Anyone who reads my blog will know that I am a huge fan of ribbons; I just can't get enough of them. They seduce me with their pretty colours and smooth texture and the million and one things you can do with them. My life would be duller without them. Recently I have noticed a drawing towards a less gorgeous, but still magical version of long stuff that you can wrap round things; yep, STRING!!! I love it! Not as much as ribbon, that will always be my first love, that and lace of course, but now string has joined the ranks and I am even happier, (or should that be more desperate than ever?)
I love the way it looks tied round my beeswax tea lights and the contrast between the course hemp twine and the more delicate candy stripe soft string. I have big plans for string, candles and soap! Talking of which...
After leaving the nettle and orange soap for a day or two longer to re-absorb the oil, it was time to de-mould the batch and see what it looked like. It had set but there was a little oil left on the top, which I wiped off according to the book's instructions, and then cut up into blocks. It was quite soft at this point, so I don't know if it will be OK, but it looked and smelled gorgeous! My first soap, yay! H1 suggested cutting the blocks into slices as they looked too clumsy and ugly as they were.
Much better and easier to handle. These are spending the next six weeks in the airing cupboard doing their thing before they will be ready to use. Can't wait!
Monday of this week dawned bright and blustery; a perfect day to start Spring Cleaning. Not that I was all that thrilled with the idea, but as it is almost a year since we moved into our gorgeous cottage I wanted to re-create that feeling of everything being fresh and clean. I managed to do the kitchen, bathroom and most of the lounge before running out of time and energy, but it looked lovely and was a job worth doing. The plan was to finish the rest of it by the end of the week, but the weather has changed for the worse, and I just cannot clean when it is dull and rainy. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.
The view from my kitchen window of the sheep with their lambs kept me company while I worked. Puppy was fascinated by a small pile of fluff that I had swept off the floor, and was almost beside himself with glee when he found a little creature within to play with. It was a woodlouse. We have quite a lot of them lurking about, but as they do no harm and are very quiet, I don't worry about them. Puppy pawed at his new friend and scattered the neat pile of fluff in all directions, so I told him to take it in the lounge to play with, which he did. The last I saw was Puppy scratching at the carpet and whining at his pet. I fear it may have decided to play dead just to be on the safe side, but it's acting was incredible and Puppy soon lost interest and left it to uncurl and run under the settee. It probably passed out due to the shock of being carried and scraped at by a giant beast, but it will have an amazing tale to tell it's grandchildren. Providing of course, that it isn't so badly psychologically damaged that it will become a recluse under my furniture for ever more. That would be tragic.
The sky is darkening now and the wind is getting stronger, if that's possible. It is a good day to snuggle up and drink tea while waiting for my children to come home. The Spring Cleaning can wait a day or two..
Have a lovely day and make a new friend! Thank you for dropping by my Windy Island. xxx
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