Frozen Bubble Adventures Continue!

Boy, has it been cold in central Pennsylvania! When I first walked past the thermometer in the morning, it said it was 9 degrees F outside. It was just a few degrees warmer than that around 9:30 when I went out into the backyard to make some frozen bubbles.

I took along an egg carton I'd sprayed with gold paint, some dried flowers also painted gold, and a tiny magic kingdom castle with a colorful crystal on it. I added more Karo corn syrup and more dish detergent and more water to the bubble mix from a few days ago. Heavy on Karo for bubble strength and crystal formation.

The first thing I realized was that it was VERY cold out. And I mean, I felt cold from the minute I got there. I'd sat on the front steps putting on my boots, thinking maybe I could use another layer, but I was too lazy to take the boots off and go and put more on. My mistake.

The second thing I realized was that the breeze was stronger than expected, and it kept blowing my bubbles out! Like candles. Out out, darn bubble! No magic for you! It blew out my first dozen or so bubbles within what seemed like the blink of an eye.

The third thing I noticed was that the light was not so great, actually. I'd started out with some pretty morning light but it faded. Too cold. Too much wind. No light. That's three strikes. My husband came out into the backyard to find me packing up my stuff, disappointed. He suggested I try another corner of the yard, out front, behind Barb's butterfly garden, where it is a bit more protected, sunnier, a tad warmer.

So I moved bag and baggage, and started making bubbles in the front yard. The stumps I work on there are in front of a big bush. In most cases, I try to put my bubbles BETWEEN myself and the light, but due to the location of things, I just couldn't. So I was in my own light, and reflected onto my own bubbles. I felt like I was failing. The whole experiment was going wrong.

The egg carton just didn't do what I was hoping for. I don't know. I'll have to think through that concept a bit more; the execution was disappointing. The dried flowers were lovely, as always. The turkey tail mushrooms on the stump gave me some good colors. And the magic kingdom castle, the little colorful crystal cast its shades onto the bubble next to it (see photo in the extras), which was quite fun.

During the time that the wind was calm enough, I lined my bubbles up in a row. The photo above features FOUR bubbles, all freezing at their own rate. I just liked how it came out. A crystal forming. A hint of gold. The reflection of trees. The implication of worlds within worlds, too many worlds to know or understand.

My hands were so cold they were killing me, and so I gave up and threw in the towel after only about 15 minutes. When I went inside, my husband asked, couldn't I set up shop in front of the garage, where it was even MORE protected? I could, I said, but I couldn't help the light, which had faded.

When I went inside, I took off my coat and boots and gloves, and I put all of my sticky things in the bathroom to wash them down. My hands were so cold, they were throbbing, and I almost thought I was going to pass out.

This was not the fault of the cold, friends, but my own silliness in not taking the time to put on one more layer! I blame myself. By the way, to warm up ultra-cold hands, put them in warm, NOT HOT, running water for a few minutes. Yes, it will hurt. Try to think of something lovely, warm, and calming.

But then I looked at the pictures, and I found some good ones, and I realized it hadn't been a great big bust after all! So here are two photos from the morning's adventure, and an admonition from me:

If you are trying to make frozen bubbles, and you're cold when you GET there, go back inside and put on another layer, you silly goose, or you'll pay the price later! Also, don't go deleting stuff while you're out there feeling like a failure. Give it all a chance to be beautiful, because no matter what, some of it WILL be!

I've got two photos so here are two songs. For the photo above, of the four bubbles, I'm laying claim to a Four Tops song, I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch); which is sort of a theme song for a frozen bubble devotee such as myself. For the photo in the extras, of the little magic kingdom castle, I'd like to use a Suzanne Vega song that might fit such a castle: the Queen and the Soldier.

As always, here's a link to my canonical set of frozen bubble making tips.