Anne L Watson

For centuries, the name Castile has been associated with the highest quality in soap. But Castile - made from olive oil, traditionally in factories - has proven hard to translate to craft soapmaking. It has earned a reputation as difficult to make, slow to cure, and lacking in rich lather. Until now. Anne L. Watson, author of "Smart Soapmaking," continues her soapmaking revolution with the first practical book on making Castile soap bars at home....

One day she is Linda Farley, a senior in a San Diego high school, with a talent for art, an annoying younger brother, two loving parents, and a prospective boyfriend. Three days later, she is Lainie Foster, hiding with her mother and brother in Olympia, Washington. That's how fast things change after Linda's mother tells her that her father has been caught by the feds in a Mafia money laundering scheme and that the rest of the family has been placed...

Soap makers may love to add a variety of materials to soap, but they find that some cause more trouble than others. In the heat of the chemical reaction, an ingredient might discolor, lose its scent, or develop a bad smell. Or it might cause problems during soapmaking, giving off noxious fumes, or making the soap harden so fast that there's no time to pour it in the mold. Help has arrived. Anne L. Watson extends the low-temp techniques from her book...

Anne L. Watson presents cookies and molds for many holidays and all seasons, as well as for special interests and occasions-weddings, kids, storytelling around the fireplace, and much more. With nearly 150 photos of molds, cookies, and processes, "Cookie Molds Around the Year" features new techniques and new recipes, along with a month-by-month diary of the seasons on San Juan Island.

Maybe you'd like to make your own soap, but you're worried that working with lye is too difficult or dangerous. Maybe you're scared off by "beginner" books that go on for hundreds of pages and leave you less confident than before. Or maybe you're already making soap, but you wonder if methods you've learned are slower and more complicated than they need to be. Whether beginner or advanced, you'll find "Smart Soapmaking" practical, helpful, and refreshing....

Do you love the feel of milk soaps but shy away from the cost? Are you looking for a special kind of gift you can make yourself? Or do you already make soap and want to try something new? Anne L. Watson's "Smart Soapmaking" was the first book based on modern techniques that eliminate the drudgery and guesswork from home soapmaking. Now, by popular demand, she continues her soapmaking revolution with the first practical, comprehensive book on making...

There's no shortage of experts to cheerfully advise you on how to declutter, organize, and clean your home. But do they know what YOU want and need? Or are they only pushing rigid, quirky systems that ignore people's differences and how we really live? With insight, wit, and common sense, "Smart Housekeeping" cuts through the clutter of questionable and often silly advice to offer practical keys to reclaiming and maintaining your home.

Richard Johnson is a Black veteran, back from Vietnam and trying to rebuild his life by attending college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He's smart and handsome, yet haunted by memories that plague his sleep and send him flying for cover at sudden noises. Kathy Woodbridge is a white student in one of Richard's classes. She's pretty, idealistic, and drawn irresistibly to Richard's combination of charm and aliveness. It leads her into a relationship different...

Christmas is coming for Katie Mouse and the rest of the Mouse family! Papa strings lights on the house and takes Katie and her little brother, Dylan, to get a tree, while Mama puts up decorations and bakes cookies for Santa Mouse. Now, if only Katie could decide what she really wants for Christmas, so she can let Santa Mouse know! On Christmas Eve, Santa Mouse and his mouse elves arrive to leave gifts for Katie and Dylan. But Alvar, the newest elf...

Nita walked away from her family when she was seventeen years old, determined to never look back. But forty years later, when her mother died and her father descended into Alzheimer's, Nita returned to New Orleans to care for him in his final months. Now her father has passed on, leaving to Nita her childhood home as an inheritance. But she soon finds she isn't the only resident. The house is occupied by ghosts of her past, playing out scenes of the...