Fresh Salad on December 30th!

If you've been following my blog you know that I set a goal of picking a fresh salad from the garden on Christmas Day. For the newcomers here....I built this hoop house in the fall in an attempt to extend my growing season into the late fall and winter.

So far, it's survived several snow storms...

... extreme winds and even a blizzard.

Because we were in the middle of a snow storm on Christmas, I decided not to open the hoop house to pick a salad. That would have exposed the plants to the brutal weather, even if only for a few minutes. Later Christmas week we had another snow storm. Temperatures haven't gone much above freezing for about two weeks. Nighttime lows are in the single digits. 

Today, we got a little break and it got all the way up to 41 degrees. Even still, there's quite a bit of snow hanging around.

I put the frost blanket inside several weeks ago. Although with the extreme weather we've been having, I doubt it made much of a difference. 

But amazingly, the spinach and lettuce were still hanging in there!

Granted, they looked a little stressed, but they're not a frozen mess.  Speaking of which, the soil is frozen solid. I don't know how these plants aren't dead! Had I known they would last this long, I'd have planted a lot more back in the fall!

I picked a little spinach and lettuce to make a salad for my lunch at work tomorrow and left the rest. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to pick a salad on Valentine's Day?

The Boys were enjoying the mild temperatures today, too. All three were napping at the same time.

But of course once I walked closer, Kipp got up to see what I was up to.

And thus ends another quiet day at Crossed Sabers Ranch. 

Christmas at Crossed Sabers

Christmas Eve in the barn....an excellent place to be considering we're honoring the birth of our Savior Jesus, who was born in a stable.

Carson

 Jesse

 Kipp doesn't approve of decorations that aren't edible!

Kipp with his antlers on.

We had a white Christmas!

I love this photo!

Blizzard

Winter in the Rocky Mountains can  get exciting sometimes. Yesterday was one of those times. We had a bit of a blizzard come through.

The snow started at daybreak and the wind was howling!

I put blankets on the horses. I don't blanket them unless it's going to snow a lot. It's hard to stay warm when you're wet.  The Boys don't mind the blankets or the process of putting them on. 

They hung out on the lee side of the barn, out of the wind.

We got 10" of snow, but it drifted a lot deeper in places.

In the photo below, that's a 100-gallon stock tank, to give you an idea of the size of the drift next to it.

And look what's still standing, despite 50mph blizzard winds! I wonder if the lettuce and spinach are OK? I'll be peeking in there on Christmas Day.  Cross your fingers that I can pick a salad!

By early evening, the blizzard was over. We got lucky it wasn't worse!

The Boys played like kids home from school on a snow day.

I hope this video uploads OK!

                                       

Doesn't Kipp look sharp in his turquoise blanket?

Well, g'night all. Stay warm and dry!

Winter Centerpiece

Now that ol' man winter has arrived and looks to be settling in for the long haul, there's not a whole lot going on outside. It's time to pick up my indoor hobbies.  Winters are long and hard here in the Rockies and you need an indoor hobby.

This means you'll be seeing more 'crafty'-type posts from me for a while. With Christmas coming up faster than I can believe, I'm working on those types of projects now.

When I was in Michael's craft store picking up supplies to make the soaps, one of their project cards caught my eye. I found it again on their website.

Cedar Lodge Bird and Branch Mantel Piece

It's a centerpiece with twigs and artificial pine. Here's my finished version.

I don't have any real flower arranging experience, but this is very easy to make. Here's my cast of characters:

The winter artificial greenery was on sale for just a couple of bucks. I got the sticks from the yard.

I used wire cutters to take apart the bush.

Once I got the sticks arranged in a way I liked, I tied them with a bit of burlap ribbon then began adding the greenery.

Before hot gluing or wiring everything together, just lay it all on without fastening so you can move things around.

You want it to be balanced, but not too symmetric. This is supposed to be rustic-looking.

When making a centerpiece, remember that it will be visible from all sides. Turn it around and check how it looks from all angles.

My greenery bush had several bunches of red berries that I thought I was going to put in. I changed my mind when I realized that if I did, my little cardinal would blend in. I wanted him to stand out. 

I've got about $7 worth of materials and 30 minutes of time in this. I think the cardinal is the best part!

"Homemade" Soap with Pantry Ingredients

I'm giving some of these homemade soaps as Christmas gifts, so I hesitated in writing this, since I'd be giving away my secret. These soaps are very easy to make, but look as if you spent hours handcrafting them.  The surprising simplicity was just too good not to share. 

The ingredients are readily found at craft stores and in your own pantry.  Here's the cast of characters:
Store-bought soap in both the suspension formula:

(Suspension formula keeps added ingredients suspended throughout the bar of soap instead of letting the ingredients settle to the bottom. I chose a goat milk based soap.)

...and in the regular, clear glycerin  formula. Both are available at craft stores.

I'm 'flavoring' this batch of soap with oatmeal, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Yes, that's instant oatmeal! The vanilla is an essential oil that I picked up at the craft store.  

You can easily create your own custom blended flavor. I thought honey and ginger would be nice. Or lavender vanilla. I love the scent of patchouli, which is available as an essential oil. You're only limited by your imagination!

The craft stores sell molds for making soap. As I was standing in Michael's craft store with the $5 round soap mold in my hand, I suddenly recognized the shape. The bottom of yogurt cups! The molds looked almost the same as the bottom of the cups of Greek yogurt I love to eat!

Instead of spending the $5 on the mold, I saved the cups from my daily yogurt (washed out, of course!).

Making the soap couldn't be easier!  Cut the brick of soap base into squares and drop them into a microwave-safe container. I started with the goat milk suspension soap base for my first layer.

After about a minute and a half in the microwave, the soap was melted.

Now is the time to add your custom ingredients. I stirred in some of the brown sugar oatmeal and about a dozen drops of the vanilla essential oil, then poured the liquid into the yogurt cups.  Using the suspension formula soap base keeps the oatmeal from settling to the bottom.  

I filled the yogurt cups about 3/4 of an inch deep for this layer.

This first layer needs to cool and harden before I pour in the second layer. It only takes about 30 minutes to cool.

For the second layer of soap, I melted the regular, clear glycerin soap base and flavored it with a little cinnamon and some of the vanilla essential oil. 

There are air bubbles in the liquid soap and they rise to the surface. 

The soaps look prettier if there aren't any air bubbles. I did a little internet research and found that a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol is all you need. 

Spritz the surface of the liquid soap with a little rubbing alcohol and the bubbles (almost all) disappear.

My internet research on air bubbles in soap also taught me that soap layers will stick together better if you spritz the first layer with a little of the rubbing alcohol before adding the next layer. 

Here are my yogurt cups with the soaps. 

I let them cool for a few hours, then popped the soaps out.

I might be biased, but I think they look pretty and not at all like homemade soaps from yogurt cups!

In this photo, you can see both layers clearly.

 I test drove the soap myself and I love it! Lovely scent and beautiful lather. It didn't dry out my sensitive skin, either.

Isn't this amazingly easy?  Try it yourself and see! If you do, please let me know how it goes and what flavorings you choose.