Woodstock Blog

Tag: Woodstock

  • October Happenings At Woodstock

    September 27th 2014 was just a wonderful day for me.  Not only was it may birthday bash it was also our annual garlic festival.  Thank you Kris Noyes Trio for all the wonderful music and setting the mood for our next garlic crop.  I would also like to thank our buddy, Andre Gardner, and the 102.9 WMGK team for coming out to celebrate with us as well.

    AndreBuilding
    WMGK’s Andre Gardner
    Garlic
    The Woodstock Garlic
    MomCake
    MOM and her Birthday Cake

    We will be planting our next crop in about two weeks and I hope to get photos from all of you who have our garlic bulbs as to when you see some growth.  It still gets me so excited when I see the garlic growing in the winter.

    We have so much going on this week.  Hope you can join in person for our incense lecture, and if not, you can go to YouTube and Google Hangouts for either the live stream or for the video portion of Dr. Seth’s talk.  Friday, our wire wrap teacher is in from 4:30-6:30 followed by our drum circle.  We like to energize crystals in the full moon and we have put our water out to be in the full moon in time for the drum circle.  This is a very special moon since it is the harvest or blood moon and there will be an eclipse at the time of the full moon. What make this eclipse and full moon unique is the fact that you will be able to see the sun rise and moon at the same time.  Hopefully you can join us.

    As if that is not enough, on Saturday, Jugband perform at our Mad Hatter’s Lawn Concert.  This concert is in honor of Monstro.  He resembles the Cheshire cat with his large round eyes and abundant body type.  We recommend adorning oneself with an appropriate hat for this party.

    On October 25th we will have a Halloween Concert featuring Suburban Sensi and we recommend costumes for this special event, however, dressing as a hippie does not qualify as a costume.

    Without you, there are no parties…please join us…MOM

  • Patchouli Incenses

    I became aware of something I was doing for so long without much thought. I was applying patchouli oil directly to incense sticks. I guess without thinking, I was aware of a lack of convincing, true patchouli incense that isn’t choking and has a sweeter component to balance the bitter, earthy notes of patchouli. We do have some patchouli incenses, most of which I do have a high opinion. Having said that, I often feel the need for something more complex or balanced. Without being aware of that need, I added patchouli oil to some of my favorite incenses and it filled a void that I didn’t know I had until it was filled. This lead to the addition of other oils to incenses. Some had amazing, unexpected results (some good, some not). Clove oil on incenses gave them an interesting juicy fruit gum quality. I expected to get dental office and I got juicy fruit…go know.
    Failures involved lavender oil, which surprised me a bit, all citrus and any mints. The key to success is using a pure essential oil and a good sweet incense base. I especially have come to enjoy patchouli on sairanjani champa, satya super hit, satya natural, vampire blood, and goloka nag champa. Another point is to avoid getting any of the oil on the very tip of the stick that is to be lit. I also found that putting dots down the length of the stick with little patches without oil work best. That allows intervals of with and without patchouli to not fatigue the nose. Another point is to avoid getting any of the oil on the very tip of the stick that is to be lit. If the oil is ignited, it will burn like a torch and give off acrid sooty smoke…bad. I will continue to mess around with this process. Thus far, it has been interesting.

  • We Are Everywhere… We Are Family

    “We Are Everywhere”. This phrase is well known to the Dead Heads of the world, and it is very true. I bet that if you took a look in the closet of your next door neighbor, you would find a Grateful Dead shirt back there, along with a few skeletons (we DO NOT suggest going into the closet of your neighbor). You never know who is a Dead Head. It could be your doctor, teacher, lawyer, or bank president. It could be all of the above. We are everywhere! With that being said, the November issue of “Bon Appétit” magazine reminded us once again of this phrase.

    Located on page 38 of the November issue, in “The Foodist-Thanksgiving Edition” column, we find a small section labeled, “Hippie Thanksgiving!”…

    “Whenever I cook, I listen to the Grateful Dead. No music keeps me better company in the kitchen. The Dead is also the perfect music to eat by-and no, I haven’t been smoking anything.”- Page 38, The Foodist (Thanksgiving Edition), Bon Appétit Magazine, November 2013 edition.

    That little quote says it all. One of, if not the biggest holidays in American culture is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is all about family. Some may not think so, but the Grateful Dead is a family band. There is nothing vulgar or distasteful about their music. You could bring children and adults of all ages to the concerts. The Dead Heads always lend a helping hand. Grateful Dead is family. Try playing some Dead this Thanksgiving and see for yourself. Show the world that we are everywhere and we are family.

    If you are looking for something Dead to add to this Thanksgiving, or any other holiday, Woodstock has something for you. Get yourself a Grateful Dead Dancing Bear Ice Cube Tray and make decorative ice cube, gelatin, or even chocolate. We also have many wine and champagne glass available in-store. If you want something a little more relaxed, we have wonderful incense from around the world and excellent decorative, yet functional incense burners. Woodstock wants to make your family feel right at home and comfortable. Why? Because you are our family. It is all about the family.

    Peace,
    MOM, Seth, Jim, Guy, and the Woodstock Gang
    “We Are Everywhere”

  • A Point On Our Ceramic Incense Burners

    One of the things that make us distinctively blessed is that we have an outlet for one of our hobbies. We are (for lack of a better word) amateur ceramics workers. Many hobbyist ceramics folks end up with piles of bowls and cups filling their cupboards, basements, attics, etc. The only outlet most have is to give away their work to the often unappreciative. The recipients closet their gifts and only get to see the light of day when the giver shows up. I was inspired by a combination of the classic Japanese joss stick burners, tea ceremony bowls and incense ceremony (Kodo) bowls. The evolution of the process to create these was so much more involved than I could have imagined.
    The types of flaws I was getting (and still sometimes get) baffled every ceramicist I could find. I found a way to prevent those flaws (most of the time) over years of trial. My new way is a bit of a pain in the keister to execute, but it works. Even more tweaking of design has undone other little issues of their use. All of these steps have added up to become quite the process, but here is why we are blessed. Since we couldn’t ever hope to profit from these incense burners, we have no reason to sacrifice on any efforts, time, or material. In fact, we sold a couple of these last week, so what do we do? We run out and buy $300 worth of more ceramics supplies. What madness is this? It’s our kind, and I wouldn’t post this if I felt you wouldn’t understand.

     

    burner 4 burner 2 burner 3

  • Bead With The Doctor

    Hey Now! Jim from Woodstock here. Today, we have something special. Everyone has been getting in on the blogs as of late. Now we have someone else who would like to say a hello and give his input. That someone is Dr. Harvey Glass, or Doc, as we call him. Doc is Mom’s husband and our shipping department/bead department. He has written a little something for all of you today. It is kind of an invite to everyone. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the wise words of Doc.

    “The allure of beads is universal. In keeping with that, Woodstock Trading Company has collected many exotic and unusual beads from far and wide. Come look and see our bone, stone, glass, metal, and ceramic ‘eye candy’.
    Doc”

    Wedding Cake and Novelty Beads
    Wedding Cake and Novelty Beads

    Ladies and gentlemen, that was the words of the famous Doc. The man loves the beads and wants to share them with the world. We have some great stuff at Woodstock. Some of the beads are older than the store. The biggest issue is that the beads are difficult to sell online. We are working on a way for everyone to get them. In the mean time, you can only get them in store. We will let you know when these great beads will be available online.
    Bone and Horn Beads
    Bone and Horn Beads

    Take care everyone.
    Jim

    Stone Beads
    Stone Beads

  • The Afterthoughts of the 2013 Garlic Festival

    Every year, I look forward to our Garlic Festival and this year was no exception. I would like to give a big THANK YOU to The Jugband for supplying the most wonderful live music and making a happy bed for the next year’s harvest. That is an important thing, singing and playing music for the planting bed and the garlic. Without that, we would get a lackluster crop. I would also like to thank all the local artists and craftsmen who came out to display their original works. It was so nice to meet all of you and to see your wonderful work. Finally, I would like to thank all of the great people who came out to Woodstock Trading Company. We had so many and are so thankful that you came out and had a wonderful.

    Preparing the garlic bed for the 2014 crop. That black stuff is manure. We let Jim do that.
    Preparing the garlic bed for the 2014 crop. That black stuff is manure. We let Jim do that.

    The Garlic Festival has been going on for so long now; the exact date has slipped my mind. It is a true Woodstock tradition, up there with the Maypole. As we have done for so many years, we distribute the garlic from last year’s crop, grown in front of the Woodstock building.

    Mom giving away the first bag of 2013 garlic.
    Mom giving away the first bag of 2013 garlic.

    The next planting will be the week of Columbus Day weekend. The most exciting thing for me is seeing the garlic grow during the cold weeks and months of winter. Many of the recipients of the Woodstock bulbs contact me via Facebook and send me pictures of their fledgling garlic as soon as they break through the Earth. This is one of my greatest joys! To see new life in the cold of winter and sharing the wealth with all those who used our 2013 garlic bulbs, it is just marvelous.
    The growing garlic
    The growing garlic

    Fondly,
    MOM

  • Woodstock Belly Dance Lessons

    mom belly dancing photo

    Many, many years ago, (I mean many), I enjoyed the art of Belly Dancing and am so happy to be able to invite you to classes right here in Woodstock. What inspired me to look at this dance form was the fact that the music was inspirational and I could not just listen to it without becoming involved physically with the melodies. In addition, I considered that it raised my fitness level and concentrated on the inner body core, which now many years later, I am happy that I used dance as my fitness training (certainly for me more fun than the gym). Besides body awareness, it has helped me through the years with coordination and balance. It is truly one of the oldest and most beautiful dance forms.

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    We gather on the first and third Tuesday of the month from 5:30-6:30 with our wonderful teacher, Krista Sassani… Join us!
    BD teacher Krista
    Fondly,
    MOM