Clean & Bright Soaps and Candles

Homemade Tomato Sauce

2009-11-18T19:52:00.003-04:00

Do you know how long it takes to skin and seed 30 lbs of tomatoes? I didn't, until I did it a few days ago to can some homemade tomato sauce for the winter. Let me just say that it took a LOT longer than I had anticipated. Of course, I kept getting distracted by the kids. But I am reconsidering my idea of planting a bunch of tomato plants next spring...

Here's a recipe for Tomato Sauce that I got from the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" written by Barbara Kingsolver. I've modified it slightly for my own use, but the original recipe on the book is as follows:

30 lbs tomatoes, pureed
4 large onions, chopped
1 cup dried basil
1/2 cup honey
4 tbsp. dried oregano
3 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. ground dried lemon peel
2 tbsp. thyme
2 tbsp. garlic powder (or more, to taste)
2 tbsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Soften onions in a heavy 3-gallon kettle - add a small amount of water if necessary but no oil if you are canning (very important!). Add pureed tomatoes and all seasonings, bring to a boil, and simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours until sauce has thickened to your liking. Stir frequently, especially toward the end, to avoid burning. Meanwhile, heat water in canner bath, sterilize jars in boiling water, and pour boiling water over jar lids.

Bottled lemon juice or citric acid - NOT optional!

Add 2 tbsp. of lemon juice or 1/2 tsp. citric acid to each quart jar (1/2 that much to pint jars). This ensures that the sauce will be safely acidic. When the sauce is ready, ladle it into the jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Cap jars, lower gently into canner and boil for 35 minutes. Remove, cool, check all seals, label, and store for winter.

When I made this, I had enough for 4 500 ml jars and 23 250 ml jars, plus enough sauce to go with the roasted garlic ravioli we had for supper the next night :)

Enjoy!

Tray-Baked Lamb Chops

2009-11-06T18:23:00.003-04:00

Oh, yummm! I just finished eating a very yummy supper. The recipe comes from the book "The Gorgeously Green Diet". I used lamb chops from East Coast Family Market (at the Enfield Farmers Market on Saturdays), and I helped myself to extra when I was finished my 1st serving :)

Tray-Baked Lamb Chops

1 cup olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 lamp chops (shoulder or leg chops work well) (I used 3 chops, as there were 3 of us eating)
4 medium carrots, sliced lengthwise
3 medium parsnips, sliced lengthwise

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste in a shallow bowl. Place the chops in the bowl and massage with the oil mixture. Cover the bowl with a plate and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Put the chops with the marinade on a large baking sheet and add the carrots and parsnips, coating the vegetables with the marinade. Put in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Serves 2.

Enjoy!

One of my Contributions

2009-11-03T10:13:00.003-04:00

I've been doing lots of reading over the last couple of years about organics and environmentally-friendly, sustainable lifestyles. I think that we, as in the general human race, are doing a great disservice to the planet we call home.

We pollute the soil with loads of chemicals, just so we can get that "perfect" tomato (that looks nice but has next to no taste). We pollute the air with fossil-fuel burning power plants so we can run the electronics that make our lives so much "easier".We pollute the waters with garbage and oil.

I want to do as much as I can to help stop this. Once in a while I slip up and throw something in the garbage that could be recycled, or fall asleep with the tv on, but I make a conscious effort to keep my carbon footprint to a minimum.

One new way to help is by formulating a line of soaps made with organic oils. I'm in the process of doing this now :) I will hopefully be introducing a line of organic soaps in the new year. All of the vegetable oils I'll be using are certified organic - canola, coconut, flax, hemp, shea butter, and sunflower. Most of the essential oils I'll be using are certified organic, with a few that are organically grown and processed, but not certified. I do this not because I think it's better for the skin - let's face it, soap is a rinse off product and it doesn't stay on your skin long enough for any residual chemicals that may be present in a non-organic ingredient to be of concern. I do this for the planet - by using certified organic ingredients, I know that there have been no chemical fertilizers or pesticides used in the growing or processing. By taking this step to help the planet, I'm also helping future generations who will be relying on Earth for food, clothing and shelter.

This is where you come in :) I need testers for my new soap, as I'm using a few ingredients that I don't use in my existing soap line. Right now, most of my soaps are made with olive, palm, coconut and avocado oils with shea butter, which I've had wonderful reviews for. And I need to hear some honest feedback on what people think of my new soap. How it feels like to use, what they think of the lather, how it makes their skin feel, etc. I have a batch of organic unscented soap curing now, and when it's ready for use I'd like to send some sample bars to you for testing. If you're interested, please let me know (if you reply to this post, please make sure I know how to contact you). I will gather (privately) your address so I can ship it out next month when it's ready.

Thanks so much!!!

I Heart Hats

2009-11-02T08:45:00.002-04:00

I really really do love to wear hats.

I discovered hats at a thrift shop while still in high school, and fell in love with this gorgeous, chocolate brown fedora. I used to wear that thing almost every time I went out!

I stopped wearing hats for a few years, but rediscovered them again about 5-6 years ago while I was participating in a local craft show. The neighbouring booth was run by a lady who made winter hats under the business name The Mad Hatter. I bought a lovely burgundy winter hat that was like a soft faux-suede outer and warm, snuggly faux-fur on the inside. The following year I bought 2 more hats from her, one was a lovely coffee with milk shade of brown outside with thick, warm faux-fur on the inside and the second one was a funky grey mix faux-fur that was almost shaped like a top-hat. I wore that thing to lots of my daughter's skating practices and it kept my head (and me) toasty warm :) This is a good thing, as it doesn't take much to make me uncomfortably cold.

I also have a crocheted summer hat that I purchased from Loopy4Ewe that I usually wear to the farmers market in the summer if I'm outside. My daughter also has a cool beanie from her. Just look at this cool hat:
Last spring, I discovered a very cool hatter in Lunenburg, NS - Anna Shoub. She's originally from the US, but found her way to our beautiful province. I want soooo many of her summer hats. Especially now that I have funky retro sunglasses in the style similar to Jackie O's. So I'm really coveting these couple of hats:But she also has stylish winter hats available.

Please check out these ladies' shops - they have lots of wonderful goodies to choose from! Support handmade, support local :)

Organic Trade Association

2009-11-01T17:24:00.003-04:00

Organic has become such a catch phrase. There are some companies that market their products as made with organic ingredients, however unless they are certified organic they might only have a small percentage of organic ingredients.

And for a manufacturer to become certified, there are a lot of hoops that they have to jump through and red-tape that needs to be dealt with. And it's very expensive.

Not that I think it's not worth it. I think that our Earth needs us to grow our crops and raise our animals as organically as possible. There are too many chemicals used by too many large "corporate" farms as fertilizers and pesticides. These chemicals are collecting in our soils and water systems, negatively effecting our animals, plants, and our families.

More and more consumers are searching out organic food and products, which is great! The more demand there is for organic the more there will be available, and at better prices.

For some more great information on organics, please check out the website for Organic Trade Association. They have lots great information.

Personalized Jewellery

2009-10-30T10:21:00.005-03:00

My daughter has been making jewellery for a couple of years now. She's made mainly earrings and necklaces in the past, and had sold a few pieces here and there. When I started selling at our local farmers market at the Enfield Legion, I told her that I would take her jewellery and display it on my table for her. She was thrilled, and most weeks came with me to the market to help out.

However, there has always been a couple other vendors there with jewellery, so her sales were minimal. I thought about what she could do that would be different then what the other jewellers offered, and made a couple of suggestions. She decided to go with personalized necklaces and bracelets. So she takes memory wire and strings it with mainly glass beads on either side of the requested name. These have just taken off for her! She's very excited to be making these and has almost saved up for her goal - a Wii. She's had a lot of custom orders, and tries to make sure she has some popular names made up in advance.

Memory wire is a special wire made from steel that retains it's round shape and does not require a fastener or clasp. The majority of her pieces are made using glass beads, but she can also use other beads made from wood, ceramic, and semi-precious gemstones. The basic bracelet costs $3, while the basic necklace costs $8. If she uses beads made from materials other than glass, the cost is usually higher.

She made some necklaces in a Hallowe'en theme, and still has a few available. She's usually with me at the farmers market if you'd like to come down and take a look. You can also contact me if you'd like to order a personalized item with your favourite colours :)

Here are a few photos of what she has available right now:

A Long 5 Months, and Some New Soapies

2009-10-29T15:35:00.006-03:00

I think I'm finally able to get back on the blog and start posting again. It was a long summer, and I tried to spend as much time with my family as I could.

But I'm back, and I have 3 new soapies to share with you :) They are all available now at the Enfield/Elmsdale Farmers Market on Saturdays 8-1 at the Enfield Legion. They are also available online at my Etsy shop

We have Cinnamon Leaf, with my regular soaping oils of olive, palm, coconut, avocado and shea butter, scented with straight cinnamon leaf essential oil. I wouldn't use this if you have sensitive skin, but it should be fine for everybody else :)
We also have our Black Licorice soap, scented with star anise essential oil, and swirled with black oxide and red clay. And yes, it smells just like black licorice, or the licorice allsorts :)

And we have Almond Jubilation - smells just like cherry almond :) It's coloured with a touch of red clay.

My Friend, Tom

2009-05-29T11:38:00.003-03:00

A light has gone out in the world. A dear friend of mine ended his life last Sunday. I first met him 19 years ago, and was honoured to be able to call him "friend".

I have been struggling with this since I was told on Monday. I have my own beliefs regarding suicide, which I will not bring into this writing as this is about Tom, not me... Tom has touched so very many people throughout his 42 years. It's hard to believe he's gone - we've had so many wonderful conversations and adventures, I thought we had a lifetime's worth of conversations still to have. There is still so many things I want to talk to him about. There is a hole in my life. I can honestly say that the last 4 days rank as equaling one other event for the saddest in my entire life.

I first met Tom at a party at the apartment of the man I was dating at the time. I was totally mesmerized with this man who was obviously very intelligent and had an interesting way of looking at everything. He really could see every aspect of any given situation. I remember telling my boyfriend and his roommate how charismatic Tom was. And if you saw Tom on the street you wouldn't give him a second glance. He was short (maybe 5'6" or 5'7"?), very slender, scarred face, a laugh that would wake people up on another floor (I loved that laugh, by the way). But his personality filled the room and hearts of everybody that knew him. He was a beautiful person.

At this party, I knew right away that Tom was different than other guys. We were playing a game called Spoons. I was a rather feisty young lady, who liked to win. And I was tough. But every guy I played against wouldn't fight very hard, and I could tell they were letting me win - perhaps because they were afraid they would hurt me, I'm not sure... But not Tom. He fought me tooth and nail for those spoons. He played like we were equals, even though he was stronger than I was, he regarded me as an equal. We both ended up with bruises and teeth marks from those games.

Another time we were having a very interesting conversation. He was likening boyfriends (and girlfriends) to toasters. You might have a fancy-pants 4-slice toaster with all the bells and whistles, and be miserable because as fancy as this toaster is it just doesn't toast the bread the way you like it. What you might be happier with is a little manual toaster than only toasts 2 slices of bread, doesn't have a darkness selector, looks kinda beat up, but it makes perfect toast every time. Just one of the many memories I have of conversations with Tom.

We went back-country camping in Keji. One long weekend of canoeing and camping in the middle of nowhere. Tom and another friend, Brad, didn't have a tent (the rest of us did), so they really roughed it sleeping in the open air (and yes, the bugs were baaaad). But it was an amazing weekend that I will never forget.

Tom has travelled to many places - on his motorcycle when he had it, as well as backpacking. I remember his stories of his travels through Britain, and the story of the mead :) He almost had his pilot's license - if I remember correctly he was only a few hours of flight time from getting it.
He worked in the movie industry in Halifax. I remember his allergies (who is allergic to lilacs???).

Tom would help people just because he could. He never expected anything in return. Although he didn't help me paint when I moved (he said that he's absolutely horrible at painting, and this has been confirmed by other people), he did help me move - more than once. He put his own dreams and ambitions on the back burner because of a promise he made to help somebody. You could tell him anything, and if you asked him not to tell anybody else he wouldn't. Period. He helped people physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He and I had a lot of similar spiritual beliefs. He was a bit of a flake, just like me :) In a good way, of course!

As smart and as intuitive as Tom was, I don't think he had a clue as to how important he was to so many people. If he knew just how many lives he made better, he wouldn't have ended his life. He has left a hole in so many hearts and lives.

The memorial service is tomorrow afternoon. I'm writing this now because, even though I've been crying since typing the title, I'm afraid that if I don't get it out somehow I will be an absolute mess tomorrow afternoon. I don't have any digital photos of Tom on my computer, although I think my husband does on his laptop. The only photo I have access to is the one that he had on his Facebook profile.

May he have found the peace that he must have been looking for. My life is better in so many ways for having known Tom, and yet now there is this emptiness...

I'll see you in another lifetime, my friend. And perhaps I will be in a position of being able to help you as much as you have helped me in this one ...

A "Me" Day at Crescent Beach

2009-05-21T18:19:00.007-03:00

Today was an absolutely beautiful day here in Nova Scotia :) The forecast was calling for a high of 26C here, and I decided to get out of the house all by myself while the kids were in school and take a little road-trip! It was glorious! I do enjoy taking the kids on mini-adventures so they can see all of this beautiful province (and so I can see it fresh through their eyes), but going on a solo road-trip is a different experience altogether.I decided to go to a beach I've never been to before. It's called Crescent Beach and it's in Lunenburg Co., just outside Petite Riviere. There was a bit of delay getting there, as there was a road crew re-paving a section of Highway 103 and it was down to 1 lane of traffic. But the wait wasn't too long. I stopped shortly past the re-paving at a bridge to take some photos of the Mushamush River, then headed on. I actually got lost trying to get to the beach ... I was following the directions that Google Maps gave, and ended up on a dirt road that brought me back to the highway going back the way I came from! So as soon as I realized the problem, I turned around and stopped following Google's directions ;)When I got to the beach, it practically took my breath away! It was an amazing sight - unlike any other beach I've seen in NS. It stretched farther than I could see with gorgeous sand. I wish I had gotten on the road a bit earlier so I could spend more time there. It's definitely a place I'd like to take the kids to later.Crescent Beach is a 4 km crescent of sand, and it forms a natural causeway to the LaHave Islands. It was weird, though, as I noticed a car drive right down onto the beach as I was getting out of the van. Perhaps in the summer, when they are more people on the beach, the cars can't get on the sand. I certainly hope so, anyway... And the wind off the water was perfect. I like it warm, but even 29C is a bit too hot for me, but the wind off the Atlantic waves cooled it down just enough that I was comfortable.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour :)
Until next time,

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"You don't have to fight or struggle to gain happiness."

Natural Dishwashing Liquid

2009-05-18T10:09:00.002-03:00

Here's another recipe for a natural dishwashing liquid. It calls for citrus seed extract. I'm not exactly sure why? Citrus seed extract is often used by "natural product manufacturers" as a "natural preservative". Citrus seed extract made from grapefruit seeds is not in itself a preservative and has no antimicrobial properties. When commercially prepared samples of citrus seed extract have been laboratory-tested by 3rd parties, the following substances have been found in different samples: benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, triclosan, or methylparaben. None of these substances are found in grapefruit seeds. So I will include the citrus seed extract in the following recipe and you can use it if you want to. However, please keep in mind that any antimicrobial activity comes from the additives the manufacturer included in the processing.

Alternative Dishwashing Blend
liquid castile soap
20 drops lime essential oil
10 drops sweet orange essential oil
5 drops citrus seed extract

Fill 22 oz plastic squirt bottle with castile soap, add essential oils, and shake before each use. When I make this, I will not be using the citrus seed extract...

In my search for certified organic ingredients, I have found organic liquid soap in bulk. It is not a castile soap - which by definition the only oil used is olive, however it is a natural liquid soap and not a synthetic detergent. It is made using organic sunflower and coconut oils. You can find liquid castile soap and essential oils at your local health food store as well as some grocery store chains. I also have them available, and if you'd like to pick some up let me know and I'll bring them to the Elmsdale & Enfield Farmers Market on Saturdays starting June 6.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Feeling you should be happy when everything inside you is telling you to be unhappy is like trying to correct nature - be unhappy and patient and happiness will come later."

Day Trip to Queensland Beach

2009-05-16T22:21:00.012-03:00

This is the May long weekend. But it's supposed to be rainy for most of it. So today I decided I would take the kids on a short daytrip to a very popular beach. Queensland Beach is just on the Halifax side of Hubbards. Beautiful sand, but when the tide is in there isn't much room. Lots of young adults go there in the warm weather - it's "the" beach to strut your stuff! Before leaving home, we packed a picnic so the kids wouldn't get cranky from hunger. Pita bread and tortillas, peanut butter, carrots, and juice. Even though it was overcast, it was quite warm - 16-18*C. I was a bit overdressed, as I thought it might be a bit chilly from the wind coming off the ocean. I didn't try the water, but the kids took off their shoes, rolled up their pants, and dove into digging the sand :) They had such a blast, we're looking forward to making a trip to another beach as soon as we can. I'm not keen on going to the beaches when they're crowded with people, it's just too noisy and hard to keep track of the kids... But during the off-season, beaches are a wonderful place to spend a couple of hours :)

On the way home, we dropped into a lawn & garden center - it was the first weekend they were open this year :) I chatted with the owner (I love dealing with small businesses) and he gave me a bit of gardening advice. I bought mostly herbs and edibles - basil, parsley, lemon thyme, sage, oregano, mint, yellow cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, romaine and mixed lettuces - along with a couple of monarda (bee balm) plants and a small-leaf rhododendron. I didn't take pictures of them yet. I will try to do that tomorrow before transplanting them. The herbs will be going into pots so I can bring them into the house in the fall to use into the winter as long as I can. I will probably put the tomatoes into large pots as well, as I don't have my raised beds built yet.

Do you have any beaches that you like to go to? Are there any spots in Nova Scotia that you'd recommend to take a family for a daytrip? We're kind of in the middle of the province, so it's not more than 4 1/2 hours or so to anywhere in Nova Scotia. I'd love to hear of your favourite spots to take the family, that isn't overly touristy :)

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"The path to happiness may be paved with tranquil solitude."

Organic Agriculture

2009-05-16T16:53:00.004-03:00

Over the last little while, I've been doing lots of reading and research on organics. I started a couple of years ago, reading a bit here and there. But the last few months it's been really important to me to get as much information as I can.

A good website to check out is the website run by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). There is a lot of information to read there, including links to organic producers. And this is an international group, so it has information for many different countries which is great!

Being located where I am, it's difficult to choose what food to eat. Ideally, local organically grown food would be available as it's important to me to support local producers as well as eating food that is grown/raised without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. During the winter months, it's next to impossible to find fresh local food, so when I can I usually choose certified organic food, even though it's grown in the US or another foreign country. However, if I can choose between an organic item grown in a different country and one that isn't certified organic but grown in my own province, which should I choose? I waffle back and forth on that issue every time I go grocery shopping :(

Luckily, one of the vendors (East Coast Family Market) at our local farmers market will have certified organic vegetables this year (I'm so looking forward to our opening day - June 6!). ECFM also has meat available, but I'm not sure if the meat is certified organic or not. But I do know that the animals are humanely raised, and even though I haven't asked them yet, I'm sure that if they feel it's important to grow certified organic veggies that they will also be raising their animals in an organic way.

On the organic topic, I've decided that I'm going to produce a line of organic soaps. I have on hand certified organic carrier oils and essential oils that are either certified organic or organically grown but not certified. I hope to have this line ready for market no later than September. The soaps themselves will not be certified organic, as I am not certified. But all of the plants provided the oils I use will have been grown organically so I know that I'm helping to support organic agriculture, which helps keep our Earth healthy.

Is organic agriculture important to you? Why or why not? How do you ensure that you are buying food that is healthy for both your family and the Earth? I'd love to hear what other people think!

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Now is the time to be happy. This is the place to be happy."

New England Clam-less Chowder

2009-05-15T09:59:00.003-03:00

In the search for some yummy meatless meals that the whole family will enjoy, I found a recipe for New England Clam-less Chowder. I haven't made it yet, but I plan on doing so this weekend for supper. I'll make the veggie stock today to use as a base, and I'll make the soup tonight. I'm hoping to take the kids on a mini-adventure to a beach tomorrow if the weather co-operates, but it is supposed to be drizzly so a good pot of hot, homemade soup will be the perfect pick-me-up when we get back :)

New England Clam-less Chowder

1 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp soy sauce or tamari
4 oz firm tofu, finely diced
1 tbsp margarine
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely diced
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
4 cups vegetable stock or water
3 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced
3 cups corn kernels
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried summer savory or marjoram
2 cups low fat milk or soy milk, or as needed
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat oil & soy sauce or tamari slowly in medium-sized skillet. Stir diced tofu in quickly to coat, then turn heat up to medium high. Saute, stirring frequently, until browned and crisp on all sides, about 12-15 minutes. When done, remove from heat and set aside until needed.
In meantime, heat margarine in soup pot. Add onion and celery and saute over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in flour a little at a time. Slowly stir in stock or water, then add potato dice, corn kernels, and dried herbs. Bring to simmer, then simmer gently, covered, until potatoes are tender and corn kernels are done, about 20-25 minutes.
With back of wooden spoon, mash small amount of potatoes to thicken base. Then add milk or soy milk as needed; soup should be semi thick but no overly dense. Slowly bring to gentle simmer, then season to taste with salt and pepper. If time allows, let soup stand off heat for an hour or two before serving, then heat through as needed.
Serves 6-8.

I'm looking forward to making (and eating!) this - it looks pretty darn tasty, eh?

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Try to find happiness with as many different people as you can."

OHHHHH, A Neat Giveaway :)

2009-04-28T13:35:00.002-03:00

I just read about a giveaway by the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy. They've put together a gift basket for Mother's Day filled with oodles of polymer clay goodies :) They will be drawing for the winner on May 11, so go over to their blog and check out the details! They have some wonderfully talented artists that work with polymer clay there - I found lots of goodies that I'd love to buy (if only I'd win that $32Million jackpot tomorrow ;) )

Natural Household Cleaners

2009-04-28T10:22:00.002-03:00

Every since just before Earth Day last week, I've been thinking more about environmentally-friendly living. I had borrowed a book from the library called The Naturally Clean Home written by Karyn Siegel-Maier. There are several books available on this subject either at your local library or book store if you want to buy a copy. I highly recommend checking out one or two to get some ideas, as we really don't need 101 different cleaners when you can get buy with just a few different ingredients and make your own without the chemicals...

I'm going to share a few with you here:

Synergistic Dishwashing Blend

liquid castile soap
15 drops lemon or lemongrass essential oil
6 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops bergamot essential oil

Fill a clean 22-oz plastic squirt bottle with castile soap (diluted according to directions if using concentrate). Add the essential oils. Shake the bottle before each use. Add 1-2 tbsp. of the liquid to dishwater and wash as usual.

Mold Deterrent
Use this spray in the shower or bathtub, or anywhere else water tends to collect on surfaces. If you already have a buildup of mold or mildew, allow the spray to "rest" on the surface areas for a few hours. Wipe with a soft cloth, then respray the areas and let dry without rinsing.

1 1/4 cups white vinegar
3/4 cup water
4 drops cinnamon essential oil
6 drops patchouli essential oil
2 tsp. tea tree essential oil

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle. Spray surfaces well but do not rinse.

Lemon-Walnut Wood Polish

1/8 cup walnut oil
1/8 cup linseed oil
1/4 cup lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Apply a light layer of polish to wood with a brush or cloth. Rub into wood with a soft cloth, using circular motions. Wipe again with a dry cloth.

There are so many natural alternatives for cleaning floors, walls, dishes, clothes, bathrooms, sinks, etc, all using baking soda, vinegar, water, washing soda, liquid castile soap, and essential oils that there isn't any need for the commercially available cleaning products that are heavily scented, full of chemicals that aren't really all that great for our health, and are expensive.

If you try any of the above formulas, or if you have your own tried and true homemade cleaners, I'd love to hear about them!

Today is Earth Day

2009-04-22T09:02:00.003-03:00

This post is going to be short & sweet!

Today is Earth Day. A day to celebrate Earth, and to revisit how we should be treating her. Lots of people participated in Earth Hour which is great. How many people are going to seriously consider what they can do on a daily basis to help our great planet?

Here, we have decided to reduce the amount of time the computers and tv are on. Each are on for several hours a day, and we quite often have 3 computers in the house. My work computer (which I also use for personal use), my husband's work laptop, and our son's personal computer. So, we have agreed on a rule that the tv does not get turned on during the week and the computers are only on for each child to use for 1/2 hour each day to send an email to Dad when he's working and to do their daily Webkinz activities so their Webkinz don't get sick... Yesterday was the 1st day we did it, and the kids were fine with it! No complaints (I think it's because I didn't make a blanket statement of no computer or tv at all) and they actually played with Bionicle lego - together!! And played with dominoes, and practiced their musical instruments (drums, guitar, violin and recorder).

I also made a commitment to use less packaging or to reuse packaging whenever possible. For a great way to reduce your use of plastic bags at the grocery store or bulk food store, check out these bags from Kootsac on Etsy.

Also, if you ship things you can use old (clean) cereal boxes and granola boxes for mailers. You can check out a fabulous tutorial on how to make there here.

Several members of the TransCanada Etsy Team are celebrating Earth Day with specials. You can check them out here. I am also having a special - free shipping on all orders over $15. You can check out what I have in stock at my Etsy shop - but the sale runs for one day only! April 22. If you are local and normally pick up your order anyway, then instead of free shipping I'll include free items with your order :)

Hmmm, guess it wasn't quite so short and sweet after all. But now that it's ready to be posted, I'm going to be turning my computer off again for the day and doing some spring cleaning with natural cleaning products that I'm making myself. Stay tuned for some recipes so you can also make some!

The Old Burying Ground

2009-04-06T20:57:00.014-03:00

Yesterday, I took the kids on another mini-adventure. This time, we went to the Old Burying Ground in Halifax. The weather was overcast, with a few showers. It was a bit too cold for the kids to spend more than about 45 minutes there, and I didn't get to see all of the grounds, but we had a good time while there!

The Old Burying Ground was Halifax's first cemetery. In this common burial ground lie many of the first citizens of Halifax, their descendants, and men of the British Army and Royal Navy who were stationed here. First opened in 1749, the year Halifax was founded, it was used until 1844. During that period, over 12,000 men, women and children were buried here; fewer than 10% of their graves are marked.

The gravestones were all carved by hand, using chisels and wooden mallets. Many of the old slate stones were quarried and carved around Massachusetts Bay, and shipped to Halifax before the American Revolution. By the 1770's local stone carvers were making gravestones from a poorer quality local slate (or "ironstone"). Most gravestones carved after 1820 are plain, massive sandstone.

The images or symbols can be a clue to the gravestone's age. Older stones show symbols of death-stylized winged skulls ("death-heads") or winged angels (soul effigies). In the early 1800's the images gradually changed from representations of death to those of bereavement - funerary urns, lamps (of life, extinguished), and sometimes sprigs of willow (weeping).

A monument was erected in 1860 in memory of Major A.F. Welsford and Captain W.B.C.A. Parker. These two Halifax men both perished during the Crimean War. In September, 1855 they participated in the assault on the Great Redan, part of the eastern defenses of Sebastopol.

I was particularly drawn to this gravestone. The emotions must have been very strong to have the details carved into the gravestone for everybody to read...

Originally, the cemetery was located outside the settlement's walls. However, as time passed and Halifax grew into a city the burying ground was embraced by the city boundaries. It is now located in the heart of the city, surrounded by office buildings, a thriving shopping district, educational institutions and restaurants. I wonder how many people walk by every day, without ever thinking about the history right beside them?

Potato, Cheese and Green Chili Soup

2009-03-30T20:54:00.003-03:00

Okay, so here it is - what I think is the best soup I've ever had! It comes from the book "Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons" by Nava Atlas

5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
5 cups vegetable stock (I used the full recipe of Onion & Garlic stock mentioned below) or water
1 tbsp canola or olive oil (I used olive)
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped (I used red as we didn't have any green)
1 cup chopped fresh, ripe tomatoes (substitute canned if good, ripe tomatoes are unavailable)
1 cup cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
1 4-oz can chopped mild green chilies
1 tsp chili powder
8 oz reduced-fat cheddar cheese or cheddar-style soy cheese, grated (I didn't weigh out my cheese, I just used a big chunk that we had in the fridge)
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Place the diced potato in a soup pot and cover with the stock or water. Bring to a simmer, then simmer gently, covered, until the potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, heat the oil in a small skillet. Saute the onion over medium heat until it is translucent. Add the garlic and green pepper and saute until the mixture begins to brown lightly.

Remove half of the potatoes from the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon and place them in a shallow bowl. Mash them well, then stir back into the soup pot, followed by the onion-bell pepper mixture. Add the tomatoes, corn, green chilies, and chili powder. Add additional water if the soup is too dense. Stir together, return to a simmer, then simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle in the grated cheese, a little at a time, stirring it until it is fairly well melted each time (soy cheese may not melt as completely). Season to taste with salt and pepper and allow the soup to simmer over very low heat, stirring frequently, for another 5 minutes.

Serve at once, or let stand for an hour or so before serving. Heat through as needed and adjust the consistency with more water if the soup becomes too thick.

I had 5 bowls of this soup over 3 days (it really is the best soup I've ever tasted - have I mentioned that?), and even my two sons had second helpings!

Onion and Garlic Broth

2009-03-28T15:04:00.003-03:00

Last night I made what I think is probably the best soup I've ever had! It was amazing... But I'll get to that later ;)

The other day I went to the library to pick up a book that our daughter had put on hold. While I was there, I decided to see if there were any books I'd like to check out, too. I did a few searches and came out of the library with 5 books just for me :)

I've been inspired by a friend's blog ( http://thefrugalvegan.wordpress.com/ ) to think even more about how to conserve. One of the books I took out of the library was "Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons" by Nava Atlas. I'm not a vegetarian, but certainly could be. But with 4 other people in the family it's much easier to make some days meatless than to go completely vegetarian. Usually, when I see a recipe that looks really yummy, I'll go out and get whatever I need to make it. However, following my friend's example I decided to only make meals that I already have the ingredients for in the house. Let's face it, I have cupboards, a fridge & freezer, 2 pantry shelving units and a deep freeze absolutely full of food already - so I should be able to find some recipe that uses items I already have, right?

And boy, did I!

First, I made an Onion & Garlic Broth. Here's the recipe:

1 tbsp. canola oil (I used olive)
1 large onion, chopped, or 2 medium leeks, white parts only, cut into 1/4 inch rings (I used 2 medium onions)
4-6 cloves garlic, minced (I used 6 as we all like garlic)
6 cups water
1/4 cup dry red wine (I used a Chilean Shiraz)
salt to taste
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper, optional

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan. If using leeks, separate the rings and rinse them well to remove grit. Add the onion or leeks and saute over moderate heat until golden. Add the garlic and continue to saute until the onion or leeks brown lightly. Add the water, wine, salt, and optional pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes. You may leave the onions and garlic in if you wish (I did), or strain the stock through a fine sieve or cheesecloth.

Now it's ready to use as either a clear broth if you're not feeling well, or you can use it as a base for any soup that calls for vegetable broth. I used it for the above mentioned best soup I've ever had... I'll do another post with the recipe for that soup later. But for now, let's just say it has potato, cheese, and chiles. Did I mention it was the best soup I've ever had? Stay tuned for the recipe...

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures. As soon as the broth was finished I had to leave to take my doctor to Halifax for an eye appointment, and as soon as we got home I had to start making the aforementioned best soup I've ever tasted.

Adventure on the Ferry

2009-02-23T12:42:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, I decided I wanted to take the kids out on a mini-adventure. Nothing too strenuous, but just something a bit different to get out of the house and recharge the batteries :) So I decided we'd drive to the Dartmouth Ferry terminal, hop on the ferry to Halifax, wander around the waterfront, then back on the ferry, and home.

Some history on the Dartmouth Ferry: It started running in 1752, and was used by the farmers and other settlers in Dartmouth to transport food and ice to the Halifax army garrison. The original ferry vessel was a large rowboat equipped with a sale! It is the oldest, continuous, salt-water passenger ferry service in North America. Very cool!

We got to the Dartmouth terminal as the ferry was approaching. Yay! No waiting around :) Fare was $2/adult, $1.40/child. I think it was pretty obvious I wasn't familiar with the ferry (it's been a few years since I've lived in the city), since I wasn't even sure where to put my money! The gentlemen behind the desk were very helpful, and even gave us transfers with extra time on them so we could come back across for free :)

It was a gorgeous day, a bit overcast as we were expecting another winter storm later that night, but it was above 0C so we went on the top deck so I could get some photos.
Here's George's Island - well part of it anyway :)

We had to veer a bit off course as an ACL container ship was going past, so I snapped a few pics of it...

When we arrived on the Halifax side of the harbour, it was close to lunchtime so we stopped at Perk's for a quick bite to eat. Perk's has been around for a long time - it opened on Lower Water St. right by the ferry terminal in 1989. It was a great place to go on a date back in the day :) The kids each had something to eat and drink, I just had a peppermint tea as I'm on a cleanse right now and want to stay away from wheat.

Both the boys had a Cinnamon Apple Roll - and man, did they look yummy!
And my peppermint tea. Love peppermint tea :)

After leaving Perk's, we walked around the waterfront for a bit. The kids wanted to see some starfish - they didn't realize how deep the water is there. My knee wasn't very keen on walking too far, so we skipped Historic Properties. That can be for another trip, perhaps when the kids aren't with me and I can browse as long as I'd like ;)

When I figured my knee had enough, we started back towards the Halifax ferry terminal, and lo and behold the ferry was approaching! We really had great timing, as on Sundays the ferry only runs every 1/2 hour. The kids wanted to sit inside going back, so we found seats on the main deck. But Nathaniel started to feel a bit ill - probably from the smell (not terrible, but certainly not the freshest). So he and I went up to the top deck for the trip back to Dartmouth. And of course, I took a few more pics :)

Here's looking down at the water from the front of the ferry:

And here's saying goodbye to Halifax:

I hope you enjoyed "tagging along" with us on our mini-adventure :) I wonder where the next one will take us?

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happy is he who has intellectual curiosity."

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie Tealights

2009-02-07T13:26:00.006-04:00

It's been a long time since I've made candles. I've been making lots of Aroma Melts for years, but stopped making candles with wicks in them several years ago. Well, I've been wanting to make them again, and so this week I made a batch. I started out small - just made a batch of tealights. But as time allows I will be making more types of candles :)
They will be available on my Etsy shop very shortly, just need to list them!

The scent I made is Sweet Potato Pecan Pie - sweet potatoes, vanilla, roasted pecans and caramelized butter baked with cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg make up this amazing dessert blend. All topped with a dollop of fresh whipped cream! Well, not real whipped cream, it just smells like that ;)

On another note, as some of you know already my oldest son is going to The Gambia (in Africa) with several Venturers and Scout leaders the summer of 2010. He is helping to build a skills training center. We have much fundraising to do (we've been raising funds for over a year now!) to buy the supplies they will be using to build it. They need to raise approximately $45000 for the project. One of the fundraisers is an goods auction being held at Shooters in Enfield on Saturday, Feb 21. Viewing is 5-5:30, with the auction itself 5:30-8:30. Tickets are only $5, and you can contact me if you'd like any, or they can also be purchased at the door provided we don't sell out beforehand. We are also accepting corporate donations if any business would like to donate goods or money for the project. If you would like to have more information about the project and how you can help, please let me know :)

Today is a beautiful, sunny day. I hope you all enjoy a fabulous weekend!

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happiness is the best adventure on earth!"

Incense Sticks - Ginger Maple and Tibetan Black Tea

2009-02-03T16:25:00.005-04:00

I've been really slow getting things made the last couple of weeks :( My daughter has been sick, and when I took her to see our doctor yesterday he said that she has pneumonia. Well, actually he said that other doctors would call it "walking pneumonia" but he doesn't really like to use that phrase so he was going to call it a really bad case of bronchitis... So she has been home from school for almost 2 weeks, but is now on antibiotics so should start feeling better soon.

Anyway, I haven't really had much time to work on things. But I did get a couple of batches of incense made - Ginger Maple and Tibetan Black Tea.

Ginger Maple is a smooth blend of ginger infused with sweet maple notes.
Tibetan Black Tea is a sultry blend of Tibetan black tea, mystical spices and rich woody notes of patchouli mingling together.

I've taken a few photos of the incense outside in this wonderful snowstorm we're having today :) I have listed them in my Etsy shop, as well as my new ArtFire shop and my forgotten (oops) iCraft shop.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"No person can ever truly know what lies behind your happiness."

Apricot Freesia Soap

2009-01-30T18:58:00.003-04:00

Well, my Fun & Funky soap production has really slowed down since the Farmer's Market has closed for the season. But I wanted to make something that I could make around my daughter, since she's been home the last few weeks with this nasty respiratory flu that's been going around (and yes, I have been feeling the effects of it, but I'm trying to rest as much as possible so it doesn't get too bad). So I decided to do a log of Apricot Freesia soap. And since it's coming up to Valentine's Day, I thought I'd make it with a pink swirl :)

These are available now in my Etsy shop. If you're local and I don't need to ship it just let me know in the Message to Seller box during checkout that you'd like to pick it up in person and I'll let you know the total minus the shipping :) And right now I have a BOGO Free sale going on for a limited time, so you can choose a 2nd type of soap for free :) Just check out what's in my Etsy shop and make your selection from the varieties available.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"The path to happiness can be found by doing as much good as you can by all the means you can."

Sun Island Soap Almost Ready

2009-01-28T10:37:00.003-04:00

My Sun Island Soap is almost ready for sale. This is the soap you want to use when you're head is all stuffed up from a cold. Scented with essential oils of eucalyptus, rosemary, benzoin resin and peppermint this will start to clear out the sinuses :)

This soap never looks the same from batch to batch. It's a bit finicky to work with, but it's a popular bar with my customers so I keep making it :)

Along with the essential oils listed above, it has wonderful oils such as lots of olive, coconut, palm, avocado and unrefined, fair-trade shea butter, and beeswax from a local apiary. I colour it with red clay. Sometimes it's a defined swirl, other times it's a layer. This batch it's all just kinda mixed in for a speckled pattern. This isn't the prettiest batch I've made, but it still works :)

These are stamped and just need to cure for another few days, then they'll be ready for sale. I'll have them up in my Etsy shop within a week or so. Once they're up, they're good to go :)

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"There is no greater happiness than going out of your way to do something for a good cause in which your part is only discovered by chance."

January Giveaway Winner!!!

2009-01-22T22:22:00.005-04:00

And the winner of the seaglass bracelet designed and made by Lori at NovaScotiaBeachGlass is Digital Misfit! Digital, I've sent your email address to Lori so she can get your mailing address. The drawing was completely random, using Random.org but I messed up when trying to copy the picture of the screen shot to paste it here. I sometimes am a bit of a dolt when it comes to techie computer stuff...

Thank you to everybody who took a look at Lori's Etsy shop - I think my favourite has to be the Emerald Green Seaglass Earrings :)

I hope everyone is enjoying their January! It's been a bit sketchy here - weird weather is making it very difficult to get up my road, and I've been housebound a lot, especially this week. I watched a driver try to get his truck up my hill for over 1 1/2 hours this morning, with no success. So I decided I was going to stay nice & cozy inside my house. Which is fine, as my knee has been rather uncooperative lately... Usually, our road doesn't turn into an ice slide until February, when it starts to get milder, and we have the occasional rain that turns the snow to ice. Oh, well...

Spring will soon be here :) I'm looking forward to planting some new gardens, as much as my knee will allow, anyway!

Oh, and I have a BOGO Free Sale at my Etsy shop Not sure how long I'll have the sale, so if you want to get 2 for the price of 1 now's the time to do it :)

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Don't squander your happiness in empty words - it is to be treasured; happiness is exciting, enthusiastic and magnificent."

January GiveAway - Nova Scotia Beach Glass!

2009-01-05T13:27:00.005-04:00

This lovely bracelet (which is actually a blue/green seafoam colour, not white) is being donated by Lori at Willow Black Lab (mostly beach glass supplies Lori and her black lab Willow find on their treasure hunting expeditions) / Nova Scotia Beach Glass (beautiful jewelry Lori designs and creates with the treasures she finds along the shores of Nova Scotia). This is what Lori told me about how she started collecting beach glass:
"Willow found me when she was only 4 weeks old and weighed in at a whoopping 3 lbs. So she started to travel to work with me and on my lunch hour we would head for the beach. I noticed broken glass and picked it up because I didn't want her to cut her paws or eat it. Then one day I found a perfectly smooth and frosty piece of cobalt blue . I was amazed and hooked on beach glass from then on. It's been over 5 years that I've hunted for seaglass and eachpiece I find still holds me in amazement just like the first piece."

The bracelet is 7.5 inches long , silver plated and has seafoam green beach glass.

All you have to do is go to either of her Etsy webshops (you can click on the links above) and make a comment below as to what your favourite piece is. On January 15th, I'll be making a random draw from all the people that commented for the winner of the bracelet :)

I've recently bought a few items from Lori. I've been experimenting with making jewelry pieces for over a year now, and thought I'd try my hand at using beach glass. I got the following items:
I'm really looking forward to playing with them to see what I come up with. I took a class last spring on wire-wrapping, and we used beach glass. We shall see what wire designs the above pieces call out for :)

And since this is my first post of 2009, I wish you all a Happy New Year! May 2009 bring you peace, happiness and prosperity :)

The Enfield Farmers Market is finished for the winter. Thank you to everybody in the community that came out and supported your local vendors! We'll be opening up again in June. For anybody that wants to order Clean & Bright products, you can see what I have available by going to my Etsy shop here. If you're local and want to arrange to pick up your order, feel free to place your order on Etsy and put a comment in the Message to Seller box that you'd like to pick it up. I'll let you know what the actual total is in Canadian funds since you won't have to pay for shipping. Also, I'm now available for home parties. If you'd like to host a home party please email me at cleanbright@eastlink.ca and I'll send you some information. I won't be doing very many home parties due to my knee injury. But I am up for doing 1-2 every month until my knee surgery is scheduled...

May your day be filled with sunshine :)

Giveaway Winner!

2008-12-20T03:03:00.002-04:00

So, I was supposed to draw for the winner of an AliceInParis print on the 16th. Unfortunately, I was swamped with orders (well, that isn't really an "unfortunately", is it???) and then I got sick with some kind of stomach flu, so got further behind with my orders.

I am almost caught up on all my orders, so I thought I'd best make the time to update my blog with the winner! Using Random.org, the winner is Spit!!!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2008-12-20 07:02:24 UTC

Spit, I'll contact you directly :) Congratulations!

Now, it's past 3 in the morning and I can't sleep as I have too many things to do. In 4 more hours, I'll be setting up at the last day of our Enfield Farmer's Market. I'm going to miss going there on Saturdays, but it will be nice to rest my knee. Hopefully, I'll have my surgery before the market starts up again at the beginning of June...

Okay, I need to go wrap some soap for the market. Ciao!

Alice In Paris

2008-12-05T15:22:00.005-04:00

I have found a talented Nova Scotian painter on Etsy, and have purchased several prints of hers. I would love to "spread the word" about her art, and decided how better than to host a contest!

These prints above are prints that I have purchase from her...

Please check out her Etsy website at Alice In Paris and look through her pieces. Leave me a comment here about which piece is your favourite, and I'll put your name in for a gift from Shelagh, the artist behind Alice in Paris - a free print :)

Also, please check out this entry to her blog. She is helping to raise funds to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, schools which focus on educating girls.

Fresh Incense

2008-10-24T18:44:00.003-03:00

I have some fresh incense ready for market :)

Casablanca Lily - This delicate floral creation highlights the beautiful scent of a lily skilfully blended with touches of fresh green and citrus notes.
Chardonnay - Smells just like a fresh, cool crisp glass of Chardonnay.
Cucumber Melon - The aroma of a freshly cut cucumber and juicy melons are captured in this wonderful scent.
Fig Pudding - The flavourful top explodes with delicious shavings of nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cinnamon leaf. In the heart, sugary dried figs come together with juicy white grapes. Sweeps of powdery honey swirled with vanilla glaze over creamy tapioca to complete this heavenly indulgence.
Fresh Linen - Crisp, billowing breezes carry accords of light floral blossoms scattered throughout overgrown blades of healthy green grass. Classic notes of soft rose, gentle lily and alluring jasmine gather in the floral heart. Tender violets peak through hand tossed chips of fresh cedar, lightly showered with sweet musk.
Ginger Maple - A smooth blend of ginger infused with sweet maple notes.
Goddess - An exotic musky floral with a hint of citrus. Top notes of lemon, bergamot and orange flower introduce the heart of mimosa, rose and ylang ylang. This very "womanly" scent is finished with base notes of musk and clove.

Some of these are still too wet to take to market tomorrow, but will definitely be ready at next week's market.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happiness' path is paved with your dreams and desires - down this path lies creativity, love, and long life."

Soaps

2008-10-22T14:03:00.005-03:00

It's been a long couple of months since my last post. I tore the cartilage in my knee when I closed the store and was moving everything back to the house. I'm waiting for surgery, but the wait could be up to 1 year. I'm really going to try hard to get online more often and update my blog with different things - products made, jewelry, nature pictures, food recipes, farmers market info, treasures I have found in different places :)

So production has slowed a great deal. I do have 4 soaps back in stock, though...
Laurie's Own, Shea & Silk, Ancient Mysteries, and Peppermint Silk.

Happiness Quote of the Day:
"Happiness, like harmony in music, is when all your being comes together in complete agreement for even an instant."

New Chain Maille Fascination

2008-08-12T20:15:00.005-03:00

I love jewelry. I don't wear it much, since I'm usually working at home. But I do love it.

I enjoy helping my children when they design their jewelry. I would like to sell what I make, but with a wonderful jewelry maker at the Elmsdale Farmers Market (and she really does fabulous silver wire-work), I wanted to go in a different direction in case I decided to take things to the market for sale.

So, I decided to try out chain maille. And I've fallen in love (once again!). It's very time consuming, and it took me 3 evenings to make my first bracelet (which was a fairly simple Byzantine weave), but after a few repetitions it went fairly smoothly. And if I hadn't been watching the Olympics at the same time I probably would have finished it much quicker :)

Anyway, here are some pics. After some practice, I'd like to offer some pieces in copper, fine silver, and possibly 10k solid gold (even though it's expensive...)

Asian Vegetable Rolls

2008-07-25T13:22:00.005-03:00

Well, it has been a long time since I posted last :(

It was a long 3 weeks moving everything from the store back to the house. And in the process, it appears that I tore the cartilage in my right knee. I've slowed down business (and even temporarily closed the supply side of the business) as I have no idea when I'll be seen by the orthopaedic surgeon to see what my options are.

But I'm still selling products! Even though I'm moving a lot slower than I used to, I'm still in slow production, and selling at the Elmsdale Farmers Market on Saturday mornings 8-1. This year, the market is located at the Enfield Legion. I'm also taking bookings for Natural Perfume Workshops.

A couple of weeks ago I made a recipe out of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle A Year of Food Life, written by Barbara Kingsolver. We've made this recipe before and the whole family enjoys it, so this time I took pictures as I went along :)

I highly recommend this book. Here's the recipe:
2 oz thin rice noodles
1 cup bean sprouts
10 soft lettuce leaves
1 cup carrots, finely shredded
2 to 3 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
8 rice paper wrappers (about 8 inches square) (I used egg roll wrappers, as I couldn't find any rice paper wrappers locally)

Drop noodles into boiling water, remove from heat, and let stand for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
Lay out noodles and vegetables in an assembly line. Heat a pan of water until it's almost too hot to handle. Soak one rice paper wrapper in the hot water for 15-20 seconds, then take it out and lay it flat. Flatten out one lettuce leaf on top (this helps prevent other fillings from poking through the wrapper). Next, place a finger-sized bunch of noodles close to one side of the paper and roll that side over the noodles. Continue this same pattern for the vegetable fillings, laying each ingredient parallel to the noodles and rolling the paper over. After the mint and cilantro leaves have gone in, fold the ends of the wrapper in, then fold the remaining side over them to secure. Set roll on a platter, seam side down. Keep rolls moist until served, and separated so they don't stick together (the wrappers will rip). If you use rice paper wrappers, they're ready to eat. If you use egg roll wrappers like I did, you need to bake them in the oven for a bit. I put them in 375C for about 10 minutes or so.
Serve whole or cut in half, with your choice of spicy dipping sauce. One simple option is to add a few tablespoons of rice vinegar and sesame oil to a half cup of soy sauce. We've done that, but the kids prefer a spicy peanut sauce, or even plum sauce.

Now I must log off and watch my daughter sing in an opera production (performed by 8-16 year olds). Until next time (which I promise won't be another 4 months!)

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"There is happiness to be gained from being able to accept that there are some things that cannot be changed"

Moving Chaos

2008-03-29T12:09:00.003-03:00

Well, we're in the process of moving everything in the store back to the house.

I'm going to miss having the store, but my children (and their education) comes first.

I'm looking forward to selling at the Elmsdale Farmers Market starting in June. And as soon as I finish moving and get settled and organized, I'll be preparing for my new Natural Perfume workshops. I think these will be a lot of fun, where my customers will be able to host a workshop in their own home and I'll bring all the supplies, ingredients, and information needed to create your own perfume :)

I will also be going back to home parties, where my customers (and their friends and family) can shop in the convenience of their own homes.

Of course, you can always order online as well. I'm having my website updated so it will be very professional and easy to use.

I'll be creating new essential oil blends for soap very soon :) I think they will be a hit. I've been creating them in my mind for the last couple of months - now I just need to see if they'll work out in real life.

Without having the store, I should be able to have more time to update my blog more often. So stay tuned :)

Jody

Etsy - Buy Handmade!

2008-01-20T19:47:00.001-04:00

I've recently joined Etsy. It's an online shopping extravaganza (I'm sure I spelled that incorrectly!) where everything is handmade by the person selling it. I have bought several items there in the last few months and have been extremely pleased with everything so far. I now have a "shop" there, and have just opened one for my children to sell their bead creations on (although I haven't taken the time to get anything listed for them yet as I need some nice photos of them).

I have recently joined a team at Etsy called The Soaper Stars. This group is filled with extremely creative soapmakers, along with other creative goodies such as photographic prints, jewelry, etc. We have a blog which you can check out at http://soaperstars.blogspot.com/ There you will find links to the Etsy shops of all the Etsy Soaper Stars members, plus information on any sales, promotions, or charity drives we're doing.

Thanks!
Jody

Debut of Devo4 - Our Newest Natural Perfume

2007-12-28T11:51:00.001-04:00

I'm so excited about this new perfume! It's been in the works since November, 2006 and I'm really happy with how it's turned out.

The main notes are Vanilla and Bitter Orange, supported by Patchouli. It also contains splashes of Himalyan Cedarwood, Bergamot, Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang, and just a touch of Black Pepper. And all of these essential oils are in a base of Fractionated Coconut Oil.

A huge thanks to my friend Devon, who was the inspiration for this blend :)

We have several glass roll-on bottles available right now for $9.65 + tax.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"If you are ready to reject aggression, revenge, and retaliation you are ready to be happy."

Things from my Children!

2007-12-13T12:26:00.000-04:00

My children are loving learning how to bead :) Here are some of their recent work.

This first one is a choker using memory wire that Nathaniel (who's 10) made. It has a focal piece of aqua blue glass, accented with green freshwater pearls and mother-of-pearl chips.

The second one is a choker using memory wire that Elonna (who's 7) made. It has a focal piece of lime turquoise with green glass seed beads and wooden oval beads. She also made matching earrings using sterling silver French hooks.

The third one is another choker from Elonna, using 2 aqua glass beads and red bamboo coral beads and green glass seed beads - she was going for a Christmas-themed necklace :)

And the last one is another choker from Nathaniel. It consists of a blue resin focal piece accented by rectangular glass turquoise and silver beads with glass seed beeds. It also has matching earrings.

If anybody wants to see them up close and personal, I'm keeping them at the store just in case anybody wants to buy them. They do beading at the store after school until it's time to go home. And they absolutely love doing it :) They will keep quite for hours, with just a little help from me when they need some wire wrapped...

Looks like another obsession!

2007-12-09T00:39:00.000-04:00

The last time I was obsessed about anything was when I started making candles and soaps, back in 2000. Now I have another obsession...

I recently purchased some beading supplies for my two younger children, who are 7 and 10. They've been making simple bracelets, rings, earrings and chokers (which I have available at the store if anybody's interested). So, the last 3 evenings while watching tv, I've been playing with some copper wire, and this is what I've come up with...

Nothing fancy, and I can spot all the mistakes. But it was so much fun watching me transform simple copper wire into something that I'm now wearing on my wrist. And it fits perfectly! I don't normally like bracelets as I don't like dangly things around my hands. But this fits like a glove :) Almost as if it was made for me - oh, wait, it WAS made for me, BY me :)

Local Food Bank Drive and Sale on Lotions

2007-11-01T13:23:00.000-03:00

We are collecting for the local food bank - Caring and Sharing - for the month of November. Starting today and ending 7:00 pm Friday, November 30 bring in a non-perishable food item for the food bank or a new item for a present for a child for the Angel Tree and we will take 10% off your purchase. The Holiday Season can be stressful enough at the best of times, let alone for families who have fallen on difficult financial times and aren't sure how they'll come up with enough food, let alone something special for their children. Please help us spread a little peace and happiness to those that aren't quite so fortunate.

We are also having a sale on our Body Lotions until 5:00 pm Saturday, November 3. Regular price is $10.53 + tax, now on sale for $7.90 + tax. This is for 250 ml. Our Body Lotion is very thick and non-greasy feeling. It sinks in quickly and helps to keep your skin moisturized. All of our Body Lotions are scented with essential oils.

We have the following scents in stock:
Lavender Orange
Grapefruit Vanilla
Indonesian Interlude (essential oils of sandalwood and geranium)
Secret Temple (essential oils of vanilla, sandalwood, and patchouli)
Challenge (essential oils of lavender, sweet orange, sandalwood, and carnation absolute)
Unscented

Happiness Quote of the Day:
"Happiness is far too important a thing to be wasted by critics, cynics, and the quarrelsome."

Unexpected Store Closure

2007-10-16T11:06:00.000-03:00

The store will close early on Wednesday, October 17 (at 3:30 pm) and will be closed all day Thursday. We will be re-opening on Friday, October 19.

My aunt has passed on after battling cancer for a very long time, and we will be going out of town for the service.

My thoughts are with my cousin and her partner in this very tough time, and with my mother (and the rest of my aunts and uncle).

I'm happy that my aunt is now at peace - she has suffered miserably from this horrible disease and now she is able to go on free of pain.

Today's Happiness Quote:
"Think of fear as a grain of sand and joy as the highest mountain."

What "haven't" we made?

2007-09-11T14:06:00.000-03:00

We certainly have been busy since our last message.

We've made 2 batches of our Stick Incense - Bamboo and Biscotti.

We've made several batches of tarts - Biscotti, Buttercream Crunch, Buttery Gingerbread, Casablanca Lily, Cinnamon Bun, Cinnamon Stick, Cranberry, and Cucumber Ivy Mint.

We still have lots to make, but we're going back to the Fun and Funky soaps for now. As soon as we have finished them all, we'll be going back to making the incense and tarts.

Happiness Quote of the Day:
"There's no happiness to be found in tyranny."

Oodles of Soap!

2007-09-07T10:52:00.000-03:00

We have been busy busy busy the last few days making our Fun and Funky soap! Now on the shelves are: Creamy Vanilla, Cucumber (a new one for us), Dark Rich Chocolate, Dreamy, Energy, English Rain, Fantasy, Freesia, and Fuzzy Peach (yes, we're going alphabetically!).

Over the next few days we're taking a breather from soap and working on other items. We're in the process of restocking our incense sticks as well as our tarts. We're also working on soy container candles in stainless steel tins. We're still in the testing stage, so we'll be burning them at the store to see how well they do. As soon as we're happy with their performance we'll be introducing them to our customers.

It's supposed to be a beautiful day today :)

Must get back to work - the wax for the tarts is almost melted...

Happiness Quote of the Day:
"Happiness can be found in other people's words. But not in being forced to speak them yourself."

Cranberry Fig Fun and Funky Soap

2007-08-23T11:43:00.000-03:00

I just returned from a wonderful couple of vacation days :) We didn't go anywhere, but it was my son's 10th birthday and I wanted to prepare for that, rather than be at the store all day. It's hard to believe that my baby boy has hit the double digits - time to teach him how to do his own laundry! ;) Katerina managed the store while I was gone, and it was a lot of fun playing hookey :) Being the boss has its perqs

We did get one new batch of Fun and Funky Soap made before going on vacation - Cranberry Fig. We'll be making more over the next couple of days - gotta get those shelves filled!

The nights are certainly cooling down. Fall is definitely in the air, and the days are simply gorgeous! Not too hot, sunny, with the occasional rain. It's all good!

Well, best get back to work now, or we won't have any new soap made today!

Happiness Quote of the Day:
"Happiness lies in putting off 'til the day after tomorrow what you can do tomorrow!" - I don't always feel like this, but it sure was nice while having a few days off!

More Fun and Funky Soap Made!

2007-08-11T12:43:00.001-03:00

We have more Fun and Funky soap logs made and out on the shelves. Pomegranate, Mango Mango, Christmas Potpourri, Dark Rich Chocolate, and Coconut.

We also made a batch of Secret Temple Bath Melts, scented with oils of vanilla, sandalwood, and patchouli. A very yummy-licious, seductive scent :)

We don't have a Happiness quote today. I am playing hookie from work today to enjoy the sunny day with my kids, and my Happiness book is at the store (I'm updating the blog with this very small post from home).

I hope everybody has a wonderful weekend!

More Fun and Funky Soap

2007-08-08T10:21:00.001-03:00

On Saturday, we didn't quite get as many batches of Fun and Funky soap made as we had hoped. We only made 3 batches - Challenge, Chamomile, and Chamomile Bergamot. We hope to get a few more batches made today, but we have some orders to fill first. We'll post an update as soon as we get more made :)

I need to put together an email newsletter today. I'm still not sure what we're going to put on special for the upcoming week... I think I'll hold off on any specials and instead get on the ball and start making some soy candles in tins, scented with essential oils... Once I have some of those ready we'll price them at a special Introductory Price.

I've been doing some more research on herbs & botanicals for our Herbal Teas. My daughter unfortunately inherited the same genes I have for poor eyesight. I've been drinking bilberry tea a lot lately, as it's supposed to be wonderful for improving eyesight and helping to repair eye damage from diseases, etc. So my daughter (who's 7) was all excited about trying some. I made some for her last night and boy, she did not like it :) I think she was thinking it would be more sweet. I think I'll try making it into an iced tea for her, and add a little bit of honey to sweeten it up just a tad. I'm looking at sourcing some dried bilberries (either organic or wildcrafted) to purchase in bulk so I can offer it here at the store. I will also be creating some information cards for the herbs & botanicals that we sell at the store with what they can be useful for and how much to use for tea. I was surprised how tasty a straight cinnamon tea is. I have tried it in blends before, and I was expecting a much spicier taste. But it's rather sweet, along with the spice.

And due to several requests, we are introducing our Soap Grab Bags! These have 3 end slices of soap in each bag, and each bag weighs between 175 and 200 g. You don't get to find out what types of soap are in each bag until after purchase (we do include the soap label with ingredients on each slice), but you can see one slice through the window in the bag :) Each bag is $2.63 + tax. We just introduced them yesterday, and have already sold several of them :)

Happiness Quote of the Day:
"Happiness is not about public opinion."

Chai Tea Fun & Funky Soap

2007-08-04T11:02:00.000-03:00

We're now working on restocking all our Fun & Funky Soap - we were sold out of most of them and in the next few days they should be completely stocked up again!

Yesterday we made our Chai Tea - a spicy-scented soap that really does smell like a cinnamony chai tea.

We'll be working on several more types today - we hope to have another 7 made today. We'll update the blog on Tuesday when we get back into the store with what types we made :)

Today, we have thunderstorms forecast. I absolutely love watching & listening to thunderstorms. The rain pouring down in sheets, the quick flash of lightning, and counting the seconds until the BOOM to see how far away the lightning was. I can literally feel the electricity in the air. When I'm home during a storm, I can usually be found sitting on the front deck taking in all Mother Nature's majesty. It grabs my heart to witness the power, and I feel extremely lucky to be able to experience it...

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"The happy person often walks, unshaken, along the path that a thousand unhappy people insist is wrong."

Juniper Alert Goat Milk Soap

2007-08-03T17:16:00.000-03:00

We have a new soap on the curing racks - Juniper Alert Goat Milk Soap. It contains oodles of olive oil like most of our soaps, along with coconut oil, palm oil, avocado oil and shea butter. We've also used goat milk for the luxurious lather, and we've added silk to it, as well. And it has a gentle swirl of pink clay.

For scent, we've used a blend of juniper berry, pine, and rosemary essential oils - all oils that are known to help you stay alert. It's a bracing scent that will be good for a morning shower when you need a hand to wake up. We also have this essential oil blend available in 10 ml bottles to use in an oil burner or diffuser.

This soap will be available the second week of September - just in time for going back to school!

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happiness is being someone - not something."

Rant Ahead - Turning off Vehicles

2007-07-21T12:34:00.000-03:00

We don't live in the Dark Ages as far as I know. Every day you either see it on TV, read it in newspapers or books, hear it on the radio or from friends/coworkers.... Our Earth is suffering from "Environmental Change". Global warming, no matter what some government officials are saying, is occuring. Our Earth's climate is going to be a lot different for my children when they become adults and my grandchildren (if I'm ever blessed to have them) then it is for me. And already it is slightly different now from when I was a child.

I love the ad campaign entitled "Flick Off". Every time I see a bedroom light that one of the children have left on, I yell downstairs "(name of child here), Flick Off!". And they're learning - I have to say it less often now. I used to have to say it at least once a day, and now some days go by that I don't have to say it at all. I have had to explain to the kids that it's not about saving pennies - it's about preserving our home planet. We need to make some changes, or Mother Nature is going to whallop us with a huge change of her own, and I don't think many of the human population will survive it. As bad as the movie "Waterworld" was, I think it had an important message. I don't think that it will get that bad, but there will certainly be some changes.

Anyway, I started this rant because of one main observation I make here at the store almost daily. My store is in a little strip mall that also contains a hair salon, a nutrition clinic, and a convenience store. My whole front wall is pretty much glass, and I see people every day park in the parking lot and leave their vehicle running while they go into the store to pick up the lottery ticket, or cigarettes, or milk, or bread, or whatever the case may be. Their vehicle is left running, with nobody in it, for sometimes 1-2 minutes at a time. Why??? Is it so very difficult to turn the key and take it out of the ignition? Does it take so much energy on the driver's part to turn the ignition back on when they get back into the vehicle? It doesn't save more than a couple of seconds by leaving the engine running, and yet by leaving the engine idle for 1-2 minutes when the driver isn't even in the car wastes fuel (which we don't have an infinite supply of) and puts emissions into the atmosphere adding to the "Climate Change" factor.

Seriously people. if we want the Earth to continue to be good to us, we need to be good to her...

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happiness is in the warm summer sun...
...in the red leaves of fall
...is near you when your light is low
...is there on the autumn breeze
...it's on the warm wind
...is near you when your faith is dry."

Shea & Silk Soap

2007-07-17T13:46:00.000-03:00

Last week, we did a new batch of our Shea and Silk soap. This is a very decadent bar of soap that we've left unscented so anybody can use it. It contains a large amount of olive oil, along with oils of coconut, palm, shea butter and avocado. We use coconut milk for the creaminess it imparts to the lather, as well as silk for that nice, smooth silky feel. The soaps will be out on the shelves the 4th week of August.

We have a new camera which we've been having lots of fun playing with :) Here's a pic of our Shea and Silk soap with our new custom made soap stamps.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Think of happiness as a kind of mental gardening."

A New Soap - as yet unnamed

2007-07-07T16:27:00.000-03:00

I cut a brand new soap yesterday and it's now curing for the next several weeks. Despite what the title says it does have a name, but it's part of a duo and until the second soap is made I'm not publishing the names of either one.

This new one is in our Silk line, and contains a blend of essential oils that combine for a wonderfully earthy, grounded scent. It has oodles of olive oil (it's main ingredient), lots of coconut oil for a fantastically sudsy lather, shea butter, avocado oil, and palm oil. It contains coconut milk for a creamy lather, and contains silk (which really does make the lather feel silky!). For scent imagine a blend of cedarwood, ylang ylang, vetiver, vanilla, and patchouli. I was trying to come up with a blend that would make me feel like I was sitting at the very base of a tall mountain in the middle of the night during a new moon with no breeze whatsoever to disturb the black, utter stillness of the moment. And I think I came pretty darn close :) It will be on the shelves mid-August.

We made it through our store's 1st Anniversary celebrations! We still have some cards left in our draw, so until they're gone we'll be offering everybody who makes a minimum purchase of $25 the chance to draw a card from the box. You can save anywhere from 5-25% off your purchase, or get an item for free :) This includes all internet/mail order purchases as well.

We have a new Farmers Market in the area that just opened today. I was very excited to hear about this, as I'm a huge supporter of buying local whenever possible. I'm currently reading a book by Barbara Kingsolver entitled "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A year of Food Life". Not sure about some of her statistics as she doesn't reference them, but it definitely makes you think about where your food comes from. And it confirms by own belief about supporting local producers. Unfortunately, there weren't any produce vendors there today, but it is only their first day open so I'm hoping that they'll show up soon. I'd much rather give my money directly to the producer/farmer than some middle man/grocery store. Good thing about going today, though, is I found out the name and contact info for a local CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) organic farm. It's too late to join this year as they're already several weeks into deliveries, but I'll be on the list for next year's shareholders. For anybody in the Elmsdale area, the new Farmers' Market is held on Saturdays 8am-1pm at the Elmsdale Legion on Highway #2. Please go out and support our local producers :)

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happiness lies in becoming unafraid of change."

Tea Tree and Lavender Soap / Store's Anniversary / Summer Solstice

2007-06-20T13:44:00.000-03:00

I just finished cutting a new batch of our Tea Tree and Lavender Soap. This is our second top selling soap - it's received wonderful comments from people with acne that use it as a facial soap.

We infuse olive oil with calendula petals (well-known for its healing properties) for several weeks and then add coconut oil, palm oil, avocado butter and castor oil. We add alkanet root powder to the water for a lavender colour, and scent the soap with essential oils of Tea Tree and Lavender.

We still have some left from our last batch, and these bars will be ready to put on the shelves the last week of July.

Tomorrow marks the Summer Solstice. The longest day of the year. We're celebrating by giving every purchase (whether in-store or online) 15% discount (good for purchases made on June 21 only). Long Live the Sun!

And Sunday, June 24 marks our store's one year anniversary. It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by already. It's been an absolute blast. Some stressful times, several "Aha!" moments while learning the ropes, and countless happy moments. We're celebrating our anniversary all of next week by having every customer draw a card from our Anniversary Box. Inside this box are many cards (one with each purchase) that entitle the customer with anything from a free lip balm, bar of soap, candleholder, etc to 5%-25% off their purchase. Our online customers won't be able to draw themselves, but we'll draw for them (and we promise not to peek!). Please join us in our celebrations :)

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happiness can come free and unexpectedly - don't seek it too desperately. Relax and it will appear."

Massage Oils Galore

2007-06-19T13:52:00.000-03:00

We put making soap on hold for a couple of days while we concentrated on making our Massage Oils. We made several batches of our new Trial-sized massage oils (each bottle contains 30 ml of massage oil - plenty for 2 or 3 full-body massages). Each Massage Oil contains pure essential oils (no synthetic fragrances) blended in a base of Fractionated Coconut Oil.

We have the following types available:
Unscented - for people that want no scent or have their own essential oil blend at home they want to use
Lavender Orange - made with essential oils of Lavender and Sweet Orange
Grapefruit Vanilla - made with essential oils of Grapefruit and Vanilla oleoresin
Indonesian Interlude - made with essential oils of Sandalwood and Geranium
Secret Temple - made with essential oils of Vanilla oleoresin, Sandalwood and Patchouli
Challenge - made with essential oils of Lavender, Sweet Orange, Carnation absolute, and Sandalwood
His - made with essential oils of Bergamot, Sandalwood, Lemon and Roman Chamomile
Hers - made with essential oils of Ylang Ylang, Patchouli, Clove Bud, Geranium and Jasmine
Sweet Baby - made with essential oils of Lavender, Neroli and Roman Chamomile
Mommy-in-Waiting - made with essential oils of Mandarin, Ylang Ylang, Eucalyptus and Sandalwood

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Finding your own happiness is like finding the source of a great river that has been dammed up by others trying to make you happy."

Sage Soap is Curing

2007-06-12T13:43:00.000-03:00

I made a new batch of Sage Soap on the weekend, and just finished putting it up on the curing racks. Sage is astringent, so this is a good soap for oily skin. I infuse the olive oil with sage for several days, and use that with coconut oil, palm oil and castor oil. I leave the sage in the olive oil so it has a slightly speckled look that is accented with a swirl of cocoa powder. It's scented with a blend of clary sage, bergamot, mandarin, geranium, cedarwood and sandalwood. Katerina was saying the other day that this is her favourite soap.

We still have some small bars of Sage Soap on the store shelves, and this batch of large bars will be out on the shelves the 3rd week of July.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"The world will not devote itself to making you happy."

Citrus Soap, Chicago Blues, and Mowing the Lawn

2007-06-09T12:42:00.000-03:00

I am standing in my store, listening to some amazing Chicago-style Blues music from the 60's & 70's on the CBC Radio 2. It makes my body sway to the Mississippi-inspired notes of Muddy Waters and then switch up a couple of minutes later to jive to the more upbeat rhythm of Chuck Berry. I'm going to to be a dancing fool today :)

I just finished cutting our latest batch of Citrus Soap today. It's a very uplifting scent, anchored by just a touch of spice. It reminds me of holiday baking. It's scented with the essential oils of lemon, bergamot, lemongrass and clove bud, and will be on the shelves the 3rd week of July. We still have some of our small bars in stock and ready for purchase, but we're out of the large bars until this new batch is finished curing.

This week I purchased a human-powered reel lawn mower. I'm so tired of the gas-powered and everything about it - the impact on the environment (use of oil & gas, emissions into the atmosphere), the noise - that I decided to make the leap and get one that is more in tune to my way of thinking & acting. I'm absolutely loving my new "toy". Although it's hardly play-time when using it. I've only been able to mow for 15 minutes or so each day so far, so I haven't even finished mowing our front yard. But knowing that I'm not doing anything to harm the planet while mowing the yard now makes my heart sing. I've actually been singing and humming while mowing :) Along our driveway we have a couple of lilac bushes. And whenever I'm pushing the mower in the direction of them, I can smell the blossoms from the other side of the yard. It's a beautiful change from the stench of gas fumes. On top of everything else, it's great exercise :)

I won't be using it for the whole property (I simply can't imagine mowing 1 1/2 acres with this). I'm in the process of changing our front yard into a formal garden with raised beds and walkways meandering between them. I'd also like to have a fountain in the middle. I haven't decided if I would prefer a round garden with wedge-shaped beds, or a rectangular garden with square/rectangular beds. I'm designing both styles, to see which one appeals more to me. But I'm thinking more towards the circular... I plan on planting mostly veggies, with some herbs and a few flowers. We'll see how it turns out, and I'm sure it will be a work in progress. But I'm very much looking forward to teaching (and learning with) the kids the bounty that Mother Nature will provide if we show her care.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"The path to happiness can be found by taking a good long laugh... at yourself."
Well, I should be extremely happy then, since I probably laugh at myself almost every day ;)

Ancient Mysteries Soap

2007-06-07T14:02:00.000-03:00

I just finished putting this soap on the curing racks. This soap has been my husband's favourite for some time now. He likes the slight scrubbiness that the ground chamomile flowers give it. And it has a spicy scent that appeals to a lot of people. It's scented with the essential oils of lemon and cassia. It doesn't have very much cassia (it's considered to be an irritant, so I only use a tiny amount), just enough to give it that spiciness. It's a bit of an odd duck of a scent though - you'd think that with lemon and cassia oils you'd smell a spicy lemon. But nope! It actually smells very similar to that cherry/almond scent that Jergen's lotion had when I was younger (perhaps it still smells like that - I haven't used commercial lotion in years).

Ancient Mysteries isn't made with my typical recipe, as it's one of my earlier recipes. It contains soybean oil, coconut oil, olive oil, cocoa butter and castor oil.

This new batch will be out on the shelves the 3rd week of July.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Experience your unhappiness while you've got it, you might never be unhappy again!"

No, Really, I Meant to do That! and Pirates

2007-06-04T16:19:00.000-03:00

So, my parents volunteer to take the kids for a sleep-over Saturday night. I was going to just work at the store Saturday night and all day Sunday, but I was invited to see a movie with a friend. And who can resist a good Pirate? We went to the late show of Pirates of the Caribbean 3. I've always had a soft spot for Johnny, ever since the very first Nightmare on Elm Street when I was but a young, impressionable teen girl. As for Orlando, he's really just a boy. He was quite the fetching elf in Lord of the Rings (and I've always had an eye for elves - thanks to an old friend of mine by the name of Sean), and I can see the appeal to the younger crowd. But I'm not a fan of Orlando's looks - in the other movies I've seen him in (including the first two Pirates movies) and in the one interview I've seen he's just too... too... slimey looking and goofy looking both at the same time. But my oh my... He most certainly was a pleasure to behold in #3. In my eyes, he actually came ahead of Johnny dear. He seems much more manly. Perhaps there's a chance for him after all...

Now, because of going to the late show (and I did some shopping first at Chapters) I didn't get home until the wee hours of Sunday morning. And I slept in a tad since I didn't have any children that needed feeding. What bliss, to be able to wake up to your own internal clock, listening to the birds singing in the trees outside the window. That's my idea of the perfect alarm clock. After I had a nice breakfast of homemade steel cut oats with chopped up apples, freshly pulverized flax seeds and just a drizzle of maple syrup from a friend's maple shack, I headed to the store. I had grand ideas for making a couple of batches of soap, doing some paperwork that has been piling up, and picking the kids up in time for bed. The soap sprites had other ideas, unfortunately...

We're completely out of stock of our Sun Island soap. So I decided to make some as the first batch. This one takes a bit longer to melt, as I add some beeswax from a local apiary and it has a very high melt point (which is one of the reasons it makes a lovely candle - it takes a long time to melt so the candle lasts a long time, but I digress). For those that have used it before, you're used to a bold red swirl (made from french red clay) in the cream-coloured soap. I mixed the red clay with a touch of water so it would be a smooth paste. Put it aside. Measured out my essential oils of Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Benzoin (not really an essential oil but a resin), and Peppermint. Put it aside. Mixed all the other ingredients (including olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, unrefined fair-trade shea butter, avocado oil, and the aforementioned local beeswax) and started stirring. Realized after 1 minute that it was already starting to thicken so I poured some of the soap into the red clay paste and gave that a brisk stir to make sure the clay was well-incorporated into the soap. Went back to the big soap pot, and it was already like custard! So, in go the essential oils and I now have what appear to be instant mashed potatoes that smell eyes-watering strongly of eucalyptus. By the way, this mashed potato appearance is NOT supposed to happen... By the time I managed to get the essential oils mixed into the soap, I knew that not even Orlando or Johnny would be able to entice this soap to allow a red swirl into its midst.

So this batch of Sun Island Soap will have a thin layer of red soap in between two layers of cream coloured soap. And those customers that don't read this post will be none the wiser...

Thought of the Day:
"Man worries... it is our natural state. We fear the future, are rarely content with what has passed, and dread death."
What do you think about this quote? I think there are far too many people that this statement is true of. I try not to worry, as it takes up time needlessly. I do not fear the future - I say Bring It On! Bad things happen - Learn from them. Embrace life - all of it, not just the good times. Everything we experience makes us who we are, so how can we fear it? How can we not be content with what has passed? And death, it's just the ending of one chapter. All you need to do is turn the page for the next chapter to begin....

Bath by Chocolate

2007-05-30T11:32:00.000-03:00

Yesterday, we cut our Chocolate Soap. Oh. My. Goodness... This soap smells absolutely good enough to eat (but I "know" that it won't taste as good as it smells!).

It's a rich, dark brown colour from the cocoa absolute used to scent it, with sprinkles of "white chocolate" (really unscented white soap) on top. We used extra shea butter and avocado oils in this soap to make it even more decadent than our regular soaps, and I think that this soap - along with our Mocha Silk - is going to simply fly off the shelves.

It will be on the shelves the first week of July. Enjoy!

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happiness does not depend upon getting other people's approval - it depends upon getting your own approval."

Celtic Gospel Soap

2007-05-25T15:52:00.000-03:00

Yesterday, we made our newest batch of Celtic Gospel soap. This soap has been popular ever since we introduced it a few years ago. The scent - a blend of lavender, lemon, rosemary, peppermint and clary sage - is enjoyed by both men and women. It's just a really fresh-smelling blend.

We still have some bars on the shelf, but we know we'll run out before too long. This newest batch will be available the first week of July.

We're now completely out of olive oil and castor oil and just waiting for our new shipments. I have enough olive oil left (already measured and poured into a soaping pot) to make a completely new soap - and it's going to be Chocolate!!! Scented with pure Cocoa absolute, it will make a delicious addition to our regular line-up of soap. We should be able to finish it before closing the store in 3 hours :) And then that will be it for soapmaking until next week :(

It's an absolutely gorgeous day today here in Nova Scotia. The sun is shining, it's currently 16C (it was warmer earlier, but the wind has picked up a bit). The forecast is calling for a chance of thundershowers tomorrow afternoon - I hope we get one! I love watching lightning, or even just hearing the thunder if it's too light outside to see the flashes.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"There is no wrong time for happiness." Indeed...

Laurie's Own

2007-05-24T11:00:00.001-03:00

I finished cutting a full batch of Laurie's Own soap yesterday. This is my mildest soap - the main oil is olive, with just a touch of cocoa butter and a splash of carrot infused sunflower oil. For those that like Castile soap, you will indeed enjoy this one.

I started making this soap when my sister-in-law was diagnosed with leukemia several years ago. I wanted to make a soap that she would be able to use while in the hospital receiving chemotherapy, and Laurie's Own Soap was born. Laurie fought the cancer like the goddess she is, and has been in remission ever since.

I donate 10% of all sales of Laurie's Own to the Canadian Cancer Society, so when I sell the last bar of this latest batch, it will be another $21.04 donated. Not a huge amount but every dollar helps, and my thanks go out to everybody that buys it.

I still have a few bars of Laurie's Own on the shelf, but they're almost gone. This new batch will be available the first week of July.

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happiness cannot be found by following other people. Find your own way."

One Old Soap and One New Soap

2007-05-22T12:53:00.000-03:00

I'm going to start at the end today, which is one of our regular soaps. I made a new batch of our Heathbell Meadows soap a couple of days ago. This is a highly moisturizing soap, with loads of cocoa butter and olive oil. It's scented with mainly lavender, and just a hint of thyme. When I first started selling soap, I would cut all the bars as soon as I took the soap out of the mold, let it cure for a minimum of 6 weeks, then wrap and label the bars for selling. Then a couple of years ago, I decided I would leave the soap in log form, and cut off the bars when they're purchased. Well, I found out the hard way that Heathbell Meadows refused to be cut once it gets a few weeks old. It's almost as hard as a rock and ends up bending my cutter! So, when I took the soap out of the molds on Sunday I cut it all into bars. It will be on the shelves during the first week of July

The first batch of soap that I made is a new to us soap, and it smells absolutely scrumptious!!! We're calling it Mocha Silk, and it will be available during the last week of June. It's loaded with olive oil (as with most of our soaps the main ingredient is olive oil), and also contains palm oil, avocado oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, and castor oil, scented with coffee essential oil and cocoa absolute, with a dollop of powdered silk (it really does make the lather silkier!) and red clay. Next time, I'll probably leave the red clay out. This soap is a dark, rich brown - almost as dark as bitter-sweet chocolate! - and so the red clay isn't even noticeable.

I took pictures, but I can't find the cable to upload them here. Once I find that cable (wherever it chose to hide this time), I'll upload the pics so you can see.

And the sun has finally decided to grace us with his presence! Yay!! My line is filled with freshly washed sheets, drying in the sun and brisk breeze. When I get back home from the store, I will bury my face in each sheet as I take it down off the line. I love the scent of sun-dried clothes. No dryer sheet or fabric softener will ever match the scent that Mother Nature blesses us with...

Quite some time ago, I bought a book on Happiness. Here's a quote that I'd like to share...
"The moment you commit yourself to allowing happiness into your life it will be followed by a string of events that otherwise would not have happened, as providence comes into play." I love that quote. In fact, there are a lot of quotes in this book that I enjoy and find very inspiring. I'll share some of them in future postings...

May your day be filled with sunshine.

Buttery Goodness

2007-05-16T20:39:00.000-03:00

In between customers at the store (which is a bit more quiet now that Mother's Day has passed), I've been busy making lotion bars and lip butters, which are now out on the shelves again. We had been sold out for a few weeks, and I've finally been able to take the time to make more.

For your skin's pleasure, we have our Lotion Bars in Indonesian Interlude and Secret Temple back in stock! Our lotion bars are wonderful for extra-dry skin (especially areas like the bottoms of your feet, knees, and elbows - or anywhere you find "lizard skin"). They contain unrefined, fair-trade shea butter and cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, local beeswax, vitamin E, and essential oils. Our Indonesian Interlude is scented with the essential oils sandalwood and geranium. Secret Temple is scented with the essential oils of vanilla, sandalwood and patchouli.

And back in stock is our Bodacious Rose Lip Butter in our clear pink tubes. This oh-so-smooth lip butter makes your lips feel very kissable. It contains local beeswax, unrefined free-trade shea and cocoa butters, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, castor oil, vitamin E, and Bulgarian Rose absolute. So for everybody that has run out and have been patiently waiting for me to restock, they're ready for you!