vanilla extract DIY

i've been trying to rest my eyes today.
i got the drops and so far today have used them twice
i cleaned the woodstove, added some plastic to a window that i thought had a storm in it but didn't
got the studio/main house door covered in hardware cloth (and ditched the window screening which wasn't letting heat through)
cut the cat's claws
did paper work and research

went out with the left over seed from when roland was alive, and fed that to the ruffed grouse and the winter birds
let me tell you.......
this resting my eyes is a lot of work

ok another thing i did was make vanilla extract today.
i had found some vanilla beans hanging around in my pantry from two years ago (all safely vacuum sealed) and i found a bottle of cheapo vodka i had bought at the same time.....since we don't drink it wasn't even opened!
i was being very lazy so i just opened the vodka, poured a bit of it out into the other mason jar full of vanilla extract, and put all the whole beans into the vodka bottle......
capped the bottle and shook it up good then put it back where i found it! in six months it'll be extract

now to do it right .......i should have chopped the beans up before putting them in there, and down the road i most likely will remove the beans and do that, before putting them back into the vodka.....
the bottle was i think what is called a 'fifth' and i think i put in 18 or 24 beans......
you should shake it daily, and i might remember to do that
really it IS simple.. and we use it for baking
i have some that's over 2 years old and it's wonderful. since i heavy up on the beans my extracts are a very very VERY dark color..... which is great, and we use normal measures (ok so we don't actually measure, it's more like..... hmmmm that looks like enough) i figure about a teaspoon for whatever we use it in.
it keeps forever if you leave it in the dark in the closet. and overall it's so much cheaper then the stuff you get in the store.
i found my beans on ebay
i don't quite remember what i got or how much i paid for them but there you go

oh and bernie asked met to tell you how to make a tortilla pizza, as he loves them
so maybe tomorrow?