earthquakes, locked up soap... world gone mad!

Mom... why did you do that?  It's bed time...

Note to self... do not pick up your cell phone to check on your kids when you wake up at 4:30 am... You will not get back to sleep... they are grown, you need sleep... not...

I am a worry wart where they are concerned.  I know I shouldn't be, they are amazing and well prepared to take care of themselves.  The thing that disturbed me and stopped me from sleeping any longer was not something that could have been prevented, not something my lack of sleep would affect in any form.  But dang!

No mom wants to wake up to a breaking news report that there was a significant earthquake within 50 miles of your child.  You just don't want to hear, see or read that.  Now... awake and coherent, I am sure that if it had been something to stall my heart, I would have heard from said child last night.  Chances are, he didn't hardly notice.  We really didn't notice the slightly smaller one that occurred when I was there.  Heard water falling from a knocked over container, but didn't  feel it.

Sitting here listening to the local news, it seems there was a minor quake down in the boot heel last night. My youngest lives in an area known for quakes and probably far better suited to dealing with it than we are here in the mid-west.  And realistically, I live in a more dangerous seismic area.  Last time the New Madrid fault shifted in a big way they felt the shocks all the way in Philadelphia.  Unlike those in the west, where their faults are much more active, we don't think about ours.  It's almost been relegated to an old time fairy tale. 

I sure didn't feel anyone's earthquake, but the dread in my heart woke me up, all the way.  There was no sleep going to happen. 

I don't know how you handle stress... me... I start working on being domestic.  I was already in that mind set.  I'd had an article show up in my newsfeed last night that some stores are having lock up their soap.  Evidently people are stealing soap... I had clicked on the link to read it, it was a broken link, but a bit of research later... stunned.

I was shocked to read that people are stealing soap in the event of an apocalyptic event, they feel it will have strong monetary value.  Seriously?  Really? Because I am struggling with that concept. Greatly! Although it made me thankful for my skills.  If we are ever in that situation, we could be doing pretty well financially, evidently.

I didn't make soap this morning, that will happen a bit later.  I want to go pick up some vanilla beans to chop up into my vanilla soap, I love the exfoliating properties. 

Mango Sorbet

But I did start cooking.  Hubby bought me the ice cream maker for my KitchenAid and I love to play when I get new toys! It requires some time planning (something I struggle with) but I am getting there.  Thursday when I woke up at the inhumane hour of 2 am I prepped for the mango sorbet, all the bases need at least eight hours of chill time.  When we got home I popped it in the freezer bowl, 15 minutes later... wow, just wow!  Good thing hubby didn't know there were two bowls are we would not have gotten to taste it after the recommended two hour set time in the freezer.

On it's way to being Strawberry Ice Cream

So this morning, to distract myself, I decided to get busy.  I already have the french vanilla base chilling, around 2 pm today I will be chopping up some tasty strawberries to toss in there and getting ready to make a big batch of strawberry ice cream.  I also plan to make another batch of the mango sorbet and a mango mint sherbert.  I think I will have to have an ice cream party.  And it isn't that I am nuts about ice creams, we will see if I can even eat it, ice cream doesn't often work out well for me. I just hate to waste things, and I got a great buy on organic mango's this week. 

The french vanilla needed a LOT of eggs yolks, 8 to be exact, so I am trying to decide what I will make with the whites.  Maybe some coconut macaroons, if the weather dries out I could probably make meringue cookies, but there is a bit too much moisture in the air.  Oh the possibilities!

I am getting ready to whip up a few batches of pasta also.  Preparing for the week ahead is definitely a great way to become distracted.  Today, I am focusing on being domestic.  My kitchen will be filled with great smells, the laundry will get taken care of, a few more batches of soap will be made, then I will clean everything back up. If it does warm up as much as they say, I might even have time to clear out a couple of garden beds and get some lettuce planted.

Finally got the turtle's aquarium taken care of...

Neeko reminding me that they are out of treats also...

It's reassuring to know that I do not need the grocery store to provide for my family.  It's nice to know that if bad things happen, I will still be able to provide the basics my family will need. I can do all of it without electricity if need be.  They won't be naked and they will smell clean, their bellies will stay full.  I can't believe how many folks can't do these things, it simply seems natural to me. 

Hopefully my youngest didn't even notice the shaking last night, anymore than we were aware of what occurred in the boot heel. And the energy that special stress creates will enable me to get so much done, tomorrow is supposed to be clear and warm... which only means one thing... there is a pretty blue Harley that will be calling our name!