Drop-itis must be catching! I carefully transported a jade bonsai home from my office this afternoon; it fell over on the back seat of the car just as I was turning onto my block - I had to clean substrate out of the cracks in the upholstery (no pix, it was dark, cold & gritty). At least the plant was well-wired in and the pot was salvaged. Hope your accident cleaned up well! Time for a glass of wine . . .

a bottle of wine … perhaps … it is late, and may help you sleep better ...

CRAP!!! So what is that, Pagan? I mean, what kind of plant? Nothing too dear, I hope. How did it fare?

Tyler

OMG, Rick, that's a hell of a skill you just picked up! I love Brie. I've only ever tried to make cottage cheese which is fairly easy and straightforward. But you've made parmesan too! Have you done Gorgonzola?

I've cleaned up the mess. I'll pot it up tomorrow.

Hope Kitty is fine and you had somewhat of a laugh over it. They are such good friends.

did not know making cheese would be this easy and most of all I know exactly what is going into them. The Brie is not difficult at all and I love it sliced in half w Apricot Jam/Jalapeño/Peacans melted in the oven. :)

Hope things are well with you and family. Have you had the white stuff yet.

Rick

...and I'm into decorating Christmas baubles, these are some of the latest ones I've been playing around with. Polystyrene spheres covered in fabrics and embellished with all kinds braids, ribbons, beads and bling.....

Cool project, Gill. I could use a ton of those. I've had to put my glass Christmas balls in jars because certain anarchists like to pluck them out of the tree.

Yeah, the kitty is fine, Rick. He won't be getting cheese. It was -10ºC all day today but very dry and none of the white stuff yet.

I've replanted the victim, Tyler--a sapling of Operculicarya decaryii that I have been nurturing for three winters now. It was semi-dormant already but now I have to snap it out of it to make sure it's alive.

I have no cool projects! Just chores.

I have to put all these:

p.s. How'd it go with your fallen jade, Laurie? And OMG, Gill, if my cats ever teleport to your house, that table is done for!

Thanks for providing the name. Of course, I had to look it up. Very interesting. I found a couple of pictures on Google images. Beautiful plant. Good luck with it. Are you going to grow it as a bonsai or just let it do what it do?

Wouldn't know where to start with that box of tricks you have there Pagan, good luck! I also decorate the glass types with but am struggling due to a temp job causing RSI in my wrists, I started to make a collection to try and sell at craft fairs but aren't able to do enough. Next year maybe as I'm not returning to the job, not worth destroying my hands for..I've been making Xmas wreaths for at a local nursery since Sept, so only next week to do now, thank goodness.

We've always had cats and one in particular was fond of the Xmas tree and used to try and climb the tree so we to hung 24 bell ornaments round the bottom layer of branches as they were floor level so that when she crept under the tree they would ring and alert us! Worked a treat, naughty cat!

Artisan cheesemaking, wow Rick, is there no end to your talents? Looks scrummy!

Hope the two plants recover Pagan and Laurie.

What's anyone else up to, would be good to know during this quiet period, no one will object surely!

Gill

Well, besides trying to keep my seedlings and amputees alive, one of the grafted plants I purchased in October bare stems & bare root from an eBay seller is getting what appears to be some flower buds. I put it outside in a location where it can get as much sunlight as possible during the day and bring it inside at night. Watering minimally. Trying not to get too excited as I keep reading where others keep experiencing bud drop.

The first picture is the bloom from the seller's listing. I was trying to find Phatuma that Marie has. Fell in love with that one! The next 2 pictures are my plant.

Tyler

The scene in Pagan's first picture is a familiar one: I sometimes find a similar scene when I get up in the morning and the cats have been racing around during the night. You learn to forgive I guess, hehe.

Gill, your baubells are very, very beautiful! I assume you don't have cats in the house at the moment? There's no chance mine would let me work with those little beads in peace, it would all soon be on the floor. I hope the pain caused by the RSI will soon be over after next week.

Rick, how different a hobby, the cheese making as opposed to growing adeniums. Is that purely a winter thing?

Tyler, I hope your buds will flower. Mine (on my new, grafted plants) didn't, so my hopes are on next year.

Like you I'm busy trying to keep all the seedlings and plants alive. And whenever I have a chance and see something I like, I'm still adding more - mainly - succulents. I also have a couple hundred more adenium seeds to sow, but am postponing that to January/February.

And it has a name! Artisan cheese! So it's a thing, I didn't know that. I've only ever tried artisan beer with fancy names that are usually crap lol

I wish we were neighbours, rick. I'd totally buy cheese from your shop. Other than cream cheese, I have not met a cheese I did not love. I even like those food-colored orange abominations made entirely out of plastic!

Those are cool pics you found, Tyler. I was just going to let my sapling grow in whatever way it wants. I've already cut it down to about a third of its height. Now I'm just watching what it will do.

When it's not busy falling off the window sill, that is.

Hello everybody, it's actually pretty awesome to know what else we are busy with, especially now during this winter months. After holidays it will feel endless, lol.

Gill, such a nice hand made ornaments, I'd gladly buy some from you if you were closer! :)

Rick, such an interesting hobby! I don't know anyone who made cheese!!! I'm not really a good cook, but looking forward for our new smoke house (a free gift from my husband's work). Drooling just to think about smoked ribs and everything else that smokable. And probably all none-smokable food will go in there as well! Hahaha!

Pagan, putting computer together is waaay off my knowledge and imagination, wow! How's your adeniums overwintering in your basement? It's my first winter with them and I can't thank you enough for not letting me kill my yearlings when I tried to "force" them into dormancy, yucks!

Tyler, I hope your plants overwinter well and we can't wait to see them bloom:)

My winter projects are not very exciting but will be rewarding when all done! Me and my son painting the house room by room and getting ready for new floor installation. I'm getting rid of old furniture and re-organizing closets. Not very motivated, but have to get it done before spring so I can spend all my free time on my backyard and enjoy my new outdoor leaving room :).

Happy Holidays to all our wonderful forum members! I'll drive everybody crazy when it will be time to prune and shape my adeniums, but now I'm trying really hard to leave my plants alone! Hehe.

Mmm... Cheese.....

My favorite standard one has probably got to be gruyere. If it's firm and has a strong flavour, I'll eat it.

You ever had some of the good stuff aged 18 months? It's amazing. And expensive...

Not been making Cheese long enough for that aged Gruyere. Have some nice Parmesan in Cave aging for 10 - 12 mths. Min. Asiago & Cumin Gouda aging as well.

Quite a lot of fun and amazing that it is not difficult. Nice winter time hobby.

Rick

Hope that the Operculicarya decaryii survives. Pagan is this the plant that has the leaves that "fold away" at night? They are like shades if I am recalling correctly?

Rick your cheese looks delightful. What a cool hobby to pick up. I am just thinking of how much I like cheese when I am drinking wine, such a yummy duo.

Gill you have great patience to make such beautiful decorations.

Tracy

Hm. I grow this sapling in full sun, Tracy. It also doesn't "sleep" at night the way you describe. Or maybe my climate doesn't trigger that response. (Acacia trees do that though and it's a thing to behold!). At least the depotting allowed me to see how the tap roots were doing. They've tripled in size and girth since I got it. Not so much the feeders. I think I'm underwatering it. It's on a heating mat right now and appears to be not dying.

Fingers crossed.