Many Changes

It has been forever and a day since I have posted. There have been many changes in my life. My number 1 helper (or rather I helped her), Darling Daughter (DD) has gone off to college. She had been doing most of the soap making for me the last couple of years. She was saving money for college. I miss her very much. I also started a new job in July. I am working 40 hours a week on the graveyard shift. This leaves little energy or time for soap making. Did I tell you I miss DD very much? I have managed to make a little soap but I have a lot of "out of stock" notices on my web site. I work the weekends so I will only be doing one Christmas show. My favorite high school, Douglas High School, right here in Minden, Nevada, has a wonderful one day show and I asked for that Saturday off. Hope to see you there!

A New Year

A time for new beginnings. I have already cleaned up my work space. I have started using some of the ingredients I have been hoarding to make new products. And....... I have been contacting new businesses to carry my soap. You know the old saying, "Talk to 100 people to find 10 interested people to find 1 person who will DO it."

I found that person here. The owner of Body Language, Debbie Nalder, is now stocking SierraSnowSoaps in her incredible day spa.


From massage and skin care


salon and nail services




to laser-medical services with Dr. Nita Schwartz


this spa has it all.
Right from their website

"philosophy…..
health, wellbeing, and beauty come together at bodylanguage. more and more people are discovering the enduring pleasure and benefits to be gained from professionals whose sole purpose is to make you feel and look your best.

bodylanguage features an array of treatments designed to enhance your health and wellbeing inside and out. enjoy the healthful, rejuvenation of massage, reflexology, or infrared sauna. treat your skin to a fabulous, renewing european facial or one of our cosmetic medical treatments. let our hair and nail design professionals help you look your best.

whatever your needs, bodylanguage is committed to your health, wellbeing, and beauty. come in, relax with a cup of tea while we help transport your senses to a place of calm, nurturing bliss."

And I believe it. Coming in the front door is like walking into peace and quiet. The colors, sounds and decor is soothing to the soul. You almost hope your appointment is running late so you can relax in the sitting area.


Stop by and pick up some soaps


and stay for some pampering.


Body Language is located in the grey building at 1478 B 4th Street, Minden, NV
The spa phone number is 775.782.8485 and the salon number is 775.782.2641.

Check out their service menu.

Hold That Thought

You know, the one about not having much money. What to do, what to do.

I found myself with a little time, that would be because we are not exchanging gifts this year due to lack of funds. The real problem here is, I LOVE TO WRAP GIFTS. I found a way to get my wrapping fix without spending any money.

In our little town we not only have service clubs like the 20/30 Club, Elks, Minden Fortnightly Club, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Kiwanis, we also have all the schools hold food drives around the holidays. We have a food closet that runs year round helping those people that need a lift. But the best project of all.......


is Project Santa.

I meet up with Marilyn Malkmus, organizer of Project Santa. The program helps provide Christmas gifts to kids living in Douglas County. There are Angel Trees at many stores throughout the county, people can pick an Angel and buy the gifts listed and then drop them back off where Marilyn makes sure they go to the right family. There were 786 children in the program last year and she said there are 100 more than that this year. She directed me to the book wrapping station. Every child will receive at least 1 reading book but judging by the thousand of books I saw there will be no shortage of books. Marilyn has many helpers that volunteer every year, and the rest are like me. I went for 8 hours one day, but anyone can go, even if for one hour. I saw so many friends there and made some new ones, Hi Katie and Steve! I got my wrapping fix taken care of, that is for sure.

It was a great way to get into the spirit of Christmas. All the gifts wrapped and sitting on the family's number brought tears to my eyes. I remember a friend of mine who was in the program a couple of years ago. Her little boy would not have had anything under the tree, if they had a tree. The generosity of the community overwhelmed her and made her Christmas.

So...even if you don't have money to spend, you can spend your time by volunteering for one of the service organizations. It is a great way to give back to the community you live in.

Merry Christmas

I May Not Have Much Money, Handmade From The Heart

Every year the Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO) gets together and makes up gift bags for the teachers at Douglas High School. This year with both my husband and I being unemployed I was not able to pick up the usual gift items. Still wanting to do my part I looked around the soap room and found some 2 oz. bottles I don't use any more. So...I spent the day making 150 bottles of lotions for the teachers. I know many of them and I thank the Lord my dear daughter has such dedicated and knowledgeable people to teach her. It was an honor to be able to bring a little of my handmade items to them.

First I sterilized the bottles and caps.


Second, I whipped up some lotion and scented it with a spicy cranberry scent, perfect for men or women.


Third, I poured into the clean bottles, labeled and packed them up.


Thank you Teachers of Douglas High School.

You Are Never Too Old To Learn

I have been a bit remiss in my postings. I let life get in the way. Here is a bit of what was happening in the Carson Valley. My orange painted toe nails did the trick. The Douglas High School Volleyball Team did not lose a league match this season. Yes, they won every match.

Including the Nevada 4A State Championship.



Our girls went out with a bang beating 2 teams from Las Vegas, Nevada, Bishop Gorman and Green Valley High Schools to win the title of Best Volleyball Team of the State of Nevada 2010.



It was very exciting and the result of many long hard hours of practice and conditioning. After all was said and done the league coaches pick "All League Teams". 7 of our girls made 1st team, 2nd team or honorable mention in their league. 1 girl made Player of the Year in our league.

What does that make the coach?

A coach much loved and respected. A coach who asks the girls to push it a little farther, work a little harder, but never asks more than she is willing to give. That makes the coach the COACH OF THE YEAR in our league. And she deserves it! Balancing home life, coach life, teaching life, girls, parents......quite a balancing act.

It was an incredible year. I learned a lot from these girls. Their work ethic will serve them well in their future. They made me realize I need to work a lot harder to reach my goals. That is why I am cleaning the computer room.

"Really?" says Tiger.

"What is all this stuff?"

More to follow later.

I Am Putting Soap Into A New Store

I put a soap display into a shop in Gardnerville the other day.


Heartstrings Gallery Gifts
1572 US Highway 395
Minden NV 89423
Phone: 775-781-0861

Long-time artist Lee Lewis opened the shop in October of 2009 in the Copeland Center site that now is home to the Arts Council. She makes and sells her own work: silk scarves and ties, jewelry, wall hangings, mosaics, hand painted glassware, candles and original watercolors and prints.


Her partner is photographer Rich Farrar.


She features several other artists.
Laura Burt shows her glass art and fused, leaded, etched and stained glass.


Kim Johnston shows her ceramics and pottery.


And now there is me.


The store is bright and the colors are brilliant. It makes you happy just walking into the door. And now it smells good, too! Lee has the eye when it comes to decorating. The store flows from one treasure to the next. It draws you in, you know there will be another delight to the eyes right around the corner. I am so happy to be here.


As with all the shops I put my soap in, this one is community friendly too! We all believe in shop local and support your local businesses and friends. This is Lee donating a painting to the DAWG representative for their fundraiser. I love our no-kill pet shelter and try to support them any way I can.


Lee will have the shop open for Carson Valley Days, so stop in and say hello!

Heartstrings Gallery Gifts
1572 US Highway 395
Minden NV 89423
Phone: 775-781-0861

What Comes After The Lye?

Remember when we talked about "Saponification"? Saponification means "soap making". The root word, "sapo", is Latin for soap. It is the chemical reaction that occurs when a vegetable oil or animal fat is mixed with a strong alkali, in this case Sodium Hydroxide. The final products of the reaction are soap and glycerin.

From the About.com Chemistry web page this is the chemical structure.



They also comment that in the industrial manufacture of soap once the saponification reaction is done the glycerol is removed.
They remove all the naturally-occurring glycerin so it can be sold separately. Why? Greater profit. An important difference between most commercial soap and my hand made soap is that I leave the glycerin in and it retains its natural moisturizing property.

I use all vegetable oils in my soap. I tried many different formulas over the years until I found one that is mild yet cleansing. I like a soap with a lot of lather, so that is what I make. I do not have to use any lotion when using my soap, and that is saying a lot here in Nevada, dry skin capital of the world.
Vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials derived from plants, extracted primarily from seeds. They are composed of triglycerides. For making soap you want a variety of oils and choose them for the properties they bring to the finished product.

Lauric Acid is also called Dodecanoic Acid.

It is solid at room temperature, has a long shelf live, and is believed to have antimicrobial properties. It is found in human, cows, and goats milk. It is also found in coconut and palm kernel oil and helps to create a hard, cleansing bar of soap with fluffy lather.

Myristic Acid is also called Tetradecanoic Acid CH3(CH2)12COOH and is a common saturated fatty acid.

It is found in nutmeg butter, palm oil, coconut oil, and butter fat. It helps make a hard and cleansing bar of soap also.

Palmitic Acid or Hexadecanoic Acid CH3(CH2)14COOH is one of the most common saturated fats found in plants.

It is found in Palm and Palm Kernel Oil. It helps to create a hard bar of soap with a stable lather.

Steric Acid or Octadecanoic Acid C18H36O2, or CH3(CH2)16COOH is a saturated fatty acid that is found more in animal fat than vegetable fat, except for Shea Butter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shea_butter, which I use, whose fatty acids consist of up to 45% steric acid.


Stearic makes a hard bar of soap with stable lather.

Ricinoleic Acid (12-hydroxy-9-cis-octadecenoic acid)is an unsaturated omega-9 fatty acid that naturally occurs in mature Castor Plant Seeds.

It creates a conditioning, fluffy, and stable lather.

Oleic acid or elaidic acid CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH is a mono-unsaturated omega-9 fatty acid found in various animal and vegetable sources.

Oleic means related to oil or olive. It is Olive Oil and makes a very conditioning soap.

Linoleic Acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid. It is abundant in many vegetable oils found in the lipids of cell membranes, especially in Rice Bran Oil.

Linoleic Acid makes a conditioning bar of soap. Research points to linoleic acid's anti-inflammatory, acne reductive, and moisture retentive properties when applied topically on the skin and has become very popular in the skin care industry.

So that is my soap formula. Easy as pie. I make a soap that is high in conditioning and had soft, creamy bubbles. Oh yes, it also cleanses. Try it, you'll love it and never go back to store bought cleansers again.

Something Else I Do In My Spare Time

Many years ago I used to go to the Candy Dance in Genoa, Nevada.
http://www.genoanevada.org/thecandydancestory.htm.
That was before I became a vendor. One of the first years my daughter and I went I stopped by a booth and could not believe my eyes. There were row after row of "corn dollies" hanging on hooks. They were all made from wheat. As I walked through the booth I was fascinated by the wheat dolls, wall hangings, and baskets. I found one wall hanging, a house blessing, that I could not live without. I asked my dear daughter if she would like one for her room. After looking around she told me "no." So I bought my wheat weaving and brought it home and hung it on the wall. After a week or so it disappeared and I found it hanging in my daughter's room, "to bless it" she said. It hung there for years. The next year while at the Candy Dance I spent a whole day looking for the vendor, they never came back. Was I the only one that loved this ancient art form of honoring Mother Earth and all the goodness she brings?

Fast forward a few years to my pottery days. While in the library reading pottery books I stumbled on a........yup you guessed it, a Wheat Weaving book. I brought the book home, followed some of the links to online sites and enjoyed my journey into the wheat world. I ordered a kit from one of the sites, made my house blessing and being the craft addicted personality type, I ordered 50 pounds of wheat from North Dakota.

I still have a little wheat. I have made many weavings, large and small. There is something about working with your hands that I just love. The repetition of the stitches, the cat batting the wheat pod as I work. I love it.

This is my latest creation. I have her for sale at Three Rooms Gallery-Felix Pottery. I am going to list her on Etsy and Artfire, too.



She is Earth Mother. Many ancient wheat woven designs were born from a belief in an Earth Mother and in this design the elements of primitive African and Indo-European Earth Mother figures are combined.

For more information on Wheat Weaving see these sites.

http://www.nawwstraw.org/
http://www.illinoiswheatweavers.org/membership.html
http://www.best-spinning-weaving.com/1/wheat-weaving.html

and of course the book I found.
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Wheat-Weaving-Straw-Craft/dp/157990078X

This Is A Cool Thing To Do With Your Pictures

A blogger that I read, Cathy, takes incredible pictures. A friend painted a picture from one of her photos. Take a look, it is breathtaking.

http://homestretching.blogspot.com/

She wrote about a Japanese site that ages your photos 100-150 years. It is very fun, and it is free!


This is the view from my front room.







This year my daughter decorated the Christmas Tree. I think she did a great job!








Three Rooms Gallery-Felix Pottery store Downtown Gardnerville








Our kitty, Killer. We miss him so.









http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds

It is a lot of fun. Try it.

Times Are Tough, But What If

Everyone followed the 3/50 Project whenever possible?

The 3/50 Project is one that starts with you.
http://tinyurl.com/ld3b6n

3
Think of a store here in Gardnerville that you have shopped in and found the perfect gift, pair of pants, candle, or bar of SOAP :). Remember walking into that store and being greeted with a smile, asked how you are, can I help you find anything question, I am here if you need any help. Now can you think of 3 of them? I sure can. Would you miss them if they disappeared?

50
Now $50 isn't a drop in the bucket these days. With the economy still trying to make a rebound times are still a little (or a lot) tough. But.....what if 1/2 of the employed people in the United States spent $50 each a month in a locally owned business? It would generate over 40 billion dollars in revenue. What if only 1/4 of the people did it? Or if everyone spent $25 a month. I spend that on candy every month. Yes I buy it at a local store, but what if I spent that $25 at a small local business to show my support and let them know that I appreciate them.

For every $100 spent in locally owned business $68 returns to the community. Spending the same amount at a chain store returns $43 dollars, and shopping online returns NOTHING.

Main Street Gardnerville, NV has 10 reasons to shop local.
http://www.mainstreetgardnerville.org/

1. Local taxes from spending your money helps fund local police and fire departments.

2. Local merchants contribute to local organizations. I know I give to many non-profit organizations every time they ask. I run the raffle for the Douglas High School Volleyball Team Fundraiser, The Mud Fest Volleyball Tournament http://tinyurl.com/yex5wsd and I asked over 50 local business for donations. Do you know how many I got. Over 40. Now that is community involvement!

3. Shopping keeps more cars off the road, less pollution.

4. Taxes from businesses pay for road improvements.

5. By supporting local merchants your keep them employed and help increase their income. Then they can come to your restaurant to eat, or buy your house, or have you landscape their yard. In short, they can shop local too.

6. Shopping local is a chance to see your friends! Keep in touch and see and meet others that live in Gardnerville.

7. When you buy from a local business you are talking to the owner most of the time. What a great way to get good customer service.

8. The tax dollars paid to the town from the local businesses pay for the up keep of our beautiful parks right here in town.

9. Money spent local keeps our economy strong and creates jobs. Wouldn't it be nice if every kid who wanted one could get a part time job local and pay for their own gas and insurance? Wouldn't it be nice not to have to drive the HWY 395 corridor to Carson City just to make a few bucks? Just the time saved would give them time to get a lot more homework done!

10. By shopping local you take ownership in your community.

Invest in your future and make this community yours! Shop Local!

Thank You Carson Valley

Monday night's Block D Memorial Scholarship Dinner was a great success. I just love this community. The people that live in this area remind me of my parent's neighborhood, a place where everyone knew your name. They cared about you and your family. If one of yours was hurt, they hurt too. They would do anything in their power to lend a helping hand.



This community showed last night how much they cared by giving their support to the High School Athletes of Douglas High School. This dinner was for them in honor of the many athletes we have lost over the past 10-15 years.

Mr Ernie Monfiletto, Block D Advisor, informed us that over 400 tickets were sold for the dinner.



A raffle with fantastic prizes was also held. Tickets to a Giants Game, tickets to a 49ers game, a year boosters pass, golfing at Edgewood Golf Course, and a Senior Portrait Package by Stebel Photography http://www.stebel.com.pl/ were just a few of the prizes. Over $9000 was raised last year by this event and Block D's other fund raisers. It could not happen without you. Because of you a child that wants to play high school sports can, even if they can not afford the new shoes or equipment needed. Because of you a young adult can continue on to higher education because they were given a helping hand. It turns this community into a village that helps raise our children by giving them opportunities they might not have had otherwise. Give yourselves a big pat on the back. I am so proud of you all!

A big thank you to Mrs. Kerry Stack and her Culinary Arts Classes for the spaghetti dinner. The food was delicious and I didn't have to cook!



The Floriculture class, guided by teacher Allyson Lammiman, provided the beautiful table centerpieces.



The Booster Club manned the Beverage Table.



The PTSO was in charge of taking and selling tickets at the door. This is me working my fingers to the bone.



And last but for sure NOT LEAST the Block D members.





They pre-sold tickets, decorated the hall, set up tables and chairs, manned the buffet line, bussed the tables, sold the raffle tickets, cleaned the tables, tore down and put away the tables and chairs, mopped the floors, AND cleaned the restrooms. Then they went out and played a game of basketball. Not bad for a nights work.