Soapmaking 101

A couple weeks ago, I made some Pearberry scented hand soap. I'm trying to use up all my fragrance oil before I order some new oil. I think this time I will splurge and get essential oil. It's more concentrated,so not as much is needed,but it does cost a bit more.

You will need:

 -24 oz Crisco

-9 oz coconut oil

-10.5 oz canola oil

-14 oz cold water

-6 oz lye crystals

-hand mixer ( I use my old one now just for soapmaking)

-non metallic spoon or spatula (I use cheap wooden spoons that I bought just for soapmaking)

-bowl for lye water

-measuring cup

-digital scale

-soap mold ( I use a silicone 8 x8 baking dish)

-thermometer (I used an old candy thermometer)

-scent/coloring (optional)

Ready?

1) Zero out your digital scale by placing the measuring cup on it and hitting the "tare/on" button. You can see in the photo below that it is now set at zero. Everything is measured by weight. Pour water into the cup until it reaches 14 oz. Pour the water into a bowl,and wipe out your measuring cup. Place the cup back on the scale,make sure it's zeroed out,and add the lye crystals until it weighs 6 oz.

Before you mix the lye and water,you will want to open some windows to get some ventilation going. Lye is very caustic,and can burn your skin. The fumes smell and can make you sick. Sometimes I also have to put my t-shirt in front of my nose. Sprinkle the lye into the water,and stir gently until the lye crystals have dissolved  You will see fumes/smoke coming out of the bowl. This is the lye reacting. Place the lye off to the side to cool down. I place the bowl in front of the window.

2) Melt your solids. As you measured the lye and water,do the same with the Crisco and coconut oil. Make sure the Crisco measures 24 oz ( I had to do two measurements of 12 oz since my measuring cup isn't that big) and put it into a pan on the stove. Measure the coconut oil to 9 oz and put in the pan with the Crisco. Melt them over low heat,stirring occasionally  Measure the canola oil in the same manner,making sure it weighs 10.5 oz. When the Crisco and coconut oil and melted,add the the canola oil and stir.


Here you see the solid fats being melted........

......and the canola oil being added once the solid fats are melted

3) Now comes the part I always have a hard time with-waiting for the lye water and the oils to cool to the proper temperature. This is where the thermometer comes in. Both the lye water and the melted oils should be cooled down to 80-100 degrees before they are combined.This could take anywhere from 1/2 an hour to an hour.

4)Gently pour the lye water into the oils,mixing as you go.The mixer should be on low to avoid more air bubbles from forming than need be.

5)Mix on low until soap mixture begins to thicken,then move up to medium speed.The soap is ready to pour when it hits trace. Trace is when the soap forms squiggles on the top of the mixture like in the photo below:

6) This is the time to add your scent (it's up to you how much to add)..........

.......and your soap coloring. Again,it's up to you how much add depending on what you want the color to look like. Make sure you mix in the scent completely before you add the color. Mix in the color completely.

Here it is...ready for the mold!!!!!

7) Pour the soap mix into the mold. Smooth it out as best you can.

8) Cover it with a towel and let rest for 8-24 hours.

9) Take the soap out of the mold and place it away from drafts and cold air for 1-7 days.

10)After a few days,it's ready to cut up into bars. Score the soap to help with sizing. Notice how the soap has turned white? That's the lye that has risen up through the block of soap.

Here is a photo for a better comparison. The block on the lower left shows the bottom of the soap block. The upper right the top. There will be some white residue on the sides as well. Don't worry,we're going to cut those off to make pretty soap.

11) Cut off the white areas,and any other areas you need to make square pieces. This recipe fills an 8 x 8 pan,so the blocks are thick. 

A bit blurry,but you see how nice it looks when the white is trimmed off.

12) I cut the blocks in half,so I get more soap for the buck!

See? Two bars for the price of one!

13) You might wonder what to do with all those pieces that got trimmed off- use them! They still work. I bagged them up into a sandwich bag and put them in our bathroom closet.

14) TA-DA! Homemade bar soap. It now needs to cure for 2-4 weeks. 

After the time has passed, enjoy your soap,or wrap it in some pretty paper and give as a gift!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Soap and Snow

Wow,it's already been a week since I posted! Whoops. Some of that was me,some of it was due to the fact that we lost phone and Internet service for a couple of days because the AC adapter that we plug in for the phone/Internet box had exposed wire and stopped working. Our friendly cable guy came and replaced it yesterday. :)

My strawberries,garlic,and carrots have a nice layer of straw on them,which is a good thing,because a few days ago,things looked like this:

This morning,they looked like this:

A bit of snow fell last night,but now that the sun is out,it's already melting. While snow at this time of year is not completely uncommon,it is unusual. It's too early for me!

Earlier this week,I made some hand soap. I wanted to try something different this time around. I did use the same basic ingredients:

You can't see the coconut oil container behind the canola oil,but it's there. The day before I made my soap,I took cinnamon sticks and whole cloves,heated them in the canola oil for while,then put the pan (covered) into the fridge overnight so the cinnamon and clove scent would seep into the oil.

It didn't make an overpowering scent,just a few light one,which was fine,since this was a first attempt. I heated the Crisco and coconut oil over low heat until melted,then strained the canola oil so the cinnamon and cloves were removed. I then poured the canola oil into the  Crisco/coconut oil and heated it. I added a few drops of Patchouli oil ( AKA "Dirty Hippie Scent"). The lye was dissolved in water in a separate bowl. When the temperatures of both the oil combo and the lye were around 80-100 degrees,I poured the lye into the oil,then using an old hand held mixer,mixed it until it came to trace,then poured it into my silicone 8x8 pan.

It has been resting now for a few days,so today I will cut it into squares,and let it cure in our bedroom,which is the coolest room in the house. It will cure for a few weeks.

I have the recipe in my Sept 2009 post,Homemade Lye Soap. I tried to put the link in,but it doesn't like me for some reason.

I have been working on my shawl,and it's getting there.Rick's truck is in the shop. He and Zach were out hunting last weekend on Youth Weekend (no adults are allowed to hunt,only kids under 16 with a licensed hunter) and he heard a CLUNK in the back of the truck. Come to find out,the U joints need to be replaced. Bummer. They didn't get anything either all weekend. Double bummer.Tonight Zach has a Halloween dance and he is going as the slasher from the Scream movies. Monday is our Troop Halloween party,and Rick and I have our costumes,but we aren't telling what we are going as yet. :)

Have a fabulous day where ever you might be!

How I Saved Over $200

I began making my own laundry soap on Sept 5,2009.Why I remember this is because I have kept track of when I make the soap,and how much I have spent on the ingredients so I could see how much I saved.

When I purchased my items,though,I failed to mark down how much they were. Last week when I was shopping I wrote down the prices to use a guide.

My first initial purchase:
2 bars Fels Naptha soap @ .99 cents apiece= $1.98
One box Arm and Hammer Washing Soda= $2.69
One box of Borax= $3.69
-----------------------------------------------
Total spent= $8.36

Until then I had been buying Purex,which costs $4.49 for 2 qt,8 oz (I averaged it to 2 qts to make it easier to figure out).

Each batch I make is 2 gallons,which means I would have to purchase four Purex to equal 2 gallons (remember,I'm rounding down,here).

I have made 12 batches of soap since 9/09,and have only had to purchase two more bars of Fels Naptha since then,making my investment to date at $10.34,which averages to $.86 cents for every two gallon batch.

Now, if I had continued to use the Purex,I would've had to buy 48 jugs to equal 24 gallons,which would cost $215.52
                                                        Purex-$215.52
                                                  -    My soap-$10.34
                                                    -----------------------
                                                            =$205.18
That'a a great savings! It also lessens the amount of plastic jugs hitting the landfill.

Summertime Is Here

I have been trying for several days to answer comments on my posts,but Blogger will not let me. I can't respond to posts on other blogs,either! I have tried resetting my password,but I keep coming up as anonymous,and then it goes right back to the password page. Go figure!

Things have been busy around here. Our garden is growing well,which I am happy to see since we had such a late start. I have two ripe strawberries,and I still need to trellis my peas and cukes. I did get my tomatoes staked. I will post pics of that tomorrow.

The boys have been working on levelling the yard and creating a swale in the back so the water doesn't drain from our next door neighbors yard through our garden area ,into the chicken pen and hopefully not in our basement so much. Today they are going to work on levelling the area for our set -it -up-yourself pool. Our grass seed is finally sprouting as well.

Yesterday we had an exciting morning. Rick and Brother B were on their way to go fishing when Rick almost stepped on a little kitten. It ran under our porch,but they were able to get to it:

We thought perhaps the neighbors cat had babies,but when we asked them about it,they said no. Apparently,though,they have seen kittens running around in the area,so a cat had a litter somewhere nearby. This poor little one is just a baby. It was very scared,and bit both Rick and I,but after a short while it calmed down and we were able to hold it. It's little spine is sticking out,so we gave it some soft food and tried to get it to drink a bit of milk. I have named it Smokey. I believe it's a male.He tried to snuggle with Moxie but neither Moxie or Little O were having any of it,at least,not yet.

I decided to try and make peppermint soap the other day. It's been curing now for about 5 days.I used the lye soap recipe and just added some finely chopped fresh mint when it was starting to trace. I  put in what I felt looked nice. We should be able to give it a whirl in a few days and see how it came out.It looks pink in the photo,but it's not. It's natural color:

When Zach got home from school yesterday he was very surprised to see little Smokey. He has such a soft heart for cats and dogs.Smokey is licking his face in this picture,tickling him and he couldn't stop laughing:

One of the other things I decided to try was homemade ice cream. We love ice cream,but usually have to watch the ingredients because of Rick.This way,we can make ice cream that everyone can enjoy. I bought an inexpensive electric ice cream maker and tried chocolate chip.It came out wonderful! Now I must go buy ingredients for chocolate today:

Today is Zach's last day of school. We went there this AM for the awards assembly. Zach was on 4th quarter Honor Roll,and made Honors All Year.Here he is this morning with his certificates and his autograph shirt:

He has had such a great year this year. Yesterday he won the 7th grade Poetry Slam. Earlier this year he won the 7th grade spelling bee. We are so proud of him!

Summertime is here,and we are ready for it!!!

A Kick Back Day

Yesterday was what we call around here a kick back day.Our little cottage was nice and cozy from the wood stove, the usual daily chores were done,and I started some laundry. Zach's bedspread needed to be washed because our big old moose of a dog,Samson,got sick on it,and I did have two other loads that needed washing. While I was waiting for the the bedspread to wash,I sat down and did some knitting.I am in process of teaching myself circular knitting,and right now I am working on a mitten.

Poor Zach was not feeling well yesterday.He said his head felt funny,and he was a bit warm and pale. We could tell he wasn't up to par,because he was very quiet. I told him to take some Aleeve and take a nap,to which he replied he was planning on napping. A bit later,I got his bedspread out of the dryer,and when I brought it up to his room,he was all curled up under the covers,sound asleep. I gently put the cover on him,and it reminded me of when he was a baby.He would kick the covers off and I would cover him back up,very gently,so as to not wake him up. I miss those times. He wound up sleeping all afternoon,and woke up around 7:00 PM,feeling fine.

Basically all I did was knit all day,fold and put away the laundry. I was surprised that I spent about 6 hours knitting.It didn't seem like it. It was neat to see how the thumb was starting to form in the mitten,and I kept wanting to do more to see how it would come out. Bear in mind,my stitches are off,but I am going forward with it. I like to do the whole project (I have only done small ones,anyway.If it was a sweater or something of the like I wouldn't keep going with mistakes)so I can get the practice of doing the whole thing. The second mitten should come out much better. After that I am moving to socks.

Rick did go out hunting for a while yesterday,but got nothing. He is starting to get very frustrated.This is the first year in a few that he has been able to actually go out and walk distance,and he is only seeing signs of deer with an occasional glimpse,but no shot. All this walking has been great for his knees,though they do get sore.The Dr told him to take Aleeve before he goes out. He is still only 1/3 healed.The whole process takes up to 18 months. He is still doing incredibly well for having both knees replaced almost 6 months ago.

Today I am going to make some more soap,I think. And I should take stock of what we need for Christmas decorations. And that knitting is calling to me again......

Happy November!

Saturday we went trick or treating in my old neighborhood. Zach wore his Gilly suit,camo make up,and wore Rick's old British airborne beret (when Rick was in the 82nd Airborne back in the 80's,he was stationed in Europe and they would train and do joint missions with various units). Now that Zach is 12,I wondered how many more nights of trick or treating we will be doing. There won't be many. I felt a bit sad as we were walking the streets of my old neighborhood. Time keeps moving along,and I wanted to stop it for a little while.

Yesterday I made another batch of laundry soap. This is my first one using new supplies-I bought another Fels Naptha bar for .99 cents.I still have plenty of Borax and Washing Soda. With my initial purchase of 2 Fels Naptha bars,Borax,and Washing Soda, I was able to make 12 gallons,which cost me approx $10.00. My first batch was on Sept 5,2009,and my last batch was July 26,2010. Since I didn't have to make anymore until yesterday,my initial purchase lasted me over a year. You can't do that with store bought detergent!!

I also put away my canning supplies.Up into the attic they went. What I would love is a nice storage cabinet so I could put all my jars and canners into it.

We have started buying paraffin oil for our lamps ( I love oil lamps lit on winter nights). Red paraffin oil! The color looks great in the lamps.

Today I must cover my strawberries. The nights are getting quite cold,and though strawberries can withstand cold down to 20 degrees,I am not taking any chances. We had a touch of Indian Summer here last week,and now the temps are down into the 50's and 40's during the day. Leaves are falling off the trees,and, in fact,many of the trees are bare now.

Yep,it's November. :)

Rainy and Raw

That describes our weather right now. Rainy and raw. Not to mention foggy as well. The front moved in yesterday,and it seems we will have this weather up until Thursday or Friday. Yep,Fall is here!

Saturday Rick and I went out for our 13th anniversary,which was yesterday( We had Zach's Boy Scout Court of Honor last night,so we celebrated over the weekend).We went out for dinner in Portsmouth.Our first stop was the Dolphin Striker,as Rick wanted some oysters from the raw bar. I tried one with cocktail sauce,and it wasn't bad,but still not something I could order. We then went to the River House just up the street for dinner. They have gluten free options,which is not easy to find in a restaurant. Rick and I have not been in Portsmouth on a Saturday night since before he left for Iraq.We used to go out somewhat often,whether for drinks,dinner,or just walking around.We wanted to sit on the deck,overlooking the Piscataqua River ( which feeds into the Atlantic ocean,there are tugboats,fishing boats,etc docked out there).There was a 30 minute wait,so we left our name and went and sat on a bench and watched people. I asked Rick a couple of times if he was OK,because there was soooo many people,either milling around or sitting outside at the various restaurants.He said he was fine. People had money to spend,that is for sure. We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed being out on a nice romantic evening.

Sunday we split and stacked wood from our log pile. I thought I would be more sore that night and into Monday,but I wasn't. We were going to continue with the wood yesterday,but it was drizzling starting in the morning,and continued to do so off and on all day.I washed floors,made crock pot beef stew,and made a batch of hand soap.It was a good day for beef stew. We wound up waiting an extra 20 minutes for Zach's bus. It wound up smoking from the back,and our bus driver Audrey called in another bus to bring the kids the rest of the way home. She said that all her gauges were fine,so she had no idea what was wrong,but didn't want to take any chances. He didn't get home until almost 3:30. I felt chilled,so I made myself a nice cup of Apple Cider Tea ( from Bigelow).

Rick did not have good day yesterday.He is down to 1 morphine pill now,and is feeling the effects of having last week's dose cut in half. To make things worse,an elderly gentleman pulled out of a side street without looking and almost hit our truck.Rick and Brother B were running errands. They slammed on the brakes and narrowly missed hitting this man's car. I can only imagine how that sent Rick's hypervigilence up. When he got home,he was not feeling well,and when he handed me the ATM card,his hand was shaking badly. He went to bed around 12:30 and slept until 5:00. He went with us to the Court of Honor,and sat in back,but he chatted with the other adults. He still was not feeling well last night,and had a hard time falling asleep. In fact, he is asleep in his recliner now,so I know he didn't sleep well last night.

Zach did well at Court of Honor. He earned four merit badges at summer camp-First Aid,Wilderness Survival,Carpentry,and Pathfinding.All the boys did well,and many merit badges were given out. Zach only has a couple requirements left before he can earn his First Class Rank. He loves scouts!

Today I am off to grocery shop and I am going to make some homemade pumpkin puree,maybe even an apple pie.

Enjoy your day,where ever you might be!

Misc Catch Up and the Death of My Soap

I have been fighting headaches and allergies since the weekend,so my motivation has not been at an all time high. One Benedryl and I am ready for a nap. If anyone out there has taken Benedryl,they know what I mean. It wipes you out.

I have two cabinets left-my pots and pans ( which is more or less just straightening and wiping down the inside of the cabinet) and the dreaded under the sink area. Yuck. Today will not be the day,however. Zach and I are meeting My Dear Friend Michelle and her boys at the lake,then later this PM Rick has an appt with his PTSD counselor,Ken down at the VA Outpatient Center in Somersworth. He hasn't seen Ken in a while,not since before he had his knees done,so it should be a good visit. I think Ken will be pleased to see Rick doing so well physically,which also helps him mentally.

Rick is now in the midst of stopping his morphine. He is lowering his dose by 15 mg each week. He was at 120 mg a day. Last week he started at 60 mg in the AM,then 45 mg at night.This week it is 4 5mg and 45 mg,next week it will be 45 mg and 30 mg,etc., down to nothing. It is not easy. He has been on it for two years,and as most people know,morphine is physically addictive.Each time the dose is lessened he has some minor withdrawal symptoms,but it only lasts for a couple of days until his body adjusts. At least we know it is temporary each week.He is happy to finally not have to take it anymore and is anxious to stop altogether.

Yesterday Brother B canned 9 pints of blackberry jam. He had gone down to North Hampton to help out his Dad and there is an area loaded with blackberry bushes. He picked 9 lbs,so needless to say we still have quite a bit of berries left! He hadn't canned in years,so I just helped him out a bit on the first batch.

I am not loving my homemade dish soap at all.We had a nice ham dinner on Saturday,and when Rick washed the dishes there was about an inch of grease on the dishes.He went up to the neighbors and borrowed some detergent. I am glad it worked out for some people,and hope it worked out for you. Not here,I am sad to say. I will stick to my laundry and hand soap. Tomorrow I will return to the land of Grapefruit Ajax. At least I gave it a shot.

Time To Replenish

My first time making laundry soap was on Sept 5,2009. Since then I have made 6 batches,or 12 gallons of soap. My initial purchase was a box of Borax,a box of Washing Soda,and two bars of Fels Naptha soap. It was less than $10.

Yesterday, I used the last of my Fels Naptha soap. It lasted 10 months.Each bar is .99 cents. Next week I will buy two more bars. I still have quite a bit of Borax and Washing Soda,since I only use 1/2 a cup of each in each batch. I think I may be able to keep using them until I need to replenish my Fels Naptha again.So it is very possible that I will be able to get almost 2 years of laundry soap with about $12.00. You can't get much better than that! I love my laundry soap. It has a nice,fresh,scent,not overpowering at all. And it cleans like all get out.

Another item I need to replenish is my lye. I was going to make lavender soap yesterday,but discovered that my lye was a tad short of another batch. I have a couple bars of Oatmeal Milk and Honey in use,and a couple small bar left. I did buy some bar soap while I was grocery shopping yesterday as it will take a while once the soap is made to cure. I call it my "back up soap." It's the first time I have bought soap in months! What a nice feeling it is to walk buy something you normally have to purchase,knowing you can make it at home and you are saving money! I order my lye from Brambleberry.com. It costs $10,plus shipping,for 2 lbs of flake lye. I need to send a Hazardous Material Waver Form first before they will send it me,though.

I am going to make Dish Soap. I have found a recipe on Lizzy Lane Farm that I am going to give a shot. I have just purchased dish soap,so it will have to wait. At least I can reuse the plastic container.

Today I am making Strawberry Jam,my first attempt. It shouldn't be bad. Rick's favorite is Strawberry Jam,and we are out,so he is anxious to try it. I think tomorrow I will try my hand at Zucchini Relish.

The boys have gone to get Zach's hair cut,and then they are going to chip up the brush pile,and clear back the tree line,leaving the birches. We are going to move back our compost area,which is growing bigger with the addition of the chickens and turkeys poo and hay/straw/wood shavings. We are going to get it a bit more organized.

It's a sunny,cool,breezy day here. I don't think there is one cloud in the sky. It reminds me of Fall. I love it!!!

I am off to sweep,dust,and make Jam......have a great day!!!!

Fruits of the Harvest

Now that my cucumbers are coming in droves,I have been busy canning. To date I have made 12 pints of bread and butter pickles,and 6 1/2 pints of sweet pickle relish. More pickles and relish are to follow,I am sure. I want to make sure we have enough to share with family,and to have for ourselves for the rest of the year.Maybe next year I will have enough to sell by the road for a little pocket money.However,providing for us comes first.

I spent three days in a row canning,and I must admit that I am getting more comfortable with it. Anything new can be a bit overwhelming,and since I have only one canning attempt under my belt,which was not successful,you can imagine I was a bit tentative. But each batch got easier. The timing of the getting the canning water the right temp,the water to boil the jar and lids to 180 degrees,and getting the spices and produce ready took a couple of tries. At first,I stared the water way too early and too low a temp. The third time I had the heat on high,and when the temp neared 180 degrees,I lowered the temperature on the burner. I suppose it's like anything else,practice makes perfect! Of course,we have to let these sit for 4-6 weeks;they were not brined,they were fresh packed. The pickle cukes and onions sat in salt and ice for 1 1/2 hours;
for the relish the cukes,onions,green and red peppers sat in salt and cold water for 2 hours. I am going to make some strawberry jam next. Since we just planted our strawberries this year,our harvest has been a strawberry here and there,so I had to buy them this morning.

One thing I have noticed is my batches never come out with as many jars as they say it's going to take. My relish was suppose to make( 8) 1/2 pints;I had 6. The pickles 7 pints;each time I came out with 6. My Dear Friend Michelle says that that happens to her as well,so I don't feel that bad!

Today I am making another batch of laundry soap;I have finally used up my Fels Naptha soap. I bought all my ingredients either late last summer or Fall. The two bars of Fels Naptha lasted that long! Such a savings. I also need to make more hand soap. I would love to find a recipe for dish detergent;I have only found dishwasher recipes,and since I don't have a dishwasher,that won't work. Anyone out there have a good dish soap recipe?

A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned

I started making my own clothes detergent last year. I make liquid detergent,using Fels Naptha soap,Borax,and Washing Soda. I spent approx $8-$10 for the ingredients. I never figured out what the savings would be,until I went grocery shopping on Tues. I figured I would see what the price was on the detergent I used to buy,Purex. It comes in a 2 qt,8 fl oz jug,which costs $5.99. I averaged it down to 2 qts for easier figuring.

I make 2 gallons at a time. I have enough Fels Naptha for one more batch,so in all,I will have made 6 batches,which equals 12 gallons. Then I will have to buy more Fels Naptha soap (which is .99 a bar). I still have several batches that I can make with the Washing Soda and Borax before I have to replenish them.

If my math is correct,if I bought 12 gallons of Purex,it would cost us $143.76. So I saved $133.76,if I base it on spending $10 for my supplies.

WOW!

Not only that,what I make lasts about 2 1/2 months.The Purex doesn't go that far,so I would wind up buying it more,which in the long run would cost even more money. I never did figure out how long the Purex would last,but I think I usually bought it roughly once a month.

What do you do to save money?

Before and After

This is what our garden area looked like up until yesterday....mostly. I posted this photo after we built our boxes,before we put the soil in them and planted onions. You get the jist! All dirt,not very pretty. And not a pleasing area to work,at least for me.

Then.....this is what it looks like as of yesterday afternoon, after approx. 20 wheelbarrows full of shavings....

Ah. Much better. A much more pleasing sight for the eye,and nicer to work in. Smells great too! You can see my onion box on the left,with the grid. I am going to put tomatoes in that one,too. All the way down on the right is where I am planting my lettuce,peas,and cantaloupe. I did not pre start my lettuce seeds this year.

We are going to do our walkway and around the strawberry bed and kitchen garden bed. We were going to start that yesterday as well,but Rick had had it after doing the above.I had offered to shovel the shavings into the wheelbarrow,dump it and let him spread them out,but he said no. So he had to walk back and forth from Walter's house. Fortunately, Walter is right across the dirt road along the side of our house,so it wasn't far. But it wreaked havoc on Rick's knees. I love my hubby,but he can be very stubborn. He would rather be in more pain than have me do some of the work around the house.

Today he is down for the count. He had chills and sweated all night. This morning I awoke to find him wrapped in his quilt in the recliner. Did he take his meds? Yes. So it wasn't the reaction to a missed dose. Did he eat anything with gluten yesterday? No. So it wasn't an allergic reaction. I think it's his body telling him to take a break. He doesn't sleep well because of the knee pain and the nightmares,and he has been working harder than he has in months,trying to get everything complete before his surgery. Once the surgery happens,he won't be able to anything for a couple of months. Bless his heart! As I type this,he is sound asleep. I will let him sleep until it's time for his noon meds. I fed and watered the chicks,the cats,and the dogs. I washed the dishes,scrubbed the stove top,burners and burner pans. Once I finish this post I will wipe down the butcher block,sweep,and wash the kitchen and bathroom floors. I must also make laundry soap today,no ifs ands or buts. We are all out now.

I am off to continue playing catch up with the house.....have a lovely day!

My View

When I am sitting at the computer desk in the living room,I can look out the living room windows that are off to my right,which I do often. I took this photo this morning through the window,so you can see a bit more than what I normally see sitting down. Take the top half of the photo,enlarge it a bit,and that is my morning view.

As you can see, it's another beautiful day. The morning sun is streaming through the trees,making various shades of green. You can see my birdbath and just make out our bird feeder post with the feeders on it. One nice thing about this time of year is the leaves obstruct most of the view of the road. You can barely make it out-it's that gray patch that is above the stone wall.

We are surrounded by trees. We have trees all around on our property line,and a forest across the street. We have a nice lot. It's really a lovely,peaceful view. I like to sit outside and just LISTEN. I listen to the birds singing,the leaves in the trees whispering,or I just listen to the silence. I liken it to filling up a tank on a car. When I feel like I am running on low,I take a moment and just sit,close my eyes,and feel like a part of all that is around me. It's rejuvenating. This is my church-the outdoors. It reminds me of the pilot for the "Little House" series. Ma is concerned because they are so remote from anything,and there is no church,which she feels is important for the "girls to grow up properly." Pa puts his hands on her shoulders,and very gently replies,"I can't imagine them getting any closer to God than they are right here." Amen,Pa.

We continue to be thankful for the kindness of neighbors. One of our neighbors,Walter,had a few pines cut down a few months ago,and just the other day he had the stumps ground up. Rick and I had been talking about getting some mulch to lay down around the garden boxes,since right now it's all dirt with the occasional weed or grass clump. Lo and behold,now there is this lovely pile of pine shavings across the street from us. We figured we would ask Walter if he was going to do anything with it,and yesterday we finally saw him to do so. He replied he was going to ask if we wanted them! So now we have free shavings to lay down,where ever we need them. How nice! So we will be doing that today,and I do need to make more laundry soap. I have been keeping track of when I make each batch,to see how cost effective it has been to do it myself. It has been great. I haven't had to buy any soap or ingredients for soap since last September!

A couple days ago, I planted one row each of romaine and green lettuce,and a row of peas. I am going to stagger my plantings so we can have a longer harvest. Today I should plant some beans.

Yesterday we went to the VA in Manchester for a routine eye exam. I was hoping they had read Rick's file and knew about the stroke,blind spots,and double vision. That happened quite a bit when they were trying to figure out if his sight would remain like that or if they could repair it- every time we went to Boston we had to answer the same questions over and over and Rick had the same eye tests over and over. It seemed like they never read his file. We would both get really aggravated. We were pleased that Manchester was aware of everything,including the final determination that Rick's sight would probably remain as it is. Rick's eyes otherwise have not changed enough to have to get a new eyeglass prescription,so that was good. Now we don't have to go back to the eye clinic until next year,unless something changes before then.

Have a great day!

Gearing Up for the Garden

Yesterday I started seeds for my peppers and for my kitchen garden. I never realized how freaking tiny some of those seeds are! I wear bifocals (mostly for reading,seeing up close and being able to read road signs from a distance while driving) and even with them on I had a real hard time seeing where one seed begins and the next one ends. The biggest (or should I say smallest?) offender is Spearmint. Tiny,tiny seeds. I couldn't even pick one with with tweezers. I had to literally just pour them out into the dirt,and tried not to pour too many out in one area. I am not sure how these plants will come out,and I know I will have to do a bit of thinning. We shall see what we shall see. One can only learn from each experience. Maybe I need a magnifying glass!

Today I need to make some more hand soap. We are getting a tad low,and have broken out our Irish Spring backup. The one thing I will need to do is get some sort of grid to put on top of the soap dish. The soap breaks down quickly when it sits in the water that accumulates in the dish after each use. The soap needs to sit up high out of the water.

Today I tried Jillian Michael's "30 Day Shred" exercise DVD. It is quite the workout,and I could not keep up. My arms ache just from the first level,and I couldn't finish the reps!!! I am trying to get back on the wagon after losing 10 lbs and falling off the wagon. Happily,I only gained back 3 lbs since I stopped working out. I am optimistic that this program will yield good results. Since we have started working outside,I haven't had the urge to snack and my appetite has actually been curbed somewhat.That is always a good thing.

Well, I'm off to make soap. This time around I am using the recipe my Dear Friend Michelle and I used last Fall. The recipe includes Crisco,canola oil,coconut oil,water,and lye crystals,plus any coloring or scent . I am going to make Oatmeal Milk and Honey scented soap.

Fresh Snow

Today here in NH we are having our first big snowstorm of the season. The schools are closed and we cancelled Rick's speech therapy appointment in Manchester.It is snowing quite heavily,and we are suppose to get anywhere from 5-12 inches. We are on the line where the amount of snow changes,here in northern Strafford Country,so any time we see snow amounts on Channel 9 news, we know it can go either way for us.
Though I am not a big snow fan,I do like to see it falling while I am in my little cottage with the woodstove going. There is a very cozy feeling to it. Saturday,we did get some snow as well,maybe three inches. It started while we were outside tying up some loose ends before the snow hit for the season-such as getting all outside furniture,hoses,etc into the garage,getting the outside Christmas decorations and the heat tape for the roof up. It was pretty neat to be putting greenery into our little wagon while the snow was falling.The whole family was outside doing what needed to be done,and we got alot accomplished in just a few hours.
Zach is going outside to shovel the driveway and play in the snow.Brr! It is quite cold when the door opens!
Today is my Flylady day,since I have nothing else planned,and I am going to clean my kitchen. I also need to make some more soap. The lye crisco soap keeps losing color and some of them lose their scent. So I am wondering if I need a receipe with more ingrediants to hold scent and color better,at least for gift purposes. The lye crisco soap for us is fine.It doesn't have to be pretty. I have some melt and pour soap left over from last year and I will use that for my gifts.
I also need to start decorating inside the house.We are going to go to a tree farm and get our tree this weekend. I grew up with a fake tree,and for years after I moved out used a fake tree. After Rick and I got married,I decided that I wanted a real tree,and for 12 years we have had one. Even if we had to go into the woods and cut it down ourselves because we didn't have any extra money to buy one,we have had a real one.
So I am off to give my kitchen a good cleaning and Rick and Brian will be working in the living room. They are putting up crown molding,which has been a challenge for Rick.But it's good for him to work his brain and try to figure out how the cuts are suppose to go,even if he has only one piece up these last 5 days. It's not all the brain injury-his knees make things difficult,and of course,we have had appointments which eat a good portion of the day. He is usually spent afterwards,so he has been working on things when he can.It is going to look really nice when it's all done.

A Big Frost

This morning when we went outside to walk with Zach to the bus stop,the world looked furry and white. We had our first big frost last night. Everything was glittering, ,and it reminded me even more that winter is not too far away. In fact, the Farmer's Almanac is predicting a snowstorm next week. I am hoping that is not the case. It's still a bit early for my taste for snow that stays. I don't mind when it spits snow ( does anybody else out there use that term?)but anything that remains on the ground is not welcome in my yard!
Things have been a bit busy. Sunday I woke up with a migraine that kept me in bed all day. Monday Rick had an appt with his PTSD social worker. Right now Rick is to keep track of what makes him angry,and the steps he took not let it get the better of him. Monday night was our Boy Scout meeting,and this week was also Troop Committee.Rick and I are both on the Committee ( I am Secretary and in charge of the troop website) so we had our meeting while the boys has theirs.Yesterday Rick had an appt with the rhuematologist. We now know that Rick does not have rheumatoid arthritis. That is a good thing. His take on Rick's knees was that the swelling and pain are stemming from the the dead bone areas in his knees. So he emailed Rick's orthopedist (the one who referred Rick to the surgeon in Boston) to see what he wants to do. The rheumatologist says that Rick's knees are not going to get better,and that they will get worse. That was not good news. He did tell us he would call and let us know what Rick's orthopedist says. The second appt was with VerJean,Rick's speecht therapist. The session went well,Rick answered the questions quickly this week.VerJean was happy with how it went. Rick is still dragging out some words when he speaks,though. We are keeping an eye on it to see if any other symptoms come up.
We just got back from having lunch with Zach at school. The school lets parents come in once a year and they have lunch in the cafeteria with their child. It's nice, except this year Zach was too busy chatting with his friend Dale to really talk with us. I suppose he can talk to us anytime! Rick is priming our hallway right now. All the drywall,door frames,mopboards,and flooring are done.
My thoughts are starting to focus on my Thanksgiving menu. Zach picks which one of our turkeys will grace our table,and he is in charge of doing the "deed".
I made some more Christmas Forest soap the other day,and was going to make candles. When I checked my stock I realized that I didn't have enough wicks! BUMMER. While we were out and about on Monday we bought more wicks and four more pounds of wax.The soaps and candles will be my Christmas presents,and I might throw in a mason jar of homemade laundry soap to boot.

Soap Mistakes

I have made a couple of mistakes while making lye/Crisco soap.

My first mistake was where I put the mold to set for a couple of days.Thinking I could get the soap to get to the stage where I could cut it faster, I placed my Pringles can mold in the stairwell up to the attic. I figured the cool air would help speed things along. Well, what I did not anticipate was that I would come down with a head cold and be down and out for a couple of days. So the soap,instead of setting for a day or two,set for four. The other thing I did not think of was how chilly the stairwell to the attic would get.
When I went to peel the Pringles can off the soap,the soap looked fine. It was nice and firm.It set great!
Then I started to cut it. I used the same knife I had used with my first batch of soap which worked fine. It had cut through nice and smooth.
That's not what happened this time.
The soap CRUMBLED as I cut it. I couldn't understand it. My first batch had no major problems. What was wrong? My measurements were the same. I cut another piece. Same thing. I wound up with a small pile of Fresh Snow crumbles.
Rick was sitting in the living room,so he heard me muttering to myself. He came over to investigate and came up with this: The soap was too cold to cut.
He was right! The soap was very very cold. My first batch had set out at room temperature,and the soap was still somewhat on the soft side when I cut it. That doesn't mean each piece was perfect,but they were at least round and not a crumbled mess!
So.....no more letting the soap set in the stairwell.
The second mistake I made affected not only my second batch ( Fresh Snow) but my first batch ( Christmas Forest).
After I had cut my Christmas Forest batch, I put it on a wire rack to cure. Only I don't have a lot of room to leave it out,so I placed it on top of the fridge. After I placed what was left of my Fresh Snow batch in the microwave briefly to heat it up so it wouldn't crumble,I cut it and placed it on top of the fridge with the Christmas Forest soap.
A few days later, I looked on the top of the fridge.
Whoops!
Both sets of soap now had yellow discoloration streaks in them. My Christmas Forest I colored green,and Fallen Snow I left natural. Now they looked awful.
So....what happened?
My guess is the heat from the woodstove,and the warmth from the top of the fridge ruined the color of the soap.That is my only explaination. The Christmas Forest soap had been on top of the fridge for over a week and it was fine. Then we started using the woodstove. The Fallen Snow soap wasn't even up there a few days when the color went south.
I think that is what what went wrong. Does anybody have any other thoughts?

Homemade Lye Crisco Soap

Good morning, it is a beautiful sunny day. I am sitting here in my fleece Frosty the Snowman PJ's trying to fight off an oncoming head cold. It started last night when my sinuses started aching a bit. I couldn't get out of bed this AM to bring Zach to the bus,so I knew that something was brewing ( Rick brought him out,both of us do it every morning). My sinuses hurt when I touch my face and a have a sinus headache. My head also feels a bit "light" and I have a small fever. Once I do this post, I am going to chug some cold medicine and go lay down!
As I mentioned in my post on Saturday, I made some lye Crisco soap. This is my second batch of it. I had made some soap with My Dear Friend Michelle back in Sept ( see "Homemade Lye Soap" post)but I had seen this recipe on Little House in the Suburbs(www.littlehouseinthesuburbs.com) and it seemed so quick and easy that I had to try it.
It worked so well and went so smoothly that I had to try it again. My first batch, I used "Christmas Forest"scent with green coloring,but I don't think I used enough scent. This time, I used "Fresh Snow"and I think I got it where I like it.The only thing I realized was that I didn't have any white coloring. When the lye and Crisco were combined,they created a rather medium pinkish color. I figured it would just have to work.However, when I checked it this morning,the soap is a nice white hue.
Here is the recipe. A Pringles can was used for the mold and this batch fills the can halfway,making about 6 bars.

Homemade Lye Crisco Soap
(with thanks to Little House in the Suburbs)

1 lb Crisco or lard
2 oz lye (I used lye flakes)
6 oz water

Melt the Crisco or lard in a saucepan over medium low heat. While this is melting,pour 6 oz of water into a bowl,then pour the lye slowly into the water. Gently stir to dissolve. Once the Crisco or lard is melted,remove it from the heat. Wait until you can touch the sides of both the saucepan and the bowl without burning yourself. Pour the lye water into the melted Crisco/lard. While an immersion blender is recommended, I do not own one,so I used a hand mixer with a whisk attachment. It took me about 15 minutes at low speed to bring the mixture to trace ( when drops stay visible on the surface of the mixture). At this point,add your scent and coloring. Pour into a pringles can ( I used a canner funnel),and tap the can a few times on the counter to let the soap settle. Let sit for a couple of days,cut,then let cure for at least a week or two.
A couple points: If you do use a hand blender,you need to be very careful.Make sure you have the attachment in the mixture BEFORE you turn it on,and that it's off before you take it out of them mixture. Lye is very caustic and will BURN you if it comes in contact with skin. I cannot vouch for using beaters,so I don't' know if that will splatter too much even on low speed. I can only vouch for a whisk attachment. I ran it on low speed and had no splattering.It worked great.
The other thing is once the lye activates with the water,it will smoke slightly from the heat it causes. The fumes will make you SICK if you inhale them enough so I opened some windows in the work area,put a handkerchief over my nose,and made sure I stayed a good distance from the fumes.
People say to use a digital scale to measure, but I used a regular old food scale we don't use for the lye. I use a regular measuring cup for the water. I use two wooden spoons, one for mixing the lye and water,and the other for scraping the soap mixture into the mold. I keep these with my soap supplies. Anything I use to make soap gets washed very very well right after I am done.

Homemade Lye Soap

Rick and I are back from our trip,and had an awesome time! It was very pretty and peaceful,and helped to put things into perspective.

Now we are back,and I have a renewed sense of purpose and spirit.

A few weeks ago, my Dear Friend Michelle emailed me and told me that I had to come over and make some lye soap with her. She is always ahead of me in everything,and she had already made lye soap during the summer. As with anything I have never tried, I think about doing it,but it takes me a while to actually do it.

So last week, I went to her house,had tea and an english muffin with her homemade strawberry jam,chatted,then then got down to business.

This is recipe we used from Millersoap.com. and her notes. We actually cut it half,which filled two Pringles cans we used for molds.

24 oz Crisco

9 oz coconut oil

10.5 oz canola oil

14 oz cold water

6 oz lye crystals

stick mixer

non metallic pot

non metallic spoon or spatula

bowl for lye water

measuring cup

digital scale

Sprinkle lye crystals on cold water. Stir gently.

Melt Crisco and coconut oil together over low heat. Add canola when Crisco and coconut oil are melted. Add color and scent to melted oils. We used 2 oz Hayride and A Bonfire scent,and 45 drops of red color. ( We could have used more coloring-it came out rather pinkish as opposed to red. While it was hot,it was mauve! We jokingly called it our "80's soap.")

Put the melted oils in a cold water bath to bring the temp down. When both the oil and lye water containers are touchable,carefully pour the lye water into the oils and begin mixing with the stick beater using short bursts of power-not continuously running the mixer. We achieved trace in about 5 minutes. Pour the soap into the molds. Let set for 24 hours.

We filled the molds too much- the soap started to rise,causing a "muffin top" effect,but once the soap started to cool,that came down. Next time it should only be filled 2/3 of the way.

Now,today Michelle emailed me and told me that she thought she had let her soap sit in the mold too long,because she actually didn't peel off the mold until several days after we made it. She commented that the soap was pox marked,and had formed what looked like a turkey neck towards the top of the mold,with a mushroom type top ( she didn't say mushroom,but I can't remember her exact wording. It basically meant that). Hmmm. I don't think time made a difference,because I took mine out of the mold about two days later,and this is what it looked like.

Pretty funky,huh? I think maybe we didn't get all the air bubbles out when it was poured into the mold,which might have caused this weird result. That and we filled it too high to start with.

It did cut nicely,though. The Hayride and A Bonfire scent initially smelled somewhat like citrus,but now has a strong cinnamon scent. However, it is very mild on the skin,not overpowering like I thought it would be. It leaves skin nice and soft as well.

Anybody else have some funky soap results out there?