home chemist

 On my way out the door this morning I found  a parcel in my mailbox. It is my first one from my daughter who is teaching in Korea. There were all kinds of little goodies in it, including the beautiful pashmina you can see around the box. She included lots of things with Korean writing on them, so I can use them in my art work. There were some beaded bracelets, necklaces, tea, coffee, sticky notes, chocolate, and a couple of book marks from Vietnam where she spent Christmas. Fun! I might even have to scan and print the sides of the box which are quite interesting too.

While reading an article in the most recent Canadian Living magazine about a family going green and making their own cleaning supplies and shampoos, I was inspired. It wasn't just the fact that  I could make my own. I had also listened earlier in the week to a radio interview with Gillian Deacon, author of Green For Life, about the toxins that are in beauty supplies. I checked out the David Suzuki website and this video how to for directions on how to make the shampoo. After a quick trip to the health food store for supplies, I made it in about 10 minutes. I spent about $45.00, although  I  already had a couple of the essential oils which are the most expensive items. I made a couple of small bottles but barely used any of the ingredients. It should last a long time. I tried it out last night and I really liked it. I will be able to experiment with the different essential oils for scent.

This morning  I did groceries and then went for a lunch at my friend Nicole's. We are fellow artists, so it's always inspiring to get together for a chat and some quick brainstorming about our projects. By the time I got home it was going on 3 PM, so I had time only to do a little free motion quilting on this.

Spring is only just over a week away but it sure doesn't look it here. This is a view of my back door snow bank from the outside instead of from my doorway as I have been showing.