My gardens are beginning to show signs of rebirth. I planted some late radish seeds and gazed over to my rock gardens to see this single bloom of sage. It's a pretty bloom, I've always thought. One bloom shares magic just like hundreds. At least that's how I feel. The past few days have been spent working around our home. I spent four hours searching for real cedar mulch, only to discover a new supplier that fulfils almost all of the big box stores, and they're all what I would describe as inferior mulch. I accidentally purchased a few bags last spring, only to remember how inferior this brand was. I was not going to make the same mistake twice. The crappy mulch, says Cedar Blend on the bag, and a mix of plastic shavings of some foreign substance a few cedar clippings, and I mean a few, and the rest is pine and whatever else they throw in including rocks. At least they're being honest and calling it a blend. Who knew? I finally found pure cedar mulch at this place. Keep in mind, I searched five different places before finding it. The reason I prefer cedar is that it repels insects. I've always felt that spreading any other mulch around your home, minus plastic, is like having a megaphone and screaming, Come on down, termites! Ha! I was glad to find the cedar, needless to say.
Chives are one of my favorite herbs. It grows back strong each spring, and it's used regularly in cooking around here. It's also easy to grow and rewards you time and time again with new growth after cutting. If you're searching for an herb to plant, give chives a try. I even cut the purple blooms to place in bouquets.
I'm really enjoying spring this year. We're having what I call an old-fashioned spring that lingers on and celebrates with new blooms each day.
I've cut back three bunches of romaine in my little raised beds. Have I told you how rewarding it is to munch on a fresh head of lettuce that you grow? Oh, I know that I have, but it's worth repeating!
This year I planted yellow squash, zucchini, an assortment of peppers, cantaloupe, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I mentioned how I wanted to try some different varieties of cucumbers in my last post. They started popping up yesterday and continue to sprout from seeds that I planted a couple of weeks ago. I've also mentioned many times how gratifying it is to start a garden from seed and watch it grow and expand.
This spring, I dug up some new spots for those annuals. Zinnias are one of my favorite cut flowers, and they shine throughout the entire summer into autumn. I always start them from seeds. Easy to grow, by the way, if you're new at gardening. There are different varieties, but I prefer the California Giant. Their blooms are huge and showy. They are candy colored and a unique summer bloom.
Last summer, I planted Hollyhocks along a lattice wall, and they're another flower to have. I started them from seeds, too. They get tall and produce a stem of blooms. They're considered an old-fashioned flower, too, which I love. This was a hybrid variety that I was drawn to by its pale pink blooms.
One of the other simple pleasures of life, at least for this soap maker, is hanging my linen sheets in the sunshine and spring breeze. When you climb into your bed at night, the crisp texture that the sun and wind produce is like nothing else! I love the smell of fresh linen, sunshine sheets, too. I shared the info about my clothes line a few posts ago. You can live green like they used to in the olden days. Not new, but old. All of the things that they did in the old days were green. Those thoughts are food for thought.
I made homemade hamburger buns yesterday. This is the recipe that I used, but I didn't want to draw out the process, so I added a teaspoon of yeast. They were so good that I had one warm with butter. I would add the yeast to the recipe so that it doesn't take two days to make them. The honey adds just a touch of sweetness most delightfully.
I'm changing subjects. Our new Coconut Oil Moisturizer is available at our shop and website. We love everything about this moisturizer, everything! If you're on the hunt for a pure coconut oil moisturizer, this is for you.
The shop is picking up as new customers are discovering our shop. We're excited for summer to arrive and are enjoying the in-between. New soaps are hitting the shop and website each week, and we're feeling the love from our customers as they drop in and share feelings about how special our shop is. We've always known it, but when a customer comments or details what they like about Bittersweet, it makes us happy, and I feel like this speck of the world here at Bittersweet is making a difference in people's lives.
We've fastidiously started to choose our outsourcing items to offer at the shop. I've always been drawn to straw hats and bags. We have a shipment of them coming, and we're eager to share them with you. I believe every girl needs at least one straw hat and bag to get you through summer.
We've also chosen some other special and unique outsourcing pieces that caught my attention, and I can't wait to share those with you, too. Coming soon! One of the most exciting things about owning a shop is ordering items that stand out. It's been a thing since day one, twenty-seven, and 364 days ago!
It's time to plant your Angel Trumpet seeds! If you haven't picked up your pack yet, they're available at both the shop and the website.
I'm making fresh jars of Tallow today, and I'm happy to share that I've increased the production number so that we can keep up with demand. Happy thoughts!
Our local farmers' market kicked off the start of the season on Saturday. I ran down Saturday morning before opening the shop and picked up some rhubarb and radishes. Then I made the best rhubarb cobbler. I used this recipe, but read the recipe wrong and added 3/4 cup of butter instead of the stick, so I added a cup more flour and one more egg, and it was so good! I was concerned that the rhubarb was not ripe because it was pretty green, but it was perfect after it was cooked in the cobbler.
I'm planning a low-key Mother's Day as I've been working hard outside this week at both the shop and at home. It's always gratifying to witness the fruit of one's labor. Hard work always pays off in feelings of satisfaction. I hope your day is filled with all things special and satisfying.
Jill
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