Book Review: Shadow Baby by Alison McGhee

 Finished August 4, 2020

Book 11 of 20

Shadow Baby by Alison McGhee
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I'm leaving this one unfinished, about halfway through. A boring repetitive story told from the perspective of an 11 year old that the author tried to make sound smart and precocious, but it fell extremely flat. The story meanders between the girl's imaginative stories (which are not interesting or add meaning to the story), current events (also not interesting), and her own more recent memories (which surprisingly are more interesting). Peeking ahead it seems the book may become more interesting, I just can't get there.

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Summary (from the hardcover edition): Clara first spies him through the crack in the stained-glass window of her church, lighting a string of handmade lanterns in the Adirondack woods. A lone old man, Georg Kominsky moves stealthily among the shadow world of his hanging, glittering creations.

In Alison McGhee's stunning novel Shadow Baby, eleven-year-old Clara is struggling to find the truth about her missing father and grandfather and her twin sister, dead at birth, but her mother steadfastly refuses to talk about these people who are lost to her daughter. When Clara begins interviewing Georg Kominsky for a school biography assignment, she finds that he is equally reticent about his own concealed history. Precocious and imaginative, the girl invents version upon version of Mr. Kominsky's past, just as she invents lives for the people missing from her own shadowy past.

The journey of discovery that these two oddly matched people embark upon is at the heart of this beautiful story about friendship and communion, about discovering what matters most in life, and about the search to find the missing pieces of ourselves. McGhee's prose glistens with shrewd truth and wild imaginings, creating a fine novel that will reverberate in the hearts and minds of readers long after the book is finished.

Recipe of the Week: Batata Harra

 I was looking for something different to do with potatoes, and this recipe satisfied my need for flavor. The only thing I will do different is cut my potatoes smaller.

Batata Harra

6 medium-sized potatoes (original recipe said peeled, but I didn't)

1 cup water

3 TBSP olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp coriander seeds (1 tsp ground)

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 tsp ground turmeric

1 lime, juiced

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (I used 1 tbsp dried)

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I used 1 tbsp dried)

1 cup fresh dill, chopped (I used 1/2 tbsp dried)

Salt & Pepper

Quarter and boil potatoes. I used my instant pot, placing my potatoes in the pot, covering with 1 cup water, sprinkled with a good bit of salt (1tsp or a bit more), and using the rice setting to cook.

Cool potatoes. This would be a good time to cut into smaller bite sized potatoes.

Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and coriander seeds. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in lime juice and turmeric. Toss in the potatoes and stir gently to coat potatoes. Add 1/2 of the cilantro, parsley and dill. Cook for 4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat and top with more red pepper flakes, and the remainder of the cilantro, parsley and dill.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

This was delicious served with hamburgers. I would also enjoy this with a nice egg, toast and bacon breakfast.

Book Edition: July Review and August Goals

I had an overwhelming urge to recap my book reading for the last four years, and then sanity prevailed. You're welcome. I'm just going to jump right in where I'm at. We can fill in blanks later.

July Review

I'm still continuing my way through The History of the Standard Oil Company by Ida Tarbell. This was supposed to be a read-along with my friend Katie, but she dropped off the face of the earth, and being mildly intrigued, I'm still continuing the Seven Pages a Day Plan... kind of. I have a goal to read 7 pages at least 15 days of the month. I may never finish this book. For July I read 10 of 15 days.

Other Reading Goal was to complete 2 books during the month. I finished 3 books:

Business Boutique by Christy Wright

On Folly Beach by Karen White

The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah Crane (ebook)

I also started Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen, for a book club that my friend Lindsey started. I had bought this book a few weeks before Lindsey announced her book club, after Christy Wright had the author on her podcast. I think this is a sign I needed to do this.

August Goals

15 days reading The History of the Standard Oil Company by Ida Tarbell

Finish 3 books.

Participate in Book Club.

I plan to post the single reviews for the books I read in July during the month of August. I'm struggling a bit to get back into blogger mode, hang with me. We'll get there.

Recipe of the Week: Pickled Onions

It was the last BIG THING we did before the world shut down. We met a group of friends at a small beer festival (the day after my birthday, bonus points for not having a birthday ruined by The Rona), enjoyed many many tasty brews, and then wandered off to a brewery to enjoy more brews and much needed food. You could maybe tell me that the street tacos I had that night weren't that great - maybe they weren't because looking back, the only thing I remember are the pickled onions. 

We fell in love that night and hadn't seen each other in months. Why? Because I was scared they would be hard to make. Or take too long. Or I would somehow screw it up, 'cuz I could do that.

Quarantine has made me a little less fearless. And then I looked up how to make pickled onions and felt absolutely ridunkulous. These are easy. And tasty. On everything. You need to make them.

I did double the garlic from the original recipe. Next time I'm going to find a wee small hot pepper to add for a bit more spice. I sterilize my jars and lids in the Instant Pot (1 cup water, steam setting, 5 minutes), and use the screw on plastic lids. I've had a bit better luck with keeping things fresh with these type lids. These are a bit salty when fresh, but mellow over a few days.

Pickled Onions

Makes 2 pint jars

Keeps for 3-4 weeks refrigerated

1 really big red onion

4 cloves garlic

6 TBSP white sugar

3 TBSP salt

1 tsp peppercorns

2 cups white vinegar

Thinly slice the red onion. Peel the garlic cloves, the best way I found to do this is to smash the garlic clove with the side of a wide knife blade. This will break open the garlic clove so that it slides right out of the peel. Bonus points because the smashing also helps infuse the garlic into the pickling better.

You can do this in a large glass bowl, but I've found it easier to just pack the pint jars equally with onion and garlic cloves. It's one less dish to deal with and one less chance of screwing it up because I could still do that.

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, salt, peppercorns, and vinegar, stirring without heat until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Place a lid on the pot, turn on the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, turn off the heat and allow the brine to sit for a minute. Remove pan lid and pour brine over onions and garlic in jars, making sure the onions in the jar are completely covered by the brine. Allow the jar contents to cool to room temperature before screwing on the lid.  Label lid with contents and date and store in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.

These are a divine addition to burgers, tacos, salads, and sandwiches.

And yes, thank you for asking, it is indeed the 3rd anniversary of The.Best.Day.Ever.

It's Been a Minute...

It has been 4 years, almost to the freaking day, since I last posted. Let's catch up!
My life looked something like this.

July 2016 through December 2016: Blah blah blah

January 2017: Boyfriend and I had "The Talk", I was ready to get married (FINALLY!)

February 2017: Boyfriend and I started house shopping, put an offer in on a house, and listed both of our houses for sale. Scary exciting stuff!



March 2017: Boyfriend officially upgraded his status to Husband To Be. Wedding planning commences.
Husband To Be and I both sold our houses.

May 2017: aka The Month of Madness. The sale of my house fell through.
I was in a car accident and totaled my car.
We moved into the new house with two mortgages.
Still not freaking out.

June 2017: Less than a week after moving into the new house... I left for China for two weeks.
The day after I returned home, my mom told me that my grandma has terminal cancer.

July 2017: Husband To Be upgraded to Husband. Freaked out a little and was 15 minutes late to my own damn wedding.

August 2017 through October 2017: Hubby and I won a 5 day trip to Jamaica!
Commencing mental breakdown while trying to figure out how to be a wife, step-mom, and grieving as my grandma dies.
She left us on Oct 31st.

November 2017 through July 2018: The Black Hole of Nothing. I was in a black hole of grief and depression. I was not a good wife, a good mother, or even a good human.
Somehow Husband stuck through it (actually he says it wasn't that bad) and we celebrated our first anniversary.
Oh, yeah, somewhere in here I made the bad decision to do Contract For Deed on my house.
We took a honeymoon to Jamaica.

August 2018 through July 2019: My cousin Jen lost her battle with cancer.
Husband adopted The Diva!
The situation with the Contract For Deed escalated and I finally said I was done. Officially listed the house for sale again. Moral of the story: don't do Contract For Deed. Ever. Bad Idea. Zero stars, not recommended.
Celebrated two years married.

August 2019 through July 2020: My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and had a double mastectomy and radiation.
Finally sold my house!
Bought a new-to-me car (that proceeded to break down only days after the warranty expired.)
The Spawn graduated high school early.
A whole bunch of other stuff happened and I had a mental breakdown.
Mom had to have a couple more surgeries for skin that wasn't healing and infections.
The world went into quarantine/stay-at-home/social distancing/online learning mode thanks to The Rona (Covid-19 virus) pandemic.
And here we are... days away from celebrating Year 3 of Marriage aka The Best Day Ever.

What a freaking ride!

So... what have you been doing?

Slowing Down

My summer has been flying at me at NASCAR speeds, when I'm really wanting a geriatric Sunday drive. I'm struggling to believe that July is almost gone. I'm not ready for August. I'm not.


So here's a list of things that I'm behind on:

• Reading
• House Projects
• Soap Porn
• Daily Audio Bible
• A Few Bills

On the plus side, I have accomplished the following:

• Working on the Yoga flow challenge. I don't have it down perfect (Upside down splits? Falling to bridge? Yikes!) but I have figured out a few modifications until I work up the courage/strength/flexibility to follow through.
• Hired a cleaning lady. She comes every other Wednesday to do my surfaces (counters, tables, floors, dusting) and bathrooms. She is awesome. If I can slow the rest of my life down, I should be able to use my "free" time to de-junk my house, organize my awesome, and maybe get a few of the things on the previous list done.
• Falling madly, completely, and happily in love. I let my anxiety and depression get to me, and at just about the point where everything was going to fall apart, I woke the frick up, got myself on some meds, and started dealing with stuff. It's been hard to let some of my past go, to accept that a love is no longer returned, and to fully embrace my life for the crazy, beautiful disaster that it is. And I fell in love with me again, and I fell in love with him too.
• I started a bullet journal. I'm still working out the kinks, figuring out what I need and what I don't, the realities of my time. It's also keeping me focused. Sometimes. I am a work in progress.

It's all left turns here, but I'm not coming last!
(see what I did there? NASCAR reference... it's ok, I'll wait for you to catch up...)

How Full Is Your Bucket

How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A generic read. Less than a month later I barely remember the premise, much less how to change my life.

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Night

Night by Elie Wiesel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoy reading about WWII - whether it's fiction or biography. This was a no different. A very well done translation, a moving true story.

Summary: Night is a work by Elie Wiesel about his experience with his father in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, at the height of the Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War. In just over 100 pages of sparse and fragmented narrative, Wiesel writes about the death of God and his own increasing disgust with humanity, reflected in the inversion of the father–child relationship as his father declines to a helpless state and Wiesel becomes his resentful teenage caregiver.

Monat Update

I'm over due posting this. Surprised anyone? As always a huge problem for me is that I want to write 100 page essays about EVERYTHING, and I get stuck in editing mode. Moving on...

I signed up for VIP, used up all the samples that my "new best friend" gave me. I wound up using my commercial conditioner once, otherwise I have been using only Monat since May 1.
Talk about feeling an instant difference. My hair wasn't shiny at all. It was soft, but in a crunchy way. And my scalp itched again.

So the regime is pretty simple for week one:
Apply Rejuvinique Oil to hair. Wait 20 minutes. Shampoo, rinse, repeat. Condition.
Repeat every other day.

And weeks two and three:
Apply Rejuvinique Oil to hair twice per week. Wait 20 minutes. Shampoo, rinse, repeat. Condition.
Wash and condition every other day.

And week four:
Apply Rejuvinique Oil to hair once per week. Wait 20 minutes. Shampoo, rinse, repeat. Condition.
Wash and condition every other day.

After week four:
Wash and condition as needed. Apply Rejuvinique Oil to hair once per week as needed.

So after using Monat for a month, a few things I've noticed:

• Hair looks and feels better
• Scalp is less itchy
• Hair can be a bit more tangled - seems to be more of an issue as residue buildup (from commercial products) began flaking off
• Some "frizzy" baby growth is beginning to appear

Mostly good things, or things that are a short term "unpleasantness" of the detox process. Overall, I'm still loving Monat!

Here's a few photos of my hair at week 2 and now after a complete month.

After week 2, before washing. (And no, I don't want to talk about my face.)

After a complete month, after washing, partially dry.

Upclose after week 2

Upclose after a full month, partially wet, but you can see the improved color.

Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Back in the 90's I saw a movie version of the short story, but had never read anything by Steinbeck. (I didn't take the smarty pants English Lit in High School.) I had a rough idea of what happened in the book, so the plot wasn't a surprise to me. What I really enjoyed was the vernacular and jargon used in the dialogue. Characterizations were well written and thoroughly worked out in the story. There was a rough, beautiful poetry in the descriptions. A beautiful short story of the hard choices we make when we love someone.

Summary: Of Mice and Men takes us into the lives of George and Lennie, two farm workers set out to find their way to a new life. In true Steinbeck form, this short novel explores both loyalty and the transient nature of mankind.

A Clash of Kings

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Despite the fact that it took me almost 3 months to read this book, I really enjoyed it. I wasn't sure what to expect from the second book in the GoT series. There was some recap, but not enough to be boring. There were some things left unexplained that required reading the first book, and they were really memorable events.

Many familiar characters were main players, as well as some new characters. Some days reading required note taking, just to be able to keep the shifting POV and storyline straight. This is a very intelligent writer, an intelligent story, and not for an idle mind to pick up and be entertained. This book becomes a history of characters that we feel for, we want to weep for, we cheer for, and even when the line between good and evil become blurry, we find ourselves in the story.

The second book becomes more graphic in violence, rape, and battles - I struggled with it a bit, but then realized it was realistic for what is happening in the story. This is a world under duress, where loyalty only lasts until the next "king" is crowned. This is a world torn by violence, confusion, and fear.

Summary: Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war.

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky—a comet the color of blood and flame—six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard's son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King's Landing. Robert's two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers.

Monat - Before

I have written before about my attempts to detox my hair. Kind of. I've tried lots of stuff, but haven't found anything that works. I mean, really works, so I haven't documented my failures either. I have an aunt that swears by baking soda washing and ACV rinsing, but... her hair is dull and frizzy. I also have some concern about using something that I exfoliate my face with on my hair. It makes as much sense as using sand paper as cleaning rag.


I've been slowly detoxing my "beauty" routine over the last five years and hair has been the most challenging. I mean, yeah getting my face to clear up hasn't been a cake walk (and let's not talk about deodorant), but at least there I saw improvement with (almost) everything I tried. [And yes, some day I will get around to documenting my skin care routine. I've tried a few times but, much like my India posts, I felt too much time passed to make it relevant.] My hair though... it's dull. And frizzy. Tangles five seconds after brushing. It doesn't cooperate with any kind of style. It just isn't pretty hair. As I've gotten older I've developed an itchy scalp, which is annoying. My final straw though, was looking at my daughter's beautiful mid-back length hair and seeing the same disaster.

This is the condition of my hair after one washing & conditioning using Monat.
It already looks better, but you can see how dull and damaged it is.

I was hopeful that Pangea Organics would put out a hair care line, but after two years of promising it would be out "next quarter" and not delivering, I've stopped holding my breath.


Which brings me to Monat. I wasn't looking for it, but there it was across the aisle from me at a recent vendor show. I was skeptical, but the rep sent me home with a ton of samples and tons of information. If you know me, you know I love information.

Disclaimer: Not my photo. Credit here.

I spent a few days Googling the company, reviews, and looking through the Skin Deep database (yep, I checked every.single.ingredient) and not finding anything that set off red flags, I decided to use it. Most of the reviews I found were based on the samples - I saw one that continued to use Monat, but in a rotation of other products. The downside of every review came down to price. It's expensive.


With less than optimistic expectations, I tried the shampoo and conditioner. I couldn't stop touching my hair. The very next day I signed up for VIP status (which gives a 15% discount) and decided to try it for 90 days.


The system I bought for a whopping
$88. Also not my photo.

An add on for an additional $88.
Still not my photo.

 

The full 90 day detox, following their (crazy?? maybe) plan. That night I used it on my daughter too. We both loved the results. I don't know if I can get her to cooperate with the whole detox plan (seriously, washing her hair twice a week is a battle so I can't imagine what would happen if I told her I want to wash it every other day.) so it will be interesting what Monat does with her hair.








I'm going to try to do this in "real time", reporting every week for the next 12 weeks.

Just because selfies are silly and I'm a goofball...

Mindful May

It's been a full quarter of a year since I updated. I'd like to say "Not much has changed." but so much has. I can't really process where I am in my own story, quite possibly this is the epiphany that triggers the change and sets the story resolution into place. Possibly, but not bloody likely.


So... books... When I left off in February I was trying to do a book a week. Things were going great until I picked up Book 2 in the Game of Thrones series. This book takes longer than a week to read. It's so good, I HAVE to finish it. I'm currently at 9 weeks of reading time and 50% finished. This may drastically increase in the next week. The Diva starts swim team which is 3 hours of practice each week. I'm going to focus on book time, not screen time, while I'm waiting for her.


Other things that have happened... I broke. I was in way over my head in depression and anxiety, struck by panic attacks when I would simply leave my house. I got to the point where I was shutting everyone out - including one amazing guy - and I knew I had to do something. it took me a full month to figure out how to schedule a doctor appointment with my own doctor without making a phone call. (Yes. I was on THAT side of the darkness.) I got in, got medicated, and goodbye panic attacks. We're still tweaking the meds, but man, heading into month 3 of medication and life is so much better.


I thought I was going to have a quiet summer, but The Diva made the swim team, wants to do t-ball, has swim lessons, camp, and VBS. Add in there that I have craft shows every other weekend, a full-time job, several part-time jobs, and a life... thank goodness The Duder is low key. His only activity is a trip to DC/NY in June. After that, he's a free guy unless he goes to work at the junkyard this summer.


Other stuff on my 2016 list... well, I finished the dining room! Next on the list is getting my gutters fixed and cleaned out. Now that the last snow of the season has come and gone, I feel pretty safe calling the guy. I'll try to get that accomplished this week. Then I'll need to take a look at money and the list and decide what's next.

Aloe Vera White Soap from A Misty Dimness Soap

Well, here it is... I'm finally reviewing one of my own soaps. So I guess it's not really a review so much as advertising...

Aloe Vera White Soap from A Misty Dimness Soap is my first original recipe. It's currently available in the store as a clearance item. I have reformulated the recipe just slightly and when it comes back into stock it will be called White Soap. (It's a slight FDA violation to call it Aloe Vera soap when there are other ingredients, so I'm trying to comply as much as possible.) It will also be in the standard bar form that all of my soaps come in. I've stopped using single cavity molds unless it's a test recipe or a special order.

The bar that I have in my shower looks different from the store because it was made from an over pour (I had more soap batter than mold space) so I grabbed the first single cavity mold I could get my hands on. I had enough to make three bars, so those went into my personal stash. So, now that I feel I have any confusion cleared up... here's what's what...

Ingredients: Aloe Vera Juice, Sodium Hydroxide, Coconut Oil, Lard, Shea Butter, Olive Oil, Castor Oil, and skin safe Titanium Dioxide.

First Glance: I still am a little bit in awe when I pull out one of my own soaps. It's like... dude, I made that. This is a nice evenly colored bar, nice size and smooth looking. No fragrances were added, so soap has a natural light scent. Bar is of medium weight.

First Use: Big creamy bubbles. Smooth skin feel. Rinses clean but not squeaky clean. Unscented.

Overall Thoughts: This is one of my favorites, even with the old formula. It's a nice unscented bar. Not one of my longer lasting bars, but it did go further than I expected. This is a great soap for anyone who likes a clean skin feel and clean scent.

The new formula will improve the usage life. I've done a lot of playing around and have finally settled on a standard that uses more lard, less coconut oil, and the addition of soybean oil to balance the other oils and butters. I have added aloe vera gel to the recipe to increase the goodness of the soap, and I have removed the titanium dioxide. The extra boost of white coloring just isn't needed.

If you're curious about my other soaps, head over to my online store!

Italian White Sage, Geranium & Yarrow Soap from Pangea Organics

 I first found Pangea Organics when I was searching for something to add to my oil cleansing method skin care routine. I wanted something that didn't have a lot of unnecessary ingredients and was affordable. Pangea Organics delivers big on the ingredient part, but I struggled with the price tag. I jumped into their multi-level marketing because it helped with my personal costs. Unfortunately the MLM was very badly handled and they have since discontinued this type of sales. Great products, just a poorly managed company. Their soap bars remain one of my favorites.

Ingredients (from package): Palm Oil, Palm kernel oil, sodium hydroxide, water, glycerin, geranium oil & citrus oil, sage oil, sodium chloride, citric acid, rosemary leaf extract, rosemary leaf powder.

First Glance: Packaging is very earth friendly, made from recycled materials. Soap carton contains seeds that can be planted to grow spruce trees. Bar size is a nice fit in the hand. Smooth surface with nicely rounded edges. Very shiny and creamy looking bar. Stamp in the center is a nice touch. Light and pleasing fragrance, not too floral or spicy.

First Use: Because I have been using this soap for four or five years, it's difficult to remember what my first impressions were. I intentionally didn't use the soap for about six months, hoping to refresh the experience. Soap lathers easily with medium sized bubbles. Very smooth lather. Bar is slightly slimy after use. Scent is very light even in water. Pleasant after skin feel with a squeaky clean rinse.

Overall Thoughts: This soap fits somewhere between a commercial soap and a handmade soap. It's a nice transition between the two types. I had three handmade soaps in my shower at the time, and found myself going to them more often. This is a nice soap, and I would buy this before I picked up any other commercial bar, but it can't compare to a nice handmade soap on any day.

Dead Sea Spa Bar from Great Cakes Soapworks

 Here's the last bar of my Great Cakes Soapworks stash. I had received a sample in my first order and I liked it enough to add a full-sized bar to my second order. I am going to review it based on my thoughts of the full-sized bar.

Ingredients: Saponified Olive Oil, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Tallow, Castor Oil, and Cocoa Butter, also Dead Sea Mud, essential oils of lemon, grapefruit, tea tree, and patchouli, kaolin clay, and titanium dioxide.

First Glance: This comes packaged in a nice box with a window for smelling, aside from the errors in the ingredient label it is a professional looking packaging. The bar is a large bar, probably the biggest I have gotten from Great Cakes, and heavy. Bar texture is a bit grainy. Colors are muted gray, olive, and white in a nice swirl pattern. Fragrance is a light ocean scent - not tropical but very "lake" or "water where fish are" smelling, in the pleasant sense, not the "there's a dead fish somewhere" sense. (some day, I promise, I'll work on my ability to describe fragrances.) Essential oils are very complementary to the bar.

First Use: This bar requires a bit more water than normal to lather. I assume that there is quite a bit of dead sea mud which would inhibit the lathering affects of the soap. It's not difficult to get a lather once enough water is used. Lather is low and creamy. Slight grit feeling when applied to skin - not blast your face off, but not completely smooth feeling. Leaves a light film on skin when rinsing.

Overall Thoughts: I added this into my morning face wash rotation. It's a nice indulgence that pops up every few days. I don't think it's one that I can use daily because of my skin type (cystic acne prone) and my sensitivity to tea tree oil. This is a very hard bar that I have used about 10 times and it shows no signs of wear. The fragrance takes a bit of getting used to, but I'll own up to not being a fan of "water" scents, so that may be why I notice it more.

Lemon Pepper Soap from Great Cakes Soapworks

 I received a sample of Lemon Pepper Soap in my last order from Great Cakes Soapworks. I like lemon pepper on chicken, but in soap? Color me intrigued!

Ingredients currently unavailable on website and none on packaging.

First Glance: A generous chunk of soap for a sample. Very pretty light yellow and gray variations. I would have like to have seen a whole bar, it looks like the design concept might have been very cool. Smooth, creamy looking bar. Smell was very faint.

First Use: A nice sudsing bar. Very smooth, good slip, not slimy or soft. Fragrance became stronger when wet, but still a lightly fragranced bar. Couldn't smell any pepper notes, but lemon notes were sweet - more like lemonade than sour fruit. (if that makes sense...)

Overall Thoughts: As far as soap goes, this was nice. Fragrance wasn't that great - maybe why this bar is no longer available in the store?? - I was able to pick up some pepper notes as I used more of the bar. A very well colored bar that gave white lather. I was glad I tried it, but I was expecting a stronger and more masculine scent from the lemon pepper.

Black Raspberry Vanilla Salt Bar from Shari's Handcrafted Soaps

 My first month as a member on the soapmaking forum, one of the most talked about soaps was (and still is) salt bars. I went "Whaaat?" and began to read numerous threads on the topic, and then I Googled and read some more.


So here's the basics of a salt (or spa) bar. It's soap with salt grains in it. It's reputedly good for your skin and can make bathing in hard water feel like soft water. The soap bars, when made well, are rock hard and long lasting. I was intrigued.


I ordered one from Shari's Handcrafted Soaps, and the dear sent me two. The one I had ordered was "only" four months old. Salt soaps really come into their prime with age (which is really true about any handmade soap), so Shari added an older salt bar, Black Raspberry Vanilla.


Ingredients (from package label): Coconut Oil, Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Coconut Milk, Sea Salt, Avocado Oil, Fragrance, Mica, and Tussah Silk.


First Glance: Molded in a lovely flower mold and a fitting shade of purple for the Black Raspberry Vanilla (BRV) fragrance. A very heavy and solid bar of soap. The soap fits nicely in the hand.


First Use: I'm going to admit to being a bit disappointed. Totally not the soap's fault. It had a huge setup based on my interwebz reading. I was expecting an angel choir, heavenly light, and to suddenly have the body of my 23 year old self. Needless to say... I had to adjust my expectations. Reality is that this is a nice bar of soap. A lovely creamy lather that is very gentle on skin. I used the bar directly on my legs and definitely got some light exfoliation from the salt. It was scrubby but not scratchy. Left a slight skin scent after showering.


Overall Thoughts: I am not a BRV girl. It's much too sweet for me. I use this about once a week simply because of the fragrance. It's such a nice bar of soap, I can't let it go. Showering with a salt bar is definitely an experience not to be missed - one that I look forward to more often once this bar is gone.

All the Lasting Things

All the Lasting Things by David Hopson


This was a well-written book with very clear characters. A well-written setup for the fatal secret, this book read quickly and was quite entertaining.



Summary: The Fisher family of Alluvia, New York, is coming undone. Evelyn spends her days tending to her husband, Henry—an acclaimed and reclusive novelist slowly losing his battle with Alzheimer’s. Their son, Benji, onetime star of an ’80s sitcom called Prodigy, sinks deeper into drunken obscurity, railing against the bit roles he’s forced to take in uncelebrated regional theater. His sister, Claudia, tries her best to shore up her family even as she deals with the consequences of a remarkable, decades-old secret that’s come to light. When the Fishers mistake one of Benji’s drug-induced accidents for a suicidal cry for help, Benji commits to playing a role he hopes will reverse his fortune and stall his family’s decline. Into this mix comes Max Davis, a twentysomething cello virtuoso and real-life prodigy, whose appearance spurs the entire family to examine whether the secrets they thought were holding them all together may actually be what’s tearing them apart.

Dismantled

Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

An uncompleted book. Writing was well done. Characters were a bit flat. The ones that weren't flat were just weird. The intrigue and plot fell short for me.

Summary: Dismantlement = Freedom
Henry, Tess, Winnie, and Suz banded together in college to form a group they called the Compassionate Dismantlers. Following the first rule of their manifesto—"To understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart"—these daring misfits spend the summer after graduation in a remote cabin in the Vermont woods committing acts of meaningful vandalism and plotting elaborate, often dangerous, pranks. But everything changes when one particularly twisted experiment ends in Suz's death and the others decide to cover it up.

Nearly a decade later, Henry and Tess are living just an hour's drive from the old cabin. Each is desperate to move on from the summer of the Dismantlers, but their guilt isn't ready to let them go. When a victim of their past pranks commits suicide—apparently triggered by a mysterious Dismantler-style postcard—it sets off a chain of eerie events that threatens to engulf Henry, Tess, and their inquisitive nine-year-old daughter, Emma.

Is there someone who wants to reveal their secrets? Is it possible that Suz did not really die—or has she somehow found a way back to seek revenge?