DH and I made incense today. It was an experiment, as we had never worked some of the materials before. DH made pepper incense. I made saffron incense. That should tell you a great deal about the differences in how we work. (The actual project pointed out some other differences, which I will not go into here, in the interest of continued marital harmony.) The incense is shaped into cones, and will probably take a few days to dry thoroughly. I am hoping that the saffron cones will be ready to use by the new moon. Originally, we were going to try to make incense sticks, but my idea of squeezing the incense paste (there simply is no other way to describe it) from a pastry tube was not successful. DH’s blend was too loose and sticky, and considering the expense of my main ingredient, and the fact that this was an experiment, I made so little of my blend that it filled the pasty tip, but no more than that. So cones, it was.
The kitchen smells very interesting, freshly ground pepper, mixed with hand powdered dried saffron. I have no idea how much pepper DH used, but I used a total of 1/2 teaspoon of saffron-and the scent held its own.
This years saffron harvest will start in about 4 weeks, and I just got a delivery of another 40 saffron bulbs to plant. If the experiment is successful, I expect I will be making more. And, if it isn't, well there are plenty of other uses to put it to (besides, I love paella.).
At this point, my hands are an interesting collection of colors. Earlier this week, I had been experimenting with a leather dying project, in a bright Chinese lacquer kind of red. Despite my care, I still show signs of the dye on my hands. Saffron stains a bright yellow. Tumeric, with which I fill capsules, stains a duller, orangy yellow. Maybe I will have to start a trend of women wearing fashion gloves.
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Malevolent Magic
6 days ago
5 comments:
Sister you always have me rolling! No matter how hard I try I too end up wearing something from all of my projects. Usually, it the brightest colors in the most noticeable places.
Years ago a lab experiment with silver nitrate left me with 2 glorious weeks of dalmation spots on my hands. I had no idea that it actually tanned your hands :)
I do love the idea of fashionable gloves, but it is still 100 degrees here. People have just come to understand that I am "working" on something :)
Its amazing what a good mud pack can do for your skin. Yesterday, between rain showers (I've lost track of which tropical storm this is), I dug out all the dying cucumber vines from one garden (whatever possesed me to plant 12 of them???) and after composting the space, planted spinach. After scrubbing the mud from my hands; voila! baby soft skin, and no dye marks!
You wouldn't happen to know how to make something like an essential oil out of something like, oh, say, snake skin? I want to sell authentic snake oil.
You're crafty about these kinds of things. Any pointers?
Not off hand, RO, (isn't there a story about why snakes don't have hands, umm, legs?) It would be a fun product to offer. I'll let you know if I come up with anything.
lol, I remember that story. There's another one where a bronze serpent was raised up too, though, to the benefit of the ill at heart. All who looked upon it were saved.
Dude, I totally know my Bible. I got to prove that God sends lying spirits today. Yes!
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