Pineapple Sage From Our Garden

In recent weeks the garden has been changing to accommodate the lower light of fall. Many of the tender annuals have faded away yet there have been some striking surprises.

One lovely, unusually warm evening in late October we were sitting outside discussing the events of the day when Mark pointed out these small but vibrant red flowers near the fence.

What could it be? It turned out to be the pineapple sage herb that we had planted in the spring.

I belong to several yahoo community groups. One of my favorites is the Essential Herbal group. Pineapple sage was one of the herbs that was discussed and I just knew I had to have one for my garden.

I found the plant at one of our local gardening centers and so enjoyed planting it with much anticipation of what the coming summer would bring. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

We have been delighted with the incredible scent of pineapple when we are near this plant which is very strange in our mid-west habitat of Wisconsin. Rubbing the leaves has been a sensual delight bringing back lovely memories of our trips to Maui.

There are more than 700 species of Salvia, and many gardeners have become Salvia collectors. The "salvias" are also referred to as "sages", most are tough and easy to grow and many attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

The fresh leaves of pineapple sage are used in fruit salads and drinks. Crush a few fragrant leaves into hot or iced tea for a flavorful treat. The delicious flowers add color and flavor to salads and deserts.

I have been taking online classes in Paint Shop Pro for several months. Now you may have thought that I have enough to do with my soap making business and the day job, yet one of the things I have learned is the need to take lovely photos for my website.

It is not just a matter of taking good digital photographs. It is necessary for a potential buyer to see the products that I make here in my studio in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The photos must say "come hither" and that is the whole point of this software.

Initially I found the software to be far too daunting for this novice, yet with the generous help of the moderators for these free online classes, I have been able to rehab many old photos of my family and enhance my product photos.

I've Got Press!

This was an incredibly exciting day for me. I received a copy of Draft Magazine with my Island Wheat Beer Soap featured in their Style section.

The editor had contacted me in August requesting a bar of this soap for a photo shoot. Imagine! I couldn't have been more surprised and gladly sent them a bar of this soap.

I was hopeful that it would be included in the photo shoot but you know how that goes.

Heck, last year at the Harbor Marketplace in Kenosha, we were visited by Discover Wisconsin. The market managers sent them to my booth and they did some extensive photo work, but the day was not nice with much wind.

I eagerly awaited the show and of course told all my relatives when it would be on, but alas, no Patti's Potions was included in the show.

What are my hopes for this you might ask. Success of course and recognition for all the research and development I have put into my product and business.

This particular soap has been a terrific seller for me both at the market and with my wholesale accounts. Needless to say, I'm hoping that this unsolicited press will bring in the orders.

It is made with Island Wheat beer from from Capitol Brewery in Middleton, Wisconsin. I'm a stock holder there so certainly have a bias for their fine micro brews.

The beer in the formula adds an extra creaminess to the lather, so you see, beer is not just for breakfast anymore!

Last Days at the Market

The Kenosha Harbor Marketplace is drawing to a close. I have been a regular vendor there since it all started about six years ago. This year we had to change our location due to construction on the lake front. Initially we had beautiful vistas with green grass and Lake Michigan as our backdrops. We are now placed in front of the museum. While that means less space for our vehicles for set up, we have a longer distance for more vendors.

The museum and the lake front condos also provide a wind break which is a much needed respite. It is still necessary to anchor our canopies yet since there is less wind, the Mary Poppins effect is greatly diminished.

The day dawned quite cold with the temps in the high 30's. Last week it was 90. Whew! What a difference but as awe say here in Wisconsin, stick around it will change, and that it did.

The crowds were down yet there were many familiar faces and many new ones who braved this biting cold. It was a day for sweaters and long johns for those of us who were displaying our wares for the next several hours.

Sales were excellent with many of my repeat customers stocking up for the long winter ahead. That was a good thing for all of us!

The museum is in this last picture. As the day wore on and some of the chill dispersed with the advent of a bit of sunshine, the little kiddies came out and splashed in the fountain.

Beach House

This a fabulous old beach house along the shoreline of Lake Michigan here in Kenosha.

It was a popular gathering place in bygone days. If you put your imagination to work, I'm sure you can see the fashionable folks promenading along the walkways. I still can't quite imagine anyone swimming in this icy lake. Rarely is the temp warm enough.

Today, much of the building is in disrepair and no longer open to the public. I do understand that there is one room that can be rented out for private parties.

Bloggers Challenge

Recently I joined a blogging group with some of my favorite list mates.

We have been challenged to make an everyday type of entry that affects our lives.

This photo is of the Lake Michigan Shoreline. Now, we do have beautiful sandy beaches in addition to breakwaters.

The lake has been low for several years now, but during the high water time, many places along the shore have had to place rip rap to prevent erosion.

The changing lake levels has always been cyclical. As you know, much of the US has been in a drought state. Here in Wisconsin, we have had very light snows in the winter. Oh you wouldn't think so when we are shoveling out after a blizzard. Yet I have memories of my childhood where snow by Thanksgiving was a given and it stuck around until April.

Now you might ask dear reader, why I bring this up as a daily affect in our lives. There is a saying here, "Cooler by the lake". Yes, Lake Michigan does have a moderating effect on our daily climate.

This past Saturday I had a show at a local high school. One of my customers came in and had been looking for me at the lake front where I am a regular vendor at out local market. She said it was so cold down there that she had to go back to her car for a jacket. In contrast, we were sweltering in 90 plus degrees just two miles west.

Our heat wave is now over and more fall like temps are here. That makes me sad but it is easier to sleep now.

Soap Making

I come from a frugal family. We were disinclined to treat our environment as disposable and used what we had.

The local butcher would wrap our meat and tie it with string which was always saved. Pieces of tin foil was washed and flattened for other uses. Food scraps went back into the garden.

Mom always saved her bacon grease to make the most tasty potatoes and chicken ever fried.

At some point in time, Mom decided to save other oils left over from cooking and made soap out of it.

This picture show Pam and Mom making soap the old fashioned way.

The oils were cleaned, rendered and then added to the pot in the amount that her original recipe called for along with a can of lye. She always said that the most difficult part was to find some type of fragrance that would hold so I'm sure she used some of the vanilla extract that was used for cooking along with small amounts of perfumes and colognes that were off duty. I wish I could find the formula right now but it isn't at hand.

Sometimes the soap that my Mom and my sister-in-law would make was terrific and other times it was on the harsh side and best for laundry. It sure was nice most of the time.

Soapmaking has advanced quite a bit. We now have calculators that tell us how much sodium hydroxide to add for each oil which has a specific number for saponification. We now use digital scales to weigh each ingredient and this is often done in grams. Best of all is knowing the properties that each oil add to make a well balanced conditioning soap with a lather that creates big fluffy bubbles and small creamy bubbles that cleans yet leaves your skin moisturized.

We also have access to some very fine skin-safe fragrances that are manufactured just for soaps and lotions. Many herbs and clays make fine natural colorants. We also have oxides that have been processed for some fun colors.

The one big difference in a handmade soap and commercial bars is naturally occurring glycerin. The handicrafter leaves the glycerin in the soap while the big boys take it out and use it for other products. Our skin loves glycerin. This is a product that commands a high price in the marketplace and I'm sure that the big manufactures actually make glycerin and soap is the by-product.

Most commercial soaps are made using beef tallow, coconut, and fragrance. If you look at the ingredients on a bar of soap you will see the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) name of sodium tallowate and sodium cocoate. Perhaps you will see other long complicated names in soaps like Dove. Dove isn't a soap. It is made with syndets or synthetic detergents. While there is nothing wrong with these oils and I certainly use coconut for lather, there are much nicer oils that condition and clean the skin.

Olive oil is always my base oil in any formula and it is known for it's gentleness and balanced ph for fine skin care. I also use hemp and emu oils known to help eczema and acne problems.

Colorado Summer '06

Now I should be working at a gazillion other things but I'm still hanging around the computer doing my lessons and posting to this blog.

I've been telling my family and friends about all that I have been learning with the paint shop pro classes. These two photos are further examples of the artistic expressions available to us with good software.

This trip started with a trip to Minnesota to celebrate my dear friend Cindy's 50th birthday.

My niece Heather lives there also. Mary and Cindy have adopted her into their extended families and have been watching and aiding this beautiful young woman grow her career.

The trip progressed to Colorado for more fun with Brigid and Angel.

We came across this little town with a portion of the old West preserved. The town itself was not accessible unless you paid an admission price. We had a white water rafting destination so did little more than look around and snap a few pictures.

I find it fascinating that people lived with so few of the modern conveniences that we take for granted now.

This last photo is an artistic colored pencil rendition of the first.