Christmas 2014

[Relle]

25 weeks ho ho ho

 

[Hazel]

Cute pic!

I really have got to get motivated and make more batches. Luckily, this is a 3 day weekend for me so I've got time to make some soap.

 

[Relle]

Aren't you lucky getting a 3 day weekend. Going by the hats I think the pic is from an Aldi ad that aired here at Christmas.

 

[Ruthie]

Just got my Christmas f.o.s from BB this week. So far have tried the one that wasn't Christmas. But it was a B&B take-off of a product I got for Christmas one year. Yummy! Spearmint and Eucalyptus!

More fun to come over the next few days!

 

[Hazel]

Spearmint and Eucalyptus sounds good! NDA is having a sale where you can get an additional 5% off (code 68225). Every little bit helps so I might order some spearmint since it's been on my wish list for a long time. But I'll have to compare prices to see if it's the better deal.

@ Relle -

Yep! Lucky, lucky, lucky. Thanks to the colonists who decided to throw off the yoke of British tyranny and throw the tea into the harbor. Disclaimer: I hope I didn't offend any of our British members. No hard feelings, all right? I even have tea bags in the freezer. If you come to visit, I'll bake cookies, make you a cup of tea and promise not to throw you in the harbor. (You'd be safe because I don't even live near a harbor.)

Although, there are some lovely lakes near where I live so if you do want to go swimming, I'd be happy to drive. We could have a picnic! :grin:

Relle, you still have an open invitation for Labor Day. Remember - all the funnel cakes you can eat.

 

[Relle]

I'd better get rowing then and why tea bags in the freezer ?

 

[Hazel]

why tea bags in the freezer ?

Because I'm weird.

Actually, I was told years and years ago to keep tea and coffee cold in frig or in freezer to keep them fresh. I can remember seeing a glass jars of coffee in my grandmother's and great-aunts refrigerators. However, they didn't buy packaged coffee grounds but ground the beans. My mother used to store coffee in the freezer to keep it fresh.

So, when I started to drink coffee, I bought beans and ground them. I was actually a bit of a coffee snob. I used to go to a store which carried bulk coffee bean and related paraphernalia to buy beans. They also had coffee brewed so you could test the different types. I'd buy small amount of different types of beans and created my own blends. Then I stored the blends in glass jars in the frig. I also used a percolator for increased flavor. You can tell I love coffee.

I used to think it would be fun to own a coffee shop but I never thought it would have much of a future. What an ***** I was. Who knew coffee shops would become a multi-billion dollar industry? Oh, yeah...right...Howard Shultz.

I got a little off topic. Anyway, putting tea and coffee in the frig became a habit if I didn't plan on using them very soon. Now, we go through a coffee can so quickly that I don't store the container in the frig. But I don't use tea very often so it's kept in the freezer. Truthfully, I only use tea for soap.

 

[Relle]

24 weeks to go, well under half way.

Christmas in Oz.

 

[Ruthie]

Have Spearmint and Eucalyptus made, as well as Cinnamon Sugar, First Snow, and Hollyberry. One batch of each.

I thought I'd try an experiment with the Cinnamon Sugar. Since it turns a fairly dark brown, I thought I'd do kind of a reverse-swirl. I took out some batter before scenting, so it would not turn brown. Then tried an in the pot swirl. The top looked pretty fair, except that I ran out of batter left over in the cup. So one end had fair swirls, the other not so much. But the inside just looks like I did not stir it completely. Just some light blobs. I may try again, but keep more out to swirl, and probably add some TD to the unscented.

 

[SoapyQueenBee]

Ruthie, how does the First Snow behave? I love it, oob, but haven't tried it yet.
I used BB's Christmas Forest yesterday, with Cranberry Fig, and it's quite overpowering. I need to play with ratios, next shipment.

 

[Hazel]

Ruthie - I remembered to order Spearmint! I'm sooo proud of myself. :grin:

@ Relle - Only 24 weeks! Believe it or not, women at work were talking about how many weekends until Christmas. Sounds like the pressure is on.

 

[Ruthie]

Ruthie, how does the First Snow behave? I love it, oob, but haven't tried it yet.
I used BB's Christmas Forest yesterday, with Cranberry Fig, and it's quite overpowering. I need to play with ratios, next shipment.

It behaves well. It does brown up a little, so it does not look like snow. Disappointed about that part. But it smells divine, IMO. I did add some TD to try to keep it white, but was afraid of using too much.

 

[Relle]

23 weeks to go.

 

[Hazel]

Awww, that's so cute. I've decided I'm not going to panic. Nope! Not going to panic.

 

[new12soap]

No problem, I will panic enough for both us!

(Adorable pics tho, you do that just to lure me back in, don't you?)

 

[Pepsi Girl]

Do you know that the Hallmark channel is already showing Christmas movies, at least that's what my Mother told me? That's just nuts!:crazy:

 

[Nevada]

Cedarwood & lemongrass Soleseife

Cedarwood & Lemongrass Soleseife

 

[kmarvel]

Awesome!!

 

[Relle]

22 - double 2 - BINGO - sorry couldn't resist. Past the point of no return.


Christmas Island (off the Australian coast) crabs - very festive - all you can eat :smile:, except they're not edible .

 

[Hazel]

Whoa! That's a lot of crabs. Why aren't they edible?