Friday, July 25, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Tuesday. Stuck in the rain.
Tuesdays are my day to run around with my mother. We have lunch somewhere, then go shopping. Sometimes we don't have a lot to do. Other times we don't have enough time to do it all. I do enjoy my time with her. She is going to start being very busy, with all her volunteer work. But we try to keep Tuesdays for us.
So yesterday, when I got home, I picked up the cow carcass in the front yard, and got to mowing. I could see the black clouds heading this way from the N-E. So knew we could possibly get some rain soon.
I got the front yard mowed. Then headed to the chicken yard. I hate for that grass to get too tall because I'm so afraid of snakes. So I have to keep it mowed down. It was sprinkling pretty good by then, so I put the mower in fast and got it finished. Just in time for the down pour!
I made it to the garden shed, parked the mower, and here it came. I was stuck! But it was such a wonderful time to be stuck. I sat on the mower and put my bare feet out in the rain. It got cooler and cooler, the more it rained too. I could see the sheep over in the big pasture. They were under the trees. One by one, they headed to the barn. Some ran. Some just meandered and grabbed bites of grass along the way. Darla, the biggest ewe, loves the rain and will stay the longest in it. They all finally went inside the barn, because it was coming down, fast and hard!
I have a bee garden under the big cedar tree in front of my garden shed. It's all blue and purple flowers. The cedar tree was just dripping nice cool rain on all of them. I could almost hear the flowers thanking the Lord for the drink of fresh cool water.
I saw the garden getting a wonderful watering too. So very welcome in these July days of growth.
I had gone by the Garden hive on the mower and noticed the whole front of the hive full of bees. It had been really hot and humid, so figured they were just hanging out, getting fresh air. I wonder what bees do when their hive is so full of bees. Do they get mad that they have to walk over each other? Do they holler at each other to get out of the way? Do they want to have their own space, away from the others, just to think and have time alone?
Anyway, I got a bit too close to the back of the hive, and just barely hit the bottom. Those bees took off all over. And I had a hard time getting the mower backed out of the way! But no stings and all was well after a few minutes. By then, it was pouring rain and they all went back inside, except a few that wanted the coolness.
It was really loud up under that metal roof, with the rain beating down on it. But it was a nice time, just sitting, watching the rain water my little world. I guess I stayed out there a good half hour, just waiting til it slowed down. But it didn't, so I just ran inside. Took a nice shower and we had pizza for dinner. I think that'll be our new Tuesday dinner. Pizza. And I made a strawberry and banana salad too.
Today is the Main St. farmer's market. I so enjoy this market. It's almost down town Chattanooga. The people there are amazing. I went out earlier this morning and picked some okra, peppers, tomatoes and oregano and orange mint to take to market. Plus my soap, needle felted critters and salves. I hope it doesn't rain during market though.
PS: Kristin, I tried to comment on your blog, but it disappeared. But your soaps look amazing and I love the colors. In the pictures, one looks almost red. But I wanted you to know I tried to comment.
So yesterday, when I got home, I picked up the cow carcass in the front yard, and got to mowing. I could see the black clouds heading this way from the N-E. So knew we could possibly get some rain soon.
I got the front yard mowed. Then headed to the chicken yard. I hate for that grass to get too tall because I'm so afraid of snakes. So I have to keep it mowed down. It was sprinkling pretty good by then, so I put the mower in fast and got it finished. Just in time for the down pour!
I made it to the garden shed, parked the mower, and here it came. I was stuck! But it was such a wonderful time to be stuck. I sat on the mower and put my bare feet out in the rain. It got cooler and cooler, the more it rained too. I could see the sheep over in the big pasture. They were under the trees. One by one, they headed to the barn. Some ran. Some just meandered and grabbed bites of grass along the way. Darla, the biggest ewe, loves the rain and will stay the longest in it. They all finally went inside the barn, because it was coming down, fast and hard!
I have a bee garden under the big cedar tree in front of my garden shed. It's all blue and purple flowers. The cedar tree was just dripping nice cool rain on all of them. I could almost hear the flowers thanking the Lord for the drink of fresh cool water.
I saw the garden getting a wonderful watering too. So very welcome in these July days of growth.
I had gone by the Garden hive on the mower and noticed the whole front of the hive full of bees. It had been really hot and humid, so figured they were just hanging out, getting fresh air. I wonder what bees do when their hive is so full of bees. Do they get mad that they have to walk over each other? Do they holler at each other to get out of the way? Do they want to have their own space, away from the others, just to think and have time alone?
Anyway, I got a bit too close to the back of the hive, and just barely hit the bottom. Those bees took off all over. And I had a hard time getting the mower backed out of the way! But no stings and all was well after a few minutes. By then, it was pouring rain and they all went back inside, except a few that wanted the coolness.
It was really loud up under that metal roof, with the rain beating down on it. But it was a nice time, just sitting, watching the rain water my little world. I guess I stayed out there a good half hour, just waiting til it slowed down. But it didn't, so I just ran inside. Took a nice shower and we had pizza for dinner. I think that'll be our new Tuesday dinner. Pizza. And I made a strawberry and banana salad too.
Today is the Main St. farmer's market. I so enjoy this market. It's almost down town Chattanooga. The people there are amazing. I went out earlier this morning and picked some okra, peppers, tomatoes and oregano and orange mint to take to market. Plus my soap, needle felted critters and salves. I hope it doesn't rain during market though.
PS: Kristin, I tried to comment on your blog, but it disappeared. But your soaps look amazing and I love the colors. In the pictures, one looks almost red. But I wanted you to know I tried to comment.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Cucumber soaps
These are all the soaps I made yesterday...
cucumber-basil. This soap smells so good! I used fresh basil from my garden with cut up cucumbers. I use a stick blender, so it chops it all up real good. Makes the soap green, which I like.
cucumber-mint. I just used barely over a T. of mint EO, plus fresh mint from the garden. It's not too strong, but just enough mint to make it refreshing.
Cucumber-melon. I got this EO in Manitou Springs, just outside Colorado Springs, last year while visiting my sister and brother. There is a little shop that has the freshest oils. I've been wanting to use this but wanted fresh cucumbers. It is a light melon scent with bits of cucumber throughout. Very pretty soap.
And this is the plantain-lavender castille I made a few weeks ago. It's a really hard bar and smells so good. I didn't put too much lavender EO, just enough for a slight scent. Then sprinkled lavender flowers on top.
I try so hard to get each bar this size. Most are.
So, just a start to some new soaps coming out of my new studio. It's so nice to have a whole house to put all my supplies and not have to worry about cleaning up too much when I'm done. And I love the shelf I got from Home Depot. On sale, already put together, for just $75.00! Perfect for all my soap making supplies right there in the kitchen. You can see my oils underneath the soaps. I got all 4 batches of soap on one shelf.
cucumber-basil. This soap smells so good! I used fresh basil from my garden with cut up cucumbers. I use a stick blender, so it chops it all up real good. Makes the soap green, which I like.
cucumber-mint. I just used barely over a T. of mint EO, plus fresh mint from the garden. It's not too strong, but just enough mint to make it refreshing.
Cucumber-melon. I got this EO in Manitou Springs, just outside Colorado Springs, last year while visiting my sister and brother. There is a little shop that has the freshest oils. I've been wanting to use this but wanted fresh cucumbers. It is a light melon scent with bits of cucumber throughout. Very pretty soap.
And this is the plantain-lavender castille I made a few weeks ago. It's a really hard bar and smells so good. I didn't put too much lavender EO, just enough for a slight scent. Then sprinkled lavender flowers on top.
I try so hard to get each bar this size. Most are.
So, just a start to some new soaps coming out of my new studio. It's so nice to have a whole house to put all my supplies and not have to worry about cleaning up too much when I'm done. And I love the shelf I got from Home Depot. On sale, already put together, for just $75.00! Perfect for all my soap making supplies right there in the kitchen. You can see my oils underneath the soaps. I got all 4 batches of soap on one shelf.
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