this is why i use jordanian dead sea mud
this arrived on the soapmaking grapevine today: Dear Friends, There is a Jewish teaching: “Thou shall not derive personal pleasure or benefit from any product created through exploitation.” AHAVA, an Israeli cosmetics company, is violating the basic principles of international law and Jewish ethics by profiting from the occupation of Palestine. Using resources from the [...]
the stowaway
i was unpacking my suitcase….i turned my back for two minutes…and this is what happened:
new timber soapdishes
i’ve got some lovely new soapdishes. chunky but smooth solid teak and sono wood one-piece oval and rectangle dishes….some small enough for guest soaps; some coconut wood with that intriguing grain; futon styles that will sit two or three bars of soap very neatly; squares and rectangles. some samples. sono wood futon: futon with soap: [...]
gunung kawi, tampaksiring AND sebatu
my usual water temple haunt in bali is the gunung kawi temple at sebatu. last week, i booked my wonderful driver rai for a 6.30am start and a trip to gunung kawi, then a stop at a place with coffee/cocoa/spices and other exciting delicacies (more later) then tegallalang to look at the rice paddies on [...]
another beautiful day in ubud
it’s all very well to stay in a fabulous modern villa very close to the beach, in the middle of all the beautiful bars/restaurants/boutiques/people of seminyak….but returning to ubud always feels like coming home, to me. firstly, there is the leisurely way the road climbs as you leave the coast…..you know it’s going to be [...]
one more sleep: bali!
tomorrow i’m jetting off to bali! ONE MORE SLEEP! i’m fortunate enough to be meeting up with two girlfriends (one from seattle and one from toronto) and we’ll be having two weeks filled with laughs and sunshine and gossip and spa indulgences and reading and walking around soaking up the tremendous cultural energy of beautiful [...]
making pizza
in my past life as a chef, i actually had a job where i made pizzas among other things, for almost a year. my dad obtained an absolutely smashing pizza dough recipe for me, from a pizza expert friend of his back in auckland, and i had a big grimy old…but very good… commercial pizza [...]
