Life Goes On

The stomach flu that claimed our nine-year-old daughter last week is now raging through the rest of the family.  Everyone has dropped except me and my other nine-year-old.  I think of this as something to get through, but my twins are excited at the prospect that they are the caretakers of the family.  Before I got up they had already fed the cows and gotten the chickens up.  Since then they've hung laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and folded some dry laundry.

Life does go on, even with so many in bed.  It was bread day again.  I make two loaves at a time and they last two or three days.  When our oldest was at home, they only lasted one day.  My morning began with wheat grinding.  The machine is fast, but every time I use it, I'm reminded how much I would prefer a hand-crank model. 

I make bread by hand occasionally, but it's faster and easier to use the KitchenAid.  In six minutes it's mixed and kneaded.  We were told by KitchenAid not to run the mixer longer than five minutes (although it never said that in their manuals), so we are careful about not running it too long.  After an hour rising in a warm oven, then I put it into two loaf pans, another 30 minutes of rising, and bake at 350F for 35 minutes.  With only two kids eating, I should be able to get the heal before the crowd descends.

It's been two-and-a-half weeks since our last fresh milk.  My days now have fallen into a rhythm with our store of frozen milk, and like most things, it hasn't been simple.  I tried just thawing the milk in the frig but it took five days and then it had a slight freezer burn taste to it.  I found a new way.  The first day that I get it out of the deep-freeze, I leave it on the counter for two or three hours and then peel the plastic bag off.  The second day, I break up the crystal block into a slush.  The third day it's ready to pour and drink.

I miss fresh milk.  I really miss fresh cream.  We are now eating commercial butter and I got some ice cream for pie.  Within two or three bites, I had that old ick feeling that I associate with dairy.  Not only does Christina milk taste amazing, it doesn't make me feel bad.  Not even a little.  ...seven more weeks... my hunger is growing.