Raining

With intermittent rain, and now a hail storm, it's a good day to stay indoors and make Shepherd's Friend Hand Creme for Maryland Sheep and Wool.  I've been making it forever but it's still a careful, tedious process.  I like the way this batch is coming out.  I think the secret ingredient, aside from the unfiltered shea butter from Ghana (unfiltered still has the UV components and natural minerals cosmetic grade shea butter removes for some strange reason) is the Tocopherol, or liquid vitamin E.  It gives the creme such a rich, emollient quality and the benefits of vitamin E are well known.  I'll make more creme tomorrow but standing up mixing, pouring and melting for five hours is a bit tiring.  I feel sorry for people who have to stand on their feet all day long.  I do it every day, but I move around and can sit down and work with kids if I need to.   I would love to sew on Bundaflicka totes all weekend, but that's not all I offer at Maryland.  This year's show will be very interesting.  The festival committee has decided to devote my little building to the fleece sale and has moved me into the Main Exhibition Hall.  I'm all the way at the end, which is nice for setting up spinning wheels for demonstrating.  I'll have some of the same booth neighbors, which will be fun. AJ and Mia are both coming to help out, along with my faithful friend, Kimmie Cornerstone, and we'll have a lot of fun.  I'm looking forward to connecting with dear friends I only see at sheep shows, like Lisa Merian, who lives an hour away but is as busy as I am taking care of her own farm.  Back to work for me.  I am a one-woman-show and it's all up to me.