The Quiet Life

I've been asked a few times how I can stand living in the country, far from the excitement of a city. One friend told me he would go crazy in my shoes. My mum keeps saying how she's amazed that I'm still happy with my life in rural Cape Breton. But I am, by and large, happy and stimulated. I guess it's my personality to just accept things, let go of things, not have too high expectations. Maybe I'm lucky.

I think it's also my age. I think I'm looking to have some stability after close to a decade of wandering, moving house often, getting on airplanes and the rest. This stability shouldn't be equated with lots of possessions, which I've always avoided. Having said that I do find myself purchasing a lot more things than I ever did before. However, I'm trying to make sure they are all useful to me and my community. I'm just looking to finally build a home, deliberately and passionately.

And the promise of the summer to come keeps me happy too. This place is so beautiful now, I can't imagine how it will be in the summer. Then there's my allergies.

But let's talk about some projects. I'm making beer. Well actually I have very little to do with it. The yeast are making the beer. I bought a kit and mum helped me to mix everything together and seal it up in two of Dan's carboys (my carboy, found at a thrift store, is now full of Dan's apple or pear cider). I had to use two because they weren't large enough on their own to hold the amount, 23 litres that I was making. They are bubbling away under their air seals. I'm looking forward to drinking the beer in a few weeks; yes it's that fast. Kevin had a kit this summer and if I'd only known how straightforward it is, I would have pushed him to make it. It would have cut some of our beer costs at least.


Ultimately I want to be able to make beer from scratch. Make the malt, grow the hops (tall plants!). It's made with well water so that's nice. But if I can't do it myself or without the aid of a yeast package then it's probably unlikely to be a regular thing at our place. But if I think of hard cider or wine, I reaabout how easy it is in comparison to get the fermentation one desires. The yeast is already on the fruit when you mash it up into juice or cider. So you have your fermenting yeast already along for the ride, since many yeasts live in the air. So perhaps cider and wine are more realistic for someone who doesn't want to spend, and likely won't have the money to spend, on beer kits and yeast. Maybe beer will just be a treat.



And I finished my scarf this evening! I expect winter will hang on a bit longer so I'll have a chance to model it (and most importantly, keep warm) before next winter.

Blue February Skies

It must be the blue skies and longer days but I'm feeling really motivated. Of course I forget to do lots of things on my many lists but who goes through the day like it was a list anyway? That's crazy.

But I can't overstate the power of seeing a blue sky after a grey, overcast winter. And if the wind is down, as it was today minus temperatures seem a paltry thing.

Today we went to the beach and took in the frozen wasteland there. Imagine, to the horizon, nothing but a sheet of ice. Pieces pushing up from below, snow piled here and there. For someone who's never seen a frozen winter sea, this was amazing. Unfortunately I can't share because I didn't bring my camera. But I did take some pictures of the rising sun and the bright, white valley when the recent bright days started. So here you go.



So I guess I should get back to creativity and motivation. Good things to embrace of course. This weekend it's been bread and knitting that have been explored. I learned an easy bread recipe from a wonderful woman. Her recipe is flexible in that you can really use anything that's hanging around your fridge too long. Unfortunately (or not if you don't care) it uses yeast but I'm already learning about sourdough bread so that will be the next adventure. What if the yeast factories stop working?


Anyway here's the recipe (for 8 loaves):

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8 cups of warm to hot liquid (which can include blended veggies and leftovers)
1/2 cup of fat
1/2 cup of sweet
3 tbsp yeast
3 tbsp sea salt
Flour to texture

Mix together everything excluding the flour. Add flour and mix to the point you can stir it in. It needs to be good and moist and a little sticky. Knead it out on a floured bread board. Try and be rhythmic with your kneading. Then you can let it rise in loaf pans and then put it in the oven. I baked it, having no frame of reference, at 350 fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes.

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The liquid I chose to use was the juice from the mason jars that had once contained pickled beets. I thought red bread would be fun and the salty juice meant that I put in a little less salt. The results (and smell of the baking bread) were amazing! Next I might use the liquid that I save from cooking beans. Try it, it's fun and so nice to make bread that's almost as good as from a bakery.


And then there's my new scarf. I don't actually need one but it's an easy place to start. When I started I was always bugging mum but now I just soldier on (another militaristic term). Two knit, two pearl. Easy as pie once someone patient shows you. Maybe by the end of the week I'll be finished. I think knitting a pair of socks would be amazing. Maybe that will be my next project.

Of course all this knitting is stupid because I can buy socks and scarves from China for a tiny sum compared with the hours it will take me. Hell even the yarn costs more than a few pairs of socks from China.

But what if those socks stop coming?