Where does mustard come from and other facts...........

(borrowed image, if you would like it removed - let me know)

This morning I am stepping out of the shower, in my own world I might add. Suddenly out of the blue for no apparent reason, hubs says "Where does mustard come from?" Huh? Was my response.......... It is not even 7:00 AM (no diet coke) and this seems to be a real trivial question for me. Hubs proceeds to show me a clip from one of my 'girly mags' about condiments. He says that ketchup comes from tomatoes, relish from pickles but where does mustard come from? Um...... not sure! I will get right on that, then quickly I say "Mustard comes from the mustard seed!" Ha Ha! Nope.... not good enough of an answer I can tell by the look on his face.

Hence........... the reason for my blog post..............

Well it is all very simple for those of you that do not know... according to the unofficial Coleman's Mustard Website

(http://www.tinyurl.com/lhp6ts)

Mustard comes from the seed of a mustard plant (ah ha!) which is prepared in different ways. Coleman's mustard is made by grinding the brown and white mustard seeds to a fine powder. (brown flour provides the heat while the white powder provides flavor) Other popular mustards are made by mixing the mustard powder with vinegar, wine, or water and various spices such as tumeric. (HUM! seems I was not completely wrong on my answer to hubs - it is from a seed)

OTHER COOL FACTS ABOUT COLEMANS MUSTARD:

Got smelly dishes? Next time, add a heaping tablespoon of Coleman's with the soap to remove odors like fish and onions.

Make a paste with Coleman's and spread on the back of a loose tile to secure it to the wall. Acts like plaster!

Mustard and honey at bedtime for a cough, a pinch of mustard in a glass of water for hiccups. (my son will love this one, ha!)

Two tsp. in a pint of water poured on roots stops worms

Stuffy nose? Make a paste, spread it generously over a cracker, take a few bites. This clears it up in seconds!

Got ants?? Sprinkle Coleman's mustard over their trail and they won't cross it. It is too hot for them (per Peggy Freeman)

WOW!! I had no idea that mustard was sooo versatile. Now, I am not a mustard lover but I think I am going to go get some Coleman's Mustard and give the ant trick a try. I might even have a mustard war and try two brands to see if one will work better over the other.

Hubs last question was Mayonnaise, I'm not sure on that one either but... tune in as I research. I'm sure there are some great tips for mayonnaise too - I have two personal uses in mind. Keeping them secret until next post.

Until then,

Cindy

No Liquor Sales After 9:00 PM??????

I was visiting Fort Davis, Texas this weekend to pick up my son from Prude Ranch Summer camp (http://www.prude-ranch.com/). Hubs and I decided to pick up some beer as we noted there were not ANY bars located in town. Upon pulling up to the liquor store, the above photo made me laugh sooooo hard. Open Monday - Saturday 12:00 - 8:58 PM. Are you kidding me??? 8:58 PM??? I know there are some totally dry counties in Texas but..... geez! In this day and age this really should be a thing of the past. "Prohibition"

I searched high and low for information regarding this 'time frame' per se. The only information I found was that Jeff Davis County, Texas is a partially dry county. Partially, (I imagine) would mean that they can sell you the goods before 9:00 PM and not at all on Sunday. What happened to drinking "a few" for a Sunday BBQ? Guess ya had better strap yer boots on and git on down to the liquor store Saturday afternoon. Or ya'll will be sh** outta luck!!

We also noted that the only 'waterin' hole' was at the Hotel Limpia, okay not really at the hotel but next door to the actual hotel. (http://www.hotellimpia.com/) It is called "Sutler's Club" which is a private club, You MUST be a 'member' to hike upstairs and have yerself a drink. If you are staying in Fort Davis for any period of time I would recommend you getcher goods early or become a temporary member of the club; as this town shuts down at 8:00 PM. Of course if you are stayin at the hotel then you automatically become a 'member'. Here is info regarding club membership:

A 3-day temporary membership for four persons is available $3.00. Annual memberships are available for $25.00 per household and are valid for one year.

All of the memberships state that a member may have up to three guests and must purchase all of their guests¹ beverages. Of course, if you are a guest of The Hotel Limpia, you are a ³Complimentary² member of ³the Club² during your stay. Archaic as it may seem, the TABC states, ³All members of Sutler¹s Club as hotel guests must charge their alcoholic beverages to their room.²

We also require any food purchases with alcohol to be charged to the room.

Proudly, we follow all of these guidelines to stay in good standing with the TABC.

There ya have it folks; WEST TEXAS AT ITS BEST!!

What Does A Faucet Cost?

In my past life I was a real estate appraiser. Now.... while performing appraisals I was for the most part, supposed to report repairs to the property if it was a health and safety issue.

I don't really feel that the above photo is considered a health and safety issue but..... for the love of peace. Some people are so cheap! What does a faucet cost at Home Depot? A nice one can run you quite a bit but..... I found a faucet at www.homedepot.com for $24.00.

Or..........maybe the thought is; if you turn the water on as high as it will go it will land in the sink................

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........................................

Randy's Cafe - Palm Springs/Palm Desert

While in California for the HSMG Conference (www.soapguild.org ) myself and Alana Rivera decided to venture outside of the compound (www.miramonteresort.com) for lunch at a local restaurant. Now; I am a huge advocate of supporting local business, even when out of town. So… we set out in search of a ‘very cool’ lunch spot. As we were cruising along highway 111, we found a really quaint looking Italian restaurant. As we pulled up, the sign said – closed!! As we looked a little more to our right we saw a sign that read “Randy’s Café”. Hum!! Sounds local, let’s check it out.

Upon entering we noted the plastic white patio type table and chairs with little cushions on each chair. The blue walls were adorned with photos of professional athletes and autographs too. We were quickly greeted by the infamous “Randy”, who was pleased we had stopped by as he indicated he was thinking of closing for lunch today. Randy seated us, asked us our names, where we were from but never again referred to us by name, our names became “El Paso” and “San Francisco”. We were handed menus which were a far cry from menus. The menus at Randy’s Café were three ring binders. The front of each binder told a different story of a professional athlete. We quickly found out that Randy not only runs a very well known café but also is a sports trainer. He has worked with student athletes for 25 years locally, nationally, and internationally in professional tennis, golf, and football. His three ring binder tells amazing stories of his clients, patrons, and interesting facts. He leaves them at the table for you to look at while he literally whistles while he works (ahem) cooks.

Below are some quotes/comments directly from his menu (ahem) binder:

Reservations: Everything is made fresh to order. We don’t have a microwave. “If you are in a hurry, you might be in the wrong place!”
Randy’s Café takes a little longer….. So leave Randy alone because he talks way too much, more than 7000 words a day.

Celebrity Servers: This is tradition at Randy’s Café! You never know when you may have a professional golfer, tennis or NFL player or people that you may recognize as a celebrity waiting on your table. Get a few pointers!!
Dinner: Hit or miss ALWAYS a sellout!!

HOURS CHANGE DURING MAJOR SPORTING OR SPECIAL EVENTS IN THE VALLEY……………. (I love this!)

Randy’s Café was rated #1 breakfast spot in the desert for breakfast according to the Desert Sun (www.mydesert.com) readers, legit poll!

I don’t know how we managed to stumble upon the coolest café in Palm Desert (Palm Springs), but it was a real treat. Alana and I (San Francisco and El Paso) never really spoke to one another as we spent our entire lunch reading about Randy and all his amazing facts in his 3 ring binder aka menu. I think this made me go hmmmmmmmm because his café was soooo cool and I could simply not take it all in at once. In fact, I was so side tracked by everything, all I can tell you about the food on the menu is what I ordered. (A cheeseburger with amazing potatoes, supposed to have been potato salad but Randy said he didn't feel like making it that morning.) The burger was fantastic as well as the personal touch to the service.

If you happen to be in Palm Desert, I highly recommend Randy’s Café as real treat for a local meal. Ya never who ya might see..........

HSMG Conference 2009 - Palm Springs, CA!!!

I was in Palm Springs, CA last week for the annual Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild http://soapguild.org/ conference. It was such an amazing experience!! I have attempted to attend a soap guild conference for several years. This year it was finally close enough for me to fly and not have to spend an entire day in transit.

Day one: Keynote speaker - Erin Brockovitch (www.erinbrockovitch.com) What a treat! She spoke about "stick-to-it-tive-ness". Basically sticking to it when things go wrong or you think you just can't. Can you believe in school she was voted "Least likey to succeed". Unbelievable! I was lucky enough to win one of her shirts that simply states, 'Ask Me If I've Got It' The back says stick-to-it-tive-ness. Awesome! The photo above was from the masquerade party which was simply amazing. (Erin and the party were sponsored by www.essentialwholesale.com) The party was something out of a book: from mimes, stilt walkers, jugglers, ice sculpture that dispensed martinis to top it off with comedy by Wendy Liebman and John Reep. I can't say enough about how much fun this day was. Thank you Essential Wholesale.

The remaining days were crammed with classes ranging from demos, manufacturing practices, social media, exporting and the list goes on.

So much fun meeting online friends and putting a face to ummm.... a screen name if you will.

I had an incredible experience that made me go hmmmmmmmmm.......... however it really requires its own post. (sorry to lead ya'll on but...)

Stay Tuned For As The Soap Lathers,
Cindy

As The Soap Lathers......To Blog Or Not To Blog!

So I have been missing in action! I was in sunny Palm Springs, CA for several days attending the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild. (http://www.soapguild.org/) What an incredible experience this was for me. I learned quite a bit and met some amazing soapy friends.

So….. why my blog post title, To Blog or Not to Blog. Well………I attended a class while at the conference by Donna Maria Coles Johnson titled “The Media Is You”. http://www.indiebusinessblog.com/ (who by the way – is AMAZING at what she does) It was a real eye opening experience for me. I realized that not only do I have to blog to stay in line with everyone else but I have to do this on a regular basis. I was so puzzled, because I have two blogs – my soapy blog http://www.talesfromthesoapshop.blogspot.com/ and this one. So…. I managed to get lucky, pull Donna Maria aside and pick her brain. She suggested I continue with this particular blog as it projects so much more of my personality. Funny, how I never even thought of that. I just assumed that by having two blogs; I should keep them separate from one another. Now; this did not make her go hmmmmm………. But it sure did for me. Why? I never thought of it! So in order to differentiate one topic from the other - hubs came up with an idea. "As The Soap Lathers" How cute is that?

So with that being said; I am going to back it up a few days and report on my conference experiences. Some really made me go hmmmmmmmm………. While others are just really cool experiences I had.

Until Next Time -

Cindy

Hold The Guacamole...........

I don't know about most of my readers but I am slightly picky when it comes to ordering my meals. For instance; I prefer extra sour creme but please 'hold the guac'. When ordering a burger a Wendy's I want mine without pickles or onions, but.... add some cheese please.

Why? Why? Why? Do I get charged extra for cheese and sour creme? NEVER has a fast food establishment or restaurant subtracted anything off my bill for the guacamole? Or.... if I prefer not to have french fries but would love some fresh fruit instead - I get charged extra. I do not understand this.

This is something I have pondered forever; It totally makes me go hmmmm........

I know I have readers from every walk of life in different parts of the world. Many of you must by shy as I rarely receive a comment (just emails from you) Don't get me wrong, I love that too but.......... I am looking for feedback on this post.