Finally….Justice for 9-11-01

It was wonderful news to hear last night that Osama bin Laden had been eliminated. 

We should all remember the sacrifices that our military (and their families) have made in their effort against terrorism.  Good JOB!

 

Yesterday we decided to just hang around the house.

Al had been after me to make a new batch of bath soap.  Our supply from the last batch is fast dwindling, and it takes 3 to 6 weeks to cure.   We have gotten so spoiled having this nice soap and really hate to use store bought soap any more.

I made two batches.  The first one I used Olive Oil and Coconut oil and added some vanilla bean fragrance and some poppy seeds.  

On the second batch, I used olive oil, coconut oil and lard.  I added some ground oatmeal (for exfoliation) to this batch.  We’ll see how it turns out.  I like the coconut oil because it makes it lather up really well.   If any of you have any inclination to make soap, I encourage you to go for it.  It’s really easy.  You just mix the lye and water and let it cool.  Then you  warm the oils together.  You stir the lye mixture into the oil mixture, stir it a while, and shortly you have soap!  I pour the liquid into a cardboard box to cure and you have soap! There is a little more to it than that, but that’s the basics of soap making.  Easy and fun, and you have some wonderful homemade soap.  For people with allergies or skin sensitivities, you can make a real pure soap with no fragrances.  The soap is so gentle and mild, that you can even wash your hair with it.

After the soap making, I decided to start mowing the lawn. With our lawn, it’s pretty much a never ending project :)  We’re still hoping the appraiser will get here this week (yeah right), and want the place spiffy! 

Al’s big project was to put down some Round Up, which was no easy task considering his number one helper, Bella, was over to visit.  She’s the little Jack Russell terrier that belongs to a neighbor.  She  really likes to visit us and is always to happy to see us.  She’s such a little cutie and we’re both getting attached to her.  I need to take some pictures of her, but every time I try, she’s moving too fast to snap a picture!  I think she thinks we’re more fun than her owners because we’re outside “playing” more!  He had to lock her up in “her” cage so that he could apply the Round Up. 

After that project, Al decided to mow around the pond.  It’s a terrible job and he hates it. It’s hard to mow up down the banks with the mower and the weed-eater isn’t any better.  It’s a big job and he was worn out last night. He said “that’s the last time I’m going to do that.”   I hope so!