Crafty Girl

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We had our first really cold day this winter. And by really cold, I mean below zero. We usually have a couple of weeks of below zero weather, but this winter has been marked by a series of freezes and thaws where the freezes are just barely below 32F.

The experiment…
I did ditch the Revlon Colorstay (thanks Joy) and I am continuing the use of the Jojoba. I switched cleansers to one that doesn’t contain Sodium Laurel/Laureth Sulfate. Things seem to have calmed down and my skin is back to fairly clear.

Chickens
Why are chickens so dumb? I think about 6 of my hens might be too stupid to live (TSTL). We haven’t had much snow this winter, so the back yard has been fairly clear especially over the drain field. The chickens wander around freely during the day, but usually go to the coop at dusk. Well, we got a couple of feet of snow in the last week and for the last three days 2 chickens get out to the middle of this stretch of snow and just sit and 4 others make it to the heat vent for our furnace. They are just sitting outside well after dark so Bill and I have been carrying them back to the coop. No fun! We’ve had some warm days and no more snow so the depth has decreased from 2 down to 1 foot of snow, but it’s still no fun tromping out there and collecting the chickens.

And the cardigan…
It’s all sewn up. I just have to knit the collar and sew on a zipper. I should note that last time I attempted adding a zipper it went less than well. In fact, I still need to fix the last zipper I did. Hopefully this one goes better. I did extend the seed stitched zipper band area from 2 to 6 rows on each side because the sweater was a wee bit tight when I tried it on. Seems to be a perfect fit now.

Well, I had intended on laying off the Differin for a month, but after about 5 days I started breaking out like crazy. So I’m using the Differin again and my regular liquid cleanser (Dove for sensitive skin).

I have changed a couple of things though. Instead of a commercial moisturizer at night I’m still using the Jojoba oil mixed with lavender. That seems to work very well at keeping the flakies at bay but hasn’t broke me out. I mix a couple of drops of the Jojoba with a couple of drops of water and put that on after the Differin has dried completely. It absorbs very well and after a few minutes I’m not shiney at all. Also I’m washing my face with honey durning my morning shower. Weird, I know. But it seems to be working.

I’m also mixing in about 2 teaspoons of honey in my conditioner and putting that in my hair every morning. I have fairly wavy hair and it’s been looking better that it has all winter (more curly, less frizzy).

I discontinued using the Revlon Colorstay foundation and am trying Bare Escentuals mineral makeup. I read some horror stories on Makeup Alley but also a lot of positive comments. It doesn’t seem to make me too shiney or break me out (like some people complained about).

I’ve finally got around to putting my Ribby Cardi together yesterday. Here are the pieces…I’ve got them halfway assembled now.

And I always have a pair of socks going. Here’s my lastest pair. I got the yarn for these this past summer in Newago, MI while Bill and I were taking a long cruise around western Michigan. It’s Meilenweit Fun & Stripes. Maybe it’s just my monitor, but this picture doesn’t do this yarn justice! The stripes are beautiful warm fall colors.

I’ve embarked on an experiment. I’m 35 years old and have had mild acne for my entire adult life. For the last 3 or 4 years I’ve been using Differin and it seems to help, but I still get several zits each month. Plus it totally dries my skin out in the winter so not only do I have oily skin…it gets flakey too. Blech! I just want good healthy skin.

So, I’ve been making my own soap (oil, water, lye…) for years and I decided to use it to wash my face the other day and then moisturize with jojoba oil mixed with a little lavender oil. I’m skipping the morning wash in the shower. After all, all I’ve done before my morning shower is sleep and work out.

The first thing I noticed was that my homemade soap was not powerful enough to remove the Revlon Colorstay foundation I wear. Hmmm…must think about replacing that. So I had to grab a wash cloth to scrub my face. But it’s been 3 days and nothing crazy has happened. I had a couple of very tiny whiteheads yesterday, but nothing major. I plan on sticking with this for a month. If there is no significant increase in the acne or decrease in the appearance of my skin at the very least I can stop purchasing a bunch of beauty products. On the other hand, I might get great benefits from it. We’ll see.

Next up…I’m thinking of abandoning commercial shampoo.