King of the Mountain

I love living in the country. 

It's a beautiful day out and the critters are truly enjoying it. 

Thought you might enjoy sharing the view off my porch today.

The girls are out playing King (or is it Queen?) of the Mountain.

Reba is snoozing and is totally oblivious to the contest going on over her head. 

My Amazing Wedding Present

Okay. I've been debating about adding this tidbit for the past few days but I am just so thrilled I had to share.

As some of you know I am getting married in March. YAY!!! I am super excited about that as you can imagine.

But... this post isn't about the wedding. It's about the most amazing present that I have ever received. I am still in shock.
 

My Wedding Present!

5 month old paint filly that I have named Reba

I guess a little history is in order here. I have been wanting another horse for years but it has always been a "one of these days" things ie: when we have more money, when I lose weight, etc, etc. It was just one of those things I really, really wanted but was a completely self indulgent want... not a need.

Yes, I was one of those horse crazy kids that could never get enough time at the stables or in the saddle. I dreamed, breathed and lived horses 24/7. When I was 12 my parents bought me my first horse that was all mine. I was in heaven. He was a buckskin gelding named Samson and was my best friend for years.

Well, I got older and the inevitable happened. I discovered boys. Needless to say I took time off from horses and got married and raised a family but  I never forgot those wonderful days of my childhood. 

I have scanned horse sites on the internet for years, daydreaming of owning another horse but figuring now isn't the right time. We have too many other things that are more important. You know how it goes... everything else comes first. 

Well, my wonderful fiance' knew this was something I really wanted and decided my "want" was a priority. :)

So I now have this wonderful little filly... how awesome is that?! 

Oh and did you notice her markings? It looks like she has a bird and a puppy on her side. Wonder if they will still look that way when she sheds her winter coat?

About Lait 'a Savon...

Hello Again....

Wow! Time is really flying by. I can't believe January is almost over already. Busy, busy, busy!

First, I would like to tell you a little bit about Lait 'a Savon, which is pronounced (Lay ah Sah von) meaning Milk to Soap in french. It all started innocently enough. For years I had been unable to drink cow's milk. Now mind you, I really like chocolate milk and being able to have cereal for breakfast so I did some checking around and someone told me to try goat's milk. I bought a dairy goat when I found out their milk is more easily digested than cow's milk (which gave me horrible stomach aches). I couldn't see wasting the excess milk so I researched and studied the science/art of soap making. After using it I could never go back to store bought soap. The difference between handcrafted milk soap and regular soap is incredible. There really is no way to compare the two. Add to this that I love making soap and voila! Lait 'a Savon was born.

Milk has been used as a skin and beauty aid for centuries. 

It is said that Cleopatra would take milk baths to make her skin soft and silky smooth.

Now a bit about the soap.

My soap is made with whole goat milk from my small herd of dairy goats. They are hand milked by me twice a day. I never use 'store bought' milk in my soap. I strive to make the best soap I can with every single batch. All of my soap is made, cut, trimmed and stamped by hand. Every batch is aged for a minimum of four weeks. My soap washes off easily unlike most store bought soap and leaves your skin feeling clean and refreshed.
On a side note, when using my soap (instead of shaving cream or gels) my razor blades seem to stay sharp much longer. Now there have been no scientific studies done on this, just an observation on my part.

 I thought this would be a good time to show some of the soap that is available for purchase. The first two are ones that are always in stock. They are both colorant and scent free. Excellent choices for those that have sensitive skin or are prone to allergies.

Note: I no longer use the round soap molds. All soap is the rectangular bars as shown in the second image.

Milk Maiden

Unscented milk soap that is colorant free and has a rich, soapy lather. 

Oatmeal and Honey

Made with fresh ground oatmeal and locally harvested raw honey.

A wonderful exfoliant for face and body. 

I will add more pictures of other available soap in future posts so check back often. 

Price for all soap is $3.50 per bar.  

Bars are 3.5 - 4 oz each.

Flat rate priority shipping when ordering 5 or more bars.

Actual shipping on smaller orders.

Please contact me at laitasavon@att.net when ordering.

The woodstove hates me

As many of you know we live in Michigan. It gets really cold here in the winter so to offset the winter heating cost we installed a woodstove. It works great, keeps the house nice and toasty warm and gives the living room a comfy, homey look and feel.

Well, to be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with the woodstove. I love it... it hates me... sigh.

I woke up about 4am this morning, groggily walked out to the living room to check the woodstove. It was almost out, just a few coals left burning. I think to myself, "No problem, I'll just toss a few logs in, get it going again and go back to bed." Needless to say the woodstove had other ideas.

I did all the things my better half told me to do to get it going. I added the smallest logs and set them just so...added crumpled paper to get a flame started to light the logs as I was not about to go outside in the cold and snow to cut up more kindling. The paper lights, the edges of the logs start burning. All is good with the world.

Then the flames die out. Again I think, "No problem, I'll just get it going again and go back to bed."

This time I used crumpled paper and some cardboard, figuring the cardboard would burn longer. It did... didn't help.

Well, two and a half hours and half an XL pizza box (for the stove not me) later my better half wakes up. By this time I am so frustrated I am about to give up. I tell him everything I've done and all I've been able to accomplish is keeping the small pile of coals alive.

He says he'll see what he can do with it. He walks over, kneels down and opens the woodstove door and WHOOSH!!! Major Flamage!!!!

I'd been trying for hours and he walks over and WHOOSH???

On that note I looked at the woodstove in disgust and went back to bed.

Hello and Welcome

I was sitting at the piano this morning watching Tilly, my lamancha doeling, playing in the snow drifts and thought this is something my customers might like to know about my soap business. The daily or weekly happenings and antics of the does that provide the wonderful milk that goes into my handcrafted milk soap.

I'll add pictures and stories of their antics and other bits about life on the farm where Lait 'a Savon milk soap is created. I'll also update information about the soap and what is available for sale, new or limited edition soap, and what is on the drying/aging shelves. 

I hope you'll come back often to see what's going on.