what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[Nodak]

IMHO paying for packing is worth it. Professional packers have no emotional attachment to your stuff. Packing your own stuff leads to finding things you had forgotten about, wondering whether to pack them, and reminiscing about the past. A job that could take weeks gets done in a few hours.

It took them about 8 hours to pack and load everything. They delivered it two days later and had the truck unloaded in about 2 hours. Unpacking the kitchen stuff took the longest time because of all the crap I forgot I had and then deciding what to keep and what to take to the local church thrift shop.

 

[brewer12345]

I have been extremely busy lately despite being ESRd since I have overlap on two consulting contracts. This is a temporary state of affairs that will be done in a few weeks and I may end the year with zero contracts, but for now I am hopping. After Halloween with the kids we are taking it easy today.


I have been learning to make artisan/handmade soaps with an eye toward getting good enough to sell them at farmers' markets and the like next year. I have been perfecting my recipes and testing out soaps with friends and family who fit the demographic of the target customer. Today I went for round 2 on a batch of rosemary soap after not having had time to work on my recipes for a couple weeks. The batch went well and I think it will look very pretty when I cut the bars in a couple days. If I can get a little time in a few days I will take another whack at the peppermint soap. I intend to set up the business in January and have all the sales tax, liability insurance, DBA registration and other nonsense figured out in time to go into production mode and start appearing in markets by April or so.

 

[braumeister]

I have been extremely busy lately despite being ESRd

Um, sounds more like just ECJ (Early Changed Jobs) to me.

 

[brewer12345]

Um, sounds more like just ECJ (Early Changed Jobs) to me.

The internet retirement police are always on the job, eh?

Call it what you like. All I know is that I only have to be in a cube on St. Never's Day and I get paid very well for doing part time work that I can walk away from any time I like. And I suppose there is an outside possibility that I will become the Rocky Mountain Soap King.

 

[Gumby]

Off to church and then preparing for our choral evensong service tonight - always one of my favorites. This year it is almost all a capella as we are prepping music for our choir's performance tour to Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague next summer and we need to be prepared to perform without piano or organ. My favorite piece is a new one for us:

but we're also doing classics like Randall Thompson's Alleluia and John Rutter's A Gaelic Blessing.

As with all Lauridsen work, it is truly lovely. You are lucky to have a choir that can handle it.

 

[splitwdw]

I have been learning to make artisan/handmade soaps with an eye toward getting good enough to sell them at farmers' markets and the like next year.

Which soap making process are you using? Don't forget about packaging and hang tags for the soap. Around here, there are a lot of people making soap, isn't it a crowded craft in your area? One of my classmates makes soap and is always in competition for sales at the local farmers market. Candles and jewelry is another popular craft around here.

 

[Gumby]

I have been learning to make artisan/handmade soaps with an eye toward getting good enough to sell them at farmers' markets and the like next year. I have been perfecting my recipes and testing out soaps with friends and family who fit the demographic of the target customer. Today I went for round 2 on a batch of rosemary soap after not having had time to work on my recipes for a couple weeks. The batch went well and I think it will look very pretty when I cut the bars in a couple days. If I can get a little time in a few days I will take another whack at the peppermint soap. I intend to set up the business in January and have all the sales tax, liability insurance, DBA registration and other nonsense figured out in time to go into production mode and start appearing in markets by April or so.

Wow. That sounds great Brewer. I recently tried my hand at soapmaking. In early September I made a batch and just started using it this week. 72% olive oil and 28% coconut oil. It cleans well and does not dry the skin, but it doesn't lather up all that much. I may use some added castor oil next time I try it. I think I'll also try a scent next time -- maybe mint.

 

[brewer12345]

Which soap making process are you using? Don't forget about packaging and hang tags for the soap. Around here, there are a lot of people making soap, isn't it a crowded craft in your area? One of my classmates makes soap and is always in competition for sales at the local farmers market. Candles and jewelry is another popular craft around here.

Cold process.

I expect some competition, but I think there are ways to differentiate one's products to some extent. Assuming our hives make it through the winter I also expect to be selling honey, and we are planning on making lip balm with our own honey and beeswax as well. We already have several people asking if we will sell them some soap and I have demurred since we are not set up yet with liability insurance, etc.

Hey, if this does not fly as a little business I am mostly out some time. No biggie. Plus I will have learned how to make soap that is as good or better than L'Occitaine and be able to do it for a tiny fraction of retail.

 

[brewer12345]

Wow. That sounds great Brewer. I recently tried my hand at soapmaking. In early September I made a batch and just started using it this week. 72% olive oil and 28% coconut oil. It cleans well and does not dry the skin, but it doesn't lather up all that much. I may use some added castor oil next time I try it. I think I'll also try a scent next time -- maybe mint.

Castor oil is a really nice addition. As far as adding scents, we find that essential oils are much more pleasant and complex than man made fragrance oils. A half ounce of essential oil per pound of base oil in your soap recipe is a good place to start.

Try a 100% coconut oil soap. If you do it with 20% superfatting you get a nice, hard bar that cleans/lather well and doesn't dry your skin. Just make sure that if you use a loaf mold you cut it within 18 hours of pouring your batter. Very inexpensive and a really nice soap.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Let us know if you get recruited by Shark Tank to make a pitch, Brewer.

 

[braumeister]

The internet retirement police are always on the job, eh?

Not at all! I'm glad, and you sound much happier than you did in your former life.

In my amateur cheesemaking hobby, I used to buy milk from a local woman who raised goats. Unfortunately, she quit selling the milk to people like me because she kept needing more of it for her own side business of making soap with it. So there is obviously considerable demand. Best of luck with it!

 

[Bestwifeever]

Went to see Burnt, where Bradley Cooper plays a chef arising from the ashes of a meltdown to pursue three Michelin stars. Great actors, ridiculous story--maybe the good stuff got edited out. My favorite haute cuisine movie remains The Hundred-Foot Journey.

 

[splitwdw]

Wow. That sounds great Brewer. I recently tried my hand at soapmaking. In early September I made a batch and just started using it this week. 72% olive oil and 28% coconut oil. It cleans well and does not dry the skin, but it doesn't lather up all that much. I may use some added castor oil next time I try it. I think I'll also try a scent next time -- maybe mint.

I love handmade soap and buy it from my friend all the time. She makes unscented soap for me because a lot of the scents bother me. I get a lot of migraines.

Cold process.

I expect some competition, but I think there are ways to differentiate one's products to some extent. Assuming our hives make it through the winter I also expect to be selling honey, and we are planning on making lip balm with our own honey and beeswax as well. We already have several people asking if we will sell them some soap and I have demurred since we are not set up yet with liability insurance, etc.

Hey, if this does not fly as a little business I am mostly out some time. No biggie. Plus I will have learned how to make soap that is as good or better than L'Occitaine and be able to do it for a tiny fraction of retail.

I like handmade soap and don't mind paying extra for it. I also love trying the different kinds of soap you can get. Right now I'm using a goat milk soap and this past summer I was using a lemon soap. I've never found a handmade lip balm that I've liked and use EOS lip balm all the time.

 

[Gumby]

Went to see Burnt, where Bradley Cooper plays a chef arising from the ashes of a meltdown to pursue three Michelin stars. Great actors, ridiculous story--maybe the good stuff got edited out. My favorite haute cuisine movie remains The Hundred-Foot Journey.

The Hundred Foot Journey was a great movie. I also recommend Chef starring Jon Favreau.

 

[turbo89]

I did some work on the plow truck, getting it ready for winter. A couple more days and she'll be ready for the snow... let's hope I can get it done before the first flakes.

 

[brewer12345]

Not at all! I'm glad, and you sound much happier than you did in your former life.

In my amateur cheesemaking hobby, I used to buy milk from a local woman who raised goats. Unfortunately, she quit selling the milk to people like me because she kept needing more of it for her own side business of making soap with it. So there is obviously considerable demand. Best of luck with it!

No wukkies.

I am working on perfecting at least one beer soap, which I am pretty sure will be a good seller.

 

[Bestwifeever]

The Hundred Foot Journey was a great movie. I also recommend Chef starring Jon Favreau.

I think I am the only person who just could not get into Chef. Maybe I should watch it again now that it is on Netflix, I believe someone mentioned.

 

[ElizabethT]

Drove 500 miles home from an utterly amazing week of backpacking in Grand Canyon National Park. We covered over 50 miles in addition to the 5,000 foot each descent and ascent. It was very, very challenging, but we were well prepared physically, so we were able to enjoy each and every moment. This adventure is something we will never, ever forget, particularly when we summited at the end of the trip and realized we were done(!).

Spent the afternoon putting stuff away, drying stuff out, washing dirty (oh so dirty!) clothes. Dinner was homemade pumpkin mushroom lasagne taken from the freezer. In bed and sound asleep before 8:00 PM.

Below is my favorite overnight spot from the trip - atop Yuma Point, at @5,200 feet, looking out over the canyon.

 

[MBAustin]

Gumby - Thanks for the compliment on our choir. It's amazing what a great director can do with a bunch of mostly average singers - he's been with us 15 years and we are a completely different choir than when he started. Not looking forward to his retirement in the next few years (he's 70 - this was his 2nd career after being a choir director in public schools first).

Elizabeth - Glad you are back and had such a wonderful trip. Awesome photo!

Today we're having our handyman friend come by for a list of projects that have been piling up. I've got yoga at lunchtime and then I might take DH down to the adaptive gym. Taking care of some errands also. Choir practice with my 2nd choir this evening. A nice ER day.

 

[NW-Bound]

We took a road trip to the closest Fresh and Easy store. They are all closing now so we stocked up on wine and some of the other closeout deals...

Last time they closed only some of the stores, we went to take a look at one nearest us, and got quite a few bricks of Kerrygold cheese, my favorite, at 40% off.

This time, going a few more miles to a further remaining store, we did not find much to buy. The cheese was all gone already at 10% off. There was plenty of wine left, but even at 30% off the price of a bottle I often drink was still higher compared to the price at Total Wine.

 

[Retire2013]

Welcome back, Retire2013. So sorry for your loss. Sounds like you are doing very well with this next phase of your life after a lot of changes. Hope to see you around here more now that things have settled down a bit.

The dog didn't figure out the end of DST so we had our morning walk very early today. Took down the Halloween decorations and put up the "fall" wreaths. I only decorate from mid-October through Epiphany - a witch windsock and fake pumpkin for Halloween, wreaths with fake fall leaves, pumpkins, and pinecones through Thanksgiving, and a lighted tree plus a few wreaths for Christmas. The rest of the year our house is stark nekkid.

Off to church and then preparing for our choral evensong service tonight - always one of my favorites. This year it is almost all a capella as we are prepping music for our choir's performance tour to Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague next summer and we need to be prepared to perform without piano or organ. My favorite piece is a new one for us:

but we're also doing classics like Randall Thompson's Alleluia and John Rutter's A Gaelic Blessing.

Thank you MBAustin. Sounds like YOU are having a wonderful time in ER

 

[Walt34]

Went to an outlet mall with DW. She needed some new shoes and has been bugging me to get new jeans, even though the holes are only little ones or wear that will someday be a hole. Fortunately I had looked online at prices and the outlet mall was more than the online prices. And there's no way nohow I am paying $40 for a pair of jeans!

We saw some others that were preworn and pretorn and they had bigger holes than the ones in my jeans so I told DW I'm just about to get in style. She didn't buy it.

 

[Philliefan33]

Canned a batch of apple pie filling. I've been working on perfecting my pie crusts, and with the apples ready to pour into the crust I will be able to make an apple pie pretty quickly.

I went for a run at a local park this afternoon. It sure is nice to run when I want, not when I can fit it in around w*rk.

 

[Khan]

Went off island to the DMV, and now have a Florida driver's license.

Have a contract on house in Ohio. Will be driving up next week to sign stuff and decide what to give away and what to bring back.

Any advice on setting up a smartphone as a wifi hotspot?

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Did some morning bill paying and finance tracking, then an extended hike in the open space preserve for some cardio.


Back home for a light snack for lunch, then took down and boxed up the Halloween decorations.


Going to start prepping for dinner - spaghetti with some sourdough slices brushed with olive oil and garlic.


Then relax and watch the Monday night game.