"But It's Thanksgiving Weekend..."

So I found out that a friend of mine died yesterday. She had been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's and we sang together. While she'd been on my mind a lot, I wasn't in direct contact with her since she went into an assisted living facility. 

I was helping the family get the memorial service taken care of. The date they chose was over Thanksgiving weekend...and I get it. If family is going to be here, that's really a good time. And it's not as if it's Christmas or Easter. I can see that those weeks would be a problem - those are The Big Two in the church. This is Thanksgiving. Not even a "holy day." 

I called around to try to find a priest, since we currently are still searching. I called the Diocese; they were noncommittal and suggested that I contact the "sub list"... I spent 2+ hours calling and leaving messages. Finally, I got hold of a priest who usually subs for us. He couldn't do it, but gave me a few pointers on phone calls to make, which I did. 

At one church (which will be nameless), I spoke to the office staffer who said, "Well that's Thanksgiving weekend; it's awfully inconvenient." After I picked up my jaw from the desk, the staffer went on to say, "Just because that's what the family wants, that doesn't mean it has to happen that way." 


Seriously. A friend of mine was sitting there and she heard it. I was stunned...gobsmacked... Set back on my heels by this response. 

I finally got the situation resolved, but I can't believe that response. True: churches are run by PEOPLE. I don't expect unicorn farts and rose petals. 

What I actually DO expect is compassion and a willingness to at least make an effort. 

Shower Bombs...

Well. The one batch bombed. No pun intended. They were too dry. They just didn't work. This is the result after I stuck them in the jar. The ones in the white cups are incredibly fragile. I think it's the lime juice. Lime juice has significantly less acid in it than lemon juice - and the mixture was not constituted correctly. 

Oh well. Live and learn. I'll use them for foot soaks or something. The essential oils are still good. Just no fizz. 

Fizz may be over-rated. 

My Make & Take has ONE person attending. Oh well. (I seem to be saying that a lot...) It's one person, she's a friend of mine, and I'm looking forward to spending the time. I'll use one of the kits to make my own "toys" and since it's just her, I'll bring ALL my oils and she can pick her own fragrance. 

She may even decide to get a wholesale membership, so I'm cool with that. I was discouraged by the low turn-out on these oil education events, but at each one, I've gotten a sign-up, so I can't complain. As one person said, "If you only had one and they signed up, then you had 100% success." I'm not necessarily in it for signing people up. 

I do believe in the products. I do believe in detoxing your house and your own body. I find myself feeling a lot cleaner - I'm finding that my skin looks better and my hair is nicer. I've cut out a lot of the chemical crap. 

Now, once I get my braces off, I can start eating more healthy as well. It's easy to eat crap when crap is all you can chew!

Studio update...

So one of my teachers came back from Puerto Rico; she went there to live, got blown back by Irma and Maria, and now is staying stateside. She's bored because she's still looking for a job. She reorganized the studio. 

I mean, she cleaned, de-cluttered, reorganized, and designed a display area for us for Christmas. She's very good at that! She also did some flyers for us for online reviews and a few other things. She's a talented graphic designer and I really appreciated her help with the studio. 

It's not that the place wasn't cleaned. We have someone who does that weekly. But sometimes, the "deep cleaning" stuff gets neglected. Hubby is putting up a new gizmo for WiFi. We'll have a nice link, I hope, and won't drop signals every few moments. 

And I'm working on a little project for the spot at the back where there's a 2-way mirror. She tried to use those "neon markers" that work on glass, but apparently, with 2-way mirror glass, it doesn't work well. I'm going to do a sign and call it the "Just Breathe Christmas Wishes" wall. I'm cutting out stars in construction paper and will have them, along with pens, in a basket at the back. As students arrive or leave, they can grab a star, write a wish, and then post it on the window. 

We don't really "decorate" for Christmas, but I will put up a few things to brighten up the space. Winters here are different lately... They're more grey and icky. We need some jazziness to get past the glum days. Hopefully this will work. 

Knitting...

I'd love to show you knitting. However, I haven't done any. Seriously, haven't picked up a needle since my last post to you. I've brought it to work, worked through lunch, worked on my Yoga for Healthy Aging final, worked on church stuff, organized (and continue to organize) my office space, de-cluttered, got rid of magazines...

And haven't knitted a stitch. But I'm told that a friend's mom is going to ask me to teach her to knit. This could be interesting. And I'm not sure where it's going to fit in. But we'll see how this works out. 

I've got a list a mile long for tomorrow. And knitting is on it. Here's hoping... 

Random Picture...

Yes, sometimes I'm running from pillar to post. Sometimes, I'm running late. But sometimes, you  have to stop. This was the view on my way to work the other day. It was freezing cold...the first real cold snap of the season. And the fog on the ground was kind of spooky. And the sun was rising. 

And the picture was gorgeous. 

It's at my favorite early-morning picture taking spot, down by the river and the swing bridge. 

Isn't it beautiful? Isn't the world a lovely place, when we're not busy trying to destroy it? 

Kitchen Chemistry, Shower Bombs, or "How to Get Homeland Security to Follow Your Blog..."

Yeah, I bet you'd never have thought of that title!!

So I'm doing a "Make & Take" event for the studio, and I'm working on some door prizes for those who show up (and I hope folks DO show up!). I Googled "shower bombs" and have been playing with different recipes. I wanted to try to avoid using citric acid.

Let me back-track. A "bath bomb" as you may know, is a fizzy thing you toss into the bathtub and relax with the aroma, bubbles, and fizz. A shower bomb is kind of the same thing, minus the bubbles, to a certain extent. You do want it to melt, but fizzing up and creating a massive amount of bubbles isn't the intent in a shower. The citric acid is the thing that goes "fizz." But sometimes, people can be sensitive to it, and in a shower, you really don't need a lot of fizz. You need more "dissolve" than fizz. And also - I didn't have citric acid handy and didn't feel like running to the store to buy a jar. 

So I found two recipes, and I was playing with them. They're drying right now. The first recipe was ok. It used lemon juice + water for the "acid" part (the fizz). I didn't have lemon juice. I used lime. 

Use what you've got...

It also used cornstarch. Various blogs have said everything from "awesome sauce" to "gloppy mess" ... so this ought to be interesting. Both recipes used baking soda and essential oils, just in different ways. 

Recipe #1 was baking soda, cornstarch, water + lemon juice and the oils. You blended the dry stuff together then sprayed the wet stuff till it resembled sand. The original author said to let them dry then drop oils on each one, top and bottom. 

Well, I wasn't using silicone molds. Don't have them (see "use what you've got..."), so I used mini cupcake tins. I layered a bit of the mix, dropped in Young Living Essential Oils, Grapefruit, and then layered another batch of the mix on top. Then put another drop on top. This recipe made 9 little ones. You have to pack the stuff pretty tightly in the molds so it holds together. 

Using a spray bottle helps you control the water. I got impatient toward the end and dumped about 3 tablespoons of what was left into the dry mix. 

It clumped. It turned to fairly squishy concrete, but I could work with it. 

Recipe #2 was almost a disaster. This one had a cutesy YouTube video and made it look "easy-peasy" (my first clue...). This one used coconut oil. I decided to use Elemi, a very nice, rich oil that's often called "poor man's Frankincense." I doubled it (good thing - her YouTube made one big monster bomb...). One cup of baking soda to 1 teaspoon of coconut oil. It did not blend nicely. I mean, it blended, but it was still pretty dry. That's when I decided to shake it up. Chemistry, my friends!!

I added a dozen drops of Elemi (let me tell you - standing over a bowl whisking that?? Wowza!), and then mixed the lime juice with a smidge of water (this one wanted you to use straight lemon juice), and spritzed away... Again, I was having trouble getting the proper texture. Initially, her instructions were "pack the sand-like dry stuff into the mold and spritz between layers." 

Ummmmm. No. It wasn't sand-like. It was bone-dry. I have no idea how she got her proportions, but I fiddled with it. (No surprise there, right?)

I packed it into the molds, spritzed between layers, and then spritzed on top, too - and it's also drying. I think this one might be the one I like better, but we'll have to see. This one managed to make the whole tin full. 

I'll tell you what I don't like about Recipe #1 - the oil shows if it's a citrus (which tend to be a little...well, citrus colored) and I don't know that I like it on top and bottom of the bombs. 

I'll tell you what I don't like about Recipe #2. It's too dry. I really had to fiddle with it, so I'm not convinced it's going to turn out. 

The thing is, when these are done, they'll be stored in an airtight container and can be used as needed. So here's how you use them: When you're near the end of your shower, place the bomb at the back of the shower - where the water can hit it but not drown it. If it all works well, you should be able to see the thing fizz and dissolve, and with the steam, you'll get the scent of the oil, and the benefit of the oils, as well. You shouldn't have to worry about slippery surfaces, even with the one with coconut oil, because it's so very little. 

The combinations are, of course, only limited by the types of oils you have. Lavender to support healthy sleep. Eucalyptus and peppermint to support respiratory systems. Citrus for energy and uplifting. Floral scents for relaxation and calm. See? You can add coloring, which I choose not to do. You can also add glitter. 

I shudder at glitter. 

Anyway, I'll report back and let you know how they do. 

Knitting...

I found MELISSA!!! As I was organizing, I found the pattern to go with the yarn. They are now together. And as I saw it, I wondered what I was thinking. You know I love purple in all its shades. But this is rather "Easter Egg" to me. There's nothing I can do about it; the yarn is bought and the shawl will get knitted up. I'm not sure where it's going to land in the knitting list, but I'm determined to knit up my stash. I have no choice. I really do want to use it, so I may as well get my knitting ducks in a row, right? 

It's going to be pretty; and I hope that I love it when it's done. I believe I also have a shawl pin for it, somewhere. I still have to clean the office more - I'm only partially done, so maybe I'll find it, right? 

The Close to You continues. I'm about to start the 15th point. Yarn is holding out. Hands are holding out. I'm telling you - having the past few Saturdays "free" has really moved my organizing along nicely. I do believe I'm going to do another Close to you in that beige/brown/grey yarn. The "nameless" sock yarn from the last blog, remember? I think it'll look nice. 

I'm still trying to get the Vanilla socks done - the striped ones. I bring them to work but never seem to have time. Though I suppose if I stopped working through lunch, it would help. 

Candles...

I rarely use candles anymore, since I've switched to the essential oils. But I had this on my yoga altar, and I think this one might stay... It's a beauty when it's lit up. The picture shows just a smattering of the colors. I think it might be nice as a meditation device. The Desert Mist diffuser has changing lights, but there's something about the naturalness of a candle that does something to my meditation. 

I used plain candles, and if I can find some beeswax tea candles that don't cost an arm and a leg, I'll use those. 

While I love crafty things, it's not likely that I'll be making my own candles anytime soon. Been there, done that. About the time I was in high school, to be honest. I have enough to do to get through all the cross-stitch and the knitting, much less anything else. 

Right now, I'm diffusing Elemi + Lemon. I'll find the other candles, get back in the office and get to finishing that job. 

Fall...

The leaves are falling. They've almost completely finished on the front tree. The colors are late, but brilliant. The front is more yellow, with rust. The back tree is more red and orange. 

Our neighbor's lawn is covered in lemon-yellow leaves. 

It's time to think about Thanksgiving. We hold ours the Sunday before, so that the various family members who have in-laws can do their thing without shorting my mom of the time. As usual, Hubby and I are cooking. Turkey. A vegetarian dish for my nephew. Homemade cranberry relish. Brandied sweet potatoes. Mashed potatoes. 

Other family members are doing some stuff, too. It'll be good. Can't wait!

Random Picture...

This has been in my kitchen for years. Kid #1 wanted to steal it. I threatened him with "motherly revenge" if he touched it. This is the mantra I live by, next to, "If you complain, the next time it's yours..." I'm tired of people griping about stuff other people do. If you think you can do it better - have at it. 

I was talking to my guitar teacher and he mentioned to me that it seems I'm "getting better with boundaries." I think I am. I need to. 

Don't you? I mean really. "No" is a complete sentence. "No, I can't" is even better. We don't have to give an excuse. The fact that we say "no" is enough. 

It doesn't always seem that way, though, does it? It's hard. We want to do things for people and causes we care about. We want to be helpful and we want to be the person who "takes care of" whatever and whoever it is that needs us. 

But you know what? WE need us. We need to take care of our own energy reserves. This is the one thing the airlines have ALWAYS had right: "put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others."