Last Day in London

Yesterday took the 'hop on, hop off' bus around London in rain. There were periods of sun, too.  Amazing how fast the weather can change here. 

Pentti who NEVER uses an umbrella....Big Ben in front of Big Ben.

Today, we toured the National Gallery and then made our way over to the London Eye.
Lines were long but moved quickly.  The capsules hold 25 people each and the wheel moves so slowly that it take 30 minutes to go around once.  It doesn't stop to let people on and off, you just move in and out as it moves.

Pentti took tons of photos as we went around, but this one is from my phone:   Parliament, Big Ben and the Westminster Bridge.

Leaving tomorrow morning for Southampton to board the Queen Mary 2 and head for home. 

Wednesday in London

The Eurostar trip was lovely.  Watching great countryside and relaxing.  Pentti found it VERY relaxing.

We arrived in London in the afternoon to this lovely hotel the JW Marriott Grosvenor House.  Thank you Marriott points!  This would be way too expensive if we had to pay for it.

When we arrived the lobby was filled with orchids:

This morning I was up early and a florist was changing the whole display and adding carnations!  I wonder how often they do that.

Slept like a log here....off to see the city today.

A day in Ghent

We loved our short stay in Ghent.  What a beautiful walkable city.  We started with breakfast at our hotel looking out over the canal.

We walked to several churches and climbed the bell tower from which this photo is taken.
The church itself was closed for renovation but there were many more churches to see.

After a lovely lunch, Pentti toured Gravensteen the castle below.  It is located right in the city center.  Actually I took this photo from the window of the restaurant where we had lunch.  (hence the aloe plant in the forground)

I went shopping for linen and chocolates!

Today we're packing up to take the Eurostar train to London.

See you on the other side.

Ghent

We had a slow start in Amsterdam this morning...
There was a train accident in Amsterdam last night.  A head on collision of two trains.  Many people injured and one has subsequently died.  Trains out of Amsterdam were rerouted. 

Pentti hates crowds!  And the train was VERY crowded.

So....instead of a lovely first class trip to Antwerp, we were rerouted onto three different trains, until we arrived in Antwerp, Belgium.  Then took an intercity train to Ghent.

Antwerpen  Station

Belga Queen in Ghent

But we arrived this afternoon and after checking in to our hotel and taking a short rest, we had a lovely dinner at Belga Queen across the canal from our hotel.  It looks like a castle, doesn't it?

Tomorrow we see the city.

Keukenhof

 We set off for Keukenhof  this morning.  On the way we passed fields of tulips like this. These photos were taken with my phone and no photos could do this display justice.

Imagine 32 acres of this....

Fritillaria for Sarah         

Pentti had the BEST time even with the crowds.

...more fields!

Day 4 Amsterdam

almost as many bikes as people in Amsterdam!

Lots of flowers, too, but don't think these will compare to those at Keukenhof where we'll be going tomorrow.

Have already been up north to windmill country. On Sunday we leave for Ghent, Belgium by train.
Pentti has all of the good photos on his camera....these are just from my phone and you know I'm not much of a photo taker. Would rather just 'look!'

Amsterdam

We arrived in Amsterdam this morning after an all night flight through Iceland.

So far we've only seen this view from our hotel window and done some people/bicycler watching from a cafe on the street.

Then off to a deep hot European tub with a cup of coffee and my favorite lavender milk bath.
What a way to rejuvenate after a long trip. Early to bed and we'll be ready to explore the city tomorrow!

Easter Dinner

Wow. Didn't realize it was so long since I posted.

Dinner tomorrow will be a celebration of 1 year since Sarah and Eric found the farm they now own and are working furiously to restore.


Brunch will be first with Hot Cross Buns that I'll make tonight and bake in the morning.

The dinner menu, simple but yummy:


Crown Roast of Lamb

Simple Two Potato Gratin

vegetable?

Coconut Southern Comfort Layer Cake

Wine: an Australian Shiraz blend called Torbreck


Some changes: the lamb recipe calls for searing the ribs and then roasting, but I'm marinating them and then tying them into a crown to roast. I like the way it looks. The vegetable will depend upon what Sarah brings from the green market.
No southern comfort in the cake. I love coconut and the photo of the cake, but wouldn't buy a bottle of southern comfort just for the frosting. Other reviewers on Epicurious left it out, too.

Happy Holidays to all!

black soap follow up

What do you think?
I tried a little scrap. I don't think it makes black lather. More testing will say for sure.
I also think it might need to be a bit 'blacker' Didn't want to overdo it with the charcoal in the first attempt.

for Sarah

Sarah's been wanting black soap forever. I wasn't sure how to do it...or if I even I wanted to.

But when I realized that activated charcoal would color the soap, I ordered some and made the test batch today. Used a blend of rosemary and eucalyptus to fragrance it. I want it to be an herbal facial soap. The charcoal is supposed to be good for clearing complexion. But what will it do to a white facecloth?? We'll see when we test it!

My favorite things

As the year draws to a close, we're finally getting a breather. Today we're off for a week. Up to Rochester to see my family. A cousins get together that occurs each year on New Year's Day. Then on to Parry Sound, Ontario to see Pentti's 94 year old mom. It's a family time and a respite from the soapmaking world.

I've been making soap, lots of it for the past 2 weeks, stocking up for the new year ahead. As I worked, I was thinking about some of my favorite soapmaking things!

My soapmaking bucket (the white one...with no handle) Every time I pour soap from the orange bucket, the handle flips over and I end up pouring soap all over the handle!


My extra long rubber scraper/mixer, a gift from my friends at Chivas Goat Milk Skin Care
Just like my other heat resistant red handled scraper...but longer! No more getting lost in the bucket!

My nitrile, chemical-resistant gloves from a company called Certified Lye. (the blue ones) I love these and they last forever.

Unlike the grocery store gloves (ie. the yellow ones) that get holes or slits in them. ( I've been through so many pairs) or the disposable gloves (not a fan of anything disposable)


Just a reminder that sometimes its the little things that make us the happiest!

So, Happy New Year! Hoping for the best for all of you in the year ahead.

We're back...

rested and relaxed and almost caught up on orders. Just one more to go and we'll be done.

So if you ordered while we were away...it's comin' to ya!

Wish I was caught up on soap making...

Creekside is on Vacation

We're out of town for a few days. If you want to place an order you can do so on the website and we'll begin shipping again on Nov. 14.

Orders will be filled in the order received.

Thanks for your patience!

Susan and Pentti

I've had a little help

Jessica was just here for 3 weeks from Atlanta to visit and to help me in the soap workshop.

She lined soap molds, packaged candles, wrapped soap, kept track of inventory. She also decided that my work space needed some organization.

She's a great organizer. (read that: what's this?? when was the last time you used it??)

And, she didn't like the way we've been storing our soap wrapping paper.

We've always cut the big sheets into strips that fit the paper cutter.

Then we store those strips in a cardboard box with dividers until we're ready to cut bar size pieces on the cutter. It's worked for me for the last 6 years or so.

I guess it was a little messy and I was always flipping through to see how much paper was left of each king. Jess had Pentti make extra shelves for the books shelf....and voila!

And there's the paper cutter right on top! How convenient.

Boy, could I use a full time assistant like Jess!

Bad news soapmakers

The price of lumber is skyrocketing like everything else. (More than 30% in the past month!)

If you use rose geranium essential oil in your soap, you'll know what happened to that, too!

We had to stop making that soap (one of our best sellers) When the price went from $130/lb to $250/lb....we just couldn't cover the increase....or charge that much for the soap!

So....we have to raise the price of our soap dishes.

The price increase has gone to the webmaster. It will be effective as soon as it goes up.

Devastation

This is the beautiful Stoneledge Farm in the Hudson Valley of New York State where our CSA vegetables are grown.

This is what is looks like today after Hurricane Irene was finished with us up here in the Northeast.

10 to 14 inches of rain...the National Guard called in...severe flooding. What a shame.

The summer garden

Sarah was up here on Tuesday for a tiny motor vehicle glitch.

After a quick trip to the DMV....we had a lovely lunch in Mahopac at the Freight House Cafe.
Delicious homemade, healthy food.

Back home, she made and photographed flower arrangements all afternoon. Then cooked a luscious dinner of lamb sausage, raita, and grilled zucchini.

My guests last night thought my porch looked like a flower shop. She brought some flowers with her from the shop, but lots were just cut from my wild garden. The extras she brought from the shop, and left here, looked like an arrangement as it was. So, I put it on my front steps!

Mah Jongg at the Lake

Sorry, friends. I've been out of touch.
Been making lots of soap to stay ahead so I could take time off and play Mah Jongg for a week at the lake.

And here I am!
At a lovely home on Owasco Lake in the Finger Lakes of NY State.

Playing marathon Mah Jongg and doing other fun vacation related stuff.
Be back soon.

Gooseberries and Red Currants

Gooseberries and Red Currants in the CSA share.
Friends coming for dinner.
Too hot to bake.

Solution: Gooseberry Fool adapted with some Red Currant Puree.


Only a small pint of gooseberries, so I added some raspberries and some of the red currant puree....
I also tried the red currant vinaigrette. The jury's still out on that.
But the Fool was yummy....

here's what I think happened....

my cat chased the chipmunk into the pool

the cat couldn't get the chipmunk once he was in the pool...so he swam until he couldn't swim any longer...OR...he found a way out on the steps

Exhausted he rested while I went to get my camera

then he took off

and here's why I won't go into the pachysandra or tall grass to weed the garden:

yikes a snake
so afraid I'll step on one