have all the rest of the materials. We have bought pieces over the years as we could afford it. I can't wait to get rid of the electric company totally. We use old stuff whenever possible here. We use egg-beaters, rug beaters, old knives, cast iron pots and pans, cast iron bakers, griddles, old canning jars for storing dry goods and spices, an old butter churn, an old Kalamazoo kitchen range for the wood stove, clothes rack for drying clothes, old rockers and chairs, tables, etc. We use old wooden boxes and trunks for magazine storage. We have Jack's mother's inkwell and fountain pens for decorative display. We just think that all that old stuff has so much value. And not just to look at either. I agree with the (your) other writers. It shouldn't be put on a shelf. It still has to much life left in it.

We have had a really wet year here in NY. Potatoes that we should just be starting to dig have had to be out of the ground because they were in standing water and were rotting in the ground. And then they have grown so fast because of all the water that they are going to be hard to store. Drying the onions this year required more heat than usual. The wood racks are getting low and its not even winter yet. We had a really bad blight in our tomatoes this year because of the rains and the cucumbers and zucchinis grew so fast that they are all water and seeds with very little flavor. Oh well, take your blessings when you can and carry on. A homesteader's creed really comes into effect this year..Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without.

Well, lazy time is over. Stewed tomatoes to can.