A Whole Lotta Makin’ Goin’ On!

I’m back, and it feels great being back!  The soaping supplies have been lonely, meditating on the meaning of life while we’ve canned the mid-summer harvest and celebrated the first of two birthdays.  The kittens I’ve been featuring in every blog post have found their forever homes, including the Momma cat.  This does, of course, include the one that adopted me.  And because I thought it might be a good idea for that kitten – I named her Lily – to have a companion besides the big cats, we also rescued a kitten from the pound, named Severus.  Harry Potter fans will understand.

The first party revealed that the Polish dill pickles are the most popular pickles to date.  I took a quart of them, it wasn’t a huge party, and the jar got wiped out completely.  So, we made sure that we got in two more batches of them.  Here’s the first of those two.

Picture of Polish dill pickles
Polish dill pickles. Some kind of awesome good!

Since then, the hubby has requested watermelon rind pickles.  I had never tasted them, nor had I ever made them.  I was always taught, “Never eat the rind.  It’ll make you sick.”  But, willing to try anything once, I found a recipe for cinnamon watermelon rind pickles and started the process.  They’re not quite my thing, but they’re pretty good.  We harvested another watermelon this week, and we’re going to try another trick with the pickles this go-around.

Last night, I finished the scarf for my older daughter’s birthday present, and tomorrow, my younger daughter is going to help me make a muslin bag to store it in.  She’s really excited about this!

Now that that is wrapped up and in my “done” pile, I have a scarf in process that’ll go to Scarves in the Port City for their ministry to homeless people.  Since I tend to have two projects going at any one time, it became time to start a shawl for a wedding I’m attending in October.  Oh, this is absolutely gorgeous!  Well, it will be, I’m sure.  I chose a black mohair and wool blend lace yarn with tiny multicolored sequins woven through.  It’ll be warm, and the sequins give it a festive look and offset the severity of the red-black color blocking I’d have otherwise.  I’ve started it and unraveled it twice now; this is my first time with knitting lace.

Of course, you’d think I’m nuts, trying to get any yarn work done with two kittens in the house.  You’ve seen Lily already, but I haven’t shown Severus off, yet.  Here he is.  He’s a rescue from the local animal shelter, and isn’t he just absolutely beautiful?  With silky fur and the most lovable disposition, he’s the most perfect companion to me and to Lily.  I thought Lily should have a companion to play with (since the big cats aren’t into playing with kittens), and I couldn’t have chosen better.  She’s half his size, but certainly the more dominant kitten. 

Severus, my black cat
Severus at the vet doing kitty corsage

And here are the two of them this afternoon, napping together.  Lily sleeps in the middle; definitely my kitten.

Kittens sleeping
Lily and Severus recharging

So, for you readers who aren’t into Harry Potter, you may be wondering what the story behind the names is.  In the series, Lily is Harry’s mom, and it was Severus Snape, Professor of Potions at Hogwarts, who revealed to Lily why she was different; they were themselves at Hogwarts together.  I can’t say much more without a spoiler alert.  Severus is depicted as being dark:  Black hair, dark robes, stern (severe) demeanor.  Plus, there’s just something about a black cat being named for a wizard.  There’s a wicked part of me that’d love to train Severus to perch on my shoulder; then at Halloween, I could go around with the girls in my black cape with a black cat perched on my shoulder, freaking out superstitious people.  No, I won’t do that, because no amount of fun is worth putting my sweet boy at risk, but it’s still fun to think about.

Stay tuned for peeks at the soaps that are new for your pleasure and restocked for those of you who have your faves.  Hint:  Sweet Cinnamon & Clove beer soap is back!

 

Weekend Ta-Da’s

Last week was the week of frustrating unpluggedness (is that a word?).  Tuesday evening, my darling younger daughter in a fit of pique threw her sister’s beach ball across the living room to her, knocking a cup of water over onto my laptop, rendering it inoperable for a few days, especially considering it was spread out in parts on the kitchen table.  At the same time, I was working on backing up all the files on my old, very slow desktop computer in preparation for having the hard drive replaced and upgraded.  That means I was stuck cooking and traveling.  Hey, there are worse things.

I put my laptop back together Friday, and Saturday, my oldest and I headed up to my parents’ house for a cookout.  Sunday saw me back in the garden.  I have so many cucumbers, enough for at least two more batches of pickles.  I also harvested more basil for pesto, which I whipped up Sunday afternoon.  In the quiet moments, I worked on my older daughter’s birthday present – a scarf in Gryffindor gold and burgundy – and finished another project.  (Yay!!!)

Scarf picture
A glimpse of the Gryffindor scarf I’m knitting for my older daughter

Our weekend ended with a visit to the kittens.  In two weeks, I’ll be able to bring my new one home.  They’ve gotten to be so playful – climbing, tackling, and chasing strings.  One little one kept exploring the crack under the door, and Momma Cat was not happy with that.  Momma went to carry her back to a safer spot in the room, and the kitten was ducking and dodging, trying to figure out how to scoot by her.  So funny!  Of course, there must be the requisite weekly kitten pic…

Cute kitten picture
My next furbaby

There will be more wonderment this week, including some fabulous new soaps that are soon to be ready for your enjoyment.  Stay tuned…

I Never Thought This Would be Me

Pinterest can be my worst enemy.  Pictures of lovely architecture, House Beautiful-worthy living rooms free of clutter and toys.  Clever organizational tools put together from thrift store finds.  And all this from home educating moms of seven kids who seem to be able to do it all.  Seriously, Pinterest is not the website for the insecure.

Our living room is cluttered – painfully cluttered.  The girls don’t seem to understand the basic concept of “pick up after yourself when you’re done.”  It gets cleaned about three times a year.  Other than that, though, I think we are doing well.  I never really expected to be doing anything like homesteading. but over the weekend, I was told that I am enviable.  OK.  That’s pretty nice, though I never expected to be.

We had another weekend of glorious productivity.  It started with restocking these beer soaps.  On the left (the greyish green) is all natural basil and lime.  Essential oils of Thai basil and lime blend together in this delightful blend with notes of licorice, pepper, and lime.  The tan soap is Sweet Cinnamon & Clove.  This was the first beer soap I ever made, and these bars go quickly.

beer soaps
This weekend’s soaps – Basil & Lime and Sweet Cinnamon & Clove

These are just a few of the cucumbers that came out of our garden.  We ended up harvesting about twelve pounds of cucumbers, all of which became delicious bread & butter and dill pickles.

Picture of cucumbers
Cucumbers fresh from the garden
picture of pickles
Bread & Butter pickles

After the cucumber harvest, my youngest daughter and I harvested the first batch of basil for homemade pesto.  This was so fabulous on chicken and pasta, topped with home-grown tomatoes!

Pesto
Homemade Pesto

A friend of ours hooked us up with a lime basil plant.  I thought, What in the world am I going to do with this?  I was looking up basil recipes online and saw one for strawberry basil popsicles.  A local indie popsicle business makes something similar, and I thought the lime take on the basil would be delightful with the strawberry.  I blended in a bit of vanilla yogurt, and wow!!!  It’s like a virgin strawberry daiquiri on a stick!

picture of popsicle
Strawberry Lime Basil popsicle

And no weekend would be complete without a visit to the kittens.  Momma Cat is doing great, and my kitty co-parent/friend and I were both surprised to discover that she tested negative for FIV, Feline Leukemia, and worms, which is quite miraculous, considering that she was a completely outdoor cat until three weeks ago.  The girls and I placed a few kittens on the bed to give the tiniest one of the litter a chance to nurse without “the chubbies” pushing her out of the way.

Kitten pic
Worn out kitten. I love her little face!
kitten pic
My sweet girl. She stays in motion, which is why the picture is blurry

I don’t consider myself as that enviable.  I am simply a woman who enjoys playing in the kitchen when I’m not making soap or enjoying kittens.  Cooking, like soapmaking, is sweet alchemy – taking a variety of different ingredients and putting them together in fun, creative ways to make something new.  It’s even more enjoyable when I can make something completely new to me, stretching my skills.

The next post will contain suggestions for making DIY easier and doable.  I’m not selfish with my recipes, as most of them come from outside sources.  Comment if there’s one you’d like.

Getting Back to Basics

Once upon a time, I was a suited-up professional working in a healthcare environment, punching a (mostly) 8-5 clock.  Some days I worked until 7 or 8, and I was on call every single weekend.  I was rocking the soap biz on the side, working markets one weekend a month.  We lived in a townhouse in a nice urban area and could walk to the grocery store if we wanted.  Unfortunately, it was uphill coming back.  In fact, making soap was the closest I came to doing the neo-hippie-slash-homesteading thing.

A couple of years after leaving that position, it became very clear to us that we were going to be trading urban life for coastal rural life.  I was pregnant at the time, so finding a new job wasn’t high on my list of priorities, but making a home was.  I had visions of biking places, eating fresh-caught fish on a regular basis, and having our own little garden spot where we could grow our own fruits and vegetables, enough for our family.  One out of three ain’t bad.

In the six years since we moved, my business has taken off in unexpected ways, and I have changed in unexpected ways.  I never dreamed I’d be home educating my daughters.  Our “little” garden spot has had really bad years and really great years, but those great years haven’t yielded just enough for us to enjoy, but enough to share.  This year, it’s giving us some to can, too.  That’s another thing I never expected to be doing – putting up my own canned goods.  We tend to gravitate towards condiments (cranberry mustard, jellies, jams, and butters) and dessert stuff (pie fillings and chocolate sauce), although we have made and put up pickles, Brunswick stew, and chicken soup.  These, too, we are able to share.

jars of chocolate sauce
Jars of homemade chocolate sauce that Mary made. Taste better than Hershey’s!

When we lived “in the city,” I didn’t own a working sewing machine; I’m on my second one since we moved, one that my fellow business owner said is “a good one for children” (thanks, Sarah), but which is most definitely a step up from my Singer.  I used to sew; when I was a teenager, I made pillows for myself and for gifts, and I’ve done some of that since being married.  My long-time customers have seen the bags I’ve made for gifts or to hold bars of soap, too.  I’ve made a messenger bag and three purses.  Most recently, I’ve sewn curtains, a rather large project, as they’re covering a sliding glass door.

Soapmaking.  Canning.  Sewing.  Knitting.  (My oldest daughter is over my shoulder, or I’d show you what I’m working on for her.)  I look around at all these things my hands have made, at all the ways I’ve stretched myself to create a warm home and the ways we’ve worked together as a family to achieve it, and I am pleased.

(Next week, look for pictures of homemade pesto and more pickles.  I wish I could share our bounty with you.)

Our Highly Productive Weekend

Some weekends are just made for indulging in all sorts of hobbies and fun, with added points for making a home homier.  While the girls were gone last week, I spent a few hours making the curtains for the back sliding glass door.  This project had been on my radar for at least two years with a couple of agendas:  One, I wanted to get rid of the horrendous vertical blinds that had been slowly falling apart, slat by slat, since we moved into this house six years ago.  Two, I wanted to find a fashionable way to block drafts in the winter and the hot morning sun in the summer.  I think I’ve met my goal, don’t you?  I love how they let in diffused light!

New tropical curtains
The festive, tropical curtains now hanging in my dinette
Close-up of curtains and valence
The curtains with their box valence. My chairs are upholstered in this same striped print.

I tripped across a small sniglet of coconut cream in my fridge, and I really didn’t feel like keeping it in there, nor did I want to throw it out.  Plus, for a few minutes, I was bored, so I decided to toss that coconut cream into a small batch of soap.  Gorgeous, n’est-ce pas?  Beautifully swirled with Mad Oils micas with a base of blushing Bazooka Jo pink and swirls of Grape Nehi and Silverfin Blue, this soap is scented with a dupe of SunRipened Raspberry for a fun, fresh, summery finish.

Sun-Warmed Raspberry soap
Sun-Warmed Raspberry Soap with coconut cream. Rich and luxurious? Oh yeah!!!

With our bumper crop of pickling cucumbers coming in now, kindly augmented by one of hubby’s customers giving him five more, it was time to work some magic.  Magic, however, had to allow for the fact that I don’t have any space cool enough to ferment pickles, so I have to make adjustments.  In addition to restocking our cranberry mustard (the dark red stuff), my youngest daughter and I put up 8 pints of Polish dill pickles.  They look and smell delicious, but the recipe says we have to let them cure for 4-6 weeks.  WEEKS!!!  How ever are we going to be able to wait to dig into these?

Jars of food
Jars of homemade cranberry mustard and Polish dill pickles

Hannah, my youngest, decided she wanted to make a mermaid soap for her Grandma, complete with mica.  It turned out so pretty!  She opted for Lemon Grove scent, her Grandparents’ favorite.

Mermaid soap
My daughter’s special mermaid soap

Visiting this sweet girl, her siblings, and her mom topped off our weekend.  This little one has the sweetest face.  Her sister is my next kitten, but she was buried in a kitten pile nursing.  I have to wait another FOUR weeks before I can adopt the adorable little furball.  And who doesn’t like looking at cute kitten pictures?  Instant happiness!

Kitten
Two-week-old calico kitten. Her sister is my next kitten.

What made your weekend great?  We’d love for you to share it in the comments.