Monday, September 14, 2009

Cookies, Soap, and stuff like that

Hello, everybody!

Well, much to my dismay, I have to admit that fall really is here. There are yellow leaves all over the yard and the evenings have a decidedly chilly overtone. On the bright side, the varying shades of green, yellow, and a bit of red in the trees is actually quite pretty. On the down side, the lovely red highbush cranberries and rosehips won't be ready to pick until after the first frost - meaning the anxiously-awaited pickings will be accompanied by cool-weather clothing and chilly fingers. Not exactly having my cake and eating it too, huh?

Speaking of cake, I haven't found a casual excuse to bake and decorate any cakes since we've been here, but I did decide to decorate some cookies for a Homemaker's Club potluck for the firefighters last week. I got this awesome folk art bear cookie cutter in Homer last month, and had been itching for a good reason to use it. So, I made polar bears and piped on Eskimo-style hummingbirds. Not bad, but a lot of work:

After doing a few, I switched to quicker silly bears instead. The one on the left is blue with cold. ;^)

In other news, James has been going to the Mt. Redoubt Baptist Church for the past couple Sunday nights to play music with some guys who gather for a bluegrass jam. He's been helping Jim put up the portable garage for when Little Sweetie comes home, switching out faucets, and stuff like that, as well as his Small Business Management class at Kenai Peninsula College. Jim is looking into buying some metal stairs to make getting down to the lake shore easier. That'll make getting ready for kayaking go quicker and make sitting out on Brad's dock a more appealing idea.

Me, I've got raspberry jelly in the cupboard now and am thinking this week I'll put up either an apple maple jam or something else apple-y. Yesterday I took a cold-process soap making class. Reading up beforehand on cold-process soap making, it sounded scary and dangerous, so I'm glad a near neighbor teaches workshops on it. Turns out it wasn't so bad at all, just as long as you're careful and take your logical precautions. I split my batch of soap into lavender and patchouli scented bars with an oatmeal exfoliant, and wintergreen and peppermint scented bars with glacier silt exfoliant. They have to cure for six weeks before we can use them, but I can hardly wait. They smell SO GOOD.

15 comments:

  1. Jim (of the wild ride variety)September 14, 2009 at 2:17:00 AM CDT

    The cookies were very good. The soap smells very refreshing. Can't wait to try that out. The rose hips and cranberries are taunting us with their bright colors. The fireweed leaves are turning red. It really is quite pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sall can be a beautiful time, a snuggly type if chill that is almost refreshing . Definitely a different perspective of the world..so glad you are getting a chance to experience this. And the soaps look fabulous. And the cookies, I see marketing ideas there. Alaskan Blue Bears. YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Deanna, the cookies look great!! I bet they were a big hit!! the soap also looks great, that is so awesome!!!!! I'm sooo proud of you, girl!!! thanks for the update! I so look forward to see and hear what's going on with you guys!!!
    love to all!... and hugs too! Carla

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jim (of the wild ride variety)September 17, 2009 at 12:33:00 PM CDT

    The cookies were very good, but the soap gave me a stomach ache. Guess I should wait until it finishes curing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jim, just because the soaps had oatmeal in them, doesn't mean they were for eating. Now I have to make a new batch!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jim, what are we gonna do with you?!!!!We buy you books and buy you books........ lol! (:
    Love you all!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. The books probably don't agree with Jim's stomach, either.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Evidently I've been assigned my Universal ID by the powers that be.

    ReplyDelete
  9. BTW, I hope those are zeroes after the "p", because if my new shortened handle is "six-poo".... well, let's just say the revolution starts NOW!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I did at least, through some random combination of clicks, typing, redirects, edits and chicken entrails, manage to become a "follower". -Mike

    ReplyDelete
  11. Welcome aboard, Six-poo! I mean, Mike! ;^)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jim (of the wild ride variety)September 18, 2009 at 4:58:00 PM CDT

    The books are high in fiber -- or at least wood pulp. However, ebooks aren't nearly as filling.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love, love, LOVE the cookies....amazing work as always!

    I can almost smell the soap from here!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. LOVE the bear cookies- and the hummingbird one is wicked cool. I would have that on a pendant.

    ReplyDelete