Cleaning: From Top to Bottom

Well, I've thought for a while about what cleaning job to post first ... but I've also been very busy to say the least.  I was going to start with the bathroom, however I had another thought.  Why not do something that's all over the house?  So this coming week, if you can, I suggest focusing on:

COBWEBS AND DUST

Yes ... both are everywhere!  Do a quick walk through your house and look up - more likely than not you'll find at least SOME of both.  If you are like most people however, you will find a LOT of both.  Cobwebs like to stick to the corners of walls, the tops and corners of doors, the ceiling, windows, and other places too.  While dust can and will be found just about everywhere, for this first cleaning, only focus on the dust that is on the tops of the door and window frames; the other dust [shelves, pictures, clocks, etc.] will be taken care of some other time - unless you have the time and energy to do them now. 

TO DO
Go through your house with some sort of cobweb sweeper.  A broom works well, however you can also use a duster with an extended handle or a vacuum attachment.  Sweep every corner of each room from top to bottom.  Also sweep along the top of each wall where it meets the ceiling.  If it's been a long time since you've done this, or if you have a lot of spiders, you may also need to sweep each wall - paying close attention to where pictures, shelves, or other furniture meet the wall.
Next go through with a damp cloth and wipe the tops of each door and window frame.  In our old house, this was a job for my tall son.  I had to drag a step stool around, however all he had to do was lift his arm up comfortably.  :)  If you have time and baseboards, wipe those too.  This is a good job for a shorter child.  :)  :)
Now, you are done ... unless all that dust sitting around bothers you, in which case, you may want to do a quick dusting and vacuuming. 

That's it for now.  If you have suggestions on this topic, please post a comment.  With as busy as I've been, I'll need all the help and brain-power I can get!

Homemade Yogurt (using goat milk or other milk)

After a few attempts and failures at making my own yogurt at home, I finally found a way that works.  Well, I didn't really find it, I just asked a some sisters here how they made their goat yogurt and I listened to their advice :)

Ingredients:
2 quarts of goat milk (you can use cow milk if you'd like)
1c powdered milk
1/2c yogurt starter (a sister here gave me some of her yogurt)
1/2c sugar (I used brown; next time I will add a little stevia too)
~1t vanilla extract and 1t of lemon extract (optional)

Pour the milk in the pan and heat till it's at 180 degrees (I used a meat thermometer).  Turn it OFF, mix in everything except the yogurt starter, and let it sit 'til it's at 120 degrees.  Add the yogurt starter, mix well, and pour into jars.  I got 2qts and 1c from mine.

Place the jars into a cooler, cover with the hotest tap water you have, and close the lid.  Let it sit for at least 3 hours before checking.  Tilt the jar a little to see if it is thick and set.  If it needs more time also refresh the water with new hot water.  Mine took about 4 1/2 hours or so.

Store in the fridge and use however you normally use yogurt ... we enjoyed ours with fresh fruit and a little nutmeg.  YUM!