Down with TV.... (ok, not entirely.. just Cable..)

Well, we did it.. we once again are sans cable. (well, ok, Dish..) We went years without it then back in 2007 after my car accident hubby got it so I'd have something to help keep my mind off the pain and all. Was nice while it lasted, I got introduced to some cool shows, and now we are done with it again. When you have over 100 channels and there is maybe 5 shows on worth watching at all in the first place, it's time to dump it.
But there are still things we would like to see from time to time.. (Ok, I will admit it, I love the new Dr Who.. I haven't yet seen this new guy, but I've loved the first 4 seasons and am looking forward to more.. I also Like Eureka.. and Glee, and Bones.. and Castle, cuz, ya know.. my fav Browncoat and all... Sorry V, I'm trying, I really am, I loved the old one, love Morena.. but I really don't much care what happens every week...) Anyway. Where was I?? Oh yes.. so We are no subscribed to Netflix (love it!) and Hulu, between the 2 I can watch pretty much everything I want to.. Ok, some things I have to wait a while for, but I can deal with that. We did have to upgrade out internet service, but it comes out to about what we were paying for Dish.
We do still have over the air stuff, at least a few channels. Hubby's going to reconnect the big roof antenna when he gets home in a few weeks and hopefully that will give us a few more channels (CBS and fox are currently the main missing ones.. I'm missing NCIS right now, and that is sad for me.) And he might just use the excuse to mount a bigger one, in which he can "hide" his HAM radio antenna..
But we are happy, this gives a little more control over what sorts of programs and messages get brought into the house. yay!

and as for the cheese... well, first batch of mozzarella didn't turn out very much like mozzarella.. but it was still pretty good. Made a nice cheese spread. Is one hobby where, at least most of the time, even if things go wrong, you might still end up with something yummy... but main problem seemed to be that my digital thermometer didn't work like it should have.. hubby thinks he might have broke it a few weeks ago.. what he was doing shouldn't have been a problem, but, who knows, so am looking for a new one.. as well as a new dehydrator as that died this last weekend as well.. *sigh* would really like a nice big one like the sell at Cabellas, but there is no way we could afford it and the shipping to get it to Alaska.. hoping I can find a decent one like it up here somewhere.. otherwise it's going to be another cheap one that will likely burn out in a few years again.. wish me luck!

Cheese!

Ok, so this month I've been working on getting seedlings going for the garden and other things to help us be at least a little self sufficient. seeds are all planted and most have sprouted and are doing well. we built a little greenhouse for our front window so i can get a lot more in there right now. will be building another one this weekend to put on the back porch and will take pictures of the process for that one for you. real simple though. works pretty much like the little ones they sell in the garden section at the local box stores, but much cheaper and sturdier.
Anyway, the other thing I've been working on is learning how to make my own cheese. I've done 2 small batches so far using the simplest recipe I could find online.
Basically it's just 2 cups of milk, 4 teaspoons of vinegar and a little salt. boil the milk, add the vinegar, strain, add the salt and chill.. voila, you have cheese. very basic, fairly bland.. but it's cheese.. so the second batch I did I used malt vinegar and added freshly ground pepper. Better.. am going to be working on several different mix ins and see what we come up with, though most of that will have to wait until hubby and/or the kids get back so I've got someone to eat up all this cheese. :)
Luckily this recipe doesn't make more then half a pound, if that, so it's good for playing with. This weekend or early next week I will be venturing into a more complex recipe and will be attempting mozzarella!