Recipe: oatmeal & lavender bath soak

In the end, what with having an apron, two bathrobes and a tablecloth on my to-do list, I didn't get any other Christmas sewing done. That was already enough, and so much for the fabulous ideas I came up with in November. My #1 rule of sewing: know your limits, and by that I mean, know that your time is not limitless :-)

Anyway, I couldn't bring myself to actually go and buy presents for my friends, because that would have felt a bit heartless after all that hypothetical handcrafting. In the end, they all got a jar of peppermint bark, and a jar of this:

It doesn't fizz, or explode in bubbles, or do a spectularly soothing song and dance. But: the nights I bathe in this are the nights I sleep like the proverbial baby (not like a real baby, obviously).

It's easily made, and in quantities that let you give a little bit of homemade love to even your very widest circle of friends (but really, much much love, any reading recipients!). Or to yourself of course.

Ingredients

• 1 kg porridge oats
• 500g Epsom salts
• Lavender essential oil - a few drops
• Dried lavender flowers, 150-200g

Put the oats in a blender or magimix and mix them for a good long time until they're as floury as possible. There'll still be some bigger bits of bran and such but that's ok.

Pour the oats into a bowl and use a metal spoon to stir in the Epsom salts and dried lavender. Once they're well mixed, shake in a few drops of the essential oil and stir again; begin cautiously with just a few drops, and repeat until it smells as strong as you would like.

Pour into sterilised jars, screw the lid on tight, and that's it.

To use, sprinkle a couple of spoonfuls in the bath and then soak yourself in it. You'll need to rinse some bran and lavender out of the bath afterwards, but as long as you do it straight away it's very easy (I suspect the oatmeal would stick hellishly if you left it to dry).

May you be as soothed by it as I am...