Make something

February crept by, as winter often does, slowed down further because it's our month without drinking alcohol. It's a month of re-focusing on health and catching up on sleep. There were successes: I flossed every day! And there were shortcomings: We grumbled loudly after long yard work days, "Geez, this tall glass of water just isn't cutting it--I want a beer. Wah!"

Another theme slowly emerged, though, and it became the month of crafts. Crafting is perfect for these cold and windy late winter days.

Ole helped me in the early stages of these strawberry stones. Aren't they adorable? I found the inspiration for them on pinterest, of course. They're just river stones from the yard. This summer I'll place them around our strawberry plants and hopefully they'll fool the birds who come to eat our sweet berries.

 

My friend David came over for an afternoon of linoleum printing. It's a craft I've long enjoyed, but haven't taken the time to try in years. We sipped tea as we cut linoleum and chatted. As I struggled over goat nostrils and weird goat eyes, David whipped out this great nighttime scene.

I also made another batch of goat milk soap. It's the only recipe I've ever tried, but I love it--no scent, simple ingredients, the final product is smooth with a nice lather.

Lining up the supplies: olive oil, lard, coconut oil, goat's milk and lye...that's it!

Safety first!



Frozen cubes of goat's milk are melted with lye.

The milk/lye mixture and the melted oils are emulsified.

It's poured into a mold to harden for 24 hours.

The cut bars cure for 4 weeks until they're ready for action.

I can't tell you how satisfying it is to make something we all use every day.
March promises to be a more exciting month, but February was not so bad. Cheers!