LewD Crafts

My soaping journey began with a formulation of Savon de Castile, but I quickly learned that Castille soap was just the beginning. Soaps have many qualities having to do with how well they clean, how well they foam, how well they condition, and how well they keep, and, depending on the oils you use, these dimensions can vary considerably. So, I set out to make a soap that cleaned and conditioned better, had better foam, and kept better than my Savon de Castile.

While up at the cottage with Terry, Katherine and Rob, I fell into another "craft/hobby": making homemade soap.

Katherine had commented that Castile Soap would have less of an environmental impact than the soap I use at the cottage. Of course, this intrigued me. I had heard of Castile soap, but did not know much about it. So I did some research.

Another Christmas has come, and that means another trip to Montreal, laden with presents, luggage, and people. And, so I prepare to use my trusty, home made, cargo box. And, this year, I intend to adorn that cargo box with some Christmas cheer.

Terry and I took our annual Christmas trip to Montreal this past week, loaded down with gifts and luggage. Like years before, we had more baggage than I could reasonably fit into the Jetta, and was obliged to resurect the roof-top box. However, this year, we had even more than before, and the makeshift roof-top box that I had used previous years was just too small. It looked like it was time to go buy a bigger box.

I have had an "odd" season at the cottage, this year. I opened the cabin late (after the May long weekend), and only managed to get up to the lake sporadically during the summer. Fall has now arrived, and I find myself planning for the cottage closing, sometime in October. I don't know that we really had a summer this year, and I certainly missed the cottage.

In "Haul Out", I showed the float assembly for my haul-out. That float has been anchored with a temporary anchor (a "killick") for too long. I wanted a heavy anchor that couldn't be easily dragged or lifted from it's final resting place. A boat anchor wouldn't do; it would be too light or too expensive, and a heavy anchor would be very difficult to get up to the cottage to install. So, I made my own anchor from stuff I had around the cottage.