Crooked Creek Ranch- Day 3

I milked a cow! And I didn't do too badly my first time, I think. Though Dave did notice in the picture the white milk puddle on the ground which means I missed the bucket. It was fun and novel, though I am not sure if I would like it to be my every day chore. Betty is raising two calves and only half her bag works. A regular milk cow would need to be milked morning and evening, so Tami is glad that for now, she only needs to milk when she wants milk for her family.

With some of Betty's milk, Tami and I tried our hand at cheesemaking. The process seems fairly easy, if time consuming. We combined two recipes we found online for Farmer's Cheese. The main differences being the amount of rennet used and the time it needed to set up. All of the steps went according to the directions. We achieved a 'clean break', separated the curds from the whey, added some garlic and chives, tied it up to drain and put it in Tami's makeshift cheese press. We think it will be a bit rubbery rather than the soft cheese we are hoping for. We'll see tomorrow morning.

Cooking for a combined family of 10 is a full time job. As soon as one meal is eaten and cleared away, it is time to prepare another. And there is always a hungry child asking for something to eat. Because they live so far away from town, they stock up on groceries once a month. So, if they are out of something, they do without, or look for creative alternatives. The peanut butter cookies had vanilla bean seeds instead of extract, we are rationing the butter and eggs, and there were some apples not fit for eating fresh, so I made an apple pie yesterday. Chicken soup for supper, apple pie with whipped cream, yum. But I am glad that tomorrow will be a left-over day. No cooking of baking for me on our last day here.

My girls got to ride Sadie today. Caroline's first ride went splendidly. She loved it and cried for another turn. Esther is serious about learning to ride and wants to be let loose on her own. Tami gave her some gentle instruction in the corral and Esther felt like she was riding by herself. She accepted the lesson and directions from Tami with seriousness and determination and no fussing.

We decided to stay an extra day. The weather is beautiful, so the kids can play and visit one more day. OK, so I can stay and play and visit another day. We will head home Friday morning early.