My Homemade Soap Addiction - a review

So I have an addiction...to boutique, homemade soaps. I just love them. I love that they look like slices of fudge and smell so earthy and rick. I love their papery labels that look shabby chic or rustic. I love using them and making the whole shower smell like an enchanted wood.
My friends know this about me and most of them have similar addictions. My sister-at-heart Bizzy bought me and my son a stack of soaps from her local farmer's market not long before my pumpkin was born.

Tea and Soap Emporium, previously known as Four Sisters Farm, out of Kentucky makes lovely soap. I have tried their Lavender and their Citrus Mint. The latter of the two is sitting on my soap dish now and hints of it are still in the air in the bathroom.

When I first got a whiff of Citrus Mint, I thought it smelled masculine. I later decided that it wasn't so much that it smelled manly, it simply was without the floral or sweet-as-candy notes that so many essential oil soaps have. My husband likes to use it anyways. It is one of my favorites and rivals Basil-Mint as one of my favorite mint scent pairings for perfumes, soaps, and candles.

The lavender is for the baby, I remind myself as I lathered up with it during my retreat into the shower (my only time alone these days). The scent is floral and sweet but light. Tea and Soap Emporium explains the lightness:
"This isn't your grandmothers Lavender. We import our Lavender Essential Oil from a special province in Italy. We searched long and far till we found a essential oil that not only lives up to our quality standards, but doesn't have too much of the musty notes that some Lavender Essential oils deliver."
The result? I feel clean without being perfumed. My mother in law doesn't like the smell of lavender but had no complaints about this scent as she helped me bathe my son. She said he smelled fresh as a daisy.

When I went looking for the shop online I was impressed to find they they carry all sorts of items other than crafty, yummy-smelling soaps. The shop sports a Soap of the Month Club as well as a World Tea Club that is open to all "Wether You live local or far away from the Bluegrass." I will also admit I'm eye-balling their men's line of beard oils for my husband's No-Shave November beard and year-round mustache and goatee.

I also love their site head-note
"Thank you for supporting a small-family owned business."

*I was not paid for this review nor do I have any affiliation with this company. 

I'm Going to Be Published (Updates)

Some updates on 3 Books that will be published soon that will contain my writing!

Update from Serenity Grows
We are nearly finished! The final edits have been made before I send it off for reviews. The cover is completed (my goodness it's gorgeous and I can't wait to share it with you!). What reviews we do have are AMAZINGLY wonderful. Although this is coming along smoothly, the pre-order and launch date has been kicked back a few weeks. Just know, this launch is going to be SO BIG!!!
(You can read my initial announcement regarding my piece being published in this project Here)

Njord Devotional
I recently wrote a piece about the Norse God Njord. My piece focused on his instruction on making a fishing talisman as well as a look into his work as a fertility god (an aspect not much discussed in lore or by other pagans).
I also included a yummy offering recipe of Salmon Chowder since salmon are abundant here in Alaska and a favorite fish of mine.
These pieces were accepted and I'm looking forward to future news about this piece. For now you can read about the project through the link above and how all proceeds will be going to The Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association

Every Day Magic: a Pagan Book of Days
A community project to be published by Moon Books
I submitted 5 pieces for this book of days. I'm very happy with being part of this project. Each piece was surprisingly difficult to write as they can only be 80 words long.
2 of my pieces are prayers to Frigga, Goddess of the Hearth and Marriage as well as Queen of Asgard. The prayers focus on children and marriage.
1 piece is on the benefits of birch waters and 2 others are about fiber arts.
I was accepted recently and haven't heard much yet about the other side of the publishing when it comes to this project. I do know that the acceptance dates were pushed back so the schedule for this work might be in the process of being reworked.

I am very excited to have my writing out there and look forward to working on future projects.

D

Body Autonomy, Public Breastfeeding, and Hair Covering

 This post contains some images that contain nudity and controversial subject matter. These images are not meant to offend, only to spur thoughtful conversation.

Body Autonomy is a term I've been using a lot lately in public discussions on Facebook and in various forums. This term means that a person has the right to reveal or cover what they see fit, the right to do to their body as they like, etc. In particular to the current conversations, this term means that a woman should have the right to comfortably cover or not cover as she sees fit and should not be pressured, oppressed, subjugated, discriminated against, etc when it comes to what she wears or doesn't wear.

Public Breastfeeding

The Dreaded Nipple!
The argument here is, of course, why is it men can easily walk around without a shirt on and not be told to cover their nipples but heaven forbid a woman reveal a nipple! This could cause someone to go into a sexual fury ala viking berserker and rampage a local Victoria Secret.
Commentary about public breastfeeding has included men threatening to grab the exposed breast and even one man threatening to pull out his penis and masturbate while comparing expelling breast milk to ejaculation. Milder cases of discrimination against breastfeeding, which is legal to do wherever the woman and her child are able to be at in most states, include being asked to leave a public pool (by men with their nipples exposed), being told to nurse in public restrooms, and having photos of them and their child taken and posted publicly without permission.

The fact is, this much fear and hatred and stigma about an inch or two of skin that is being used to feed a baby is ridiculous. In my personal experience, most people tend to be worried about their young sons seeing my breast while I nurse. My response? Teach your sons not to sexualize the feeding of a child, women who are not engaged in sexual activity, and to mind their own business.

Don't/Cover Your Hair!

Recently, media has exploded with the controversy of France and Germany banning burkinis at beaches and rumors of further bans of traditional head covers to "protect secularsm." I could rant all day about how upset I am about this whole issue as a woman, a pagan, and as someone who has recently started hair covering for personal and devotional reasons.

I wanted to share this article from Kim Hjelgaard on USA Today and how it notes the different aspects of this issue and clears up a lot of questions I had.

I cannot imagine 4 armed police officers stopping me while enjoying a day our with my child and telling me I had to take clothes off because covering my body was endangering secularism. The very thought makes me nauseous and my blood boils.

When I saw this conversation on a friends feed on Facebook, I was surprised by the responses on liberal feminist women. I think I expected women who promote feminist rights and causes to desire to protect a woman's right to cover. Alas I was met with the following conversation:

(to the first image posted in this blog)
Karen: Bullshit pretty sure no woman in the world is forced to be nude subjugation plain and simple stop making excuses and men can shut it because they will never be forced to wear the viel.
Lee: I lived as a woman for the first 25 years of my life, and have first hand experience with being objectivefied and judged under the male gaze. That is the voice I speak from, not as a "man," but as someone who has walked as a woman.
During that time, I did have experiences of being shamed by men for wearing too much at the beach. I do know women of various faith backgrounds find wearing clothing that is covering to be empowering, and am sharing from that perspective.
...
Zira: I disagree completely. I don't think there is anything empowering about a patriarchal religion that demands that women behave differently from men. That is oppression, plain and simple. That is not an opinion, that is a fact. Women who think their religiously demanded (and male imposed) clothing choices are empowering, are sadly brainwashed.
Me: The thing is, many women choose to cover not because of a patriarchal religion. I have recently taken on hair covering as a Northern Tradition Pagan because of my devotion to Frigga who has encouraged this.
Not all women who cover are oppressed which is something I dont think a lot of people consider.
Zira: December Fields-Bryant I understand the extremely rare situation in which a head covering is requested via religion and is not oppressive, but Islamic head/body coverings do not fall into that category. And no many women do not "choose" to cover for other reasons than patriarchal demands. a very very few women choose for those other reasons, but that's not what we're talking about. Of course, forcing a woman out of her burkini is a terrible, terrible thing to do and I don't support that at all. I just refuse to call wearing those kinds of clothes a "choice" when it is a demand in which the refusal to comply is often a harsh beating, permanent disfigurement or death.
Me: Its hard to be understanding to your statement here when you said it is a "fact" that women who cover are oppressed and make no differentiation between women who choose to wrap and women who are mandated.
We are talking about body autonomy here - that is what the above image is about.
Women who are mandated to cover are not going to feel comfortable just throwing off the clothes they've worn since childhood because another group says they should and tells them they are brainwashed.
Women and Men both need to honor body autonomy no matter what it looks like. That is the conversation we are having here.
Then Shelly shared this lovely image quote:

Final Note:

I understand the desire to liberate women from oppressive religions and societies, however, what we are seeing here is not philanthropy it is only fear and ignorance. 

I understand the desire to make sure our children are not exposed to sex too early but breastfeeding a baby is not sex, its feeding. The fact that people confuse the two is more troubling to me than seeing someone nude.

More on Body Autonomy:

The Rape of the Lock - a Druid Priestess' hair is cut without consent while she sleeps at a Druid festival.

Delights from Handcrafted Honeybee

A little over a week ago I entered a contest on Twitter to guess how many lip balms were in a bucket on a picture shared by Handcrafted Honeybee on the INDIEbusiness feed.

A couple of days ago I received my prize in the mail.
A tube of Handcrafted Honeybee lipbalm and a sample of their probiotic deodorant!

The seratonin honey lipbalm had very little scent and flavor - mostly just the hint of beeswax. I ended up giving it to my husband to wear while at work (he works currently on a boat in the sun and his lips were getting badly chapped). This is a great balm for someone who doesn't want to wear anything with tint or too flavored. Only a little goes a long way as it tends to get too slick if too much is applied. I only put it on once in the morning and my lips felt soft all day. My husband now has soft, kissable lips!

The deodorant, because it is scented, I was a little wary of. I probably would have felt better if it had been their unscented, sensitive skin version as I do have allergies to some fragrance ingredients. That being said, I did test it on my arm and when nothing happened, I applied. After 2 days of wear I feel it is a good product that is very effective in eliminating body odor.
The coconut mango fragrance is sweet smelling and strong. It would be great for wearing when active like when I spend time in the garden or out walking in the heat. I usually prefer a lighter, less sweet scent but it wasn't off-putting.

I was curious about probiotics in deodorant as this was a new concept to me. I did my research and found that many companies are coming out with probiotic deodorants and deodorant bases for those DIYers out there.
David Wolfe explains the matter:
"Deodorants work primarily by killing the odor-causing bacterial in your armpits, but by doing so they often kill good bacterial also. In addition to killing off the good bacteria, they leach chemicals into the body through the skin and lymphatic system.
'Many natural deodorant recipes harness the natural anti-bacterial properties of essential oils, healing powers of coconut oil, and odor eliminating properties of baking soda...Natural deodorants provide the same odor protection while protecting your body from chemical overexposure."

*This quick review was on products I was given for free through a contest. I was not given the products for review nor was I paid for the review. None of the links provided are affiliated. 

First Harvest in Alaska

August for many Pagans and Earth-Lovers in the Northern Hemisphere means the beginning of the harvest season. Fall is in the air and, in the words of House Stark, Winter is Coming. This is especially true for homesteaders in Alaska, even amateur ones like my family. Any desire to put away a gardened or foraged harvest starts in earnest now as the birch and cottonwood trees start turning golden and the rain begins to pour.

Blueberry Picking

We went blueberry picking as soon as we got word from fellow pickers that they were ripe. Like many Alaskans near Anchorage, we went north to Hatcher's Pass (an area that is also frequented for its great hiking and moose and bear hunting). Where the tree-line ends, we find fields of blueberries intermingled with lingon berries and crow berries. These can be hand picked or scooped up with a berry rake.

We picked about 3 gallons and intend to go back before the season ends, following the berries as they ripen from the bottom to the top of the mountain. All of these berries went into the freezer for future baked goods. We only just depleted our harvest from last year (I couldn't go then as I was literally waddling with my pregnant belly and hiking for berries was not going to happen).

Berry picking also means reading a couple of fun picture books to our little boy:
Blueberry Shoe: a story about a little boy picking blueberries in Alaska who loses his shoe and, upon finding it, sees the work of many native animals.
Jamberry: a popular children's book and one I believe my husband and I know by heart as we quoted it all through the picking and cleaning process. "One berry, two berry, pick me a blueberry."
(links are to Goodreads and are not affiliated)

Salmon Run

Hunting season is opening but the salmon are also running, making it difficult for people like my husband to decide if they want to take time to go dip-netting to fill a freezer with salmon fillets or if they want to go grab the first moose of the season. Either way, meat for the freezer is always good. Salmon is a particularly loved fish in our home (my personal favorite) and this year is even more in demand as salmon is a great source of Omega 3's for our growing baby boy's brain - he loves salmon too!
Hubs has already gone fishing once but plans for a second trip as his catch wasn't as large as desired. I'm happy as a clam with the prospect of plenty of fish in the freeze.

Cherry Preserves

Our surprise harvest this year came in the form of a nearby gardener posting on a local buy-sell-trade page that he was selling his cherries, you-pick, for $4 a gallon. We jumped on it and after 2 visits had 5 gallons of sour cherries to freeze for future baked goods and to make into preserves.

Cherry Preserves Recipe

For those wonder - jelly is made from juice, jam from fruit and both jelly and jam are known as preserves. We made cherry jam:

• 4 cups Cherry fruit (we pitted our fruit by smashing it through a sieve that had holes big enough to allow fruit bits and juice through but not the pit)
• 1 box Pectin (we used Sure-Jell)
• 5 cups Sugar (there are sugar free recipes out there if you prefer)
• sterilized Mason jars

1. Pour fruit into a saucepan and bring to a boil. 
2. Add sugar and bring to a boil again, stirring. 
3. Let boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. 
4. Remove from heat. The recipe says to skim off foam and when I asked my mom-in-law about this she said its mostly for appearance. I did it, not sure if makes a difference though. 
5. Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to the rim (the part just under the screw top) or 1/4 inch from the top. 
6. Add the lids and screw on tightly. 
7. Place jars in your canner on a rack, making sure the water covers the jars about an inch or so. 
8. Cover and bring to a boil. 
9. Process 10 min then (carefully) remove jars and place on a towel to cool off. This is the part when the popping occurs. We usually leave them for some time, overnight a lot. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. If it didn't seal properly, I'm told you can reseal it with the canner or you can just use that jar of jelly first and put it in the fridge. 

Preparation for Fall

With fruit and fish in the freezer, we are looking at our garden and green house now. My pumpkins are steadily growing and I am working hard to harvest and dry my herbs - my chamomile is making me harvest nearly every other day and the mint and sage...I could harvest daily and not deplete at this point. Hoping to have a good batch of dried herbs, tinctures, and oils before we close up the green house for the coldest part of the year. More of nature's bounty to come.

Well Read Pagan Challenge

When was the last time you read a book on Paganism or Wicca? Have those books that got you into Paganism and Witchcraft in the first place gathered a layer of dust? If someone questioned you on the basics would you be able to answer their questions? Have you always wanted to go back and reread your favorite how to books on magic? Or maybe you've been wanting to read some advanced books to further your studies?

I just joined the Well Read Pagan Reading Challenge. I'm pretty excited to be doing this and sharing it with you all as it encourages me to get back to reading. As a new mom, I admit I've hardly opened a book since Pumpkin was born and of those maybe 2 I've finished. I am very much looking forward to sharing some old favorites and maybe some new with you all.

Books that are on my shelf now that I intend to read for the challenge include:
Patricia Telesco's Kitchen Witch Cookbook
Witchy Crafts by Lexi Olick
The Magdalene Version
The Magical Power of the Saints
Northumbrian Faerie Magic
Pagan Polyamory by Raven Kaldera
and some fairy tales and Mother Goose (I'll explain later)

I am not sticking just to physical books. Since Pumpkin has a love of destroying and attempting to eat all things paper, I am happily perusing ebooks to read while nursing or pretending not to watch him inspect the latest toy that used to be a coffee canister or lightbulb box.

Join me and use the hashtag #WellReadPagan on Twitter.

Lammas Beer Bread

Blessed Lammas for those of you who celebrate!

I have been a little busy around the Terrestrials home base lately but I know I had to post a bread recipe for Loaf-mass! So, for others out there who are just as busy, this is a SUPER EASY bread to make and even people who are "bad at baking" can pull this one off!

I got this recipe from watching Sara's Weeknight Meals on Create TV. I was relaxing with a nursing Pumpkin and watching tv with my husband's grandmother when the recipe was shown and it was one of those "I gotta try that!!!"
Plus, my mother in law had just bought a breadbasket and what better way to christen the piece than to put some bread in it! Right?

Beer Bread Recipe

from Sara's Weeknght Meals
Makes 4 Servings
Hands-On Time: 10 Minutes
Total Preparation Time: 30 to 35 Minutes

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• One 12-ounce bottle good-quality beer

For my beer choice I used Monk's Mistress special dark ale by Midnight Sun Brewing Company. The company best describes the beer: "intense flavors inspired the concept of a monk that seeks solace and satisfaction from the sensory pleasure and mind-provoking effects of this liquid temptress." 

I tasted it and thought it might taste good in bread because of its heavy, yeasty flavor.

1. Place an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the butter in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish or pan and set it in the oven while the oven is preheating.
2. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the beer until it is just incorporated. (The dough will be sticky and heavy.)
3. Pour 6 tablespoons melted butter out of the pan into a cup; tilt the pan to coat the bottom and sides with the remaining butter. Spoon the bread dough into the pan and spread evenly; drizzle the 6 tablespoons melted butter over the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the bumpy top is golden brown.
4. Remove the bread from the oven to a cooling rack; cut the bread into rectangles and serve warm.

My bread came out a lil bit crumbly and didn't stand up to being cut so much as broken apart. Also, the beer taste was strong and while I enjoyed it, some family members thought it was too strong and would prefer a lighter beer used next time. That being said, it was delicious and would be particularly tasty with bbq, chili, and other savory, spicy meals. 

Note: no alcohol is left in the bread after baking so feel free to serve to your wee ones with adventurous pallets. 

Midnight Sun Brewing Company is a local company that brews craft beers, serves some tasty fare, and gives to charities. I'm a particular sucker for their artwork on their bottles as well as their distinct flavors. 

*I was not paid for posting this recipe or recommending this beer. This recipe is not mine, I just enjoyed making it. 

I hope everyone enjoys and is inspired to bake some easy bread this Lammas season.