Washington County Fiber Tour

This weekend I went to visit my mom and we went to the Washington County Fiber Tour. There was approximately a dozen farms on the tour and we we saw 9 of them. It was a beautiful day to drive the countryside, stop and see the adorable animals, learn about where some fibers come from, and the care of fiber animals.

I will admit, I think that I would have enjoyed the tour more if I was a spinner. There was not as much yarn as I had hoped there would be available. Although there were Angora rabbits in two places, I did not see any yarn (there was spinnable fiber at one place). I still got three wonderful skins that mom bought me for my birthday.

We got to meet some brilliant people, who take excellent care of their animals and are extremely knowledgeable about their care and breeding. If there is anything like this in your area, I totally suggest going, it was and amazing day.

Wonderful Day...

I spent this afternoon at the Co-Op's Open house. It was pretty wonderful. It wasn't huge, but it was very well attended. I love to get to meet other producers and both members and non-members. The rain stayed away and it didn't get too cold until late afternoon. I got some great leads on other places to sell and some good insight on where not to.

Now I am home, trying to warm up, and starting some paperwork I need to get done.

The Cat's Have Forgiven Me...

So now I can really consider myself home. Took them about 4 1/2 hours before I got any love, and purrs, any attention at all. That is what I love about cats, they hold a grudge. I have to be on my best behavior around them or I get punished and have to sleep alone.

What a trip! It started out with the guy behind me (in first class) taking his shoes off and propping one between the seats, so close to me I was tempted to play "This Little Piggy". And having to listen to him hit on the flight attendants like it was 1975 and he was expecting to become part of the Mile High Club.

The first day or so we had no electricity in the apartment. Then they decided to repave the streets around the apartment building. Loud, stinky, and did I mention I didn't have any electricity for part of this?? Oh, and the cable was out.. on tax day...that day I am actually trying to pay the government the money I owe them on time. That is the problem with being self-employed.. you always owe (self-employment tax...) And when I tries to go for a walk after they were done paving there were a million little sticky, gooey, tar pebbles everywhere. and they got into your shoes like rocks and made your feet black and sticky and all over gross.

My highlight was the spa afternoon with my niece. Manicure and reflexology massage. I am sure my nails won't last through next week since I have so much soap to make and gardening to do, but for right now my nails feel sexy in their nude polish and buffed cuticles. It has been years 9maybe like 5) since I last polished my nails. The reflexology was incredible. It amazes me how just some pressure points on my feet can make me feel like I have gotten a full body massage.

I came home today and the flight was uneventful except for the landing into Philly where for a moment the plane felt like it was going right and left rather than straight. It was an odd wobbly feeling. I could do without that feeling again.

So what did I do while I was away (other than my taxes).. Well the fun stuff (yeah, right) included fixing the web site, looking for quotes on car insurance, and ordering grass seed for the lawn. I also got to watch C do his taxes, work late, get stuck in traffic, and have an employee quit in him (he had a tough week). The real fun stuff included lots of knitting (two hats, two afghan squares, and a sweater front left side), the spa appointment, a trip to the busiest most insane Wal-Mart I have ever seen, a trip to home depot, a walk on the beach, and the failed attempt to go to a boutique that never seems to be open when it says it will be.

And off to work tomorrow. I will be at the Lehigh Valley Co-op Open House. This is kinda a practice craft show for me. Find the tables, the table covers, some of the displays, my box of show stuff and just hope I can get through without a huge list of things that I forgot to bring. That reminds me, I need to go to the bank and get change..better write that down before I forget it...

Hope I see you tomorrow!

Healthy Open House

HEALTHY OPEN HOUSE at 860 Broad Street, Emmaus on Sunday, April 18th, 12-5pm. Open to the public – all are welcome! Stop in and see all the services and programs they offer. Lectures throughout the day. Free food. Natural foods available.

The Lehigh Valley Food Co-Op is offering toxin free skin care, komucha, sauerkraut & sprouted grain bread cooking classes and wild food foraging, and lecture by Sal LaDuca consultant, baubiologist and electromagnetic relief specialist. I will be there selling my products, so come on over and get to sniff the new stuff before craft shows start!

Freedom Platia of The Sanctuary for Healing Therapies is offering free chair massage and herbal elixirs in the Buddha Lounge;

Dr. Merlin Haas & Donna Haas of Alternative Healthcare are offering nutritional response testing and heart rate-nerve express testing;

Lisa Baas of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine is offering pulse and tongue evaluations and facial diagnosis;

Dr. Scot Kocis of Chirowerks Wellcare is offering functional medicine testing – your unique pattern of imbalance;

Erica McHugh and Britt Tagg of Emmaus Yoga will be offering yoga demos and intro classes.

Easter is Over.. Less Thank One Month Till Craft Shows

It is less than one month now until my first craft show of the year. Things are really heating up here in the workshop and I only have about 1800 more bars of soap to make to get me through until October when I will need to stock up again for the Holiday season.

Today I am going to pick up shaving mugs and soap dishes from Bebe at Pleasant Springs Pottery. I love the fact that I have my mugs made by someone local and that I can help another artisan too. What is great, is that when a customer buys a shaving mug, it actually helps two people, not just one. It is a win-win purchase for sure.

I have been very lucky this month and C gets to be home 9 days straight!! We picked out the shower pan for the bathroom redo and tentatively chose a wall color and a toilet color. Saturday I go and travel with him again, which means I get to see him for a whopping 15 days this month. Pretty cool!

Well, I am off to send in show applications, get some donations out, and clean my car (now that it warm, it is a science experiment in the making).

Back again...

So after being at a beach in the Caribbean the last few months, this time it was a beach closer to home. And it rained both days I got to really see it. I got to visit my friend Sandy at her beautiful farm in Delaware. What a lovely place, what overwhelmingly lovely hospitality, and besides the rain, I have learned I just love this part of the country. Parts kinds reminded me of the area around Hilton Head Island, SC. I love how each town has its own beach, sometimes boardwalk, and certainly its own charm and personality. I could spend a week or more there just window shopping, and exploring the area.

I got to be friends with Mopsy, who's size and temperament really reminded me of Pimienta. I couldn't stop paying attention to her and even dreamed that she jumped into bed with me one night (but she didn't- the door was closed...)My stay was overall much too short and I hope that I get to go back again soon.

Of course as with every time you take a few days off you seem to come back to chaos. I had orders to bring to the co-op, supplies to pick up, and gift baskets to fill. Today I met with a new bride and finished up the plans for her wedding favors.

I also learned today that the pipe that runs to the outside faucet runs right through my workshop.. how did I learn this you ask?? Because while running the hose for the first time this season, we learned that the pipe had burst over the winter, and it filled my shop with about an inch of water in one area. Kinda put a damper on the days activities, and will impact soapmaking tomorrow too for sure, since everything had to be moved and dried out, and needs to be replaced tomorrow. I thought about taking pictures.. and decided it was too depressing... much worse than when I overflowed the sink last year.