Hodgepodging The End of May

The Neighbor's Barn

on Sunday, May 28

(taken with my crummy cell phone)

Join Joyce and the Gang

for

She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog

and join in!

Thank you, Joyce, for all of your work

and dedication to this weekly Hodgepodge!

1. What makes you feel accomplished? Explain.

I'm not even sure what you're meaning by that. I don't think I've ever felt 'accomplished.' As a great man once said, 'There's always room for improvement.' Maybe a feeling of being accomplished is more suited to the generation after mine.  I am not from the 'self esteem' generation. In my generation, doing what you had to do was simply what was expected, nothing extraordinary.

Drive-by pic of a farm north of Bloomer, WI

2. If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be? Tell us why.

I would invite Diana from The Nana Diana and 'Katie' from Preppy Empty Nester and Debby from Debbys Favorite Things - because I think it would be a blast. :-) And the next week I'd choose three other bloggers that I've enjoyed getting to know over the past years! And I'd probably also have Tommy & Smokey in attendance to keep order. I can see things getting out of hand FAST with that crew!  LOL

Tommy & Smokey

Eager to take charge

3. Do you have a great burger recipe? What's in it? What do you like on a hamburger and where is your favorite spot to order one out?

I rarely eat burgers, and never with a bun, so I guess I'd say that I'd want mine grilled with lots of lighter fluid flavor in it and also I'd have a skillet of onions fried in butter to put on the top. Maybe some coarse, dark mustard too. That sounds good to me.

Giving me the evil eye

4. What's the biggest anxiety producing thing you do on a regular basis?

I probably shouldn't have joined the Hodgepodge today, because my answers are all pretty lame, but actually I tend not to do things that produce anxiety. Why would I? Although I'll admit that it does produce temporary anxiety when Etsy changes something and makes it more complicated than it has to be.

Mr. Blue Eyes, getting the lawn ready for

Memorial Day weekend

5. This is the last Hodgepodge of May. Tell us about your summer plans.

Summer and fall are Mr. C.'s heavy workload months (in the contracting business) so we rarely have summer plans. We save all the fun for winter, where we huddle beside the fire and wait for spring to arrive. BUT, the first few weeks of my summer will be taken up with jury duty, which means you can't really go anywhere in case you're called in. But on the weekend I am going to go visit my sister who is in Minnesota after spending the winter in Florida. She lives in the lakes area around Minneapolis, and I've not been to their new place yet, so if it doesn't rain, it should be a great day. Also, we're spending a weekend in Door County (my first time ever!) with our daughter and son in law next month (looking forward to that!) And I'm hoping to get a few weekend trips to Duluth and to Copper Falls. And then there's the best summer weekend, my birthday weekend in August. AND I will be buying train tickets and Oyster cards for an upcoming fall trip to England. Other than that, summer will, I hope, involve seeing more of the family. Grandkids are allowed to bring their parents along and I promise to feed them.

I take it all back about rarely having summer plans.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

a.  I'm hoping to get to the Westby area again soon for another visit to my second favorite part of our state. 

Red Dot=Where We Live

Blue Dot=Westby

It's about a 3 hour drive...a 3 hour drive. 

Get out of my brain, Gilligan!

b.  Mr. C. just pointed out a couple of sign's that had unnecessary apostrophe's. It is a pet peeve that we share. So if I ever put them in blog post's, be sure to let me know.

Mr. Smarty Pants

Photo by John

Saving the best for last:

c.  At kindergarten last week, our grandson's teacher told the class that they were going to learn about putting an 's' at the end of a word to  make it plural - more than one.  Henry piped up, 'Oh, like bacteria and bacterium. Bacteria is plural and bacterium is singular.'

Uh, right.

That poor teacher. :-))

***

Also Linking to Eileen's Saturday's Critters

and Tom's Barn Collective

***

Father's Day is June 18

Check out my natural, handcrafted vegan soap!

Buy any 5 or more individual soaps, Get 1 FREE

In addition,

Check out this Father's Day Special
 In my Etsy Shop

 

Our Father's Day Special includes:

Clockwise, from upper left:

Country Gentleman

Highland Tweed

Patchouli Grapefruit

Morning Brew (Coffee)

Another Father's Day Idea:

New! Photo Greeting Cards

(with envelopes)

now in my Etsy Shop

(Professionally printed on premium heavy card stock)

Wisconsin Farm Animals set

Also available:

Wisconsin Barns

Wisconsin Amish Life

England Sacred Spaces

North Yorkshire

England Favorites

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

at

 

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop

Photo Greeting Cards currently available only on Etsy,

but coming soon to HomemadeSoapnSuch.com

Join me on Instagram: @cranberrymorning

Wisconsin Barns and Good Fences

These were drive-by photos taken with my cell phone. Barns were somewhere just south of Ellsworth, WI or just south of Red Wing, MN. I think it's the same barn in both photos. You would think that I would know for sure, but I was taking photos with both my cellphone and my regular Panasonic camera, both on the way to Rochester and on the way back. It can get confusing, especially since I've not yet taken the time to go through all my photos and nail down locations.

It's only a three-hour drive from our home to Rochester, MN, but it is a beautiful drive, especially once you get near the Mississippi River. The bluffs, THE RIVER, the hills. I'm planning to make that trip again next summer, just because of the gorgeous scenery. There are several places along the river to pull off and enjoy a picnic while watching Old Man River. So it's not just Lake Superior that feels like a geographical anchor, but also that huge Mississippi River. I don't know how else to explain it.

Anyway...in the meantime, Winter's back.

And so am I.

Linking to Theresa's GOOD FENCES

Christmas Soaps are Ready!
I will not be making more Christmas soaps
this season.

BUY FIVE, GET ONE FREE

'Christmas Morning'

Natural, Handcrafted, Vegan Soap

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

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop 

 

Making Soaps for Christmas

Just in case anyone has ever wondered about the mysterious process of soapmaking, here are a few photos I took of my equipment and supplies that might (or might not) be of interest to the uninitiated:

Several stainless steel bowls/pans

Several all-natural base oils

Lye

Distilled Water

Natural colorants (like powdered sandalwood,
madder root, French green clay, etc.)

Essential Oils

Fragrance Oils

Botanicals (like oatmeal, rosemary, lavender, etc.)

Several wire whisks

Stick blender

Several spatulas

Scale that weighs in ounces

Thermometers

Large (as in huge) stainless steel spoon

Large plastic spoon

Smaller spoons

Wooden molds (designed by me, made by Mr. C.)

Freezer paper

Apron

Goggles 

Rubber gloves

...and probably some other things I'm forgetting at the moment.

Oils and lye water getting to temperature

'Sweet Baby Calendula' with
all-natural, calendula-infused olive oil

poured into the freezer-paper-lined mold

Ready to cure

After the soap has its initial cure,

I cut the soap log and set the bars out on drying racks

Some Christmas soaps on my drying racks

And here they are, photographed and
 ready to go to my website and Etsy shop.

Each bar is 4.5-5 oz.
Every bar is vegan.

When I get a soap order,

the bars are each labeled with their specific label

placed in a clear cello bag,

and sealed with a gold paper seal.

Then they are carefully wrapped and placed in a bubble wrap mailer
along with a little card that explains how to care for
your handcrafted soap,

and off they go to the post office.

And there you have it!

***

Buy any 5 or more, Get 1 FREE

 Check out all my handcrafted vegan soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop 


 

Although I usually forget to do it, there is a chance that this post will be linked to one or more of these great linky parties:  Amaze Me Monday and Inspiration Monday and Mosaic Monday and The Barn Collective and    Treasure Box Tuesday and Vintage Bliss Tuesday and KatheWithAnE and Rubbish Tuesday and Our World Tuesday and Tuesdays at our Home and Tuesday with a Twist and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and Vintage Inspiration Wednesday and Ivy and Elephants Wednesday and Adorned From Above  and Artsy Corner Thursday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Good Fences on Thursdays and  Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Saturday's Critters

Homemade Autumn Soaps Collection, Special Price, FREE PRIORITY SHIPPING

Although it's in the upper 70s today, there is definitely the feel of fall in the air. I put together this collection of six fall/autumn soaps for a special price and FREE Priority Shipping.

All of our soaps are natural, vegan, homemade, and handcut. These are large bars,  4.5 oz - 5.0 oz. each. You will love the gentle moisturizing quality and great lather of these soaps. We use only natural colorants, no oxides or parabens. You can find a complete list of ingredients for each soap in our Etsy Shop.

Each bar comes wrapped in its own distinctive label and enclosed in a clear cello bag with gold seal (for presentation and shipping). These are perfect for gift giving.

This collection contains 1 bar of each of the following handcrafted soaps:

Pumpkin Spice

Frosted Apple Spice

Woodland Flowers

Honey Oatmeal

Clover Blossom

Peaches & Almonds

Special Price

Set of Six:  $29.99

FREE SHIPPING, U.S. Addresses only.

Available now, only in our ETSY Shop!


***
 
 Check out all our handcrafted, vegan soaps

'Fig & Brown Sugar'

...and more!  at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our Etsy Shop 


***

This post is linked to

You're Gonna Love it Tuesday

 

Today's Schedule

The Grandpuppy

Waiting for the thin layer of ice to melt from the pond

Given to me by my cousin, Bobby

I had no idea how true this would be. This dog loves to be outdoors. She lies at the edge of the deck, looking out over the field below the house, and she lies beside the garden pond. When she wants to come indoors, she knocks on the patio doors. I'm not kidding. She uses her paw to knock on the patio doors! So I let her in.  Of course. Then she lies on the window seat, waiting to bark at the UPS man or anyone who should venture up our driveway. She's a great watch dog!

I need to teach her to ring the strip of bells beside the back door, in order to notify me that she wants to go out, like Bridger used to do. Then again, this dog almost always wants to go out, so...

***

CHRISTMAS soaps are ready!

Buy Any Five, Get One FREE

'Thyme & Lavender'

Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soap

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

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop 

This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Mosaic Monday and Barn Hop and  Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  The Marketplace  and  and  Market Yourself Monday and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and Le Chateau des Fleurs and   Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and   Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Adorned From Above and  Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Saturday Nite Special

Autumn Soaps, Handcrafted, Vegan Soaps

Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soaps

Buy Any Five, Get One FREE

 

Clockwise, starting with upper left:

Lemongrass & Eucalyptus (Tranquility)

Sandalwood & Vanilla

Frosted Apple Spice

Pumpkin Spice

Morning Brew (Coffee)

Green Tea & Ginger

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

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop 

 Country Lane in Autumn
Just off 18th Street 

 

This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Mosaic Monday and Barn Hop and  Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and Efforts and Assets and Blog Shop and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and Crafty Texas Girls and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and  Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Specia

Honey Almond Oatmeal Handcrafted Vegan Soap - and THE MOON

Honey Almond Oatmeal

Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soap

What could be more natural than oatmeal and honey! This handcrafted bar soap is simply down-home, all-natural, country goodness. Finely ground oatmeal joins the other ingredients to make this a natural, fine bar of soap for shower or bath.

Honey Almond Oatmeal is great as a complexion soap or a hand soap. As with all our handcrafted soaps, Honey Almond Oatmeal has a generous lather, and this one feels particularly like a silky pudding on your skin. It's gentle and mild with a lovely natural fragrance.

Each of our soaps is 4.5-5.0 oz. and comes with its own attractive label and protective cello bag with seal - a ready gift for any occasion!

Read more about Honey Almond Oatmeal...

Buy Any Five, Get One FREE

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

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Store 

 Did you see it?
The MOON, June 23, 2013

 

This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and Crafty Texas Girls and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and  Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Special

Making a Medieval Peasant Cottage - Tutorial

 Medieval Peasant Cottage

Making a Medieval Peasant Cottage:

We're using Answers in Genesis' Kingdom Chronicles this year in VBS (Vacation Bible School).

The Medieval Peasant Cottage is not part of the suggested crafts, but I wanted to make one and thought the kids might enjoy it too. There is a 'Castle Catapult' suggested for the juniors and primaries, but it's made with a little wood ice cream spoon and a bottle cap, not exactly the kind of stuff my craft buddy and I like to use. Now if we could make an actual catapult...

Anyway, the Medieval Peasant Cottage is going to be a two-day project, allowing an overnight for the stucco and the paint to dry.

For this VBS craft, I used the following supplies:

• 5 x 5 x 5 cardboard box (with flaps)

• 6 x 9 piece of chipboard for roof

• 8 x 8 piece of cardboard for the platform on which the cottage sits (tiny lot)

• 4 1/2  x 2 1/2 piece of chipboard or heavy cardstock for chimney

• Tiny fake flowers for window box

• Moss for bushes

• Coconut matting (loose) for thatch, or you can use straw

• Tiny gravel or fish rocks for walkway

• Acrylic paints: Green, Brown, Black, Gray

• Vimasco (vinyl acrylic mastic) for the stucco effect on the outside of the house

I'll admit, there are definitely perks for being married to a contractor. We have just about everything around here. (That's also the downside.)  But if you don't have Vimasco sitting around, you can use a heavy white paint with sand added. 

• 1" wide paint brushes for applying the Vimasco

• Assorted narrow paint brushes for applying the detail

• Tacky glue (which the kids will paint onto the roof before applying straw 'thatch.')

• Hot Glue gun and glue sticks. The adults will be doing the hot glue. I don't want the kids losing any fingerprints, like I almost did.)

Here's how:

Assemble the box, taping the bottom closed with Scotch packing tape.

Cut two opposite-end top flaps of the box so that each forms a triangle. Now bend the side flaps inward. Your roof will be affixed to these side flaps.

End flaps cut to form triangles

Construct a chimney by folding the 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 piece of heavy cardstock or chipboard at 1-inch intervals with a half inch leftover as a tab to glue or tape to one of the sides.

Fold 6 x 9 chipboard (roof) in half and cut a square (the size of the chimney) out of it.The 6x9 gives the roof a little overhang.

6x9 roof with hole for chimney

Hot glue the roof to the side (top) flaps of the house.

Glue the chimney in place. When that's dry, Give the chimney a stone look by dabbling gray and black paint onto it.

Paint the platform with a green acrylic paint (The platform is not yet glued to the house)

Paint the roof brown.

When the roof is dry...Apply the Vimasco 'stucco' to the outside of the house and let dry overnight.

***

Now paint the brown timbers, the window frames, the walkway, etc.

Adults hot glue the cottage to the platform.

Now would be the time for the kids to use Tacky glue to adhere flowers to a 'windowbox,' gravel to the walkway, and lastly, the straw to the roof.

The kids can use the 1" wide paintbrushes to paint the Tacky glue onto each side of the roof, then sprinkling straw on, like you'd add glitter to something. Probably best to do one side at a time.

Although I like the look of the coconut matting on the roof of the one I made (in the photo), an adult would have to hot glue that on. So at VBS, we're going to go with the chopped straw instead, so that the kids can do it themselves.

P.S. If you have any questions or if I left anything out, be sure to email me or leave your questions in a comment.

****

And speaking of Coconut Matting...

Lord Peter Wimsey, Harriet Vane

tumbler.com

Lord Peter: "I was rather hurt. Fancy having to ask the Morning Star where the pole-star of one’s own heaven has gone to. . . How do these things get into the papers?”

“I rang them up myself,” replied Harriet. “First-class publicity, you know, and all that.”

“So it is,” agreed Wimsey, helping himself lavishly to butter. “Rang ‘em up, did you, with all the gory details?”

“Naturally; that was the first thing I thought of.”

“You’re a woman of business. But does it not, pardon me, indicate a certain coarsening of the fibers?”

“Obviously,” said Harriet. “My fibers at this moment resemble coconut matting.”

“Without even ‘Welcome’ written across them..."

                                               from Have His Carcase, by Dorothy L. Sayers

***

'Coconut & Lime'

Vegan, Natural, Handcrafted Soaps

Deliciously Fragrant

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

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

my ETSY Store

 

This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes  and Overflowing With Creativity and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative Thursday and  Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and  Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and  A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Special