Product Recall...Does your Diamond Glaze Crack?

Say it ain't so.

JudiKins, the name behind Diamond Glaze has issued a recall of sorts on their 2 oz. and 10 oz bottles of Diamond Glaze that were produced on November 13, 2008. The affected batch is GP005 and GP008 with the silkscreened label.

Here is the text from their website:

Notice: Diamond Glaze Cracking
Thanks to some very astute Diamond Glaze artists, we have tracked a batch of Diamond Glaze that did not meet specifications. While there is no health hazard associated with this batch, it does develop cracks if applied thicker than 1/8 inch and allowed to dry below room temperature (less than 70 degrees F).

The batch was bottled on the 13th of November 2008. Any bottles purchased before that date are not affected. We have tested later batches (after the 15th of December 2008) and they do not have this problem. Only 2 fluid ounces (GP005) in silkscreened bottles and 10 fluid ounces (GP008) in labeled bottles are affected. The batch was small, only 3 barrels of 50 gallons each.

If you purchased a bottle from this batch, U.S. customers can return it for a replacement bottle. Don't forget to include your name and address. Please send it to:

JudiKins Inc.
17803 South Harvard Blvd.
Gardena, California 90248

Please feel free to visit JudiKins.com directly for more information, or contact me directly and I will be happy to help you.

Come On Baby, Light My Fire. And I Never Said I was A Boy Scout.

If my family's survival depended on my skills at fire starting, we would surely experience a slow, miserable, and very cold departure to "The Other Side".

Seriously.

The irony here is that I use wood to heat my studio. That's right, a wood stove. It takes me an hour to get it going because apparently that survival gene skips a generation every once in awhile. Or perhaps it's one of those skills taught in boys clubs, such as The Boy Scouts of America, because the Girl Scouts only taught me how to sell things, not set fire to them.

Luckily for me, I can compensate for my shortcomings as a cave woman by being a skilled armchair shopper. I found these scented soy wax fire starters on Etsy, my favorite handmade shopping mall. Berry Creek Candles has a wonderful selection of candles, too, and her scents are authentic and inviting. I love how simple starting a fire has become since I started using her fire starters. And what's better is I have heat in a fraction of the time, it's all natural, and I don't have to worry about handling harsh chemicals. It's all good!

Hoosier Orchid Co. and a Moment of Silence.

My parents, bless their hearts, are notorious in our family for finding the best darned restaurants in town (their town) only to subsequently find the place boarded up and out of business. And I'm not just talking buffets. They find the neatest out-of-the-way, and some not-so-out-of-the-way places.

Take The New Orleans House as an example. My goodness, it was the best place in Indianapolis to get butter with a little seafood on the side. Huge crab legs, shrimp prepared in more ways than Pvt. Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue ever imagined, and the most decadent dessert selection one could imagine. I think the local hospitals closed it down because too many patrons were needing their stomachs pumped, but seriously, where else could we go to indulge our seafood fantasies? It was a once in a lifetime treat. Literally.

So, it was with much sadness that I learned of the innate talent of restaurant closings having transgressed from mere restaurant closings (my health may or may not have improved) to Closing of All Favorite Haunts, and the latest victim appears to have been The Hoosier Orchid Company. My parents were beside themselves and very apologetic.

Oh for crying out loud, Indianapolis. Where else could one go to indulge in a little tropical foliage fantasy and inspire whimsical dreams of successful Exotic Orchid Care? Where else can one visit to find something other than a phalaenopsis regularis (I may have just made that up) found in every grocery store and Walmart all over the nation? Who else is to bolster my confidence that, yes, I too can nurture and responsibly care for an orchid? Who else would bestow a young orchid to a child almost as young? (Thank you, Leon, my daughter still cherishes and nurtures it :o)

*sigh*

For all of these places that close, of one thing I am sure...my parents will move on to the next discovery and if I move quickly enough, I too, can enjoy the discovery.