T Stands for Soap Making & Bald Eagles

   Hi everyone, Another Tuesday is upon us. You are most welcome to join us for T over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's --link in my sidebar.

   Several of you in comments last week mentioned you hadn't heard a bald eagle sing. I searched for an audio and found the perfect video.

 I also ran into this audio that I found interesting-what Hollywood has done in movies to the eagle call. Click on the first audio bar

    This past week "our" eagle pair has visited often-and I keep forgetting that now is their courting season and their eggs usually hatch around mid February here in southwest Missouri

    I never tire of seeing or hearing them. I read they usually live around 30 years. This pair has been here for quite a few years already as the previous owner of this home told us about the pair.

   Sunday I made soap-with a detergent free baby buttermilk melt and pour soap base. I have learned over the last year on how to infuse herbs into the soap base and then strain and pour. You keep the temperature of the soap around 135 degrees or a bit under for 40 minutes. One can really get the benefits of the herbs in the soap this way.  In the past I would only add essential oils and soap colors, as most herbs and flowers, will mold in these bars However for some reason calendula flower petals do not, but I prefer this method better to infuse the properties of herbs and flowers and then strain.

   I made lavender bars and I also infused calendula and dandelion flowers. These two batches I did not add any soap colors, but did add essential oils to each batch. 

  I have followed this author online for her herbal recipes for several years now, this is her newest book. She tells how to infuse the herbs, and what dried natural plants to use for colors in your soaps. I also learned to add a little honey to the soap which also gives more suds to the bars. So I added a dark wildflower honey to both batches. If interested in melt and pour I highly recommend this book, I learned so much in this one.

This soft yellow color comes from the dried calendula and dandelion flowers I used a fine strainer but some of the bits still came through a little.

Lavender flowers being infused-I ended up adding a few more flowers

calendula and dandelion flowers getting ready to be infused

My amaryllis is growing since I showed it to you the last time and you can see one of my bird feeders to the left-it is a heavy ceramic piece, that I bring in every night-so as not to tempt the squirrels and other night critters into breaking it on me-smiles I also bring in that tall niger seed feeder as well.

  I was going to make homemade eggnog but I am never crazy about the raw eggs in the drink. I don't care for any of the store bought eggnogs any more-so many preservatives and other additives and too much sugar too. So I grabbed one of my very favorite egg nogs-does have a bit of alcohol-but really delicious over ice in one of my handmade pottery glasses

I decided I wasn't up to getting out my little Christmas tree and decorations this year. It is quite the chore to dig it out of my craft room at the moment too. My husband is Jewish so I put up the Christmas tree for me when I do. and to make it worth all the efforts I usually would put it up Thanksgiving weekend. 

    I did get out my paper bags and the battery tea lights though. There is the perfect ledge for them to sit on in both large windows. Looks pretty cool when it's dark

and you know I am all into the 17 and 18th century (I would time travel back there if possible)  here is a lovely video with music from Townsend and Sons 

Traditional Holiday Music by Log Cabin Fire 

Happy T and new week Everyone