Happy Thanksgiving....

Well for the day of thanksgiving, we went to a friend house and had a great time.....

Now two days after Thanksgiving we are doing it again, Friends and family are coming over and the turkey is already cooking. It is starting to smell really good in here. We will have most of the normal foods that you have including pie.......We just like turkey, I guess.........

Soap, Easy soap...

Here is my recipe for an easy soap....

 Here's a very simple 2 pound soap recipe. I've never had it fail and
   it's one I give to everyone to try for the first time. They all have
   had good success with it.

   Here is the way I make soap...

   First I prepare my mold. For a small batch I use a square or oblong
   plastic dish. Just a low flat one. . For the 2 pound an 8X8 or 9X13
   is a good size.  For the plastic ones I just spray with Pam or
   whatever. If you are using a wooden mold or a box line it with
   freezer paper and tape the corners well. Make sure that the shiny
   (waxed) side of the paper is toward the soap.

   I measure all my solid oils and set aside in the pan I'll be using.  I
   measure my lye into a paper cup (disposable! ) and liquid into a
   plastic bowl (empty shortening containers work very well).

   This recipe uses only 4 oils and all of them are available at
   Walmart or most grocery stores. Soybean shortening (or regular
   shortening if that is all they have that is solid) to make your skin
   feel soft, Coconut for lather (LouAnna is a brand available almost
   everywhere now. White plastic jar with green lid on the shelf with
   the other oils.), Olive (least expensive or canola liquid. Olive and
   canola have the same sap value so they can be substituted for each
   other without changing the lye amount) for skin conditioning and
   Castor for small creamy lather, it is a laxative so look by the
   pharmacy!

   Ingredients:

   10 oz, milk (or water)
   4.4 oz. lye

   14 oz. soybean oil
   8 oz. coconut
   8 oz. olive oil(Canola)
   2 oz. castor oil

   Make sure your scale has a tare feature. Be sure to hit the tare
   button EVERYTIME after putting your dish on the scale so you get a
   correct amount of oil without the weight of the bowl.

   Dissolve 4.4 oz of lye into 10 oz. of COLD milk (or water). Add just
   a few grains of lye and stir and stir. Add a little more and stir
   etc. until lye is fully dissolved. Milk will turn a golden color.
   This will get very hot very quickly. I use a small plastic bowl in a
   sink with an inch or 2 of cold water to keep the milk from getting
   so hot.

   In a different pan  measure your oils: Use stainless steel ONLY for
   stove top melting or use Pyrex etc in the microwave.)
   14 oz. soybean oil
   8 oz. olive oil (canola)
   8 oz. coconut oil
   2 oz. castor oil

   Melt them together and let them cool until you can touch the outside
   of the pan for just a second... Add the lye/milk mixture as you
   stir. Use a stick blender (or plastic spoon) and begin to mix them.
   Keep blending and stirring until light trace... (Looks like gravy or
   instant pudding before it goes into the frig) If you lift the
   blender or spoon and the trail stays on top of the soap for just a
   second it's time to add your fragrance and pour into a mold. I cover
   mine with freezer paper or waxed paper. I like to insulate so I
   cover with a thick towel and leave it alone for 8 to 12 hours. It
   should be cool and come out of the mold easily. Just cut this into 8
   bars and let it cure for a couple of weeks.

You can use this soap right out of the molds(and I do)......it will just get harder as time goes by.

More about my cows....

she is so cute.....but very hard headed and likes to get her own way.......But she is becoming friendly, it has been a slow road for us. As you can see the halter isn't on yet....I will be heard when I am able to do that...I want it so bad because it will make it much easier to work with her.She does come up on her own to me....boy is that a great start.

New Computer,painting and fall fling

Well....I have a new computer and I am still getting it set up. I keep running into things that I have to install.This is why I don't have any pictures. It is working great and I am really happy to have this because it is such a nice system, so much better than my old system and lots faster. We got a couple of computers from a university surplus and now my husband, the kids and I all have nice systems at a very low cost.

On the painting front......I am redoing my daughters room. It is looking great. This is a total redo down to the floor, new bed, shelves,desk,curtains, etc.About the only thing that is going to be the same is the dresser.

Fall fling...well I just needed to add this in. In the past week I have taken 3 large bags to the thrift store, my friend ended up with four bags and I am sending a bunch of stuff with my daughter to sell at the yard sale at grandmas house tomorrow.

I sold my big milk cow

I sold Glatys just this past Friday......I know that I needed to sell her but I am going to miss her, she is a great cow. I know that I will come to enjoy the new ones as well........