Yogurt FAIL

So I tried my hand at making yogurt, it was....interesting.... and the results were edible, I think. The dogs didn't get sick at any rate........

I started out with 1 quart of raw milk, stuck it in the crockpot, turned it on low for 2 1/2 hours.

Then I turned off the slow cooker and let it sit for 3 hours.

I then added my store bought yogurt culture. (this could have been my problem, because I think I should have taken some milk out, mixed in the starter, and then mixed it all together)

Lid back on, and wrapped it all nice and cozy to keep it warm, and let it sit for 8 hours.

(yeah, it felt weird to let warm milk just sit out on my counter, kinda skeeved me out to be honest)

In the morning I ended up with this beige, runny, lumpy mess.

I refrigerated it in the hope it would firm up, and it did, a little....

However, it remained beige and lumpy...

Icky yogurt FAIL

Fed it to the dogs, they loved it....

Not making yogurt again..........until I get an actual yogurt maker, hint hint Santa...

the socks that took forever.....

See these socks? These pretty knee socks?

They are taking FOREVER, I started them sometime in early December and have yet to finish them. Granted I haven't been knitting every day, but still, I'm sort of "done" with them.

Except...... they're a gift for my Mom, a Christmas gift actually, I gave her a promise of socks for Christmas, LOL. So I can't be "done" just yet. Once I get to the heel on the second sock I'll feel like I'm almost there...

When they are FINALLY done, I may have a hard time giving them away.

 I love this color, and I love knitted knee socks.

I'm just not fond of knitting them right now.

Is it Spring yet?

Well it might not be Spring yet, BUT I started some seeds last night.

Just some early flowers, but it's so exciting, every day is longer, and the sun feels a little warmer. I love Winter but every year around the end of February I get to a point where I can't wait to start digging in the ground, and I'm so there right now.

We've got big plans for a garden this year. 4 raised beds using the no-till gardening method (I'll explain more later), lots of companion planting, and hopefully very litle weeding. We both hate weeding, and we're hoping we mulch enough this year that the weeds are not able to grow.

Take a look:

Pretty exciting; petunias, scabiosas (prettier than it sounds), pansies, a variety of herbs, snapdragons, and yes some apple seeds. We'll see what happens. They have a nice sunny spot on our sun porch, and a nice little heating mat to keep that soil warm enough to quickly germinate.