Bath time

Katie, Chris and Julia used the new dog shampoo on Jasmine.  It lathered great.  It made Jasmine's hair very curly.

Beautiful weekend

Saturday David, Jordan and the two little ones spent the afternoon on the beach.  This is the picture they sent me.

Ginger and Nutmeg

It was so amazing to watch the kids play and investigate their new house. Ginger is looking out the window and Nutmeg is outside.

Ryan and Tansy

A couple stopped in the farm on the weekend.  The kids were overjoyed to see people.

Beautiful weekend

We had a beautiful weekend.  I made whipped shea butter and all the jars looked like soft ice cream cones.

Field of dandelions and sheep

Dandelions and sheep grow wild here! We had a beautiful long weekend. This is a field on Winsloe Road.

New playhouse

With the help of Billy, David and Jordan moved a new play house into the kids pen.  Here the goats are discovering their new hideaway.

Alex's favourite jobs

Alex's two favourite jobs are restocking soap and letting the kids out for the day.  He is doing a wonderful job!

Jordan in net

Jordan has been playing in a tournament all weekend in Charlottetown. Thanks to Shannon and Katie I went to see two games. They won both games. It was a pleasure to watch him play.

Oldest customer but not in age

Cathy has been coming to purchase soap since when I first started, with 2 shelves in the B & B. This year she brought her granddaughter who loved feeding the goats. It was wonderful to see her again. We have so much in common.

Interviews

Interviewing people is like looking at an apple blossom. I do not know what the apple blossom is going to look like until it fully opens up, I can only imagine the beauty within. Shannon and I interviewed 7 people last week. All of them had great strengths. Now we have to choose one. I would like to thank all the people who applied for the job and sent their resume. A special thank you to all the people who wrote a wonderful letter about themselves. I'm grateful for all the people who came out for an interview. I enjoyed talking and getting to know each one of them.

New Animal Molds

I have all these new products for the 2010 season. Shannon is going a bit crazy trying to fit everything in the store.

Top row from left to right; 2 bunnies, pig (reminds me of Charlotte's Web)

Bottom row; sheep, Nubian goat, Betsy the cow.

Lots of Variety

Here is another sample of products we make.

Products

When I started back in 2003 I never thought I would have so many products. Katie took this picture. I enjoy when my kids come to the soap shop to visit, take pictures and make their favourite bath frizzy.

Alex's First Day

I do not know who was more excited, Alex, Shannon or I. Over the last 2 weeks Shannon and I have been making lists of jobs for Alex and now he is here. Hurray! I think he liked his first day of work. I like his white hat.

Sachets

These wonderful bags of herbs and spices will keep your clothes smelling great.

Animal of leisure

The noise level is quite high in our house with 2 four-year olds and a big brother who joins in. I was surprised to see Cherry Blossom sound asleep in the window on her back.

Natural product means "from the earth"

The ingredients we use in our products grow on the same earth we live on. It make sense to me that they should be used on our skin instead of the toxins found in in many skin products. It is a fact of life we are all growing older every day and that includes our skin. To grow old graciously and in healthy skin is my wish for everybody.

New Flower Molds

More flower molds to add to the huge collection. Can you tell I like flowers? Since I'm so busy in the soap shop and do not have the time to grow them outdoors, I make flower soap. The flower scents are waterlily, rose, berry blossom, rosemary and lavender.

Porsche & her new soap

Porsche hates getting a bath but she hates fleas more. This soap has great essential oils for repelling fleas, ticks and the flying mosquitoes and black flies that will soon be here, but leaves Porsche smelling pleasantly herbal, not medicinal. What's more, the shampoo base is so very gentle on her sensitive skin that she doesn't get the itches!

(We're having a contest from May 15 - June 14, 2010, to name this new dog shampoo. If you would like to enter for a chance to win a prize package of our goodies, sign up for our newsletter, above to the right!)

More Information on the use of Preservatives

You asked us in the newsletter survey to give you more information about the use of a preservative in future product development. Any cosmetic product is an inviting environment for bacteria to grow in, especially given that we often store or use these products in the warm, moist bathroom and dip our fingers repeatedly into the jars. Contamination with unhealthy bacteria, yeast and molds is unavoidable and they must not be allowed to multiply. Our use of vitamin E in our Whipped Shea Butter and Shea Butter Lotions is sufficient for the ingredients used in them, but the fresh goat's milk in our Goat's Milk Cream necessitates something more. While reading about well-respected, established companies such as Avalon Organics we found that food-grade FDA approved phenoxyethanol, derived from various sources such as grapefruit and sage, is widely accepted in natural circles as an acceptable ingredient in cosmetics. We have chosen to use Optiphen TM, which is globally approved and paraben- and formaldehyde-free. Of course, there are those who prefer not to use even this and arguments against using anything in a form not naturally occurring in nature, and we certainly respect that. All except one of our products contains only pure, natural ingredients, and we prefer to develop new products along the same lines. If, due to customer demand, we create any new products that for your safety require a preservative, we will clearly list it in the ingredients. If anyone has any more information regarding other options for even more acceptable preservatives we would love to hear from you. In the meantime we will continue to put our all into ensuring safe, healthy options in cosmetic products.

Triple Butter

This is a new cream we are trying. Triple Butter is a mixture of Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter and Jojoba Oil. It is amazing!

Father's Day Special

This year I had a local potter make shaving mugs and I filled them with shaving soap. My best guess is that the soap in the shaving mug will last a year. The price is $32 and the special for this month is that you get a shaving brush with the mug of soap. We do have refills for $9.00 and small palm-size bars for $6.00.
Happy Father's Day

The sky is forever changing

Sunny days are few and far between. The clouds seem to be in many layers not allowing the sun to find us. Katie took this picture in the back field. It was a funny day weather wise. Sun, hail, rain. Sun again, hail again, and rain again all in a few hours.

Greens from Australia

The visitors are coming slowly but surely. The Greens came all the way from Australia to get some goats milk soap, though they did not know that when they started out this morning. I enjoyed visiting with them and they enjoyed visiting with the kids. Tansy likes putting her face in the camera.

Happy Birthday Roxanne

Cheryl and I had the privilege of taking Roxanne out for breakfast for her birthday. We are all home schooling moms and it is enjoyable to spend time together. They both live near Summerside and I do not get to see them very often now that our kids are all getting older and doing different activities.

First group of the year

Cara, from Alberton, brought 10 young people to visit the soap shop on Saturday. It was a wonderful group of people from all across Canada. They were full of energy and happiness. They were interested in what we do here and that was refreshing for me.

Happy Mother Daughter's Day

We all have special mothers, Aunts, sisters, daughters, and cousins to celebrate Mother's Day with. Here are the two special people I celebrate Mother's Day with (my daughters, Katie and Julia.)
To Amy, Shannon and all the ladies I touch, I wish you a beautiful day with lots of joy, love and peace. May those feelings last the whole year.
Happy Mother's Day!
Em

New Seaside Molds

More new molds for the 2010 season.

Picture and Email from Angela

These two little guys just spent 150 days together growing inside their mom's belly. Now they get to smell, see, and kiss each other. They are less than 2 hours old in this picture.

New Sheep Mold

The drying room is full once again. This time with sheep, cows, horses, roosters, cats, dogs and of course goats.

I think the sheep has a great expression on its face.

Jordan leaving for a game in New Brunswick

I'm so proud of Jordan. He is such an inspiration.
Jordan works very hard at being the best he can be, off and on ice.
After 30 years, I myself put on goalie skates and the rest of the goalie equipment and went power skating with all the little kids to learn how to skate all over again. I loved it! This fall I will be going again. My goal is to play on a team someday.

Sand Bars at Cove Head

Not one sand bar, but two. I like the way the sun is sparkling on the water.

Cherry Blossom

Cherry Blossom is checking out the bird feeder from a different angle.

That time of year

Gardening can be a lot of work but the joy it brings is bountiful. Fresh air, sunshine, and cool breezes are all enriching for the body and soul. For the day after we have a gardening kit to take care of your sore muscles, dry hands and chapped face.

Rectangle soap bars.

It is with pride we craft 28 rectangle goat milk soap bars, using milk from our goat dairy herd.

By using fresh goat's milk our bars are naturally rich and moisturizing for your skin. With organic feed and breed selection we obtain goat's milk with the highest fat content possible for the best soap.

During the past five years we have worked hard to expand our product line to include creams, lotions, milk baths, bath salts and liquid soap. This summer we will add shaving bars and campers' soap to our list of products.

We invite you to visit Prince Edward Island to experience the beautiful beaches, enjoy fresh seafood and visit the farmer's markets and finally to immerse yourself in the natural products for your skin made with goat's milk.