Hodge-Podge

Because ... some days, one's brain is scrambled, and a hodge-podge post is all one can do.
A walkway arbor thingie covered with blooming jasmine. Don't swoon as you pass underneath!

Remember the house that's being built high by the river? They've brought in pallets of cement block and brick.

I made two batches of soap. This first one was recommended by a friend; it's pet shampoo soap. Around Oriental, it should sell very well. These folks are all about their pooches. This soap has lavender, lemongrass, eucalyptus, and peppermint essential oils, to repel insects like fleas and ticks.

I also made a batch with ground oatmeal. The square bars are lavender; the darker rounds are lemongrass; the beige rounds are tea tree oil. Folks really like the oatmeal soap. Oatmeal is good for the skin.

You can see the oatmeal in there.

I bought a tent at Big Lots at close-out prices -- a great deal! It will serve as shade at the market all summer. I'm so thankful!

Last week Julia and Anna went out in the red dinghy. Anna wanted to row. It didn't last long. Anna returned in about 15 minutes and spent the rest of the time in the van with me, crocheting. Then Julia took the dinghy out on the creeks until a storm approached.

Philip enjoys taking Sandy to the park to play. Her favorite ball is a nasty, chewed-up Nerf football from last summer. Philip gets her desperate for the ball, before he'll throw it. Now, Philip isn't exactly a control freak. But he does have a certain knack at "managing" dogs and small children in a way that they seem to enjoy. Here, he's instructing Sandy to "have a seat." It's so funny. She must be yipping too, because he's telling her to be quiet.

One day, we rode bikes over to the wildlife ramps at sunset.