Saturday, September 24, 2011 - Deerfield Park Trail Run Day

Today Anna and I ran the Deerfield Park Trail Run.  I wish this picture had turned out better.  Ugh!

It was a beautiful course!!  We were told not to expect a personal best on this course because of the hills, but I beat my personal best.

About 5 minutes into the race I was the last person.  Not unusual for me.  So I prayed the rosary the first 15 minutes and then listened to a podcast for the remainder of the run.  About 1/2 hour into the race I passed a little girl and her aunt.  I hated to do it, but, well, I did it.  The scenery along this trail was absolutely gorgeous and the weather was perfect - just chilly enough to make you want to move.  After the 5K we stopped in at a store in Mount P. that carries a few of our things.  I was pleased to see that some of my soap sold.  That will help put a teeny dent into our negative cash flow going into the fall shows.  A very teeny dent.  I logged onto facebook a while ago and the shopowner messaged me about ordering some Christmas soaps.  Whoo hoo.

I did a soap swap recently with Claire from Beautiful Bubbles.  Claire is from the UK and I absolutely love to listen to her videos.  I received her box the other day and her soaps are so wonderful.  Look her up on YouTube.




Word of the day:
Saturday of the Twenty-fifth week in Ordinary Time
Feast of the Church : Our Lady of Mercy
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9:43b-45.

And all were astonished by the majesty of God. While they were all amazed at his every deed, he said to his disciples,
Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.
But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Been busy trying not to stress out the last couple of days.  Nothing helps me do that like making a batch of soap - and as luck would have it, we still need a couple of batches for the shows this fall.  Last night's therapy session was Cranberry and Spiced Fig. 

I also worked on Christmas stockings. We have been getting orders early again this year. We are at 44 stockings for the season and we got 9 orders yesterday so today will be spent working on those.

Later, Clay and Claire are coming over to help me finish decorating for fall. First we will be going for a run with Aunt Anna because she and I are running a 5K tomorrow.

Word of the day:
Friday of the Twenty-fifth week in Ordinary Time
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9:18-22.

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'"
Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Messiah of God."
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.
He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

I have tons to do today. I got behind on my soapmaking so I have a couple of Christmas soaps that have to be done this week. I also have a couple of stocking orders to get out. But I just could not resist making one of these little guys. I'm calling him Frosty.  Hahahaha.  I am so imaginative.  He is available for $25.00 on our website

As usual, we are heading into the fall craft shows in debt.  It's not quite as bad as last year, though, because I invested a lot in primitive snowman tealights.  The $5.00 teacher gift items like the ones below seem to sell very well at some craft shows.

  I prefer all of our inventory to be handmade by us, but it doesn't always work out that way.  I am running low on container wax and pillar wax - both need to be ordered as soon as money comes in.  We are also going to have to re-think our budget and by we, I mean me.  LOL!

Word of the day:
Saint Matthew, apostle and evangelist - Feast
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9:9-13.

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Tuesday's batch of Peppermint soap turned out fantastic. My whole work area smells wonderful! I garnished the top with pip berries and some red pods that I had.  There are chunks of peppermint soap embedded in the loaves.  I cant wait for this to cure!!

Ooooooh, our Christmas Stocking ad is out in Country Sampler!  You can see it here.

On a sad note, I found out last night that one of our elder parishioners passed away.  She lived alone, but we have some wonderful men in our parish who maintained her lawn and checked in on her.  I remember her face the night she was baptized at Easter vigil.  I don't think she ever stopped glowing.  She was one of our lectors and despite her small size, she had a vibrant, rich voice.  We will miss her!

Word of the day:
Our Lady of Sorrows - Memorial
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 19:25-27.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."
Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother."
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Madison and Meghan were here today and they helped me with the fall decorations.  I could not get Madison to smile.  She is holding an artificial fall mum and taking her job very seriously.

It's been a busy but productive week and a half. I have upped my soapmaking schedule to 4 days a week so I can get all of our seasonal soaps cured before the craft shows. So far I have made Pumpkin Spice, Apple Jack 'n Peel, Vanilla, Honey Oats and Milk, and last night I made Sugar Plum Fairy. I put heart embeds in the loaf. I've never done embeds before. The hearts were from the batch of Fairy Tales I made a few weeks ago. I am pretty pleased with how the Sugar Plum Fairy turned out.

Last Sunday, I sang at a 9/11 Mass of Remembrance down at the Cathedral. There were about 350 people there.  Most of the people I knew had been there earlier for the Commissioning Mass and left shortly after I arrived.  In the video below I am singing at the very end and the song is chopped up because the videographer is trying to capture different scenes.

 


Word of the day:
Tuesday of the Twenty-fourth week in Ordinary Time
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 7:11-17.

Soon afterward he journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.
As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep."
He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!"
The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, "A great prophet has arisen in our midst," and "God has visited his people."
This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

Battle Hymn of the Republic

9/11 tribute - amazing grace

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Madison and Meghan were here today. When Madison is here, she always checks the spot where I set new soap and she discovered a new batch of Honey, Oats, and Milk. She loves to hold a cupcake and sniff it. It's very comical because she does this many times during the morning. This morning she went home with another couple of bath fizzies to share with Meghan Mae and a packet of peanut M&Ms to share with Mama and Daddy.

                                     
I cut yesterday's batch of Cider Mill and I'm planning to make some Pumpkin Spice soap later today. The house smells sooooooo good right now.  Here is the cider mill.  It looks a bit different from the last batch.

             

Word of the day:
Wednesday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6:20-26.

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

We got some exciting news yesterday and in a sense, the fact that it was on Labor Day is kind of ironic.  LOL!  Nina and Jamie are expecting a baby at the end of April.  They've waited a long time for this.  I am very excited for them AND I am not worrying.  (Nina, are you reading this?)  LOL!

Now that school has started I will have a schedule adjustment.  There is RCIA tonight so I will be going out for my run in a few minutes.  I had mass with the kids this morning and yesterday was Labor Day so I will have the girls on Wednesday and Thursday.  We've been having problems with the sound system so after I got dinner on for Harold and Howard, I went up to meet with the technician.  I think hope we have the problem solved.  Before going up town, I managed to get a stocking made.  I have a batch of five knitted and ready to sew up so I can ship them by Thursday.

After I got home from church for the 2nd time today, I made a batch of Cider Mill soap.  This time I put pip berries on the cupcakes.  I love the way they look so I put some on the batch I made yesterday too.  Yesterday's batch was Honey, Oats, and Milk because I managed to drop the last batch all over the basement floor.  Arggghhhhh!  Below are pics of today's batch of soap.

I have two more batches to make this week - pumpkin spice and apple jack, but first I have to measure some more oils.  The fall soaps need to be done this week so there is time for them to cure before our fall shows.

Word of the day:
Tuesday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6:12-19.
Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.