Apple season is just around the corner....

So....I had to get busy making more of my Applejack soap!



And...my friend, Elise, has been patiently waiting for this scent! She loves it!!



I love the apple colors don't you?



And, we even have a couple of travel sized bars too!



Does it make you think of apple picking??

Scenes from the market...and fundraising report...

Another great day at the market last week!



The flowers were happy! Just look at these limelight hydrangeas!!



We are so blessed to be surrounded by all of this beauty week after week!



And...sometimes oddities!



This was a tower amaranthus that Mom had growing. She cut a couple to show everyone how cool they were!

It certainly was a conversation piece!



I also captured some pretty pics of the other vendors at the market! Enjoy!







Got any juicers out there?





Hungry yet?





We tried some of these organic heirloom tomatoes last week and they were FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Worth every penny!!





Baked goods are available in case you forget to eat...since you're going to be running out the door to be the first one at the market!



This is Charlie's buddy!! She always checks on him!



And...here's the yummy honey that goes into the doggie bagels we give out!



Need some plants? We got 'em!



You name it and we got it at the Petersburg Farmers' Market!





Garlic....yummy!!



But...the best part of the Market is visiting Charlie don't you think?



He's always looking for visitors!



He did find some company this week!



He's always in training for therapy dog remember!??



He was posing for a lady that stopped by! She asked him to pose for the pic (she has two Bostons and wanted to send a pic to her hubby)...she mesmerized him can't you tell??!



And, here are the ladies that came to see Charlie! Oh, and the flowers and soap too!



Another great week!! Lastly, I want to thank you all for your generous donations to the Colonial Heights/Petersburg SPCA! Last week we raised $14!!! Let's try it again this week! Charlie is thrilled his doggie bagels are helping a good cause!

Nut-free lavender soap

A customer came up and asked me to research creating a nut-free soap for her daughter, who is allergic to all nuts.



This past week I agreed to create a batch of olive oil soap scented with lavender. So, this was the result.



I am very pleased with the result and think this bar will be VERY creamy! I had never made a one oil soap...until now! This is a castille soap! I think other customers might like the idea too, so we'll give it a try.



Plus, as my customer said...now I can market a line of nut-free soaps. There are more people out there with allergies than we know of, so I'm looking forward to getting the feedback. I can't wait for her daughter to try it. We will be trying a bar too!!

Domestic Diva?

So, I keep an ongoing list of "things I wanna try" and canning tomatoes was on my list.



I know what you're thinking..."Why can them when you can buy them in the store?"



Well, like I was telling Dynamo...I have a bucket list and it's not like most people's! It's made up of those things I want to teach myself to do. And, canning tomatoes was one of those things!



So, I ordered myself two books, a canning kit, and 12 Weck canning jars (After much research I decided these are the best - no BPA!) and got to work!



They all sealed perfectly! I did 9 jars of whole tomatoes and 3 jars of crushed tomatoes.



And, while I was at it I made salsa and homemade sauce!



Just call me Martha!

And...when a friend asked me if I wanted some cucumbers to make pickles what do you think I said?



Of course!!!



Why not right? So, I dug out my Ga Ga's sweet pickle recipe and made 4 quarts!

Canning is a lot of work, but stuff really does taste better when you do it yourself at home!!



I'd done pickles before, but never tomatoes! And, we use a lot of tomatoes, so it just makes sense! I wonder what I'll do next? I am just grateful that Dynamo puts up with me completing my "things I wanna try" list!

Mountain Bike Monday - Hot Stuff!

Last Thursday we met up with MBM for an after work ride! It had been a while since we got together and rode!



We hit the good 'ole Lakeview Trails!



We moved along at a decent pace...



But...we had to "dismount" and go over some down trees!



Dynamo did a great job of capturing action shots huh?



We always ride in this order...Me, MBM, and then Dynamo!



We stopped at a log pile in the trail and discussed whether or not we would try it!



MBM and Dynamo spotted me as I went over. Very smoothly might I add! I was really proud of myself. I'd been too scared to try it, but MBM and I were coached by Dynamo and made it over just fine! I am looking forward to trying it again. Practice makes perfect!

Then, we moved on and everytime I see this "skinny" I want to try it, but I'm not brave enough yet!



It was really a nice night to ride!





We got to catch up with MBM and just have a nice ride like old times!



Lately, our schedules haven't meshed so that we could all ride together, but it just worked out this day!



This log pile is on LV 3 and makes me really nervous. I think it's because of the slanted nature of the log. I've not gotten up nerve to try this one, but maybe sometime!



MBM's girls, our adopted nieces, have such busy schedules that they are always going here or there! And, with Charlie, we've been staying home and playing in the evenings or riding with him at the Battlefield! Kids sure do keep you busy!

In one spot on the trail there was a tree across the path. It appeared to have been hit by lightening!



The pace was so nice and steady that I felt very comfortable and strong.



It was a nice day. Good temperature for a ride!



Hopefully we can get more days like that this summer!



The trails were in great shape other than a few trees here and there!



The streams were very low.



Good ride and good company!



And...on Sunday, Dynamo and I got up and hit the park in the morning hours hoping to beat the heat..



We headed over to Forest Exploration, which I forgot had some big climbs in the beginning.



I was panting pretty hard and we weren't even a mile from the car!



But, usually it takes a little while for my legs to warm up...



I wasn't really fast, but I rode, which is all that mattered!



I was drenched with sweat from the minute we started. It was pretty steamy!



The Park has installed new trail markers throughout and they are really nice!



There is a short section on Forest Exploration that is my 2nd favorite part of the whole park!



It's about 1.5 miles long and a fast downhill! I LOVE to go fast!! And, when we exited that section there was a cool funny tree we had never noticed before...



We took a break there before heading over to the green and blue trails!



The lake was muddy, but there were people kayaking and fishing!



Once we hit Green the temps seemed a little cooler, but there wasn't a breeze!



I felt a little snail-like at this point!



But, the Green trail has my favorite section of trail in the whole park! It's a super fast downhill and I just love to fly down it!



Here's the only pic of Dynamo! I told him we need more pics of him!



We finished up having down about 14 miles!



It was good to do a little fireroad mixed with singletrack.



I forgot how hilly those fireroads at Poco are!



It's all good training, so hitting different trails keeps you on your toes!



We were pretty hot at the finish! I was glad to get inside and soak up the A/C! This is my "I'm tired and hot" face!



Hope you had a great weekend!