Duke Ellington - Caravan
Thursday 28 February 2013
The Last Day of Summer
While there will still be warm weather ahead, the edge has been taken off the heat now. The days feel shorter and, sometimes, mistier. While autumn is one of my favourite seasons, it is sad to see summer fading. Sad in a melancholy way. And don't we love a little bit of melancholy?!
Here is our (newly mown) garden in the last rays of summer:
A bit of Harinezumi 2+++ camera madness. Speaking of which, look at that edging! I'll be out there this weekend with a pair of lawn clippers, or at least, someone will be...
Farewell summer!
While there will still be warm weather ahead, the edge has been taken off the heat now. The days feel shorter and, sometimes, mistier. While autumn is one of my favourite seasons, it is sad to see summer fading. Sad in a melancholy way. And don't we love a little bit of melancholy?!
Here is our (newly mown) garden in the last rays of summer:
A bit of Harinezumi 2+++ camera madness. Speaking of which, look at that edging! I'll be out there this weekend with a pair of lawn clippers, or at least, someone will be...
Farewell summer!
Monday 25 February 2013
Gone to earth
Today, I sliced the experimental soap (see yesterday's very exciting entry...). I used a rich dark brown oxide to colour the swirl, which reminds me of a lovely Sienna marble. It's warm and earthy. The vetiver and cade worked well; if anything, perhaps a bit more of the smokin' cade. I'm a fan of vetiver, so I love it. This little number will be called "Smokin' Joe".
I've put it away now to cure. If it passes the Shanghai Lil and The Scarlet Fez soap test, it will be released for sale sometime in May.
Today, I sliced the experimental soap (see yesterday's very exciting entry...). I used a rich dark brown oxide to colour the swirl, which reminds me of a lovely Sienna marble. It's warm and earthy. The vetiver and cade worked well; if anything, perhaps a bit more of the smokin' cade. I'm a fan of vetiver, so I love it. This little number will be called "Smokin' Joe".
I've put it away now to cure. If it passes the Shanghai Lil and The Scarlet Fez soap test, it will be released for sale sometime in May.
Sunday 24 February 2013
Experiment
The hot weather has killed off some of the grass in the garden. If we don't get to it with a hose soon enough, that is what happens! Of course, it saddens me to lose the grass because I'd rather it be lush and green, but when I turn the sprinklers on late at night or early in the morning, the dead grass offers up a surprising treat. The damp air wafts up and brings with it the subtle scent of hay. It's sweet and green but smokey too. It lasts a few seconds before the smell of the hot cement coming into contact with water takes over.
So today I have experimented with some of the essential oils I have left. I want to suggest that green, smokey smell and put it into a soap. To start, the soap is made with lush olive oil and superfatted with meadowfoam seed oil and castor oil. I love this combination of oils because of the extra smooth feel they give to the soap. Not to mention the skin nourishing qualities, of course.
The soap is currently wrapped up, doing its soapy thing, so tomorrow I will be able to have a look and see if it has worked. And the essential oils I have used? Vetiver and cade. Both are pretty strong, so I pulled back with the amount I added to the soap. Time will tell if I have been too cautious. I'll post more about the soap when I cut it in the next day or two.
The hot weather has killed off some of the grass in the garden. If we don't get to it with a hose soon enough, that is what happens! Of course, it saddens me to lose the grass because I'd rather it be lush and green, but when I turn the sprinklers on late at night or early in the morning, the dead grass offers up a surprising treat. The damp air wafts up and brings with it the subtle scent of hay. It's sweet and green but smokey too. It lasts a few seconds before the smell of the hot cement coming into contact with water takes over.
So today I have experimented with some of the essential oils I have left. I want to suggest that green, smokey smell and put it into a soap. To start, the soap is made with lush olive oil and superfatted with meadowfoam seed oil and castor oil. I love this combination of oils because of the extra smooth feel they give to the soap. Not to mention the skin nourishing qualities, of course.
Some of the oils getting ready to have some soap fun.
The soap is currently wrapped up, doing its soapy thing, so tomorrow I will be able to have a look and see if it has worked. And the essential oils I have used? Vetiver and cade. Both are pretty strong, so I pulled back with the amount I added to the soap. Time will tell if I have been too cautious. I'll post more about the soap when I cut it in the next day or two.
Saturday 23 February 2013
Bookshop find
During a recent holiday up north, we visited a wonderful bookshop in Kingscliff. It was old school so far as bookshops go, so there was much to find there. I came away with a couple of design books from the 1940s including this modest little number "Design in Everyday Things", published by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1941.
The book was an accompaniment to a series of educational lectures broadcasted on the ABC radio. It has a number of thought-provoking essays on design, but it is the illustrations, advertisements and photographs which interested me.
Being a big fan of moderne, streamline, art deco architecture, I zeroed in on these images in particular.
The first is an illustration in an advertisement for International Correspondence Schools (Australasia) Pty Ltd. The photo is unidentified and uncredited.
The second breaks my heart. It is identified as Wyldefel Gardens, a block of flats in Potts Point, Sydney. In 1941, they were being demolished to make way for a new Naval Dock. Imagine the views!
During a recent holiday up north, we visited a wonderful bookshop in Kingscliff. It was old school so far as bookshops go, so there was much to find there. I came away with a couple of design books from the 1940s including this modest little number "Design in Everyday Things", published by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1941.
The book was an accompaniment to a series of educational lectures broadcasted on the ABC radio. It has a number of thought-provoking essays on design, but it is the illustrations, advertisements and photographs which interested me.
Being a big fan of moderne, streamline, art deco architecture, I zeroed in on these images in particular.
The first is an illustration in an advertisement for International Correspondence Schools (Australasia) Pty Ltd. The photo is unidentified and uncredited.
The second breaks my heart. It is identified as Wyldefel Gardens, a block of flats in Potts Point, Sydney. In 1941, they were being demolished to make way for a new Naval Dock. Imagine the views!
Monday 18 February 2013
Sunday 17 February 2013
Hiding from summer heat leads to Great Discovery
My kidney-shaped pool surrounded by crazy paving and lush lawn only exists in my feverish imagination, so until that day comes when I can swim in its cool blue waters, I stay inside when it hits 37. To take my mind off the wilting garden, I whipped up a batch of soap, the results of which are pictured below.
I wanted to make a soap that smells cool and refreshing, but looks smart and exotic. I mixed a few essential oils together and came up with a basil and star anise combination that fits the bill perfectly. This combination is surprisingly sophisticated, an aniseed with deep green notes, perfect for evening drinks on the shaded verandah overlooking a pride of lions on the vast savanna (or, your cat scratching a hole in your lawn).
The base soap is a creamy ivory; very luxurious. It is swirled through with black oxide, adding a touch of danger. The soap is super-enriched with macadamia and pine nut oils, smooth and soothing oils for the skin. I can't wait to try this one out. Mustn't forget my pith helmet...
My kidney-shaped pool surrounded by crazy paving and lush lawn only exists in my feverish imagination, so until that day comes when I can swim in its cool blue waters, I stay inside when it hits 37. To take my mind off the wilting garden, I whipped up a batch of soap, the results of which are pictured below.
I wanted to make a soap that smells cool and refreshing, but looks smart and exotic. I mixed a few essential oils together and came up with a basil and star anise combination that fits the bill perfectly. This combination is surprisingly sophisticated, an aniseed with deep green notes, perfect for evening drinks on the shaded verandah overlooking a pride of lions on the vast savanna (or, your cat scratching a hole in your lawn).
The base soap is a creamy ivory; very luxurious. It is swirled through with black oxide, adding a touch of danger. The soap is super-enriched with macadamia and pine nut oils, smooth and soothing oils for the skin. I can't wait to try this one out. Mustn't forget my pith helmet...
Friday 15 February 2013
Holiday snaps
I was fortunate enough over the Christmas break to visit the beautiful coastline of north New South Wales with my partner. As usual, I took a bunch of cameras with me, including the Harinezumi and my trusty old Holga. I had purchased a new roll of film for the trip, Kodak Ektar 100. This film is touted as having fine grain and high saturation, which is great, but I was using it for the Holga - the unpredictable photobeast. So, who knows what would happen.
I have just got the photos developed and nearly every one of them is a dud! Completely washed out, with brown staining on the top and bottom of the negatives. I know it was warm up there, but I've taken the Holga out for a walk in the deserts of Arabia (ie, downtown Dubai) and the prints were fine despite the heat exposure. So, I'm at a loss to know what has caused this. I guess the roll was exposed to light somehow. But that's life with film! Here is one print I like, looking like a hand-tinted early Kodak; the lighthouse at Byron Bay.
I was fortunate enough over the Christmas break to visit the beautiful coastline of north New South Wales with my partner. As usual, I took a bunch of cameras with me, including the Harinezumi and my trusty old Holga. I had purchased a new roll of film for the trip, Kodak Ektar 100. This film is touted as having fine grain and high saturation, which is great, but I was using it for the Holga - the unpredictable photobeast. So, who knows what would happen.
I have just got the photos developed and nearly every one of them is a dud! Completely washed out, with brown staining on the top and bottom of the negatives. I know it was warm up there, but I've taken the Holga out for a walk in the deserts of Arabia (ie, downtown Dubai) and the prints were fine despite the heat exposure. So, I'm at a loss to know what has caused this. I guess the roll was exposed to light somehow. But that's life with film! Here is one print I like, looking like a hand-tinted early Kodak; the lighthouse at Byron Bay.
Tuesday 12 February 2013
Monday 11 February 2013
Aromatic Cardamom
We all have our own scent memories and associations. What is evocative for one draws a blank for another. I have just started using a batch of cardamom scented soap I made last month. The distinctive, aromatic smell of this spice takes me not so much to a romantic and distant eastern market but to an equally distant childhood exploration of the colourful spice containers in the ever-magical pantry of my family home.
This soap also contains macadamia oil and macadamia butter. It's smoother than silk and so far is shaping up to be a long-lasting bar. This is fast becoming a favourite.
We all have our own scent memories and associations. What is evocative for one draws a blank for another. I have just started using a batch of cardamom scented soap I made last month. The distinctive, aromatic smell of this spice takes me not so much to a romantic and distant eastern market but to an equally distant childhood exploration of the colourful spice containers in the ever-magical pantry of my family home.
This soap also contains macadamia oil and macadamia butter. It's smoother than silk and so far is shaping up to be a long-lasting bar. This is fast becoming a favourite.
Sunday 10 February 2013
Are we having fun yet?
I love vintage photographs, especially of everyday folk showing off for the camera. The past cloaks people with an aura of charm, beauty and 'interestingness' which is often missing from the endless parade of photographs you see of contemporary life. They can be happy, formal or whatnot, but I find there is always a shadow of melancholy in these old snaps. Time passing, I guess, makes us all a little ponderous.
I love vintage photographs, especially of everyday folk showing off for the camera. The past cloaks people with an aura of charm, beauty and 'interestingness' which is often missing from the endless parade of photographs you see of contemporary life. They can be happy, formal or whatnot, but I find there is always a shadow of melancholy in these old snaps. Time passing, I guess, makes us all a little ponderous.
Thursday 7 February 2013
No more need for matchsticks holding your eyelids apart in the morning:
Here is Spearmint Soap!
I must say, this is the last word in fresh. This new batch of soap has a creamy, silk-like lather and best of all, is scented with wake-me-up-now spearmint. I have enriched this little number with a healthy dose of apricot kernel oil, good for keeping your skin supple.
I used two mica colours here - seafoam and blue. Here's the blue getting ready to swirl.
We'll be ready to wake you up in four weeks!
Here is Spearmint Soap!
I must say, this is the last word in fresh. This new batch of soap has a creamy, silk-like lather and best of all, is scented with wake-me-up-now spearmint. I have enriched this little number with a healthy dose of apricot kernel oil, good for keeping your skin supple.
I used two mica colours here - seafoam and blue. Here's the blue getting ready to swirl.
We'll be ready to wake you up in four weeks!
Sunday 3 February 2013
Friday 1 February 2013
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