Snow in the Morning

I was not expecting what I saw when I woke up today.  Snow.  Enough to cover the ground that had been exposed by the weekend's melting, but then it was gone by sundown.  It started out in the mid-30s and ended the day in the mid-40s.  That's crazy weather for March.


When I was coming home from my haircut I noticed a cardinal in an ornamental tree around the corner and there on a lower branch was a robin.  Now I know that some robins stick around in winter but it was very nice to see him there.

Our knitting guild has started teaching beginners how to knit and one of them teaches 5th grade so we're going to teach a few fifth graders that want to learn too.  My friend MW had those bags of donated yarn to share so I glommed onto the bright skeins of worsted weight acrylic, then went downstairs to raid my tote of acrylic yarn.  I also sorted out a few sets of needles and went down to the church where we meet to gather up other donated needles so I think we're set for April when the teaching starts.


I saw in the ALDI ad that they had chicken tenders for $1.99/lb. so I went over, bought a 3 lb. package, and tossed them into the slow cooker when I got home.  I cooled them on a tray and then cubed it all up, measured out two cup portions, and bagged it up for the freezer.  I got three bags of cooked cubed chicken all ready to become yummy suppers or maybe chicken salad.  Not bad for six bucks.



While the chicken cooked I finished the first Donegal Mitt and cast on the second one.  I got the cuff ribbing knitted so I can start on the hand part tomorrow after I get home from my session with T the trainer.  Also I can't forget that there's a Guild board meeting tomorrow evening.  I should write that down.

11 March--Barbara Malcolm, Three Cheers for Murder. 

Sheila reached the other curb and strode into The Alchemists.  Waiting for Cecilia to finish totaling a customer’s purchase she browsed through the inviting baskets and displays.  Seeing that the proprietor was free she introduced herself.

“Good afternoon.  Ms. Robbins?  I’m Sheila Winters from the Chamber of Commerce.  I understand you’re the driving force behind the push to rejuvenate this little area of downtown.  I’m pleased to finally meet you,” Sheila said in a rush, thrusting her hand out.

Bemused by the onrush of words, Cecilia took the out thrust hand, shook it and said, “Please, call me Cecilia.”  She laughed.  “Driving force might be putting it a bit strongly but I guess you can say I’m the squeaky wheel that’s getting a little grease!  If you don’t mind, why don’t we sit back here near the counter.  That way we can talk, and I can watch the store at the same time.”

“That’ll be fine.”

“Can I get you some tea or lemonade?”  Cecilia asked.

“Oh, lemonade would be wonderful,” Sheila sighed gratefully.  Cecilia excused herself and stepped into the back room of the shop and returned quickly with two frosty glasses of homemade lemonade garnished with sprigs of mint.  “That looks wonderful!” Sheila exclaimed and took a sip.  “Mm, perfect, thank you.”  She settled back in the comfortable chair and arranged her notebook on her lap, ready to begin the interview.  “So, tell me, Cecilia, how did you get started in The Alchemists?”

“Well, two years ago my daughter, Marie, and I attended a seminar on making herbal bath products.  We were so excited about the prospect of making luxurious bath products for ourselves.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have an herb garden at the time, so we searched on the Internet for recipes calling for things we did have.  We started making bath salts using potpourri oils we found in an import store here in town.  I was disappointed that the fragrances didn’t last long so I searched more on the computer and found a recipe for lip balm on a website that also sold fragrance and flavor oils and the tubes to put the lip balm in.  We fired off an order and waited impatiently for our stuff to come.  Luckily for us a friend’s family are beekeepers, so we were able to get terrific beeswax which I feel is what sets our lip balm apart from all the rest.   On that same website was a formula for creating your own lotion so we ordered a tiny amount of all the ingredients we couldn’t find in the stores here in Ashville and started experimenting.  Our first efforts weren’t terribly successful, but we persisted, or maybe we were obsessed.  But anyway, we finally got some lotions and creams made that stayed together, smelled great, and were terrific on the skin.  It was fun to create labels on the computer (I love graphics programs!) and make them look like the real thing.  I was so excited with our success I started handing the stuff out to people I worked with and all my friends.  We made up gift baskets for a couple of bridal showers later that year that were real hits with the brides.  The next thing I knew I was getting calls from people who had seen my products asking if I’d make up baskets for them to give as gifts.  I was amazed that they were willing to pay me!  Well, to make an already long story short, I decided to try selling the stuff.  I had tests run to make sure my products were safe, got a seller’s permit, and started trying to find places that would be willing to have a small display.  I mentioned it to one of the managers at the club when I was there working out one day and she suggested I bring a selection and put it in the ladies locker room with a sign and a few business cards and see what happened.  What happened was enough to knock me over.  I started getting tons of orders and spent most of my days whipping up batches of lotions and really everything I’d ever developed.  After six months I was so busy I decided to try opening a little store.  This place was the least expensive rent-wise and since I’m pretty handy, I fixed it up, built shelves, set up a place in the back room for my lotion crafting, painted everything that held still long enough to lay a brush on, and opened the door.”

“So, you just kind of fell into business?”

“Yes, I guess you could say that.  My husband passed away a little over 3 years ago and when Marie went off to college, I needed something to keep myself busy.”

“Is Marie your only child?”

“No, I also have a son, William, who’s in the Army stationed in Korea.  I hate it that he’s so far away.  But I have fun writing letters and sending “care” packages filled with good things to eat and books that I think he’d like.”

I have a sneaking suspicion that the writing conference that I'm planning to attend in two weeks will be cancelled because today the chancellor of UW-Madison where the conference is scheduled to be held told the students that until April all classes will be online rather than face-to-face.  I also suspect that the agents that I want to see won't risk flying to Wisconsin in these scary health times.  To be honest, I'm not thrilled about the idea of being in a room with 500 people for three days.  I'll be disappointed but maybe it's for the best.
--Barbara