other concoctions

Here is the Limoncello and the Tequila lime infusion I'm starting. The tequila smells fantastic already. I think for the next batch I'm going to add some jalapeno or habenreo peppers to it.

I have been dying for a White Russian, but the carb content of Kahlua is more than I can handle so I thought I'd try to make my own sugar-free coffee liquor. I think it is pretty good. There is a bit of fake sugar aftertaste to it but it is not pronounced and besides that I'm used to that flavor by now. I hope you enjoy this.
First make cold brewed coffee. I used 12 oz coffee( starbucks italian roast) to 8 cups cold water. Mix let steep over night strain well. this is coffee concentrate.

THEN:
10oz Everclear or 190 proof grain/clear aclohol
12oz cold brewed coffee concentrate
1/2 T no sugar vanilla extract
10 Drop scuralose= approx 1/2 cup Splenda. I use Sweetzfree liquid sucralose.
Mix together.
This makes a 80 proof beverage or 40% alcohol
Regular Kahlua is 40 proof so BE CAREFUL!!!!
you can dilute it down to 40 % by adding water

If you use liquid sucralose the carb count will be almost nothing. If you use splenda I would count it at .5 per 2 oz serving just to be safe, though I think it is lower than that. Most recipes use 1 oz of 40 proof Kahlua.

I made it at 80 proof to keep the preservation issue intact. I was afraid that at 20% alcohol the toddy would go off intime.

I think next time I would try 6 drops sweetener and then let a person sweeten their drink as they wish. You can substitute other sweeteners if you wish, just adjust the amount carefully.

More Soap

Well it's time to start ramping up production for the holiday season. From the left top we have Orange Patchouli, Spearmint Patchouli, Saving Face (lemon tea tree) 4 Virgins & a Hussy, Dead Sea Mud. Below we find Stout Man (bay rum) Rose Sandalwood and some overflow and sample sizes of the above soaps. I have had a blast this past week making these soaps. Now I just have to find a place to store them!

Day 7

Well I think the tatt is all healed up. no more peeling and the itching has calmed down quite a bit. I'm not altogether pleased with the uneven coloring of the fill, but whatchagonna do? I think it is only visible up close anyway. FaerieMade's balm is da bomb. I think it has really helped with the quick healing of the tatt.

Day 6

the secondary peeling has begun and the itching is maddening. The ink on the fill looks a tad uneven to me but I need to give it another week before I judge.

Day 5 redux

day 5's healing. all the first layer has peeled off. Now it just itches like mad and is dry.

Day 5

It itches!

Here is today's tattoo pix. Most of the surface skin has fallen off and it has begun to itch. It is hard not to scratch it. I've been using calendula oil on it but now I have a great balm by my friend who owns FaerieMade Soaps. It is in a lip balm tube so it is very easy to apply and carry around. So far the healing is looking pretty good.

New Tattoo

This is the evolution of my latest tattoo. For some reason the first pix is on the bottom and the 3rd day pix is on top. I've been very good about not picking at it and have been slathering it very lightly with calendula oil for the past 2.5 days. I just received my tattoo balm from FaerieMade and will use it from now on. My oil would have probably worked just fine but the balm is in a lip balm tube and is much easier to carry around. I'll post pix over the next few days to show how it heals up.

My chickens are dead.

I lost 2 birds about a month ago to natural causes, one died right in front of my eyes then the next day we found the other dead in the coop. The remaining 3 seemed happy enough and I was enjoying them tremendously. They were the 3 friendliest, most social of my birds. Well, we had a horriffic storm on Thurday and the backyard fence door must have blown in. Things were fine when I got up at 6 but later in the morning some feral dogs got into the yard then got into the coop and killed my 3 remaining birds. I am devastated.

How I make hot process soap, take 2

Finally, I got it to work!

how I make Hot process soap

This is a chocolate Stout soap I made and scented with Lime & Black Peppercorn EO's. I made a light box to photograph my soaps in a more pleasing manner, ie. no crap on my desk with the soaps.
I'm also trying to post a video of how I make soap using the hot process method. It seems that video posting is a FAIL.