January 16, 2012
A cloudy day, 47 degrees. We sure have been having a mild winter. Every good day is one less bad one till spring!
We are enjoying an extra helper at the plant last week and today. Rachel Bauman from Ontario is a cheese maker for Monforte Dairy in Stratford. She and Galen are learning from each other, sharing tips, etc. Galen enjoys having someone else that talks his language on cheese. Tomorrow we will take her to the airport at St. Louis to fly home. On Friday we had a different day. Rufus & I took Rachel, Galen, Jr., Crystal, & of course baby Jeremy (he’s 4 mo. old tomorrow) to visit Steve & Veronica Baetje at Baetje Farms in Bloomsdale, MO. We saw part of their operation, as they are renovating while their goats are dry. Veronica gave us lunch. After that Rufus took us to the Whole Foods store in St. Louis where he does demos occasionally. It was the first time for most of us, felt like a “country bumpkin gawking“ at the wonderful displays. We had our supper at Neville & Brenda McNaughton's, our cheese consultant. Neville also works with Rachel, so it was an interesting evening. Arrived home at almost 11PM, everyone felt like it was a worthwhile day.
We bought 12 cheeses from around the world at Whole Foods, breads, crackers, etc. So Saturday evening we had a cheese tasting at home. That was interesting and hopefully educational. It was mostly for Galen, Rufus & Rachel, the rest of us either enjoyed (or did not enjoy) the cheese!
Rachel helped Galen make a Tomme on Thursday, something she makes at home. We don’t know yet if we’ll keep on, but wanted to try something new while she’s here. So far so good on that cheese.
Next week Vernon Stolzfus from Sommerset, PA will be here 3 days to learn cheese making. There’s lots to learn, hopefully he can retain some of what he learns.
Things have been slow here since the holidays, order-wise. We’ve had to cut back the help some. It will pick up again, never fear. In the office we haven’t caught up yet, tax time, etc. I did get to spend Saturday afternoon at home. With Rachel’s help, we baked bread, folded laundry and patched the wallpaper that was messed up when remodeling in the fall of 2010. I’m glad that’s off the list finally.
Sarah Louise and Sharon are cutting 5# loaves of Prairie Breeze for an order, 3600. Cleason wasn’t feeling well, so he went home after lunch. Jr was on his way to a new producer to calibrate his tank this afternoon. I’m not sure what happened, a flat tire or something. He’s stranded, so Cody went to help him out. That leaves Rachel and Galen to clean up, but they are quite capable. They should be finished early. Rachel somehow works faster?
Till next time,
Jane