The good always comes first.
The good part is that I am now nestled into my 1916 farmhouse and that the country store (which just happens to be the only store in my iddy biddy town) sells candy for .01 cent and they of course know me by name! News travels fast in a small town. More good: I have been enjoying the most beautiful walk over to the Creamery in the early hours of the morning. My path leads me through a large field with cattle and then along the side the Chehalis river while popping in and out of some wooded areas. The views in the morning have been priceless and I have greatly enjoyed the 5 mile jaunt through the country side (while wearing my European Hunter sport boots) before I roll up my sleeves and plunge into my new Van Riet vat that I am using. The other morning I woke up and everything was white so I ran outside with my friend Texas to see if it was snow or just the frozen dew. Sadly it was just frozen dew but guess what we saw in my backyard? It was of course a horse of course, who was happily munching on my potted plants! Small pleasures due indeed make an impression on me- did I mention the candy for a penny?

The Bad
A house built in 1916 does not have electrical outlets in the kitchen! It also does not have central heat or phone jacks. Windows in an old farmhouse are not super insulated and tend to be drafty. When heat supplies such as pellet stoves cease to function and the temperatures outside are freezing so is inside the house. The temperature inside my house on Thursday evening is 38 degrees. Other bad things include not knowing where anything is (part of moving) and not knowing where you are (also part of moving). More bad : I realized that buying stuff from the LLBean catalog did not properly prepare me for living in the country and I now know that 1916 farmhouses do NOT have heated tile floors.

The Ugly with some good
Heading to my new home late at night with the last van load (all by myself) I managed to get myself into a little bit of a predicament. Along with being a cheesemaker I am also a cheese transporter and subsequently drive around large vans, but with the mentality that they are small. The one I was driving is a good sized cargo van with little visibility and a lot of room for coolers. With the truck filled to an inch of its life I managed to get it stuck (tires spinning vivaciously) 6 feet from the road and subsequently had to start unloading with a dollly late at night (in the freezing cold!). Early the next morning I bundled up and went outside to affirm that the truck was still suck (and it was) and bundled myself up to trek over to the Creamery. Five minutes into my walk I happened upon three of the biggest lumberman I have ever seen and quite quickly (with backhoe in tow) had me pushed out and back on stable ground (thank goodness for them!) Now ever time I walk past them (twice a day) they warn me not to get stuck! as I hum the ‘Im a lumberjack and I dont care’ song in my head (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clPYfaTvHT0) :) One of the pitfalls of a pellet stove without a functioning auger is that you are left without any heat and when you have a leak in your propane tank you have no stove and when your pipes are not attached to the water heater you also have no hot water which pretty much makes you cold, hungry and did I mention cold?, add to that new orange shag rugs and you get a pretty dismal picture (which makes up the ugly).
I managed to lock myself out of my house but thankfully (due to my pretzel, tea and oatmeal diet for a week) I managed to squeeze myself through a teeeny tiny hole and get myself back in (even though it wasn’t much warmer). Later on that day I managed to lock myself out of my car, but thankfully AAA was just around the corner. Its been one of those weeks!

All these things together seem a bit much but thankfully I awake each morning with a cheery attitude and am lucky enough to have amazing friends who seem to be willing to experience the good as well as the bad and the ugly with me so even after a very cold and trying week I still feel lucky. Most impotsntly am ready for market!

With the temperature nose diving to the twenties and thirties I am sure you are all cozied up inside cooking and are planning lovely meals with your functioning stoves!
This week we will be at the PSU market on Saturday as well as Hillsdale farmers market on Sunday. Dress for the weather and come see me! Hugs at this point are welcome as is hot cups of tea!

This week we will have the lovely Irish cashel and some Little Boy blue for our aged cheeses and the usual line up of fresh cheeses. In the coming months we will be debuting our feta! Which when it is finallly ready will be quite the fetacomplis!

There is nothing quite like some chocolate pudding with home made cookies to cozy up to the fire with on a cold evening. This week to promote your chocolate consumption we are having a special on our chocolate pudding! Oh my pudding! Its creamy and thick just like chocolate mousse! Come by for a yummy chocolately sample.

Stay warm!

Yours always
Cheese Czarina!