I introduced T-bone the Terrorist the other day and now I thought I might introduce the more sedate members of the family. The leader of the pack and the boss is Paradigm. We inherited him from a friend of my husband. They were a 5 cat family but every time my husband would go to visit this one would always try to follow him out the door. Finally they told him to take the cat home with him. He is the friendliest and most gregarious cat I have ever met. He never met a dog he didn’t like.

Paradigm taking a cat nap.

Paradigm taking a cat nap.

The next member of the family is the old lady of the group. Her previous owner had terminal cancer and when her daughter moved in to care for her the dog had to go. I will not comment further on this. My husband who is more or less housebound was looking for a companion and she was perfect. She is probably the smartest and best trained dog we have owned since the 1st dog we owned. I also think she is a mindreader as well as being the disciplinarian with the puppy.  I believe if I stayed out of the picture she would train him for me.

You should see me with a frisbee!

You should see me with a frisbee!

Over the last fifty years thousands of chemicals have been discovered and are being used in our agriculture, skin care, and our environment. Since the skin is our body’s largest organ and up to 60% of what we put on our skin ends up in our bloodstream, it is no surprise in that same 50 years that the rates of eczema, psoriasis and cancers have all increased. We may not be able to avoid all these chemicals, but we believe it makes sense to avoid as many as possible when we can. We have found as the years go by that we discover many more people that have developed sensitivities to many of the chemicals present in many modern toiletries.  

 

As mankind moved into modern times we found substitutes for many of the natural oils and elements of nature that had served us so well in the past. We replaced Nature with chemical creations. Year after year we are hearing of more and more of our friends and neighbors becoming sensitive or allergic to many of the products that end up on our grocery and drugstore shelves.  

 

Plants have been used for healing long before recorded history. Ancient Chinese and Egyptian papyrus writings describe medicinal plant uses. Indigenous cultures (e.g., African and Native American) used herbs in their healing rituals, while others developed traditional medical systems such as the Chinese. Scientists found that people in different parts of the world systematically use the same or similar plants for the same purposes.

 

As you walk down the aisles of your local pharmacy seeing the variety of brightly colored bottles and jars whose contents are designed to treat an almost endless variety of beauty deficits, could you ever imagine them as flowers once growing on a forest floor or as a bark cut from one of its trees?  Almost every label has a natural element listed boldly across the front. Tea Tree, Chamomile, grapeseed, oatmeal, jojoba oil: ingredients from every continent are represented on every type of skin care product represented.

 

A Scentsible World offers fine handcrafted soaps and toiletries created with the finest natural oils and butters available. All of our soaps are crafted in small batches with loving care. Quality is not a forgotten word in our vocabulary. Our soaps are made by Cold Process soapmaking in three to five pound batches.  We use all natural vegetable oils in all of our soaps with coconut, palm, olive, rice bran oil, babassu oil, castor oil, soy oil, avocado oil, canola oil, shea butter and cocoa butter with their wonderful conditioning properties as our main  basic ingredients.  Each oil and butter contributes to the overall end product making it the gentlest and most moisturizing bar available.

All Natural Bulgarian Lavender

All Natural Bulgarian Lavender

 

 

About 30 years ago I had a dog that had a litter of 12 puppies. It was then I swore I was never going to have another puppy. Since my oldest daughter was born (think bicentenniel) since she wouldn’t want me to mention her age, I have had dobermans. I have had a couple of german shepards throughout the years, but I have always considered myself a doberman person. Jake was my last one. Jake was a humane society reject. I truly believe in the history of the local humane societies around here, he was the 1st dog they didn’t charge to adopt. Could have something to do with the fact that he had a massive case of heartworms.  Or the one thing they failed to tell us when we adopted him was that he evidently had been abused by a man, so whenever a man got down in his face he had a tendency to try to rip that face off.

After 6 years of lots of love, good training and very expensive veterinary care he became one of my favorite dogs. Did I mention that he weighed in at 126 lbs. I had to have him put to sleep because of an advanced case of bone cancer which devastated me for months.

Handsome devil at 8 years old

Handsome devil at 8 years old

As I stated before, I said I would never have another puppy. Well, NEVER, say NEVER. My husband who is a semi-invalid, has an Australian Shepard. Generally I have to walk the dog, but we finally moved and now we have a ramp where he can take his electric wheelchair outside. We took his dog, Cinders, out for a walk a few weeks ago. It was a gorgeous soft southern evening. One of those evenings when everyone wants to be outside. That included a neighbor lady, her 5 year old daughter and 3 puppies. Guess what?

He may be cute but he is really a Terrorist in disguise!

He may be cute but he is really a Terrorist in disguise!

The only time he isn’t causing trouble is when he is sleeping! It must be the Jack Russell Terrier in him. They told me the mother was a Jack Russell and they think the father was a fast talking working Peke A Poo that lived next door.

Surely you aren't talking about me!

Surely you aren't talking about me!

Today I have been driving myself nuts trying to put my Etsy widget on this blog. Now by now most of you have realized that I am old as dirt and anything more advanced than a pencil is pretty tricky for me. I did succeed in placing the etsy widget on my My Space space. See! I told you. I don’t even have the language mastered yet. Yes, I got the widget on My Space, but then it disappeared.

What do I do when I can’t successfully master the computer.  I go play with the mud to relax! Moor Mud that is. I love it. It is one of  Mother Nature’s finest gifts to mankind (and womenkind). It is just to bad I can’t squish it through my toes.

 

Regenerates, Revitalizes Skin, Tightens Pores, Helps Heal Acne

Regenerates, Revitalizes Skin, Tightens Pores, Helps Heal Acne

 

Today I made more Dead Sea Mud Masks with Moor Mud and Rhassoul Clay. They have become one of my 3 best sellers. Unfortunately I had to raise the price recently because like everything else my supplies skyrocketed. My repeat customers seem to understand and I truly appreciate that. I think that they understand that I use no fillers, and the infusing of the herbs is time involved. 

 

What is Moor Mud?

 

Moor Mud is an organic substance, a product of the natural decomposition of a multitude of plants under special conditions. It is unlike any other mud in the beauty or spa industry. It contains almost no clay and contains the organic remains of flowers, plants, herbs and grasses. Over a period of thousands of years these residues turn into a paste that easily dissolves in the water and has an unusual concentration of bio-minerals, trace elements, vitamins, amino acids, plant hormones and fatty acids.

 

The natural acids and nutrients in peat (Moor Mud) are the force behind its healing abilities.  As one aspect of peat opens the skin pores allowing nutrients in and acids out, another aspect actively draws out lactic acid and metabolic wastes from tissues. 

Ø      It improves the look and feel of mature skin.

Ø      It helps heal & clear acne.

Ø      Increases the collagen and skin cell production.

Ø      Used to relieve pain of arthritis, fibromyalgia, sore muscles and joint stiffness.

Ø      Helps in the treatment of eczema, psoriasis.

 

 

      .

Moor Mud can be used alone or in conjunction with a number of other materials to create fantastic products that love your skin. We make several, including our best selling product, Dead Sea Mud Mask with Moor Mud & Rhassoul Clay.  We also make a great Moor Mud Bar and a super Moor Mud Soufflé. Try one or all of them today! Check out our etsy site at http://www.bjrussell.etsy.com for our Moor Mud products!

 

 

Moor Mud Cleansing Bar

Moor Mud Cleansing Bar

 

Great for acne, mature skin, roseacae

Great for acne, mature skin, roseacae

 

 

 

 

My Etsy shop is freshly stocked and you can visit it here:

http://bjrussell.etsy.com

Any and all comments are appreciated!

Goatmilk Cucumber

Goatmilk Cucumber

Today I took the Goat Milk Cucumber Bars off the rack. I couldn’t wait to try one. This was the first time I had used fresh goat milk instead of powdered. It may be all in my head but I swear there is a huge difference. This is also the first time I have used the cucumber distillate instead of a fragrance oil also. I love it! I bought the goat milk from a fellow vendor at the Farmer’s Market here in Evansville. I also bought 2 dozen free range eggs from him. They haven’t lasted very long. I can see my cholesterol rising off the chart, but boy are they great. It is difficult to explain the difference to anyone who have never eaten an egg from a free range chicken.

 

Great for Mature Skin

Great for Mature Skin

 

 

Nature’s Best Known Skin Softener

 

Hydrate, nourish & rejuvenate your skin with our all-natural whole goat milk & cucumber soap. Indulge in the natural moisturizing properties of a soap made with both whole goat milk and whole cucumber.  Goat milk contains naturally occurring alpha-hydroxy  acids, proteins, minerals and high vitamin levels that can help slow the effects of aging.

 

We use the whole ground cucumber in this fantastic soap. Cucumber is loaded with Vitamin E and natural oils. Cucumber acts as a natural emollient that softens and hydrates the skin after prolonged environmental exposure.  It improves and helps rejuvenate mature skin. Cleopatra had her own recipe for a cucumber mask consisting of cucumbers, milk and honey.

 

This bar is made from nature’s finest oils and butters, goat milk and cucumber distillate and handcrafted in small batches by the cold process method.  Your skin will thank you!