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Green Apple Cinnamon Goat Milk Soap

Introducing Annie’s Green Apple and Cinnamon goat milk soap.

This soap was sent to a wholesale customer who tested it in her shop.   It was loved!

I went very light on the cinnamon essential oil so I asked one customer what they smelled (my nose tends to shut off after being exposed to many fragrances), their response was, “The green apple is fabulous, with just a hint of warmth (cinnamon).”

With a description that includes:  pretty, smells great, creamy with goat milk.  What more can an apple goat milk soap lover ask for?

How about more holiday and fall soaps (being added to the website tonight and tomorrow):

– Sweet Apple and Peel (sweet, warm, and fresh)

– Chestnuts and Brown Sugar (vanilla and sugar definitely a big part of this soap)

– Winter Berry (a celebrative holiday berry scent)

– Ylang Ylang and Fir Needle (I thought of a claw foot tub, near a wood burning fire, perhaps in a log cabin?)

– Peppermint (Special request – peppermint with nothing else added!)

– Clary Sage Eucalyptus (Why not have some refreshing soap on a cold winter’s day?)

– Lemongrass Ginger (It’s time for herbal tea – and comfort soap!)

Enjoy!!

Who Do You Serve?

 

Recently I have spent many hours handling my husband’s business scheduling and telephone. 

Speaking with the public on a daily basis, both on the telephone and in person, has led to a surfacing of observations.  The biggest of those is the word demand.  There seems to be little consideration for careful scheduling, heavy workloads, and human attempts at kindness.

Sadly, it seems that people in general are pre-disposed to expect the worst.

It brings questions to my mind, such as, is the cause today’s world? Is it the economy? Is it poor customer service across the board (which I’ve noticed myself) that causes people to not have patience?

I am serving the public now, no doubt about it.  The customer is always right, unless a legal liability is involved (due to the nature of the business). 

Are we, as human beings, all of one, simply branches working together? Do we serve each other, or do we serve ourselves? Do you serve yourself, or do you serve other people? Who do you serve?

Many of us serve our own God (first), I know I do, but in this article I am talking about serving others.  I am not talking about a physical act, like delivering meals to those in need, I am talking about common courtesy, compassion for others.  Do you truly serve others?

We may not be able to change the world, but we can change our own world.

I did something disturbing today. 

I stepped into a pet shop for the first time in many years.

I instantly fell in love with a beautiful brindle boy.  I spent quiet time with him in a little cubicle.  My heart melted when I stood up from the bench seat and he grabbed the hem of my jeans and shook playfully with some obvious strength.

I wish I had never walked into that store.

How can any puppy have a price tag of $3600.00? And why?

He deserves a good family, someone to love, and someone to return his devotion.

He does not deserve to live in a cage, to travel to some strange place at a young age, to eventually be sold to a person with no background check, no thought on how he will be treated, no questions asked, as long as money is passed over the table (or, even worse, financing at 20.97% is approved).

No animal deserves that.

I was passing time when I walked into the pet store.  I truly regret it.  I do not grieve for not buying the puppy, I just cannot get him out of my mind (nor the other doggies in their crates behind glass).  I hope good homes are in their future.

I received an outstanding question from a new customer, “Are your lotions unscented or fragrance free?”

I have always considered unscented and fragrance free to be one in the same.

This is the reason I love questions.  Questions are informative to myself and my business, and the person that asks the questions always learns.

The customer explained that many products on the market are listed as fragrance free but actually have a fragrance or chemical added to eliminate the naturally occurring odor of the ingredients themselves.

My fragrance free goat milk lotions are unscented.

I do not attempt to mask the naturally occurring scent of the ingredients in my fragrance free (no fragrance added) goat milk lotions.  For example, shea butter (unrefined and as organic as possible) has a particular natural odor that can make its way through a product.  Shea butter is so very beneficial.  I do not try to cover it up.  The statement, “It is what it is,” applies very well here.

As always, I appreciate your outstanding questions!

 

What if you lived on No Name Road?

They say developers name many of the roads.   I don’t know about that, but I do know I am amused.

A local told me that No Name had a different name until a few years ago.  Can you imagine calling in a change of address, “Hello, my new address is on No Name Road.”

How about Hardscrabble Road? Any thoughts or ideas?

PeeWee Lane?

Tatorknob Road? Did the developer dig up unusual tators with knobs on them?

How many streets are named Maple? Maple is nearly as popular as Main.

Here’s a tounge twister.  Many roads in southern Ohio contain the word run, such as Millers Run Back Run Road.  No, it isn’t a typo.  I wouldn’t want to be a kindergarden student trying to memorize (or repeat) that street name! 

In Missouri many of the county roads have letters for names.  The most entertaining intersection we saw was where three roads met, I O U.  Love it!

I was thinking of a best road name contest…I still may do it!

We Are Just A Speck

Tonight, as I stood under the starry sky, with a half-moon glowing brightly enough to reflect off the rooftops, my thoughts were of the incredible universe. 

Each of us are but just a speck.  A temporary being in such a large place.  Each of us with a life, a plan, a beginning and an end, leaving history as we come and go.

An awesome place it is.

Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps is not folding, we are moving to flat land.

The red barn, pictured above, will be the new soap shop.  I have a wonderful large room to work from now.  The new shop will more than double that space.  Windows will be added, as well as a floor (likely concrete) for the front porch.  I turn pretty much everything into a county look.  This will be no exception.

The land includes no slopes, no pond, and some lovely paths to walk in the woods.  Abundant pasture for the goats is something I am truly excited about.  I cannot wait to see the herd stretching out. 

Bear with me as we go through this major change.  The shop will be completed first, to ensure there are no breaks in business.  We need to place a home and a barn as well.  It will be a big job, but one I have a lot of patience for.  It has been needed for quite some time!

I look forward to writing to you from under my porch roof, in between soap making.  Listening to the wind, the birds, and other beautiful gifts from nature as they pass by.

Peppermint and Wine, Forest and Basil, soap that is.

In comes the new, out goes several of the old.

Out will be Sweet Pea, Plumeria, and a few other fragranced soaps that no longer represent what Annie’s Goat Hill is all about. 

Paring down the soap inventory is something I do a number of times each year.  It keeps the choices down, less confusing for my customers, and it keeps the new and fresh soaps in my shop.  I receive the message clearly when customers grab up the newest announced soaps.  I, too, like variety.  But I also like the tried and the true, like Honey Oatmeal, which is a staple that I do not want to see buried amongst a huge inventory.

Coming soon…holiday and autumn fragranced soaps, and holiday packaging versatile and green, just for you, or gift-giving.

Enjoy!

A Walk In The Woods

I took a long walk in the woods today, something I had not done in a long time.

What is it about the crisp fall air joined with the aroma of decaing leaves that makes a soul feel so good?

The quiet and alone time was beautiful. 

I am grateful.

Do you agree, the changing of the season is something to treasure?

Help for folks with fine, thin, limp hair is not impossible.

Start looking at the shampoo that you use.  People with fine, thin hair should avoid shampoos that claim to silken,  soften, or moisturize the hair.   Generally these types of shampoos weigh the hair down, which leaves it with very little chance for body.

Fine hair is helped by frequent trims, good haircuts, and layers that are “undercut,” meaning, the under layers are trimmed slightly shorter.  Trimming the under layers slightly shorter leads the outer layers to lay in a curved manner, which looks smooth, with a look and feel of added body.

Blow drying techniques help with fine and limp hair as well.  If you hair needs lift, blow dry your hair while holding your head down, upside down if you can.

I have very close and personal experience with fine, thin hair.  I tell it straight.  All of these tips have worked for me.

My own shampoo bars have also served me well.  I will never touch a bottle of shampoo again, at  least until I am too old to make my own! I have received good feedback from others as well.  A sample of some of the shampoo bars that have been used are the tea tree blend with hemp seed oil, the unscented, and rosemary with goat milk and castor oil. 

This post came to life after I began to wonder how and why the shampoo bars were working.  The conclusion is that they cleanse without adding any coating to the hair shaft.  Once the user begins shampooing on a regular basis with the bars, after the old coatings/waxes (or products that have weighed the hair down) are gone, the hair is left clean and clear.  Clean and clear means there isn’t anything left to weigh the hair strands down.

I hope you did find this article useful.  We all battle with problem skin and hair.  I am overjoyed to have found at least one solution for my own!

You may want to read a prior blog post where I described how to use the shampoo bars (here).  The initial shampooing definitely is a process, one that involves removal of old products, which can take a few days to several weeks (as it was for me)! In this case, as it normally is in life, patience pays off.

Enjoy!

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