Who to believe?

Raw milk--so much controversy.

Each state has its own laws regulating raw milk. In Texas it can be bought directly from the farm on which it is produced. There is a lot of information available, and I will add some links, but anything I say here is my own opinion and a result of my own research. Any risk you take in your life is your own, as is mine.

Some people, especially those who would profit, would have you believe that raw milk will kill you. Some people never look past that statement to find out the truth. It is true that raw milk, improperly handled, can be dangerous. Raw milk from cows that have been improperly handled is also dangerous. But so is store-bought spinach.

Milk began to be pasteurized in the early 1900's, when people began to get sick after drinking milk from sick cows. At this time, some dairy farmers thought it was convenient to raise their cattle near breweries and feed them the byproducts. Since cattle naturally eat grass, not grain, this made them sick. The answer, instead of treating the cows properly, was to pasteurize the milk.

Also, the purpose of homogenization is to make milk last longer on the shelves, which benefits nothing but the profits of the producer. But I digress.

There are several reasons why pasteurized milk is less beneficial than raw milk. And ultra-pasteurized is the devil's own child. When milk is raw and starts to go bad, it sours, but can still be used in cooking. When milk is pasteurized and goes bad, it rots and is good for nothing. This post could end up very long if I try to tell you everything I have learned about the benefits and risks of raw milk, so I will include several links to the (in my opinion) best information.


Where to start
More
Info
More Info
And Yet More

There's LOTS more information out there if you look for it, both in favor and against.

There are at least two certified raw cow's milk dairies in Texas. Sand Creek Farm is up near Waco, probably about and hour and a half to two hours away for me. The other is Stryk Jersey Farm near Schulenberg.

It's only about an hour away for me.

$5 each.

I can't even begin to tell you the difference in taste. I drank milk every day of my life, but I also drank Cokes. After I had cancer and went through chemo, my bones were tested and found to be osteopenic, the predecessor to osteoporosis. Obviously pasteurized milk was not enough to counter the effects of sodas or the devestation of chemo to my bones. Even though I drank it EVERY SINGLE DAY! For that reason I started drinking raw milk. I can't drink it every day now, because I can't go down to Schulenburg that often, but I don't drink cokes anymore either.

San Antonio Mexican Food

I went to see my friend in Schertz TX, just north of San Antonio. He's recovering from knee surgery, so I didn't think we'd be able to go see anything local. Well, he was getting around all right enough to suggest going out for lunch. We went to a Mexican restaurant called Felix's.

In my experience, the BEST Mexican food is always going to be found at some little hole-in-the-wall looking kind of place, and this was no exception. In San Marcos, it's Garcia's. Here in Austin, there is a place near my apartment that I can't remember the name of. Some chain restaurants have OK food, but seriously, for the best Mexican food you have to find a small local place that serves tamales. You don't have to eat tamales if you don't want them, but they have to at least serve them. Yes, I know enough about what goes in tamales, I don't need anybody to tell me anything else about them. Don't ruin it for me. Love the tamales, just love them.

So we had a great dinner, then I had to go back up north to Pflugerville for a two-year-old's birthday party. It's been a busy day on the I35 corridor for me today.

Plano plans

Last weekend I went to see some friends in Dallas--Plano and Krum, more specifically. I wasn't able to see one friend, and I left my jacket, so I'll be back before long!

Since most of my weekend was spent with people, I didn't actually see as much of Dallas as I might have otherwise. I only took a few pictures. I went to Dealey Plaza last year, so I've already seen that. I would like to see the Farmer's Branch Historical Park, so that is definitely on the agenda for next time.

So what did I see? I went to Grapevine Lake, because it looked fun and beautiful on the map, and more accessible than Lewisville Lake. I saw a place online and on Facebook called Big Daddy's Ship Store. I crossed the most rickety bridge I had ever seen to get to it, and had an expensive hot dog. Most of the bun went to the ducks. Since it was Saturday afternoon, there was no live music, which I suspect is the main draw to this place. Being right on the marina, it is convenient to the boating crowd, so they can charge whatever they want. Not having a boat, it wasn't as fun as I had hoped it would be. But live music would probably have changed my opinion!

Then to Plano to see my friend. Her daughter went to South by So What (I can't get away from it) to see a bunch of "screamo" bands. They sound just delightful, I'm sure!

The next day I went to Krum to see my cousin. I saw a good deal of North Dallas on the drive. Plano seems nice but very crowded. Lewisville Lake, very large. They say for a while it was the most dangerous lake in Texas. Lewisville itself looked very pretty. I would like to have seen more of Denton. My cousin lives just outside of Denton, so I didn't make it all the way to Krum.

Somewhere between Plano and Denton

So that was my weekend, really. I'll have to find more interesting stuff in Dallas to go see next time. I'm open to suggestions!

Mosaic Bridge

On El Paso Street just off Congress Ave., across from St. Edward's University, there is a mosaic bridge created by an artist who lives next door.










The artwork even extends to the back of the bridge into the ditch.




The detail work is beautiful.





This is just one small thing in Austin that most people don't know about that I wanted to share.