Wednesday on the Homestead

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Good Morning!

How is your week going? Mine has been good. :)  I decided to make use of the cool morning and got out and did my workout this morning before getting this post out.

I finally did make a batch of soap. It almost turned into a disaster. I had the soap started in the crockpot and the phone rang, I went and picked it up and was talking for a couple of minutes when I remembered my soap. I walked back into the kitchen to see it all cooking away, right up and out of the crockpot and all over my counter! I was able to stir it down and salvage most of what had spilled out. After all my soap making years I do know that you should NEVER walk away while making soap. Ha! I'll be more careful next time. 

I scented it with peach fragrance oil and got it cut up. It smells so good. Even though it is ready to use because I make hot process soap, the bars are still soft. So I lay the bars out after I cut them and let the excess moisture evaporate for a week or so. A hard bar of soap lasts much longer. 


If you are interested in making hot process soap I made a YouTube video a few years ago on how I do this. You can find that HERE. 
 

I had a great conversation with my daughter during the week as well. She's got about 3 weeks until her due date. She and her husband have moved to San Diego so it will be a longer trip for us to go down there. We're hoping we can work it all out to be there when the baby comes. First babies usually take some time so we're counting on that to make it there.  She's looking pretty cute with her baby bump..



On Sunday my son who is temporarily living in Ohio (work related), came for another visit. He has other plans during his vacation so will be off doing that in a day or two. We're enjoying his visit while he is here.
  

Goals
Today my goals are..

~vacuum living room (or rather put my Roomba to work while I do other things:)
~catch up on dishes and give my kitchen a little extra attention
~do a couple loads of laundry

Dinner tonight will be something easy, like a BBQ so I don't have to heat up the house. I may also make a batch of quick potato salad (using frozen cubed type hash browns) - in the Instant Pot so I don't heat up the kitchen


For the Love of Books!
I'm about half way through Anne of Avonlea and enjoying it just as much as I did years ago when I read it for the first time.


Projects
With the soap making done, I think I'll focus on going through a few things in my basement. I have some shelves that need to be sorted through and another area that needs to be cleaned out and the stuff dealt with. It's always amazing to me how much a family can accumulate after 20+ years of living in the same home.


Fitness and Health
I didn't do any hikes this last week but I did get out and walk and jog. About a month or two ago I decided to add a little jogging to my routine.  During my walks I often will walk and then jog, walk some more and jog some more. Due to all my hiking and walking I have been able to jog much more than I imagined I could. 

Over the course of a 4 or 5 mile walk, I'll jog a lot of it. We have a lot of hills so that makes jogging a real challenge for me. I tend to walk the hills and run when the road is level. 

I set a goal for myself to run 2 miles without stopping. I actually made that goal this morning! Super proud of myself, considering the last 1/4 mile is all up hill to my house.

I don't run everyday. Yesterday I went out and walked 4 miles, no jogging. No matter what I do (walking, hiking, jogging) I feel accomplished to have gotten out and moved my body.



View from my Deck
The summer has been so nice. I'm loving the sunshine and so far we haven't had any overly hot days. It seems to hover around lower to mid 80's. 

 



Today's weather: High: 85   Low: 61



That's all for this week my friends,
Crystal

Comments

  1. AngelaAugust 6, 2019 at 1:49 PM

    Your daughter looks adorable! Do you have your crockpot on high for soap? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CrystalAugust 6, 2019 at 2:57 PM

      Thanks Angela 😊 on the soap, you keep the crockpot on low the whole time.
      Crystal 😊

      Delete
  2. KariAugust 6, 2019 at 3:19 PM

    Your daughter looks lovely - I think all expectant ladies have such a special glow 😊 Which daughter is this? They’ve all grown up so much!

    I loved the Anne series when I was a girl. My mother bought me Anne of the Island and Anne of Windy Poplars for my 11th birthday and I was so thrilled as they were beautiful hardback copies with such lovely illustrations.

    Your peach-scented soap sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CrystalAugust 6, 2019 at 3:54 PM

      Hi Kari! 😊 That is my daughter Leanne, the one that lived in S Korea teaching English for 3 years.

      Your books sound beautiful! It's a wonderful series and I'm so enjoying them again (even as an adult! 😀)
      Crystal 😊

      Delete
    2. KariAugust 6, 2019 at 9:07 PM

      PS I re-read my Anne series last year, and enjoyed it as much as I did the first time 😁

      Delete
  3. AnonymousAugust 7, 2019 at 3:26 AM

    Super goals on the jogging/hiking! I recently began running/jogging again and I love how I feel. I've been slowly improving my speed too. I've noticed that even if I feel sluggish one day I just walk and then within a few minutes I'm ready to jog again. I like running because it's free and only takes 1/2 hour a day! This summer I've added a lot of salt water swimming too and it really is a pleasant way to enjoy nature! Katie

    ReplyDelete

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