The stories it could tell….
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Goat’s Milk Soap – One of My Favorite Things
A few years ago, our oldest son gifted us with soap – and not just any soap – the world’s best soap. I know what you’re thinking…. Soap? Really? And I’ll admit it, I wasn’t overly excited. After all, it was soap.
A little backstory – my skin is dry. Like crazy dry. Ashy. Itchy. Miserable.
I was careful choosing soaps and bodywashes. I think I tried every lotion known to mankind. Hydrating, extra hydrating, soothing, un-fragranced… You get the picture. Nothing worked. Some products offered a little relief. Most did not.
And then there was the gifted soap. Oatmeal Stout for me and Sandalwood for Hubs. One shower and I noticed the difference. After a week, I was hooked. My skin was so much better.
Everyone has things they have to have – their guilty pleasures if you will. Soap from the Spirit Goat is mine. I live two thousand miles away from the shop so I have to order a couple times a year. And honestly, shipping is so much less hassle than having TSA (at SLC International airport) check my carry on because all of those bars of soap look suspicious!
If you find yourself in Logan, make sure to stop by the store. It’s cute and the employees are always friendly.
Hamburger Rocks
During my social media hiatus, I filled my time doing many of the things that I never had time to do. To say I was amazed at the amount of time I had wasted is an understatement. One of the things I accomplished was learning how to make hamburger rocks.
I don’t consider myself a hardcore prepper, more like a person who wants to be prepared – much like the ant from Aesop’s Fables – The Ant and the Grasshopper. For those who don’t know, hamburger rocks is nothing more than dehydrated ground beef.
In May of 2021, I made my first batch of hamburger rocks. The process was easy.
- Brown lean ground beef and drain off excess grease.
- Put the cooked meat in a colander and rinse with hot water. This step can’t be stressed enough. Rinse and rinse some more. It’s really important to remove all the grease as the grease will become rancid if not properly removed.
- Once the meat is rinsed, some folks put it back in the pan and heat it to remove the excess water. I chose to dump the meat on several paper towels and sort of patted/squeezed the hamburger dry.
- Next, I lined the dehydrator trays with parchment paper and spread the hamburger, making sure the meat wasn’t clumped. (I put one pound of cooked meat on each tray.)
- Dehydrate 8-12 hours (time varies depending on the dehydrator). My dehydrator is pretty basic. There’s no temperature gauge – just on and off – and I was pleased with how well it performed.
- Once the hamburger is dehydrated (and you’ll know if done when it looks like little brown pebbles) put in clean jars along with an oxygen absorber pack and BAM! – Hamburger Rocks!
This method will allow you to store the hamburger for 2 years although I have read that others have stored it for a longer period of time.
To rehydrate – cover rocks with hot water for 10-12 minutes.
So – today (Feb. 28, 2022), I decided to see how the hamburger held up. I rehydrated the meat and tasted it. Honestly, it tasted like unseasoned hamburger. I made spaghetti sauce with mine. It was delicious.
For all my fellow ants – Hamburger Rocks are worth the effort.
Living Her Best Life
Back in 2017, we adopted Nova. She had been at the animal shelter for a while. Long enough that the workers were concerned. (Apparently, black dogs have a harder time getting adopted.) She’s one of the best decisions we ever made.
Had a hard day at work? Nova is there to welcome us home. Some days, she literally howls with joy. Every day, she shows off – running from the dining room table, around the coffee table and back – repeatedly – while we cheer her on because she’s so fast!!! (Not really but she likes for us to tell her she’s the fastest! )
She always has time to love on us and to be loved on. She’s sweet and an absolute attention whore. 😉
Some days, I’m sure we rescued her. Other days, I wonder if she didn’t rescue us.
Today isn’t one of those days. My husband let Nova run around in the back yard. Unfortunately, there’s some feral cats in our neighborhood that occasionally use our yard as their liter box. Nova found the poop… and rolled in it…and my goodness – she stinks!
And I can’t put off bathing her smelly self any longer!
Living a Better Life
Some time ago, I came to the realization that over the past few years, my life had become a series of “one day I woulds…”
One day I would exercise and stick to it…
One day I would lose weight…
One day I would go white water rafting…
One day…
I took an extended break from social media – got rid of Twitter, Instagram, and signed out of Facebook for several months. It was liberating. I rediscovered reading. I cooked fresh flounder over a campfire and I hiked in the Adirondacks. I taught myself how to make sourdough bread.
I’ve committed myself to living in such a way that when I’m old, I won’t look back with regret.
My better life is a journey not a destination. It’s about the things I learn and do along the way.
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