We had an unexpected find while shopping .. we found whipping cream for 1.99 a quart !

Whipping cream as you all know is close to 5.00 on average. We snagged 9 quarts !

So today i started making butter! Super fun and easy. As you may be aware, butter runs anywhere from 3.99 a pound to 5.00 a pound, and all you need is whipping cream – even the salt is optional! The added benefit is not only did I make butter, but i also made buttermilk! 2 items for the price and effort of 1- in my book that is a WIN. Total time per batch is about 30 minutes including packaging.

I processed 7 quarts today into butter and my net yield for Butter is 6.03 lbs and Buttermilk is 8 and 1/2 pints.

If you have never tried making butter it is super easy. Pour the whipping cream in a stand mixer with the regular beater, and turn it on … I start at low while the whipping cream is still liquid to reduce sploshing then as it firms up into “whipped cream” i turn it up to medium high and just watch the magic begin.

First it becomes whipped cream, then it starts to separate from the whey and looks somewhat like pie dough in the crumble phase, then it starts to solidify as butter as it separates from the whey. At this stage you can feel the buttermilk splattering on your face, time to turn the speed down to medium low, as the butter gets more solid you will reduce speed again, otherwise you will have puddles of buttermilk all over the surrounding area! Eventually you have a chunk of butter stuck to your beater and buttermilk on the bottom of the bowl. Unhook the beater and pull the bowl out of the mixer. Take the beater with the butter stuck to it and place it in a smaller bowl to drain a bit more, then pour the butter milk into a jar. Now we need to squeeze as much liquid out of the butter as possible … it seems to work best for me by just kneading in a bowl and pouring the liquid into the buttermilk jar as it comes out of the butter. I have used the ice bath method, but it seems to me that i am just adding liquid back in … and i end up kneading it again to remove the excess liquid. You can add salt at the kneading stage if you like. I love the flavor with the salt and the salt helps to dehydrate excess liquid so .. win, win.

Package it … I use parchment paper and shape the butter into a rectangle, then i put the wrapped butter into a gallon size baggie and freeze it. I use the gallon size baggie because i can store several bricks of parchment wrapped butter in one baggie. I write the date and butter on the baggie and mark each individual parchment with the actual weight (since it isn’t a full pound at a time).

I had an interesting, thought provoking, experience today. I was sitting in my car outside of a store (non grocery type), waiting for hubby to come out… I had the window rolled down and was just diggin on the day! From the right-hand side of the building an overweight woman ambled around the corner. She was dressed in a man’s tank-style T-shirt (just like me) and was wearing pajama bottoms with a cute little puppy pattern print and flip flops that “might have been” slippers. She was carrying a shopping bag that was clearly a long way from full… as she walked past the front of my car, I looked to the left, because I feared she would think I was staring.

She passed the front of my car and came to a stop directly in front of my line of sight. I smiled, and she said “hello”. I noticed she was in need of teeth or dentures, and I distinctly got the impression that she was not the sharpest of tools in the shed. I replied, “Hi there, how are you today?” Her reply was “not to good”, then she mumbled something about life, and it is what it is, and her voice just trailed off to a whisper. I asked her, “Oh no, I am sorry, why is your day not so good?”

Her reply stopped my thoughts in their tracks – “ I am just looking for bottles and cans, and I can’t find none. They are all gone! And i need them to buy food cuz I ain’t got none in my kitchen” What a stunning and horrific statement in the United States of America. This woman was roughly my age. She was Caucasian just like me. I suspect she depends on government assistance to survive, and here it is the 18th of May and she needs cans and bottles to EAT. I replied, “ I have noticed that they aren’t just laying around everywhere any more…” she just shook her head sadly and said “no … no they sure ain’t.”

I didn’t have any cash in my pocket to give her. I didn’t have any food in the car to give her. I didn’t even have a bag of bottles or cans to help her. I felt GUILTY! I have the means but I didn’t have access to help!

I have decided to carry 1 bag of cans and bottles in my car. 1 care package in my car, simple but nutritious foods like baked beans and canned vegetables, maybe some Mac N Cheese . I have plenty in my pantry I can spare. In the future – I want to be part of the solution instead of feeling guilty about a problem I had no control over in it’s creation!

I challenge each and every one of you that reads this – to do the same. Don’t ignore the suffering, but instead be a leader and be part of the solution! We can’t save the world, but we can make 1 life momentarily better – Let’s DO this Thing!

Today I was greeted at work with an email from DAS (Department of Administrative Services) that read:
“To all Executive Branch Employees,

Please be aware the DAS mistakenly sent an unredacted version of a vaccine exception spreadsheet regarding Executive Branch employee’s earlier today to the Oregonian and Statesman Journal. No other media outlets or organizations received the unredacted spreadsheet. Included in the spreasheet was individual state employees’ vaccination status. While we have been told no personally identifiable information will be reported, there may be news coverage of the inadvertent disclosure of the data. DAS regrets the error.

Oregon Department of Administrative Services.”

DAS regrets the error … REALLY ?? And you think that is enough for your exposure of MY information ??? HR told me that my vaccination or exemption status would be held in the STRICTEST confidentiality … not even my manager would know my status … Well looks like the whole world knows it now ! Thanks for your STRICTEST confidentiality!!!

If I inadvertently disclose one of our clients information – I see their prescriptions, their diagnosis etc … I can be FINED PERSONALLY a huge sum of money … How does DAS get to make a disclosure about my personal health information and say … oops we regret this error????

Further more, How co-incidental is it that this unfortunate mistake happens the day AFTER the mandate deadline? In our current political climate there is a distinct division between vaxxed and unvaxxed … now the whole world knows where I stand … I wonder, was that the point of this exercise ? Am i now on a list somewhere ? And who is going to be there to protect me from the fall out of this exposure??

My employer speaks to Core Values and expects us to follow them daily at work and at home … Integrity, Innovation, Respect, Service Equity, Responsibility, Stewardship, and Professionalism. My employer just violated EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.

Gee … We regret this error … TRY AGAIN … ACT LIKE IT!!!!!! and HONOR your own CORE VALUES!

So i have had my first official violin lesson and tomorrow I will have lesson #2.

I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – it is a start !

I had learned to play that a couple of years ago and a couple of other little ditties as well – then we moved and I hurt my hand and had to abandon practice all together… feels good to start again.

Looking forward to learning more than just how to hold the violin at rest, on my shoulder and proper bow grip. Our instructor said scales would be assigned this lesson … YAY .. now i can annoy the dog, they husband and the neighbors !!!!

So the big question is … how much CAN I learn in 10 weeks?

I have been following Mother Earth for about 10 years now. She speaks to me through animals, trees, and flowers. Those who know me, know I am a tad odd but the Mother doesn’t care. I love to be barefoot, to feel the textures on my skin, to feel the vibes coming from the earth below my feet. I whole-heartedly trust nature. I trust it with my health, sanity and over all welfare…

I will start speaking of my journey .. I walk alone. I do not belong to a Grove, church if you will, of druids. I follow several druid face book groups, that I can reach out to when I need guidance or clarification but aside from that … the journey is mine and mine alone.

Do I believe in God ? I do … but I do not believe that God is ANYTHING like what contemporary religions illustrate him to be, nor do I believe that any contemporary religion has a clue what God really thinks, wants or desires of us… So I turn my attention to the things I believe “God” gave us .. Trees to provide us the oxygen we need to live, Plants that provide the medicines we need to remain healthy, and fed, and Animals that show us a different perspective one unclouded by greed and hidden agendas. A Dog, as an examle, lives for the present, loves completely and forgives unconditionally … the very epitome of love and devotion. This provision for our needs – physical, mental and spiritual – are far more feminine traits than masculine. So I pray to the Goddess, the Mother. Life is all about balance right ? So clearly there must be a masculine God as well. So i sometimes, pray to God the father… and I commune with both of them through the wonders of the world they have given me…

Druids typically are known as philosophers, bards and healers, revered for their wisdom and knowledge they were often considered priestly. Little is actually known about druids. All historic accounts were written long after the druids faded to the shadows of this world, by the Greeks and Romans. For this reason alone, I travel this path solo. For no one really knows what the ancient Druids were, believed, or rituals they practiced…. I turn to nature, I listen and I learn and I evolve daily …