Learning already

It's only been a week and a half into the new year, and I'm already learning things! Things like:

1) It is coooold in January even when you go as far south as Patagonia, Arizona. But we had a nice trip anyway.

the dry desolation of southeast Arizona

Yes, that's snow on the ground.

outside our cabin window at Ramsey Canyon Inn

2) I should have kept in touch with the professional artists who thought very highly of my art skills because they would have made me feel guilty for mostly wasting the last 25 years of my life and not working harder at honing my skills (yes, I'm thinking of you, Bill Mammarella and Rick Ortwein).

3) Root veggies like kohlrabi and rutabaga are versatile, tasty, and keep well.


There are a few more things, but I won't bore you with my list. How about you? Learn anything new or deep in the first week plus of January?

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Handmade Beauty Box and a garden update

Yes, I used to make soaps: sushi soaps (+ pickled ginger and wasabi soaps) circa 2008

A number of years ago, I used to make novelty soaps, so I was reading the Soap Queen blog religiously. But, then, I had to make time to focus on writing, and stopped soaping, though I made some good friends in that community.

One of those wonderful friends is Michelle (Within the Hive) whose post about Soap Queen/Bramble Berry's newest venture, Handmade Beauty Box: DIY Delivered, I saw on Facebook.

Handmade Beauty Box: DIY Delivered is a brilliant idea that I've been waiting for. I love trying out craft projects with kits and wished there were kits for making my own skincare and beauty products. They must have read my mind. :)

Anyway, Soap Queen held a giveaway contest asking for suggestions on what people would like to see in these kits, as well as to vote for a new logo, and I was one of two lucky ducks to win a three month subscription!

The first kit will be shipped in December and I can't wait! I'll post about the packages and also my results (hopefully, I won't embarrass myself too much), so be sure to check in and you can laugh (with me, not at me, right?) at my attempts. In the meantime, go check out Handmade Beauty Box at Facebook, Twitter, Intagram, and Pinterest to see if it might be something you would like to do!

* * *
It's the end of July (ACK!!) and time to start preparing for the fall garden. Here are a few fall crops that hubby planted.

from front to back: gai lan, rutabaga, and kohlrabi

Chinese cabbage

malabar spinach - a first for us

There is plenty to harvest now though.

4 different kinds of basil: sweet, Genovese, Thai, and lime

about 80 heads of garlic

ginormous onions

harvested yellow onions; red and storage onions to come

 And look what else is growing in our garden...

3 little Song Sparrow eggs

How's your summer harvest? Do you plant fall crops?

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

It-that-has-yet-to-be-named

I don't think I mentioned it on this blog, but my friends on Facebook know that we bought a new tractor recently.

For those who were asking for picture of it, here's an action shot:

Stace (Stace's Space) named her Kubota "Tallulah-belle"; I'm thinking we'll just leave it as "it-that-has-yet-to-be-named", or "Voldemort" for short (though, come to think of it, it's more of a Darth Sidious coloration).

Now she's ready for her close-up, with hubby at the wheel:

But it's not all macho-tractor stuff around here.  There's also the other goodies, like this bounty from our garden (except the carrots) that hubby used to make a Thai curry dish for dinner the previous night:

Starting at the top, going clock-wise: kale, eggplant, basil, carrots, patty-pan squash, summer squash, and kohlrabi. Good eats!

Have a great weekend!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams