arranged marriage & RoseHipSoap

First, I was happy to be part of something good today, check out Peggy's blog at HiddenHavenHomestead, I told ya I love matchmaking.

She wasn't my hen but was available to a good home and I knew Fred was looking for a bride. I read Peggy's blog and see the photo's, Peggy's home is The Ritz-Carlton for animals.

RoseHipSoap from Sunday night, after it sat for two days. I think it feels good.

I take it out of the casserole dish, I was setting the dish aside, and DROPPED the soap in the floor. Geez Louise!

So I have odd-sized pieces.

Pieces from the floor and some I cut off.

The consistancy is sort of like cakey cheesecake. Is that what I'm looking for? All the rosehips sunk to the bottom.

The bars below were all in the 4 ounce range.

I set 'em in egg cartons, does that sound good?

See my goat heads?

The turkey bodies were good but the heads fell off. I won't show 'em to Franklin.

I can now see that this soapmaking is going to take some practice. Sure wish I was actually working with an expert but I'll just keep hacking away at it.

TheWildlifeGardener and 2nd attempt at soap

another one of my favorite books

Mike says he will never forgive me for planting all those hawthorn's, they are very thorny, and eat him up when he mows.

using a recipe from Jennifer at GoatsInTheGarden

Lye - 172 grams
Goat's milk - 425grams (I had to substitute water)
Coconut Oil - 256 grams
Olive Oil - 510 grams
Shortening (Crisco) 368 grams
Safflower oil - 128 grams

cooling the oil


cooling the lye solution

think I'll use rosehips at "trace"

learning to recognize "trace" is the hardest part for me, I hope I got there but don't know.

poured it into a casserole dish lined with parchment paper

this is a batch from Friday night, it is in sort of a dry-mashed-potato state. help! need advice. I put spearmint in this batch. Do ya think it's ruined?

Baker Seeds & Goat Bamboo

Oh, the Baker Seed Catalog is beautiful, the photo's and illustrations like none I've ever seen.

We cut some bamboo stalks for the 5 goats today, they dig into the leaves like I do to brownies.

When SweetPea is out among the bucks, I keep a watchful eye on her because I don't want the boys to get any bright ideas with her.

I threw a bunch of poop into the compost piles today.

The bucks resting in their pen.

No Diane, that's not an udder back there.

AppalachianStateUniversity by Marie

I love the photography by Marie at BlueRidgeBlog. In Boone, NC, this the Appalachian State University campus which Marie is employed as a photographer. I'm the Secretary/Photographer/Webmistress at AppalCART, the public transportation system for ASU and Watauga County. I just look at Marie's photography and sigh, "I'm not worthy." :-)

Heidi and a goat

Johanna Spyri's classic story of five-year old Heidi, an orphan sent to live with her grumpy grandfather in the Swiss Alps. Sweet-natured Heidi soon wins her grandfather's heart and makes friends with the lively young goat herder, Peter. Her newfound happiness ends quickly, however, when Heidi's aunt, Dete, takes her off to the city of Frankfurt to be a companion to Clara, a handicapped child. Finally Heidi is restored to her Alpine home and is exuberantly happy when she learns that Clara will come and visit her in the Alps.

Boone Winter by Bob Timberlake

about Bob Timberlake
An arctic front moved through last night. Behind this front, we have bitterly cold temperatures, gusty winds, snow showers and flurries.

Snow & Ultreo Ultrasound Toothbrush

The weatherman's prediction - significant snow comes Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday in the form of snow showers and snow squalls with gusty winds--near-blizzard conditions.

I went to the dentist this morning. When is the last time you went to the dentist? Did you know that more than a quarter of all kids and a third of all adults are walking around with untreated cavities? The percent of people with untreated tooth decay is the highest it's been in decades. Through work, we have a free, excellent dental plan, and most of our employees still don't go.

I'm the one who oversees all our health insurance (all free to employees) so I'm the one who is always pushing for the employees to take advantage of the Cigna medical and dental plans.

I've not tried this ultrasonic toothbrush but I may. The customer reviews are good.

Ultreo Features
Sonic Bristles With Power TipSonic action bristles with power tip creates microbubbles and cleans away plaque upon contact. Patented Ultrasound WaveguideChannels ultrasound energy into the bubbles. Auto Shut-Off TimerAutomatically shuts off after the dental professional-recommended 2 minutes of brushing time. Brushing Interval SignalSignals every 30 seconds to help you clean all areas of your mouth equally. Programmable Brush Head Replacement Indicator When it’s time to change your brush head, the word "REPLACE" will illuminate. Programmable for 1 or 2 users per handle. Battery Charge Status IndicatorTells you the level of charge on the battery. With a full charge, you can use Ultreo for up to 28 brushings without additional charging.