It was like Christmas!

First, the Christmas flower (amaryllis) from brother Rick and sister Kate bloomed. My, how magnificent! Cute pot too. Then Joan sent a check for $34 to buy my 1979 Lady Clairol make-up mirror. God knows, I don't need it--it's too late! It will probably cost half that to mail it, but I've found a box and wrapping paper. Lynne, a Watkins salesperson in Nebraska, sent me my 3 Lemon Cream Shea Butter in a JAR, plus 3 darling little samples, one being peppermint foot cream--never heard of such a luxury. Last week I got my once a year letter from my college roommate who put me in touch with a mutual friend, Denise from Forreston, I'd met when I was 6 and she was 3, and she mailed me a stack of photographs. What a joy to see her and her siblings after all these years, and actually she doesn't look much different from the only other photo I had of her in a snow suit with Santa Claus.

But that means the clutter is starting to build on my desk again, and I haven't yet cleaned out the box.

[The two paintings on the easel are my husband's of our trips to Jerusalem (2009) and Ireland (2007); he's president this year of the Central Ohio Watercolor Society.]

My Watkins Wish

Remember me whining about not being able to find Watkins Shea Butter lemon cream in a jar? Even my daughter tried, and finally bought it for me in a tube (it's not the same, trust me). I even wrote to the company, J.R. Watkins in Minnesota, and inquired if there might be some stashed away someplace. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Then I googled "discontinued Watkins" and found a list of those items 'to be discontinued' in 2010 and there was my product! So I chopped the url a bit to find where it had come from, and found the very helpful Lynne, a Watkins salesperson. You can check her out here with links to a Watkins catalog. Anyway, Lynne has promised me THREE jars. Woot. I'm so excited I'm plugging her great service even before I get it.

Also I've had an offer on the Teco pottery, (photo is of a reproduction) but I'm holding off a bit checking with a source that Mike B., an old friend from home and an antique dealer, has suggested. The lady who wanted to buy my lighted make-up mirror must have gotten cold feet, because I haven't heard from her lately. Oh yes, and the Garage Slab (magazine) guys came by yesterday and gave me a stack to distribute at the coffee shop. Really nice guys--an architect and an interiors contractor dabbling in publishing. And they gave me a vol. 1, no. 1, which I collect. I chatted up a lot of folks at the coffee shop today about the magazine. Talked to 3 guys were were light fixture repairmen--they didn't look like readers, but they really did pour over that magazine I gave them. So did the Columbus school teacher who only has a car port.

J.R. Watkins Lemon Cream

At Hokulea's blog, Christmas cancelled, she writes about trying to help customers whose orders have expired. Although I don't understand the procedures or what she does, it sounds like sometimes you can get a caring, kind representative like Hoku at a large company. And it doesn't hurt that she has a very specialized skill (makes jewelry) and knew what to do to expedite a ring. So here's my try--again--to get a cream I like that has been discontinued, only I wrote a paper letter and put it in an envelope with a first class stamp, and hope I get a Hokulea clone:

Dear J. R. Watkins Customer Service, I apparently sent my daughter on a wild goose chase when I asked for your Shea Butter Lemon Cream in a jar (4.6 oz.). This product no longer is available, anywhere, either from your sales staff or local stores like Walgreens. So she purchased Shea Butter Body Cream in a tube (3.3 oz.) which the web site more or less said was the same thing. It isn’t. Read the label. I know ingredients are listed in order of quantity, and although many are the same in the two products, many are different in quantity and type. The first five of the jar product are water, shea butter, glycerol stearate, PEG-100 stearate, and steric acid. The first five in the tube are water, shea butter, glycerol stearate, steric acid and cetearyl alcohol. Both lists are followed by Macadamia seed oil. Both PEG-100 stearate and cetearyl alcohol are an emollient, an emulsifier, and a moisturizer, and the cetearyl alcohol is also an opacifier and a thickener. That’s the difference I see on the label, and probably makes the tube product work. But I don’t like tube products--too much of the product is left inside the tube, plus I just like the jar product. You don’t mention on the label that it is a moisturizer for the face, but I use it on my face, and it doesn’t interact with my cosmetics. Do you still have some in the vault of discontinued products that I could buy? I’m 70, and not to give you a sob story, but I think my skin looks fine for my age, and I don’t want to try something new. Please check around for me, and get back to me soon--I only have 2.5 jars left (plus 2 tubes). The lavender is OK, but I love the Lemon Cream.

Update: Here's something I wouldn't have thought of when thinking Watkins--an architectural tour.

Update 2: I now have 3 more jars of Lemon Cream Shea Butter sent to me by Lynne at Seasons for Success. Excellent service!