It’s actually slightly early but you have to get them before the birds do. The ornamental plums are ripening nicely and quite good to eat. Stewed Plums are imminent!

Miss Silvia‘s steam wand valve had been a bit leaky recently so I thought I’d break it down and replace the washer or whatever it is that needed replacing.

Anyway, I did a bad thing. I managed to strip the thread from the brass whatsit. Clearly I’d forgotten how to disassemble this from the last time I did it, because although I was confident about the process, I must have missed something important. Arghh.

I ordered a replacement steam wand and valve assembly but until it arrives, it’s plunger coffee for us.

There are recipes out there on the web. I tried one that looked good: Almond Castile liquid soap; olive oil; and coconut oil. Plus some kind of emulsifier.

My goal was to get a product that I could dispense from a pump-bottle, already liquid. I kind of guessed at the relative quantities, until I got something that seemed like the right consistency.

Today I noticed that the product had hardened in the jar. Not quite what I was going for. So I turned it out into a bowl and added more olive oil and Castile soap – just a splash of each – and mixed it in. For some reason, it was easier to get air into the mix than yesterday – maybe the cooling off period is necessary. Anyway, now the result is lighter and softer, and this was still true this evening when I tried it out. It has the consistency of blancmange and it is easy to scoop a teaspoonful out and smear it over the beard area. I tried using the shaving brush to lather up but fingers worked better. The results are promising.

Pro Tip: When preparing home-made shaving cream, do not be tempted to lick your fingers. Not all that smells good is tasty.

I’m experimenting with getting the relative quantities right, for my target consistency. The whole absent-minded finger licking only happened because of the Almond Castile soap.

Update

Over time, it solidifies. A better delivery format is to spoon or pour into a repurposed yogurt container, where it eventually turns into a butter-like consistency. You can then grab a couple of fingers’ worth and smear it over your face. Or, in fact, it makes a nice shampoo / body wash also.

Younger Brother stopped by on his way to a conference.