What has the artisan soap makers been up to ?

It has possibly been our best year of soap sales, since starting our little soap business, which  is an amazing feat in the current economy. I am, of course, not surprised as we do make the best soap in South Africa (ha ha... we do have such a cheek!). We have even had clients who have gone overseas and brought back artisan soap for us to try, just to compare and to show us that we do indeed make a wonderful soap. We are of course, extremely grateful and blessed to be able to live this lifestyle through the support of all our wonderful clients. We will never become rich, as that would mean starting a factory and employing staff in a  town, which would totally defeat the object of why we moved out here.

Above, are two pics of a winter sunrise. The frost was so hard and thick that I could run and slide along with my gumboots. Star ( the dog ) seems to be totally oblivious to the cold.

Same orchard as the top pic but as it looks at the moment... beautiful and green! This is generally the best time of the year, as we have had our rains and then by the time January and February arrive, things start getting pretty dry again and everything starts to look brown but that's OK, knowing that it's all part of the process makes it acceptable and beautiful.

Star and T-Bone greeting the sun as it rises, they are brother and sister.

There is such a big hoo haa about alien Wattles but to tell you the honest truth, if we didn't have it, we would definitely miss it, as we use it for our indoor Dover stove, fencing and to stake our tomatoes, beans, etc. I do feel it has its uses on every smallholding, especially if you can manage a small grove of it, preventing it from spreading.

Above, I am peeling wattle latte that I am using to make a fence around our veggie patch, to keep out the bunnies, porcupines and little buck. When I have more time (whenever that might be), I want to try and make little bits of furniture out if the wood and baskets out of the bark.

Putting The Veggies To Bed.

Frosty Morning On The Plaas

With the arrival of winter, comes the arrival of frost and this winter has been the worst we've experienced in our 6 years here. I make it sound like an awful phenomenon but in actual fact, it is beautiful and I love it, besides, within the first hour of direct sunlight, it is all gone! So, if you oversleep because bed is just too cozy on these cold mornings... you will miss it!

Putting The Veggies To Bed

Every night, I put my veggies to bed, so to speak  This entails covering my beds with shade cloth, a practice that I have started to do because during the night, we have hungry visitors like rabbit and porcupine.

Baby Cabbage, lettuce And Peas

This works really well as it also gives you a chance to keep an eye on any nightly pest invasions, i.e. snails and worms.

Cauliflower, Coriander and Peas

In the morning, when I remove their covers, I do a quick pest check, maybe a spot of weeding while the day time is still warm enough. It also protects your lettuce from frost. So while the farmer next door is trying to deal with his nocturnal visitors by setting traps, or setting his alarm clock hoping to catch the night time marauders in the sights of his 22... you are fast asleep. You could also fence your veggie garden in, although my neighbor said that fences don"t work as they just burrow their way underneath. This led me to trying the shade clothe, as I had some lying around and so far so good! No traps or guns on our farm!

African Bliss Fathers Day promotion.

 With Father day approaching, we decided this would be a perfect opportunity to run a little promotion on our Men's Soap and our soap beds and let Dads experience our soap.

 Since adding this soap to our range, we have found that the soap actually appeals to an equal amount of men and woman, with its warm and spicy smell.

The first client to take us up on our promotion was the local "Domini" (minister of the NG Kerk of Joubertina) who is by no means a new client but has been a faithful supporter (and friend) of our soap range since our arrival in the Langkloof. He put in a handsome order of 100 soaps on soap beds and suppled us with a little verse which we tied on with string. Apparently the children are going to hand these out to all the Dad's in the congregation after the service on Father's Day. We, at African Bliss, thought this to be a brilliant idea and climbed in with getting the order ready, with much enthusiasm and love!.

Our soap beds are recycled from off-cuts of  Meranti and Oak and then are soaked in olive all for a week (this preserves them). It's has four little legs and drainage furrows to make your handmade soap last longer and was designed by Dino.... clever Dad that he is!!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!

Summers End Is Near

 At the end of summer, we always seem to see a lot of activity in snake movement. I guess this is due to the fact that they are maybe fattening up before winter and looking for the best spot to hibernate. Today was one of those days when we had a snake encounter, the 2nd encounter this week but this one is worth mentioning! I was on my way down the road with my pack of  9 dogs, taking them for their evening walk, when my daughter, who was busy feeding the horses in the field adjacent to the house, suddenly screamed that she had almost stood on a cobra. I asked her if she could still see it, to which she replied, yes. I gave the dogs the command to "stay" while I ran over to her and told her to go fetch my snake catcher, while I kept an eye on the snake which was lying close to one of my bee hives. Any poisonous snakes that we catch on the farm, we generally release them about 2km away from the house. By the time she returned, my other daughter that was watching from the stoep of the house, warned me that one of our dogs was standing right behind me.
With my snake catcher in hand and waving at the dog behind me to stay away, I tried unsuccessfully to snare the snake.The snake avoided the noose and slithered towards the nearest beehive and into the entrance way. This really pissed the bees off and they all came swarming out the hive looking for some soft flesh to jab, as the snakes was obviously to hard, what with all those protective scales! So, daughter No.1 ran for the house while daughter No.2 ran in the house and I ran for the dogs who were loyally still waiting for me, unaware of the impending danger. I got to them with a couple of bees in tow and we all started running down the road, my wife watching  the drama safely, from inside the house. After about a 150m one of the dogs tripped me up and I went stumbling along trying to maintain my footing but to no avail.... I went sprawling in the dirt with the dog that tripped me up, landing on top of me!! I quickly jumped up expecting to resume the mad dash, or to fend off crazed bees, whichever came first but luckily they had given up the chase.
I  heard my wife shouting from the house, "Are you alright lovey?". I just waved an irritated arm at her and carried on my dog walk with scratches and grazes.

 This year we have had a bumper season of tomatoes. I planted a variety called "beefsteak" and they proved to be very rewarding with most of them weighing in at just under, or over 500gms each, so we have made literally litres of tomatoe sauce to see us through the winter. This will be used in pasta's (home made), soups, pizzas and stews.

who said that tomatoes dont have fun.

 The other day, again while walking the dogs, I was fortunate to witness a mommy tortoise (above) laying her eggs, I suppose this is also a sign that summer is coming to a an end. When she arranged her eggs in the hole that she had dug, they sounded like china cups clinking together. After a bit of "google" research, I found out that we'd have to wait anything between 4 - 18 months for them to hatch, it all depends on the temperature. I went back and marked the spot with a stone. Incidentally, she laid them in my mini olive grove, so it will be easy to keep an eye on them.

 Below is a picture of my kalamata olive tree with its first olives on. The trees are about three years old. Take note of their shape compared to the Manzanilla olives in the pic below.

 My first harvest of monzanella olives coming up these trees are only four years old you can see the tree in the background also covered in olives. I have chosen to go with mostly planting kalamata olives as I really love them and very few people seem to plant them.

 My long red peppers have also given me a good crop this years. I will post a pic of them soon, when they are all lovely and ripe and red.

 I interplanted them with basil, coriander and nasturtium. Above, you can see the coriander and purple basil in the background

 I also put down layers of straw around everything that I planted this year and I swear, this has definitely contributed to my successful crops.
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I am sorry to see summer coming to an end, I'm going to miss all the fresh produce straight out the garden but I've already started seedlings of cabbage, broccoli, spinach, kale, coriander, carrots and beetroot.

Wedded bliss... and yes, we do wedding soaps

wedding soaps

 In the spring of 2011, some friends of ours decided to tie the knot. It was decided that they were to have a wedding in celtic-style, complete with bagpipes, bells and jingles. It was one of the most beautiful weddings that we have ever been to.
Before the wedding, all the guests gathered at the bride and bridegrooms home, in the little town of Krakeel for drinks, after which we followed the bride and bridegroom in a jolly stroll down to the little local stone church, to the accompaniment of celtic music, bells and bagpipes.
We wanted to contribute something special to the wedding and offered to make 50gm soaps, wrapped in our own handmade flower paper, with all the flowers coming from our veld and garden. These were to be used as wedding favours, with the bride and bridegrooms name printed on old fashioned-styled name tags which were then stuck onto the soap.
As you can imagine, everybody was delighted and almost a year down the line, there are still some that have refused to use their beautiful little favours and  keep them as a little treasure!

Our flower soap range of citrus, geranium and lavender

Irma and Karel ahead of the prossession down to the chapel.

Worth trying.......

Cinnamon and Honey 
Whoever thought?

Honey is the only food on the planet that will not spoil or rot. What it will do is what some call 'turning to sugar'. In reality, honey is always honey. However, when left in a cool dark place for a long time it will "crystallize".  When this happensloosen the lid, boil some water and sit the honey container in the hot water, but turn off the heat and let it liquefy naturally. It is then as good as it ever was. Never boil honey or put it in a microwave. This will kill the enzymes in the honey. 

Cinnamon and Honey 
Bet the drug companies won't like this one getting around. Facts on Honey and Cinnamon:

It is found that a mixture of honey and Cinnamon cures most diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a 'Ram Ban' (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without side effects for any kind of diseases. 
Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, when it is taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm even diabetic patients. Weekly World News, a magazine in Canada, in its issue dated 17 January,1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon, as researched by western scientists: 

HEART DISEASES: 
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply it on bread instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also, those who have already had an attack, when they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as one ages the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and the veins. 
ARTHRITIS: 
Arthritis patients may take daily (morning and night) one cup of hot water with two tablespoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. When taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week (out of the 200 people so treated) practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain -- and within a month, most all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis now started walking without pain. 

BLADDER INFECTIONS: 
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.. 

CHOLESTEROL: 
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water given to a cholesterol patient was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours.  As mentioned for arthritic patients, when taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS: 
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and, clear the sinuses. 

UPSET STOMACH: 
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from its root. 

GAS: 
According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that when Honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas. 

IMMUNE SYSTEM: 
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacterial  and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of Honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles (where DNA is contained) to fight bacterial and viral diseases. 

INDIGESTION: 
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food is eaten relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals. 

INFLUENZA: 
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural 'Ingredient' which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu. 

LONGEVITY: 
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Use four teaspoons of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder, and three cups of water and boil to make a tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans increase and even a 100 year old will start performing the chores of a 20-year-old..

RASPY OR SORE THROAT:

When throat has a tickle or is raspy, take one tablespoon of honey and sip until gone.  Repeat every three hours until throat is without symptoms. 

PIMPLES: 
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it off the next morning with warm water. When done daily for two weeks, it removes all pimples from the root. 

SKIN INFECTIONS: 
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections. 

WEIGHT LOSS: 
Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast and on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. When taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet. 

CANCER: 
Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder three times a day for one month . 

FATIGUE: 
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, even when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, when taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M., the vitality of the body increases within a week. 

BAD BREATH: 
People of South America, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water first thing in the morning so their breath stays fresh throughout the day. 

HEARING LOSS: 
Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restores hearing. Remember when we were kids? We had toast with real butter and cinnamon sprinkled on it!

You might want to share this information with a friend, kinfolks and loved ones. Everyone needs healthy help information ~ what they do with it is up to them !

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what we have been up to...

Our dam in the late afternoon

We have had such a busy last couple of weeks that to sit down to write and download pics, have seemed like too much of a task to undertake.  I would rather spend the time chatting with Rae and family, with a glass of red wine in my hands, when having a spare minute!! I kid you not, we are busy from morning till 12 o'clock every night.
The most important thing I have learnt in the last few months, after going for a check up at the doc, is that I have a enlarged heart and then after going for ex-rays and then a cardiogram,  I also have to have an aortic valve replacement operation. My aortic chamber is stretched to the max of 6.5 cm in diameter and stands the chance of bursting or rupturing, and then it will be all over, they say. It is 90% certain that I will need the op but I will still have to go for a catheter procedure to finalize the whole thing. Until that time, I will have to take it easy but those of you living on a farm know that it is easier said than done, especially with no labour to help you! I feel very positive about the op and obviously I would rather not have to go through with it but at the end of the day, the doc said that I would be surprised at how much better I would feel and that I have been obviously living with this condition  for some time and do not know what its like to feel normal, so... role on op!

This winter so far, we have had so much rain which  has been a real blessing, as since we have lived here, we have only experienced a drought which in the last two years has seen our spring dry up and our dams go dry. Lucky, we have a really good borehole that delivers 4500litres an hour and to that I have a pump fitted, that only draws 2500litres an hour so we can never overdraw on it and it has never given up on us, even if we have had to irrigate for three days in a row. Anyway, we now have full dams with the spring running constantly, creating a permanent river through our land and down into the Kouga River that feeds the Port Elizabeth metropole.

Another thing we have been really busy with, is since we have been living here, we have noticed a real need for a project to be set up to help the township animals. This we have now set up on our own, the main aim being to educate, sterilize, feed and to combate mange. In the beginning, we funded this ourselves but have since started a non-profit organization called J.A.W.S ( Joubertina Animal Welfare Services) and the local people and businesses are starting to contribute in the way of cash donations, old blankets, etc.We also are providing a shelter/kennel for all the needy dogs we come across.. This is in the form of  barrels that are being donated by the local fruit farmers in the area.We cut off the front of the barrel, lay it on it's side and pop rivet carpets into them and then kit them out with a blanket as well. Voila... a lovely, practical shelter which the dogs love!

In the beginning when we mentioned the project to people, they were really negative and said that we would never get the support from the locals. This however, has proved to be quite the opposite and the support has been really great so far, with donations being recieved from the church, local petrol station, the welfare organision, local co-op, butchery, etc, and then of course the real blessing is that a vet from Karreedow has offered us a very good rate for sterilization, which is a vital element to this whole project. Since starting this project it has also become impossible not to get involved with the families that own these dogs because how can you help the animals without attending to the needs of the people. So, as a result, we now also work in a close relationship with our local welfare officer. It is amazing the change that we have already seen in the peoples attitude towards their animals and the pride they take in a healthy animal and all the wonderful kids we have met. We now are hoping to sell our farm to purchase another one in the area that would be better suited for kennels and also for perhaps taking taking in horses that might need to be rescued, etc. We have our eyes on a local farm nearby that has been on the market for some time and should we manage to sell ours, then we will put in an offer... wish us luck!

The other highlight this month was that our "Chamomile & Rooibos" soap was chosen to appear in an article on rooibos tea in the Fair Lady. We were very proud!

Another highlight for us was having our little foster child that we looked after for 6 months last year, come stay with us for the weekend. We were so thrilled to see him and enjoyed every minute! In the pic below, he is sitting on my scrambler motorbike, showing me what a triangle looks like. Luaan is absolutely nuts about motorbikes and spent most of the weekend happily climbing on.... and off.... on.... and off! He is growing up into such a beautiful little boy, totally adored by his now permanent foster parents.

Being spring, we have tulips that spring( ha ha) out in the veldt  in a mass profusion of purples and yellows. They only open in the afternoon and are poisonous if injested by animals. Luckily, our horses seem to know that but we have a farmer nearby that wasn't so lucky with some calfs that he had brought in from a different region. Utterly beautiful though and one of our favourite times of the year.

The pic below is of Lulu's hooves. The picture was intended to be of her whole body with me taking it lying on the ground, but she's was so curious by the fact of me lying on the ground that she would keep coming up to me to investigate. So I told her that she would then have to appear on the blog "feet first" .

I had to refrain from cutting the grass which I dislike doing anyway, so that we could enjoy the spring flowers for longer. In fact, we have decided to leave the grass until they stop flowering.

It was also my youngest daughter, Rain's, 15th Birthday... she is on the left. She had a stunning birthday with her sister (on the right) and a bunch of friends down at the river and then upon returning, they all went for an outride.

Below, a gorgeous pic of the tulips with our neighbours house in the background.

We now have Pablo, our new horse as you know, so we have been going on a lot of outrides.

The other major mission we have been busy with, is collecting wattle droppers, or as is commonly known in South Africa, latte. This we will use to make our wire fencing more dog proof by placing them at fifteen centimeter intervals.This will firm up the fencing and will be narrow enough to prevent the dogs getting out. The only reason we are doing this is because when I'm in hospital for a few days, this will make Rae's life on the farm a lot easier with just one less thing to worry about. Below is our first little pile we have collected and Rae is busy stripping the bark off, then it is left to dry until we use them. By the way, we still have loads that we need to cut, bring home and peel, before we can even start and time is running out, especially since we still have a soap business to run which is incredibly busy at the moment!

In between all of this, I have also had three wild bee swarms arrive, for which I have had to quickly assemble hives. Below, is a pic of a swarm arriving and in the background is a catch box that is smaller than our hive box and is generally placed to catch the wild swarms, either in trees or anywhere in fact, or as in my case, the garage.

Below is a  picture of a full frame of honey and in it you can see that all the honey cells are covered with a layer of wax. This is called the wax cap. It is what you look for when investigating your "supers" to see if your honey is ready to be taken out. If the cells have little wax caps on them, it means that the bees are happy with the honey in there and it's good for storage which means that it is ready for us to harvest. There is more to this business of the bees capping the honey but I will maybe explain it another time.

Pablo in the field of tulips, deftly manipulating his lips around the poisons tulips to eat the grasses in between. It is actually amazing to watch up close as they do it so accurately, you would swear they had eyeballs in their lips!

This is my daughters horse Gwho-Gwho, doing the same thing.

Gwho-Gwho

Below our spring water running into our little dam and as you can see, it is quite a little stream. Well, that's that, it 8 o'clock on a Friday evening and time for supper and a nice glass of red wine!