Not to miss out on all the fun Arran had its very own crackles and light show this morning as the humid air was well and truly broken. Now we are just shrouded in mist and I fear the island is lost at sea. It is as if we are drifting quite alone and I love that.
The Doubledays have been busy today. Pete, George and Max got deep into economics in home school leading to how money is made and moved about. They also watched a film showing our gold reserve which they found completely fascinating. Harry was at work with the crackles and light show and we have just finished the cardiovascular system in his diploma. We are about to move onto the respiratory system which will be good for him as he needs to understand what is going on in his lungs as he is a little prone to infection there. Speaking of lung infections Pete went off to the doctors yesterday thinking chest infection and was told pneumonia so that was a bit of a shocker. He insists on getting on with everything but I am trying to persuade him to slow it all down at least. I am thinking we are not the healthiest of families at the moment.
I have been busy making and making and think I almost have a table worth of lovely things for the Victorian day at the Castle. I won't have any spare things under the table so that should be interesting by the end of the day. Then, a week later we have the Highland Games so lots more making still to be done. I managed to make just a few of our herbal healing gift bags that are so popular. They contain one of our herbal soothers and a dream pillow and make a lovely gift.
Today was also the final batch of candle and melt making which was ylang ylang. This is my personal favourite as it has a wild coastal smell and I decorate these candles with beach fragments. It is, for me, the ultimate candle experience. I have had a couple of emails asking about soy wax so it might be useful to explain why I only use this wax. Soy wax comes from soya beans and is completely natural. Most candles are made with wax made from paraffin so when you are relaxing burning a lovely candle you are actually surrounding yourself with a nasty and destructive chemical. That is not the case with soy wax. I also only use essential oils while most candle making uses artificial fragrances and colouring. I do not colour my wax. The aim is to make candles that are genuinely therapeutic and feedback would suggest that we have, indeed, achieved that. I am slightly obsessed with vintage tea sets so I collect up part sets that nobody wants anymore and use them in my candle making. My best seller is the vintage teacup candle but a close second is the vintage tea plate with cupcake candles. It brings out the girl in me.
I have also been asked if I sell online. We used to sell a huge amount online but this year all that has taken a back seat as Scottish island mum has sprouted her wings. I think what I will do is start listing our gifts on the With Love from Arran facebook page from September onwards so that off islanders can buy from us. We do sell locally in shops and craft markets but that is no use for our supporters who live off island. So if might be worth clicking on the link and liking our page and that way you will get updates.
I have received a couple of really interesting emails from people happy to share their experiences of parenting so will aim to put these up on the Balanced Child page before I go to Eigg. I am looking for little gems that have made magical moments with your children and led to appropriate behaviour developing. The more of these we can share the better me thinks!
My calendula have just burst into flower so once this rain has cleared and the flowers have dried I can pick them to get underway. I am not quite sure which recipe I will use for the skin balms yet but I will share it here. I have been studying edible flowers and flower essence making with Waverly who is so incredibly well educated on all these topics. Her pdfs are inspirational and it is by using her work as an example that I have began to tread that path too. I enjoy learning through distance learning and my children have been hugely successful with it so I am pulling on all that knowledge too.
I am taking some small sewing projects to Eigg with me because I will have so much time on my hands. I am really going to do my very best to walk as much as possible. The absence of cars on the island makes walking a far more pleasant experience and I am really looking forward to it. And then there is the writing which will occupy a lot of my time and that will be bliss. To have no interruptions will make all the difference in the world.
I have heard back from the residency just to confirm that my application has been received but also to let us all know that there has been a huge amount of applications and the standard is very high. There is a surprise. I wait, with interest, to see who gets it and what they make of the opportunity.... There will be more on this once I have returned from Eigg as I am going to push on with part of the project anyway and will be looking to involve others if at all possible. There is much to do.
A far too small a picture from the sand sculptures competition yesterday because I had to take it with my phone. Number one child has my camera on a remote Scottish island. Until tomorrow. xx
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