Bios and Incense

After all of these years, I finally have a relatively accurate bio up on the Natural Perfume Academy. Only took 14 years to get it on there. It was originally sourced from Samara Botane's Marcia Elston who conducted an interview with me a few years ago. With permission, we'd been using it as a linked bio, but realized it needed some editing, so that was done, and then we added sourcing information (Samara Botane) to keep them in the loop. And there is a new photo included, which is absolute ugh, but I don't take good pictures, so it is what it is. Who would have thought (well, certainly not me, anyway) that updating to become educationally compliant would require so much? We realized while in the middle of all of this work that we'd become somewhat complacent, and it brought to the fore how important NOT becoming complacent is. Never again. We are going to work our buns off keeping things as fresh and up-to-date as we possibly can from here on out. Our students deserve the best. 

The current incense project is still in stasis. The day before yesterday -- or was it yesterday? -- it was slated for rolling, but there required a few modifications before it was ready, and with each alteration, another few days of fermentation time is needed. Now that I'm satisfied with the scent and consistency, the incense should be ready to roll tomorrow. Or Sunday. It smells amazing, this new incense. It reminds me so much of my childhood spent in the mountains in late summer, just before the camp was shut down for the winter when the trails and pathways were ground to puffy dust laced with wood ash, and the gooseberries and elderberries were just beginning to fruit. The scent is piney and woody, sun-warmed pitch oozing from the bark of trees, and mountain misery in high resin.