Broken Hearts and Farewells

I haven't posted in a long long while. I was too busy living to write about it. I've had lots of ideas, but no urge to type. I find now that I must.

Over the time I blogged, something that started as a business and craft site very quickly became Guess What The Dog Did. Bander has always had a way of doing that, making everything revolve around him.

I've posted endlessly about his fears, his quirks, his anxieties and his need for prozac. I've shared his surgeries and his truly mind-boggling level of financial support. There are also things I didn't say much about, and I hope they were understood - his dignity, his endless patience, his courage, and his unbelievably sweet disposition. Along with his high level of dependence on us, came a level of trust in everything we asked of him. He was a perfect gentleman in restaurants, at the vet, or in noisy crowds.

Yeah, that's past tense you're reading. Because he is crossing the bridge tomorrow, and we are already reeling with pain and loss.

With Bander's death, the blog ends.

Early Endings

I am damn near done. I have a little bit of stock left - like, about enough to fill a shoebox. And - you'll think I lost my mind when I tell you this - we're moving this coming weekend.

We're just going across town, to a place that is better for us and WAY better for the dog, and if you've read this blog for more than one entry you know he gets three votes and Jesse and I get one each. But the fact remains that we're moving, and I should have my head examined.

What this all boils down to is that I am NOT going to make it until December 31st. I think I might make it until December 15th.

So, two weeks early, at most. I can just barely manage it.

Black Friday Stuff

Well, I decided to drop the four bar pack down to $16.50, just to make it a better deal. I you already bought one, you'll be getting a refund.

While I'm at it, how about a free lip balm with every purchase over $20 - and free shipping for everything over $50. Sound good?

Thanksgiving Weekend Specials

You'll probably be amazed to hear that I did manage to throw together a sale package for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. From now until Sunday night, I'm listing a four bar sale pack, for $18 plus $4.95 flat rate shipping (that's the US shipping cost - orders to other countries are higher).

I'm low on quite a few scents, so everything is on a first come, first served basis - grab 'em while you can.

May your pies be plentiful - and thanks!

Dazed and Confused

First of all, thank god for the time change, because I flat-out NEEDED that extra hour.

Secondly, I probably need another hour, maybe even a whole day. See, here's the thing: My whole goal in life is to take all the curing soap and finished products and get everything stamped and wrapped and labeled and whatever else they need, because some of the orders I'm getting these days are rather large, and life is a LOT better if I can just cruise down the rack of stuff that's ready to ship and sling it all into the box. Plus, I can't keep track of stock if it's in fifteen different stages (and therefore in different spots in the workroom).

So I am trying to catch up. One of the things I'm behind on is lip balms. I have a large order to go to a wholesale client. The lip balms are all made - I poured them and shoved each batch into a ziploc with the name written on the outside. What I have NOT done is apply each finicky label and wrap them in the little shrink wrap tubes.

Here's the thing: the labels have to be carefully applied because they barely fit, and it's easy to overlap the edge of the lid and glue the damn things shut if you don't watch it. Secondly, the tubes are small slippery ovals, and the heat gun blows a wide path, so it's pretty much like trying to shrink wrap an effing minnow while frying the fingerprints right off your hands.

So I put it off. And now I have a big pile of ziploc bags full of cranky little lip balms lying in wait.

I decided to be brave. I jumped in and started working on bag #1, carefully gluing the label down - Honey flavored - and then gave myself third degree burns while shrink wrapping. I was all pleased and proud that I had at least one flavor done, until I noticed that the outside of the ziploc bag I was putting them back into said "Vanilla Mint" instead of "Honey".

But there's a bag over there that ALSO says "Vanilla Mint". And bag #3 that says "Honey". WTF is this bag in front of me? I sealed them all, so I can't pop one open and smell it. And why did I make an extra batch of one of the flavors? And which extra batch did I make? What if it isn't Honey OR Vanilla Mint, but one of the other flavors I was supposed to make? WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?

So, that's my Sunday morning. I am sitting here glaring at a little pile of Heisenberg Uncertainty Balms, and wondering when the skin on my fingers will grow back so I can un-label each one of the little bastards and start over.

How's YOUR day?

On The Curing Rack

Man, I am pedaling as fast as I can here, and kinda sorta keeping up. Blowing through raw materials at an alarming rate, too. I honestly can't imagine what it's going to be like NOT to have hundreds of pounds of various vegetable oils in the workroom, but the time is coming up soon.

Anyway, here are a few things that will be back on Etsy shortly:






Bitter End

Cedar & Saffron

Pipeline Porter

And one Endangered Species:

Firelight Salt Bar - only two of this one left.

More later - back to the salt mines for me!

Old Dog, New Tricks

When we got the Bander-Boo, he was terrified of cars. Since he's also afraid of rain, thunder, airplanes, being left alone, firecrackers, and Wes Craven films, this isn't a big surprise.


Well, we got the chance to take a drive just for funsies the other day. And you know, there's hope for Bander the Neurotic Wonder Dog yet. Because look at this:





Is this the face of somebody who's afraid of cars? No, in fact, this is the face of somebody who has figured out that we're in the drive-through waiting for cheeseburgers.

He didn't get one, don't be silly.

He gets McNuggets.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Well, I announced this in my newsletter, so I guess it's time to put something on the blog. Just to make it official in multiple places.

I'm closing up shop at the end of the year.

I realize that this has gone through the grapevine and might not be news, but I also keep getting messages from people who want to know WHY, so I suppose I can explain a bit.

I had originally planned to make soap full time. And for the first half of the year, that's exactly how life went. Then came the oil spill, and the economic blow to the community. Long story short, I got a full time day job.

So Jesse and I are both working full time, and I was back to running the soap business at night. Which is exactly what I did for the nine years before this.

And perhaps you see the problem before I saw it. I pretty much chucked everything and changed my whole life, moved from one coast to the other, all so I could have a life instead of the endless round of work/sleep/work that California had become.

I needed some time to live, to enjoy my wonderful hubby. To pet the dog until I wore the fur right off him. Maybe take a walk, or have a day off. What was the point of this big move if I was going to be locked in either the office or the soap room every single day?

Don't get me wrong, I'll miss the business. But I'm missing my life. And I can always start another business, while this one life is all I'm going to get. So one job, with a little massage on the side (something else I miss doing, and have no time for right now) - that's a schedule that allows me some time to breathe.

And sit.

And possibly read a book.

Or work on a painting.

Or do a little sewing.

I'll spend the next couple of months using up the materials I have on hand, and selling off the ready stock, and then I'm going to sit in the park and watch Bander chase squirrels.

It sounds completely peaceful.

Endangered Species

Two kinds of soap that are just about gone - Lemony Snickets and Tonic Salt Bars.

And two that are coming in soon - restocks of Pink Grapefruit Salt Bars and Alabaster Salt Bars. Be sure and let me know if you have special requests!

No More Big Bombs

Well, so much for giving anybody notice. But I just broke my effing bath bomb press that makes the great big bombs, so that's the end of that. There are a few fragrances with one each, and that's the end of the giant bombs.

If you want the regular bombs, I still have those, and I can do custom scents in the smaller size.

*sigh* Stupid bomb press.