One Year on Etsy

Yesterday was my one year anniversary with Etsy. Woohoo! I can't believe it's been one year already. Wow, the things I have learned, the changes that I have made, the skills I have developed.

I'm having a great sale to celebrate so come by and visit. Leave me a message saying you visited my blog and I'll include a free gift with purchase!

Teenage Drivers *Sigh*

Ever since she got her license I told my-self it would happen. The odds were for it and to be prepared. Well, it happened. Thankfully she wasn't hurt, and no one else was, either; however, ugh, what a pain. As you can tell she rear-ended someone on the freeway. Unfortunatly she has to drive on the freeway in order to get to school and we knew this was a risk. I was proud of myself. I didn't yell or scream, I calmly told her what to do and how to talk to the other driver. Thankfully, the other driver was very nice to her, they just exchanged information and left. No police, no ticket.

Now to deal with the insurance and rental cars (which she can't drive so she has to drive her dad's truck which he isn't too happy about).

Oh well, it's a learning experience for all of us.

Giving Artfire a Try

Well, I may be at the end of the line, but I jumped in anyway. It is interesting, I think, to try out new venues. I like to see how other sites work as well as spreading myself out. One of the things I love on Artfire is their rapid check out system. You can see that a little lower and on the left of my blog. This works just like the etsy mini (those of you who are familiar with that) but it doesn't require any set up for the buyer. They can go right here from my blog to purchasing without signing up for anything. Now, while I don't know that is a big deal to people, it is one less step to make that impulse purchase a done deal!

I signed up on Artfire on Wednesday I believe, and had my first sale Thursday. I have heard many are not having any luck with that venue; however, I've made back my initial payment and then some with no other fees coming out of it. It's funny, but there are things I would never trade for Etsy, but Artfire has some nice features, too. Spreading myself around I get to get the best of both worlds.
Register on ArtFire.com

Friday Funny - "British Funny"

This is the "I can do that" girl. She is always volunteering to do things she has no clue how to do!

Garden Growth

Ahh Spring. We had a wet and cold front come through last week and I didn't believe it would be warm again. But it is. My garden is grown and blooming. My little seedlings are coming up (clockwise: lettuce, cucumbers, sugar snap peas and green beans) and LOOK!

My tomato plant is blooming. Grape tomatoes are on the way. My favorite.

It is warming up which will now cause these little beauties to grow faster and faster! I can't wait to have my first tomato and basil salad!

Forego Eye Candy and Say a Prayer....

Liam Neeson has always been one of my actors, as been his wife, Natasha Richardson. It makes me sad to hear of her serious injury and the grim prognosis. Say a prayer for her, him and their family at this awful time.

Soap Diaries Chapter 6 - What went Wrong? or did it?

This is it. The true reveal. Did it work or not? All three have water spots on the top. While I was waiting (over 24 hours) for this to cure I did a lot of research on line to see what could have been causing this. I found some references to Lye separation (very bad) to condensation (not bad, crosses fingers). I don't have litmus paper so there may not be any way to see what the liquid is, is short of licking it (um , I think not!). So I forge ahead, not one to throw away potential and, now, seeing every thing as a learning experience.
I pop out one of the smaller molds and find a little more water in the mold as well as the bottom is sticky. I wonder if I should have let it sit longer. Just as determined as I am, I am also just as impatient. Maybe not a good combination!

I take the slicer and slice through. The color seems pretty consistent except for the thin "crust" on the top. I know from what I have read that comes from too much heat loss during saponification. (again, Darn cold front!)

I pop out the next mold and it is pretty much the same. Watery bottom and thin crust on top. On to the the large log. As you can see, the bottom also had some moisture. I have a couple of cuts on my hands and that REALLY stings! I wonder if it is the lye separated out. That is also a problem from too little insulation. Darn!

The consistency is fine but look at the color change from one end of the mold to the other. One end was more insulated than the other. (funny it looks a little like brie cheese! especially with that crust on the outside.

So, once again I forge on, cut and arrange this soap for curing. Now, this does have more hope than the first batch because it really smells nice.

And, at the cleanup, it was nice to see a nice lather. Smaller but more bubbles. At least something went right!

(edit: reading on i found a forum where it indicated it would be okay to touch your tounge to the soap to see if the lye separated. it should feel like a "shock" if there is too much lye. So I tried it and, yes, it felt like touching your tounge to a battery! funny, but disappointing. but the lye should neutralize during curing since it was just a slight separation. only the top feels like a shock, the rest of the surfaces are fine. Have a good laugh picturing me licking the soap. hey, it was just one piece!)

New Music Monday/Eye Candy

Since I missed last week's installment of "Eye Candy" I thought I would combine the segments. Enjoy! The singer is Gerard Way, My Chemical Romance. He usually doesn't look this clean cut, but fills the eye candy requirement very nicely in this video. Enjoy!

Soap Diaries - Chapter 5 The New Batch

After chatting with a wonderfully helpful seller on Etsy, I was given a simple, easy and small recipe for soap. No complicated ingredients or steps. As you can see from the picture, all the ingredients are found in the baking isle in the grocery store.(except for the lye...see chapter 1) btw...did you know the "vegetable oil" is actually soybean oil? I didn't. So, determined to conquer this soap thing I begin again.

From my experience last time I know that the Lye takes a long time to cool so I begin my by mixing my lye solution. Since the kids aren't home I mix it outside and leave it outside to cool.

I have decided to add a scent this time so, while the lye is cooling I run to Michaels to find some essential oil. The helpful Etsy seller recommended essential oils (EO) as opposed to fragrance oils (FO) because some of the FOs can cause the soap batch to seize. NOT wanting to take that chance I decide on a lovely lavender EO.

Funny thing, though, that we had a cold front the night before I decided to make this soap recipe. So, when I get home my lye has cooled significantly. So significantly it can't be used unless it is warm. Taking advise from an article I read, I filled the sink with very hot water and placed my lye pitcher into the hot water to warm it.

Last time I waited and waited while the lye cooled, this time I wait and wait, refill the sink, then wait and wait until I finally get the lye to 110 degrees.

While I was waiting I mixed my oils and slightly heated them. It took a little juggling of temperatures, but I finally got them both between 105 and 110 (with the lye being the higher temp) and mixed them. The soap is coming together wonderfully. It looks like vanilla pudding. The hard thing is deciding when it is to trace or not. I am hesitant to go too far because I know EOs can cause the soap to thicken quickly too. So, once I can see the droplets remaining on the top of the mixture I add the lavender oil and stir completely.

I then pour into my prepared mold (a foil box. that would make cute squares, huh?) and pour the extra into two rubbermaid containers. (So much for a small batch).

Cover it up and wait. It really smells wonderful and looks just like vanilla pudding.

A few hours later I look and see something disturbing:

there are water droplets accumulating on the top of the soap. Whaa??? I thought it went so well. I touch it and smell it. It has no smell, it isn't oil. Is this the lye separating out? Shoot! I just cover it back up and wait until tomorrow.

It is pretty cold in my kitchen (darn cold front) so, maybe I under-insulated this time? I hope not. I guess the proof will be to see what happens tomorrow.

I seem to be loosing my sense of humor in all this. Maybe it's the weather. Hopefully it'll be back tomorrow. Nite!

Soap Diaries Ch. 4 - Is it Peanut Butter?

Today dawns another adventure in soapmaking. If you aren't aware of what has been going on this week, start here, at Chapter 1 and read forward. I suspect you'll find it somewhat entertaining and a little educational.

Today is unmolding day. I intend to unmold my soap, cut it and prepare it for curing.

The look of the soap hasn't changed much since last night. The lighter color that was present when it was cold processed soap has disappeared into the darker caramel color you see here. The overall smell has diminished but the ratio of bad vs. vanilla and bad vs. grapefruit is still the same. But, now, this is a challenge for me. I will not give up and start over. I intend to see this through all the way. Even if it ends in the trash.

I prepare my area with my cutting board, a crinkle cutter and my water bottle box lined with wax paper to place my newly cut soap on. Now comes the time to unmold the soap. I pull the sides away from the soap, but the soap moves with the mold. Again I pull, but nothing comes loose. The soap remains sticky. Never fear, I know this can sometimes be a problem, so I calmly pop the molds into the freezer for a few minutes. This should do the trick. 10 minutes pass and I take the molds out of the freezer.Again I twist, press, pull but no luck. They are still sticky. Back into the freezer they go. I'll take a shower . This may take a while.

30 minutes later I emerge, showered and ready to tackle my nemesis. Yes, this soap has become my nemesis. It will not get the best of me and I will not give up!

I pull the sides of the mold and, finally, I see a little air pocket start. I wriggle and push and pull. After a few blunt blows on the bottom of the mold, the soap dislodges and plops onto the cutting board.

It retains it's shape (you can even see the glad logo in the next picture) but the consistency is very similar to that of refrigerated cookie dough. Have you ever made those Pillsbury sugar cookies that you can find in the biscuit section of the grocery store? The consistency of this soap is EXACTLY like that. That can't be good, I think to myself, but, I forge ahead. Measuring and cutting I slice the soap into 3/4 inch wide slices. It is not soft enough to leave finger indentations, but it wouldn't be a difficult if I just pressed a little too hard.
It looks like peanut butter or refried beans. You can see the little flecks of chamomille tea, though. Pretty! if it wasn't that orangey/brown color.Because of my short but tumultuous history with soap making I fear what I might find when I cut into the loaf. But to my surprise, the color is pretty consistent and even throughout. No oil or lye pockets (which may be due to the re-batching), and it almost looks nice, almost.

Well, it is all sliced and drying. I did throw away the end pieces because I didn't have room and, although this may be useable, one day, my hope is springing less and less eternal the more I go through this train wreck!

The smells are still there and the color is lighter than it was. It really is the exact color of peanut butter. I am going to leave this for a couple of days to see how it cures. I'll keep you apprised of its development.

Soap Diaries, Chapter 3 - The Mess....and smell....

On first glance this morning all seemed well with my soap. This is what I woke up to. Nice, solid, not pretty, but not too smelly chunks of soap. Maybe with some more curing the smell will lessen. (If you aren't familiar with previous problems you might want to start at chapter 1).

Despite my daughter's description of it as "throw-up", I forge ahead, determined to cut and cure it. But, when I pick it up to turn it out of the mold, I find a gloppy mess that has accumulated in the bottom of the mold. (I was so disappointed I didn't take a picture). Basically, the middle of the underside looks a little mushy and there is a small pool of oil. Bright Orange oil, by the way. Oh, and a hideoderous smell!

Disappointed, I go to the Miller website to search their troubleshooting pages. I find that the same problem that caused my wrinkly, yet harmless, top also contributed to the oily mess on the bottom of my mold. Basically I over insulated during the "saponification" (go to gel) stage. I should have removed the insulation when I saw the soap had gelled. *sigh*. Now, the only thing to do is "re-batch".

Well, what that entails is melting down the soap (which will never be considered cold process again) and re-molding it. Almost like a hot process soap, I think. ( I haven't fully explored that technique yet but, maybe in a future diary post.) This is not what I want to do, but I really have no choice.

I, NEVER one to give up, am determined to forge ahead. I am not a quitter and I won't throw out what maysomeday be, although continually doubtful, useful soap.

Now, remember the smell that I encountered when I was making the soap? I didn't give any effort to describing it because, honestly, it defies description. I can't quite put words to it. Its a heavy smell, almost putrid like, kindof kicks you in the back of the throat. Luckily the smell does not permeate my kitchen and is only noticeable within an arms reach of the soap. But, hope springs eternal and maybe it will be better with the re-batch.

After reading re-batching instructions on the Miller site I preheat my oven to 200 degrees and get out my soap pot. I take one of the molds and turn it out. Immediately I am engulfed in the awful smell. Honestly, it makes the eyes water and the throat close up. Now, the rebatch instructions explain that melting the soap in the oven will take a couple of hours. I see this as an opportunity to hunt down some scent.

I know, I was trying not to use scent and keep the soap pure, but I KNOW my daughter will not allow this soap within 10 feet of her if it smells like this. So, off I go to Hobby Lobby. The scents that are available at Hobby Lobby are not the best, but, in a pinch, they are what are available to me.

I pick up two scents. Vanilla and Grapefruit.

I don't know why, but I failed to photograph this step. When I come home and check the pot the soap is almost all melted. It stirs up beautifully (as opposed to the mushy mess I expected, probably because it was not cured at all), but still has that bad smell. I pour the entire bottle of vanilla scent (only .5 oz), stir, and then place it in another mold. I dump the second batch into the pot (uggugghssheesh that smell!), and place it in the oven. In a couple of hours I repeat with the grapefruit scent. Well, I can't tell but I think the smells are worse. One with the heavier scent of vanilla under "the smell" and one with the sharp grapefruit over "the smell". I soldier on, not being one to quit, and cover the re-batched batches of soap.

Now, instead if it looking like "throw-up" it now looks like a dark caramel, but not as smooth. Yes, caramel and I'm sticking to it no matter how many times my kids say it looks like poop! It looks mushier, not as smooth as it did when it was cold process.

On a bright side, when I was cleaning up, the soap made wonderful bubbles and didn't make my hands stink! Once again, hope springs eternal.

Tomorrow I'll tackle unmolding and cutting. Stay tuned...who knows what will happen. (those of you worried about me, don't be worried. I am now on a mission to see this through. I SERIOUSLY doubt anything useful will come of this soap, but now, it's like a trainwreck and I can't wait to see what happens next!)

Funny Friday

I've been so busy with soap I've missed some of my regular posts. I completely missed the Wednesday eye candy. Bummer, but I have something for New Music Monday that will make up for it!



For now, here's the Friday Funny. Ya'll have a great weekend.

Soap Diaries, Chapter 2 - Mixing Day!

Today is the big day. I am making soap for the first time. I am very excited now that I finally have all my supplies. (Go back and read chapter 1 if you haven't to see how fun the supply hunt was!) I have read a ton of articles (including some time on the Barnes and Noble couches scouring books), watched a plethora of videos on many different websites and now I am ready!

I begin looking over my recipe and thinking about how this will be good for my daughter's skin. But, wait, what did I read about chamomile being good for eczema? It's supposed to have calming properties. Well, I do have some chamomile tea and I did read where instead of water you could add tea to the lye (or lye to the tea - safety first). Why don't I just do that? So, I made very strong chamomile tea.

While I wait for the tea to finish brewing, I get my mold ready, get all my ingredients together and then my mind begins to review what I have seen in the many videos I've watched. I saw an interesting segment on about.com showing how to add goats milk into the soap. Well, goats milk is good for the skin! I should do that! Since I had some evaporated goats milk on hand I was set! All I had to do was use half the water(or tea in this case)with the lye and mix equal parts goats milk and the other half of the water to add later. This would make my lye solution stronger, but, hey, I can handle it!

When the tea was ready I weighed out half the amount of water, the full amount of lye, poured the lye into my pitcher and stirred. I then took the other half of the water and mixed it with an equal amount of goats milk. All ready to go. I know the lye heats up when mixed so I know I will have to wait for it to cool down. I popped in (yes, I was careful) my thermometer. 150 degrees! Sheesh. This will take forever. So I decide to measure my oils. I heat the oils somewhat to melt the coconut oil. Boy what a smell! That olive oil stinks. I hope it gets better.

Reviewing my recipe and everything I had learned in my mind I remember that the lye couldn't be hotter than the oils....or was it the other way around? Up the stairs I go to the computer to read. If you haven't found this website yet it is a wonderful resource! Millers Homemade Soap Pages. This has pages and pages of information regarding sources, recipes, how tos, trouble shooting, etc. (No, I did not have this resource before I went on the hunt for lye - see chapter 1). This is where I found the information. Okay, the oils can't be hotter than the lye. Good! Off downstairs to check my lye temp. 145 degrees. Sheesh! I go sit and watch tv for 10 minutes or so......check temp again. 140~ oh boy. Now, keep in mind it is recommended that the temp be between 100 or 110 degrees. This is going to take forever! I check my temp on the oils and they were about 110 so we were good there, but waiting on the lye. boy that olive oil stinks! Off to watch tv again...... well about an hour and a half later the lye is cool enough.

It is time to mix. I, once again don my gloves and safety glasses, grab my stick blender and get ready to pour the lye. (I had to slightly heat the oils again b/c they were too cool. Everything now is about 110 degrees.)

First I pour in the goats milk. Interesting combination oil and goats milk. All separate as you can image. No worries, I pour in the lye solution and begin mixing. Now this is beginning to be a weird orange color. Really weird orange. But, maybe it'll be good once it gets to trace.

I mix and stir, mix and stir (alternating running the stick blender on low and stirring with it). It takes about 15 minutes to get to trace (olive oil soaps are notoriously slow to trace - so I've been told). But, I finally got to trace. It is a thin trace, not what I have seen on the videos (I realized that AFTER when I re-watched the videos) but it'll do. Now, I'm looking for a pure soap so I didn't plan on adding any scent. I don't know how my daughter's skin will react so it's best just to leave it out. I do, however, add some dried chamomile tea to the mix, which adds pretty little specs in the soap. ~I wish I could add a scent, because this really is a little smelly!~ And, what's with the orange color ? Did the chamomile do that?

I pour the mixture into my molds which, since I'm not that concerned with appearance, just quality of soap, are plastic glad containers. ~Man, what an awful smell, though~. I keep going anyway and set them on a towel and then wrap them up in about four towels. They have to be kept warm in order to set up right.

A couple of hours later I go to peek at how they are doing I am so happy they are getting to a nice gel stage. Apparently the reaction is still going on and it heats all up again and liquefies somewhat jello like and then re-solidifies. "saponification" class, now everyone say it with me. Anyway, it needs to stay warm so I cover it up again.

Later I have to peek again because, hey, I'm nosy that way. Well, the tops are all wrinkly! Hmm, I've seen that before on the trouble shooting page of the miller website. So I cover it all back up and run upstairs again to read the website. "Too much insulation during gel phase". Oh boy! I run downstairs and take off the towels. I had thought, "if one towel is good, four must be better". Well no... but no major damage was done, I'm just wanting a quality soap. But, boy, what is with the smell??? and the weird orange color?

Now all the hard work is done, it's just time to let it set up for a couple of days, cut it and let it cure. I'll share tomorrow what comes out and, hopefully it at least smells tolerable!

The Soap Diaries, Chapter 1- The Hunt!

I have long wanted to make soap. I have always thought it would be a fun thing to do that I could include everyone in. I don't plan on making a business out of (which is good....read on....) but for just a hobby it would be interesting. And, since I am a purist (cough, cough) I wanted to do cold process, from scratch!

So, I came upon a recipe the other day for olive oil soap. It sounded like it would be good for my daughter, who has eczema. I search for soaps that don't have nut oils or soy oils because of her allergies, so I thought just a pure olive oil soap would be great.

So, I started researching how to do it, reading lots of websites and watching tons of videos. I learned through my research that pure olive oil soaps aren't that great of a soap. They can be slimy, not lather well, and smell bad. I began my search for a better recipe.

I came upon one that had some coconut oil in it. That promised to be a better soap, less slimy and more bubbly. I settled on that one. Now, to find my ingredients. In all the websites and instructions I had read, I was lead to believe the supplies (including lye) were readily available in any store. So, off to Walmart I went.

I found coconut oil and olive oil in Walmart. I also picked up plastic measuring cups, two candy thermometers, a pitcher to be dedicated to use with lye and various plastic spoons and spatulas. Now for the lye. I went to the draino isle....no lye. Maybe in the hardware department. I found a well meaning helpful employee to ask. After trying to explain what I wanted to repeated puzzled looks I began a sentence that I would repeat more times than I would have imagined in a 24 hour period. "No, I don't want lime, I want lye, L-Y-E". They don't carry lye. "No, sorry mam, we don't carry it".

Hmmm. Oh well, Home Depot is just across the street. I make my purchases and head to Home Depot....The same scenario......"No, I don't want Lime, I want Lye. L-Y-E!" . Sorry mam.

Off to Lowes. I head to the plumbing department and was lucky enough to find someone who knew what they were talking about. After explanations and puzzled looks as to why a nice girl like me would want something like lye. Sorry mam, no lye, but you might find it at a feed store. A feed store? What's a feed store? After some not so clear directions I was off the beaten path, on a mission. Down farm to market road 11-something-or-other to find a feed store.

Now, please realize I am a city girl. When I was young I used to be around horses all the time, but, they belonged to a friend. My extent of horses/cattle/livestock experience has always been from the observer's standpoint with the exception of an occasional ride. Imagine the shock to my sense of smell when I opened the door to that feed store. I almost wretched. I know I let out an audible "uughgghgaasheeh" before I saw the clerk on the other side of the too close counter! Long story short "No, I don't want lime, I need lye L-Y-E", back in the car.

Now, again, I was lead to believe this was readily available, so it must be here somewhere! Ace Hardware No 1: "No, I don't want lime, I want lye, L-Y-E". Ace Hardware No. 2: "No, I don't want lime, I want lye, L-Y-E". Sorry, mam.

While driving through town I spotted a plumbing store that I could tell was a warehouse and dealt directly with tradesmen but I was desperate! I did a u-turn and pulled in. Both men sitting behind the counter had a lip FULL of chewing tobacco and looked at me like I had two heads. After questions and more puzzled looks (no, I didn't have to use my new catch phrase), they had to look on their shelves to see if they had any. Nope. No Lye. Sorry mam.

One last stop at the Giant HEB, if anyone had it they would. Searching and searchin the giant store that I was not familiar with deepened my frustrated mood. I couldn't find any and thought a clerk wouldn't appreciate me yelling "L-Y-E" at her, so I didn't bother asking, I just went home.

Expecting to have to online order I began googling. Eureka! I learned why lye isn't available anymore. One word - Methamphetamine. Sheesh! Can you believe that is used in making meth? (an aside note: no wonder it kills your brain.) Thanks for ruining it for all the soapmakers and allergy sufferers out there!

Finally, through many websites and many links I found a supplier. aaa-chemicals.com. The price seemed reasonable and the amount, too. So, planning to place my order and reading about the company I read the most beautiful words I could have possibly read that day "If you're in the Houston Area, come on by and save on shipping" Wha???? they're local??? The soap gods were being good to me. Not only were they local, they were about six miles from my house! WOOHOO!

I hopped in the car and headed straight over there. As you can tell from their website, they are a chemical distributor, but dabble in soap supplies because the owners are soapers themselves. Very nice people! They gave me lots of tips, talked soap for a while, and linked me up with their soaping forum. (had never heard of Etsy, though...so I gave them MY card)

I headed home happily with my bottle of Sodium Hydroxide (L-Y-E). I'd have to put off my soap making until tomorrow, but, I had everything I needed. It was a productive day!

New Spring Line

I hate to admit it, but I was weak.

It has long been a dream of mine to learn silversmithing. I know it takes work and investment but it's something I have always wanted to learn. Well, I have been saving my etsy money to start buying tools but, last week, I had to go get some beads for a custom order. *sigh* walking into the bead store I just couldn't resist! It's a new bead store and there are GORGEOUS BEADS EVERYWHERE!

Needless to say, I blew my budget. But really, I don't mind! I love my new spring earrings and the bracelet. The little red jade beads remind me of currants. The yellow jade and blue glass look a little latin influence to me. The bracelet is amazing on and the blue earrings with the laboradorite are so elegant.

Well, I guess the silversmithing can wait. Who can save with so many gorgeous beads around?

New Music Monday

This is one of my favorite songs. It is from the play Les Miserables. He (Jean Val Jean) has been on the run from the law for most of his adult life. He now is singing this prayer for a very badly wounded young man (Marius) who he just found out is in love with his daughter (Cosette), and his daughter loves him. In revolutionary France, imagine a father's thoughts towards a man who he knew would take care of his daughter and keep her safe after he is gone.

Now I must say, no one else can sing this song the way say this man, Colm Wilkinson , sings it. To say he is an amazing singer is a huge understatement. Close your eyes and listen to his voice, the emotion, the notes,..ahhhh. I could listen to this all day. I hope you enjoy it.

btw: if you have never seen this play, it is a must for a bucket list!

Friday Funny!!!

This will make you laugh out loud!

Potential, Part 2

These beauties, along with various seeds are going here:

It's time to get the garden going! I've weeded, composted, manured (yeah) and weedblock-ed the garden. Time to add the seeds, plants, trellis, stakes and the love!

addendum: sorry I forgot to tell you what I was going to plant. From left to right: Green Peppers, Grape Tomatos (which becomes a monster if anything like last year), basil (which also grows huge here in the Houston climate), and butter lettuce. I also planted sugar snap peas, green beans and cucumbers. Those are seeds which I'll update on when they sprout.

Eye Candy

As you can see from the pictures, this weeks offering of "eye candy" is Sean Connery. I couldn't decide on an old or new picture because, regardless of age, he is gorgeous. (and honestly, looks kindof like my dad so maybe I'm a little prejudice). He is my favorite James Bond, by far.

Anyways, take a break for just a minute and enjoy a little candy before returning to busy life.

Potential

I love spring. I love the warmth spring sun brings. How it feels on your back as you work in your yard. I love the new things it brings: sprouts of new life, promises of a fresh start, anticipation as to what will come.

I walked through my back yard today and found that most of my photos had to do with potential. See if you can spot the potential.

Spring is Optimism for the future. It will come and bring good things.