This post is long in coming, but I simply want to say, that I am blessed with all that I want and more than I need, and for that I am thankful.
As you celebrate the Holidays I pray the you remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and have a Blessed Christmas. 🙂
We still have garlic for sale from this years harvest and for your convenience, it is also available at Water To Go in Richmond  https://www.facebook.com/Purified-Water-To-Go-in-Richmond-MI-142833425768170/ also in Port Huron at Pure Michigan Country Market https://www.facebook.com/PureMichiganCountryMarket, so while cooking for the holidays be sure to include some of our fresh locally grown garlic.  🙂
As farmers, the weather effects pretty much everything we do, it is simply beyond our control, so we try to embrace it. We plan most of our activities, (garden work, bee hive checks, chicken coop cleaning, pond work, fence building, and the list goes on) around the weather forecast. Our indoor activities are also planned around the weather. House cleaning, or soap making, for example, might be done in the early hours, while it is still chilly outside, baking is rarely done is the summer, so as not to heat the house anymore than it already is, and shopping is probably going to be done on a day that is rainy or when the ground is still muddy from a previous rain.
It was less than three weeks ago that I posted about being bare foot on the beach because we were having record high temperatures, now with Saturday’s substantial snow fall we engaged in  a different form of recreation. One that has been absent from both of our lives for decades.
For many years my husband has wanted to buy a snowmobile, it just hasn’t seemed like a practical purchase. Until we purchased the farm in 2011 we had no place of our own to ride a snowmobile, and since then we have had other priorities. In early September, however, on a trip into town, he noticed this snowmobile for sale. When we stopped to look at it, I could tell it was exactly what he wanted. Even though I know little about snowmobiles, and other motorized equipment, I thought it was in good condition for being nearly 40 years old. It started right up and the engine sounded good to me. He, knowing more than me, agreed. It seemed much more practical now to use a snowmobile to make paths into the field, especially now that we have bee hives out there, and we might need to move the snow away from them. If the snow were to get deep enough that our vehicles couldn’t make it through the snowmobile would be a real blessing. The price was right. So I told him “Merry Christmas” and we bought it.
Since then my husband has be anxiously awaiting our first snow fall, and when the forecast came, several days in advance, he began making sure all systems were go. Friday afternoon as the forecasters became more certain that we were going to get at least some measurable snow he began asking, like a little kid waiting for Santa, “is it snowing yet? is it snowing yet?” I told him he reminded me of Linus waiting for the great pumpkin. He threatened to take a thermos of coffee out to the field to wait for the “great snowflake(s)”. I thought that was fine for him, but I’m not Sally, and I would wait patiently (and sleep in my warm bed) until there was actually enough snow to play in.
By about 2:00 p.m. on Saturday there was about three inches of snow on the ground so we decided to ride. We took turns riding the machine around the field and through some of the paths on the farm, and while I don’t show my excitement like he does, I do enjoy riding. The snow continued through most of Saturday so by Sunday morning we had a whole fresh layer of snow to play in, and we did.
Sunday was truly a beautiful day to be outside. It was warm enough to be comfortable with just our standard winter garb, and I enjoyed  just being in the sunshine, and looking at the beauty of the sun making the snow and ice glisten as it hung on the trees and plants, as much as I enjoyed doing circles around the field and making paths in the snow on our new toy.
The beach, where I was bare foot just a few weeks ago, is now missing.
Scout and Trooper enjoyed being outside with us too.
This is how God decorates a Christmas Tree.
Since the temperatures are forecast to be back in the 50’s by the end of this week, the beautiful snow will morph into a muddy mess, and the snowmobile will be stowed until we can use it again, I am grateful that we took this time out to have some fun.
If you read K.C.’s comments on this recent post https://donteatitsoaps.wordpress.com/2015/11/18/challenging-my-skills/ I have to say I couldn’t agree more. “Sisters Rock!” Without question the greatest gift(s) my parents ever gave me is my 3 sisters. I have also been blessed with 4 daughters and while growing up, they, like me and my sisters, had their differences, it gives me great joy to see them so close as adults.
With that being said, I thought I would share one of my favorite quotes about sisters.
“Sister. She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she’s the reason you wish you were an only child.”
― Barbara Alpert
Last week it was time to test some of the soap I made in September. I was very curious about one of the soaps as it was a new recipe using aloe. I had talked (blogged) about making it in this post on October 1st. https://donteatitsoaps.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/soap-and-sauce/
When I showered with the aloe soap my first impression was that it felt smooth and had a creamy lather, soothing was the word that came to my mind. I liked it a lot, but I wanted to see if it was really the aloe that seemingly was making a difference in the feel of the soap. It was easy to do this, since when I made this soap I split the batch and added chamomile and lavender to one half and aloe to the other half. The next morning when I showered I took a bar of the chamomile/lavender and a bar of aloe and used each on different sides of my body. I discovered there was definitely a difference. The chamomile/lavender was quick to come to a very bubbly lather. It felt great on the skin and rinsed off well. The aloe had a more creamy and thick lather, again I thought it was soothing, and it too rinsed off well.
Although my impression was that they are both great soaps, I realized that my analysis may be tainted because I knew the ingredients of both. They needed to be tested by people who did not know what is in them. A blind non-taste (don’t eat it!) test. So I recruited two of my regular tester, my husband and my sister. I gave them the two bars without telling them what was in them and asked them to use them and give me their impression of each.
For chamomile/lavender my husband said it had great lather, he described it as pleasant, it cleaned and rinsed well. My sister also commented that it lathered well and was a nice soap.
For aloe my sister said it took longer to lather (I tend to agree) and she described it as a creamy lather. My husband loved the lather of this soap and described it as a “shaving soap”.
When he used that term it was obvious to me that the aloe was making a difference, as aloe is an ingredient often used in shaving creams. He, of course, was right because the next day I used the aloe soap as I shaved my legs and it was very smooth and felt great.  He has not shaved with it yet but is saving it for when he does shave. A couple days later he told me they were great soaps and that I should continue  to make both. I will.
Don't Eat It! Soap and Skin Care 