Good Folks All Around

I'm convinced bloggers are some of the best people. There is so much beauty, encouragement, and wisdom shared in the blogging world. I'm humbled to be a part of it. Today I'm wrapping soaps and packaging bath melts and bombs. J and I are planning on heading to STARworks tonight to see Beer Wars. In addition to all the wonderful things happening there, STARworks also has microcinema nights, complete with munchies and good beer. These are the same fine folks who shared their handcrafted India Pale Ale with me recently, for my beer soap. We're lucky to have such creative folks in our midst. Happy Friday, friends!

Food of the Soul

It's been hard being cooped up indoors at work this week. Instead of working with my plants, I've been learning the latest phase of our computer system. The changeover went pretty smoothly, but that didn't keep me from hankering to be working in the earth. But today, I got my wish. I've pruned, did some spring cleanup, and marveled at all the plants that are returning. It's been threatening rain, but has held off so far. I'm in to feed my body, then heading back out to feed my soul.

STARworks Suds

I was asked to create some beer soap by one of my accounts. They're wanting to have more things that have a broader appeal to men. Of course, there are men that love my other soaps-- patchouli, cedar lemongrass, lavender, but this one was created especially for them. I didn't scent this one, to let the hops shine. It smells light and pleasant, almost a licorice scent. I ground some flax seed, and added that in, both for the omega 3's and visual appeal. Some folks at STARworks are learning the art of brewcraft, and graciously shared some IPA for this batch. So far, this recipe looks like a keeper.

Dreaming of Spring

I'm patiently awaiting the first blooms. Will it be the daffodils or the hellabores? Soon now.

Fresh

Thanks to Jenna of Cold Antler Farm, I'm inspired to get back out into my garden today. What's got me inspired is a movie called Fresh, about healthy local food. You can bet it's going on my Netflix queue. Yesterday, J & I finished putting down the last of the cardboard in our garden paths, then covering all of it with a thick layer of leaves. We can already see a difference in the soil. We started this in the late summer/fall. It takes quite a lot of cardboard to cover the paths in a large raised bed garden. The soil is moister, there are more earthworms and it just looks healthier. As an added bonus, we'll never have to mow the garden again. Woohoo! What are you doing in your gardens?

Milestone

After a pretty tough week of work, some serious number crunching, and finishing up my business plan, I had some fun today. First, I visited with the folks at Whynot Pottery. We talked a bit about their upcoming Spring Kiln Opening, which I'm going to take part in this year. A friend came by and brought me some sourdough starter, which is now happily bubbling away on the counter. It's been quite a few years since I've done sourdough, and I'm excited to have some again. We headed to STARworks, and visited with several of the people there. They're doing some really neat things at STARworks, and have some interesting plans in the works. We left there, and headed to Seagrove Orchids. It was like being in a tropical paradise. The diversity of plants, blooms in a multitude of colors and sweet scents of a number of them was heavenly. To top it all off, I noticed this is my 100th posting. A good day, indeed! Sorry for one more amaryllis post. This is my newest, a Minerva.

Whooo Said Spring was Around the Corner?

There's a nice white covering on things again. But it should melt off quickly. The sun is shining, and the temps are steadily climbing over the next few days. J just called to say the roads are horrible, the worst this winter, because they weren't expecting anything, and didn't brine the roads. Some areas of the county got 6 inches. That works just fine for me, as my main focus today is finishing up some business paperwork, here at home. Wishing you a cozy Wednesday.