spa

So....we are starting to consider our options for the back yard.  We have a bid from a concrete contractor that we like.

He will replace the broken driveway, re-do the front porch steps, and pour a patio in the back yard, all for a very reasonable package rate.

We have pretty much decided NOT to build a deck on the concrete pad in back, but leave it as a patio, possibly making our own mosaic tile surface on it eventually. 

The long dreamed of hot tub/spa will sit on the patio.  No real need to build a deck around it to make it easier to get into.  They all come with steps now anyway.

We have been shopping around quite a bit to find a spa that fits into our small budget.  We think we may have found it.

We've changed our minds, too, on how we plan to finance these changes to our property.  The home equity line of credit is a good idea, but Dave can borrow against his "thrift plan" at work, and the repayment is taken out of his paychecks, and the payments pay interest BACK TO the thrift plan.

So it's like we borrow it from ourselves and pay ourselves back with interest.

This makes a little more sense than paying someone else that interest.

Did I mention that the next door neighbor - whose dogs were attacked by the dog directly behind us- finally put up her 8 foot privacy fence?  So that corner of the yard is taken care of for us.  Dave has been working on taking out the ancient chain link, and it looks pretty good back there.

The bamboo is going to take a few years, but it's getting established across the back, and the other side really doesn't matter, because that's where our tiny bit of privacy fence, our shed, and a stand of trees all are.

In related news, my friend Julie from my last job has a daughter who is half Moroccan.  This daughter went to Morocco, as she does almost every year, and this time, asked what I might like her to bring back for me.

Black soap, I said.  "What?!" she said....  I guess it's not as common a thing as I assumed it is?  I don't know.

I had previously asked my Illinois dance friend Priscilla to bring me some on several occasions, but she never did, for whatever reason.  She also goes to Morocco every year.

Moroccan black soap is this gooey stuff that is fabulous for your skin.  In researching it, I found that it is the primary step of the traditional Moroccan spa experience.... Hammam.

It seems odd that Julie and her daughter had never heard of it, but that I had.  Especially because Julie has had personal experience with hammam.

Maybe they don't call it black soap over there?  Dunno...

Anyway, the daughter followed through, and brought me a fairly large container of the stuff.  I received it  yesterday, and did my first home hammam!!

I made a big cup of mint tea, filled the bath tub, and took a hot bath in plain water to open my pores.

Letting the water out of the tub, I stood up, and then spread this goop all over myself.  It turns into a creamy foam, but not a big, lush lather.

I stood in the bathtub, with this stuff all over me, and sipped my tea for about 10 minutes.  Then, turned on a cool shower, and got out the special rough mitt that came with the soap.

As I rinsed, I scrubbed every inch i could reach with this rough mitt.  It was very invigorating, and my skin was BRIGHT RED.

After getting all rinsed off, I got out of the shower, dried off, and was amazed at how smooth my skin felt.  Those bumps on my elbows and the backs of my upper arms are GONE, and my skin also absorbed the moisturizer instantly, because all of the dead surface skin cells were now gone.

I usually have to wait for the lotion to soak in.

Today, I took a quick shower this morning, and my skin still feels great, and has this soft glow to it.

I am so stoked about my home spa experience!!  Thank you, Julie's daughter!!!  At long last, I got to try something wonderful that I've been wondering about for years!