We got on the phone to the promoter to see if she could give us some recommendations on accommodations, which she was nice enough to provide. We called the place she said would give us good rates and made reservations... saying to ourselves, and to each other that it didn't much matter what kind of room it was, we were only going to be there to sleep and shower... OK... maybe we should have been a little more specific... Oh it was clean enough and it had a bed... and a shower.
We arrived around 9:30 p.m., tired and ready to relax for a little while and to get a good night's sleep before our early Saturday morning start at the mall...
The motel (it was NOT a hotel!) was a little old and a little rundown and a little outdated.
DH went on into the office to check in... as he entered the office, the older lady working in the office rose from her La-Z-Boy recliner where she had been watching television, she had no teeth in her mouth, apparently they were in a glass nearby... DH checked in, then asked if we could get a wake-up call the next morning since we had to be at the show by 7 a.m. to begin setting up.
"Sure," gummed the clerk, "what time you want to get up?"
"5:30 a.m." said DH.
Blinking, the clerk responded, "Lord, Honey, we don't even come in till 7!"
Then she handed him an alarm clock!
We have laughed about this episode for a week now and probably will for years! It was just TOO funny!
We made our way to our room... it was large... with a walk-in closet...
And a king-size bed...with RED sheets... made from a brick I think! That pinkish-tan colored sink and toilet in the bathroom from the 50s, or maybe the 40s (the tub, I must say, was white, though obviously a 60s model at least)
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| Well, the room is BIG anyway... and pretty clean... note the turquoise paint! |
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| I think I had this recliner in the early 70s... and that good ol' 70s wood paneling! |
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| And you typical ocean scene from the dated motel days... this "inn" was in the mountains! There were RED sheets on the king-sized bed! |
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| Remember the pinkish-tan fixtures... from the 50s? 60s? 40s? and the old 9-in "asbestos" tiles in the bathroom... Oh dear! |
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| Well, we did have cable! |
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| Fortunately we didn't spend much time here in our "home away from home!" |
cooker, experienced car trouble the morning of the event and canceled at the last minute... at least that's the story we heard... he drew in the crowds with the aroma and flavor of his 
flavors and they shopped... at least they had in August, and again in September... but his cancellation in October appeared to put a damper on everyone's buying spirits.
of our cupcake shaped soaps... we got many many comments about how real they looked, how great they smelled, how interesting, how novel... We got a lot of smellers, but not too many buyers.
vendor, Janet, who fell in love with our products... she makes beautiful pottery and clay sculptures and is a really cool lady, as is her husband. I, in turn, fell in love with her work and after she had purchased the soap from us, I remarked that I was just about to see if she would trade a few bars of soap for a lovely blue, round 
she had designed and made (I make round soap and wanted that dish badly)... she tried a sample of our lotion... then came back and said, "I tell you what, I'll give you that soap dish you want for a bottle of that great lotion." Of course I readily agreed.
in Huntersville, NC on Saturday, October 8... the 29th Annual Folklife Festival and Craft Show. I know I've bugged Nicole to death with my questions, but she's been an absolute angel and a wealth of information to me! 
Soap this weekend!
, 
, and 
and headed to soapcalc.net to run some numbers... decided to add real butter (milk fat) to the recipe as it is a major ingredient in actual shortbread... ran the percentages through the calculator and found that milk fat adds to the conditioning quality of the finished soap so this would work!
and a touch of 
for a bit of warmth to the final scent.
, gave a canister of it, with its little organza "tea bag" to my daughter, who unhesitatingly made use of it within just a couple hours... she came out of the bathroom after her delightfully scented, skin nurturing soak in the tub, with the Oooohs and Ahhhs I wanted to hear. She loved the stuff, enjoyed the experience.
during a recent family vacation... when my granddaughter watched the fizzing action in her bath water with her sweet little mouth in a perfect "O" of delight and a sharp, excited intake of her breath, I knew I had succeeded! And my niece, sweet little thing that she is, asked "Can we have another one?" We fizzed up the tub pretty well that day, much to my delight... and theirs.
was met by family members with "I can't wait to try it in the vaporizer," "Oh my goodness, I have a cold, I'll give it a try now," "Will it help my sinuses?" "Mmmm it smells wonderful" and "It is so soothing." When my granddaughter fell, causing a bit of a goose egg and a bruise to her forehead, a drop of Thieves' Oil soothed her feelings, helped the swelling go down, and the bruising heal faster. It's good stuff!
I made was a little less well-received, but not by much. My daughter used it and loved the smell, the lather, the way it made her hair feel... she did say it was a little thin and watery... I learned something! Next batch will be diluted less... simple as that. I was and am grateful for the honest feedback.
!