Workshop closed for Christmas

Just thought I'd put a blog notice up that I've closed the workshop a bit early this year, and my online web store too.

The weather is very wet and snowy, I just don't trust my ability to get to the post office in a timely manner in this kind of weather. Right now, my car is surrounded by *a lot* of snow and it may be a day or so before I can get it out. According to the news, the snow and wet weather will last for the next week, maybe more. eek!

So in the interest of good customer service, I've decided to close a few days earlier than planned. For anyone local looking for my soap, you can always find it at these retail locations:

Aimee Taylor Handcrafted
Mill Street
Grass Valley, CA

Being Green
In the New York Hotel
Nevada City, Ca

BriarPatch Co-Op
Sierra College Drive
Grass Valley, CA

California Organics
Argall Way
Nevada City, CA

If you don't find what you're looking for or need something special, please feel free to call me. Contact info is on our main Frontier Angel website.

Anyway, happy holidays to all! May 2009 bring you health and happiness.

Welcome VOA listeners!

I got a call the other day from a representative at 'Voice of America'. For those of you not familiar with this organization, here's a quote from their website:

The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts approximately 1,500 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of 134 million people.

Their representative wanted to talk to me about soap. To me, that was exciting, I'm always happy to talk to anyone about soap! It turns out VOA wanted to do a quick broadcast to listeners worldwide on how soap is made. My blog was mentioned (mostly because of my "Why Lye" post, see link below).

Anyway, welcome VOA listeners! I hope you visit my blog on occasion. After the first of the year, I want to post some more educational information about soap. But in the mean time, check out some of my older posts:

• Our TV spot - See a soap making demo I did for NCTV

• Why Lye? - An article on the use of lye (sodium hydroxide) in soap

I have other articles that I posted in another venue and I need to add them to my blog. One of the articles is called 'Scent Sense: Essential Oils versus Fragrance Oils'. In it, I write about the difference between the two and why I prefer one over the other.

Thank you for visiting my blog! Feel free to comment if you have any questions and I'll get back to you.

Cornish Christmas...chilly...crazy...crowded

Cornish Christmas has begun...tonight is the second night and there are only two more after that. If you live in northern California, Cornish Christmas is an awesome event to attend if you need some Christmas cheer and to do some gift shopping.

Now that gas is cheap (I paid $1.86/gallon today!!), it's easy to drive up here to have some fun. To me, a bay area native, Grass Valley is a hidden jewel. Just 45 minutes outside of Sac, up highway 80 then jump on highway 49. As you drive up 49, the oak trees are replaced by pines, the higher up you go, the thicker the pine trees get. Then you get to our beautiful valley, with a quaint old gold rush era town in the dead center. That's where Cornish Christmas is held.

The dining is great...my favorite place on Mill Street is The Owl. Grass Valley's own steak house with amazing food. For dessert, I'd walk down Main Street to Dorodo's Chocolate and choose from their gourmet selection of hand made chocolates. Then for coffee, there's Carolines on South Auburn Street, they roast their own coffee. After you're full and caffinated, take a stroll down Mill and Main streets enjoying the sights and sounds of Cornish Christmas.

It's usually pretty crowded at this event, and cold! So dress warmly and be prepared to wade through the crowds. But as your reward, you'll be greeted by mouth watering smells wafting from the kettle corn booth...or if you're still hungry, there's the taco stand or polish sausages with all the trimmings. Hot cider...roasted chestnuts...oh, and there's awesome handmade soap available that is perfect for stocking stuffers or as a gift for your favorite friend or loved one.

Come see us Friday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.!