What makes us happy

We've had a wet and dry and cool and hot summer. I understand crops aren't happy with the cool, but our hostas love it. They have put out more blooms then ever, and the heliposis is at least 8 feet tall. The garden is an absolute riot of blooms.

Yesterday evening a daughter and two grandsons came over to use our grill to grill shish-ka-bobs. Then to our great pleasure, they asked if they could eat at our house and would we join them. They were delicious, as was the grilled corn on the cob.

Soap

We have soap (saponata). Take a look. 14 scents and free of non-natural stuff. I'm quirky and have used bar soap for shampoo for years (of course I use a conditioner). Now that I use our soap, my hair is fluffier and curlier and full of body, and I love the creamy texture of the soap lent by olive oil. My favorite scents are juniper and lavender. My daughter, Bella, is a rose freek. Check out her Etsy store at vintagebella.etsy.com. I'm introducing two new scents very soon--cedar and jasmine. We also have four citrus fragrances (orange, lime, lemon and tangerine), and rose, wintergreen, almond, spearmint and clove. They can be sold in sets and singularly. Check out my Etsy store at sophiassaponata.etsy.com. Oh, and when you do, check out the note cards designed after our fragrances.

Bergamots

I have three bergamot varieties this year. Red...

Purple ... (the red and purple varieties are domestic.)

And pale pink, a wild variety I found out at the back rim of our 30 acres many years ago and transplanted. Note the bumble bee.

Mowed

The yard finally got mowed today. We had weeks of sunshine, then a week of rain, and that week just set every weed and blade of grass to growing. But today, it's beautiful. So this is how we live on a good week. Out in the country, we deal with every critter known to man and the moles are just one. Then come the ground hogs. My husband and friends shortened the skirts on the blue spruce some time back. That first evening, one ground hog, who'd been living under one tree, popped his head up and seemed confused for some time. I believe he's vacated for a more prime location not quite so out there.