The other day (surely it couldn't have been more than a week... could it?) I was hurrying around, harvesting, drying, and brewing potions in the kitchen while the sunny breezes blew through the windows. I vaguely remember something about Halloween, and here we are rushing headlong into Thanksgiving and the vortex of holidays.
What the...??? This is starting to remind me of last year - when we, the entire extended family, decided to push Christmas back a week.
I'm sure it's only because it has been so busy around here. It's that fun kind of busy, though.
It started out on Monday, heading to the shore. Beautiful weather for this time of year, but by the next day (or was it the day after that?), Hurricane Ida was ashore in the south, barreling up the shoreline.
We thought that if it had been snow, we would have happily been trapped in our delightful suite for a few extra days, but we needed to get back. Personally, it was time for the Jan/Feb magazine deadline, and for my dearest, there were other commitments to return to. So we played and we ate and we relaxed and had fun. 
It was a delicious break before getting back to business on Thursday afternoon.
It started out on Monday, heading to the shore. Beautiful weather for this time of year, but by the next day (or was it the day after that?), Hurricane Ida was ashore in the south, barreling up the shoreline.
We thought that if it had been snow, we would have happily been trapped in our delightful suite for a few extra days, but we needed to get back. Personally, it was time for the Jan/Feb magazine deadline, and for my dearest, there were other commitments to return to. So we played and we ate and we relaxed and had fun. It was a delicious break before getting back to business on Thursday afternoon.On Friday, I puttered around at my favorite herb shop, and then ran home to begin preparations for the Balms and Salves class on Saturday. These classes are such fun! 
We are getting many requests to either do on-line classes or make DVD's of the ones we are holding - so we think that the taping will be easier.
Like we do with the soap, perhaps - we have the DVD, the kit that matches what we're doing exactly, and also the soap book. That seems to work well, I think.
Earlier today, we were putting the final touches on the shop at Frog Hollow so that Maryanne can open for the season. Usually the shop doesn't even open until Thanksgiving, but between the classes and people who come in while tagging trees (which seems to be very early this year because of the gorgeous weekends) the shelves needed to be restocked today and need another look tomorrow!
At some point, I wandered down into the woods to collect some dried things for a project we've been working on. We attempted some mold-making that didn't work out, so it looks like we'll be free-handing these faces. Sculpting doesn't come easily to me, but it is fun.
With the addition of the items I found in the woods, she came out better than I expected, and I can't wait to see how everything dries tomorrow!
Also today, while running an errand I ran across these berries on a tree. Are they autumn olives? I've been looking around for a while, and if they are, the whole town is full of them! I tasted one. It was sweet and tart. They are dotted like Asian pears.
So that's been my week.
In between we've gotten some spectacular articles for the next issue. I'm pretty excited about that too. We'll start putting it together and get it to the printer within a week or so. We learned our lesson about procrastination last time, and won't let that happen again.
And on that note...
Isn't this a gorgeous evening in November?
We are getting many requests to either do on-line classes or make DVD's of the ones we are holding - so we think that the taping will be easier. Like we do with the soap, perhaps - we have the DVD, the kit that matches what we're doing exactly, and also the soap book. That seems to work well, I think.Earlier today, we were putting the final touches on the shop at Frog Hollow so that Maryanne can open for the season. Usually the shop doesn't even open until Thanksgiving, but between the classes and people who come in while tagging trees (which seems to be very early this year because of the gorgeous weekends) the shelves needed to be restocked today and need another look tomorrow!
At some point, I wandered down into the woods to collect some dried things for a project we've been working on. We attempted some mold-making that didn't work out, so it looks like we'll be free-handing these faces. Sculpting doesn't come easily to me, but it is fun.
With the addition of the items I found in the woods, she came out better than I expected, and I can't wait to see how everything dries tomorrow!Also today, while running an errand I ran across these berries on a tree. Are they autumn olives? I've been looking around for a while, and if they are, the whole town is full of them! I tasted one. It was sweet and tart. They are dotted like Asian pears.
So that's been my week.In between we've gotten some spectacular articles for the next issue. I'm pretty excited about that too. We'll start putting it together and get it to the printer within a week or so. We learned our lesson about procrastination last time, and won't let that happen again.
And on that note...
Isn't this a gorgeous evening in November?