We finished work at about one and so managed to be up very early indeed this morning.
By half past nine we were ambling happily around the Library Gardens with the dogs, noticing that the world is really beginning to think that it might be about time to have a go at springtime. The cherry blossoms are just starting to begin to think about starting to open, the magnolias are coming out in all of their creamy beauty, and the dogs have fallen in love.
We came back to find Number Two Daughter washing up, which was a splendid, if unexpected start to the day. I went over to the bank, which took ages, as going to the bank always does, because of my friend behind the counter making humorous remarks about dodgy taxi drivers, which obviously leads to a necessity to be creatively witty in return. Sometimes I manage this, although not usually before lunch, as humour in the mornings is usually beyond my capabilities.
When I got home Number Two Daughter was still washing up, which rather suggested a lack of expertise on her part, possibly due to having had a full time maid for the last few years: also it is not easy to wash dishes and send texts and talk on the phone to somebody all at the same time. Fortunately she went off to work after a while, and I washed up everything she had forgotten and then got on with my day’s job, which was making soap.
I made some patchouli and black pepper flavour soap, with a hint of jasmine. Jasmine is limited to a hint because jasmine oil is astoundingly expensive, but in the end it smelled gorgeous anyway, even if I had to sniff hard to notice the jasmine. I was jolly pleased with it, not least because I had remembered to stir it at the crucial moment and thus avoided getting it all over the stove again, which was ace, because the last lot never quite came out of the carpet, and there is still quite a bit down the back of the stove, where I expect it is stuck for ever.
When I had finished I thought I might have a go at making some moisturiser while I still had all the oily stuff out, so I melted some sticky lumps of shea butter with coconut oil and almond oil in the crock all together, and sloshed in plenty of some much more reasonably priced oils of bergamot and sweet birch.
It was too heavy, so I added some water and some cornflour, and mixed it until it was creamy, and actually it hasn’t turned out too badly at all. I did some with tea tree oil for Number Two Daughter, who gets cracked feet, and felt very smug and glowing with housewifely virtue.
It took ages to clear up. Counter to what you might expect, it is an absolute nuisance to get soap off things, especially when it has caked on and set hard, and I was messing about with kettles of hot water until long after The Archers had finished.
I am going to stop listening to The Archers, it is too upsetting and I don’t like hearing it any more, it makes me feel sad. It was nicer when it was all about finding buyers for the organic sausages and who was going to be in the village pantomime. Now it is full of dreadful happenings, and it makes me feel worried and unhappy inside when I hear it. I don’t like to listen to people feeling hurt and being unkind to one another. Poor little Henry.
Number Two Daughter came in after that but didn’t seem especially pleased to be given some home made grease for her feet, even though you could smell the tea tree oil in it, so it was obvious that it must have natural whole earth health giving healing properties. She didn’t want me to knit her a hat either when I offered last week.
When they were small I spun my own wool and made things for them with it, but although I felt very pleased with my own abilities it was very rubbish really, a bit like lumpy string. They didn’t want that either.
I made some biscuits before I went to work, because everybody likes those, including me, and I crumbled some into pots to take on our picnic, and mixed them with fruit and cream and honey yoghurt and cream cheese.
They were ace. Sometimes home manufacture is just lovely.
Still no pictures, because I forgot to phone the server people.
I will try and organise it tomorrow.
