In Bloom

 

Here's something you rarely see me post about. Things in bloom. We never had sun here in the summer because of all the trees but they are gone now and I'm trying to get used to all this light My poor hydrangea isn't happy with all the sun. I had to trim it way back in hopes of saving it but it did produce one flower. It was a very brave effort.

The hostas aren't loving it either. They are all burnt but they did produce an amazing array of flowers this year in spite of the foliage looking so bad. 

The rogue Black Eyed Susan was the first to bloom. The potted one is still in bud. The deer ate the ones I had transplanted out into the little bed in the yard so that's sad. 

The half dead pot of dried up marigolds The Mister rescued from Walmart have recovered and burst into flower.

As have these things. I want to call them petunias but I'm not sure. These were rescued from the dead and dying plants section at the hardware store so I'm not sure what they are. They seem to be very happy in their new home. 

These came from the same shelf but I'm pretty sure these are petunias even if they aren't a color of petunias that I am familiar with. My mother always grew red and white striped ones. Every year. Same color. 

The pitiful little pink and purple geraniums I also brought home are trying their best but I'm worried. The foliage looks good but the flowers look rather stunted and tattered. 

That pot of Shasta Daisies that I thought had died over the winter did a spectacular job of blooming this year. I had at least twenty blooms at its peak. I've been dead heading them hoping to get a second bloom but that might be asking a lot in this heat. 

There are even two buds on my new rose that the deer haven't discovered yet. 

Out on the deck the lavender has turned purple. 

We've got the ghost garden thing going on there too. Behind them you see the infamous roof ladder The Mister uses to clean out the gutters. He did survive his latest trip up there but couldn't get them cleared out of tree debris even with the drain snake. I've almost convinced him to call the gutter people who worked on them while he was recuperating from his replacement surgeries. I'm still working on it. He's very stubborn about such things.

The reason for the nets is this. We've got cherry tomatoes ripening and curious squirrels, vultures and raccoons. Hopefully they are not smart enough to bypass the netting. 

Wednesday WIPs: A June Finish

 

The June panel of the Doodle Cowl was finished on time. I thought that big snowflake would take me into to July but it didn't. I'm picking a small doodle for July because on Saturday the TdF begins and I'll have other things to do. 

I've only got these Uneek socks in progress right now. The purple ones from Miss Babs went to the frog pond. Life is too short to knit with naughty yarn even if it was expensive. They really irritated me. 

Row One of Section Two has begun. I was looking forward to bringing in the blue but this dark blue is hard to work with. I need a bright day or a bright light. I can barely see what I'm doing which is something I can say about a lot of things right now. 

TNT: A Big Finish

 

Woo hoo! Funky Flower is finished! I can hardly believe it. What's even crazier is that I started this just a year ago last March. 

I've already put my first sad attempt at needlepoint back on the empty frame. This was not a good one for a beginner. It's still a bit advanced for me but since I've accepted the wonkiness of my stitches it's been fun to work on again. I had no idea that I'd like needlepoint so much but I do. 

I also finished another panel on the Garden sampler. I added another bird and a bunny to the top curlicue thing and a few more trees up there. Now I just have to add some more trees to the bottom of the forest and all the leaves on the curlicue. 

I know I said Soap Week was over yesterday and it almost was until I thought about making some unscented milk soap. It's made with plenty of coconut and goat's milk with a splash of buttermilk. It's the one I use the most so it's good to have plenty on hand. At least that's what I tell myself but the truth is that I just like to make soap. It's hard to stop once I get going.

And of course I re-made that ugly Apricot and Honey soap. I still had some good stuff to use up so why not. Now everything is clean and tidy in the room so I won't be tempted to make more but....I do have one more small container of pre-measured lye so this might not be the bitter end but it will be a break at least until we get past the holiday.

Oatmeal, Milk and Honey AND Lavender and Sage

 

 Soap Week has finally come to an end. We're off Grand sitting again this week so it was time to clean it all up and put it all away.

This was another crazy pour as you can see by the plop top. I was scraping it out as fast as I could. No time to get fancy here. 

Like the name implies, Oatmeal, Milk and Honey has colloidal oatmeal in it and I always forget that it thickens up quickly because of it. No harm was done by the looks of it but it was another good workout for my reflexes. 

Lavender and Sage was also made in the last few days. It was the new recipe but it performed just as well as the old one. There were lots of good plops.

Not bad. The purple stayed purple and the green stayed green. Yay.

Freshly Zested Lemon

 

 I don't have any photos of this soap in progress because it was a very hectic morning around here. Trying to squeeze in time for soap was a challenge.

I had The Mister up on a ladder on the roof (!) trying to figure out why the gutters weren't draining. I wasn't happy about that. One slip and fall and his new hip and knee could be history. I lived through that with my dad and DO NOT want to go there again. All this was going on as an Ikea delivery truck slowly crept towards us all morning. I do appreciate the mapped tracking but the waiting and watching makes me a nervous wreck. That's my new mattress and new recliner (!). Yet another sign of old age. I need a special chair to sit in and a firmer hybrid type mattress both to support my aching back. Oy...

Making matters worse was that it was also lye day. I had to open a new container and do a lot of measuring. I hate doing that. The lye part is my least favorite thing about making soap. It's scary.

I like to pour out several days worth at a time into small containers so I don't have to fool with measuring it out every day. If it wasn't for Cindy from Delighted Hands I wouldn't be making soap at all. She talked me through it back in the very beginning. 

I had high hopes for the new Sunday Funday yellow mica but that's a rather bland yellow. It's still better than some of the other yellows I've tried. The search continues. Color issues aside, I always look forward to throwing this one in the pot. It makes the whole house smell amazing for days.

Herbal Essence

 

I saved the fragrance oil that started the herbal quest for last. I'm sad to say I've run out of new fragrances to try but I'm not done making soap. Since I still have some ingredients left, I'm going to be making some oldies but goodies for the next few days.

Here's the plop photo proving that from start to finish this specific recipe has been a winner. 

Tomorrow I've got to change up the recipe to phase out ingredients that I've run out of and bring in some that I didn't use this time around.  It'll be interesting to see if my luck still holds out. As for the Herbal Essence fragrance....it's a big no. It's too sweet and fruity. I can't tell you what the original smelled like but I'd know it if I sniffed it and this isn't it. Too bad.

Swedish Dream Sea Salt

 

I have no idea why I bought this fragrance sample. I didn't know it was a "thing".

While writing this post I just discovered that this fragrance is a knock off of the original scent made by the soap makers at KalaStyle. They describe it as smelling like cool, crisp ocean air. The fragrance people say it smells like cucumber, lavender, balsam, lime and oakmoss with a hint of musk. That's a nose full of scents.  

Sea salt? I've got it. I used to sprinkle it on the tops of all my soap until I realized the salt would draw moisture from the air and make the tops sticky. I gave this loaf a dose of it anyway because how could I not? 

Here's the plop photo before I smashed it all in and gave it a sprinkle. All these batters have been behaving so beautifully. I don't know where all this good juju is coming from but I'll take it. 

Taking it out of the mold the next morning was interesting. After tipping it out I realized the top was covered in water. I had taken the soap out of the cooler and sat it by an open window while we took the dog for a walk. Bad move. I didn't even think about all the early morning humidity coming in on the ground floor. It melted all the sea salt and gave the loaf a nice bath in sea water. I had to hold it upside down for a while to drain before I could cut it.

Each bar then had to be dried off but it didn't seem to be an issue. Some people steam their bars to remove soda ash so a little water never hurts. I'm hoping that's the end of the sea salt drama because I love how these turned out. I've even started liking that strange scent. It grows on you.