Bagpiping and Drumming

We had friends here performing on the bag pipe and drum. It was very enjoyable. The goats watched from their little hill. They did not know what to think of the noise. Thank you Carsen and Catie.

The Generals on the Ice

Little goalie and big goalie.

United Nations

Around the supper table we have many different accents, Melissa from Australia, Cynthia from England. Merry from Hong Kong and Yumiko from Japan. It is so amazing to share our time and meals with such a diverse family.

Cynthia

Cynthia from England spent 2 weeks here. Yumiko and Cynthia spent the nice days outside putting the flower gardens to bed.

Merry Exchange Student

Since we do not have enough people in our family (ha ha) we decided to host as exchange student from Hong Kong. Merry is living with us for one year while she goes to high school. Merry's English is improving every day. She is a great help. Every night she makes supper for 9 people. In Hong Kong she never cooks because she is so busy studying. I think her mother will be surprised went Merry returns home.

Yumiko and the Kids

The kids are growing so fast. Yumiko enjoys feeding them.

Yumilo and Grace

Yumiko came the end of August to volunteer. Three years ago Yumiko emailed me asking to come and stay with us. Her friend Mia just returned from Canada and she stayed with us. Yumiko is a great help. She milks the goats every morning and evening and helps Shannon in the shop.

Grace (the goat on the milk stand) went to live on another farm. Grace really did not think she was a goat. She would rather be with people or with the dogs and did not fit into the goat herd. Grace is now in Nova Scotia with a pal from kid hood and 3 human kids to play with her.

Funny Crazy Full of Love Anna

Anna is now in India. She decided to go to India to volunteer in a birthing centre. She is on her way to be a mid wife. I know wherever Anna's life is taking her, she will go in laughter with a warm loving heart.

Good Bye to Emmanuelle

Emmanuelle left the beginning of September. At the beginning of the summer we started to build a pasture for the new kids but the business of the summer brought the project to a halt. Emmaneulle was determined to finish the fence before he left. He wanted to see the kids enjoy their freedom of their larger pen.

The Beach

The summer goes by so fast here on Prince Edward Island so we take every opportunity to enjoy it. Last Sunday we had supper at the beach. From left to right Katie, Franise, Shirley Anne, David, Kris, Natalie, Julia, Jordan, Emmanuel, Anna and Em. Natalie left this morning. The hardest part about having volunteers is saying good bye.

Letter from Toni and Dean

Here is a letter from Toni and Dean. They were here to beginning of May.

Hi Em & David,

We've been thinking for a long time now we wanted to drop you a note to say we've really been enjoying all the soap, shampoo and moisturiser you sent us off with and we've still got some left!

Since leaving you we've been on a farm on Cape Breton with lots of animals including goats (though yours were friendlier!) and also to a farm in St John's, Nfld, that was a big vege growing operation.

We're still in Nfld - heading towards Gros Morne National Park. We've had a fabulous time here - especially enjoyed all the puffin and other seabird colonies around the eastern coast. We're in our last few weeks now - we're leaving from Halifax towards the end of July.

Hope the summer season is going well for you. We've really noticed a difference on the roads and at the campgrounds here since the schools broke up.

Say hi to Katie, Jordan, Julia and Huay (sp?) from us!

Toni & Dean

2009 Summer Staff

It is a great place to be in the store with all the positive energy from these three. Come visit us and meet Shirley-Anne (named after Anne Shirley), Emmanuelle, and Anna.

4H group for 2009

This year we had 7 two legged kids in the 4H group. They have a project book to complete.

We build a shed for the goats to stay outside.

They learnt to cut hooves.

They learnt how to clip hair.

Lots of Pictures of People and Kids

Joan and Andy from BC. Thank you for stopping in I had a nice visit with you.

Kids and kids.

Ginger and Pepper 1 hour old.

Ginger and Pepper born 8:30 Saturday morning June 27th.

Shirley-Anne and Basil. Gerty had one boy.

Basil getting his first bottle.

Natalie and Alfalfa

Natalie has been with us for 3 week. She is a super person and a great helper.

Yesterday at the lunch table we had 3 people from China, and 3 people from Quebec.

I'm enjoying having everybody here and all the help.

Alfalfa has arrived!

Yesterday around 4:00 Alfalfa arrived with a little help. His one leg was bent backwards. Mom and baby are both doing great.

Nancy!

Nancy won the draw in May. She is from Ontario and came to the store today with her friends. Ohhh, she told me her friend's names a few times but do you think I can remember? It was wonderful to see Nancy.

Woodpecker Video

This is a video of Jordan sneaking up on the woodpecker. It is worth the wait to see the woodpecker. You can also hear the noise we hear from morning until night. He started at 4:30 this morning. Does anybody know why he likes the ladder so much?

Em

Also, Katie will be doing much of the blogging this summer.

A Sewing Group

This is a sewing group that came to our soap shop and fed the goats, smelled the soap, and watched our demonstration. They saw the fish and had a wonderful day at The Great Canadian Soap Company. I hope that they come again!

Katie

Closer Shot of Woodpecker

Full Time Pecking

On Tuesday, I went to take a picture of this woodpecker. He is pecking at the ladder from morning to night. Talk about full time pecking. Although I checked on the ladder that he is working on, he seems to be getting nowhere. I guess it will be a summer job unless he gives up or wears his beak out.

Katie

Unexpected Visitors

One hot summer day the fish got two unexpected visitors. The first was the cat that was interested in swimming and also supper. The second was Grace who just wanted a drink of water. But in the end we still have all 10 fish. Thank goodness!

April`s Winner

This is Emily; she is April’s newsletter contest winner. Emily lives in Brackley Beach and is the first one to comment on our soap on our online store. We would like it if you did the same! Just go to your favorite products and click on 'write a review' at the bottom of the page, then write your how the soap makes you feel. Thanks!

Toni, Dean and the Lobsters

We had lobster one of the last days Toni and Dean were here. It was the first time they had lobster. They did a lot of work while they were here and we thank them for gardening and cleaning out the goat pen!

Bath Therapy

Bath Therapy
Bathing has been a revered ritual for thousands of years. Cleopatra was known for taking soothing milk baths; Marie Antoinette for taking long, luxurious herbal soaks; the Romans for enjoying public, social baths; and the First Nations for their purifying sweat lodge experience followed by a quick plunge into a cold stream or river.

A bath is a wonderful way to pamper, soothe, rejuvenate, and refresh the senses. Taking a bath can also create some much-needed private time to luxuriate in skin conditioning waters.

Healing treatments can be incorporated into the bathing ritual, too. Health spas the world over offer mineral baths in hot springs, sulphur waters and clay used to remove impurities from the skin. Various herbal and salts are also enjoyable for their fragrant, soothing, and therapeutic benefits.

Whether you’re interested in soaking away your tired, aching muscles and daily tensions; stimulating you circulation; softening your dry skin; or enjoying calming waters laced with lavender, rose and chamomile essential oils; these products are sure to please. Shower fanatics beware. Try a few of these tub-tantalizing mixtures and you may become a true bath lover after all!

Please note warm baths are the best. The hotter the water the quicker the volatile essential oils dissipate into the air and lose their healing qualities. Hot water also dehydrates your skin – and that’s not the desired result of all this bathing bliss!

New Products
Skin Softening Tub Tea
This tub tea does wonders for dry, itchy, scaly skin and skin suffering from any poison plant rash or general dermatitis.
Ingredients: ground sunflower, ground oatmeal

Stimulating Herbal Tub Tea
This tub tea is the perfect pick-me-up to use prior to going out for a night on the town. It stimulates the circulation and enlivens the senses while softening the skin.
Ingredients: peppermint leaves, rosemary, basil, lemon rind, orange rind, oatmeal, sunflower

Garden Of Flowers Relaxing Tub Tea
This tub tea was created for the flower gardener in all of us. There’s nothing quite like bathing in a tub of floral fragrance. This is soothing to the psyche as well as the skin.
Ingredients: calendula, chamomile, lavender, rose, oatmeal, sunflower seed Essential Oil of lavender and rose Fragrance Oil.

Sore Muscles Tub Tea
This tub tea helps relax tense, sore muscles yet doesn’t leave you smelling of a medicinal vapour rub. The aroma will soothe frayed nerves but won’t lull you to sleep.
Ingredients: chamomile, peppermint, lavender, oatmeal, sunflower seeds

Achy Joints Tub Tea
This tub tea helps on days when the joints are stiff and sore. The warm water and the benefits of Lavender, Rosemary and Eucalyptus will ease achy joints.
Ingredients: lavender, rosemary, oatmeal, sunflower, Essential Oils of lavender, rosemary and eucalyptus.

Green Tea and Jasmine Tub Tea
This tub tea detoxifies and nourishes your skin. The sweet fragrance of Jasmine is balancing and gentle.
Ingredients: green tea, rosemary needles, lavender buds Essential Oil of jasmine


All the Tub Teas work with the Bath Salts, Milk Baths and Body and Bath Oils. See our web site for all our bathing products. http://www.greatcanadiansoap.com/

Toni and Dean

Toni is from New Zealand and Dean is from England. They started in BC and have been traveling for the last year across Canada. We have had some nice sunny days and they have been getting lots of farm work done. The goats' pen is cleaned; that took 3 days. Many trees came down over the winter and all of the brush is getting burnt. In the process we are clearing land to build another pen for the goats. One more month to go and we will have kids running around.

Van Der Geer

The Van Der Geer family stopped in today from Holland. They were a happy laughing bunch. I wish I knew Dutch so I could understand what was so funny, but I laughed anyway. Willem, Dick, Jannie, Colinda, Bob, and Max.

Goat Bellies Are Growing

By the beginning of June kids should be arriving. I say "should" because no one can predict when they will be here. Last time Hana had her kids three weeks early and the time before we waited 2 weeks longer for the kids to arrive. The goats are lying down more and more every day as their stomachs are getting bigger and bigger.

Spring and Body Powder

Spring is here and we have been busy making new products for the 2009 season. A complete new line of products is our Nature Body Powder. We combine arrowroot powder, cornstarch, rice flour and essential oils to make 4 different scents. A lot of Body Powders have talcum in them, which is an effective absorbent, helps deodorize, and imparts a silky touch, but is not healthy to breathe because it often contains traces of asbestos.
Ours is talcum free.

Jacinthe started on her way back to Quebec. She is such a pleasant person to be around. She had a wonderful smile.

Jacinthe

Bonjour! Je suis Jacinthe, je viens du Quebec et je suis wwoofeuse chez Em depuis dimanche. Le travail ici est diversifie et vraiment interressant. C'est un bel endroit pour en apprendre plus sur la fabrication du savon et de produits pour le corps. Jusqu'a maintenant, j'ai travaille dans la "soap shop", surtout pour fabriquer des produits, et un peu d'empaquetage, etiquettage, etc, etc. Tres agreable d'y travailler parce que ca sent toujours tres tres bon! Et puis je prends aussi soin des chevres tout les jours. Je suis justement, dans la video, en train de defaire une balle ronde de foin, livree dernierement pour l'abriter dans la grange. Et puis la famille est tres gentille et les enfants adorables. Je crois bien que je vais passer deux excellentes semaines de wwoofing!

Thumbprint Bath Cookies

I walked into the Soap Shop this evening to find a table full of bath cookies. My two girls from Germany were busy all afternoon making cookies and being creative. The smell was incredible; coconut cream, vanilla spice, orange and vanilla, chocolate, lemon cream, strawberry delight, white chocolate raspberry truffle. The bath cookies are one of the new products for 2009.

Happy Day

Julia came down the stairs and in her sweet little voice said "mommy's happy day". Today I turn 46. Thirty years ago I was 16. Oh my goodness! I can remember being 16 very clearly. All my hopes and dreams at 16 are the same now. The road has taken many turns but here I'm the same person, a little more tired, a little more wiser and a little less patient but generally the same.

I'm so grateful for all I have on this day. Two wonderful responsible biological children and two adopted Chinese children with lots of laughs and energy. A loving husband that supports all my crazy ideas and dreams. Finally all the customers (you) that enjoy the soap I make and all the positive comments that I get.

Katharina and Sabrina

We have two delightful and quiet girls from Germany staying with us. They started 5 months ago in British Columbia and have volunteered across Canada. They will be heading back soon to Germany. We have been making soap, lotions and a lot of other stuff. They are two busy beavers in the soap shop. I'm very grateful they are here because I have two very busy beavers in the house right now.

David and Kristopher got back Sunday and Kristopher hit the ground running with Julia right behind him. It seems like Kristopher has always been here. They are never still enough to take any pictures. I will get some soon and post them.

First time outside

First time feeling the sun's warmth, the spring breeze and the cool grass under foot for Tulip's kids Angle and Matt. At this young age of 7 days they are not venturing to far from mom.

I don't want you to think this picture is taken today. This picture was taken June 2008. Soon it will look like summer here but for right now it is cold, and a nice layer of ice is covering the snow.

Kids in a Barrel

I do not know how this could ever have happened but it caused a big kerfluffle in the barn with kids crying and mom beside herself with worry.

Tulip's top lip is out past the bottom. She is trying to console her daughter Angel.

The joy and unpredictability of kids will soon be upon us again.

July 2008

Look What You Could Win

Every month we send a box of goodies to someone who helps us by filling out a survey, or writing a product review. That someone could be you! Sign up for our newsletter for your chance to win!

Rosemary and Lavender Shampoo Bars

There are many advantages to hard Shampoo Bars:

-they last much longer, at least 2 times longer then bottled shampoo

-no spillage

-the bars can go in carry-on bags on planes

-good value

-do not have to throw away a plastic bottle

Lavender and Geranium Shampoo Bars

These bars are my personal favourite. They have calendula and camomile pedals in them. Lavender and Geranium is great for a dry scalp.

Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulphate

If you have been to the demonstrations in our store then you know to read the labels on the products you put on your skin. Just like reading the labels on the food you consume to protect your health, you need to know what chemicals are in the products that are going on your skin. Your skin absorbs everything you put on it. That is how the patch to stop smoking works. The nicotine is aborbed though the skin at a lower dosage. Amy has been doing research for you to know what not to buy when shopping for skin care products. Here is the information below.



To quote word for word as reported in the book "Health Wars" written by investigative medical journalist Phillip Day:
"Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) is a very harsh detergent found in almost all shampoos and more than a few toothpastes. Pick up a cross section of these products next time you visit the supermarket and you will find Sodium Lauryl Sulphate SLS or Sodium Lauryth Sulphate (SLES) in pride of place under the ingredients label.
Sodium Lauryl Sulphate started its career as an industrial degreasant and garage floor cleaner. When applied to human skin it has the effect of stripping off the oil layer and then irritating and eroding the skin, leaving it rough and pitted. Studies on SLS have shown that:" (Judi Vance, Beauty To Die For, Promotion Publishing, 1998) "Shampoos with SLS could retard healing and keep children's eyes from developing properly. Children under six years old are especially vulnerable to improper eye development. (Summary of Report of Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. conference.""Sodium Lauryl Sulphate can cause cataracts in adults and delays the healing of wounds in the surface of the cornea.""Sodium Lauryl Sulphate has a low molecular weight and so is easily absorbed by the body. It builds up in the heart, liver and brain and can cause major problems in these areas.""Sodium Lauryl Sulphate causes skin to flake and to separate and causes roughness on the skin.""Sodium Lauryl Sulphate causes dysfunction of the biological systems of the skin.""Sodium Lauryl Sulphate is such a caustic cleanser that it actually corrodes the hair follicle and impairs the ability to grow hair.""Sodium Lauryl Sulphate is routinely used in clinical studies deliberately to irritate the skin so that the effects of other substances can be tested." (Study cited by the Wall St Journal, 1st November 1998)
Ethoxylation: Ethoxylation is the process that makes degreasing agents such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) less abrasive and gives them enhanced foaming properties. When SLS is ethoxylated, it forms Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES), a compound used in many shampoos, toothpastes, bath gels, bubble baths, and industrial degreasants. The problem is, the extremely harmful compound 1,4-dioxane may be created during the ethoxylation process, contaminating the product. 1,4-dioxane was one of the principal components of the chemical defoliant Agent Orange... It is also an oestrogen mimic thought to increase the chances of breast cancer and endometrial cancer, stress related illnesses and lower sperm counts. Dr Samuel Epstein (Author and research Scientist) reports: "The best way to protect yourself is to recognise ingredients most likely to be contaminated with the1,4-dioxane. These include ingredients with the prefix word, or syllable PEG, Polyethylene, Polyethylene Glycol, Polyoxyethylene, eth (as in sodium laureth sulphate) or oxynol. Both polysorbate 60 and polysorbate 80 may also be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane. (Epstein, Dr Samuel, Safe Shoppers Bible, P.190-191)
Information from:http://www.health-report.co.uk/sodium_lauryl_sulphate.html

Power Lines

We lost power Monday afternoon. Thankfully it came back on just as it was getting dark and the house was getting cold.

We are working on new labeling for our citrus products for the newsletter.

Ice Storm

Last Monday the weather changed from snow to freezing rain. For most of the week everything was covered with ice. The weather turned warm this weekend and all the ice is off the trees.

David has been in China finalizing the adoption to bring our little boy home. They will be here Friday if all their flights are on time. We are so excited to meet the newest member of our family!

Ruth Marie Leaves Today

Roxanne and Rod stopped in yesterday to the soap shop and the place was upside down. Ruth Marie and I were painting some floors and getting others ready to paint. Ruth Marie wants to leave today before a bad forecasted snowstorm starts. I have one more floor to paint and it will be all done for another year.

Ruth Marie from Maryland

I put Ruth Marie to work right away moving the round hay bale into the barn. We are expecting a snowstorm to start this evening.

Em

Grettle and Hanna

Have you ever noticed that goats and horses have rectangle pupils? Their pupils allow them to see everything in front of them and behind them at the same time. The only thing they can not see is the back of their heads.

Good Food In and On Your Body

Here is a pciture of a few of the ingredients we use in our products. Grape seed oil, Almond Oil and Sun Flower Oil are used in our Bath and Body Oils, Moisturizing Shea Butter Creams and Shea Butter Lotions. It is a wholesome feeling to only put things on your body that would be healthy to eat as well.

Snowshoeing

Today was both bitter cold and sunny. Katie and I got out for a short hike on the snow shoes. Jordan took our picture.

Winter Evergreen

The landscape is quite dull and deary at this time of year except for the evergreen. It forever keeps in our minds the green of summer yet to come.

Happy Valentine's Day

Three hearts in the snow. Enjoy the day of love with someone special in your life.