Crumbly Keeps You Clean

Wow!  It has been a crazy summer.

Full of vacations, excitement and new favorite stories.

Here is a quick summary... Swimming Lessons, Vacations to Las Vegas (a.k.a. Lost Vegas, by JellyBean), Breckenridge and Houston, Outdoor Concerts, Hikes, Mom turned 40, Ice Cream, House Guests, Run-away Child (I'll explain later), 29 Hens laying 30 days before expected (anyone need eggs?) ...  and on goes the summer.

Winding down now.  Have you ever just had one of those days where everything comes together and everything works perfectly?  Really?  Me neither.  Bummer.

I really enjoy making soap, and I have found my favorite way to do it is in the CrockPot using a Goat Milk soap recipe that I ran across.  The web is full of great tutorials for Hot Process soap.  I personally like the immediate gratification of having a usable product.  Thus, last Monday I gathered all my ingredients, scale and stuff for a good ol' soap making afternoon.  I made Lemongrass scented (smells like Lemon Pledge to me, but my darling husband likes it), Cedar & Clove scented (a knock-off of a popular local soap scent) and Licorice (my personal fav).

I had a feeling early on that something wasn't quite right.  It just didn't act quite right.  But onward and upward.  When it was time to put the soap in the molds it cooled WAY to fast and started to crumble!  I squished and squished it into the molds adding a bit of water as glue.  It worked, but it isn't pretty.  Smells good.  Suds good.  Looks awful.

One day I am going to have one of those days where everything comes together.  I just know I will.  Maybe I should try focusing on one thing at a time.  While I was making soap I also painted a little chair, did the laundry (remember family of 6!!) and I think I may have mopped the floors.  Maybe I'm not so great at multi-tasking after all.

Here is the little chair.  Just the right size to sit and tie up your snow boots, but not big enough to accumulate gloves, hats and coats.