Thursday, May 26, 2011

Ask The Readers

Good morning faithful readers. This morning I am sending up some S.O.S. flares. I hope you can help me!!!

  • Where can I buy rennet to make cheese? I'm looking to buy it locally if possible (meaning, not buy it online and have it shipped and taking several days to get here). I have some milk that I want to make cheese with. We have your usual grocery stores, along with Tom Leonards, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Good Foods Grocery (local store) and... that's all that comes to mind right now. I'm in the Central - Va. -ish area if that helps?

    Update: I've found rennet. Whole Foods carries it! However they are out of stock today (will be getting more in a couple days), so I think I will freeze the milk until I (a) have the rennet and (b) have time to make cheese.

  • HOW. can. I. keep. ants. OFF! MY! WASHLINE!!! ? I have put (used) motor oil on the bottom of the posts and it worked for a very brief time. Last night Daniel brought in the laundry and it was CRAWLING with ants. And he'd dumped it all on our bed before he realized it. I was not happy (about the ants being on MY! BED!). I don't know why, but the ants in the yard are TERRIBLE this spring!

If you have the answers or even suggestions, or just want to say "wassup?", just leave it in the comments :)

Thank!
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14 comments:

  1. MeghanMay 26, 2011 at 10:17 AM

    Check with local cheese factories. Do you have any around you?

    I can't help you with the ants but I think I've seen a granular poison you could sprinkle around the posts.

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  2. OlivegirlMay 26, 2011 at 5:50 PM

    I hear that you can fight ants off with chinese chalk.

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  3. SallyMay 26, 2011 at 10:14 PM

    Would an anteater (the animal) survive in your climate, and can you have some as pets?

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  4. AnonymousMay 27, 2011 at 5:45 PM

    Hi there. The ants are really bad this year because of all the rain.

    something that is kid and pet friendly:

    Get some Boraxo powdered soap and some corn syrup. Heat the corn syrup, do not let it biol, then mix in the boraxo! Pour it around the base of your line. They will eat the mixture and take it back to the queen. It Will kill them. Mix about 1/2cup syrup with 1/2 table spoons of Boraxo.

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  5. saturn1019May 28, 2011 at 12:19 PM

    A safer way to deter the ants is to sprinkle sinnamon heavily on the ground around the clothesline posts. Ants HATE cinnamon. A friend in Texas said this worked like a charm for her. Good Luck!

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  6. MiriamMay 28, 2011 at 5:38 PM

    @Elsa's Daughter Hmm, I've never heard of Chinese Chalk. I might have to look into that. Thanks for the tip!

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  7. MiriamMay 28, 2011 at 5:39 PM

    @Meghan Ah, dear Meghan, I can tell you are in Wisconsin where cheese grows on trees :) I guess there *are* some dairies somewhat local that probably make cheese, but I don't think there are any actual factories around here. But, it's a great idea! I hadn't thought to contact the local farms.

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  8. MiriamMay 28, 2011 at 5:40 PM

    @Sally Daniel said we needed to get an anteater. "It would be cheaper to feed than cats!"

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  9. MiriamMay 28, 2011 at 5:41 PM

    @saturn1019 THANK YOU!! I thought there was a spice that ants don't like but I couldn't remember if I was remembering correctly, or what spice it was.

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  10. MiriamMay 28, 2011 at 5:41 PM

    @Anonymous So I'm guessing plain Borox powder doesn't work?

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  11. AnonymousMay 29, 2011 at 12:29 PM

    Try dumping cinnamon around your clothes line area. When I get ants in the kitchen, I put a small pile on my kitchen counter and they run right away!

    Hope you find a solution!

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  12. SharonMay 29, 2011 at 11:55 PM

    baby powder works well for the ants. just sprinkle it where you see the ants parading from. i used it by my back door and haven't seen a single one since.

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  13. ElizabethMay 31, 2011 at 9:15 AM

    I was told to make a blend of cinnamon and baby powder once. Worth a try?

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousJune 2, 2011 at 11:50 PM

    ortho home defense max. stuff works wonders.

    ReplyDelete

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