Garden Friends

Some little friends have been keeping me company in the garden. They don't talk much, but don't seem to mind my singing. I've been taking soap pictures, mostly of my newly tweaked Kitchen Thyme. A fellow blogger will be reviewing my Wake Up & Smell the Coffee soap set in August, and I'll be doing a giveaway to coincide with it. I'm pretty excited, and will keep you posted once I have more details.

Coffee, Tea and Peace

The latest batch of Kitchen Thyme soap came out well. There's just a slight amount of free oil on the surface, but it didn't seize like all the previous batches. The culprit seems to be the thyme oil, as this time, I greatly decreased the amount, and tried some new essential oils. I made some mega-strong coffee for the liquid portion, but the coffee smell gets lost underneath the essential oils. It's a nice looking bar, and different from all the others, which I like. I'm a happy camper! I may think about changing its' name, though. Any thoughts?

Jennie's post yesterday reminded me of the upcoming Seagrove Potters for Peace. Last year, I was in the process of creating my green tea soap, and didn't have it in time for this event. This year, I plan to join in. Greg Mortenson's book, Three Cups of Tea, is a good read. And he's figured out how to make a difference in many lives. Hmmm, it just occurred to me that I can do something, not only locally, but on my etsy site. I'll donate online Green Tea Facial Bar profits to this as well. The thought of that makes me happy! Wishing you a happy day!

Summer Solstice

I hope everyone had a lovely Father's Day. My niece, Heather, had us all to her first home. It was her first family gathering there, and was delightful. She, her husband and father-in-law had done a lot of work. They're a good team.
Poor Joseph was stung by a wasp on Saturday, and it's really done a number on him. He never got to the point of needing his epi-pen, but his face is still very swollen, and he's taking lots of Benadryl, which makes it hard to stay awake. Originally, it was multiple yellow jacket bites that caused his first bad reaction. Now he's reacting pretty severely to wasps, which I understand is how it works once one becomes sensitized. I've been gently massaging his face to move some of the fluid. Needless to say, it wasn't his most stellar Father's Day.

It's going to be another hot week here, with temps in the mid-90's. Today, I'm going to tweak my Kitchen Thyme soap recipe, and see if I can come up with a batch that doesn't seize on me. Wish me luck! Happy Summer Solstice, everyone!