Monday, December 14, 2015

Wow, My EASY Homemade SOAP Actually LATHERS!

My First Experiment in Making Homemade Soap from Scratch!I was delighted to see that it actually lathers! Nice and bubbly!


So, why did I choose to make my own soap? Well, because I like reducing things down to their absolute lowest and simplest common denominator.

Everything, it seems can usually be reduced down to it's most simple form.
I had been watching tons of Youtube videos about soap making. So, I set about to figure out how to make it myself.
But one of the obstacles, was that most of the soap makers wanted me to go out and buy a bunch of expensive doo-dads such as a digital food weighing scale, as well as a handle held electric stick blender .
But I didn't really want to spend money on those gadgets so, I was  patient and persistent to keep searching the net until I found a recipe and instructions that were NOT based on weight, but rather on simple kitchen volume measurements and simple ingredients.

My biggest obstacle then was to overcome my fear of  dealing with REAL lye.
To be truthful ...LYE is a VERY dangerous substance, and it is unfortunate that you can't let your kids help you when you work with REAL lye. Lye is so caustic that it is commonly used as one of the ingredients in many very powerful drain cleaners. It literally can burn right through a clog in your pipes. Always deal with lye according to proper safety measures. 

Well, after stirring up my courage and a phone call to our local hardware store, I located and purchased a bottle of lye for $7.99 canadian at Home Hardware. The other items I purchased were:
rubber gloves, large hard plastic pail with handle, and three bottles of oil including : olive oil, sunflower oil and coconut oil. The only other ingredient is water. I also added some of my own dried dill weed spice just for an added visual appeal.
The other items I already had at home.....the measuring cups and wooden spoon and plastic container to let the soap cure in.
The only mistake I made was to use newsprint to line my plastic container, because as the soap cured and dried, the newsprint stuck right in with the soap and I literally had to carve it off of my soap after it was done curing.
So, rather that yak on about how I made this small batch of homemade hand soap...... I am simply going to send you to the instructions I found on another website 
which is can be found at this link:  MAKING HOMEMADE SOAP WITHOUT A SCALE.

Their home base for their website is simply diynatural.com


I would encourage you to visit their website. It is honestly the only simple and straightforward           "small batch" homemade soap making recipe that didn't force me to have to buy a scale.

I didn't even have to buy a stick blender. I simply used wooden spoons and let my soap cure for at least 3 weeks before attempting to use it.

I would encourage you, for those who like "Pioneer-ish" types of activities to give it a try. But do be sure to follow ALL of the safety precautions including wearing long pants, long sleeve shirts, rubber gloves and safety goggles and making it in a well ventilated area. 
All the wooden spoons and bowls or pails that you use for soap making can NEVER be used again for food or kitchen use. Keep your soap making stuff  entirely SEPARATE from everything else and label it  well and keep it away from children.

It's kinda cool to realize that if some strange cataclysmic event happened that prevented me from buying soap, that I could literally make my own as long as I could find some lye. Does that make me sound like a prepper?? Hmmmm.

No I haven't learned how to make my own lye yet, which I have heard and seen can be made in a pioneer style from cold wood ashes.  I have absolutely NO ambition to learn how to make my own lye. This city girl has gone far enough for now. Woohoo! I am now officially a soap maker !




Sunday, November 29, 2015

The Push Towards Meditation and What It Means for Christians

Everywhere, ok not exactly "EVERYWHERE", but in a Big way,the modern push towards meditation and "mindfulness" has quickened.

As a christian this change in society has been both inspiring and alarming, comforting and disturbing.

When I go to a local gym, there are "Yoga" classes teaching meditation.
Even in the public school system, some of the teachers are taking the time to teach the class room of vulnerable minds, how to meditate and practice their own version of "mindfulness".

What Encourage me is the following:

1/ I am encouraged that society has become self aware of the need for stress reduction strategies in the classroom and the work place. We can't control stress, but we certainly can learn how to deal more constructively with it in our daily lives. We CAN control how we react to stress.
2/ There is a spiritual quality to meditation which has been touted by such business leaders such as
Ariana Huffington and others. Ariana Huffington gives credit to the Biblical applications of meditation as described in the Bible, for the promotion of interaction with God and listening for His impressions.
3/ It is always a healthy sign when leaders in society allow and even encourage their workers to
take "meditation" breaks during the work day. This practice allows a christian to spend time with God in the practice of prayer, scripture study, and meditation in the scriptures and prayer.
4/ Meditation and rest are cousins. Those who promote meditation promote rest and usually are peace loving folks. Who doesn't like a peaceful person?

What Concerns me about meditation and mindfulness training:

1/ I don't want my children to be taught spiritual principles outside of the teachings of the Bible. Although
I want my children to learn how to "self calm" via deep breathing and focusing on God and His word, I am concerned that some of the modern bents of meditation training does not respect a traditional understanding of christianity or the Bible, but has assimilated a few concepts from many of the major religious groups of the world and mixed them into some kind of strange new unscriptural religion.

2/ Some meditation techniques involve "emptying" the mind, which is not what the Bible teaches. The bible teaches us to renew our minds by filling it with God's Word, as revealed to humanity in the Holy Bible.

3/ What precisely is "mindfulness"? Is is being aware of what we are thinking constantly? Is it obsessing over
ourselves and making us into even yet more self centered humans?
Not to be too simple minded....but what should our "minds" be full of???
According to some gurus, our minds should be blank slates? But who are we clearing our minds for?
For God to write on? Yes, that would be great. But what if we are being encouraged to empty and clear our minds in order for some false religion to start to fill our minds with their priorities?

I don't know about you, but the only "being" or "person" who is permitted to write His thoughts onto my mind, is God, Jesus and His Holy Spirit. I know that narrows down my options, but that is a choice I have made in calling myself a Christian. Christian IS a narrow road, and does not embrace any and all religions. To pretend that Christianity embraces any and all religious teachings is simply wrong and inaccurate.

So how about you, my friend in Cyberspace? Does modern meditation comfort you? Or does it set off warning bells in your heart?
Looking forward to reading your comments,

Peace,
Carla.






Thursday, November 12, 2015

Don't Throw Out that Pumpkin! Make Old Fashioned Fried Pumpkin Seeds!

Some of my neighbors make displays around this time of year with whole bright orange pumpkins....They don't even carve them up, they simply arrange them..... perhaps with some other decorations to make their front porch look "harvesty" and abundant.

Well, as a professional scavenger, I refuse to let these beautiful pumpkins go to waste.
I was also given some great big pumpkins via my local Fruitshare organization that also has the same
"Waste not, want not" mentality.

So, our family set about to fry up some good ole fashioned pumpkin seeds and I'd like to share the simple and low cost process with you. Since we fried them in vegetable shortening and only seasoned them with salt, they are actually a vegan item. Yay :)

So hear goes......
 First you get a fresh whole pumpkin and cut a hole in it big enough to reach your hand in to collect the raw seeds. It's best to use a pumpkin that no one has tampered with first....no holes, bruises or carvings at all.
If you pumpkin is whole and complete, then the seeds inside will be perfectly fresh and ready to fry. Pumpkins stay fresh longest when they remain unopened and uncarved. Storing whole pumpkins is best done in a cool place such as outside or in a cool basement or garage.
Then you place all the collected seeds into a container complete with all the gushy orange odd pieces that come from the inner pumpkin.
                                                                                   



Then you wash the seeds in a collander or some kind of sifter until the seeds are clean and free of all debri. If you don't own a real sieve, then you can also use the upper pot of a double boiler and they work well too....as the holes in the upper pot of a double boiler are small enough to wash down and away the extra orangey stuff while not allowing the seeds to go escape down the drain.
Then you melt at least three large heaping tablespoons of vegetable shortening in your favorite frying pan or sauce pan. Add some salt to the seeds as well. Just use your individual taste to make sure you have just the right amount of salt.
I
Voila, it will probably take you about 10-15 minutes to fry up one pan of pumpkin seeds.
Take care to let them cool down a bit before you nibble.

Tasty and fresh and a great source of fiber as well.
Enjoy!

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Three Products that Have Never Failed You

Ok, I'll start..... my three products that have never failed me would include:

Sunlight Dishwashing Liquid,

Clorox Liquid Bleach

Kellogg's Corn Flakes.....



I know branding is sooooo vital...because it can take many years before a brand name becomes entrenched into the social psyche as a "reliable" and "valuable" brand name item.

Let's take "Johnson and Johnson", which provides, among a myriad of other products, skin care products that are suitable for the very youngest humans, our precious babies.  I would not hesitate to purchase any item that Johnson and Johnson has labeled as suitable for babies. But I would also be the first to admit that it has taken Johnson and Johnson many decades of deliberate hard work and public relations efforts to foster that sense of trust that the brand evokes in my mind.  It has also helped their cause that their company faithfully snails mails out high value coupons to any consumer that bothers to email or call them on the phone.

Building a brand name attracts not only faithful consumers, but also interest in the investment world.
Folks who follow the edicts of the Legendary Warren Buffet, try to focus on "simple" companies that market
products that we all recognize and use almost daily. Johnson and Johnson succeeds in that front as well.

Ok, now it's your turn. What are three products that, in your mind, have never failed you? Does their brand name pop easily into your mind?
Looking forward to reading your comments in the section below.

Peaceful productivity,
Carla


Thursday, October 1, 2015

Who Decides there is an OIL GLUT? Or Dwindling Supplies?

With all the ruckus about low oil prices, I've really come to wonder about the ACTUAL reality of oil supplies in North America.

Apparently, according to the media.... there was an "OIL GLUT" over the past year which has caused the price of a barrel of oil in North America to plunge below $50 on a regular basis.

But then again, I just read more blurbs from yet more media this week about "dwindling supplies" of oil in
the U.S.  So really.....go figure. Who is right? How much oil do we really have "seen or unseen" in storage tanks within North America?

What I find amusing is that there seems to be more of a market for hyped opinions than for actual scientific facts. Yes, my friends.....oil can certainly be literally measured....but really isn't it just more fun to make up stuff?

There could be professionals who make it their life's work to go around to all the major oil storage facilities in North America and actually MEASURE how much oil is sitting there. But perhaps it isn't feasible to have that kind of broad "access of information" regarding our precious oil resources. Maybe REAL data is too valuable to disseminate to the general population.

So perhaps we need to continue just be like blind sitting ducks and wait and "believe" whatever hype the media wants to sell to us on a daily basis.

Oil and Gas is a huge industry that props up huge swaths of our economy. And no, there's nothing wrong with that. But it appears that folks make a tad too much money from selling "hype" when it comes to the oil and gas industry. People like talking about "plunging prices" or conversely, about "peak oil" scarcity when the mood suits them. News channels love to report about how many good folks are to be laid off from working in the oil fields.

But I would like to encourage myself and any other willing souls to simply determine to seek out the facts, where ever they might be available or even if they are "hard to find"..... and to use ONLY the facts to form the opinions that we  want to hold.


Peace and prosperity,
Carla