soap making *

i make my own soap. we use it for everything from cleaning our bodies to cleaning our clothes, even our dishes. it's the best soap i have ever used and i will not go back to the detergents found in the stores. well here is how i do it. i get beef suet from the local meat market where i purchase all our meats. then i render it and make tallow. i cut the suet up into pieces, put them in a pot and add some water (about 2-4 inches). then it is brought to a boil and let boil for about half an hour. i do squish it, while it's boiling, with my potato masher to get all the good fat out. the boiling separates the grizzle and sinew and such from the fat. once it's done boiling i use a colander and strain it into a container and put it in the frig over night. the next morning i drain the water from the bottom of the container and take the solid piece of tallow and boil it done again. in the frig it goes for the night. the next morning i drain the water again. at this point the tallow can go in the freezer for future use. i get my soapbox ready by lining it with parchment paper. my hubby made me the boxes, isn't he sweet? when i am ready to make soap i get the tallow out and weigh it. once i have the weight i can do some math and get the amount of lye and water that i need. *note: lye is a caustic material and needs to be handled properly!! wear gloves and protective eye wear when working with lye.* the tallow goes into a pot and it melted down to a liquid. i mix the water and lye together in the sink. the lye & water mixture does give off heat. when the tallow is melted i add the lye to the melted tallow. over a low heat i stir and stir until i get trailings, which is like pudding sitting up on itself. then i pour the soap into a prepared soapbox to let it cool and solidify. if i get go soapy bubbles when cleaning out the pot and when i stick my hands in and i doesn't sting then i know i have a good batch of soap. after about 24 hours i remove the soap from the box and let it finish curing on a rack. this is about 3.5 lbs. of soap.

* note: this is NOT a tutorial, just the steps i take to make the soap for my family. if you are interested in making your own soap please get a good book or find a reliable online site with explicit directions on the process.

apron revolution

Apron revolution

I wear an apron everyday. Yes everyday. They are a wonderful utilitarian tool. They are what I wipe my dirty hands on, they protect my clothes for spills while cooking, they have very handy pockets, and if I have to change the baby they provide a prefect place to lay them down (take it off of course). There are a multitude of uses for them. They are also very cute. They come in many styles, colors, patterns. And they are very easy to make. I can make one in an afternoon. While these are all very good reasons to wear an apron, I also wear one as a symbol. One that says no to the government trying to break up my family. I wear one to say, I cook a meal every night, I am at home so my children do not have to be under the care of another, I provide all the care that a parent should. I do not need the government to educate my children, I don not need a licensed daycare, I do not need an after school program. I am responsible for my family. I cook, I clean, I mend, I bake, I can, I garden, and I sew. I do not feed my family preservative filled foods, I do not let the TV entertain us, and I do not clean my home or my family, with chemicals. I am not on any government program. I wear an apron to symbolize the fact that I will not let the government break up my family, this is my family and I will take care of it. I will not let the government step in; big brother is not welcome to look over my shoulder. I wear an apron, not only because they are useful, but also to say “I am the caretaker of my family and home, and I am proud.”

garden

well we have been pulling TONS of cucumbers out of the garden. we are going to have SOOOO many pickles. the calendula is doing very well too, i have lots of it drying in the kitchen and dining room. i picked 2 cabbages out of the garden and i'm attempting to make sauerkraut, man is it going to be stinky around here for a while! oh well it'll be good when it is done. there are butternut squashes, acorn squashes, pumpkins and watermelons all growing in the garden yummy. i went to the farmers market here in town and met a couple who run a chemical free farm just down the road. very cool. we may stop by for a visit and get some veggies to can. next year we definitely need to expand our garden. good thing this year was the "learning" year. we started our first year of homeschool this week. it's going well. i think bubby really likes it. he is very smart and very interested.

mama cloth

well, i'm gonna do it. I've made one already. and here it is...

i made it from a pattern i found at Many Moons Alternatives website. i made it from a receiving blanket. Man it was so easy to make. now all i have to do is wash them then try them out. i've heard they are suppose to reduce the number of yeast infections (i've never had any until i had kids, weird.) well i have to make some more, i have lots of receiving blankets. i will also be making more diapers out of them since jelly bean is out growing some of his.

no 'poo revolution

i have been shampoo and conditioner free for 3 months now. i LOVE it. my hair has never seemed so healthy and shiny and full and strong before. i have been "washing" it with baking soda and using a chamomile lemon juice and vinegar rinse afterward. it's great, i will never go back. if you would like to know more just ask.

aprons

just thought i would post a picture of some of my working aprons. these are some of the ones in the weekly rotation. yes i wear an apron everyday.

what should i make??

well i need another apron. yes yes i do. the ones i wear now just do not have enough pockets! i saw one somewhere and it had lots of big deep pockets and man did i want it! so i'm sitting here thinking (after getting teething jelly bean to finally go to sleep, what a way to relax think about aprons), so i was thinking i can make one, yes sirree i can and i will. keep checking at the remix projects to see how i'm doing on it. i'll post the work pictures there. wish me luck!

Bread

yesterday i made bread. there is nothing like the smell of homemade bread filling the house. i made just plain white this time (i usually make egg bread) and it was very good.

i was busy yesterday, i also made pickles and pickled some zukes. i've never done either before so hopefully they turn out yummy good. we'll see in 4-6 weeks......

home made diapers

this is a test from my photobucket account. these are some of the homemade diapers i made. aren't they cute?

world without cancer

how amazing. what if there never had to be cancer again. that would be great and so very sad at the same time, my very favorite gramma died of cancer......*wiping a tear*, if a change in diet and vitamin supplement was all it would've took. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4312930190281243507

sheet skirt

well, this is the skirt i made from a sheet and an old t-shirt. very cool and comfy. it was really easy and it only took me like an hour to make. i got the idea off of a forum, there are some very creative people out there. i just love the idea of reusing or "upcycling" stuff.

ok here we go....

well we are going to try out this blog thing. we are trying to live as simply as possible and this will be the place to keep track of our adventures. i will probably be the main (if not only) writer to this blog. i'm leslilli, i have been married for 7 years to my hubby and we have 2 boys, bubby (4years) and jelly bean (11.5 months). we also have 2 dogs, brutus (7, a pug) and vera (3 months, border collie). we also have a flock of naughty chickens known as "the girls". this is the first year for us in our red door home, we have a veggie garden, it's full of weeds but i am still getting tons of veggies out of it. next year the plans are for a much bigger garden, i didn't seem to make it big enough to can things too. good thing we have lots of goods farmers markets in the area. i have been making lots of jam, bubby, jelly and i have been going to u-picks for strawberries , red raspberries, and blueberries. at the end of the week it will be black raspberries hopefully.....mmmmm homemade jam.