I saponify, therefore, I am

now that I've got 70+ batches of soap under my belt, I'm feelin' fairly salty; almost grizzled in this pursuit, this obsession of mine! Still havin' fun and looking forward to my first full season of craft shows/farmers markets. Here's a little sample of what I've been up to lately. Working on my swirling technique, experimenting with clays and essential oils.

aack! whew!cough!sneeze!

just dusted off this poor old blog site o' mine; couldn't believe it really still existed! I figured it had long since floated off into some remote corner of the web never to be seen again!
But, now I'm back and I'm re-learning how to format, post, link, etc...I think I can feel a new brain cell or two forming!
A couple of months ago, I dipped my toes into the wonderful, lathery, bubbly, aromatic world of soap making, and, like so many others, am completely smitten! As have all of you soaping pioneers before me, I spent hours pouring over everything I could find before daring to make that first batch from scratch. Tried melt and pour first, (very timidly even then, I might add), then, decided it was time to conquer my "fear of lye-ing" and just do it, like the shoe says. Haven't burned myself up yet! Have even sold a few bars, and am learning what it takes to start a small business; so far, it's fun. Want it to stay that way!
Well, the labor day weekend is upon us and we may make our way into the woods. Hope everyone gets some great R & R!

Soggy Sunday

A warning bell should've gone off in my head when DB innocently asked me yesterday afternoon if I thought the water pressure seemed kinda low when I flushed the toilet. I hadn't noticed any real difference, so we both shrugged it off. Fast forward to this morning when our doorbell rang (very unusual for a Sunday morning!) and our next door neighbor greeted us with the news flash that a small swamp was forming on his side of the fence due to water that appeared to be coming from our side! Immediate investigation found one of our sprinkler pipes gushing forth a river ( probably since yesterday about the time DB posited the water pressure question) right into the neighbors' yard. We sprang into action, calf-deep into mud, bailing water with mixing bowls from the kitchen. I ran to Lowe's to buy the "key" that's needed to shut the valve off and we managed to finish bailing just as the snow storm hit!
That's probably the most adrenaline I've pumped on a Sunday morning in years......had enough extra energy, in fact, that the drive and the walk got cleared right after breakfast!
The face of Redmond's Downtown is slowly changing. I can't wait to see what's going on up close. As soon as we get a good 40+ degree day, I'm going to stroll the main drag and do some seriouse window shopping.

Lord's Acre Offerings in God's Country

The deep pit bbq at the Lord's Acre sale in Powell Butte, OR, has got to be on of Central Oregon's best kept secrets. My family discovered it the first or second year we lived here and have only missed one or two ever since. It's funny, most locals seem to either not know much about it, or, if they do, they've just never been. From the time you turn into the pasture/parking lot, directed by guides on horseback, you feel immediately the strong sense of community that bonds the people in this small, beautiful rural area that is pretty much just a dot on the map between Bend and Prineville. The routine is this: walk immediately from the car and get in line to buy tickets for a slice of homemade pie. It's a hard choice to make, but you do it and are never disappointed! Get a cup of coffee and eat your slice standing up. People watch or chit chat with whomever happens to glance your way. Once fortified with pie enough to tide you over 'till it's time to line up for the main course, wander over to see what's new this year at the Country Store; tole painted wooden decorations, hand sewn and knitted hats, aprons, linens; furniture. Take a look at the quilts that will go up for auction later that afternoon. At around 11:30 it's the cue for everyone to start lining up for the bbq that will be served smorgy-style from behind long make-shift tables on saw-horses. Chit chat with others in line or have someone save your place while you check out the official opening of the deep pit. Once the pit is open, the air is filled with that mouth-watering smell; the reason most of us have come; huge helpings of beef, lamb and ham are piled on plates accompanied by potato, and beans. This bbq is the most succulent, flavorful meat I have ever eaten. The pleasure is only intensified by being out in the fresh air and sharing my meal, standing at one of four rows of waist-high tables, family style, with scores of friendly people. I've never seen anyone in a bad mood while eating this meal! There is only pleasant talk and laughter between bites.
After you've eaten, head on over to the school and get a good, comfortable seat for the the auction. It's a real honest to goodness live auction with a lightening-tongued auctioneer. The pace gets pretty fast and furiouse when the quilts start to go on the "block". I've seen some quilts go for 1-2 thousand dollars! When the last "sold!" has rung out, it's time to make out way home to relax the rest of the day. There will be not rest for the community of Powell Butte, though! The ladies of the church will start the very next day baking the pies and making quilts that will go on sale next year on the first Saturday of November as it has been for the last 61 years!

kiddie craft: make your own bug catcher/viewer

If you've ever ordered a frappuccino or other cold beverage in a cup from FourBucks coffee or any other coffee purveyor, keep the cup (lid, straw and all,) for your own handy, dandy bug catcher. I always have a stack of them around that I reuse daily just for other beverages. They come in really handy when my grandson, or friend's children are over. Less worries about breaks or spills. My grandson is into bugs these days and I realized one day that these clear cups, especially the ones with the dome top, are perfect for catching and looking at bugs. The cup is a great scoop and the hole in the dome top is perfect for poking in food, twigs, more bugs, etc. Scooping up more than one bug without the previouse ones escaping can be tricky, but it adds to the fun of the chase!

Surviving Vegas: how we lived through a timeshare sales pitch

During our second day on our most recent Las Vegas weekend, we, (my boyfriend DB, and I), were approached in a casino with an offer we couldn't refuse; $150 in free gaming and lunch, in exchange for "a couple of hours" of our time "taking a tour" of the new Grandview hotel. It sounded too good not to have a big catch, but we decided to take Geroge Carlin's advice and "take a damn chance!" We opted for the lunch tour the next day and walked away, feeling giddily optimistic, if not a little like suckers.
At the appointed time, we hopped on a small,crowded tour bus that whisked us away to the south end of the Strip to a generic looking strip mall. On the ride over, I asked a woman across the aisle if she'd ever done this before. Her expression took on a grim, wild-eyed look as she nodded yes. "How excruciating is it?" I asked. The grim/wild look remained. "Very! They try to sell you a condo and you tell them, no! no! no!. Then they make you talk to another salesman and you keep telling them, No!, Then they send you to another salesman and you tell them; No! just give me my incentives! Then they let you go!"
Turns out, she was exactly right!
We gave up 4 hours of our lives that day for: a stale donut and a beverage, a really decent deli-style sandwhich, short tour of the grounds and a model room in the Grandview, short tour of the Southpoint casino, and high-pressure sales pitches that seemed to go on forever. But, we perservered, and got the cash! They're pretty good at trying to wear you down countering every excuse you can come up with not to buy. A TIP, though, if you would be interested in buying into a timeshare, keep saying no until they start writing down some numbers you can really live with, because they'll knock a bunch of money and fees off the original offer. I think a savvy negotiator could probably get a really good deal.
Back to the money; we really did get $150 in gaming vouchers that we simply converted into cash. That part was so easy, we felt like we were doing something dirty! The whole time we were at the "tour," I'd expected there would be a "catch" that would somehow disqualify us from receiving our incentives, but, happily, that didn't happen and we were obviously tickled to have more money to sin with! We vowed we'd never do that again, it was so aggravating, but, I don't know.....

random thought for the day: if I owned a fish 'n' chips shop, I'd call it: "For the Love of Cod"

If you are familiar with Oregon; (and if you pronounce it "or-ee-gone", you're not,) then you would know that most of the state is not a lush green valley, but a scrubby green desert that is filled with charms all it's own. Here in Redmond we are in Central Oregon's "High Desert." We have nice, hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Portland is about 300 miles north on the main highway, and Bend is 14 miles southbound. If you're into year-round access to outdoor activities, this is the place for you to ski, bike and hike. It's also a great place to kick back and relax by the bbq with a great local microbrew. Some of my favorite things about Central Oregon:

1. day hikes in the cascades
2. Smith Rock
3. Deschutes Brewery microbrews
4. the Lord's Acre sale in Powell Butte the first Saturday in November
5. the view of the Cascade mountains along the Old Bend-Redmond Hwy