Butter for the birds. What does snow smell like to you? Preparations for the family gathering.

Butter for the birds.

I like a bit of butter with my bread for breakfast.  I also like spiced olive oil to dip my bread into at breakfast, but now we are diverging: it is about butter. For 2 years we've been buying buttermilk-butter: it has a lot of taste and is slightly acid. About a week ago, I took out a bar of butter out of the fridge, cut it in half and deposited one half in it's special tray. It kind of smelled different, maybe looked slightly more yellow than usual and I thought: the cows must have been fed a different kind of food. My husband also had questions about the butter and we put the tray aside.

About an hour later, my son called and said: I am in the neighborhood, could I grab a bite to eat. Mothers are always glad to feed someone and if it's your child, it even feels better. So I prepared him a nice lunch and put the butter tray on the table. When he sat down, he said: what's this smell. Then I thought about the butter and said: maybe it is the butter. He smelled the butter and said: yes, this sour smell comes from the butter. Now we were sure that something was wrong with this butter.

I had no desire to keep the butter in the fridge till we were going back to the super market. Besides this, a week before my butter "problem" I had had a problem with cheese that I reported by email and I got an email back: we didn't made this product, you should report it to the producer!!  You understand I had no incentive to email them again.

I hate to throw away something; my daughters always says: it is obvious that you are a post-war child. I toyed with the idea to give the bar to the neighbors; what could I say: we didn't like the smell of this butter, do you want it? No, that would be very rude even insulting. I felt a resistance to throw the butter in the trashcan. Then my mind went to the birds: it is cold outside, birds like some fat, need fat. This is THE moment to find out if birds like butter! I cut a small piece of butter and left it outside together with some cheese rinds. The next day, the butter was gone. Conclusion: birds like butter even if it is somewhat rancid.

I am more than halfway through my 250 gr of butter as I get an email in my box: "after many complaints from customers about funny smell and taste of the buttermilk butter, we have decided to take this butter out of the racks. You can return butter with 09/02/2019 expiration date to the shop!" This was our very butter. Finally the shop takes it's responsibility seriously.


I am happy I could be of service to the birds. The weather has been particular bad in the last month: persistent rain since a month, now 3 days of sun but temperatures beneath zero. Maybe my butter saved lives! Today, the day of my publishing, they will be fed the last part of the butter.

Finally snow!

It is almost February and only 3 days ago we had the first snow! I like a real winter with cold, sunny and dry days;weather that you have to wear 2 pair of woolen socks to keep your feet warm. I like to wear wool. I can finally wear my nice winter clothing before it is eaten by moths. That's me in the picture below.

your author in the snow.

The city is blissfully silent, few people are walking in the streets, almost no cars on the road. Your feet make the lovely crunchy sound that is specific for snow suitable for a good snowball fight.  We walk carefully where the sidewalk is sloping; slipping and being smacked to paving stones hurts your butt.

What I did miss is the smell. Snow announces itself with this particular fresh, cold smell, I can't find words to describe! A couple hours, sometimes days before, when the snow is still in the sky, you can smell snow. Maybe it is a tiny bit like laundry washed and boiled with real, old fashioned, artisanal, hand-made soap. I miss both smells.

Preparations.

Next weekend we will be heading south for our bi-annual family gathering. I have one week left to make more pouches. I have made 8 of them so far but I am running out of slouchy leather; this quality of leather makes the nicest pouches. Luckily there are a lot of bikers in the family and I will gift them a memento mori with the advice to have a small ritual before hitting the road. I can't wait to see all of them back and hold the smallest member and latest asset in my arms.

8 pouches ready as gift.

I'll tell you all about the weekend later; that is in 2 weeks. For now that's it. If you have snow, enjoy the whiteness, the crispness of your world, the new silence, the joy of your children or grand children,  making a snowman, having a snow ball fight, gliding on a home made ice rink !