Friday, January 22, 2016

Month is Almost Over.....

Most of our first heavier snow is all gone but some remains from the l  inch snow we got a couple of days ago.  We also got some ice.  Enough to cancel almost all schools in southwest Missouri but no power outages.  It didn't really affect us except for DH who goes out daily to chore!  I ventured as far as the back patio to broadcast salt.....so Max wouldn't take a fall.

I said I wasn't going to do resolutions except for making soap (a batch a month).  I am proud to say I have completed January's batch.



I am in a quandary about how to store these batches....maybe plastic containers all same size so I can stack them?

Soap is like my homemade breads.  Even though the recipe is the same (almost), each batch is different.

I have to show this picture, not because the quality is good because it surely isn't but I didn't realize they all had a sunflower seed in their beaks!



The are emptying both feeders daily now.

New (old) truck in action during last l inch snow:



New Purchase

I couldn't resist!  Williams Sonoma offered a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker with 2 bowls for half price.  I got it and have made one batch and can report it makes as good as the White Mountain freezer requiring ice and salt.  I am delighted with it.  I use my regular recipe, none of that cooked custard thing for this old country gal!

15 comments:

  1. I went to my kitchen calendar this morning to enter a date and was (for some reason) surprised to see that next week is the last week of the month! Yes, January really went by quickly . . . at least in our house. Before we know it, winter will be gone and it will be into hectic gardening season. All the more reason for me to spend more time in my quilt room!

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    1. Yes, you better enjoy that inside time. Have you shown us a picture of your quilt room. I want to be envious of you.

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  2. How neat that you make your own soaps!!!!

    Love the photo of the sunflower seed eaters. :-)

    It is hard to believe that January is almost over.

    Love & hugs to you ~ FlowerLady

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    1. I suspect the entire year will go as fast.

      The birds are eating us out of house and home! But we do enjoy them.

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  3. How long does your soap need to dry/cure?

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    1. Anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks; however, the longer you cure the harder the bar thus the longer it lasts. I give mine a lick test, if salty it is ready and safe to use.

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  4. I thought cooked custard WAS the country gal Ice Cream. My mother in law made custard almost every day, put it in the deep freeze in a large ice tray, gave it a stir every 20 minutes or so until lunch time. It was wonderful.

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    1. I should have said 'this country gal's'. I just remembered my paternal grandmother always cooked her ice cream before freezing. I have made ice cream in trays and mother used to use a gallon syrup bucket in a tub of ice, turning the bucket with her spread fingers on the top. Mom's method came from her mother.....raw eggs and all. Of course we are all using our own very fresh eggs.

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  5. I laughed right out loud when I saw that picture of the birds!

    No snow for us and I'm grateful. Hang in there. Hugs xoxoxo

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    1. We did miss the predicted rains....very glad about that as we are still soaked. I am hanging on but sometimes just barely!

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  6. I don't know which I envy more: the homemade icecream or the soap! Y'know, if you ever decided to make 2 batches of soap a month, bet your fans would gladly buy it! Still sickness here. Thankfully Jonah is keeping barely 20 miles south of us. I feel so bad for the east coast today.

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    1. I was worried you would catch Jonas! Glad you didn't; you didn't need that along with the illness. Hope that is much improved by now.

      Making enough soap for friends and family is enough for me. At least there is no shipping involved.

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  7. Congratulations on your first batch of soap! The bird photos are wonderful, Cardinals are my favorite bird. What is that bush that has the large cluster of red berries?

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  8. That is nandina domestica. It spreads from roots some but nothing I can't keep under control. Birds do not eat the berries.

    Actually I have been making soap for several years now but I have planned to make a batch a month this year, therefore, this was my first batch of 2016.

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