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.
It’s December in the Okanagan. We expect snow. We’ve had snow for the past couple of weeks. I’m okay with that. Honestly, I am.
However, overnight we received another 5-6″, with more still falling. I did make the effort to get out the door and try to get to work for a four-hour day. No. Just no. The roads are dreadful and people are driving way too fast for the conditions. At one point, I was driving at a 45º angle! Four hours of work is not worth taking my life into my hands.
And so, time will be spent working on a project I started in October of 2015 (yikes!), the Hidden Light Cardigan for John. The back is done, the front panels are done up to the arm scyes. And then, I got bored. Or my hands hurt. Whatever the reason, the bag with the pieces and needles has been languishing in my yarn stash. Yesterday, after work, I decided it was time to pull it back out, dust off the pattern (which I would have done had I been able to find it) and pick up where I left off.
This picture really captures the colour very well.
And so, today I will be spending time listening to the weather news and working on John’s sweater.
I’ve been battling a head cold this past week; thankfully, I’m at the end of it now and finally sleeping again. I really hate being sick (have I said that before?). It cuts into my ME time! So, today is kind of a lazy day for me.
And, what does someone like me do on a lazy day? Bake bread, of course. Because that’s what I do when I want to relax. Doesn’t everyone?
Today, I’ve gone back to one of my favourite bread books, “Great Bread Every Time” by Marilyn Barbe. I’m not sure how long I’ve had this book but it has to be at least twenty years.
So far, everything I’ve made from this book has been successful and tasty. I even gave this one a big star and a couple of exclamation marks.
I’m making, obviously, Healthy Whole Wheat bread, which uses a combination of bran, wheat germ, oats, sesame seeds and, of course, whole wheat flour. It uses the sponge method, where you make a “sponge” with almost all the ingredients except the final addition of flour and allow that to rise for an hour. Then, the sponge is beaten down and the last of the flour is added to make the dough. The loaves are shaped once the dough is ready, then a final rise before baking.
The sponge, as it’s rising, smells so yeasty and delicious!
And, of course, the smell of bread baking is one of the most amazing smells ever!
Oh, and just because I could, I also made a couple of loaves of raisin bread. Just cuz.
I will admit it: I really don’t like clothes shopping. Sometimes, though, a girl needs to replenish her wardrobe. For instance, I usually wear jeans to work; it’s the kind of job I can get away with wearing casual clothes. I bought some skinny jeans at Old Navy last year and I’ve been wearing them a lot. However, they’re starting to wear and before they reach the embarrassing stage, I decided it was time to get myself at least one more pair.
I went back to Old Navy last week. Yeah… for about five minutes. There were way too many people and no empty change rooms. I left. Empty handed.
This weekend, I decided to try my luck at Mark’s Work Wearhouse. I found a pair of pea green jeans that fit beautifully. They’re a little on the long side but I can fix that. I also found a great pair of blue jeans in the same size. I didn’t bother to try on the blue jeans as I had tried on the green jeans. They’re the same size; one’s a straight leg, the other is a skinny leg.
Once I got them home, I thought I’d model the jeans, and the blouse I also bought, for John. The green jeans and the blouse… he liked them. Then I tried on the blue jeans. My foot went through the knees. What the??? Both knees have holes!! That’s not what I wanted! Heck, I’m buying new jeans to replace the jeans that ALMOST have holes!
When they say “Buyer Beware”, I guess they were talking to me. They’re going back tomorrow!
There are times my weekends are so busy that I look forward to my work week. Right now, at about 4:30 on Monday evening, I’m almost feeling that way. I said almost, okay? I’ve had a very productive weekend, though it didn’t feel that way at times. It was relaxing but, in looking back, I managed to get a lot done.
Just today, I finished knitting the pieces for one of another pair of slippers; this time it’s The Options Slipper pattern, not a freebie but a comfy looking slipper, another one of Kris Basta’s designs. The pieces knit up quickly and I like how the finished slipper looks. I’ll knit all the pieces before I sew mine together.
This weekend, I managed to finish two pairs of slippers, knitted one of a pair, and almost finished knitting John’s felted clogs. I was hoping to have them finished today but won’t quite make it. I have one more sole to knit then seam together before I can felt them. I could finish them tonight but I have a little bit of a headache and don’t want to push it. Besides, the weather’s turned mild again and slippers aren’t quite as important as they were last weekend, when the temperatures were well below freezing.
In addition to all the knitting, I put together a beef stew for tonight’s dinner and for leftovers this week. Leftover stew, with dumplings, makes a great workday lunch…. tasty and filling. I also made a loaf of Sourdough Whole Wheat and Rye bread, made with some of the discard starter that’s been waiting to be used. It turned out amazingly well, considering I didn’t have some of the ingredients the recipe called for. Seriously, I KNOW I have caraway and anise seeds somewhere in this house. Do you think I could find them? Anyway, the bread turned out really well, very tasty and should make some good sandwiches this week (if John doesn’t eat it all while I’m at work). I’ll definitely make this bread again.
The stew turned out really well this time, too, better than my usual stew. I don’t use a recipe but this time I did things a little differently than I usually do, added a few ingredients I don’t normally add. Like what, you ask? Well, I threw in a little of my homemade apple cider vinegar and some tomato sauce. I don’t normally add those but I know that vinegar can help to break down the connective tissue in beef. There isn’t enough there that you can taste it, just a tablespoon or two. I thought the tomato might boost the beef flavour (again, just a tablespoon or two) and I was right. I can taste the tomato but it isn’t overwhelming, just an accent. All that’s left is to make the dumplings.
I had planned on making some body butter to help combat dry winter skin but, when I looked at what the ingredients were going to cost, I decided to buy a ready made, locally produced body butter. Once I got home, I indulged in a lovely, hot, candle lit bath. It was so relaxing, so enjoyable, and the scent of the new body butter so relaxing (it contains jasmine and ylang ylang in addition to a few other essential oils)… I might just have to have another bath tonight.
Strings 'n Things 