My studio

I promised I would post pictures of my studio awhile back, so here goes.  I had originally planned to show pictures of my pristine studio, all clean and sparkling, but I thought it would be more realistic to show it in all its glory in the middle of production.  Things tend to get a little messy during a run.  After an order is completed, I clean it up, put down all new paper, wash all my molds and tools, and put them back in place.   Yeah, like it ever stays that way, but that's a good thing because that means I'm busy.  I always start with a nearly sterile atmosphere.  I wear an apron and latex gloves to keep my hands and products clean, no fingerprints. 

My studio is my haven.  I love spending time there with the radio always tuned to NPR.  The music and talk keep my mind active while I'm working.  My melting pot is in a room just off the studio.  I now have 2 pots and without them, I would be lost.  I also have a microwave nearby to melt smaller amounts of wax.  Some day, I may invest in a commercial wax melter. 

I have a work table where I do all my work.  I try to have all my tools organized and right at hand.  I buy disposable pans, paper towels and other supplies  at a restaurant supply store.  I wash and re-use them as often as I can, but they are inexpensive, so I don't feel bad when they are completely trashed during production.

Once the candles are done, they go over to a staging area, a clean table with fresh paper.  Once an order is completed, I can begin the packing process.  It can take up to a few hours to properly pack a larger order. 

 

I have yet another table set up just for packing orders.  I have a closet full of packing materials, including boxes, a huge roll of bubble wrap, shrink wrap, organza bags, padding, zip bags, poly bags and packing paper.  I often re-use materials that I receive from my supply orders - I get tons of packing peanuts and padding, so I don't spend a lot on shipping supplies.  In addition, I moved in July, so I have an ample supply of boxes which I turn inside out and re-tape together. 

So this is my studio, my haven, my workspace.

Making Sauerkraut, the old fashioned way

Ok, so my last attempt,  years ago,at making sauerkraut was a complete failure.  It rotted.  This time it will be different.  I found some huge cabbages at a roadside stand the other day, so I decided I'm going to give it another try.  I adore the Foxfire books, and read them endlessly.  After all, I'm living in the country now, so I have to do country things, right?  I started by slicing the cabbages, but it was time-consuming, so I drug out the food processor to make the going a little faster.  So I filled the bowl with shredded cabbage, then sprinkled about 5 TB of salt and stirred it up.  After it wilted a bit, about 15 minutes, I dumped it into a clean crock and tamped it down.  I did this about 5 times until both cabbages were cut up.  But oh my - I need more cabbage.  It shrunk!  So I covered the cabbage with big outer leaves, put a plate on top and placed another pottery jug filled with water on top to weigh it down.  Tomorrow morning I will run out and buy a few more cabbages so I can fill my crock.   If all goes well, in a few weeks, maybe 2-4, I will have fresh sauerkraut.  I will can it - I love canning and putting food by.  And during the wintertime, being snowbound, I will have yummy sauerkraut. 

I still could swear I had canning jars in storage.  Alas, they are not to be found.  No matter.  I will buy some.  Next year I will have a garden to grow all the food I want to put up - tomatoes, green beans, brussels sprouts, squash....I can't wait to get my seed catalogs to start planning.  I would have made a good farm wife. 

A little catching up to do

As they say, feast or famine, and it's been a feast the last few weeks.  Labor day was barely over when I started receiving wedding orders.  Everyone is getting married in October!   I've completed 2 orders and the last one is almost finished and should ship out this Saturday. 

At the last minute, I also received a call from a repeat wholesale customer for a rush order for the Atlantic Antic show 

http://www.atlanticave.org/  I participated in this show last year, and although I won't be there this year, my candles will be.  They will have someone else's name on them, but my old logo, so if you see something that looks vaguely familiar, you'll know why!  So to all my NY crafty friends, I'll be there in spirit. 

Life is going on.  I finally unpacked my boxes from work the other day.  They've been sitting in the closet since July, so I decided it was time to see my former work life again. Actually, I needed sheet protectors and post-it notes, but let's be a little more dramatic here.....It was kinda sad... 32 years of my life in 3 boxes.  Pretty pathic, huh.  The mementos I keep are usually small, some stones, small gifts, a few pictures.  My cube was pretty spare.  Oh sure, I have boxes of documents, stacks of awards, ancient paystubs (I wonder how I survived on that paycheck?) but I shredded stacks and stacks of papers before I left.  I've moved around so many times, that I never took anything I didn't need.  So this stuff is still sitting right where I left it.  One of these days, I'll put it away somewhere, maybe when I'm snowed in.  

Today had its moments. We finally had our new hot tub delivered.  For some background, when we bought this house, it had a hot tub, a super top of the line hot tub.  Unfortunately, the previous owners left last summer and they didn't winterize it, so it developed a small leak and one of the filter pumps was frozen.  Over Labor Day, we had a houseful of kids, and it was disappointing they couldn't use it, so since the deck is customized and built around the spa, we decided to buy a new one instead of getting this one fixed.  The spa is situated on a raised deck, about 5' off the driveway, so it took 4 guys and a forklift to get the old one down and the new one up.  It was pretty amazing to see these guys working in the drizzling rain.  It's all set, as soon as we install another supporting post underneath the deck and get the electical situated.  So come snow and freezing cold, you know where I'll be.  A few candles, of course,  to light the way, boots and a warm wrap, I'll be basking in the next snowstorm. 

Replacing the spa was a secret from my kids, so I posted the pictures on my FaceBook page, waiting to see who would see them first.  My daughter in Philly saw them first and said she almost had a seizure.  My other daughter in NYC heard about it from her sister, so they're both ecstatic.  Our family does surprises, and I could tell you a few stories! 

So there you have it, a little update on my life and times.  Tomorrow is shopping, Lowes and working in my studio.  Some day, when it's pristine, I'll post some pictures of how it should look.  Right now, it's a private haven for me to work, create and contemplate.  It's my life, and I like it. 

Tribute to Yoda, my 9/11 kitty

Yesterday was a tough day.  I had to say good-bye to Yoda, my kitty who was being born on that fateful day 9/11/01.  I was at work watching the shocking news on the internet, and when I called home, Lily was birthing her babies, so Shelly had no idea what was going on.  I got home around noon since our office closed for the day.  Shanksville wasn't very far away either, so we didn't know what was in store for us.  Some of our employees had spouses who were locked down at Letterkenny Army base in town.  I felt dispair with a little joy that day, seeing the 4 healthy kittens in my bedroom closet.  Lily was scared, but a good mother to her brood. 

As the kittens grew older, we decided to find good homes for them, but we decided to keep one of them.  Yoda was named because he had a cute round squashed face.  By Christmas time, he was active and a terror.  We put up a Christmas tree in the living room bay window, and he managed to pull it down twice by climbing up the trunk and tipping it over.  We finally wired it to the wall.  Somewhere I have a picture of him sitting on the top of the curtain rods - he always loved being in dizzyingly high places. 

In 2002, we moved to NYC where he lived a happy life.  He was always an indoor cat, but on occasion, I would take him down to the Esplanade on a harness and leash.  When we moved uptdown to a bigger apartment, his sole goal is life was to trip me as I walked down the hallway.  He had a habit of walking right in front of me so I would be sure and trip over him!  He also spent time terrorizing his mother, Lily.  He would chase her around the apartment and sometimes she would fight back.  He would steal her toys and food, and she always gave in to him.  I guess that's what mothers do. 

Yoda loved bacon.  We always have a big Sunday breakfast, we call it our hear-attack breakfast, with eggs, bacon and hash browns.  Yoda always hopped up for a tiny piece and would often steal Lily's morsel as well.  She always let him take hers.  Ah, mothers...I think we're all alike. 

We moved to upstate NY in July 2009 to a new house.  The first week, the cats were a bit disoriented, but they adjusted to their new surroundings after about a week.  True to his nature, Yoda found the highest spots in the house to perch, including the big walls of windows in the Great room and kitchen.  How he got up there, I have no clue, but he found a way.  I had to be careful where I placed good glass. 

A few weeks back, we noticed that Yoda spent the entire day sitting on a chair, not eating or drinking water.  Just quiet, not sleeping, just sitting.  That was unusual.  Being new to the area, I called a local vet hospital, but they were closed, so I found a place in Binghamton about 15 miles away and we had him checked out there.  They found a mass in his stomach.  Shortly after that, we took him to a specialized vet hospital in Ithaca NY for a sonogram, and we were told it looked like a lymphoma in his intestines.  It didn't look good, but we could keep him going on shots like Prednizone for awhile, which we chose to do.  We had a houseful of guests coming for Labor Day weekend and I wanted my  daughters to be able to see him normal for the last time.  After his first shot, his appetite returned.  He just didn't seem like a sick kitty, but the tumor was growing and getting harder. 

After about 2 weeks, he once again just sat and stared. He wasn't in any pain it seemed, but he wasn't active, eating or drinking water.  We decided not to drag it out - he was losing weight and thin as can be.  It didn't seem as if a miracle would happen, so we made the tough decision to let it end.  I was the stoic through it all, but when I returned to the car, I broke down and bawled my eyes out.  I felt so guilty.  My last words to him were "please don't be mad at me" and gave him a kiss and a hug. 

I miss you Yoda.  I hope you'll find many friends in kitty heaven.  You'll always be my 9/11 kitty, and Lily misses you too.

Finding Treasures

I had a pretty useless day today. As you may know, when I moved to NYC in 2002, I had to put most of my possessions in storage, since city apartments are very small and cramped.  So for 7 long years, all my mementos, furniture, baby clothes and toys, garden and power tools, and a host of other items were put into storage.  After I left NY, I hired a moving company to repack and move everything out to my new home in upstate NY.   Now I had 2 truckloads of stuff to unpack.   And I still have even more at my brother's house in FL, things I didn't want in storage.  Some day I will get it all back. 

A box of books was staring at me this afternoon, so I unpacked and sorted them and put them up on shelves. I was happy to find my gardening and herb books in great shape.

It wasn't until after dinner I got a wild hair and decided to unpack a few more boxes downstairs, the ones from storage.   This is the mess downstairs.

So anyways, I'm happily unpacking all kinds of linens, some of them dating back to my grandmother when she came to the US from Russia.  Stacks of dresser scarves, doilies, embroidered table cloths, mostly handmade by past relatives.  Again, everything is in great shape, no mouse or moth eaten holes.  The next box was filled with VCR tapes of both my kids' 5th birthday parties, recitals and Disney cartoons.  It will be fun looking at them sometime. 

The last box I opened for the evening had some more books, and as I removed them, I looked down and saw my original Woodstock 3 album set!  I was stunned - there is was, right there.  I knew I had found treasure.

I quickly dug out the pile of albums to see what I had.  Jimi Hendrix,  Elton John, Phoebe Snow, Moody Blues' Days of Future Past, Joan Baez, ..... O my, I'm breathless.  I even have the very first album I ever bought:  Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.  Yes folks, that was in 1968.  I know my ex has most of the hundreds of albums we collected in the 70's, but I managed to hang on to a few of the good ones.  Maybe I'll find another box of albums in the myriad of boxes yet to unpack.  I remember King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Cream, Joplin, Oingo Boingo, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, Carly Simon, oh, and I have Meet the Beatles somewhere (perhaps that was really the first album I ever bought after all).   So much of this music has deep meaning and memories for me.  My life is played out in music, and when I hear a song, I remember where I was in my life at that time. 

It was like a trip down memory lane.  Share some of your favorite 70's albums.  Now to find a turntable.  Nina?  Have an extra turntable I can borrow??

My Version of Potato Leek Corn Soup

I rarely follow a recipe verbatum. I always take out a couple books at once and spread them out before me when I want to cook. I'm not much for inventing recipes as modifying from several sources. I start out with an idea of what I want to make, get out my books, sometimes check online, compare, then go.




Today I had fresh corn on the cob and leeks. I would have just made my traditional potato and leek soup, but I had this corn, 30 ears of it. I blanched and froze most of it, but left out 5 ears to make soup. I thought corn chowder sounds good, but hey, I have these nice-looking leeks too. So I pulled out my standard reference, Joy of Cooking, and my soup book, Soup, A Way of Life by Barbara Kafka. I compared recipes for corn chowder which had similar ingredients. This is my version of Potato Leek and Corn Chowder. Amounts are estimated, as you can add or subtract the amount of ingredients to suit you:

Ingredients:
3-4 leeks, white and some green
4 potatoes
1/4 c salt pork or bacon (optional)
celery - 2 stalks
green pepper
salt
paprika
bay leaf
2 c milk
fresh corn - 3 or 4 ears (you can substitute canned or frozen)
fresh parsley

Prep:
Dice 1/2 green pepper and a couple stalks of celery
Slice leeks (white part and some green) and place in bowl of cold water, separating the rings to rinse. Lift out gently and drain, leaving dirt on the bottom of the bowl
Peel and dice potatoes, maybe 3 or 4 cups, 1/2" cubes
Dice 1/4 cup of salt pork (you can use bacon, or leave it out for a vegetarian soup)

Now for the fun part:
Saute the salt port until browned and crispy in a hot pan. This takes about 10 minutes to release the oils into the pan.
Add the leeks, celery and green pepper and continue browning. Cook off any water that collects.



Add the potatoes, 3 cups water, salt, paprika and a bay leaf. Simmer until potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and hand mash the mixture in the pot. The potatoes will thicken the soup. It will be lumpy.




Add the corn and 2 c hot milk. Simmer until corn is cooked through.



Add fresh chopped parsley and season with salt if desired.

Serve with a sprig of fresh parsley. Voila! It was filling and delicious!

I love my new kitchen

I made grilled panninis tonight with roast beef, tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and chives from my little herb bed, and fresh mozzarella on whole wheat pitas. mmm they were good.



In other news, Yoda has been pretty listless and not eating much for the past few days. We thought he was getting better, but he's not back to normal. So we're off to the vet tomorrow to see what's up. He's lost some weight since this pic was taken.

Bought a car, Wolf Trap, Campfires and other stuff

It's been a busy couple weeks. Things are finally back to normal and I'm back to my retirement mode, still unpacking for good measure.

So I finally bought a new car last week. I had rented a car for a month when I moved, and it cost me a small fortune since I didn't drop it back off in Manhattan. When it was getting close to returning it, I dragged my butt out to shop for a car and bought a 2009 Kia Sportage. I originally went shopping for a Suburu because they have such a good reputation and gets around in the snow, which I will definitely need here in upstate NY! I ended up with the Kia because it's been redesigned and is better quality than when they first came out, and it was about $5000 less than the Suburu. In addition, I got a 10 year 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty for about $1300 extra which gives me peace of mind since I plan to keep it forever. Anyways, it's a sturdy little SUV and I think I'm going to like it a lot.
So I took my new Kia to Vienna WV to pick up my daughter Carla, who was an opera intern at Wolf Trap this summer. She reserved a ticket for me to see La Boheme Friday night and it was absolutely lovely.

I have to rave about Diego Torre, a Filene artist who played the part of Rodolfo; shades of Pavarotti. I was absolutely mezmerized by his talent. I met him at one of the after-parties, and he is the most humble and nicest guy you could hope to meet. He is going to be such an influence in the opera world. He is making his Met debut later this year, and I plan to be there. I enjoyed myself immensely. Sorry the picture isn't the best, but it's the only one I have.
The next day, we packed up the car and headed back home. Carla stayed a few days with me to regroup before heading back to NYC. Nina and her boyfriend Marcus also came up that weekend from Philadelpia and we all had a grand time, barbecuing, and had a couple campfires in the fire pit in my yard.

I loved having my 2 kids here for a few days, and I'm loving this small-town life where I can get to the post office or grocery store in less than 5 minutes. Last Monday, I had my things which had been in storage for the past 7 years delivered from PA. So the unpacking continues. I still have time to relax and take time to get acquainted with my new home.

Today was a sunny day - finally!

Yesterday rained all day, so imagine my delight when I woke up this morning with the sun streaming into my bedroom! I was up at 7, and as is my usual routine, drank a cup of coffee while watching the morning news, and got a 2nd cup, checked my email and FaceBook and other sundry items. We went to Lowe's the other day and I bought a bunch of herbs, but couldn't plant them yesterday because of the rain. But I had no digging tools! A kitchen spoon just doesn't cut it. So off to Ace Hardward down in town I go to pick up a trowel and a new spigot that was broken due to ice last winter.



I decided to clean out a big flower box on the deck. It was filled with dying strawberry plants and chives. So I dug out most of the berry plants, trimmed up the chives, and had a nice big space in the center for my 8 herb plants. It was nice sitting in the sun, playing in the dirt. I got them all planted and hope they survive until next spring when I can move them over to a kitchen garden I'm planning on the other side of the house.



While I was busy planting, Shelly fixed the faucet and it doesn't leak! So, being as it was such a nice day, we decided to finally fill the hot tub on the deck. It took about an hour or so to fill. Looks good so far. So we flip the breaker and turn it on and voila! it works! Mind you, this is a new house, so we're still trying out all the toys.



Well, it immediately turned an awful green within the hour. We seem to have a slight problem with the filter, plus we think there was old water in the lines, so tomorrow we're off to the dealer and will probably drain the icky water and start over. Fortunately we have a well, so the water is free, but cold. brrrr 57 degrees!



Well, after a long eventful and beautiful day, it was time to relax with a long tall gin and tonic. It was the first this season and it was sooo refreshing! What a wonderful day.

I'm Officially Back!

I am officially open for business! I worked and worked and worked, and I'm finally finished unpacking all my business supplies and it feel great! It took 2 entire days to unpack, arrange and get everything set up, and none too soon. I had an inquiry the other day for a wholesale order, and I hate putting customers off. So I'm ready to make up a sample pack and send it off this week.



I have big plans for marketing, researching local shows and markets, and gearing up for the holidays. I think it's going to be great to be able to make my candles and fragrance products as a fulltime business, with no day job getting in the way.



I re-opened all three of my Etsy shops this evening: http://DewOnAPetal.com (jewelry and thread crochet, vintage jewelry), http://DewOnAPetalHome.etsy.com (soy candles and home fragrance) and http://DewOnAPetalToo.etsy.com (imported Bali beads and jewelry supplies). I still have to re-open my Artfire and 1000Markets shops. I also plan to heavily work with WeddingWire. I certainly have my work cut out for me.



Unpacking is going pretty well, but we are making arrangements with another moving company to transport all our stuff from storage in PA up here, hopefully within the week. Then it starts all over again. When we moved to NYC, we couldn't take everything with us, so we have a washer, dryer, freezer, more furniture, workshop, gardening tools, sleds, and who knows what else. So I'm not done yet!



As you can see, my studio has an entrance right off the driveway, so if I ever decide to make a shop open to the public or use it for consultations, I have the space and privacy.

I have an entire room for my studio now - it doesn't seem like a lot in the new studio, but it was crammed into my Manhattan apartment, inching us out of living space. So take a look now, it won't stay this way forever!