Ode to Mercury Retrograde and New Perfume Course

Oh, Mercury Retrograde, my dear old friend, also known around these parts as Murphy's Law, or Sheer Dumb Luck, thank you for once again proving you exist. You almost never are the harbinger of devastation, but you still manage to throw a monkey wrench into the cogs, don't you? I ordered a batch of lip balm tubes so I could finally get this lip balm idea out of my head and into the world, and what shows up at my doorstep? One half ounce balm tubes -- not splendid little lippy tubes -- so what now, Mercury? Oh, I hear you, make lemonade out of that unexpected basket of lemons. So it's fat lippy tubes now, is it? Lip Smacker style. I can do that. What about those two beautiful hydrangeas I bought, Merc? Where'd they go? I set them on the front porch off to the side so the Tower Zombies wouldn't see them, and what do you know? All that's left are the sweat rings left from the bottom of their pots staining the porch. Does Mercury direct thieves as well? Oh, you're blaming the moon now, are you? It was so bright and those hydrangeas were so beautiful, luminescent even, glowing in the soft silvery light, a pale pink and a baby blue, that no one could resist snatching them off my porch, is that what you're saying, Merc? But you had nothing to do with that one, I get it. So how about last night's debacle? Wasn't my dumb luck, and it was kind of funny (high five, by the way) -- the cave dwellers set about 20 pounds of flank steak to marinate so they could dry it up in the dehydrator (which makes the house reek of pork and beans for days) and make jerky, and whilst the cave dwellers were dragging their hunks of flesh down the stairs, they tripped. Yep. Stinky flank and juices went flying and landed with a plop on the dirtiest floor in the house. Yeah, I had a little chuckle over that one, Merc, but I know you'll make me pay for my glee soon enough. A month is too long to stand still and quiet until you finish messing with people, so I guess at some point you'll catch me up again. In the meantime, Merc, your game with the flank didn't work out as planned. The cave dwellers are dehydrating it anyway.

I know, I mix up these posts sometimes, don't I? This part should be separate, but what the hey. I'm already here and this isn't a grand announcement.

The new course at the Natural Perfume Academy has just begun and already it's full with excitement and fun. I think this is the most engaged and excited class we've had to date. We have a LOT of return students as well, those who nearly finished in one of the previous courses but didn't quite make it through, mostly due to personal concerns. Because of that, this is the largest class we've had yet. I just hope I can keep up with them! We're also considering adding workshops to the Academy, short courses in specific techniques or modalities relating to perfumery. These would include videos, workshop manuals, course text and still photos to help guide students through the workshops. Watch for it!