Flakiness and Fudge

I am rubbish. I was trying to do Mumma Troll’s £1-per-person-per-day challenge and I forgot to cancel the veg box, which actually costs more than our allotted amount (£14), so I have failed to start with.

O when will the parsnips stop coming

However, having been initially utterly rubbish, I thought what I might do is try and cost individual meals and see if I can get our day’s expenditure down to only £2. I have to say, I find it very, very difficult – it is quite a challenge! And also because so much of what we eat seems to be leftovers and store cupboard items which I just kind of replenish when I think: i.e. I don’t go out and buy a week’s food in one go and then eat it, I operate more of a rolling programme. Anyway, yesterday was a wash out, but today I am doing a bit better (leftovers for lunch + dal) so I will take photos of dinner and then show you + recipe tomorrow. Also we did ok on Sunday when I started unofficially, but I find I can manage one meal but then lunch and breakfast is a challenge. It is not a challenge for Partner, who is happy to eat once a day like a grumpy camel, but I am a grazer and you would not believe how much snacks can add up to. Go and have a look at Mumma Troll’s blog to see someone do this challenge competently, I am full of admiration because honestly, it is not easy and I am starting to realise the reasons for my overdraft (not huge, don’t worry mum).

Coloured with turmeric, let us hope it does not turn me yellow

I cut up the soap and now it is curing. The soap bug, it has bitten me, and I have ordered more soapmaking oils from Fresholi. I have some useful information for all you soapmakers/ potential soapmakers out there: you can buy lye (caustic soda) in Homebase. It costs £2.49 and I think it is worth buying from there rather than online (because I don’t think Fresholi sell it and I didn’t want to have to do two separate orders), because you save on the shipping costs. Also, you can give the person on the Homebase checkout a thrilling moment when they wonder if you are perchance running a meth lab. I look as likely to run a meth lab as I do to run a marathon or a FTSE 100 company, so I did not have any trouble, but if you feel you might have the air of a criminal mastermind, you might want to take a loveable toddler or a vicar in with you to smooth your passage, so to speak. You can also clean drains with it, but if you ever watched How Clean Is Your House, Kim used to sort out the kind of people who normally turn up on Hoarders, with all their family crying and a lot of therapists looking at them sadly, with only half a lemon and a pair of old knickers as a duster. What would Kim say to people who need caustic soda to clean their drains? She’d say, get your lemon out, love, and use that caustic soda for something more interesting! (Not crystal meth. Kim wouldn’t approve of crystal meth).

How many calories I wonder

I also made fudge. This is my patented avoiding-buying-a-smaller-tin technique which works for anything that is reasonably solid. Scrunch that foil up and make it the correct size! I do not like to boast but this fudge is possibly the most delicious fudge I have ever eaten, it is even better than the fudge I made previously of which my brother Dan ate a slab without cutting it up. It is better than that. Entirely coincidentally, I have been and weighed myself at Boots and let the machine measure my body fat, and so, having discovered I am essentially the same as those monsters on Dr Who, I have had to freeze the fudge. It is very sad.

I didn’t freeze all of it, though. {Wanders thoughtfully in direction of fridge}.

How not to make soap

In the spirit of sharing things that go wrong as well as things that go right, I have just made some cold-process soap (which I have made before perfectly successfully) and managed to crack the dish I was stirring the lye in. So now I am down one salad dish and have lye all over my draining board. (This is bad).

What am I going to put my salad in now?!! Tell me that!

Luckily I had enough lye left to redo the solution in something robust and plastic, but I also got lye all over my hands (this is very bad) so now my hands feel like when you have got bleach on them by mistake.

On the plus side, I did manage to get some semblance of soap out of it, so we will see what it is like when I unmould it tomorrow (I used turmeric in it to make it a different colour! And a blend of cedarwood, rosemary and ylang-ylang essential oils. It smells DELICIOUS. It is worth making soap just for the way it makes your house smell). And now I am a living example that you can have a Lye Disaster and live to tell the tale, so let that be a lesson to you all.

Note use of exciting natural colourant. I wish you could smell it! It's amazing

I wonder if anybody else has noticed, though, when you learn a new thing, sometimes the first few times you do it absolutely perfectly and then you go through a phase where everything goes wrong? I think the everything-going-wrong phase is actually the most important learning bit which sorts the women from the girls, at least that is what I am going to tell myself.

I am going off now to have a nice cup of tea and watch something mindless before cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom, because otherwise I will probably manage to drink water from the glass I measured the lye in or something really dim. So if you see a warning item on News At Ten regarding home soap making and the potentially tragic consequences, you will be able to say, hey, look! I read her blog!

(Or at least I used to…).

The Friday Interview: Vivianne Kacal

OK, it’s the Friday interview! Today’s is with Vivianne Kacal, who gives Tarot readings through her website, Kismet's Companion, and has recently started selling her own handmade soap on Folksy and Misi. Although Vivianne’s blog is tarot-themed and she talks about tarot, I didn’t realise she actually gave readings (I am very dim) for a while – when I realised, I had a reading done straight away (and it was very interesting and thorough, so if you are thinking of doing the same, I would highly recommend Vivianne. I also think it’s great that she has a code of ethics on her site). Anyway, I dabble a tiny bit in tarot myself (although I’m still very much a beginner), and I find the whole thing fascinating, so I was delighted when Vivianne agreed to be interviewed. Thanks Vivianne!

Vivianne with cards and a scary skull, eek

1. What drew you to Tarot initially?
Oooh, I don’t really know; there was a Fournier tarot deck in my flat, which I don’t even remember how it got there, or where it came from …so I started with that.

2. Why do you think Tarot readings are so perceptive?
Hmm. I think it has to do with how well the reader picks up – and then communicates to the querent – the nuances of the cards individually, and how they connect together in a particular spread; the more open to intuition the reader is, the more specific they can be – within the parameters and limits of the cards.

The world is a good one to get. The one you don't want is the tower. Unless you actually get it in a reading in which case, don't worry, it'll be fine (my opinion not Vivianne's! ;-) )

3. What would you recommend to someone new to Tarot who wanted to learn more?
I’d recommend joining an organization such as TABI (Tarot Association of the British Isles) – a community full of friendly and supportive people - and doing their free beginners’ course, which is based on Joan Bunnings’ ‘Learn the Tarot’ book. I’d also tell them to read any tarot book they can get their hands on, practice, read, practice …and then read and practice some more. I’d say to be wary of people charging tons of money, especially if/when you don’t know what you’re getting for your money; be wary of ‘diplomas’ and ‘degrees’ – there are no formal or official qualifications in tarot. 

4. Do you find using different Tarot spreads influences the reading? Do you have any favourite spreads, or artists?
Hmm …not so much that different spreads influence the reading, but that different spreads illuminate different aspects of the situation, depending on what the querent (person having the reading) wants to know. I like the traditional Celtic Cross spread for an overall view of what’s going on with someone, and I like to use a couple of 3 to 5 card spreads for fine detail and suggestions for moving forward. I developed two very specialized spreads dealing with bereavement – which the Australian Tarot Guild used in a recent weekend seminar, I’m proud to say - and divorce/separation. I’m very fond of Beth Seilonen’s work, although I don’t use her decks for working with, for me they’re ‘art’ decks; I like the Victorian engraving-based style of Baba Studio; and of course, Ciro Marchetti’s digital art is fabulous for detail and color.

I find actually that the deck used for the reading can influence the ‘tone’ or timbre of a reading: several readers have their own favorites for romance readings, say. If I have a querent who doesn’t choose the deck, I will select one based on their question. As regards ‘working’ decks, I like the Hudes deck for no-nonsense, smack-upside-the-head type readings; the Spiral tarot for romance questions, as its ‘voice’ is quite gentle; the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot is for my my comfy old slippers deck – I’ve had it for over 20 years, and its imagery is always the one I visualize in first; I like the Victorian Romantic for its slightly different angle on things; I like the Gilded tarot for the detail, which really kickstarts the intuition. I’m also quite fond of the Whimsical, which adds another layer of shorthand and/or metaphor to a reading….

5. You say on your site that Tarot can predict someone’s death. I thought this was very brave and straightforward, because I think often people gloss over this possibility. Is this as simple as the death card turning up in a reading, or is it much more complex and contextual? Would you always convey it to a client?
I’m glad you asked me this. It could be as simple as the Death card turning up in a reading, but it is more likely to be a combination of certain cards in certain positions in a spread; it might also depend on the question being asked. On one occasion, the querent asked for 1 card to be drawn, and the question was ‘where will I be in August ?’ I drew XIII Death; the person died in July. There was a background of recent ill-health, but at the time of the reading, nothing medically to indicate this outcome. [Note from me, my jaw dropped when reading this one, you can imagine!].

Conveying such information to a client is where things get really sticky, and one of the reasons why I am so focussed and soap-boxy about ethics: I strongly believe that not enough readers have considered this kind of question before they start reading for other people; I mean considered in terms of how they would handle it to/for the querent. There are a few ways of handling this, ranging from outright lies to blunt ‘saying it like it is’, and I think that which response is used depends both on the reader, the querent and the situation at the time.

The Celtic Cross spread, using the Gilded Tarot

6. How would you describe the kind of soap you make?
Fabulous, of course LOL ….I’ve been making soap for a couple of years now, and I feel like I’ve found my favorite formula – one which gives lots of creamy bubbles, a lovely rich lather and leaves my skin feeling clean without being ‘tight’ or dry.

7. Has making your own soap made you feel differently about commercial soap? Do you think handmade soap is better?
Yes, it has ! It got me educated about what’s actually in commercial soap – like animal fats (sodium tallowate is the official name) - which most of my veggie friends didn’t realize. I think handmade soap (by which I mean cold process or hot process soap, not melt & pour glycerin soap) is far better for the skin, because the humectant glycerin produced in the saponification process is retained, rather than removed as it is in commercial soap; also, the blend of different oils that can be used in CP soap can be adjusted to optimise various qualities such as lather, moisturizing, enriching, hardness, etc. I also really like the idea of supporting crafts and small businesses. We haven’t used commercial soap for a few years now… [Note from me. I'm going to bore you next week about the Chorleywood bread making process. Hooray! And it seems to me that commercial soap is to real soap as tesco value sliced white is to homemade bread].

8. Which of all the things you’re doing at the moment are you most excited about?
I am enthusiastic about everything I’m involved in – or else I wouldn’t be involved in it; life’s too short for me to be dragged down and under by stuff that either bores or irritates me (see my blogposts on housework); I just don’t see the point in wasting my time like that: and the older I get, the less tolerance I have for it…

Right now, I’m looking forward to getting to grips with the ‘techy’ side of selling – promoting my Misi and Folksy shops, working out how to streamline my tarot website further, perhaps linking my blog more immediately to my website, that kind of thing. I’m always excited about tarot – I’m nosy, so I love to read for people and find out about their lives, and if I can help is some way through tarot, then really, that’s a great feeling.

___________________________

Thanks again Vivianne – I loved your answers and there’s lots to think about there (I’m going to be checking out TABI and the tarot decks you mention). Catch Vivianne on her tarot website, blog, or folksy or misi shops.

Have a nice weekend, everyone. I shall be spending mine hovering over my overlocker, grinding my teeth ;-). You all try and have more fun than me, though!

Cheesecake, herbs, but sadly no Borax

I've been trying to eat healthily, because since about January I feel as if I've been in a biscuit-eating competition. And I've won! So now is the time for vitamins and fibre. So I was pleased, when we went to Scotsdales the garden centre earlier, that they had a good, healthy, non-indulgent lunch for me. I could feel it doing me good even as I ate it.

We'd gone to Scotsdales because yesterday I went out on a mission to buy 2 items: Borax to make my own washing powder, and a Lemon Balm plant so I can make this lovely lipsalve Mumma Troll gave the recipe for on her blog the other day. Well, I won't say I walked the length and breadth of Cambridge looking for these two items because I didn't, I mainly popped into Homebase and then into a more general DIY-type place, but I drew a complete blank. I've looked for Borax also in Tesco and Waitrose and nothing. Don't you think it's odd that you can buy 90 different kinds of things to put in your washing machine and not one ingredient to make your own? I do, in fact in Waitrose I started muttering about being oppressed by capitalism which was a bit hypocritical on many levels. You can buy caustic soda in Homebase, though (you make soap with caustic soda – it is sodium hydroxide, lye) which is useful to know for when I run out of the supply I've got at the moment. (I have a soap-related confession, actually. You're supposed to let your homemade soap cure for 4 weeks, but I used mine last night after only leaving it a fortnight. And it's great! I'll put more scent in the next batch, but really, for a first attempt, I'm very happy. I shall be putting some soap in the post to my mother tomorrow who is going to risk her skin PH and try it out for me (no, really mum, it'll be fine, you'll survive.))

Anyway, after I couldn't get any lemon balm either I started to think there had been a great big meeting of shopkeepers in Cambridge, and they had somehow tapped into my brainwaves as I slept and worked out everything I might ever want to buy so they could make sure they wouldn't ever stock it. Note to shopkeepers: procion dyes and spindles. You get destroying your stocks. But my fears were unfounded. Scotsdales had loads of herbs:

And I got a nice big pot of lemon balm. I think it's too small for me to strip it of leaves this year, but I will wait to see if it establishes and get ready for next year. This will be the start of my herb garden.

This is my lily which is blooming at the moment, soon I'm hoping it's going to be joined by some friends. The bees aren't keen on it though, surprisingly. They prefer a scruffy bush just opposite. There is no accounting for the aesthetic senses of bees, they are mysteries to me, mysteries with fuzzy white bottoms.

Homemade soap

I did it! I made soap!

It’s curing in a box on the kitchen table right this moment. It was easy. I’m not absolutely guaranteeing that what comes out is going to be usable soap, but if it is, then I shall definitely be making lots more. I fragranced this one with lavender and geranium essential oils, but I may make another batch and use ylang ylang and patchouli. I might also dry some of the lavender flowers in our garden and add those. The sky’s the limit. But first I have to clean the blender. It turns out that’s actually more difficult than making the soap. (Stupid cheap Tesco blender. Honestly, I know it's cheap and I shouldn't be supporting Tesco anyway, but why don't they at least make blenders that are fit for purpose?!)

(I used the starter recipe from this book - Smart Soapmaking. I'm pretty sure I didn't have anything at the correct temperature but it seemed to come together, so I'm guessing this recipe is fairly foolproof. I think I put about 30 drops each of the lavender and geranium in, but I don't know how well that will have worked out until I use it.)

A tidy craft room and a clean slate

Silver over at Quicksilver Crafter posted a picture of her craft room (as a before – she is going to reorganise with fabric storage boxes, which sound lovely), and I thought I would show you mine (well actually this was suggested, you can see the comments!). I am actually a bit ashamed, yes. But it is tidy now! I have sorted it out! So: this is my BEFORE picture, the craft room after the havoc wreaked by the Rainbow Patchwork Skirt:

I was using a very useful method of choosing fabrics for patchwork there. It is called, Get Everything You Own Out Of Its Box And Throw It In A Heap On The Floor. Then Go And Make Coffee. I’m surprised more people don’t use this method, because it’s very effective.

And this is after I tidied it today (ignore the kitchen roll! That just proves I dusted):

I am worried you can’t tell from this picture quite how much tidier it is, so I've taken this one:

Look at all that blank floor! Admire the use of a storage box!

I’m pleased I’ve done this, as now I can start next week with a clean(ish) slate. Lots of new projects planned – tshirts and more tiered skirts (hopefully for the etsy shop), and, if I get round to it, a short-sleeve linen jacket. For Me. To force me to learn how to make button holes. And I’ll be finishing and trimming those things you see on the dress form.

There you are: Organisation. A Plan. No more untidiness. Industriousness and Productivity. No getting distracted by random things.

Oh, but wait. What might this be? What arrived very recently in a large box?

Soapmaking supplies! Eeeeeeeek! Well, perhaps I’ll just have a bit of a go tomorrow. It is a bank holiday, after all. Industriousness can surely wait one more day. Can’t it?

Oh that Bad, Bad Serger

You remember the serger problem. (Who could forget?) Well, it happened again. It died on me (through no fault of mine this time, I might add). Needles bending, me banging my head against a wall quietly and whimpering. But it’s all fine. The shop swapped it for me, I have a new one now, and I’ll be able to talk about the whole experience one day without twitching. Anyway, now I’ve recovered from the serger trauma of the last few days (unless the bloody new one breaks – no! It couldn’t do, could it? No one could be that unlucky!) I'll be able to update tomorrow with things I’m working on, and pics. A couple of quite exciting things (exciting to me, at least) – a version of this skirt from Craftster, and, when my epic order from Soap Kitchen arrives (hmm. Must sell a few things on ebay) I shall be making soap. Soap! From scratch! With sodium hydroxide! That’s an acid, you know (or is it an alkali? I think it’s an alkali. I’ve ordered goggles. It’ll be fine.)