Garden starts to blossom

My wee Scottish garden is starting to blossom and look delightful.
I hope you have enjoyed watching it develop.
Once the trellis plants grow large enough to give some more form and shade, I'll post a "more mature garden" update!

Here you can see the garden from my painting room - and a little of my painting in progress.

and here you can see a calm corner, with a couple of gargoyle statues amongst the greenery

plus, a little woodpile to make a home for the garden insects

Now I'll be sitting out there, in a shady spot, writing some more to the third book in my Leaves Series.
The editor and I have been chatting and I'm raring to carry on!

Winning a prize from "8 in the Universe"

As some of you may know, I have an online presence on Twitter, as well as my website and blogs.

Whilst I was being sociable on twitter, I saw a competition to win a place at an aromatherapy workshop, run by "8 in the Universe" . They also offered a package of products, for one long distance winner.
To enter, I simply had to take a photograph of anything that was in eights - and hope that my photograph won.
I entered a picture of hubby's woodturning items - and to my delight, my photo won.

The aromatherapy workshop on "Summer Bodies" was held at 8 in the Universe's premises, in London.
Being in Scotland, I won the long distance prize.

Here is what arrived in the post..

and when I opened it, there was this..

removing the paper that said "summer bodies" it turned out to be a booklet of how each of the products was created and the uses of certain aromatherapy oils.

Here you see the products - and thanks to the booklet, I can re-create each of them!

The very next day, I decided to use all the products in my morning shower routine.

First up was the body scrub, which contained Pink Himalayan salt crystals - amongst other things. 
I mixed a tablespoon of the scrub with a little warm water to make it easier to use in the shower and it did what it was supposed to, exfoliate my skin. Because I was in the shower, I didn't really notice any aromas, but my skin felt fresher.

Second up was the facial scrub - and here I was in aroma happy heaven!
As I followed the instructions on gently rubbing into my face, the cocktail of essential oils transported me to a fresh spring day. Cleansing and purifying, like running in a spring meadow. My face felt soft and moisturised after use.

Lastly was the hand cream - and this is a tough prospect being judged by me. Being a reflexologist, I must have tried every hand cream going, but this - oh this was a delight! The aromas were revitalising, the cream itself plumped up my dry skin ( that's a lot of time in the garden) and my hands stayed moisturised all day.
I am won over by this little pot of magic!

If you ever get a chance to go on a Summer Bodies workshop at 8 in  the Universe, featuring Micha the aromatherapist - go! If my parcel is a measure of what you'll do and receive - you will thoroughly enjoy the benefits.

8 in the Universe have a website, which can be found  HERE