Archive by Author

Rediscovering the Joy of Reading: My Personal Journey

30 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I remember vividly the wonder I felt when I learned to read. Oddly enough, my reading journey began in fear and trepidation. As a timid first grade student, I was frightened of a tall red haired teacher who would shout and shake her hand at students when we were too noisy in the lunch room. She was almost as scary as the gray haired first grade teacher who taught the other first grade class. She was mean!

We didn’t know who would be our teacher until the first day of school. On that day we were gathered in the school auditorium and seated by grade. Then the teachers would call out the names of the students in their class. Once the teacher had all of her students they would march us to our new classroom. To my utter horror, the tall red haired teacher called my name. I may have cried.

My next memory of second grade is being divided up in reading groups. I was seriously motivated to learn to read.

A.I. generated image.

At that time Saturday cartoons had titles. For example, “Tom and Jerry Hunting a Tweety Bird.” I knew the writing on the screen was important but my older brothers would ignore my pleadings to read it to me.

A.I. generated image

I don’t know if I was a star reader but I do know that I learned quickly and it wasn’t long before I was a regular at the school library.

My thirst for reading never went away. During the child rearing days I had to get a little creative to find reading opportunities. I often read late into the night even though my son was an early riser.

Then sometime in late 2018 I lost my thirst for reading. It was like that part of my brain was wiped clean. I honestly don’t know how I survived.

I suspect that feeling the need to write book reviews, which I do poorly stifled my reading urge. Eventually my mind began to crave reading and when I abandoned my efforts to write reviews, the thirst returned.

Due to vision issues I read now on my iPad using the Kindle app.

A.I generated image

Recently I noticed that Kindle was tracking the number of books I was reading.

  • 2019 Nine booksed
  • 2020 Seven books
  • 2021 Eighteen books
  • 2022 Fifty four books
  • 2023 Seventy three books
  • 2024 Fifty six books so far, plus around 90 audio books.

I am a bit shocked about the number of audio books. I may have counted some from 2023. Thank goodness I can get audio books for free through the Hoopla app.. If one has a library card and your library participates, you can access Hoopla and I recommend it!

It is normal for me to be reading a book on my iPad and when not reading, listening to a book. Just recently I wasn’t paying attention and was reading a book on my iPad and a different book on my phone. I was a little disconcerted when I realized it, but decided, no big deal… read on.

The question is why am I immersing myself in novels? I think I am escaping. I know I am escaping. I gravitate toward cozy mysteries with senior sleuths. Throw in a sarcastic cat or a clever canine and I’ll read the whole series. These stories are not real life and that is fine with me. Real life in 2024 is way too contentious for my psyche. I do throw in some historical fiction and more serious mysteries to keep me grounded. Too many animal involved mysteries and I begin wondering if my grand-dog, Ollie, might have super powers.

I am only able to indulge my reading obsession through the Kindle Unlimited plan on Amazon. It costs me $11.99 per month and I have an endless and instant supply of books. I especially like that Indie authors have books in Kindle Unlimited. The publishing houses determine the types of books we read and these days, I seldom like their choices. Indie authors have the freedom to write whatever their muse inspires.

Sixty-five years ago a scary, tall, red haired teacher gave me the wonderful gift of reading. I can’t imagine my life without books.

Our daughter, Rebekah participated in a book promotion that asked authors to share their current three favorite reads. You can read about hers at Shepherd.com.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

God Delights

28 Oct

My Take

DiVoran Lites

From Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E Coman

I will fear no evil for thou art with me (Psalm 23:41)

Little one, you must not fret,

That I take your clothes away.

The better sleep you so will get

In the morning, I wake up happier

Says the children’s mother.

It would help if you were unclothed again,

You need a better dress,

Too much worn are body and brain.

Says the Heavenly Father.

I went down death’s lovely  stair; 

Laid my garments in the tomb; 

Dressed again one morning fair; 

Hastened up and hied me home,

Saith the Elder Brother.

Then, I will not be afraid. 

Any ill can come to me;

When it’s time to go to bed,

I will rise and go with Thee,

Saith, the little brother 

God delights to disappoint man’s fears. 

George MacDonald

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Hurricane Helene and Milton: Personal Reflections

22 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Hurricane Helene skimmed the west coast of Florida before making landfall in the big bend area on September 26th. We were thankful that our family on Florida’s West coast didn’t experience any severe winds.

From our home in Western North Carolina we followed the progress of Helene as the storm made its way to inland Georgia. Here in the mountains rainfall totals from a cold front moving through were already at 10 inches, with more to come with Helene.

At some point after we went to bed, in the early morning hours I began receiving flash flood warnings on my phone. We don’t live near water, so I wasn’t concerned for us, but I was for the community. Our town is in a valley with lots of streams.

As we slept, Helene moved to a more eastward track. We woke up to light rain and mild wind gusts. Shortly after arising, our electricity went out. We have underground power so a tree or trees near a feeder line must have come down.

This is all of the yard debris

We were two days without power and three days without phones or internet. Fortunately, a friend in South Carolina didn’t lose any services and suggested we come stay with them. We emptied our freezers into ice chests, gathered up some clothes, loaded the car and with hearts full of gratitude drove to their home.

Once we drove south, we began to have intermittent cell service and I was able to let family and friends know that we were ok.

I checked social media and was horrified to find out about the devastation to the mountains east of us. To this day I am horrified at the death and destruction.

As I write this, I am watching 60 Minutes TV show. It doesn’t even come close to showing the horror. Prayers are appreciated. Donations to organizations like Samaritan’s Purse are still needed. A major need is propane heaters as it is now cold in the mountains and some are living in tents.

Following on the heels of Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton flared up in the Caribbean. There was quite a lot of fear about this storm as it rapidly developed into a category 5 hurricane and began a track to Florida’s West coast.

We have family on the West coast and a daughter on the East coast and the track was predicted to move onto land where the West coast family lives and exit on the East coast over where our daughter lives.

Our daughter would be going through the storm on her own, just herself and her dog, Ollie.

Our daughter did her storm preps and prepared to hunker down. I asked if she had hurricane snack foods and she didn’t have any! She worked up until the day of the storm and didn’t have the energy to fight the pre-storm crowds. Well that would not do!

I was able to place a Walmart delivery order that would arrive around 8:30 pm.

I know, a lot of cookies but I wasn’t sure which ones would be available.

Hurricanes tend to spin up tornadoes. As Milton moved through the state, several large, damaging tornadoes touched down south of our daughter’s county. She had prepared for this by creating a “safe place” in her bathroom. She had books, blankets, pillows, candles and even treats for Ollie.

I barely slept the night Milton was crossing Florida. Would she lose power, are there tornadoes near her, what about her car, did anything hit it? I slept better during Helene.

When she called the next morning to say she was fine and had power, I sent up a thank you, God prayer.

The storm wasn’t finished but it would be moving out to sea soon. I was exhausted. Hurricane fatigue is real. Ask anyone who lived in Florida during 2004.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s the Most Confusing Time of the Year

20 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

A popular Christmas song declares “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

For seniors and especially those new to Medicare Open Enrollment which begins October 15 and runs through December 7th it can definitely be the most confusing time of the year.

Photo Credit:Pixabay and Canva

I remember when my husband turned 65, I was so confused. I spent hours making lists and comparing. This past year I discovered the You Tube channel, Medicare School. and it has been a good resource for me and best of all, their videos tend to be short, especially updates. Full disclosure, they are independent insurance brokers, but the information videos aren’t sales pitches.

Photo Credit:Image by healthguru from Pixabay

Here is a word of warning for those new to Medicare this year. You must sign up for a prescription plan. This can be included in a Medicare Advantage plan or If you go the Medigap/supplement route you need to choose a Plan D drug plan. My friend refused to choose a plan, claiming he only took one medication and it was cheap. I warned him it was mandatory and he now has to pay a monthly penalty fee along with the plan premium.

Medicare dot gov is a good tool for choosing a drug plan. If you take several medications it can be tedious typing them in, but it is worth the effort as the website will show a cost comparison between drug plans and your selected pharmacies.

Finally, my favorite tool, Good RX. It is a legitimate savings program and not limited to Medicare. I regularly compare the cost of a medication with insurance and with Good RX. Just this week our daughter went to pick up a prescription and ithe insurance copay was $30.00 and the Good RX cost was $15.00.

I use my card at Publix with no issues.

When Good RX first became available, some pharmacies were not participating but now most are happy to take it. Some even offer to check the Good RX price for me.

To use Good RX there are two choices. One, you can go the the website GoodRx.com enter your prescription, your location and you will see a list of local pharmacies and their price. Here is a link to the common drug, Lipitor. When you choose the deal you will be given options to print, email, or text it to phone.

The second option is to download the app. When I choose a deal I show it to the pharmacy and I am charged the Good RX price.

There are other discount cards out there but I have found Good RX to be consistently cheaper.

I hope this post will be helpful. I encourage you to give Good RX a try. It saves us a lot of money.

I forgot to mention that the Medicare School also has a Facebook page.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

What to do When Feeling Trapped.

14 Sep

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Reblogged from Janet Perez Eckles.com

I pulled away from my computer and turned to hubby. “Listen to this story,” I said.

A baby camel looked up to his mother, “Mommy, why do we have these long eyelashes, these big hooves, and a hump on our back?”

She turned to him. “God made us that way for a very special reason,” she explained. “Our large feet are to keep us from sinking into the sand.”

“Why the big eyelashes?” he asked.

“It’s to protect our eyes from the sand.”

“Why the big humps?”

“That is to store fat and have enough energy to go long distances in the hot desert!”

“I see!” The baby camel stretched his neck and looked up at his mother. “The large feet are to keep us from sinking into the sand, the long eyelashes are to keep the sand out of our eyes, and the humps are to store energy to travel…then what are we doing in this cage in the middle of a zoo?”

I have asked the same question. Like the camel, I had all I needed to enjoy life. I had desires, dreams, and prepared my wings to fly high to success. But instead, I found myself in a cage of grief and heartache. Pitiful really, and definitely not the place I thought I belonged. At the age of 30, my eyesight closed in completely. I lost my joy, my purpose, and my freedom. Bars of gloom and desperation surrounded me.

Inside that cage, I longed for days gone by. Days when I could see. Days when life still held promises for tomorrow.

Have you ever been there? Have you known that longing?

If you have, like He did with me, God might be whispering this powerful truth right into your soul:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18)

When looking forward, we see the freedom from past longings. When we choose to see outside our cage, we see His hand calling. And when we choose to use what God gave us, we can live in the richness of today.

Let’s Pray

Father, I need your reminder each moment of each day that you created me for much more than what I see within my cage. Thank you for showing me the way to the freedom you offer, fresh with your promises.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What has you trapped these days?

Bonus article on today’s topic.

Janet 

Celebrate with me! My new release, Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Transforms the Deepest Pain to Shining Joy won the 2023 Memoir of the Year Golden Scroll Award.

Your copy waits for you HERE.

Let’s Stay in Touch

You and I are only a click away. You can use this CONTACT FORM to leave your prayer request, make a comment, ask a question, or invite me to speak to your group. Or simply reply to this email.

I also invite you to visit my WEBSITE. You’ll find more inspirational blogs along with my story, books, and videos.

Janet Eckles Perez

Some say she should be the last person to be dancing. Her life is summarized in this 3-minute video: http://bit.ly/1a8wGJR

Janet Perez Eckles’ story of triumph is marked by her work as an international speaker, #1 best-selling author, radio host, personal success coach and master interpreter. Although blind since 31, her passion is to help you see the best of life.

www.janetperezeckles.com

Tags: , , , ,

Hope in Our Differences

13 Sep

Guest Post

Rebekah Lyn

Reblogged from Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen

Since the beginning of time, Satan has attempted to mimic and corrupt all that God has created. The current age is not the first time there has been anger & division over differences. Satan mislead Adam and Eve to question to instructions God had given them about eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan didn’t even have to exert much effort to convince them God wouldn’t strike them dead immediately if they ate the fruit. God’s words to Adam’s about this tree were, “for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17).

As the population of the world grew, so did differences among the people. Many fell away from faith in God and worshipped idols made of wood or stone. They looked to the sun, moon, and stars to be their gods. These differences caused wars and the more powerful any one group became, the more differences they found amongst themselves. Throughout history, people have placed a greater value on a group of people that possesses financial wealth while looking down upon, mocking, and oppressing those who labor. Without those workers, though, who would provide the goods and services the wealthy need for survival?

Jesus, on the other hand, came to earth, still fully God but taking on human form and mingling with the lowest people in society. They were looking for the Messiah, but the religious scholars were only talking about one. The 12 men Jesus taught on an intimate level were a diverse group. A tax collector, some fishermen, a zealot, and who knows for sure what the others were. A tax collector was considered a traitor to his own people and yet Jesus called him to follow! The 12 learned from each other, they grew to rely on each other, and their differences strengthened them.

We don’t all have to share the same politics, the same opinions on world affairs. In the end, those topics don’t have long-lasting importance. The only topic that warrants serious discussion is faith. Faith is the root of all differences of opinion. Christians are called intolerant because we believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. Every person has the choice whether they believe that and want to follow Jesus. Nobody is forcing the decision. Those who follow Jesus are called to share this truth, to make people aware, and to encourage others to believe, but Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet” (Matthew 10:14).

Next time you find yourself in a heated conversation, stop to think about how important that topic is. Is there any benefit in arguing? Can you find a way to respect the differences in your opinions? Look at the people around you as more than their opinions on a handful of explosive topics. Get to know the things that truly make up their character: their hopes, and dreams, their heartaches, and their triumphs. Learn from them and recognize that without our differences, we wouldn’t have scientific discoveries, great writing, astonishing food combinations, or transformative music.

God created us each of to be unique. Why would we want to all be the same?

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Grasping Miracles: A Brush with Death and Divine Intervention

12 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

It happened a week ago Wednesday and I am still trying to grasp it. Rationally we all know that our lives can change in an instant, whether due to a phone call with bad news, a diagnosis or an accident. But to see it happening is another thing altogether.

Our daughter visited with us Labor Day through Wednesday. We basically chilled, drank coffee and watched movies. We did throw in a couple of trips to town with lunch out. She had spent the preceding Friday, Saturday and Sunday on a high school friends weekend to celebrate their turning 50. We, meaning me, were thrilled to care for her dog, Ollie. He missed her terribly and it made me sad. I confess to giving him some extra treats to cheer him up.

Sad Ollie

Wednesday our daughter wanted to get an early start on her drive home and we almost had her car loaded when disaster struck.

My husband had placed an ice chest on a stair-climbing cart and began to move down the first step. He was having a little trouble getting the cart to roll. I saw him pull up on the cart and then the cart was tumbling down the stairs with my husband following.

Before I could grasp what happened, my husband was lying flat on his back in the yard. He fell forward, so he must have flipped at some point to land on his back.

Our daughter and I ran to him not sure what we would find. He didn’t hit his head or any place on his body during the fall. His only complaint was that his shoulder hurt.

Now let me tell you the miraculous part. There is no way his body could have traveled this far without bouncing on the stairs. I had to use the panoramic setting to take this picture. The flower pot on the porch marks where the fall began and the flower pot in the yard is where he landed.

Surely he was carried by an angelic being.

He was able to walk on his own into the house and we talked for a few minutes. Gradually he began to find it a bit difficult to take a deep breathe followed by severe pain. Our daughter volunteered to drive us to the ER. I was so glad she was with me.

It took a hefty dose of pain medicine to reduce his discomfort. After head to pelvis CT scans, the doctor gave us the great news that nothing was broken. However his lower lung was severely bruised.

The doctor confided that he had been expecting multiple broken ribs and an air transport to a larger hospital.

Although he has been diligent using the incentive spirometer and deep breathing, he felt congested today. A cautionary trip to a clinic showed no fluid/pneumonia and in fact revealed that the bruising was receding.

Every time I look out the front door I am amazed and thankful that this incident didn’t result in a life changing event. I give God the glory.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Love, the Motivation of our Lives

2 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

1 Corinthians 12:2

If I were to speak eloquently in earth’s many languages and the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clangy cymbal.

And if I were to have the gift of prophecy with a profound understanding of God’s hidden secrets, and if I possessed unending supernatural knowledge, and if I had the great gift of faith that could move mountains but never learned to love, I would gain nothing of value.

Clangy cymbal

Photo Credit:Pixabay

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

Tags: , , , , ,

Hope in Praise

31 Aug

Guest Post

Rebekah Lyn

Reblogged from Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen

The words we feed into our brains have tremendous power. When we listen to words spoken in anger, filled with venom and hate, we begin to feel angry ourselves. Even if we just have the television or radio on in the background, without paying attention to what is on or being said, the same sense of anxiousness and anger rises within us. Conversely, if positive, kind words are being spoken in gentle tones, the emotional temperature of a room will cool.

I probably had a subconscious awareness long before I consciously noticed the change in myself. In high school, I was in the marching band and I made a Friday night mix tape I would listen to before football games to get me excited for the night and the show we would perform during halftime. In college, I used music to help me study, recalling specific songs that played as I prepared for a test helped me remember the information I needed.

In my late 20s, I went through a troubled period where I was listening to a lot of songs full of angst and anger, but I also discovered a new Christian radio station that I would occasionally tune into. It took several years, but as I listened to Christian music more often, I noticed I didn’t enjoy the other music as much. I could physically feel my body and emotions change when I listened to those songs I had found so comforting before.

In the Psalms alone, praise to God is mentioned over 150 times. Shifting our focus from the troubles of the world to the greatness of God, the Creator of all things, brings a positive change to our state of mind. For a period I suffered from migraines and often even the medicine didn’t help dull the pain, but if I played praise music, I noticed the pain would fade away. I quickly uploaded all my favorite Christian groups to my iTunes library and created playlists to have the songs that spoke to me the most in one place.

Don’t ask me what my favorite song or group is. That changes depending on the season I find myself in. The group that has been part of my collection since I first found that Christian radio station is Casting Crowns. It’s hard to believe they recently celebrated twenty years together as a band. I still remember the first time I heard “Who Am I?” as I drove into work. It feels like only months rather than years. The very first Christian musician that seemed to see right into my heart, though, was Al Denson. I discovered him at a youth conference when I was in junior high school and played his first cassette tape, Stand Up, so much it finally fell apart. Fortunately, I had found a way to record it on my computer because that album was never made into a CD.

God created us to be in relationship with Him and to sing His praise. When your mind and heart are filled with the words of encouragement God has for us every day, it becomes difficult to harbor anger. Whether I’m stuck in traffic or feeling overwhelmed by a difficult decision, I only have to turn on the local Christian station Z88.3, choose one of my Pandora playlists, or pop in one of the CDs I still carry in my car, and I enter the presence of God. Singing to Him reminds me that He is still in control and has a plan for my life. That brings hope like nothing else.

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad on their king. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to Him with timbres and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people; He crowns the humble with victory. Psalm 149:1-4

I’ve started curating songs on Spotify to share with others. Whether you need encouragement or want to sing praise for how great the Lord is, you can find links to both playlists on my resources

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Mastering Homemade Yogurt: From Thin to Creamy Greek Style

30 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Have you ever made yogurt? Until recently I had no desire to make yogurt. In fact, I thought people who made their own were a bit obsessive. I was sure it would be a difficult and time consuming process.

Then, a couple of years ago I began reading about people making yogurt in an electric pressure cooker. It sounded simple, except that the pot I had didn’t have a yogurt setting and the setting instructions for my machine twisted my brain.

The idea of making yogurt still tickled the back of my mind. When a friend gave me her Insta Pot, I decided to give it a try. My first attempt wasn’t good and I ended up discarding the yogurt.

Several months passed and every time the Aldi grocery store was out of the Greek yogurt I preferred, I would think about making my own.

I read up again on making yogurt. I found the website Frieda Loves Bread, and it had excellent instructions on making yogurt using Fairlife milk. I also found a recipe for making yogurt on a Keto website I follow. Between the two sites, I decided to give it another try.

The way I understand yogurt, there are two ways to make it, one way makes a thin yogurt and the other makes a creamy Greek style one. Since the Greek style required an extra step, i decided to make the thinner one.

It was very simple with only two ingredients, Fairlife milk and Fage yogurt.

I had accidentally bought a 52 ounce bottle of 2% milk and decided to use it in the experiment. I poured the entire bottle into the Insta Pot, then measured out one tablespoon of the Fage Yogurt which would introduce the needed active bacteria, added it to the pot and whisked it together.

I put the lid on the Insta Pot, turned valve to sealing and then pressed the button labeled yogurt. The machine immediately displayed yogurt and 8 hours. That was it.

Eight hours later, I tentatively removed the lid and peered in. The yogurt was supposed to appear “set.” and it did! The instructions said to put it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. I left it overnight. When I tasted it the next morning it was very good!

Fairflife milk sells for around $5.00 for the 52 ounce bottle. A few weeks later I found it on sale for $2.98 a bottle! We were planning to leave shortly for a month in Florida but Fairlife has a long expiration date and would keep until we returned. I bought four of them.

Once we returned home, I decided I wanted to try making the thicker Greek yogurt.

I was feeling intimidated about straining the yogurt so I went to the ever helpful You Tube.

There were a lot of videos on how to strain whey from yogurt, unfortunately each video presenter had a different straining method. One video was done by someone who lives in her RV. She strained the yogurt using cheese cloth over a strainer, then tied the ends together and hung it from a cabinet over the sink and let it drain.

I decided to just go for it. After the Insta Pot did its part, I placed a large wire strainer over a bowl and lined it with cheesecloth. Then I carefully began to scoop the yogurt into the strainer. It almost overflowed. I gave a sigh of relief when the strainer and bowl were safely in the refrigerator.

The recommended least amount of time to chill and drain in the refrigerator was four hours but I would be sound asleep by then, so I left it overnight.

I had some misgivings before putting the yogurt in the refrigerator. I had expected the liquid whey to immediately begin draining but I saw less than one half cup. In the morning I was delighted to see almost a quart of whey in the bowl. As I scooped the finished yogurt into a bowl, it was so thick I could barely stir it. One of the videos suggested adding back some whey until the yogurt was the desired thickness. I stirred some whey in and it worked.

The yogurt was creamy, smooth and delicious.

    I will definitely make yogurt again. How about you, do you make yogurt?

    Here is the link for Friedalovesbread

    I'm a winner

    After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I leaned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

    In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

    My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

    ← Older Entries
    Newer Entries →