Long time friends

December 8, 2011 at 9:30 p.12. (Friends)
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I received an order today on my website, the email address looked vaguely familiar. although I had never seen it before. I was in the middle of making butternut squash soup and was between the fresh ginger and coconut milk. Multi-tasking as usual.
Since I was just in Cincinnati, and had just driven by the house where Lynn grew up it felt pretty normal to hear from her, except that we haven’t seen one another or kept in touch much in many years. She still lives in cincinnati but the few times that I get back there I’m swallowed up by my great big beautiful family and don’t ever seem to make the friend circuit although I find myself longing to make it happen somehow.

This is the person with whom I walked over a too-high train tressel, went ice skating with, discovered the Cowsills, The Jackson Five, James Taylor. Her Mom used to drive us around and honk at boys on the street – to which my Mom would have been appalled. We walked to school together everyday and back most days too. There was a train track behind Lynn’s house that went all they way to my house and we shared the “music” of the whistle in our living rooms. Lynn was with us on a camping trip when we heard the news that my sisters fiance was killed in Viet Nam. She hung with me all day skipping stones on the lake, the only thing I could seem to do. I remember feeling sorry for her that she was with us that day.

I was with Lynn in 1975 when I met my husband on the beach at Cape Hatteras. We were minding our own business when two guys came along, “hi girls, where you from”? When we said Cincinnati, the handsome shy one of the two said, “I am too”. Lynn and I looked at one another as if this were the worst line we’d ever heard…..except, it was true. I always love telling this part of the story when people ask where Steve and I met.

Lynn was the first to get married (not to the other guy on the beach) and I missed her as girls do when a great guy comes along and interrupts an exclusive girlfriend duo. Gone were the days of walking, talking, playing volleyball. I remember the ache that I felt not being able to see her as she and her husband moved to northern Ohio. Ahhh the things of girlhood, right?

We spend our lives gathering and surrendering friends, holding them close in our hearts. I am so grateful for the people who grace my life; in the past few years several very good friends have died, their blessings in my life are not forgotten either.

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Flyin’ High Today

October 3, 2011 at 9:30 p.10. (Uncategorized)
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Verdae goes sky-high…

Ever heard of Deal Mobs?  It’s a company that sends out coupons for local businesses.  You usually have 12 hours to respond and enough people have to buy a deal in order for everyone to get it.  I’ve gotten free meals, exercise vouchers and, well, a one hour flight training voucher!

This morning the sky was Carolina blue with a temperature of 41 degrees.  Winds were light and variable.  I drove to the airport with some trepidation and somehow convinced myself to not spend energy on being nervous which would take away from my ability to pay close attention to flight mechanics.

I’ve always wanted to fly. Not the big guys, just the small ones.  This one was a Diamond 20 which is a two seater bubble top cute little plane that was blown to and fro with the crosswinds when we landed.   Whenever a small plane goes overhead I always look up and follow it till it’s out of sight.  Last month in Canada Steve and I attended an airshow in Nova Scotia – I was mesmerized, especially when the planes went vertical and spiralled down close to the ground before levelling out.

So here we go!  My instructor is Alex from Norway.  Young guy, looks European, pleasant and with a VERY thick accent.  I had to listen very closely and still missed about 40% of what he said.  He didn’t mind repeating himself and seemed pleased to have a student who was genuinely interested in learning to fly.

We climbed to 2700 feet and flew south to Lake Oconee.  He dropped us purposely, probably just to see my reaction.  I took over the controls and soared like a bird on the wind currents.  We then did a tight 360 degrees and headed back north.  He simulated an emergency landing in a field where we dropped to 800 feet and approached the cows, plane nose to the incoming wind.  I never had so much fun in my life!

We circled downtown Athens, the University of Georgia, and my house.  We did a touch and go (landing practice) without incident and soared back up with engine (no “s” here) roaring – well more like purring, this was a really small plane.

Alex asked if I wanted to do another touch and go and then was reeled back in by the control tower – we had already gone over time.  We approached for our final landing, the crosswinds were pretty steady which created a bit of a challenge – so much so that my son and husband who were waiting for me asked if I landed the plane!!!  Apparently we hovered 2 to 3 ft over the runway for longer than expected.  Remarkably, I wasn’t scared, worried, frightened, just ecstatic.

So, one for the bucket list!  If Verdae hits the big time I’ll be flying more often.  Until then I’ll continue to dream the dream I had today.

Don’t have a picture to post…yet, check back later!

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The smallest act

June 16, 2011 at 9:30 p.06. (Candles, Terrapin Beer Soap, Whole Foods Market)
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Sometimes people surprise you, right?

I was at Whole Foods, Duluth last night meeting with Cassandra about our new line of bulk soaps and palm wax candles.  We chatted on about the attributes of each of the ten varieties and the logistics of getting them into the system.  I always enjoy this store.  First of all it’s closest to Athens – a mere 65+ miles just in case you thought it was down the street!  There is a “river” painted on the floor of the store that runs throughout which gives a nice flow to your shopping experience.

When I go to Whole Foods I usually venture over to the prepared foods section for a bite to eat.  One of my favorite things is their ginger snap gelato, which unfortunately is seasonal. :(   I hated ginger snaps as a kid – they were one of 2 or 3 cookies that my Mom ever bought. She would dunk them in her tea to soften them.  I always preferred soft chewy cookies and Kroger brand ginger snaps were more like flat rocks.  In any case the gelato bar was closed much to my disappointment.  The pizza bar was closed too – now you’re thinking all I eat is junk food.

I found Oscar in the prepared foods section, a nice man from Venezuela.  He directed me to the blue plate special.  I was his only customer as the storm was still raging outside.  At one point the lights went out and emergency generators provided lighting with a soft glow; how nice.  I chose chicken, grilled pineapple and kale and avocado salad – better right?

It took about 10 minutes to warm the chicken so we had an opportunity to visit while he did his end of shift cleaning.  I shared with him that it always rains when I come to Whole Foods, and indeed I’m sure 9 times out of 10 it does.  His reply was , “I’m gonna watch for a new soap called ‘queen of the rain”.   What a funny guy, what a great idea, you should watch for it too because I really like his idea!

Here’s the real story.  When my food was ready he was about to put the plate on the counter.  It was one of those recyclable (of course) black plastic-y plates.  He suddenly pulled his arm back, and my food with it and said, “wait, I’m gonna put this on a real plate so you can feel like you’re dining at home”.  How nice, and this also meant that he would have to wash the plate too.

How is it that a gesture so small can mean so much.  That he would even think of doing this for me shook my tree.  Just one human being to another realizing that the moments that we share are really all we have and making the most of them in terms of kindness, compassion, consideration are really where it’s at.  Thanks Oscar, you made my day.

If you’re in the Duluth store, check out the beautiful Father’s Day display front and center of the Whole Body section!

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Wrestling Sheep

April 13, 2011 at 9:30 p.04. (Verdae Skin Therapy Blog)
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Look what sheep can do

I’m a hands-on sort of girl.  I like soap made the long way that has to cure for several weeks.  I like to make cinnamon rolls using yeast and flour, cinnamon and yummy local pecans.  I tend to do most things the long way just because the process seems to interest me.

So, you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that when my farmer-friend Susannah asked if anyone was interested in helping shear her sheep I volunteered.  There’s a method to my madness.  We use Susannah’s fleece for some of our felted soaps and how better to be able to chat with my customers about this fabulous product  (felted soap) than to start at the beginning with the actual animal.  So off we went.

It’s about a 45 minute drive along beautiful country roads and this morning’s weather was spectacular.  Fields gently brushed with pastel purple and vibrant yellows rolled along both sides of the highway.  We arrived at the farm just past 9 a.m. to find Susannah waving us in at the gate.  We set to work immediately.

The first task was to coral the sheep so the trick of catching them for sheering one at a time would not involve the entire pasture.  Susannah was dragged around minimally by our first victim before securing her with a harness.  She guided her butt first to the shearing area and then turned her around.  My job was to hold the Shetland/Finn around the neck and keep her from butting while she was sheared.  Keep in mind that I grew up on a busy street in Cincinnati….

I really enjoyed this intimate tete a tete with the sheep.  After some time she began to feel somewhat secure with me and rested her head against me.  This of course was peppered with jolts and lurches in response to the buzz of the clipper and sometimes the tension on her skin as the fleece was pulled away.

About two hours later we finished our first girl, whew.  Her fleece was ever so thick and hard to cut.  Initially Susannah thought something was malfunctioning with the clipper but it turns out that between her very thick fleece and what looked to me (the Cincinnati novice) excessive lanolin it just ended up taking a very long time.  Susannah is very careful with her animals not to nick or cut them.  She explained that a professional could do the job in a fraction of the time but she prefers to do it herself.  The fleecing of the next two sheep went much faster and the clippers went through the fleece like butter, as Susannah had predicted.  The second girlie who was a twin daughter of our first sheep was intent on putting me through the back wall of the shearing pen.  She tried ramming me and kicking up with her front feet but alas to no avail – I was actually capable of holding her steady.  I think I was more surprised than she.

Our third sheep was a neutered male with a roman nose and enormous bony eye sockets.  He was actually kind of scary looking.   I can’t remember his breed.  He was sizably larger than the other two and I felt a wee bit reluctant to hug his neck.  Turns out he was the gentle giant of the pack and behaved very nicely – much better than the girls.

What a great day.  We took a tour of the farm and enjoyed a wonderful lunch together, visited the angora bunny who is beyond beautiful, checked out the garden and then headed home.  I wish I had some photos of the day but my camera never even made it out of the car!

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Farmers Market

April 9, 2011 at 9:30 p.04. (Farmers Market)
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Our Farmers Market season has begun again!  Another nine months of every Saturday at the market.  We’ve been very fortunate to have loyal market patrons and Verdae customers.

Today was mid 80′s already.  The eye creme that I made yesterday had soft edges in the warm weather.  My soap samples were sweating from the humidity.  At one point we had a burst of winged creatures come through the market all at one time – happily they were something in the moth/butterfly family, not the pterodactyl family!  Kind of a funny thought just the same, right?

I learned a lot at the market today.  I’ve known about the practice of couch surfing for quite a while but had no idea that it’s gone international and organized.  A friend stopped by my tent today with a gentleman from Normandy who happened to be in Athens for a conference.  Said gentleman checked the website and found a host “couch” in Athens complete with reviews of the host and accommodations.  Who knew, right?

Toward the end of the market three young men came snooping around the tent looking curious.  Turns out they are the RawBraus – three brothers, two who are vegan, one a carnivore who promote healthy eating globally.  They have a youtube channel and were quite interesting and passionate about eating raw veggies.

I guess that’s one thing I like so much about the market.  You just never know who you’ll meet and what you’ll learn.  Lots of people bought Foot Fetish today – our great all-butter moisturizer with tea tree oil, cinnamon, cloves and ylang ylang.  We also sold a lot of Verdae Eye Creme – all organic with shea butter, coconut cream and wild-harvested lavender.  Palm wax candles were great sellers today too – sold out of Juicy Grapefruit in the squares and the votives.

Markets are funny.  There’s no way to predict what will sell.  Some days its soap, other days candles and still other days lotions, butters and balms.

Today was a mixed bag!

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Babies, Friends and Families

March 17, 2011 at 9:30 p.03. (1)
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On a Thursday morning the parking lot is full.  Every kind of Mama you could ever imagine is making her way up the stairs to Full Bloom.  Some are from Africa, others from Asia and others come from just down the street.  Some are just past being teenagers and others are hitting the 40 mark. Some are birth mamas and others are adoptive mamas.  In this arena we’re all the same – we’re women holding in our arms the most precious cargo known to women everywhere.  Many are first time moms negotiating the slippery slope of motherhood – oh, the journey that has no end.  Life is forever changed marked by the day before and the day that, a child brings the new gift of family to your life.

Pat, owner of Full Bloom and the mama guru extraordinaire awaits their arrival as if it was her first day on the job – only it’s not, it’s been some 30 years that she has been spilling over her contagious brand of sheer joy.

Mamas arrive in a steady stream often sharing with Pat their latest concerns and questions about their little ones.  She knows these new mamas by name and their babies too and greets each one as if they were her long-lost daughter and grandchild.

To meet with such expertise, wrapped up in Pats warmth, enthusiasm, passion and love for her clients is nothing short of miraculous in the life of any new mama. Pat has created a space in Athens Georgia that is second to none and more valuable than gold.

She is a registered nurse and worked in labor and delivery for some 15 odd years.  After she hung up her l&d sneakers she taught childbirth education classes for 25 years. Pat is not knowledgable about all things pregnancy and birth – she IS all things mama and baby; she lives, breathes, eats and sleeps this stuff.  You can sometimes find her in a world of her own cooing with a new baby while the mama’s takin’ five.

Inside babies are chattering, gurgling, exploring one another and a new beautiful sunlit environment.  Some are rocking on their hands and knees contemplating their first attempt at forward (or backward) independent motion.  One little one is crying unconsolably;  I can only imagine that his Mama is grateful to be at FB and not home alone.

She says it was my comment to her 8 years ago that spurred her in the direction of Full Bloom.  A birthing center in Athens? Why not I said in my utter ignorance of the politics of childbirth in healthcare.  A few years later I became a doula (birthing coach) and learned just how commercialized the natural birth process has become.  It’s a multi million dollar industry – what used to happen in the bedrooms of homes all around the world in the company of family is illegal in the state of Georgia.  Pat is known to even do home visits with clients who need post partum consultation.

Although Full Bloom is not a birthing center, the seeds of change are implanted there.

Pat and I started out partnering many years ago as PTSO co-presidents at our kids local high school (much to their utter embarrassment and horror).  We then moved on to exploring the possibility of being business partners in this venture and gradually realized that our passions led us in different directions.  Now we’re back again, partnering in a new way to develop products from the Verdae lab for Full Bloom’s private label sold through its lovely retail store.  Pat and I are having lots of fun together researching, developing and testing new products and I am thoroughly enjoying being a fly on the wall at Full Bloom especially on “drop in” Thursday with the sun shining and the sound of laughter all around.

Where was Pat when I needed her 27 years ago?  I know first hand what it’s like to be alone with a newborn, away from family, friends and familiarity.  We lived in Ohio on a 600 acre sheep and cattle farm where the lambs were “lambing” from February to April.  The mama lambs and I were tending our young together.  It was soothing knowing that in some really funny way – we were doing the same thing.  However, having other moms to share with, talk to, compare stories, cry with and set up play dates, forge new and lasting friendships is invaluable.  Many of my best friends are women that I met through the gift of children.

So, if you’re in Athens and you want a feel-good, family experience stop in at Full Bloom.  Whether you are a mom, dad, grandparent or just curious, you’ll find a warm and wonderful welcoming and a wealth of knowledge and information.

www.fullbloomparent.com

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About 4 grams

January 10, 2011 at 9:30 p.01. (essential oil, Trader Joe's, Verdae Skin Therapy Blog)
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I never considered myself particularly good in math which is why it still surprises me that several of my past jobs  required responsibilities for budgeting and finance!  On the job learning was something I did pretty well.

I’m still doing it.  Most of my recipes, by choice, use gram weights instead of ounce weights.  It’s much more accurate to measure ingredients in terms of grams.  There are 28.34 grams in an ounce so if you only need 4 grams of let ‘s say Verdae’s nine essential oil super duper lemon blend, you can accurately measure out exactly what you need – of course there are even smaller measures one can use but gram weight works well for me.

Today I woke to about 6 inches of snow, which in Athens Georgia is pretty darn rare.  It’s been snowing here more over the past 2 to 3 years than in the 20 years I’ve lived here, but not like this morning.  Yesterday before the snow started the Atlanta airport announced that flights would be cancelled until Tuesday.  The last time we (southerners) made plans in advance of a storm the joke was on us; the University of Georgia called off all classes just to find themselves with completely dry and snow-free streets, sidewalks and parking lots.  That’s been hard to live down…

As I watched a few wrens flutter about the bird feeder I wondered where else they might find food with the dense snow cover.  The feed at our feeder was not palatable to them before today…  This made me wonder how much food they need to eat each day to keep warm and/or stay alive.  I’m thinking maybe they weigh about 4 grams.  As they hop along the top of the snow on the back deck they barely even leave a mark alongside my big boot tracks going out to the feeder – Trader Joe’s Joe’s O’s were on the menu for today since we were out of birdfood!

I always wonder how our under-the-bridges homeless population survives during these cold days too.

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Snow on Christmas

December 26, 2010 at 9:30 p.12. (Uncategorized)
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According to the radio it’s been over 100 years since it has snowed on Christmas day in Atlanta!

I took a walk today in the wind and blowing snow and thoroughly enjoyed the quiet and beauty.  Two years ago we had a heavy snowfall that damaged many of my shrubs, bamboo and ornamentals, so I spent some time relieving those tender branches from the weight of the accumulated snow.  It gave me something to do to increase the amount of time I spent outside in the snow!

When I finally did come indoors I thought about my Mom.  We didn’t have a mud room or any other place to deposit wet and snowy clothes and boots.  Often times they found their way to the dining room near the clanky radiator to dry out.  Of course if they were leather this meant that they might be a bit “crispy” the next time you tried to put them on…

The radiator was also covered in wet mittens, scarves and hats from sledding on Becker hill.  Many a snowy afternoon was spent at our neighbors house trudging back up the hill after a long and exciting ride down.  Coca Cola signs were available to us from the Coke plant across from our house; the Coke toboggans were the most fun because we would load the sled with as many people as possible – seems like sometimes we had about 10 kids on there.  The round signs sometimes would spin around as you sailed down the hill.  We used to make a game of pushing someone off the sled midway down.  I not only got pushed off but then immediately run over by the next sled coming down the hill – not the plan since I was the youngest and my seven sibs were supposed to be watching out for me!  I remember feeling a bit dazed, but it never happened again.

My Mom was pretty amazing.  She gave us wonderful traditions to live up to in our own families.  She was creative and cheerful despite the ever-present struggle of limited funds and her own declining health.  We had milk delivered to our house weekly and the caps were covered with red, blue, green, gold and silver tin caps.  She took these caps and strung three or four of them with red ribbon to make ornaments for our Christmas tree – some of them still adorn the trees of Bourgeois siblings today, some fifty years later.  (On a day like today, cold, snowy, windiy, if the milk was not taken from the back porch in a timely manner, we had any number of broken half gallon glass bottles with milk leaking out into the snow.

Christmas and snow always make me miss my parents and family and always make me grateful for having such wonderful childhood memories.

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Bubba gets a rest!

November 10, 2010 at 9:30 p.11. (Candles)

No, the guy in the photo is NOT Bubba.  (Oops, photo won’t load but I’ll keep tryin’) That’s my good friend and amazing co-worker Sonny.  We met when I was spying on my teenagers at the local high school under the guise of being PTO president.  Sonny taught ROTC at the time and is now retired and making soap and candles for fun….We forged a best friends friendship, much to the curiosity of the rest of the faculty.  It was his idea to offer candles for fund-raising, so when things are going badly, I blame him!

We’ve been working Bubba, our wax melter literally day and night.  It takes about 4 hours to melt 55 lbs of wax to the proper temperature for adding color, fragrance and to maintain ideal pouring temperature.  Over the past week we’ve poured about 1500 candles.  Whew, that number still scares me!  This Friday we will begin receiving orders from the schools we’ve contracted with already.  The really great thing is now we have all the procedures down pat and know exactly what it will take to produce any number of candles that we may need.

A point of pride for us is that our candles are made from responsibly harvested palm wax that burns longer and cleaner than most other candle waxes.  Our glass containers are American made and recyclable, the wicks are cotton and our recyclable gift boxes were made right here in Georgia, just down the road in Monroe.

So, we’ve decided to let Bubba rest for a few days and turn our attention once again to soaps, lip treats and skin loving concoctions.  Look for our great candles at the Athens Farmers Market, on Athens Locally Grown,  at Findlay Market too.

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Findlay Market

November 6, 2010 at 9:30 p.11. (Uncategorized)

Farmers markets. What do you really know about them?

This morning I got up at 6 a.m. to trundle off in the dark to our local market.  Many of my market friends were up much earlier than I.  It all started the night before when I created an inventory sheet and loaded the car with my bins full of soaps, candles, lotions, balms, displays, tablecloths, tables, signs, chairs, handtruck, thermos of hot ginger tea, and money box.

We arrive in the dark, many of the farmers wearing their headlamps that they use in the field after dark.  We find our approximate spot and begin the arduous task of unloading our cars, trucks, vans, trailors ; all in the hope of having enough customers so that all this time and energy feels worthwhile by the end of the morning.

I’ll be traveling to Cincinnati for a hometown Thanksgiving with my family.  I have arranged to participate in the historic Findlay market in downtown Cincinnati!  I’m really excited to have this opportunity.  As a child I attended this market often with one or the other of my parents.  It’s funny how the shopping experience was different depending on who was going.  If my Dad went we stopped at the booth with all the pickles, olives and pickled onions.  He would carefully peruse the multitude of brown crocks that contained every kind of olive known to man.  Who knew there were so many.  He particularly liked the greek olives which I had no interest in at the time.

When my Mom went we always bought cheese bread.  Many of the produce vendors knew her from the many times we shopped there and were very friendly to the beautiful woman with the french accent.  They routinely gave her deals and picked out the best of their offerings.  The cheese area was another of our favorite hang outs.  So much cheese, so little time.

So, in a few weeks I’ll be on the other side of the table at Findlay Market as a vendor.  I am looking forward so much to the experience of selling in my own home town at what was once my farmers market.  If you’re in Cincinnati please come by and visit – we’ll be outside of the main building.  Can’t wait!

This morning the market was dead from 8 to 10.  The casual eye would have observed many vendors doing laps around the market in an attempt to stay warm in the 40 degree temperature.  The commitment that vendors make to be at the market every week is tremendous.

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