Homemade Natural Vegan Soaps for Spring

'What on earth is this????'

you may ask

 Well, it's what comes after THIS:

and sometimes THIS:

and THIS:

and THIS:

and after a few other steps involving magic, it turns out like THIS:

Coconut & Lime

Natural, Homemade Vegan Soap

Moisturizing, Natural, Gentle, and an Amazing Fragrance!

And check out these other natural vegan soaps

at

HomemadeSoapnSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop

All my homemade vegan soaps are made with only natural base oils,

plus essential oils or quality fragrance oils,

botanicals

and only natural colorants

(I'm keeping those secret, but you'd find many in your spice cupboard!)

And don't forget, it's always Buy Five or More, Get One FREE.

And there are many more!

Now don't you feel guilty for thinking that I just sat around all day, eating bonbons????   I should think so! LOL 

So what kind of fragrance lover are YOU?  Floral, Spicy, Woody, Fruity, Herbal?

Inquiring minds want to know!!  That means, I'd love it if you'd leave me a comment telling me which you prefer! or do you like a combination?

Although I usually forget to do it, there is an outside chance that this post will be linked to one or more of the following: Inspiration Monday and  Mosaic Monday and The Marketplace  and Market Yourself Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Treasure Box Tuesday  and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday  and What we Accomplished Wednesday and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  Adorned From Above  and Rurality Blog Hop and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Good Fences and  Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Weekend Reflections and  Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and The Charm of Home and  Share Your Creativity and A Favorite Thing Saturday and Weekly Top Shot and Shadow Shot Sunday and  Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday

Sunlight on Sunday

Early morning sunlight through the blinds

'All right, Christianity will do you good - a great deal more good than you ever wanted or expected. And the first bit of good it will do you is to hammer into your head (you won't enjoy that) the fact that what you have hitherto called 'good' - all that about 'leading a decent life' and 'being kind' - isn't quite the magnificent and all-important affair you supposed. It will teach you that in fact you can't be 'good' (not for twenty-four hours) on your own moral efforts.

'And then it will teach you that even if you were, you still wouldn't have achieved the purpose for which you were created.

'Mere morality is not the end of life. You were made for something quite different from that. J.S. Mill and Confucius (Socrates was much nearer the reality) simply didn't know what life is about. The people who keep on asking if they can't lead a decent life without Christ, don't know what life is about; if they did they would know that 'a decent life' is mere machinery compared with the thing we men are really made for.

'Morality is indispensable: but the Divine Life, which gives itself to us and which calls us to be gods, intends for us something in which morality will be swallowed up. We are to be re-made. All the rabbit in us is to disappear - the worried, conscientious, ethical rabbit as well as the cowardly and sensual rabbit. We shall bleed and squeal as the handfuls of fur come out; and then, surprisingly, we shall find underneath it all a thing we have never yet imagined: a real Man, an ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy.

'When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.' The idea of reaching 'a good life' without Christ is based on a double error. Firstly, we cannot do it; and secondly, in setting up 'a good life' as our final goal, we have missed the very point of our existence.

'Morality is a mountain which we cannot climb by our own efforts; and if we could we should only perish in the ice and unbreathable air of the summit, lacking those wings with which the rest of the journey has to be accomplished. For it is from there that the real ascent begins. The ropes and axes are 'done away' and the rest is a matter of flying."   -   from C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock

I Corinthians 2:6-10, The Message:

"We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That’s why we have this Scripture text:

No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—
What God has arranged for those who love him.

But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you."

This is the life we can have here, now - in Christ.

***

 Lucy, Day 2
(okay, I promise I won't keep doing this!)

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

This post is linked to Sunlit Sunday 

and Shadow Shot Sunday

News Flash!! Lucy Arrived - Newborn Pic

Here's.......Lucy!!

We just got this pic from our SIL. Lucy was born at 5:51 PM EDT in Indiana. I mean, this is really a 'just out' pic! She didn't even have time to primp. They say she has lots of dark hair and is hungry. Mama and Baby doing fine. Little brother eager to see his sister.

Can't wait til we can go see that little one, her brother, her mama, and her daddy.

Praise God for His mercy and grace!

Thank you so much for your prayers, friends!  ♥

The Baby's Coming...Waiting on Lucy

Big Brother
Waiting at home with Auntie
Numerous games of Candy Land

We started to get text messages at 2:30 in the morning. Mama was having contractions and they were on their way to the hospital. She was thrilled to later find out that her favorite doctor was the one on call this weekend to deliver babies.

The timing of this birth couldn't have been better. Daddy had just finished a week of spring break, MIL is coming to stay for the next week, and after that we'll be heading down to spend a week or two with them to help out. That will give us a good week to get over these horrid headcolds Kevin and I came down with Thursday night. 

I'll be posting a pic as soon as I get it. :-)

Please pray with us for a safe delivery.

My guess on the ETA is 1 PM    

Okay, I won't guess. I'll just wait....

The Fam

Last summer

Best Omelette Recipe, Hemel Hempstead - Anglophile Friday

Best Omelette Recipe

In my opinion, of course

Ingredient list:

2 eggs

Celery

Broccoli

Onion

Peppers

Bacon (gluten free, nitrate/nitrite free, MSG free)

Stilton Cheese

(this was Stilton with apricot, although I'm partial to Stilton with cranberry - of course)

Saute veggies. (I always make the bacon way ahead of time and keep it in the freezer). Set aside on a plate.
Whisk eggs.
Pour into a no-stick skillet that's at med-high heat
Swirl eggs around by tipping the skillet back and forth and around to cover the bottom of pan.
Turn to low and cover for about 30 seconds. You can peek and see if it's wet looking on top but not runny and not dry. If so, it's perfect!
Uncover, add veggies and bacon and top with cheese on one side of the omelette. Cover, take skillet off burner, and let sit about 30 seconds. You don't want anything to make that omelette brown. Ewwww on brown eggs.
Roll omelette out onto plate.

Didn't the title read 'Anglophile Friday???'
Yes, you read that right. But please just bear with me. You'll eventually understand why I dared label this 'Anglophile Friday.'

 Yummy Apricot Stilton
A surprise from my husband,
who got it at the Eau Galle Cheese Factory
(and of course we know it was made in England, not in Eau Galle) 

But I covered that topic in another post. Read it HERE

This was delicious!

Henry Crabbe, owner/chef of the restaurant 'Pie in the Sky' makes a terrific omelette. Mine isn't too bad either.

Henry Crabbe, our new favorite detective/restaurateur

Pie in the Sky

Mystery/Drama/FUN

Yes, another great British mystery show.
Who can NOT love their sense of humor!

And, I found out that at least some of the episodes were filmed on location at Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England.

From Hemelonline.com:

"Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom with a population of 81,143 at the United Kingdom Census 2001 (but now estimated at around 89,000 by Hertfordshire County Council). Developed after World War II as a new town, it has existed as a settlement since the 8th century. It is part of the district (and borough since 1984) of Dacorum and the Hemel Hempstead constituency.

Origin of the name

The settlement was called by the name Henamsted or Hean-Hempsted, i.e. High Hempstead, in Anglo-Saxon times and in William the Conqueror's time by the name of Hemel-Amstede. The name is referred to in the Domes day Book as "Hamelamesede", but in later centuries it became Hamelhamsted. Another opinion is that Hemel probably came from "Haemele" which was the name of the district in the 8th century and is most likely either the name of the land owner, or could mean "broken country".  Pre-World War II residents knew it affectionately as "Hempstead" whereas the majority of present day residents simply call it "Hemel"."

You can read more about it, here: Hemel Hempstead.

Photo via en.wikipedia.org

Hemel Hempstead

If I ever get back to England, I just might look up Hemel Hempstead. And a sad note about the TV series - Richard Griffiths, the actor who played the lovable Henry Crabbe, died exactly a year ago today -  on March 28, 2013, at University Hospital, Coventry, of complications after heart surgery. He was 65.


Some of you might know Richard Griffiths from the Harry Potter movies.

***

Check out my handcrafted, vegan soaps

Buy Any Five, Get One Free

'French Lilac & Lavender'

Natural, handcrafted vegan soap

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop 

Although I usually forget to do it, there is an outside chance that this post will be linked to one or more of the following: Inspiration Monday and  Mosaic Monday and The Marketplace  and Market Yourself Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Treasure Box Tuesday  and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday  and What we Accomplished Wednesday and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  Adorned From Above  and Rurality Blog Hop and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Good Fences and  Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Weekend Reflections and  Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and The Charm of Home and  Share Your Creativity and A Favorite Thing Saturday and Weekly Top Shot and Shadow Shot Sunday and  Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday

Good Fences

Decorative Fence

Keeping Horses In

Keeping Other Horses In

and their hay bales, lest they try a quick getaway

Keeping Rabbits OUT!!!

to save my poor cranberry bush

Some fences keep things in, some fences keep things out, and some fences are merely decorative. I like all three.


Linking up HERE:

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FROM THE FARM BLOG HOP

***

Check out my handcrafted soaps

Buy any 5, Get 1 FREE

'Almond & Cocoa'
Natural, handcrafted vegan soap

You won't believe the delicious fragrance!!

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop 

Wednesday Hodgepodge No. 168

Wisconsin Sunrise, March 25, 2014
Our front yard (which you're probably sick of seeing)

Join us in Joyce's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Click on the button below for instructions.

 1. March is known as the windy month. Which of the following phrases best fits your March so far...'throw caution to the wind', 'three sheets to the wind', 'run like the wind', or 'see which way the wind blows'?

I'm not sure how any of these can describe March, so...I never 'throw caution to the wind,' so that one is out. I don't think I've ever been '3 sheets to the wind' either. Once, many many years ago, I might have been 1 1/2 sheets to the wind. Not sure. 'Run like the wind' hasn't described me for many years and certainly isn't describing this March which is taking forever to bring us spring (not complaining, mind you), and 'see which way the wind blows' does not describe a planner, so that doesn't work either, although I suppose that's what we have to do with March.

 

What would best describe March, in my opinion?...GONE WITH THE WIND.

2. Your favorite green food? Your favorite dish made with your favorite green food?

My favorite green food is broccoli, (take that, Pres. George H.W. Bush!) BUT I can't make guacamole with it and that's my favorite green dish. Well, I'm thinking it can be considered a main dish and potato chips a side? Otherwise, my favorite dish made with broccoli is broccoli/chicken casserole.

3. Ever been locked out of your home-car-office-anywhere? Do tell!

I'm sure there was some event in my early life that was so horrific that I've simply blocked it from my memory. So the only time I can think of was recently, last summer, when I was locked out of the house because our screen door automatically locked after I went out (dumb thing).  So now, when I take the dogs out, and because the house had to be broken into to get back in, I leave the inside door open and the screen/storm door ajar with a stick holding it open (don't tell you-know-who). I refuse to be locked out by a temperamental screen/storm door, especially when it's 9 below zero or something!

4. Yoda, Kermit, Shrek, The Wicked Witch of the West, Oscar the Grouch, The Grinch, or Mike Wasowski (Monsters Inc.)...of the green characters listed, which one's your favorite and why?

I'm still scared to death of her, not to mention her attendant monkeys, but I do kinda like the Wicked Witch of the West. 'Hehehehehehe, I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!!' I think I would watch her while peeking through my fingers covering my face. But it's a love/hate thing. AND, I do like Kermit. He is so sweet and cute and I still don't see why he hangs around that obnoxious Miss Piggy!

 Reflections

Lee rides into Cashtown

or into our living room windows

A.P. Hill, looking confused

5. "The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive."~Joe Batten Do you agree? Why or why not?

Agree/Disagree. It depends. If there is truly hope to be had, then yes, a leader should strive to keep hope alive. I think that's what Churchill did during WWII. But the first task of a leader is to lead, to be willing to forge the way, not expecting more of others than he's willing to give him/herself, and to be honest with his people, even if it means he won't be popular because of it. If the leader knows there is no hope for the mission, or if the mission is not clear and he sacrifices his own people because of his pride and foolishness, then he is a tyrant and a liar. And maybe tomorrow I'll think of a better answer. Wow, I could spend a couple days pondering this one.

6. Share a favorite song with an emotion in it's title.

'Feelings, nothing more than feelings'...or as I think of it when I'm at the dentist office, 'fillings, nothing more than fillings' (except during a cleaning when they poke at your teeth with a sharp metal object)  Most of the music I like is instrumental, but I suppose that doesn't let me off the hook, does it, for they also have titles. Death isn't an emotion, otherwise it would be Walton's Death of Falstaff. It's beautiful. Oh, I just thought of one: The Beatles: All You Need is Love. (but it's not my favorite, and I actually believe that love is a commitment, not an emotion.) Is there a song that has 'frustration' in the title? 

Wait! I just thought of one of my favorites, and it does have an emotion in the title:

Joy to the World, the Lord is Come!!! 

7. What's a road trip you'd like to take?

I'd like to take a road trip to Indiana because our daughter is due to deliver a baby girl!!!  After that, I'd like to take a road trip to Texas because our other daughter and SIL live there. Isn't it ridiculous, that we have kids who live so far away we have to take a road trip to see them??!  The other road trip I'd like to take is to eastern Pennsylvania. That is such an interesting drive! So much to look at. And I'd like to take a road trip to Denver and to Great Falls, MT and...and...and...

 

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

It is so wonderful that there is a young family (friends) willing to stay in our house and take care of it and the animals while we're gone to Indiana to see the family (including new baby whose arrival is imminent). It is truly a blessing. Otherwise, with our kids grown and out of the house (therefore no one to take care of the dogs and cat), it would be impossible to take time away. 

 No, it's not the baby

It's a doll that belonged to our daughter

The 3 year old is practicing being kind to it.  

One more random thought: As I was writing that just now, a helicopter flew over our house. Most likely, it is a medivac helicopter, coming to transport someone from Barron to Eau Claire. I can't hear that sound without thinking of the trauma some family is going through, how scared they are, and praying for them. A medivac transported my husband from Barron to Eau Claire after a tree fell on his head in April of  '05 (long story, but not unfamiliar to people cutting down trees). He's fine now, but it was a very scary time for us and made a lasting impression on the kids and me, who saw him lying on the ground, unconscious, with blood running out on the ground behind his head. We praise God that he is alive and well today.


Hope you have a wonderful day!

Check out my handcrafted soaps!

Buy Any Five, Get One FREE

'Cucumber Peel & Aloe'

Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soaps

and more! Check out all my soaps at

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or at

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Antique or Vintage Writing Desk

Antique Desk with Writing Drawer

I'm not sure when this old desk was made, but I love it. I don't even know where I got it, so it's either been a long time or my memory is simply getting bad fast. Unfortunately, I tend to be too impulsive when I see something I want to photograph. Case in point, the photos I took of the sunlight on my desk, below. It might have been a good idea to run and get the dust cloth before taking pics, but then again, one never knows how long that sunlight is going to be streaming in through the window!

You can see that not only is there a place for an inkwell below that hole on the right, but also a place to lay your quill pen while contemplating your next correspondence (UNlike my smartphone which is quick and easy, takes no thought, and turns names like 'Caedmon' into words like 'cardamom.') And the desk drawer top lifts up for convenient storage of stationery or other useful objects (like miniature roosters and sheep, a King Tut key fob, and a Robert E. Lee jackknife.)

 Glass Inkwell
The top edge is all rounded and smooth; the bottom section is octagonal.
It IS beautiful. You'll have to take my word for it.

My desk, during one of its tidier moments

You can see that the desk is open on both ends with shelves for books and whatnot. Mine are used for exactly that. I have lots of both.

For those of you who are into Before and After photos, that IS the After photo.

***

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Chunky Lemon Drop

&

Chunky Wild Berry

Chunky Soaps Duo Special

Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soaps

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our Etsy Shop 

Although I usually forget to do it, there is an outside chance that this post will be linked to one or more of the following: Inspiration Monday and  Mosaic Monday and The Marketplace  and Market Yourself Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Treasure Box Tuesday  and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday  and What we Accomplished Wednesday and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  Adorned From Above  and Rurality Blog Hop and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Good Fences and  Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Weekend Reflections and  Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and The Charm of Home and  Share Your Creativity and A Favorite Thing Saturday and Weekly Top Shot and Shadow Shot Sunday and  Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday

Did Someone Say Spring?

View from Living Room Windows

That photo was taken February 24, but honestly, except for the fact that the trees aren't frosty, it doesn't look any different today.

No, that's not a nest. It's a leftover dead petunia, but the Junco looks hopeful.

or confused.

Checking out the snow-covered landscape

Voicing a protest

Still dependent upon birdfeeders and suet hangers

Snowbanks on the curve south of the house
last week

BUT

Eventually my plants will be able to move back outdoors. I can't wait. We're supposed to get to the mid-40s by the weekend, so that's a good sign (that maybe in a couple months+ my plants can be out in the fresh air again.)

Do I sound cranky?? I'm not feeling cranky at all, actually, because there's something about the sun this time of year, even when we're sitting here with huge snowbanks and cold temps, that feels different. Of course we've gone from about 8 hours of sunlight in December to 12 hours of sunlight now, and will have about 16 hours of sunlight in June. So you can see why it is we get excited with every passing day that brings us additional sunlight.

We love sunlight. It's what brings us out of our hibernation. And our seasonal affective disorder can be put away until late fall.

From MayoClinic.org:

'Treatment for seasonal affective disorder includes light therapy.'

See?

 Tuppence, getting her light therapy

I hope you all get lots of sunlight today!

***

 Check out my handcrafted, vegan soaps

Buy Any Five, Get One FREE

'Strawberry Mango'

Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soap

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop 

Although I usually forget to do it, there is an outside chance that this post will be linked to one or more of the following: Inspiration Monday and  Mosaic Monday and The Marketplace  and Market Yourself Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Treasure Box Tuesday  and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday  and What we Accomplished Wednesday and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  Adorned From Above  and Rurality Blog Hop and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Good Fences and  Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Weekend Reflections and  Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and The Charm of Home and  Share Your Creativity and A Favorite Thing Saturday and Weekly Top Shot and Shadow Shot Sunday and  Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday