mayamade

2011-12-24T22:33:00.001-06:00

interesting article on the connection between our d.n.a and what perfumes we like. http://ping.fm/dONUu

2011-12-24T12:00:00.001-06:00

great herbal info. for the (hopefully not) flu season: http://ow.ly/84bl2

2011-12-23T19:05:00.001-06:00

try nettle infusion! 1 oz. nettles in a mason jar. fill w/ HOT h20. set overnight, in the a.m. strain & drink. you can feel the nutrients.

2011-12-22T13:46:00.001-06:00

OHHH! yay! a mountian rose herbs contest! go now and doooo eeeetttt! http://ping.fm/dQTju

2011-12-19T15:00:00.001-06:00

carpool calm essential oil blend try orange, geranium, cedarwood in the diffuser.

2011-12-19T12:40:00.001-06:00

Need a lunch time boost? try grapefruit essential oil misted into the air.

2011-11-06T18:00:00.001-06:00

free webinar for using herbs for kids with colds and flu. perfect timing with winter coming. http://ping.fm/nJ31r

2011-11-06T14:56:00.001-06:00

a thousand flowers soap, an incredible selection of flower waxes and essential oils with an beautiful flower topping. this one is special!

2011-10-13T16:54:00.001-05:00

win coffee! what could be better? http://ping.fm/GsBuU

2011-10-10T21:36:00.001-05:00

i cannot wait! a blend of citrus oils w/ hand made tea from alpine texas as the swirl. the smell of this soap is divine!

2011-10-10T21:35:00.001-05:00

on the way is an lovely soap with lady grey tea and a wintery blend of essential oils and fine kombucha as the liquid. this one is special!

2011-10-10T21:34:00.001-05:00

oh oh oh! ready to cut is an incredible pumpkin spice soap with wonderful essential oils, pumpkin and a cinnamon swirl. smells luscious!

2011-10-06T22:14:00.001-05:00

spa soap bar with jasmine pearls kombucha and green tea sprinkles with sweet orange and patchouli essential oils. the best smelling ever.

2011-10-06T22:13:00.001-05:00

jasmine kombucha with green tea and eucalyptus and tea tree essential oil spa soap bar cut and curing. very happy!

2011-10-06T22:12:00.001-05:00

jasmine kombucha w/ jasmine pearls tea & myrrh & frankincense essential oil spa soap bar cut and curing. YUM.

2011-10-05T22:20:00.001-05:00

oh oh oh! go enter this contest! http://ping.fm/u15kP

2011-10-04T12:44:00.001-05:00

four new soap molds are sitting on the counter just waiting to be filled with soap. i am so very happy.

2011-10-01T17:14:00.001-05:00

today's perfumes: sandalwood, amber and vanilla. amber, patchouli, sandalwood. amber, jasmine, sandalwood, vetiver. ideas, suggestions?

2011-10-01T14:11:00.001-05:00

9 reason i love the post office: floral waxes: jasmine g, jasmine s, ylang ylang, tuberose, narcissus, rose, orange, mimosa and lavender!

2011-09-29T19:43:00.001-05:00

wonderful spa bar with rosemary and citrus essential oil soap. tomorrow a new combination kombucha and tea soap. cold processed of course.

2011-09-28T20:01:00.001-05:00

yippie! 100% olive oil soap & kombucha soap with essential oils and a wonderful tea topping. everything smells and looks incredible!

2011-09-25T11:46:00.001-05:00

teaching an old friend how to make her first c.p soap. i am thrilled, she is over the moon! what to make? thinking grn t w/ ginger e.o.

2011-07-21T10:38:00.001-05:00

sweet orange tea and vanilla mocha soap done! smell so very good. colors are incredible, orange of the tea and the chocolate of the mocha...divine!

2011-07-07T21:21:00.001-05:00

ohhh! look at this wonderful chance to win a serious collection of bath and body products!
http://ping.fm/7WyEX

2011-07-07T15:51:00.001-05:00

sour cherries processed, yarrow and arnica balm finished. working on honey, propolis, beeswax & pollen balm. success!

2011-07-05T09:57:00.001-05:00

more roses cut. i swear they grow overnight thanks for growing but it needs to be somewhere else. this is a great opportunity!

2011-06-30T09:22:00.001-05:00

a beautiful morning for wild harvesting roses. anyone else collecting natures bounty today?

2011-06-25T13:20:00.001-05:00

flower wax order complete. wonderful assortment of flower waxes all with different qualities. i am so excited.

2011-01-26T23:16:00.001-06:00

achieved much tonight, herb order and packaging order. plus many salves, oils, tinctures & other herbal items all worked out tired & happy.

2011-01-23T12:15:00.001-06:00

in emergency's what herbal/homeo/etc. do you use/wish you had on hand? mayamade is working on a car/bike emergency kit & wants your input.

2010-12-31T20:37:00.001-06:00

http://tiny.cc/6y40y first project of the new year planned, homemade yogurt in cooler, sick child, helpful friend, working on cheese. whew!

2010-11-28T10:29:00.001-06:00

didcha know liberace was from wisconsin? http://ping.fm/3GI4I

perfume tutorial with recycled glass container

2010-11-14T16:41:00.004-06:00

Everyone enjoys scent. It hits of primitive reptilian brain in such an amazing way. Smell links us to our childhood and is the sense that I believe is the strongest.
Solid perfume is a perfume with an ingredient in it that keeps it stiff, solid perfume holds up better in warm bathrooms, doesn't spill easily, has a good feel on your skin and rubs into your skin very fast. This solid perfume is easy to make and only requires ingredients you either have at home or you can easily get at the health food store or online. In honor of our mother earth I used recycled containers for my solid perfume. Just make sure you wash it out really well or your sandalwood perfume might become sandalwood anchovy perfume and I don't think thats what you're looking for.

You'll need:
1 small clean jar
beeswax 1 inch cube or candelilla wax 1/2 inch cube
a couple of tablespoons oil of choice (olive oil, coconut oil, etc.)
essential oil of choice, I highly recommend getting the highest quality you can.
a sauce pan
two cup sized mason jars, one for oil one for wax

First wash your area, really. Get out the CLEAN container your going to reuse for you perfume jar. The container should be easy for you to reach into and the mouth not to small. I used a recycled anchovy container.

Get out your beeswax, I used a 1 inch square piece, if you're vegan or the recipient of your solid perfume is vegan use half as much candelilla wax. Place the wax in a mason jar then place the mason jar in a sauce pan on the stove making a sort of double boiler. Add a little water to the pan, enough to cover the sides of the mason jar but not so much that the water will fill the mason jar. If water does touch the beeswax don't worry. Just pour it out before the wax melts. MELTED WAX WILL BURN YOU!!!

Use a tong! Melted wax burns! Use caution!

Add 1 Tablespoon of the oil of your choice to the melted beeswax. I used Olive but you can use coconut, olive, jojoba, rice bran, which ever you have. Please don't use animal fat like butter or lard or any kind of margarine as they will go rancid and ruin your product. That just doesn't sound good. Slowly combine the melted wax and oil in on of the mason jars. Stir and pour the oil and wax base into your reused perfume jar and stir it a little. Don't fill it to the very top. You want to leave enough room for the essential oil. If the wax cools too quickly for you to add the essential oil just reheat the oil and wax base in the double boiler for a minute.

remelted beeswax and oil in a double boiler set up.

Stir a little bit letting it cool ever so slightly, then add the essential oils of your choice. Depending on how strong you want your solid perfume use between 20 and 80 drops of essential oil. I used a couple of different kinds. Use ones that you really like the scent of or let the aromatherapist in you out and go with something like lavender for relaxation or say geranium for steadiness and depression.

After letting it cool if your solid perfume is too solid melt it again using the double boiler method and add a tiny bit more oil. How much of each ingredient varies slightly.

Your solid perfume is done! Yay you! It takes 20-30 minutes to cool completely. You can put it in the refrigerator to speed up this process. You'll be able to feel when its cool enough to use the perfume also becomes firm, opaque and smooth. Use solid perfume like you would any other perfume.

Perfume made with essential oils and other scents made from real things and NOT in a lab, evaporates faster on your skin or in the air then lab made perfumes. The scent of essential oil perfumes also sticks closer to you making perfume a more private thing then the lab made scents that get shared with everyone in the room.

and finally if you have any questions or anything else go here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MayaMade/304846675233
and ask away or leave a comment.

www.mountainroseherbs.com for the items you might need to buy, but look around first, you probably don't need to buy anything.

2010-11-02T12:20:00.001-06:00

thanks 2 seward coop i won seasonal fruit desserts by deborah madison! great book!

2010-11-02T09:36:00.001-06:00

easy peasy do it yourself light box. http://ping.fm/qs7V7

2010-10-30T20:52:00.001-05:00

the perfect FREE book for all of us ad/h/d & multitasking types. really. free. no spam, no virus, no joke. http://ping.fm/gqosA

2010-10-29T10:55:00.001-05:00

vanilla & chocolate and pumpkin pie with vanilla soap is cut and curing. smells so very good.

2010-08-02T12:55:00.001-05:00

today i got my essential oil order! i huge collection of essential oils and a little coffee butter. my apothecary room smells incredible.

2010-08-02T10:00:00.001-05:00

MayaMade's orange scream smoothie: 1 frzn banana, 5 frzn strawberries, 1C milk or alternative, 2T frzn o.j. concentrate. blend.

2010-08-02T09:58:00.001-05:00

MayaMade's dessert smoothie: 1 scoop icecream/ricedream/coconutdream, 1 shot cold press or espresso, 2T chocolate syrup, 1C milk of choice.

2010-08-01T09:41:00.001-05:00

very easy, wonderful rose room and body mister: @ holy land/hampden park coop/other purchase rose water, add to mister, mist room and self.

2010-08-01T09:38:00.001-05:00

MayaMade's juicing ginger garden 2 apples, 1 knuckle ginger, 3 med. carrots, 1 sm. beet. add to juicer in order listed. v. earthy.

2010-07-31T10:25:00.001-05:00

MayaMade's avocado smoothie: 5 mint leaves+ 1t. diced ginger blended w/ 2C lemonade + flesh of 1 avocado. blend well. serves 2 enjoy

2010-07-31T10:14:00.001-05:00

MayaMade's green smoothie: 1C spinach 1 cucumber peeled, blend + enough mint T to liquify + 1T honey +1T spirulina (option) serves 2.

2010-07-30T08:43:00.001-05:00

MayaMade's sleepy smoothie: 1c xtra strong chamomile T, 1/2 frzn banana, 1/2 C yogurt blend til yummy. 1 serving excellent bedtime snack

2010-07-29T09:11:00.001-05:00

TIP: When making smoothies (anything else!) use best produce avail. taste test the diff. btwn frmrs mrkt/coop cherries and megamart cherries

2010-07-29T09:06:00.001-05:00

MayaMade's smoothie recipe: chunk 1 sm. cantelope no skin no seeds blend + apple juice if needed, + 1C vanilla yogurt, 1t vanilla. serves 2

2010-07-28T14:42:00.001-05:00

MayaMade's nectarine lime smoothie: 2C lemon or lime aide 1C sliced nectarines frozen/fresh & 1T honey. blend. add 1C yogurt if desired yum!

2010-07-27T20:02:00.001-05:00

http://ping.fm/oIV1Q
lies my nurse practitioner told me. this is an incredible piece.

2010-07-27T19:53:00.001-05:00

in case you didn't know 55 gallon drums weight nothing empty and a whole lot full of water. but the future compost barrel is clean.

2010-07-27T15:09:00.001-05:00

MayaMade's smoothie recipe. Raspberry and mint tea 2C, 1C raspberries, 1T honey, blend. garnish w/ mint. cool off & enjoy

2010-07-27T15:07:00.001-05:00

got a 55 gallon drum to turn into a compost barrel today. very excited to start new composting situation.

2010-07-26T10:10:00.001-05:00

MayaMade's milk & honey smoothie 1 C. milk of choice (almond, soy, rice, cow) & 1 frozen banana blend w/1 T honey. makes @ 2 C. serving.

birthday party for cancers today

2010-07-17T19:00:00.000-05:00

and it was beautiful. we saw all kinds of old friends and met a couple of new ones. two friend came with their baby, and lemme tell you she is DARLING. big squishy cheeps and dimpled knee's. my god. i coulda snuggled her all day.

and good news! i finally got a working camera! no more blogging with out photos! oh happy day. okay so this post doesn't have photos but form now on. camera comes everywhere.

2010-07-05T22:38:00.001-05:00

i know it's 6 months early but has anyone else started working on handmade holidays gifts yet? i got castile soap done and a few other things in mind.

2010-07-05T13:40:00.001-05:00

Cut & wrapped NEKKED soap last night. Very nice combination of oils with out any extra's for those who are sensitive to essential oils or additives.

2010-06-22T10:31:00.001-05:00

sitting in the garden listening to kids play. mother nature sure gives us her gifts.

2010-05-30T15:20:00.001-05:00

started to re-organize the soaping and apothecary room. working on new labels and two new wholesale acct.'s fingerscrossed. very happy.

2010-05-29T16:16:00.001-05:00

the teenager and friends are off to the lake for an afternoon of swimming. i am putting together a grill. wish me luck. i may need it.

2010-05-26T16:22:00.001-05:00

started spring dandelion tincture with organic vodka from a mn. company. local as it gets!

2010-05-21T15:34:00.001-05:00

sent out several fabulous packages to various lovers of fine handmade products. thanks for you support everyone.

2010-05-14T11:53:00.001-05:00

seward garage sale days, soaping and then hopefully dear child has friends over.

2010-05-01T11:02:00.001-05:00

6 hours yesterday transplanting plants. moving little babies from one yard to another. very sore, but very happy. a ton more too due, still.

2010-04-23T11:20:00.001-05:00

nettles infusion is easy source of minerals and vitamins, traditionally used for allergies, kidneys, acne, psoriasis, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ezLZzg2Vgw

2010-04-23T10:51:00.001-05:00

nesting birds on the porch are doing well, they still fly away but less urgently. still 5 little eggs. i cannot wait until they hatch.

2010-04-21T23:49:00.001-05:00

i so want this. http://ping.fm/g3wqB

2010-04-21T10:29:00.001-05:00

haven't they heard of jamie olivers food revolution? alice waters? decent food for toddlers? anything? www.enfamil.com/app/iwp/enfamil/productDetail.dodm=enf&id=/Consumer_Home2/Enf_Products/ForToddlers/EnfagrowChocolate&iwpst=B2C&ls=0&csred=1&r=3449311851

2010-04-21T10:07:00.001-05:00

hooo-hooo! i got picked for an etsy treasury!
come and look at all the incredible stuff.
http://ping.fm/ODgDH

2010-04-20T19:51:00.001-05:00

where should it go in yer town? city park? riverbank? covering the freeway? downtown street www.dezeen.com/2010/02/01/medical-herbman-cafe-project-by-earthscape/

2010-04-20T18:11:00.001-05:00

video of the decade. http://ping.fm/CRcko

2010-04-20T18:05:00.001-05:00

"Herbalist I have an earache" 2000 B.C. "Here eat this root." 1000 B.C. "That root is heathen. Say this prayer." 1850 A.D. "That prayer is superstition. Drink this potion." 1940 A.D. "That potion is snake oil. Swallow this pill." 1985 A.D.."That pill is ineffective. Take this antibiotic." 2000 A.D. "That antibiotic is ineffective. Here, take this root!"

2010-04-19T17:57:00.001-05:00

i waited a day too long to move the fake flower basket off the porch. now there are 5 eggs in it and two v. attentive birds fluttering about

2010-04-19T16:37:00.001-05:00

my mom just got a card i sent her when i lived in oakland. 20 years ago. god bless the u.s. post office. better late then never, i guess.

2010-04-18T12:33:00.001-05:00

what should i plant in the gardens this year? thinking of calendula, echinacea, rosemary, yarrow. along with the usual veggies. suggestions?

2010-04-17T13:08:00.001-05:00

success! i made yogurt and keifer! super yummy goatsmilk goodness. the only issue is...i cannot tell the difference betwix them.

2010-04-13T17:09:00.001-05:00

headed to highschool open house tonight. we think this is the one, cross your fingers for us.

2010-04-13T17:06:00.001-05:00

only paula dean would have a fryer built into her home kitchen.

2010-02-03T19:22:00.001-06:00

mayamade soap now available at hampton park coop http://tiny.cc/ftyjP on raymond ave. in st. paul starting monday! come on in and check it out

2010-01-23T21:58:00.001-06:00

first showing on the house, open house tomorrow. :woo for selling it asap, please.

it went fantastic. the spring fling party at my hosue today went over so well...

2009-04-11T21:15:00.002-05:00

fun was had by all. everyone stayed later then we thought, everyone ate tons of great food, we had a fine wild and crazy egg hunt were all the kids got quarters, candy, and a little toy.
ians dad stayed for hours, friends from ians school and my volunteer place came, plus in "home friends" as ian calls them. god we had a great time. and later on i will fill in the details. mostly i just wanted to say what a success the party was.

tomorrow i will deal with the death of a good friend, tomorrow. cos i don't wanna think about it today.

we had our first house showing yesterday. it went okay.

2009-04-07T12:05:00.002-05:00

if nothing else i have cleaning an amazing amount and purged almost all of my former belongings. new gifts out into the world for people. all to the freestore. they see me coming and are thrilled. it was tough finding a freestore that didnt make people pray before getting the items they are in need of. tough i tell you. but after several hours of calling various places i found it. so they are the recipients of all my former belongings.

in other news the only other thing i seem to be thinking about i threw away musta been 11ty hundred garbage bags of stuff. the trash collector made comments to his buddy. okay he was training the guy in so they werent comments about the HUGE pile of garbage. and it felt GOOOD to get rid of that stuff. sooo soo good.

someday i will post pictures of my work. someday.

the housing inspector comes in two hours.

2009-04-03T10:36:00.002-06:00

ask me if i am done cleaning.
i'm not. i spent 6 hours cleaning the young teens bedroom yesterday. a developed nation complaint for sure, but still. i found a HUGE stash of silver ware and books to give to a friend with a kid alittle younger then young teen. the books, not the silverware.

now its on to my room. which really isn't bad. i just have to throw some clothing into the closet and kinda straiten some stuff out. prolly should make my bed too.
the front room and dinner room are done, the kitchen is almost there.

this guy is just looking around for structural problems, do the fire detectors work, etc. monday the first perspective buyer comes. it really has to look nice by then.

the day before yesterday i got a phone call from younger teens dad, he said "what are you doing right now? are you busy? i need a huge favor." i said, i am working but its no biggie. i don't have 200.00 dollars. what is it?"

he said "i split my pants working at Eric's (he and his wife own renaissance tree care and ds dad works with them) can you bring me a pair of pants."

i manage, barely, to stifle a laugh. and say sure

next thing i know i am driving to the house with pants. get there are hell if he hasn't completely busted out the ass of his pants. funniest thing ever.

it looks like were moving.

2009-03-31T11:01:00.004-06:00

not just because of that but in part, i am getting rid of as much stuff as possible. today's load to the used book store was five orange boxes (not boxes orange in color but boxes that used to hold oranges from the grocery store.) four cloth shopping bags, and one plastic shopping basket i accidentally liberated from target.
Yesterdays stuff was three huge garbage bags of clothing and other miscellaneous wearable items like purse and stuff.

today we go see the house were looking at, i already drove past it and looked at the outside. its darling. today we get to look at the inside. the realtor were working with says it need work like painting and incidentals. nothing like the amount our current very well loved house needs.

i am amazed at how much i can to in a day. and equally amazed at how overwhelmed (her words not mine) and unable to do anything my mom is. now look i know what its like. i am overwhelmed too. but ive been dealing with her "someday the revolution will come and we will need________" obviously fill in the blank. lemme tell you we wont need 100 phillips screw drivers. ever.

nor will we need 37 toaster, 2000 books on aircraft history, building, fliers etc. two clothes washers. ever. ever ever. ever.

so its all leaving. to find good homes.

at least the airplane body that was in the backyard found a new home several years ago.

this new house is going to one of those houses that only has the necessities, things the people who live there love and use.

court was yesterday and i managed to completely and throughly so confuse the judge that he just sat there shaking his head and saying "i've never seen

2009-03-27T14:23:00.002-06:00

this before...".
because ian's dad and i didn't argue the traditional ex partners way. the man/non-custodial parent saying its my money! and the woman custodial parent saying i need more child support!

instead i asked for ian's dad child support obligation to be reduced, its in my benefit, his drivers lic. restored and for the arrears to be eliminated.

it worked. we confused the family "justice" system thoroughly. and walked away better friends and happier people. it was worth every penny.

i also opened my hyena shop
it was a metric ton of work for write the code for that. esp. since i have less the no knowledge about how computers work or how to write code (that's what they call it, ya know writing code. don't i sound like a pro-freshion-al?)
i found a test site for hyena carts and a site for the codes for colors and an open source software thingy for making thumbnails of photos. i feel so successful!

i did something i never thought i could do. and it saved me 70.00 or so dollars to have someone else do it for me. yeah me! i test stocked one item, but over the weekend i plan on stocking tons of stuff. like soap, flower remedies, i have a couple of ideas for stuff too. i think it'll work out really well.

on an etsy note the ***big spring fling*** raffle is coming along nicely. the loverly ad that goes into mothering message board soon is really nice. the woman who did it is really talented. i cant wait for the sale to start. just a few more days.

i volunteer at the coop tomorrow, i am working up the nerve to ask helen, the woman who runs it, to put my items for sale. well see how it goes. although i dont understand the tax sitch with something like that. it might be more work then its worth...
tonight we go out to cy and rachels for a pot luck dinner, our contribution is brownies. hmmmmm... brownies. i think it'll be fun. i cant wait for out csa share from their farm to start. hmmmmm... csa.

i think that's about it for now. more later.

treasure mapping and decluttering

2009-03-24T21:12:00.004-06:00

one of the reasons i love spring so much is that i can open the doors and have the smell of clean air and ozone coming in. okay so i live in the northland so its more like current rain and future blizzard but you get the idea. i was looking for the reasons we all declutter besides spring time. i mean why not january 1st?
so in doing this i have found treasure mapping. based on astrology, you declutter for a week, something i was in dire need of doing anyway, and then build your self a map of the coming year here is a blog that explains it all. www.tracyastrosalon.blogspot.com
so even if i didn't buy into astrology lets face it. the decluttering part? so me. in doing so i gave away 5 large garbage bags of clothing, a dinosaur of a computer, and boxes of tchotckes. it feels soo good. oh yeah! 8 grocery bags of books which earned me 50.00 dollars in credit at the local bookstore and created a huge gift for
the womens prison book project. a great organization that, i bet yhou can tell by the name, gives books to women prisoners.

along with the decluttering ive been working tons on my shop. tons. adding several new flower essences and been making up a stock pile of soap. lemme tell you when the revolutions comes i will be set up in the soap departemnt. they really are beautiful soaps. rescue me with 5 classic flower remedies. spicy chai tea with ginger, chai tea and cornmeal and essential oils. i also created a shampoo bar recipe i think will knock the socks off anyone who uses it. sage nettles and rosemary with olive, canola, coconut, castor, sweet almond, jojoba oils with lavender and rosemary essential oils. hmmmmm... i cannot wait.

well last nights lack of sleep is getting to me. ill have to spell check and edit tomorrow.
night.

my basement flooded but it isnt a noah style flood just a spring in minnesota style flood

2009-03-16T09:00:00.001-06:00

Picture aromatherapy play clay for the ***BIG GIVEAWAY***
Originally uploaded by mayamadeherbals

but some of the wood working stuff got wet. but not my herb and aromatherapy stuff thank goddess. i am leaving the door open today and watching the water just float away in the air. it coulda been soooo much worse.

yesterday was the last day of spring break. we were one minute late to school, tons of the other kids were super late. it was kinda funny to watch this line of kids waiting to the late slips. you can see the surfer kid, in a place 1000 miles from any water you could surf in. the urban stylie kids, the nerds, the kids with flakey parents, the religious kids, my kid goes to a school in which a large population are very very religous, very scarey (do not click on that link if you are easily scared.)and then a buncha atheists. its a very odd combonation.

so today i am working on soap. gardeners soap and hand cream as a set. the gardeners soap is a olive oil and canola oil base with calendula infusion and cornmeal. the cream i'm not too sure about yet. i havent worked out the formula yet. we shall see what it contains. yesterday i worked on aromatherapy playclay. man alive it turned out good. if i do say so myself. cinnamon, spearmint, sweet orange, lemon and lavender in matching colors. it smells so delish and plays well too. now i just haveta get the stuff i have for etsy up in the cart instead of in the holding area.

listening to marfa public radio station. rockabilly central. very good

2009-03-12T21:07:00.004-06:00

hmmmm... i had a whole thought. but then younger child work up and now its gone. oh yeah. i remember, we went to
loring pasta bar today for lunch. it was lovely, really.
a group of fabulous ladies, okay they aren't ladies really more like super wild women ready rock.

and drink. it was kinda funny. have you seen a buncha fairly to almost drunk 50+ women? very humorous. very. i drove my mom home.

the kid and i had therapy. is it a wonder we need it? it went well. when i say we had therapy i feel like one of those new yorkers that pays someone 200.00 dollars an hour to listen to them but this isn't that. its an entirely different thing. and it goes well. i generally don't like therapy or social workers but for this one i'll make an exception.

were still working on the ***BIG GIVWAWAY!*** for the mdc etsy team check out the blog here http://mdcmoms.blogspot.com/
make a comment here with your contact info, make a purchase for any of the members or a comment on the etsy mothering blog again with your contact info and you'll get a chance to win! of course it doesn't quiet start yet. believe me i'll let you know when it does.

i am excited to start school. lemme tell you it cannot start soon enough. remind me that i said the above when i am immersed in homework and totally overwhelmed kay?

well that about it for tonight. as soon as i can figure out how i'll post pictures of the loring thing. it was a good time.

oh yeah. does any one out there make white lightening? I NEED SOME for medicinal purposes only of course.

yesterday was my moms birthday

2009-03-07T19:55:00.010-06:00

and it went wonderfully. really.
we haven't had her party yet, that happens tomorrow night. and bean is spending the night with bff at the farm. hmmmm... farm.
i got my mom great gifties though. a clear green glass vase, a hand blown glass multi colored vase both second hand, some of the rose body cream i mentioned in an earlier post. and i washed her car and vacuumed the interior. which i must say it was in dire need of. the water from the rio grande isn't the cleanest water. not even close. and after a while it kinda started to stink. for anyone who doesn't know we rescued some tourists from the american side of the river (that sounds so weird, american side. as if the river knows which side of an imaginary border you live on or what language you speak.) then of course, we got trapped after dropping off the tourista's. we waited it out in teralingua.

View Larger Map, which is even a more desolate empty "town" then marathon. which no electricity and no phone. and a pre teen boys a teen boy, me and an old lady. but it was fun. we just wandered around. the boys ran around, and my mom and i sat on a restaurant in the dark and had a beer. eventually it stopped raining enough so we could drive through the dark flooded desert towards home base.

and because murphy's law finds humor where i wouldn't necessarily find it. we got stopped by the border guards and after no kidding a 100 questions, the only legal one was if we were american citizens, let us go, soaking wet in rio grande water, cold, hungry and very very late.

well worth it though. well worth it.

my dad who lives near the border has a fabulous youtube video up you all should watch. try to ignore the chickens and roosters crowing in the background.

in anticipation of spring i am show casing a spring line up of etsy items.

2009-03-03T19:49:00.018-06:00

while i am still trudging through the snow i am ever hopeful for spring. and in my spring filled heart there are loverly shops that help the arrival of warmer weather. i know some people live in area's of the world where spring is months away (like me) and perhaps the endless drone of the weather forecaster is beginning to wear on your nerves too. well, to help with this i present to you SPRING! etsy style!

spring colors layer it now and wear it with a flowery skirt later.
spring wear i want one of these in a grown up size. look at the fabulous bike! i love bikes, even pictures of bikes. they are the coolest.
spring wear scarf imagine riding your bike wearing this. fluttering in the wind.
bring spring to school or on a picnic with you friends with this cutie little set.
spring style with jewelry i love acorns. i love they way they grow. and smell. now i don't have to let the acorn turn into a oak tree. i can have an acorn forever.
spring animals these are the most darling critters. i want them. especially since i don't have to feed them. i think if i got any more animals we would have to move to the country. hey wait a minute. now there's an idea.
spring playthings hmmmm. i love wood toys. they feel so good in your hand.
spring bag i love purses. i don't own more then one or two but this one might cause me to fall off the wagon.
hmmmm spring skin soothers i think this would be wonderful on hands after a day in the yard.
now spring reminds everyone of new babies. so here are some baby items you might need, gifts for yourself or
a friend
and some older babes too. i especially love this doll. it remind me of the dolls my gramma used to make me.

woooohoooo!

2009-03-03T11:14:00.007-06:00

the etsy team i am part of made it into a treasury!
thanks sooo much to brightonwoman generously gave the treasury she was offered to our street team!

we all are so excited! so here is the
link

this is a big deal. as always you can visit any one of our shops at our
blog or you can search etsy for items with the tags "mdc moms" or "mdc"
and i told you all that i would post pictures of the body cream i made yesterday so
so here they are.

i also wanted to give an update on bud, the rescue donkey. he is doing really well. bud has gained 20 pounds or so and is really loving his new herd. the other donkeys piper, linda, lightening and chiptle treat him really well. lightening is ancient for donkey years over fifty, and has really taken a shine to bud showing him the ropes and teaching him all sorts of stuff. important donkey stuff. like how to work the lock on the gate when the humans leave, what plants are the tastiest and how to recognize zacks trcuk sounds so everyone can hear them baying i mean calling to be fed.

there are photos up of how good bud is looking too. wonderful little guy...

wonderful rose skin cream

2009-03-01T14:22:00.005-06:00

i was struggling with what to make my mom for her birthday next week. go
pisces ! and while studing at my usual place i came across a fabulous video for making body cream. with video and everything! so i am making her rose body cream. rose is one of her favorite flowers, essential oil and hydrosol. i also made her some rose flower water for her room, bedding, air, skin where ever she wants to spray it.

very exciting. and very useful infomation on that video. the original recipe is from rosemary gladstar and you can look it up on amazon, get it from your library, borrow it from a friend or purchase the book and find it. rosemary is a well known and highly respected herbalist.

when the cream is done i shall post picture but SHHH dont tell my mom. she doesnt have any idea.

because my son has listening logs for music class and i get to help him pick out songs to write about

2009-02-28T20:01:00.031-06:00

with a teacher he is convinced is a fascist dictator of art and music. so much so that he is sure he can only make "state approved" art and listen to "state approved" music in school. now, i don't know about that exactly perhaps fascist dictator is too harsh. frau director? but i do know she has talked to me about his objecting to singing the star spangled banner and the national anthem and how the only other kid who wouldn't sing it was a jehovah's witness, and tbh she kinda sneered when she said it. she also made terrible remarks about fat people. rude inappropriate remarks that had nothing to do with the subject i was asking her about. maybe i should just try and skip talking to her. can i get a witness?

gil scott-heron

nina simone

billy bragg, who uh well i don't have problems with his politics, or rather more specifically that he is a commie. but generally anarchist and communists have a pretty long history of uh, division (see spanish civil war c. 1939. when it didn't work out so well for the anarchist. but we had one good year there.)

sigh. woody guthrie.

and a personal favorite. ahhh...to be young.

the redskins

"he who bleeps nuns will later join the church" greatest song lyrics ever.

the clash. no better band. and because i have both an insane family and a family that rocks (all in the same two or three people...) the clash prolly had the greatest influence on my life of any band. they made me who i am and got me though the years of hell known as high school. and for someone like me that's saying a lot.

"the british army is waiting out there..." maybe today it would be the american army, in almost any other country. which remind me of the billions of dollars the air force is asking for to pay for the
f-22 a loverly airplane THAT HAS NEVER BEEN USED IN COMBAT. but was created to prove american military air superiority during the cold war and has yet to be ended. but if we don't pay for even more of the the airplanes lockheed martin will go out of business the hawks cry. hmmm. perhaps there is a different kind of economy we can create? a different
kind of world?

but i digress.

and finally, i think, because i really really like the video that the poster set up with this song...

This month all the sales from my little etsy store go to help rescue

2009-01-06T13:43:00.005-06:00

an Italian miniature donkey found near my dads house. This poor little guy is the lucky one. He survived. His pen mate and life long friend didn't. His pen mate starved to death as a result of being in their corral without feed or water for several weeks. there are pictures in my flickr site of these two wonderful healthy donkeys when we were staying with my dad over the summer. TThe pictures are very safe and not at all of the sick animal he is now. but as he was a wonderful healthy donkey.

The cost of special feed and medical care for this wonderful being is outrageous. I have adopted him although my dad is physically caring for him and he will be joining the herd of donkeys that my dad cares for.
Here is the whole story. beware. it is painful.

Today a man came buy my dad's house and was saying you gotta get to that ranch by woman's name removed. One of those Italian donkeys is starved to death and the other one is about to go. the man whose ranch house it was moved to Florida and left the donkeys in their pen. To starve to death.s o my dad takes the miniature donkey, this beautiful Italian donkey, bred for working in the mines in Italy. He emails the guy (who I think has a special place in hell just for him and had better fucking not ever speak to me while I'm in my dads town cos I will be very mean to him.)
So the emails are:
My Dad:
Do you still own the house and land in Marathon? The brown donkey has been dead for about a week- name changed told me today that he saw it yesterday walking his dogs. The gray one is looking real rough, I jumped the fence just now and gave it a little hay. With your permission I will take it up to my place and put it on special feed until it gets some flesh back. I really wish you would have asked me to check on them. Who was responsible for feeding them? Not one blade of grass in their pen, even the chollas (native cactus, nothing would eat the cactus except if it was starving to death.) gnawed at. Please let me know if it is OK to try to nurse the grey one back to shape. my dad's name.

Guy who is going to hell: Please take, I guess no one I asked checked on them. Thanks Name removed

My Dad: I'll get him on feed again starting tonight. His gums return to color well so he isn't going to need a vet, but his hips don't have any flesh and the ribs and spinal processes are evident to the touch WHO was supposed to be feeding them?

Guy who is going to hell: I appreciate it. I don't think it will do any good to point any fingers. I guess there was some communication problems. I feel like shit this happened. I had about four different people checking on them. No one appears to have done it. What the story with you and your donkeys? What's your plans? I'll be out next month. Thanks my dad

My Dad: Mine are thriving on my own place, new barn and fences. I will take the little guy up there tomorrow morning, I have some therapeutic feed I can start him out on. Pointing fingers is exactly what I would like to do here. I am very tempted to say: "tell me the names of the irresponsible persons that did this, before the sheriff and reporter get here at ten AM tomorrow". that's just how I feel about it.

Me talking now, which is what i think he should do. My dad called yesterday afternoon, right after this all happened to ask if I had any money. I am sending what I have. And I am setting up a sale on my etsy store. All the profits to go this baby donkey. So it can stay alive. I don't know what else to do. I am so so so upset. So um pray for this donkey? please? or do a dance? or hmmm.. light candles, move clouds whatever it is you do? please? I am upset about the whole thing, they ate cactus to try to keep from dying. So I am adopting the donkey and if my dad can't find out its given name he is going to name it after me. ftr the donkey is staying with my dad and his herd of donkey's NOT moving to my house. He has a wonderful pen, huge! And a whole donkey family for this lil thing to recover with.

a handmade holiday

2008-12-31T19:08:00.002-06:00

i worked for weeks and weeks on having a handmade holiday. the link is a couple of things i made for the kidlets, the book of spells is for my kidlet for his birthday. ftr he loved it! i also gave him a rune stone set (handmade) and several other things. this was an incredible way to gift loved ones with something special. instead of spending money i dont actually have or having to save up for months to spend it all at the holiday (i dont use nor do i have credit cards) i saved up time and creativity. felt quite good too.

i have several toher things i need to take pictures of but just havent gotten around to it. i made conditioning and coloring hair oil, bath salts, bath oil, lower back rice packs, loverly cloth crowns with button jewels, recycled wool slippers, recycled wool arm warmers, and a couple of other things.

if you care about handmade products, family business, kids and the ability of the economy to improve

2008-12-30T10:39:00.003-06:00

go here, vote for this. i am not a eloquent writer and will not pain you with pages of reasons you should do this. i will say today is a special birthday and i am taking time away from that to post this. because i want to be able to make a living, i want the mostly women, i know to continue to financially support their families i voted for this http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

and this: http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/it-s-not-just-toys

thanks so much!

these are just a couple of items available from mayamade.etsy.com

2008-09-29T20:08:00.001-05:00

MayaMade products
Originally uploaded by mayamade

on the left side of the photo is knight ian's dream herbs. knight ian was given the recipe for these sleeping herbs after he thoughtfully helped a young dragon from an evil wizard. it was an epic adventure. if you order these herbs you childs' name will be used to tell this tale. this wonderful story is written to be gender neutral. using either a fairy princess, forest friend, or a knight, your choice, as the star. printed on fine paper and suitable for framing.
thanks for looking, maya.

the first entry in this blog is something i stole borrowed from frog

2008-09-28T23:05:00.006-05:00

75 books i have (or in my case haven't) read, a couple on the original list i removed and replaced with other books i love. one by emma goldman, who was truly an individual. some of these books i wont ever read. some i have read a 100 times.

* The Lottery (and Other Stories), Shirley Jackson

* To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf

* The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton

* White Teeth, Zadie Smith

* The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende

* Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion

* Excellent Women, Barbara Pym

* The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

* Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys

* The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri

* Beloved, Toni Morrison

* Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert

* Like Life, Lorrie Moore

* Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

* Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

* our bodies, ourselves, the boston women's collective

* A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley

* A Good Man Is Hard To Find (and Other Stories), Flannery O'Connor

* The Shipping News, E. Annie Proulx

* You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down, Alice Walker

* Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

* To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

* Fear of Flying, Erica Jong

* Earthly Paradise, Colette

* Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt

* Property, Valerie Martin

* Middlemarch, George Eliot

* Annie John, Jamaica Kincaid

* The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir

* Runaway, Alice Munro

* The Heart is A Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers

* The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston

* Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë

* You Must Remember This, Joyce Carol Oates

* Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

* Bad Behavior, Mary Gaitskill

* The Liars' Club, Mary Karr

* I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

* A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Betty Smith

* And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie

* Bastard out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison

* The Secret History, Donna Tartt

* The Little Disturbances of Man, Grace Paley

* The Portable Dorothy Parker, Dorothy Parker

* The Group, Mary McCarthy

* Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi

* The Golden Notebook, Doris Lessing

* The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne Frank

* Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

* Against Interpretation, Susan Sontag

* In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez

* The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck

* Fun Home, Alison Bechdel

* Three Junes, Julia Glass

* A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft

* Sophie's Choice, William Styron

* Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann

* Love in a Cold Climate, Nancy Mitford

* living my life, emma goldman

* The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. LeGuin

* The Red Tent, Anita Diamant

* The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera

* The Face of War, Martha Gellhorn

* My Antonia, Willa Cather

* Love In The Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

* The Harsh Voice, Rebecca West

* Spending, Mary Gordon

* The Lover, Marguerite Duras

* The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy

* Tell Me a Riddle, Tillie Olsen

* Nightwood, Djuna Barnes

* Three Lives, Gertrude Stein

* Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons

* I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith

* Possession, A.S. Byatt

for the record i do actually read a lot. just not those tomes (no, i didn't just learn that word either) i read books about psychology, anatomy, physiology, aromatherapy, herbalism, arts and crafts, and for a little fun very good mysteries. now i am re-reading the lord of the rings six pack. its going well actually. oh and occasionally i read books on the care and feeding of children, guinea pigs, family, friends and dogs.