Pillowpalooza!

So, while the boys were away, I was able to actually USE my sewing machine uninterrupted! My friend Barbara had given me a ton of cool upholstery fabrics, so I made some pillowcases and pillows for the new furniture. If you have ever helped me move, you know I have a tendency to love pillows. I have never been able to sew seams shut though without being able to tell. Thanks to this website http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2013/02/sew-a-pillow-closed-by-hand-blind-ladder-stitch.html
I was able to do a pretty good job. You be the judge.

New Screen Porch

Jay is working quite diligently to build new panels for screen. And as he and Wyatt left me family-
less this weekend, I am quite happily enjoying the new screen porch wicker Martha Stewart Living furniture. And my cool Mad Mats 100% recycled plastic, non-mildewing, pet safe, completely washable outdoor rug. I am not however, enjoying the mosquitos. So hurry up and finish the screens hubby! :)
I did start staining the panels though....so I am not completely useless in this screen porch endeavor.

Chris the New Beek!

So, Beek is short for beekeeper, and Chris and Liz are getting totally into Bees, so in light of my bee sting/hives experience on Friday night, I suggested that Chris do the hive inspection and remove the Queen cage from the hive.  Here are the photos!

Missing Queen

So my queen didn't make it back to the hive in Caz, so Todd was good enough to pick me up one this morning when he picked up his bees. After a quick trip to Liverpool and then to Caz, I placed Her Majesty into the hive and crossed my fingers. Nothing much to look at, but here is what a Queen in her cage looks like. If you look hard, you can see a red dot through the plastic and that is the back of the Queen's head. Now I should be able to find her in the hive more easily.

Rose Water and Cherry Medicine Cabinets

So my beautiful roses smelled so wonderful, I googled how to make my own rosewater. Not sure what I will do with it, but for now, I have experimented and made rosewater. I made my own "still" to distill the rose water. It was quite simple....

You place a ramekin upside down inside this pot. Then place a soup bowl on top of the ramekin. Add your rose petals and water till it is halfway up the ramekin. Put a stainless steel bowl on top as a lid.

Fill bowl with ice. As you boil the rose petals, the steam will hit the icy bowl and condensation will fill the soup bowl with water. 

Filled soup bowl.

Didn't want to toss the water the petals were in, so I strained them. One method said to use this still for 3-4 hours, but I wasn't interested in getting that much, nor did I have that many rose petals. I steeped for 15-20 minutes, and got a bowl full of distilled rose water.

Added the distilled and strained waters, and this is my almost quart of rose water. 

Thank you lovely rose.

As I was making rose water, and Wyatt was ACTUALLY napping, Jay has been working on his cherry medicine cabinet for the downstairs bathroom. See the following. He is currently working on the door. More photos as he completes this project.