And I’m still here, staying busy in the background, totally ignoring this poor little blog. Every now and then, though, I come across it and decide I should get back into it again. It isn’t always easy.
Life keeps ticking along. I still work every day, though I’ve cut back on my hours; instead of a full 8-hour day, I now work about six hours per day. I’m still making soap, along with bath & body items for the market that I still attend every chance I get. I will be expanding to another market this year (Peachland Market – opening date, May 28; I’ll be there!). I’ve started another blog to commemorate my/our parents (I’m the eldest of seven). I still knit on occasion. As I said, life keeps ticking along.
So, where do I start on updates?
As mentioned, I’m still knitting, not nearly as much as I have in the past but there’s always a pair of socks for John on my needles, with yarn waiting in the wings for the next pair. When your husband considers his hand knit socks as “hugs for his feet”, you don’t stop making them, right?
Well, I won’t make any promises but I will try to update a little more often than once a year. Let me know what you’re up to…. if you’re still hanging around, that is.
I have to say I really enjoy playing around with ingredients and coming up with a product that uses amazing ingredients at a fraction of the cost of some very high end products. Making it yourself is such a satisfying thing. This is not your usual kitchen DIY, believe me.
It comes down to researching ingredients, seeing what other makers do with those ingredients and coming up with something based on that research. This is one of those products.
I came across a recipe for a Vitamin C serum (more on that in another post) that uses an ingredient called Sea Kelp Bioferment. That, in itself, sounded interesting. What is it? What does it do? Why did she use it in this particular recipe and what else can it be used for?
On its own, Sea Kelp Bioferment (from here on I’ll just call it SKB) is an odorless clear, or slightly yellowish, gel. From the vendor’s description:
“Sea Kelp Bioferment is a natural kelp extract that has been derived by fermentation of Sea Kelp using Lactobacillus, the same bacteria that produces yogurt, sour cream and sour dough breads, among many other foods. Fermentation breaks down the cellular tissue of the kelp leaf, thereby increasing the bioavailability of the naturally occurring chemical compounds abundant in kelp. Fermentation and subsequent reduction of the kelp liquor results in the concentration of these vital nutrients. Naturally occurring algin, the mucilaginous intercellular material found in kelp thickens this product to a gel consistency.
Sea Kelp Bioferment, a natural film former, acts as an excellent oil-free moisturizer. It can be used full strength on the face and body and used as a gentle styling gel in the hair, adding bounce and shine. It can be used as a base for the addition of many of the cosmetic actives we carry or added to formulations of creams, lotions, toners, shampoos and other personal care products.”
According to Swift Crafty Monkey, it can be used to replace part of the water phase in pretty much any product that uses water as one of its ingredients. That’s what gave me the impetus to try it in a face cream. Along with a host of other skin-loving ingredients, I’ve come up with a face cream that shows promise. Right now, I’m testing it and early results are promising. It needs a bit of tweaking and more testing but I’m pretty happy with it.
Sea Kelp Bioferment
So, what are some of the other ingredients, you ask?
Aloe Vera juice, Hyaluronic Acid, Allantoin, Silk Peptides, Tremella extract, Sea Weed extract (not to be confused with SKB), Propylene Glycol, and Sodium Lactate are all in there. You may be wondering about those last two ingredients. Why did I include those?
Propylene Glycol is used as a humectant and viscosity decreasing agent in cosmetics. It is an effective solvent and coupling agent and its use can improve freeze/thaw stability of cosmetic emulsions. CIR Review indicates it is safe for use in cosmetic products. I may try the recipe again, leaving it out just to see what difference it makes in the final skin feel.
Sodium Lactate is an excellent emollient in personal care products with strong antimicrobial and humectant propertiesWhen used in lotions and creams Sodium Lactate is a powerful humectant and increases the moisture content of the skin drastically without leaving a sticky or greasy skin-feel.
As for the other ingredients, Silk Peptide Powder consists of 18 silk amino acids. It has a low molecular weight allowing it to be completely water soluble and have excellent permeability. In formulations, the silk protein can be absorbed into the skin and hair to provide moisture balance and to promote suppleness, shine and elasticity. It imparts a silky, smooth feel to the skin.
Allantoin enhances the efficacy and appeal of dermatological and cosmetic formulations by acting as a skin protectant and providing necessary moisture. Allantoin is an ideal addition to anti-aging products to help reverse aging and skin damage. FDA approved applications include minor cuts, scrapes, burns, sunburn, fever blister, daiper rash and chaffed, chapped cracked or wind burned skin and lips.
And to top it all off, Tremella, sometimes known as ‘Snow Mushroom’, is prized in skincare applications due to its strong water-binding capacities. Indeed, Tremella’s ability to draw in surrounding moisture and boost skin hydration has been compared to that of Hyaluronic Acid, making it popular in anti-aging products. The natural extract of Tremella has been shown to easily penetrate the skin’s layers, forming a protective film of moisture that transforms the look and feel of dryness and roughness. It is also rich in Vitamin D, which helps soothe skin inflammations such as those associated with acne.
I love playing in my kitchen as anyone who knows me knows. I love playing in the soap kitchen. And I love experimenting with new to me products. By no means do I consider myself a formulator; my knowledge base isn’t broad enough for that but I can take a formula I find online and make it my own.
That’s what I did this after work one day this week. I already make an amazing Hyaluronic Acid serum but I came across another formula for an under eye serum that uses a homemade gel base. The gel is made with an ingredient called Hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC). When blended with water and pH adjusted, it becomes a beautifully clear gel that can be used as a base for other ingredients.
Papaya Under Eye Gel
It’s made with a soothing blend of ingredients that include Allantoin, Panthenol, Hyaluronic Acid, and Papaya Extract. And it feels amazing when I apply it. All those little bubbles should dissipate with a bit of time; the gel is fairly thick but goes on smoothly. There may be a few things I tweak and experiment with but I’m pretty happy with my first attempt at creating my very own under eye gel.
As for the ingredients, Allantoin is a free-flowing hygroscopic (attracts moisture) powder (naturally occurring in comfrey) widely used in cosmetic, dermatological and pharmaceutical formulations for its soothing and anti-irritating properties. Allantoin stimulates healthy, normal tissue formation even at low concentrations.
Panthenol is the very same Pro-Vitamin B5 featured in the Pantene commercials.
Hyaluronic Acid is a polysaccharide that occurs naturally in the human body and works to support the body’s collagen production and to help maintain elasticity. This natural molecule is specifically found in the hair, skin, eyes, nerves, and joints. Sodium Hyaluronate, a water-soluble form of Hyaluronic Acid, works in a similar way, offering better skin penetration and stability. Its water-holding ability – specifically its natural capacity for holding water that is 1000 times its weight – makes it an exceptional hydrating agent and thus a popular ingredient in the cosmetic industry; this constituent is widely used in rejuvenating moisturizing products intended to address the appearance of wrinkles.
Papaya Extract is gently refreshing with a sweet, summery fragrance. It is excellent for balancing the oiliness of the skin & working as an exfoliant on dry areas. Papaya also is often used in skincare products to give a rejuvenated look to the skin. Papaya contains Vitamin A, which helps to reveal the next layer of the skin and exposes a radiant complexion. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant with wonderful qualities that helps to smooth and soften the skin.
It just makes me so happy to be able to make products like this for myself and my friends, knowing exactly what’s in the products I’m making. This isn’t something I’m ready to sell as I’m still experimenting but I can tell you I’m pretty happy with it as is.
The Covid pandemic, war in Ukraine, floods, fires, famine… it feels all encompassing. The news just feels like things are getting worse every day. It’s starting to feel like the end of days as foretold in the book of Revelation, doesn’t it?
I’ve had my bad days, I’ll admit. There have been times I just want to sit in my little corner with a bottle or two of wine and tell the world to “F” off and leave me alone. And I’ve had times I just want to yell at the world, to tell people to smarten up, that by hurting others they’re only hurting themselves. None of it really helps, though.
I finally realized that I can only control how I react; I can control how much I watch, how much I listen to. I can control what I watch and I can use the “off” button whenever I start feeling overwhelmed. I can, finally, get together with friends for a good meal and pleasant conversation, some quality time away from news sources. I can get creative in my kitchen, in my soap lab. I can get out into the spring sunshine, take a walk by the lake, notice the ever-increasing signs of the season. I can luxuriate in a bath, with products I make and love. I can have that glass of wine, or two…. or three. As long as it’s red.
It all helps. Especially the wine. Sort of.
My husband tells me that I need to know what’s going on in the world. He’s right… to a degree. I can know what’s going on without immersing myself in the heartbreak, the anger, the frustration that I see and hear in the media every. single. day.
Two years she’s been off the grid, so to speak. What’s she been up to all this time?
Well, I haven’t really been “off the grid”. I’ve been too busy to even think about the blog but I did keep up on Facebook and started an Instagram account for my small business. Most of my time has been spent concentrating on my soap making business, Mission Meadows Soapery. With working full time and making and selling soap on weekends, my blogging time has been severely hampered.
Seriously, when you’re working full time and trying to maintain a small (that’s an overstatement.. it’s tiny) business, there isn’t much time left for the “other stuff”. Knitting has fallen by the wayside; it doesn’t help that I have some wrist issues going on (repetitive stress injury). Even baking and cooking have had to take a back seat to my soapy endeavours.
John has, thankfully, taken up the slack in the kitchen, ensuring that there’s food on the table when I get home from work. Or, at the very least, he’s planning the meals for us to make when I get home from work. I’m so grateful for his contribution to keeping this little household running. I’ll admit, though, that it feels a little weird being the one who goes to work every day, leaving him at home to look after things here. How the tables have turned!
It will likely take a little time for me to find my blogging direction again. For so long, the (mostly) main focus has been on knitting but since I’m not doing much of that anymore, I’ll probably just ramble on about whatever happens to wander through my mind on a given day. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a couple of random pictures from my camera roll, taken recently.
It seems I have some time on my hands. This is not a bad thing. The past couple of years have flown by (yes, years; I’m quite aware that my last post was in May, 2020). Even through the entire Covid pandemic, I stayed busy with making soap, preparing for markets and, once things opened up a little, attending markets with my soapy wares. Our little market, though, has gone from a market every Sunday, to every other Sunday and, this year, to once monthly. That has provided me with some much needed down time, time to create, to regroup, to spend time with my husband and friends, even to do some cooking and baking again. Not a bad thing, really.
Now that spring is here, some of that free time will, of course, be spent outdoors. We’re not planning a garden, per se, but we are planning on planting some vegetables and flowers in pots, as we’ve done for the past few years. I can tell you we’re certainly looking forward to being outside again. We even sat out in the sunshine with a couple of friends this past weekend. It was lovely to sit in the sunshine but when the breeze picked up and the clouds covered the sun, it sure got cold fast!
If you’ve visited the blog before, you may notice a few cosmetic changes. It was time to update a few of the photos, especially the ones of me, and revitalize the header. I’m sure I’ll make a few more changes as I go along, tweaking and updating here and there. If you’ve made it this far, let me know what you think. Now that I have some time on my hands again, I’m hoping to do a little more blogging. One never knows, though, what life will throw our way. I’m not making any commitments or promises, other that to say that I’ll write a post or two when the urge hits.
I can’t believe it’s been a month since my last post. To be honest, it’s been a month of ups and downs. Although I’m generally enjoying my time at home, I’ve been feeling the constraints of having to stay close to home, not having the freedom to take myself out for lunch, not being able to pop out to the mall for a bit of window shopping, things like that. I even miss my job. I’ll admit that I’ve had a few pretty dark days this past month.
All in all, though, we’re doing well. We’re enjoying each other’s company, laughing more than we have in a long time. We’re even coming up with the same ideas at almost the same time. Just the other day, I took chicken out of the freezer for dinner and not five minutes later, John suggested that we take chicken out of the freezer for dinner. Things like that have been happening more often; it’s a little freaky sometimes!
I’m still trying to find a routine that works for me. Most mornings, there’s not a lot of incentive to get up and so I’ll sleep later than I normally do. There isn’t a lot to do during the day (that I really want to do), so motivation isn’t really there to do anything. Which means I end up spending way too much time on the computer. That said, though, I’ve been baking a lot of bread and buns. We really enjoy the homemade hot dog and hamburger buns! As a matter of fact, there are hot dog buns in the oven as I type.
John’s been spending time outdoors, working in the yard. As he’s the only man in the house now (we live in a 4-plex; each of the other three suites are occupied by single women), the yard work has landed squarely on his shoulders. I don’t think he minds as much as he lets on.
One of the first things I decided to do is to get up at the same time each morning, except perhaps on weekends. Cuz.. weekends. To that end, I’ve been getting up by 7:00 a.m. this week; I know, it’s only Tuesday but it’s a step in the right direction. Once I’ve had my coffee and caught up on the internet, including the Daily Crossword on our local city webpage, I feed my Sourdough Starters.
Last week, on CBC’s The Current with Matt Galloway, they talked about a Citizen Science Experiment with Sourdough Starters. I decided that, since I already have a starter, I’d join the experiment. Coincidentally, the day before I heard the interview, I had started an experimental starter of my own, using rye and all-purpose flour rather than just the all-purpose flour my original starter was made with. My three year old starter just seems to be sluggish these days even though I’m getting decent bread. I just wanted to see how a combination starter would fare.
Anyway, my two little starters for this experiment, one with Rye flour and distilled water and the other with All-Purpose flour and tap water that’s been standing for 24 or so hours are bubbling away. Today is Day 8 for both of them and they’re really starting to take off, as you can see here. The black mark, incidentally, is where they were after their morning feeding.
At one point, I didn’t think the All-Purpose Flour starter was going to amount to anything but it has proven me very wrong. It also surprised me at first that the Rye/Distilled water starter hasn’t been more active than it is. In thinking about it, though, the rye flour has less gluten than the All-Purpose flour so I suppose it makes sense that it doesn’t rise as high.
Anyway, enough of the science-y stuff for now. Suffice it to say, it’s becoming a part of my morning and evening routines – feeding three sourdough starters.
I’ve also decided that I need to get out of here for a little while each day. Whether that’s going for a walk or heading into town to pick up some groceries, I need to get out and about. I did go out for a few minutes this morning to pick up a few items at the grocery store. It was a good time to go; there were very few people in the store and I was able to peruse at my leisure. I needed one more ingredient to make these, something I had decided to bake yesterday.
Peanut Butter Cookies, from one of the America’s Test Kitchen magazines. I’ve made these a few times now and they are really good. They’re not too sweet, with plenty of peanut flavour and they’re made with crunchy peanut butter and added chopped peanuts. A triple whammy of peanutty flavour, you could say.
Yep, it’s come to that. I’ve decided not to post statistics any more. It’s becoming a little too depressing. I’ve also decided not to count the days any more. This is the new normal around here and I’m not sure I like it.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the reasons behind it and I’m quite happy to go along, to do my part in stopping this virus if I can. But… I don’t want to concentrate on the virus; I don’t want it to be the thing that controls my day to day. I’m not saying I’ll no longer abide with the new rules and regulations. I’m just saying I refuse to concentrate on the developing situation. I refuse to listen to news that only has stories that revolve around Covid-19. I refuse to listen to radio programs that are only about how this virus is affecting our lives.
Sourdough Rugbrot (Rye Bread), one way of taking my mind off our current situation… baking it, not eating it (it IS good, though)
I need to concentrate on what my new normal is going to look like. I think there was a part of me that didn’t want to accept that this is going to last months, not weeks. Now that I’ve been off work for a full month, I need to decide what I want to do with my time. It’s been fun baking or cooking every day; even doing the dishes every day (we don’t have a dishwasher) has been, dare I say it, enjoyable. I don’t mind the day to day chores that need doing but it doesn’t fill my days. I don’t want to be sitting at my computer all day or sitting in my recliner knitting either; that said, I’ve been finding it hard to get motivated to go for walks even though I know the exercise and fresh air is good for me.
What about you? How do you fill your days? How are you feeling in the middle of this pandemic?
I do know what I’m doing tomorrow, though. I’m baking Peanut Butter Cookies. Just cuz I can. An extra pound or two be damned!
My spider plant loves its new home in the kitchen. It’s even sending out a new shoot!
Today’s numbers – 2,034,425 total confirmed cases, with 133,261 deaths and 509,569 recovered, leaving a total of 1,391,595 active cases world wide.
It’s getting to the point where I’m not really sure what I’ll be doing from day to day. There’s just so much cleaning one can do in a two bedroom suite and I’m not ready to start cleaning out the kitchen cabinets just yet. There’s just so much baking I can do because, as good as it is, we’re starting to feel it; clothes just aren’t quite fitting the way they used to. And, as much as I enjoy knitting, I really don’t want to be sitting around that much.
I could be making more soap but the future of the local Crafter’s markets is a little uncertain at this time and I don’t want to be stuck with more soap than I can use in one lifetime. On the other hand, though, I could make the argument that, once this is over, people may be so pleased to get out that I might not have enough soap on hand. That’s a dilemma.
So, I decided to pamper myself a little today. Some of the recipes I have come from a lovely Etsy vendor. Every one of her recipes that I’ve tried has been wonderful. Some have made it into my line of products, others I make just for myself. One of those is the Foaming Mud Mask. It’s made with Canadian Glacial Clay and I love this stuff! My face feels so smooth and soft after a facial with this mud. John always laughs at me when I use it but he likes the results. And it isn’t just for your face either. According to the recipe description, it can be used as:
Personally, I’ve used it as a facial cleanser, a facial masque, and as a scalp treatment. It’s scented with a lovely Sandalwood fragrance oil, which just seems to go so well with the earthiness of the clay.
The second product I used today is a new one to me. I’ve had the recipe for ages but never had all of the ingredients to make it. In reviewing the recipe today, I realized that I now do have all the ingredients, so I made it. It’s called the Fruit & Cream Angel Bath. I left it uncoloured and unscented but it would be lovely with a relaxing fragrance in it, too. Because it has a little baking soda and a little citric acid, it does foam a little when it hits the water and it leaves your skin feeling moisturized and definitely pampered.
With both those products in hand, I had a lovely, relaxing bath. I’m feeling very spoiled.
Strings 'n Things 