The big freeze

the dog in the pic kept emerging emerging from some place and wagging it's tail at us. It seemed to be wandering around by itself, but wasn't lost cos he'd run purposely in a certain direction.

winter wonderland. we went for a wintry walk in the woods near my house.

hubby dared Joshi so he went running round the trampoline - in the freezing cold bare chested!

chemical dye(semi-permanent) after henna

I'm blogging about this b'cos I searched and researched for info on this subject, and it was very sketchy indeed. I know from various henna sites that you can use henna after using chemical dyes,provided it's unadulterated henna. ( If the manufacturer does not list all ingredients, you're in trouble. Liquid hennas, in varying colours are more suspect and more likely to have metallic salts added to them to create different colours. If you know that you've used a 'mixed' henna, you'll need the metallic salts stripped from your hair before trying to dye your hair).What I wanted to know was, is the reverse also true??? Could I go from henna to chemical dye without DRAMA? I couldn't turn up a straightfoward answer. Perhaps I was not looking in the right places. Eventually I established some facts.

1.If you're using henna, it must be pure body quality henna from reputable company that you can trust.

2.If your henna previously used is dubious, best stay away from chemical dye b'cos you could be in for a hairy ride as the chemicals react with each other and your hair.

3.It is possible to go back to using a chemical dye after henna, but you should leave a gap of several weeks to reduce risk and give a the dye a good chance to 'take'.(henna works by coating hair strands, so it can affect the overall look of a chemical dye. After several washes, it will fade, but it takes ages to get henna completely out of your hair!)

4 Do a strand, or rather loc test to see how the dye is going to take and how the loc will behave - as well as a skin test!!!

5. I would suggest a semi-permanent dye rather than a permanent one.

6. Pray.

OK. I wanted to dye my hair again to give it some depth. I henna-ed back in sept with lush dark brown henna. I didn't fancy going through the procedure again - I mean it's a hop, step and jump to apply, then another to wash it all out. So I started eyeing chemical dyes, hence my research to see if it was possible. I used Garnier movida semi-permanent mahogany colour. Mary( daughter) is a pro so she did the colour.But we did the skin/loc test before proceeding. Even though the leaflet inside states, 'DO NOT USE IF YOU HAVE COLOURED WITH HENNA', she determined by the test loc (this is the loc I accidentally chopped off a few weeks ago)that it would be fine. However, she purchased only 1 box and y'all know locs require 2 or more boxes. So we did the front half of my hair. The back half may be done tomorrow if I've bought the dye. Take a look at the pics. Actually you can barely see the difference, since the top half lays on the bottom half. The dilema came when we got to the condish. In the end I used only a 1/4 of the amount and that very diluted and thankfully everything remained intact.

all these gifts to wecome 2010

a few of the lovely pressies my kids and hubby gave me. I was so touched as I really wasn't expecting much, but everybody seemed to want to give me something. Even on 31st dec my friends had a big pressie waiting for me when I took the boys there. I got a designer shirt, perfume,some cool boots, lovely dolphin bronze statuette, aromatherapy oils& bath stuff from Lush, a big woolie hat that fits my locs from river island!! to mention a few things. Well I'm really grateful. But I'm even more thankful to God who has kept me and my family. We spent new year's eve in church, reviewing the past year and giving thanks to God for all he has brought us through, and thanking him for 2010 and the new opportunities he's bringing our way. Friends, I firmly believe in my heart that for me and my family, the best is yet to come! Good things are on their way to us this year. The blessings will flow, and we in turn can be a bigger blessing to others. God put this on my heart so strongly that I shared in church and from the response that came I gather God touched some others, in the same way.

A's locs at 35 months

We are splitting some of the thicker locs. But isn't she lovely? Arashia is running her own fashion design business.Good for her.

a few pics

I forgot to take pics when we went to the carol service ....but, arashia took some of me relaxing at home afterwards. However, the hair is the same...it was crinkly.

compare flat loc-tool&yarn needle

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Here's a photo of the flat loc-tool beside the yarn needle. One yarn needle's been cut and smoothed on the end - thank you nubian1. See the difference in the size of the head. The flat tool performs really well. I've been using it to do my retight this time round. It grips well, it's particularly good on thin/short locs and is very acurate in getting the tool dead centre of your new growth and close to the scalp, due to it's flat-ness. It's plastic, but durable and and bendy ( not at all like the plastic yarn needle, which is quite stiff). As always,make sure when using this tool that your locs are well seperated and clipped out of the way.

Green Tea product kit and MAD shopping

I decided to give myself a Christmas treat. I've never ever used any sisterlock product and have always wanted to try the moisturiser and reconstructor. So I went ahead and purchased the the green tea shampoo kit which consists of shampoo, moisturiser&reconstructor. When they'll arrive is another matter, but I'll come back to give my verdict once I've used them. I can hardly wait to try the moisturiser.
We've had quite a lot of snow in the last few days. I had a few 'hairy' moments on the icy roads slipping and sliding. Today I was taking my boys to aylesbury to be picked up by a friend and taken to Winslow for a 'sleepover'. The A41 was closed off due to the extreme icy conditions. After 1 hr attempting to reach aylesbury via berkhamsted, I turned round and came home. Not before I'd stopped at McDonald's to 'compensate' the boys and do a spot of shopping at Tescos. The place was like a mad house. Why is it we act as if the shops will be on strike for foreseeable future? I mean how much can one possibly eat over the holidays?( I bought a huge chicken, even though I had intended to buy it on chirstmas eve. When I say huge I mean...just how does a chicken get to look like a baby turkey? OK I won't ask. I'll just pray, cook it and eat it.)I mean people appeared to be panic buying. Stress levels were elevated with people pushing, shoving and shouting. Not to mention all the wet mud tramped in from the sleet/snow outside.I got bumped on the rear by shopping carts no less than 3x. I was desperate to get out, so I chose to avoid long queues and use the self- serving check out. What a lark! Every 2 or 3 mins, an annoying electronic voice spoke some gibberish about waiting for assistance. What's the point having those things if they don't work properly?
Anyway, I got home safely and cooked some stir fry chicken/vegetable rice for dinner.

Flat loc tool! and the Nativity production.

This is a new tool created by a SLS consultant. It's called the flat loc tool. It's flexible/bendy plastic and enables you to get very close to the scalp. It's also useful for tightening very short locs. The best thing is the price which came to about £5.00 even with the crazy USA postage. It'll be a lot cheaper in the USA. I haven't tightened my whole head yet using this tool, I just tried it on a few. The only problem I found was it snagged a little more than my ole yarn needle. But that might have been b'cos I had so much new growth.

I haven't reTi for a while and my new growth is waiting to be tamed. I've been involved in a nativity production on a rather grand scale. It all started when my dear friends Marie&Robert who own spring meadow farm (with over 15 acres of beautiful woodland, huge pine trees, valley underground water) started talking about putting on this production. They have a nativity every year on a very small scale, but Marie was talking about using the whole of the 15 acre grounds - an ambitious idea. As she described it I suddenly began to see it in my minds eye and got pretty excited about it. There were many obstacles and at one point they called it off. But the vision was in my heart and I couldn't let it go and we took it to God in prayer. And that's how the show got on the road. He provided all the help, from builders to technical people to the meal afterwards, even the entertainment! In the end my kids and I all acted in it. Arashia not only sang/ acted angel Gabriel's part, but designed and made the costumes for the entire production. ( all this in the space of about 1 1/2 weeks).They built the stable with the full works, Elizabeth's house, Mary&Joseph's house, the magnificent temple (with golden altar and curtains) with Simeon and Anna in full costume. It was quite spectacular, with flaming torches, braziers, open fires, lanterns and real donkey ( which Mary rode, with Joseph leading it),all of us in costume with a professional narrator. We also spent hours recording the 'songs of the angels' which was later played in the trees. We worked with a real director, a professional actor, a composer, a voice trainer, and I can tell you we were whipped into shape! Now I know I can both act and sing! I acted both Elizabeth as well as being an angel. Mary was... Mary. My sons were shepherds. it was a very exhausting, but exceedingly rewarding experience. I wish I had pics, but I was acting so couldn't take any. I was relying on a guy to video it on my vid camera but he didn't turn up. Marie probably took a few, but they've gone off to Spain... taking my son Christian with them to give him a lovely pre-christmas holiday, all expenses paid. Isn't God good? Christian ended the athletic season on a high note... but I'll blog about that later.

New Venture?

I decided to go one step further and package my skin creams and body butters. I will be building a website for this so I can sell them online. my friend Anne of photoartistry has offered to do proper photos for me. Meanwhile you just have to make do with these.

DRAMA: I nearly came a cropper

cropper - 1. to take a tumble



2. Disastrous failure



Ok. So I had hopped into a nice warm bath, when I realised I needed to wash my hair. Usually, I plan carefully before washing my hair, which means, I have everything assembled in one place (I don't keep all my shampoos soaps acv etc in the bathroom, in case someone decides to use my last bit of black soap or shampoo when I need it.) My scalp was really itchy so I thought I'd just do one wash, for now. Since I didn't want to come out of the bath I just reached for Mary's AUSSIE MIRACLE MOIST shampoo. Normally, I'll read the list of ingredients before the stuff hits my head, but seeing I didn't have my glasses in the bath I couldn't read them. I hesitated at this point cos I got the 'IS THIS WISE?' warning inside. But faulty reasoning prevailed over gut instinct and I thought just one wash will be ok. Thankfully I diluted the shampoo like 1:6. As soon as I poured it over my head, I knew it was a mistake. My hair felt super smooth and silky. Feeling a little panicky I began to rinse it out immediately, when something went wrong with the shower and the water slowed down to a trickle. At this point it became a matter for prayer as I called on God to forgive me for ignoring his gentle warning and help me rinse this stuff off my head! Time seemed to stop .... and several seconds ticked by before the flow resumed and I rinsed my locs as best I could. I rinsed several more times with diluted ACV. Later I inspected my locs. Some had slipped, a few had some bunching. I was just grateful it wasn't worse. Hopefully anyone reading this who wants to try some moisturising shampoo will wait until their locs are fully mature. (I mean, I'm a couple of months shy of 2yrs and I didn't think one diluted wash would hurt.) A lot depends on your hair texture - mine's coily, but really soft and fine, still not fully locked in several places.



But, in every cloud there's a silver lining right? Good. Cos my friend came over to drop some stuff whilst I was still reeling from my experience, my hair still damp. She gave me a hug, my hair brushed her face. Straightaway, she wanted to know what shampoo I'd used b'cos my hair was soft and smelled great. So I told her, and she's off to Wilkos to get the 2 for 5 quid bargain. And today, I did notice my locs were really bouncy, fluffy and soft. You mature heads - 5yrs+ might give this a go, just don't blame me if it goes wrong. I def recommend it for anyone who wants to take their locs down or wants to glide a comb through their loose hair

But as for me, I will not be going near it again.
DISCLAIMER: I think Aussie Miracle Moist does exactly what it says it'll do for hair that's DRY/DAMAGED, so this is not to give it a bad name. Infact, it's very GOOD, just so long as you're not trying to lock your hair.
And to think I was advising N'JOI to wait until her locs were settled before trying anything...Oh well, I've forgiven myself and my locs are still here.



That reminds me. I had one of those loc dreams the other night. My sis offered to do my hair and she put this white cream in it and covered it. Someone came to the door and she went to answer it. When she got back, she uncovered my hair and Suddenly I realised the cream had undone ALL my locs and left my hair semi-straight. I started to cry and asked her to get something and shave it cos I was going to have to start over. Thank God it was just a dream LOL.

my sls at 22+ mths and Arashia's twist locs at 2yrs 9mths

I was really chuffed when someone stopped me at costco to ask 'are those dreads?' I was like 'yeah'. He goes'man, babe, they're lovely..and so tiny'(me -babe, nearly 5o yrs hahaha) so I go'they're sisterlocks' and he's like 'what?' I repeat 'sisterlocks'. So I explain the process and tell him they are micro dreads done using a tool in a pattern. His eyes are popping and he says 'whatever it is, They are really beautiful'. And I came home grinning from ear to ear.

So I thought I'll take some photos as I hadn't been feeling my locs lately, but this guy made my day and made me know my locs are alright, even with my greys peeking through.

And Arashia's locs have grown so much. As you know they were started with twists and we are slowly splitting some. They are 2 yrs 9mths old.

Update on waitrose organic clarifying shampoo

I used this yesterday and here is the verdict:
It's mildly clarifying ie does not strip your hair, but cleans it with very little suds.
(which is not suprising considering it contains neither sls nor it's close relatives,but if you want suds, then this is not for you.
The reason the majority of shampoos use sls is because it's a cheap foamer and a very strong detergent used to degrease car engines. It does not have a nice track record, but I won't go into that today).
The smell is ok - just a bit of peppermint.
The downside is - I had to use a lot of it. I did dilute it as always, but the amount I used before I felt I was getting somewhere means it's not as economical as I thought.
However, this is a loc friendly shampoo, so if you ran out of sisterlocks starter shampoo, dreadhead HQ, or whatever shampoo you use, this will be a good substitute.

It took about 10 days to complete my retightening

10 days people! I didn't mean to be quite so laid back, but I skipped days everytime I didn't feel the move y'know. And I stopped if I felt even a little tired. So I eventually finished off the last section and was wondering what to do with my arms whilst I'm watching 'Perry Mason' Anyway I've had NO arm ache, NO backache, NO joining locs, well, not bad at all, except I was getting concerned that by the time I'm through it'll be time to start retightening all over again.

I'm NOT a product junkie, I just love to try new things

You know me. If it's low priced , is SLS -free, contains good stuff like aloe vera,peppermint &rosemary oils - all organic, I have to try it. It smells mildly pepperminty, and has a conditioner to go with it, but I gave that a miss...at least for now.

Introducing...Waitrose organic clarifying shampoo, so if you're in the UK you can get it easily. I'm going to wash my locs using this and report back with results.

Update on Organix coconut milk shampoo-

I used it for a few weeks and I've decided there's nothing to write home about,apart from the lovely smell. I think I prefer their TeaTree&Mint shampoo. Don't get me wrong, it's OK. but it's not for me. However, I don't mind using it cos it smells so nice and for me smell is a HUGE factor when choosing a shampoo.

I might add I'm not just buying shampoos and shelving them. I've got 5 children (2 of them girls,always after shampoo) so plenty people to use any shampoos I stop using.

Yes, I had to defend myself so y'all don't get the wrong idea Lol lol lol.

Retightening... and I've stopped tryng to hurry it.

I've completed the front half of my head. You will notice I never get right down to the scalp - I leave a little wriggle room. (My hairline has improved so much. Friends, never give up on lost hair, it can grow back. )It probably took 6 hrs of doing 3 section in 2hr periods whilst watching a film or browsing the net. I part my hair in 3-4 sections. Then sub -divide the front half into 3 sections. Starting from the sides, I retighten row by row. It just seem easier to take a very laid back approach. I'll probably start on the back this week end and follow the same plan. That way my arms don't get tired and I don't make mistakes like joining locs etc. I found 2 very thick locs that I will split. I really don't know why I've sometimes felt I must race against time. In spite of my giving out the advice to 'take your time and don't rush it' I've notice during this reti that my scalp feels so tender. I've had to be ever so gentle not to cause pain.

Another point - because the nape of my neck comes loose so often, I've take to frequently retightening that area. So between my last reti and now I've tightened the nape 2x. I think I will do the same with my hairline to keep it strong and away from fraying shredding or breaking. If you have very slender locs, it's wise to get your retights regularly and closer apart than sommeone with thicker locs. If you leave it too long you can thin out the root and cause the loc to break IMO. Fortunately, apart from 1 loc I haven't lost any, but I'm quite vigilant and will combine a loc if I feel it's dangerously thin. But keeping on top of reti- s can solve that problem.

beans stew and home-made pizza

I made my homemade pizza for dinner tonight. Whilst I was about it, I decided to quickly cook some red-red. Beans stew made with palm nut oil. Cos I bought some plantain and they'll be nice and ripe tommorrow, and I'll be out most of the day so I can look forward to eating it when I get home.




WHOLEMEAL PIZZA




I make the pizza dough, using 1/2 -3/4 wholemeal flour and 1/4 white flour, in my bread machine so it's really quick. Whilst it's tumbling about in the machine, I cut up some chicken breast- very fine. Then toss it in some season-all/garlic/black pepper and quick fry it and set it aside. I roll out the dough(cos it only takes 45min the the bread maker), and pre-bake it for 7 mins or so. I cut up some chillies, onions and mushrooms. I Mix some tomato puree or boil down some canned tomatoes, add in some olive oil,garlic,oregano and seasonings to taste. I spread it on the pre-baked dough and add all the toppings, including some mozzerella cheese. I bake for roughly 10mins and we have lovely pizza.






RED-RED
did I do this recipe before?
Anyway I cheated a little cos of time.( I used canned beans instead of boiling the dried beans)

2 cans black eye beans
1 can adzuki beans(you can use all black-eye beans if you prefer)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1scotch bonnet(pepper)
1 medium onion finely chopped.
1 large clove garlic
1 heaped tbs of powdered smoked shrimps(you can substitute shrimp flavour stock cube)
1 stock cube(magi) or vegetable/chicken/beef( if you substituted shrimp stock cube then reduce or leave out this)
4tbs palm nut oil (zomi)
1 can tuna chunks(optional)
1 tbs season-all

what I did....
I heated the palm oil ZOMI and added the onion/pepper/garlic. I let it fry for a few minutes- until onions were translucentish(is that a word?)

Then I poured in the chopped tomatoes(actually I left out about 1/8 of the can cos I don't like it too tomato-ey)

allowed to cook stirring ocassionally, another 10min -added the shrimp powder,stock cube

let it all cook a bit more.....
Then I opened and drained the beans and added that. I let the whole lot cook for 10 min and adjusted seasoning etc. It was lovely at this stage, but I decided to add some drained canned tuna near the end since I live with folk who want their meat or fish.

NOTE:
make sure you use Zomi, which is specially spiced palm oil from Ghana. Ordinary palm oil will taste awful IMO. If you can't get zomi, then use vegetable oil.
This is the first RED. The second RED is the fried ripe plantain that accompanies the stew. You can also serve the stew with a sprinkling of Gari(a granulated flour made from fermenting and frying grated cassava)

....and the next day - the other Red, fried plantain. I peeled the skin and sliced it. Instead of frying, I rubbed some veg oil on them and roasted in the oven. That way you get the fried taste/look with very little oil.

texture shots

that youtube mom

Do you remember the you tube vid that was doing the rounds with the mother'combing' yanking the daughter's hair while yelling abuse at her? I read on a site that it prompted a blogger to call child protection services and subsequently the woman has had ALL 3 daughters taken away. People, has it really come to this? Do you know what happens to the majority of these kids who go into care? The horror and abuse that takes place under the cover of 'care' not to mention the extreme trauma of removing children from their home and their mother. Not to trivialize what that mom was doing, but seriously, can we compare the damage caused by ripping them away from their home and delivering them into the hands of strangers with that? 1 daughter is laughing in the vid - twisted entertainment - I know but it pales in comparison with young children experiencing the terror of strange men/women - 'officials' barging into your home, taking you away from the mother you love, to some unknown place, because someone in blogoshphere deemed it so. There are other ways of helping than this. Even making contact and offering some help with some heartfelt advice is better than this. Besides, if we are going to make this an issue, you might as well go ahead and take away several of the black kids from black moms(including Africa) cos most of us have experienced something similar to it. It almost makes a mockery of the so called system which is supposed to step in when there IS SERIOUS abuse taking place where a child's life is in danger. Are we to look to the 'Nanny' state for everything including ratting on folks cos we don't like how they raise their kids or more to the point, how they comb their daughter's nappy hair and their offensive language?? I mean the woman needed telling off, even a cuff round the head to straighten her out, but did she deserve this? More importantly did her kids deserve this?