Good hand cream: need it, all the time.

Our dry air in Bend has a lot of advantages: no cloying humidity, no mold, no umbrellas needed. But it also means our faces and hands dry up like little raisins in no time at all. I hate that!

To combat the dryness, we're supposed to drink more water. Check (she says while taking a sip of wine). And use lots of good hand cream. Check. We try to keep the latter in stock at all times at Pomegranate. Just received a fresh shipment of Lollia Wish and Calm creams: beautifully, delicately scented and very emollient and rich. From Tokyo Milk, we have the runaway popular Dead Sexy (yeah, it is), and from our lovely French company, six fragrances in their shea butter creams, including the new Milk, which has a very delicate, light scent. That's just a few; one of us has an obsession with good hand cream...

Summer scents, just in

We love good candles in any season (not just a winter thing!), and have a few new arrivals that are  fresh, clean and citrusy – perfect for a little pick-me-up after spring cleaning (yeah, time to air out that dog bed). Just a few below:

Volcano smells heavenly; recycled blue (or white) glass jars are a great summer color

Crisp, summery lemon verbena candle in a lovely milk glass jar

Sunday, lovely Sunday

We've experimented a bit with hours and days open for our shop over the years, and tried to be  consistent with any little changes made. For a long time, we were open every day, then closed on Sundays except for summer and holiday seasons. By Memorial Day, we'd start our Sunday schedule for the summer, and that would be the end of our wonderful little day off together. Last summer, Sundays were a mixed bag of business. Meh.

So we're taking the leap this summer and staying closed for Sundays. It may not sound like a big deal, but in the world of retail, closing for a day is a big decision. It means a little balance for us, a day to be a part of the world and forget about business. We all need that.

The other day I was reading about upcoming concerts and saw that the Portland Cello Project was coming to town again, and my reaction was oh darn it's on a Sunday we can't go... and then I realized, oh yes sirree, we can go! And we made another step towards togetherness: bought a set of (cheapie!) golf clubs for me at a thrift shop, and I'm learning how to play (baby steps, so far). Eventually Robert and I can play together, although I have a feeling he'll be spending most of the time waiting for me to hit the ball. So if you see us out on the Back Nine one of these Sundays, please snicker quietly.

Meanwhile, sorry to any who like to shop Pomegranate on Sundays. Come see us any other day. We'll be much more rested and pleasant shopkeepers, having had a day to goof off.

Our new favorite Sunday reading spot, in the backyard

On the search for a good food cart vendor: flea market events

Our French Flea Markets this summer are going to be epic, I think. The first one is full. I mean, really full: we're using every available inch of space in the gardens to fit everyone in.

But the one thing we are missing is some good food to have on site. One year we had a crêpe maker, and that was so much fun. Not only were the crêpes really delicious (sweet and savory), it was so fitting for our market. If the crêpe guy had only been wearing a beret (and smoking a gauloise), the picture would have been complete. But he's not in the crêpe business anymore, and we're on the search for one good food cart/truck to attend our markets (or several that could rotate). Should be a combo of good breakfasty/lunch/snack/treats, because we have vendors and customers on the premises all day. We're not even sure how many attendees we get per average market, but it's somewhere between 600 and 1,000 hungry shoppers. Might be even more... We're gonna be crushed this summer, no doubt.

Dates for our markets are Saturdays: June 9, July 7, August 4, August 25, and September 15. Market hours are 10-4; vendors start setting up at 7, so reasonable cart hours might be 8-3, or something like that.

Know anyone who might be interested? Email us at Jantiques@bendcable.com. Or come by and talk to us at 120 NE River Mall Ave., in the historic farmhouse across from the north side of Macy's.

Dear Moms

You know you only have about ten days left in which to pick out something fabulous for mom? Mother's Day is May 13, and we think she'd love a little something something from Pomegranate.  Or, take a page from my rulebook: you can pick out a little treat for yourself even if your only children happen to be four-legged. Any excuse will do! Here are some lovely ideas for gift-giving at any time, but especially sweet for dear moms.

Barclay Butera candles for a pop of color, and rich scent

New line of Italian alarm clocks – lovely

It's back: Dead Sexy perfume by Tokyo Milk

Lots of new books to drool over

Handbags and totes in fresh spring colors

Lollia "In Love" hand creams and bath salts

Adorable wrapped soaps from Tokyo Milk

One of our favorites: Lollia "Wish" handcream

Card, soap, perfume. Perfect!

Mistral's Pomegranate soap is heavenly

Exquisite Japanese paper blocks for little notes

"Let simple and old-fashioned myself..."

Oh, those Italians! Petite wood frame clock

Scarves. We love scarves.

Silk clutch and script pillow

Tea for one in a great gift box. Just add some good tea!

Fresh shipment of Dead Sexy/ Gin & Rosewater hand creams

Perfume "mixing" sets for layering your own favorite scents