Yes, it's really that blue

Just a few photos of Hawaii from last week. Yes, the water really is that incredible turquoise blue, the sky is really that unbelievable blue, and the superfine sand is really that white - so amazing. I still can't believe I was there just a few days ago. It's such a different world from here.









The last two days have been a flurry of work. All the orders are caught up. The mailing is at the printer now and should be ready tomorrow. Which means that I'll spend the weekend stuffing it, and finishing up the website for the big announcements on Monday.

I've updated the calendar section of the website so far, and am working behind the scenes on the rest of it. It's now a lovely pink scene, with a few new photos too. The rest will be uploaded Sunday - when I get the bulk of the product photos finished and everything proof-read.

Today I'm working on getting a pile of new inventory ready to take over to Collage. I want the shop to be ready for the spring debut, and I'd like to have a pile of new things for Valentine's Day too. I'll have my little display all fixed up there tomorrow, when I can get a break to drive over and do the shuffle. Just wanted to mention that the shop is closed Mondays this month, since it's such a slow month. I'll check on the schedule for February and make a note of it here and on the website so nobody makes a wasted trip over.

And with that, I'll leave you with a few seconds of surfing the Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore - super windy day, and major big waves - so that's all the rushing sound in the background. It's just a teeny clip from my digital camera, not a real video, so it's not going to get an Oscar. Just wanted to try a new thingie.

I'm back!

Just flew in late last night from a week in Hawaii. I sorely needed a little bit of sunny paradise and it looks like I took the perfect week of cold and snow warnings to ditch the gray skies.

It's hard to readjust to this shabby looking little world I left just a few days ago. This morning, looking out my window to the blowing winds and gray little winter neighborhood, it looks like a scene in black and white after all that technicolor turquoise ocean, brilliant tropical jungle flowers, lush vegetation and colorful paradise. January in Seattle is not nearly as pretty, it looks bleak and dead.

I'm glad to be back to my lonely little cats and fluffy bed. But the pile of work I need to plow through today is huge and I miss the beach already. The very worst part of vacations is the first day back home - unpacking and laundry, replying to all the calls, emails and whatnot, catching up and getting back into the groove. By the second day, you're in the swing. Today I'm still floating on the waves and not ready to get started.

Just dusting off the cobwebs in here and checking to make sure it still works. Then I'm finishing up orders all afternoon. I'm even optimistically hoping to get the last little polishing touches done on the mailing and over to the printers - but if I'm being honest, it's not going anywhere until tomorrow.

Standing on the white sand beach, the vast and powerful ocean lapping at your toes, and the limitless, mysterious universe of stars overhead . . . well, it's an awesome thing. Just a tiny speck. Even less than a speck, I am. Peaceful was what I took away from it. No big breakthroughs or life changing moments. Just a calming, a frolic in the warm sun, and a little check on the list of things I've always wanted to see. It's beautiful there, the people are so friendly and helpful, but I'm not a big rum and fruit juice drinker and I think they need more consonants or less vowels in their language. Every word we tried to pronounce had multiple a,e,i,o,u's and a few k's and l's - sounding more like we were suffering some stomach ailment.

Not complaining - I'll go back any time. Tomorrow even.

Winter Break

Ooooh, I love stamps. And I love Chinese lanterns too. So these new stamps, just released, are doubly wonderful. I had to have them for the new spring mailing in February. Yes, you'll get one if you're on my mailing list. Soooooo pretty.

Big Announcement - drum roll please. I am closing up the shop this week for a winter break. No orders, no calls, no nothing until Tuesday Jan 29th. Everything is on hold for a week of rest, recuperation and play. Hopefully this doesn't cause somebody grief and inconvenience. But I need a break and this boring, sleepy time of year is a good excuse to slip off and play hookie.

Have a good week everybody!

Nothing is Lost

Nothing Is Lost

Deep in our sub-conscious, we are told
Lie all our memories, lie all the notes
Of all the music we have ever heard
And all the phrases those we loved have spoken,
Sorrows and losses time has since consoled,
Family jokes, out-moded anecdotes
Each sentimental souvenir and token
Everything seen, experienced, each word
Addressed to us in infancy, before
Before we could even know or understand
The implications of our wonderland.
There they all are, the legendary lies
The birthday treats, the sights, the sounds, the tears
Forgotten debris of forgotten years
Waiting to be recalled, waiting to rise
Before our world dissolves before our eyes
Waiting for some small, intimate reminder,
A word, a tune, a known familiar scent
An echo from the past when, innocent
We looked upon the present with delight
And doubted not the future would be kinder
And never knew the loneliness of night.

by Noel Coward

Shorts

A few quickie updates today:

The soapmaking class at Molbak's is postponed due to construction work in the main stage area. Don't exactly know the new date yet, but working on it, and will let you know as soon as it's finalized.

I've updated the clearance page of the web site with some of the winter holiday stuff, in case you're looking for a little bargain.

I'll be closing the office from Jan 22 through the 28th for a short mid-winter break. Any orders that come in during that time will be shipped Jan 29th.

I'm working towards getting the spring newsletter and announcements out Feb 1st. It's a really short deadline between the holidays and the end of January. Spring is a relatively quiet season, so I'm not planning a whole list of new products. I'm focusing on a splendid list of new soap scents instead. And I'll have all the regular soaps back in stock, most of them with the new, super luscious recipe. I'm adding a smidge of shea butter and hemp oil to the standard recipe for all the soaps, just to make them that much better. More moisturizing, more creamy, more yummy than ever before.

Soap is what I do, so I'm trying to give you all the very best. There's a bunch of it on the drying racks now, and I'm adding the "sold out" scents back to the website as quickly as I can.

Feed the birds

Yesterday. One afternoon of glorious sunshine. And it was really beautiful, don't get me wrong. But after all these days of dark grey skies, the sunshine illuminated a whole lot of dirt in the house that I hadn't really noticed before. Dust and cobwebs, filthy windows, it was horrifying. I had to spend the day cleaning.

My neighbor was shouting about how it was the best snowboarding day of the year, but I was outdoors washing my windows from the outside. It really made such a difference, so much brighter and lighter in here. Not that you'd know that today - its' grey, cold and raining again, sigh.

I think that's why everyone gets in the mood to do some spring cleaning. A few sunny days and you realize that you've been living in dust bunny heaven and have to do something about it. It's obviously a little early for all that yet, but our one big day of sunshine certainly reminded me that spring is truly right around the corner.

Little tops of bulbs are poking up in my garden everywhere. And the bushes are budding out little pink pokey things. I can't wait to see green and life again. Birds too. There are a few that show up for little bits of time when the rains stops for a minute. But I miss all the squawking and carrying on that spring brings.

What I love this week: lemon and citrus everything - I can't get enough lemon (scurvy?), the new FRS health supplements that just arrived, hanging out in front of the heater vents with the cats, the colors pink and orange, flannel sheets (light blue, with polka dots!) and filing. You? what's up, yo?

Rain, rain, go away

It's been so dark, gray and wet that it's hard to get out from under the blankies in the morning. And hard to get motivated to leave the house or do anything at all.

My shift at the shop yesterday was lonely - hardly a peep from anyone, the streets empty, even the radio was dull and lethargic. I'm headed back there tomorrow, but I'll bring a magazine or something to keep me occupied while the rest of the world hibernates.

Even though it is supremely difficult to get excited about work again, I've somehow managed to finish all the bookkeeping chores and last year turned out ok. A teeny bit down from the year before, but with the loss of all the Country Craft shows, plus the first year without the Tacoma market too, I really can't complain. Somehow the rest of my sales rallied to almost cover what was missing. The competitive side of me is rallying to make this year a whole lot better.

Soap making is under way too. And that is almost harder to get up and running again. It's like a giant rock that you were rolling up hill and chugging along, but once you stop for a break, it's back-breaking to start moving again. I don't know why - because I'm actually excited about the new soaps. I've got some Spring soaps that I really want to see how they turn out. And I'm working out a little change in the recipe for all the soaps. I'm taking them up a notch and adding shea butter and hemp oil to all the soaps for just a little more pampering and moisturizing luxury. It's worked out so nicely in the Rosemary Orange and Bergamot soaps that I wanted to make the whole line just a tad bit more luscious. The first few batches are just catch-up of what I've done in the past, but I'm doing a new batch here and there to work out any glitches before I go whole hog.

And there's other ideas too that I need to work on. And I WANT to work on them. But the gray skies, cold winds, and happily napping cats are making me sleepy and tired all week. In the end, I think January really is a month for nurturing oneself and I probably need the sleep. Eating healthy, taking it slow, catching up on sleep and slowly rebuilding strength for what's to come this year. It's part of the cycle, and a necessary step in the progression of seasons.

Spring will be here before you know it, but that's next month. For now, we're still buried under the blankies, making plans.

Cashmere Booties

Mmmmm, warm cashmere booties, so precious. This was the window display at Purl Soho in New York a few weeks ago when I went to visit just before Christmas. I mostly spent the time window shopping all over town, soaking in the holiday lights and decorations, taking in all the holiday spirit.

Yah, I know I mentioned that I would post pics of the lights to share, but I just got a little too frazzled in those last few days before Christmas and had to remove myself for a brief bit. Now it's all long over, but I wanted to share a few of the cuter little displays anyway. Cuz it's all so cute and creative and nothing like the same old stuff we see here.

Here's another little window at Purl:



ABC Carpet & Home



Tinsel Trading Company



Two cool windows at the big Anthropologie store at Rockefeller Plaza. An igloo made out of milk cartons, and a little skating scene illuminated in the middle of like a 2-story dress (only a slight exaggeration).





The most amazing little sweets at a Japanese treat shop. Almost architectural, they looked like they were made from clay.



And the most fun - the holiday markets around town. Little clusters of outdoor tents set up, with artisans and craftspeople selling their cool wares for holiday gifts, similar to the markets they have in Europe during December. We browsed around Columbus Circle (here) and the other one in Bryant Park too, around the skating rink. Several soap vendors out there too, everyone with their own little take on the business. Loved it.

TGIF

Ah the joys of working at home. I am spending the morning in my flannel jammie pants at the computer. It's boring, to be sure. I need to input all the mailing list info, order info, and bookkeeping stuff from the last couple of months.

It's all data and numbers and mumbo that is necessary for the business, but stuff I hate. If I can plow through even a chunk of it, I need to do a complete inventory this afternoon of every single item of product or supply in the studio. Necessary for taxes. But a good way to get things organized and cleaned up after the mad rush. If there are any crumbs left, I may have a few things to put up on the clearance sale page. But I'm not expecting it, there's not a lot here. Just a jumble.

I met with Lauren, the events planner at Molbak's (the best nursery/garden store in the universe) yesterday. We have big plans. I'll be teaching a soapmaking class there on Feb 2nd. And if it goes great, there will be more, and possibly my soaps in the shop, and maybe a spa series of workshops down the road, and, and. We'll see. One step at a time.

But the first class is a for-sure thing. I've started working on the handouts and class description. It will be on their calendar page in a few days or so. And when we get it in print, and have a phone number for registering, I'll post all the info here immediately - and on the calendar of the web site too. But if you are so inclined to learn how to make soap the old-fashioned way, from scratch, put a little star on your own calendar for Sat, Feb 2, 2:30pm and check back next week.

Today I feel out of sorts - not in the bad mood way, just not sorted out. Like there is a mountain of bits and pieces I need to put together to make sense of what needs to be done this month. I just transferred my 2008 calendar, writing in the birthdays and such, setting up my new system for this year. But I have a pile of stuff next to it that still needs to be put into time. Fliers, notices, due dates of things that are awaiting placement in the big book of "WHAT TO DO". Without my little system I am lost. And since the first lists haven't even been started yet, I'm still wandering around in the forest a bit. I'm starting on the first few tasks of the month that have to be done first. And I have to sort out the giant mound of everything else that needs attention this month. January can be really hard, with all the planning and scheduling and rush to get spring in the hopper before February 1.

I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed and behind already, on the like the second day into the new year. I'm still a little fragile from all the overwhelm of the last few months. I know it's all doable and I've been here before. But I'm not feeling that sort of "endless time to do it all in" feeling that I usually get in January. Instead I'm already feeling the pressure of deadlines with a planned vacation coming up at the end of the month plus the class, newsletter, spring seasonals and announcements all due the following week. Better get cracking.

At least it's in my slippers, with the cats napping cozily next to me. Rough, eh? Cue the violins.

Happy New Year!

2008. And so it begins. A clean slate. A fresh, crisp, page of paper in a brand new notebook on the first day of school. So much promise and hope.

I have to admit, 2007 was a difficult year. It felt so out of control most of the time. By the last few weeks, I kind of just let go and gave up, anxious to put it behind me and start over. There was really nothing more I could do, and nothing I could say that made sense. The voice in my head just sounded hysterical and helpless.

I closed up the studio and took a week off. A few days later, it's a little far-fetched to believe that just a little bit of reckless celebrating and everything is different. But it's a new year on the calendar and I'm looking forward, not backward. I got a chance to even spend more than two minutes on my computer and I caught Alicia's post about her Christmas Wish. It describes what I've been feeling so well, and so many other people I've talked with lately are feeling it too. The holidays and rush are over now, so let the silence, peace and balance begin, I say.

January is a month of relative quiet, hibernating and working ahead. I want to make a lot of changes. But I haven't even started yet. Today I'm at the shop and catching up orders that came in all week. Tomorrow begins the clean-up and focused soap-making. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I have almost no soap at all in here. I'll need to work quickly to get back up to speed and have something to actually sell and fill more orders with.

Back to work day. Ugh. And yay, too. I'm reluctant to have to look at the mess here that I just dropped and walked away from, but I'm also a bit excited to put order to the whole unresolved nagging pile, slowly put things right, and take action on my new ideas. A toast to turning the page. Um, sparkly water of course, since we're all probably on diets today too :)

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas.

And a season of peace and goodwill.

Tipsy Tips

I spent the weekend in New York City. Left for just a quick few days to catch the holiday lights, window displays and do a bit of shopping. I was hoping to catch some holiday spirit, and it was really a wonderful getaway.

I want to post pics and say something more about the trip, but I'm tipsy. For weeks, (months) before I left, I'd been getting up by 5am to start work, plug right on through til 9pm or so, and fall into bed and die. Only to do it all over again each day, never quite getting everything done that had to be done right this very minute. So last Friday when I left, I was thinking that it must finally be over, it must surely be winding down. There has to be at least a day or two that I can have to myself to get my own shopping done, my own holiday festivities under way? And if I had stayed here, I would have worked myself right on through and probably be in a straight jacket by now.

So I left. It was good, and the perfect antidote to all this holiday stress. But I came back to another pile of last minute orders, several calls from Bellingham saying that my table at Allied Arts was empty, the Collage shop shelves empty . . . more more more. I spent the night before packaging stuff to send by courier over to the shop, instead of packing my socks. I put a couple big orders on hold til I got back. I came home to an even bigger list of things . . . work shifts the first couple of days, orders from morning until night. I'm worked out. So I got back from Collage and did a few more orders. Then when I got back from UPS and USPS, I tossed back a couple.

It's the only way I can survive this one more evening of frenzied packaging and pricing, to leave before the crack of dawn and drive to Bellingham and restock the show before they open tomorrow. There are 5 more shopping days til Christmas. I'll be up late again. And up earlier again. And rushing again all day.

So listen up all you Bellingham peeps -- here's the tip: if you get to my table tomorrow, there may possibly even be soap and products there. I've got soap bars, lip balms, some salve and stuffs. It will be as loaded as I can get it. But it won't last long. Everything is getting snapped up quickly, and the early worm . . . blah blah.

And if you live somewhere else? the mail order is over. I can't get it to you by Christmas. I tried the UPS thing to the East Coast today and if you want to pay the equivalent of a honey baked ham to ship it, you can have it there by next Thursday. The Post Office is slogged too, and even Priority in Seattle is iffy. I'm willing to do a quickie or two by Friday, but there are no guarantees. I restocked Collage both days I worked this week, Tuesday and Wednesday. I brought over lots and lots. And sold even more, it looked like.

So think about your lists now. Get over there quickly. It's all there is until mid January. I'm not kidding this time. I'm seriously sold out of a big list of items, both holiday and regular. And I'm not making more until January, so there just won't be any for a few weeks. Everything I saved and divvied and spread around is in 2 places -- Bellingham tomorrow morning or Collage. The home studio is dry, empty, barren, nothing. Which includes me. That's my news.

I'm downloading all my super coolio pics of New York shops and lights and cheer. I'll post more later. Back to the hamster wheel for now -

Baby, it's cold outside

Brrrrrrrr! It's so cold this week.

I really have nothing to report, except that I'm working like a slave and it's not that fun. In the very back of my mind, I'm beginning to think about how to do this all differently next year. Because clearly a lot of things haven't worked out all that well as I got to crunch time. Obviously I need to get a better system in place for the next go-around. It feels a bit disappointing. I haven't gotten past the stress to get to that "excited and challenging" part yet.

The sales, however, are NOT disappointing. That part is wonderful and new. I just got pinched hard when everything began to reach a different level this year.

I'm working at Collage today, and twice next week. And the remainder of the weekend, I'm taking a couple of days to get some holiday spirit. I need a brain vacation so I'm setting the whole thing on a shelf until next week. Hope you all get a little time to play and do fun stuff too during this super busy season. It all goes by so fast. And I was beginning to feel like I would miss the entire thing completely if I didn't stop the train and jump off at the next station, even if it's only a few hours. See you next week!

Quiet Sunday

Oh, blessed, quiet, day of calm.

I think I'm finally downgrading from code red to code orange. The flood was cleaned up and the studio reorganized. Bellingham was restocked. By Thursday I had caught up with all the current mail orders. Friday I worked at Collage and spruced up and restocked them too. I even got a few hours off in the evening to socialize! Do holiday stuff!

And then, wonder of wonders, I took a day off yesterday to decorate the tree, string the outdoor lights and deck the halls with a little holiday spirit. But it was sorta of slow and apathetic, because I'm so darn tired. My sweet kitty, Dora, is having a love affair with the tree - batting off all the lower ornaments, rearranging the light strings, and sleeping under the branches in her little fuzzy blanket. It's adorable, most of the time.

Today is quiet - a day of cleaning, laundry, catching up on extra stuff. I feel like it's the first breath in a long time, like I've been underwater, holding my air til I'm blue, and I've just blasted to the surface. I'm working ahead on getting all the new orders out tomorrow, right on time. It's by choice. I don't really have to work today, but I want to do some shopping and errands tomorrow. That's one of the good things about being self-scheduled. I don't have to fight the crowds on weekends. I can wait until the weekday and head out early to avoid some of the craziness. So today I'm staying home and getting things put to rights and hopefully taking a long nap.

I'm also making more batches of soap almost every day. Just to fill in holes, and get all the flavors back on the list. As of now there are several scents that are sold out again. I had made small batches of all of them - just to get me through that last little hump of shows, but they sold out almost immediately. The next round of little batches will be ready Dec 18th. What's missing is: Cedar Musk, Citrus Basil Scrub, Breakfast, Lavender Pear and Red Currant. They WILL be back in stock. I am working on it as fast as I can. Everything else is good and ready for last minute Chrismas shopping.

When I finally get a bigger chunk of quiet time to catch up on paperwork and bookkeeping, I'm expecting that the mail order and web site have finally outgrown the show money. I hope so. That was the goal. Or at least get closer. I want to make changes next year - yes, like make a ton more soap earlier so this running out thing doesn't happen again. But also change up the show schedule, maybe do fewer little ones anyway. Concentrate on the internet sales more because it's a much more effective use of my time. Can it be? Is it already time for resolutions and new year planning?

The Flood

Yep, it was bad. Woke up to a flooded basement (you too?!) - the furnace and the water heater washed out, a couple of racks of soap floating. Not what I needed. What I needed was a day off, to sleep in and relax. What I got was panic, bailing water with buckets and complete chaos. It took all day to get pumped out, rearranged, appliances back in working order. I've never seen so much water everywhere. Relentless. That's the word my neighbor used. And he's right, it just never seems to stop.

I was able to make a stab at the piles of mail orders, and shipped off about half of them. My re-stocking trip to Bellingham is moved to tomorrow. Soap of the Month club packages are a day behind too, but heading out. If I start to think about everything on my list I just flip out - so I've made priorities, and just take it one at a time. There's never enough time in this month, I think.

Even though it feels completely out of control, I'm pretending it's all going to turn out fine anyway. One step at a time. Baby steps.

It SNOWED!

Oh my GOSH! It snowed yesterday!!

Great big snowflakes, all afternoon. I never expected we would get that much, and it actually stuck. At least for the afternoon and evening. The kids were sledding and throwing snowballs, the cats were hopping around in it, when they finally braved it out from under the bushes. Or so my sister said. I was at the Phinney Ridge show all day, watching out the window and wondering how bad it really was. Because I needed to zip over to Bellevue as soon as we were done and break down the Hilltop show.

Turns out, it was starting to get slushy by then, and the roads were just wet, not icy. And the shows went very well. Almost too well.

There seems to be a shift in the universe lately. Suddenly there is so much more demand for the soap bars than I could ever have imagined. And I can't keep up with it. The mail order is so much bigger this year. The orders are larger than I've ever dreamed of. The shows are selling so many bars, bars, bars. It's not the same for all the other stuff, although that part is ok. But the bars of soap are flying out faster than I can make them.

For example, most years I'm doing another couple of shows this weekend in addition to Phinney. And I can only swing enough bars for the first day at that show, hoping that whatever I pick up from breaking down the other two shows on Saturday night will carry me through Sunday. Well this year I was only doing one, and it was the smaller one. So being all smarty pants, I had enough time and soap to bring the whole load yesterday - as much soap as I sold for the entire show last year.

However, by late in the afternoon, I was almost sold out. And what was left at Hilltop - almost nothing. And what I have here on the shelves - less than nothing it looks like. I've got orders all set aside that need to be shipping this week. And I've got just a handful of bars I was saving to restock Bellingham - far less than I would have wanted. And after that? Maybe 4 of this, 6 of that. The other batches curing need at least a week or two before they can go out - they are still squishy. So no way can I sneak those over.

I'm going to have empty bins. I'm going to have to be creative. And the shoppers today will have to come early or settle for other things -- like lip balm, bath salts, the fizzies. Plenty of those. But it's hard to sell little gift sets of soap mitts, washcloths, soap dishes and . . . . . . . no soap. I'm disappointed that I missed the mark, but who expected it?

So now, I do the best that I can, and crank up my plans for next year. If I get started early enough, and work hard enough, maybe. Just maybe. Pfffffffft. And then next year it will be the year of something else. Nah. I think the message is: it's the soap, baby. Just the soap.

Hazard

Do you know how hard it is to wash your hair with one hand? And I've got a stupid gyno appt this morning, so of course I need to shave my legs. I've never done it with just my left hand. Not a good look. Or brush my teeth with only my left hand either, trying not to get the bandage wet. I'm a dork. And still flipping mad at myself for being so dumb.

That's all. I'm working with a smaller bandaid this morning. And the typing is a little better, but still a challenge. I'm going to lose the whole fingernail at some point. But at least it's not still gushing blood any more. Progress.

This is the weirdest week - I'm still not quite past the Thanksgiving thing, and totally not feeling the Christmas thing yet, but I'm already working on Spring. No holiday decorations, no shopping, no gifts, no fa la la yet. Haven't even thought about it much and it will pass me by before you know it. There's only a few short weeks left and I need to squeeze in some festive festivities and schmaltz up the place with tinsel.

Spring, Valentine's Day . . . all that needs to be ready to go as soon New Year's is over. So soaps need to be made, ideas drummed up and packaging supplies on order. I can barely keep up with holiday mail orders and I'm thinking roses and chocolates, birds and bunnies. I'm also working out plans to teach a soap-making class at Molbak's at the beginning of February. I'll keep you posted when we get that finalized. It won't be big, but it's kind of an exciting new thing to look forward to. I haven't taught classes in years and years, but the process hasn't changed :)

Ah, and show applications. A whole pile of them on the desk for the year ahead, and they want it now. Photos, fees, contracts. Gosh, a gal can hardly enjoy the moment it's over because it's already begun again. The wheels keep on turning, turning, turning. The road never ends.

This Week's Shows

Hey - this is the last week I'm going to have to say this for the whole year! I've got two shows this week, and that does it for me until 2008. Of course there is still mail order, there is always mail order, and plenty of time to ship before Christmas.

Hilltop Holiday Craft Show
Northwest Arts Center
9825 NE 24th St.
Bellevue, WA (Clyde Hill)

Dates: November 28, 29 and 30, Dec 1
Times: Wed-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-5pm

This is a boutique style show with a central cashier, and lots of fun holiday gifts.
Link: Hilltop Holiday

Winter Festival and Crafts Fair
Phinney Ridge Community Center
6532 Phinney Ave N, Seattle

Dates: Saturday and Sunday, Dec 1 and 2
Hours: 10am-5pm both days

There is a small admission fee ($4) which supports the Phinney Ridge
Community Center and its programs. Artists (115 booths) are present at their booths, and this is truly one of the highest quality shows with lots of holiday gift items. Donations for local food banks are requested here. Food and entertainment is available throughout the show too.

Location: Red/Preschool Room in the lower level of the Main Building.
Link: Phinney Winter Festival

And of course I'll be at Allied Arts in Bellingham all week too, in fact that show continues until Dec 24th. So make your lists and head over, maybe a few times.


I'm so relieved to be in the final stretch of shows. And it's a good thing too - I cut my finger badly this evening and can't type worth a nockel, um, or nickel. It's back to 2 fingers and a huge bandaid in the way. So my happy week of tying little ribbons on soap bars is looking dreary. Maybe when the throbbing dies down, it will be better. Anyway, I'm spitting mad at myself and how stupid this is right now. But accidents are never convenient, are they?

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my favorite feasts!

Ohmygosh, I absolutely LOVE spending the day in the kitchen cooking up stuff. It's happening at Mom's this year, which is a big relief for me, because even though I love to cook, this time around I wouldn't have had the time to clean the house and get ready for a huge group over here.

As it is, I get the best part: lounging about in the flannel pajamas with coffee cake in front of the parades on tv, and then cooking to my heart's content for a few hours, nipping and sipping, and off to stuff myself silly at somebody elses' pretty house. No clean up! All the fun!

I'm doing some sides - a salad with carmelized pears, 5-spiced candied walnuts, gorgonzola and maple vinaigrette, the sweet potatoes (vanilla maple), cornbread sausage stuffing, and cream braised brussels sprouts - just simmering now, and a recipe I've wanted to try forever.

We've brined the turkey again this year because it was so darn good that way. The standard stuffing, green bean casserole, roasted beets, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a bevvy of desserts: rum pecan pie, sweet potatoe pie, sour cream apple pie and Paula Deen's amazing Gooey Butter Pumpkin Cake. All with spiked whip cream of course. Oops, butternut squash apple soup too, and the softest little butterflake rolls ever. Yikes, I'm hungry.

Hope you're all having a fabulous holiday with family and friends. Don't give in to the commercial lure of shopping at midnight at some insane mall with live music and coffee. No need to wake up 5 hours before the crack of dawn to save a few bucks on the mucho hyped "made in China" hot item for the season. Just enjoy the time with the folks you love, sleep in and have leftover stuffing for breakfast. I'm planning on savoring the peace and quiet for just a bit. A toast to gratitude and joy!

Talkin' Turkey

I'm pretty sure that I was standing in that long line when they were handing out brains. But I must have stuffed them in the purse and lost them down at the bottom with the breath mint wrappers and loose change. Because seriously, what idiot posts about how they can't keep their s*** together on their business blog? Doh.

I only thought about all that later, after it was already up. And as I've said before, this here is where I keep it real, no sugar coating. So it's been a little ragged lately, but not for lack of effort.

But to follow that up -- please don't be afraid of ordering!!! I would hate to have somebody check out the site, thinking about their Christmas list, then pop over to the blog and decided "holy cow, she's got nothing left. I'll just do something else then."

Because I DO, DO, DO have soap here. And the mail orders have first priority over everything else. It's already paid for by the time it reaches me. The folks have already made the decision to purchase and are expecting it to arrive in their mailboxes. So anything going to any show is secondary. If it's just going to sit on some table, waiting for somebody to see it and possibly take it home, obviously that's less important.

Hmm, am I sticking my foot in again? I mean, yes, it's important to have a nice display at each show. If I only bring the quirky and leftover stuff, the show will be a bomb. It's got to have a mix of all the best stuff too. So it's a little juggling act, and that's what's making me nervous. I'm saving the bars for orders as they come in, I'm madly making more of everything, and I'm trying to divvy up whatever I've got to do a nice little showing of everything in every place.

I don't know if I've cleared up anything at all, or only made more of a mess, with all this 'splainin'. I'm sending out the last couple of orders today and will be all caught up. Collage is full and lovely - I was there stuffing all the little shelves yesterday. And I'm back up to Bellingham after the holiday, probably Saturday morning, with another load of happy soaps and lip balms, so it's ready for another week of shopping.

Everything is sorting itself out and moving forward. Not sweating the small stuff. And tomorrow is a day off with a feast, yay!