I'm often reminded of just how tender life is. When I gaze at pictures from a few summers ago, it encourages me to live life as it should be lived. Things can change at the drop of a hat, and each day is a true gift. I've always embraced this mindset, but even more so in the past few years.
I remember that trip well and how I knew it would probably be his last. When you ponder those thoughts, you tend to live only in the here and now. My "here and now" has changed dramatically, but not necessarily in a negative way. My growth is ever-evolving, and I've come to realize that nothing lasts forever except for one thing: love.
It always feels like I've been away for a long time when the first day back at the shop arrives. The busy manufacturing schedule and the complete turnaround of tasks seem to scurry by without me really paying attention. Once I'm back at the shop, my to-do list shortens, and I move at a much slower pace compared to my time at the studio designing new skincare recipes and prototypes.
It might seem odd to some that we start making Holiday Soap as soon as the calendar turns to July, but for this soap maker, it's been a way of life for over twenty-seven years. I'm accustomed to the rhythm of the soap maker's life.
Our Fall 24 Collections are already beginning to take shape, and each season the anticipation grows. I'm in awe on how after all these years my excitement gathers and grows, but I'm thankful that it does. You're going to love our curations!
It starts with a color, and then shapes, packaging, and ideas are put into action. I love that about creating! The concept of making something from the ground up and then rounding it off with completion that satisfies and gratifies is such a delightful thing for one's soul! Sharing those artisan objects of attraction is even more rewarding. Each of us requires a reward of some type. It's part of why we're here. Reward doesn't need to be fussy either, it can be small and simple. We are philosophically speaking.
I have been picking and plucking from my raised bed gardens! This is the first year that I've had raised beds, and so each cucumber, tomato, squash, or green bean truly fascinates me in a most rewarding way. I want to start a garden journal to record all kinds of things that relate to garden table talk. Pests and cultivation, growth records, and it's incredible to realize just how much knowledge can come from a simple garden The old timers learned from their fathers and passed their rich garden knowledge down, or maybe they're like me and don't know squat about growing a garden. You pick up on some valuable knowledge that way. Being a garden pupil. Your teacher is the garden! Cool things.
My days are messed up when a holiday falls during the middle of the week. It feels like, I'm not sure what it feels like, possibly Sunday. Can you relate? I know you can.
Jill
