Homemade Laundry Soap

This is a repost from a few years ago, but still the best recipe (in my opinion) so for Shortcut Saturday here it is again!

Laundry Soap

4 cups of hot tap water
1 bar of Fels Naptha or approximately 5oz of homemade soap
1 cup of washing soda (not baking soda)
½ cup of Borax

Chop or grate the soap and add to saucepan filled with water. Stir over medium heat until the soap melts

Fill a five-gallon bucket half full of hot tap water.
Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax.
Stir until dissolved.

Fill the bucket to the top with hot water.
Stir, cover and let it sit overnight to thicken and settle until it reaches a gelled oogy consistency.

Transfer a usable amount to a smaller container and use 1/4 cup for front loaders and 1/2 cup for top loaders.

I think it takes two or three loads to get all the comercial crud out of my clothes and I like to use white vinegar as fabric softener.

Peas.

Lambs!

We're lambing!
Belle was first to go and had twins, Juanita and Hermano...

Wendy and Juanita

Then Jesse with a little ram lamb, Juan Pablo (The Bachelor)
She surprised me with a baby in the bushes, but they're both safe and sound in the barn now.

I have three more ewes I'm watching so that means endless trips to the barn all the while crossing my fingers and hoping for more twins.
The barn is to far in decline to lamb again next year, so I'm banding all the little rams.
I'll pick up some used sheep now and again just because I have so much pasture I need to keep down and don't tell me to get goats because I've had goats or should I say goats have had me...
No more goats.

I'm busy building up my soap supply again and have one batch ready and more on the shelf.
If you have a special request let me know, handmade soap is a great house warming, bridal shower and even baby shower gift.
There is nothing better than gentle handmade soap for little ones with sensitive skin.
Also, if you make your own laundry soap my plain and scented bars work wonders in the wash!

Today I'll be listing some Farmers Market.
The scent is light with bibb lettuce, basil and rosemary and no added color.

On the rack is Farm Flowers.
Scented with lilac, honeysuckle, sweet pea and lavender, it smells just like a fresh cut bouquet!
And...
Oregon Blackberry.
Smells like a bowl full of ripe berries with a pinch of crushed blackberry leaf sprinkled in on top.

Next on the list is some mango peach, I can't wait for that one!!

How about some candles...?

Peas.

Not That Fat Bottom Farm

On Saturday the blog got over three thousand hits and my Etsy store almost completely sold out.
I couldn't understand what the big sudden draw was especially since I didn't even have a new post that day.
It didn't take long to figure out that Dirty Jobs had re-aired their visit to The Fat Bottom Farm in Texas.
The Texas Fat Bottoms have goats, lot's of goats and they make goats milk soap and other goat products.
I would post a link to their farm as I usually try to do whenever we are mistaken for one another, but sadly there is nowhere to link to.

If you have been with the blog since I started it, you will remember that it was originally The Trailerparks Farm

But then Mr Parks was exiled.

And I didn't want the farm to carry his name.

So, the farm and garden portion of the farm was renamed The Fat Bottom Farm.

For two reasons.

1. the size of my ass. 

2. The size of my asses asses.

Jackasses.

Donkeys.

I also happen to have a big ass pig and a big ass dog

Pooter is our thirty-two pound Shih-Tzu.

He's the one on the left, and Pearl is probably twice that size now.

Anyway, I couldn't very well call the farm the fat ass farm because that's just, well, you know, not too classy.

So after much research and name availability I decided on... 

The Fat Bottom Farm.

And that's when it happened.

Dirty Jobs promo'd the Texas Fat Bottom Farm.

So, just to be clear, we are not the famous Fat Bottom goat farm, we are the not famous Fat Bottom dysfunctional, sheep, donkey, geese, chicken, peacock, pig and dog farm

BTW, I went with blackberry when I made my soap and it should be ready to cut later today.

Smells deelish and is made with homemade blackberries.

Peas.

Ewes Newes

Time for some babies.

Belle and Judy are getting ready to lamb.
This was Belle a few weeks ago.

And this is Belle now...
By the looks of things she will be having somewhere between three and thirtyeleven hundred lambs.

Judy looks like she'll come in with one forty pounder as usual.

Her last baby, Jesse, was so big she came out walking, talking and looking for the feed sack.

We've also had a bushel of baby geese...

And a batch of cats.
We only kept one.
He's brown.
Wendy's baby named him Chocolate and licks him every chance he gets.

I can't call Wendy's baby the Neighbor anymore because they moved one town over.
It was really hard for me to see them go, but our beloved little house finally gave out and it's no longer cost effective to keep it up.
I came home to that little house when I was born, so it has a very special place in my heart and it makes me very happy that Wendy's Baby had a chance to live there.
And his parents too of course.

This is Wendy's Baby on the tractor last summer.

This is him on the tractor a few days ago.

And in deep thought with the dog beside the tractor.

I think Wyatt and I are finally winning the yard wars.

When my sister was here a few weeks ago she helped us get a good start on taming the jungle that was encroaching on us 

And then taught Wyatt how to run the weed eater.

And now the yard looks like this...

All I do is ride the mower, but there's a lot to mow.

I'm making soap today, I'll get back to you on what kind I decide on.

Peas.

Natural Wonders

It's time to pick some weeds amazing plants!
So far I've found, growing in the pasture and around the barn, chamomile, applemint, nettle, foxglove and of course, the ever consuming, creeping wild blackberries.
It's amazing to me me, how as soon as I started looking around and paying attention to what was growing under my nose, I discovered a plethora of of goodness as opposed to what I had always considered a plethora of a huge pain in the as... Well you know.
Don't misunderstand, I think it can all still overtake me, but it's more comforting to know that the farm may slowly become overrun by herbal wonder disguised as evil green weediness.

Foxglove

Foxglove was typically used as a heart remedy and can be highly toxic, so I won't be using any of it, but it is beautiful isn't it...

Chamomile

I have chamomile growing out of my ears.

I'll pick the flowers as they bloom and dry them between layers of cheesecloth to be used later in teas for insomnia and headaches, in bathwater to relieve minor aches and of course in my homemade soaps.

After the last blooms I'll pick the leaves as well and cut the plant back for next year.

Nettles

If you have been a follower of the blog for long you know my ongoing battle with nettles...

They are overtaking the barn and sheds and it doesn't matter how many I cut back they come back two-fold.

Maybe I need to get into the nettle farming business and get rich on the stinging weed!

Nettles are used in teas, salads, stews and just about anything you would use a green in.

I'll dry the leaves and use them for tea and in my soaps.

In soap, nettle works for soothing eczema and psoriasis and helps with acne.

In tea it helps with arthritic pain and joint swelling.

Apple Mint

So...

I have this growing everywhere and had no idea what it was until one of YOU told me that it was apple mint!

Let me start by saying this... Apple mint smells amazing.

I walk outside on a warm day and the smell of the chamomile and apple mint is almost overwhelming.

I will cut and dry most of the mint, but I will also use some of it fresh in teas and salads.

Dried I will use it for tea as well but also, of course, in my soaps.

Blackberries

And finally, the Queen of all things, the blackberries.

They are everywhere.

I have tried goats, llamas, sheep and donkeys.

In the war on blackberries there is only one winner. 

The blackberries.

Of course an excavator and some Round-Up would would do the trick, I just don't happen have an excavator at my disposal and well we all know how we all feel about the Round-Up people.

So, I will become one with the blackberry and throw myself into the cobblers, jams, scones and soaps that the blackberry provides.

The following is taken from Alternative Nature Online Herbal

"Delicious Blackberries are edible raw or made into jelly or jam. The root-bark and the leaves are astringent, depurative, diuretic, tonic and vulnerary. They make an excellent alternative medicine for dysentery, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, and cystitis.

The most astringent part is the root. Orally, they are used to treat sore throats, mouth ulcers and gum inflammations. A decoction of the leaves is useful as a gargle in treating thrush and also makes a good general mouthwash. The presence of large amounts of tannins that give blackberry roots and leaves an astringent effect useful for treating diarrhea are also helpful for soothing sore throats. A medicinal syrup is also made from Blackberry, using the fruit and root bark in honey for a cough remedy."

I don't think I'll be using blackberries for hemorrhoids, but I will be making some AMAZING soap with the leaves.

That concludes the weed walk around the farm.

Now to go out and get it and put it to use!

Peas.

*Sorry for the wonk of todays post, I'm not sure what went wrong with the formatting

Weed?

The barnyard is overgrown with this...

The leaves are really thick and the plant has a very strong scent.
Almost like some kind of an herby minty celestial seasonings tea scent and it has little tiny white flowers and little bees swarm around it.
I think it might be nice to soap with.
Do you have any ideas what it is?
Do you need a better picture?

Spring Fever

I feel like I'm turning into the the crazy cat lady goose hoarder chicken farmer sheep herder.

Kittens

Olive had a surprise batch of cats that are so ugly I almost think she hooked up with a raccoon.
It's a good thing that there are only four of them and that we decided to keep one, because I think they are going to be pretty hard to rehome. We're going to need to find three soft hearted really ugly kitten lovers.
The half raccoon, grey striped, pointy faced, big whiskered twins are the worst and the third one looks exactly like their mother with long stringy black and white hair. There may be hope for her.
The fourth one, Chocolate, is brown.
I'm not kidding.
Brown.
Have you ever seen a brown cat?
Me neither.
So we're keeping him.
Mainly because Wendy's baby licks him every time he holds him.
Because he thinks he's chocolate.
And we think it's funny.

Wendy's baby licking the cats

Chocolate and Astro 

Cat Camo

Chicken

We had a late hatching goose this year.
Wyatt found her cold and freshly cracked in the pig house where the geese had made their nest and laid their eggs, but all the other eggs had hatched and they had left their nest days before.
Wyatt brought her to the house and we put her in the bathroom under a heat lamp and helped her through the night. She bounced back fine, but we soon discovered that she couldn't walk. Her hips were all wonky and she could only turn in circles.
Wendy's baby imedietly named her Chicken because he didn't believe us when we told him she was a goose.
So Chicken started going through extensive physical and hydro therapy and before long she was up and at em' playing with the dogs and the boy.

Here's the problem...

I have been letting all of the geese stay up near the house because of our my dysfunctional attachment to chicken. It's hard for me to let go, but she's befriended the real geese and wants to be with them so I have been letting them all graze in the yard and swim in the pool and poop on the patio...

Well, too bad so sad, they geese have got to go.

Gross.

Do you know how much geese poop?

Exactly how much geese eat that's how much, and I'm pretty sure it goes straight through. 

In one end and straight out the other.

So it's back to the barnyard for Chicken and all of her friends. 

No more cuddle time on the couch watching her favorite shows with the boy, no more sneaking snacks in the kitchen while I'm cooking and no more dips in the tub.

I have got to get a grip and let her go.

I may need a twelve step.

Iced Coffee & Cold Process Soap

New soap is in the Etsy store!!
Just listed is Farm Fresh, a light spring scent with a mixture of meadow grass and lilacs.

Vanilla Latte, that one kind of speaks for itself, but it has some fresh ground espresso blended in to give it a little kick.
Perfect for getting the garden off your hands when you come in from planting and also works wonders for removing kitchen odors (garlic, onion, etc...) from your hands while cooking.

Then there's Farmers Market, with a fresh outdoor summertime garden scent. 

Imagine your favorite leafy greens with just a hint of mint.

Also in the Etsy store are more dishcloths and coasters. 

Super bright fun colors and you can pick and choose your favorites!

Ok, do you know what time it is?

It's iced coffee time, that's what time it is!

photo courtesy of google

There are a ton of cold coffee recipes out there, most of them PW's and for sure, hers is time tested and coffee drinker approved, but my problem is it makes too much to conveniently store in my fridge. All I have room for in my overflowing ice box is two/four quarts, because after I squeeze in my sweet tea, some half and half to add to my iced coffee, a box of wine and don't forget the milk for Wyatt's cereal or the juice for the kid who calls me Tranny, 

(that's another story)

there's not a square to spare on the shelf, sooooo... I condensed the recipe and kicked it up a notch.

I take a one pound can of regular old bottom shelf store brand ground coffee, dump it in a big mixing bowl and pour four quarts of water over the top.

Let that sit all day and all night and the next morning pour it through one of these things 

lined with cheese cloth into whatever type of pitcher, jar or bucket you keep your cold coffee in.

There. 

Now you have a reasonable amount of cold coffee in your fridge.

It's still basically PW's recipe, just half the water and cheap coffee.

Now go ahead and add your half and half, soy, almond, whiskey whatever you want to make your perfect ice cold beverage!

Peas