More Blooms and What Makes Me Happy

The amaryllis is having it's second round of blooms. My newest one is sending up a bud too. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like. Carolyn, in Rose Notes tagged me to list 10 things that make me happy:

a cup of strong black tea
big dogs
a good book
falling asleep to the sound of the surf
seeing the chickens run when I let them out for the day
cashmere socks
seeing the twinkly lights on when I drive up
meeting a friend for a glass of wine
the sound of the peepers down at the creek
planting flowers in the sweet-smelling earth

Now I'm picking:

Meredith
Anne
Jennie
Kiki
Jen
Catherine
Lesley
Jan
Chloe
June

So, consider yourself tagged. Pick 10 things that make you happy, & pass it on to 10 more. For all I couldn't pick, what's making you happy today? And if you haven't been by already, make a comment to enter my giveaway.

It's Time for a Giveaway

I've been having such fun creating lately, I wanted to share some of my new products. Too, in these often cold, gray days of winter (for many of us), I thought a little pick-me-up was in order. So, the giveaway will include a set of Lavender Bath Melts and a Wake Up & Smell the Coffee soap set. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment. It'll be a random pick. The giveaway will end the night of Sat., 2/27. I'll post the winner on Sunday. Please check in on Sunday, and leave your address if you're the winner.

Ugly Soap

I made an ugly batch of soap yesterday. I'd been wanting to try another batch of Kitchen Thyme & another using vegetable glycerine leftover from the biodiesel process. I've been tweaking both recipes, but thought I'd figured out the problem with both, so decided they'd be a good match. Well, the soap seized, which means it very quickly gets too thick to pour. I patted it into the mold, & had to hand cut this batch, just like I always did up until last year. On a happy note, it's the first batch of the Kitchen Thyme that hasn't separated. It smells delicious & will be perfectly usable soap. But pretty... not so much.

A Little Warmth

The weather is warming a bit. Weekend plans include soapmaking, Wintersowing some more seeds, sorting through and purging some of the contents of my shed. It will be lovely to spend more than a few minutes outdoors. Happy Saturday, friends!

Wrappings

Wrapping my products has been a growing edge for me. Though I've always enjoyed wrapping presents, this has been a bit more challenging for me. This morning, I've been playing with a couple of my soap gift sets. I was really excited when I came up with the idea to wrap the Coffee set in burlap from locally roasted beans, but not sure about the rest of it. Paper, ribbon or gold stretchy rope? The Rose set has confounded me. Not sure if cheesecloth does anything for it, or if ribbon or fabric are enough. I took some pics, and would love some feedback, if you're so inclined-- preferences and ideas welcomed. Too, I'm pondering my first giveaway. I'd love it if you took a peek at my shop, and let me know if anything in particular would inspire you to join in. It'll be a simple giveaway; just a comment will get you entered.

Abundant Day

It's been a good, full day. After my work at Hospice, I stopped by one of the local thrift stores. In addition to finding a couple of plates I intend to turn into dessert stands, I found a gorgeous bolt of upholstery fabric. Not sure exactly what I'm going to do with it yet. It matches my couch & living room rug, but would also make some pretty awesome cloth bags. It was really tough to take a picture of. It's one of those fabrics that has a bit of shimmer, & looks different from different angles. I also dropped off 3 bags of clothes, part of my recent organizing efforts. My nursing supervisor called with several days in March, so it looks like that's going to continue for a bit longer. I'm grateful for the many ways I was showered with abundance today.

Love Is In The Air

Wishing you a Valentine's Day full of all the things you love!