Kristen Blog

Honestly?  I don't take orders well.  I balk at the word "mandated."  Because NO ONE gonna tell Kristen Shanna what to do.  🙄🤷‍♀️ But seriously, I kind of feel like I'm in this bizarro twilight zone where everyone suddenly decides they want to live like I did circa 2001-2015.  And I feel right at home back in this, I-have-to-stay-home business.  Only this time round, I have a few more responsibilities (and a lot less toddlers to keep me from doing it).  And I have to admit, after a brief but rocky adjustment phase, I am kind of TOTALLY in my element and thriving. I mean...now that I am working from home (and not driving all over Kingdom Come), I actually have time to set out my tomato starts and bring them in when it is too cold.  So, my tomato starts are doing WAY better than they ever did before.  And I also now have time to walk out and check my coop twice a day, which means I am regularly gathering ALL the eggs the chickens are laying.  They are getting mo

In the midst of world-wide panic and pandemic, I consider it soothing to find practical ways to cope.  Making things from scratch is one way I assure myself I am competent to survive just about anything. Since I happen to have a couple of aloe plants lying around, and I am ALWAYS looking for fun new things to try (and ways to use my prolific aloe plants), I figured we should jump on the trend to make our own hand sanitizer. And what better homeschool science activity?  Am I right?!! I mean...we still have half of the gallon-sized sanitizer we bought at Sam's months ago (a year ago?), but...there is definitely room for more, if it is home-made.  We love trying things naturally and from scratch around this little suburban homestead. So, grab your ingredients, and join us to make your own hand sanitizer! Here's what we used: 3/4 isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol 1/4 cup aloe (we used raw aloe, but you can use storebought gel) a few drops of lemon oil a few drops of tea tr