Wintermint Sugar Scrub recipe

(Bet you can guess what one of my New Year's resolutions was!)

Anyhow, no excuses or explanations of my long absence, and I certainly will not try to catch you up on everything that's happened over the past few years... that would be boring and would take too long!

Time for a fresh start...

The weather here has been as unpredictable as it usually is during wintertime. We had lots of snow, which all melted, and yesterday, except for a few straggly patches of snow in the woods, the ground was bare and the air was chill. Last night, we had snow, which turned to sleet and freezing rain, and this evening, thick fog has crept in and it is pouring outside. The temperature is expected to plummet overnight, and it will be very cold during the week.

I keep both the wood furnace and the fireplace well-tended from November til March or early April, as the house is heated entirely with wood. Today I spent a few hours splitting larger chunks of wood into more manageable sizes, and also restacked the woodpile on the front porch. (Last week, I took advantage of the warmer, drier weather and stacked about 3/4 cord of wood in the basement) You can likely guess that my hands are in rough shape, and dry skin is a fact of life with the drying wood heat that is a part of winter life!

Thus, I concocted a recipe for a wonderful Sugar Scrub, which is soothing for body and hands. It's nice to keep a small container near the kitchen sink for a quick treatment, but the larger container is kept in the shower!

(Alas, my kitchen stove is not powered by wood)

Wintermint Sugar Scrub Recipe

In a small pot over low heat, carefully melt together

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

2 Tablespoons Sweet Almond Oil

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Shea Butter

1 Tablespoon Honey

Remove from heat and stir in

10 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil

15 drops of Spearmint Essential Oil

1/8 teaspoon of Wintergreen Essential Oil

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Gently stir in 1 1/4 cups organic sugar, a little bit at a time, til mixture is thick and sugar is thoroughly incorporated. Scoop into a plastic container (I used an 8 ounce plastic Ball brand freezer jar.) Keep the jar in the shower, then, when you're scrubbed clean and rinsed, scoop out a bit of the Sugar Scrub and rub gently on legs, arms, etc. Rinse off, and say hello to softer skin!