Boxes Boxes Boxes!

Ok, this is a SNEAK preview of my new packaging, designed with the shelves of Whole Foods and the like, in mind. Here we see Michelle Moser, my designer/marketer-extraordinaire, of Grace Communications, fussing over our picture--even though I told her, "it's just a snapshot!"

Of course, it's because she's so fussy that my packaging is going to be so spectacular. Shown here are my custom-designed match-box style boxes, that will allow my beloved customers-to-be to conveniently slide out the tray and "see + sniff" my yummy products. The cardboard insert with the circle cut-out beautifully frames my artisan molds, shaping the light on the surface of my bars in such a way that the relief is deepened and dramatized (thanks Dad!). My packaging will have no plastic or non-biodegradable content, and will double as a treasure box for little goodies like your guitar pics, Grandma's buttons, hair ribbons, jacks, etc.

The boxes are posing with a layout of graphics that will be printed on the box--in this case, the lotion bar graphics. Still being fine tuned, they will feature photos of my beautiful children, my beautiful goats, and lots of information about our Milk and Honey story. 'Twill be much fun to read and stylish to look at!

We're hoping to go to print later this month!

Spring has Sprung

A warm sunny day, the NM April wind is quiet, and I spent some yummy time lying in the straw with the goats as they munched their alfalfa. Next week we will complete construction on the home they have been transitioning into since November, when I moved from Glorieta into Santa Fe. Though I miss having the goats right in my back yard, they are living on the beautiful land of a generous and lovely woman, Louisa, still right in town. There, they have settled in with her many chickens, and have met many new friends, as Louisa always has interesting guests visiting or staying for extended periods of time. I now share my weekly milking with my friend Janeen, who has been experimenting with cheesemaking, and is learning to milk. I knew she would be up for the challenge (kicking goat, difficult milking technique, small teats and large ones), as she is experienced at delivering babies, for chrissakes--she is a family practice doc here in town and mother of my son's little classmate, Jade. Now Jade and Simon can share goat stories in school, I get a couple of days off plus coverage for little vacations (I hope to start having those soon. . . ), and still the goats are delivering plenty of milk!

Farmers Market is Hopping!

The beautiful thing about our gorgeous permanent home in the Railyard is that we now have a thriving, YEAR ROUND Farmers Market in Santa Fe. I have been selling every Saturday (9am-1pm) since the holidays. In addition to my goodies, there are winter greens, meats and poultry, goat cheeses, mushrooms, honey, fresh bread and baked sweets, and lots of good friends and visitors there every single week. Parking is much easier this time of year, you don't have to get up so bright and early, and winter doesn't feel so dark with such yummy offerings available. Of course, Spring is here (see pussywillows!), so variety is already widening in preparation for our seasonal opening in April. Come see us!

Milking Hazelnut

I had to share this picture with you--this goat is Hazelnut, a very healthy, productive, but incredibly vocal Nubian who was barely saved from death-by-hypothermia as a Spring newborn several years ago, and now lives with my friend Mark, seen milking here! It is fun to see where my kids end up in the world.

No kids for us this Spring, as many have asked. I breed my girls every other year, milking them for two years at a time. Although over time milk supply does diminish, my two milkers (Autumn and Sula) are still giving me a gallon a day between them, and their milk supply has just gone up a bit over that--I think from the Spring weather (which we really are having, despite a weekly snowstorm still). I think it is good to give the girls a break from pregnancy, and I don't need to max out their milk production to get what I need for my soap and my family. I have been making chevre this week with the extra milk--we can't possibly eat it all ourselves, but it makes lovely gifts for friends, who, bless them, can't believe their good fortune at getting homemade goat cheese in 8oz jars!

Happy Spring!

Love Love Love

Ah, Valentine's Day: Love, lovers, sweethearts, chocolate, hearts, and . . . surviving winter! Just for this season, I have made a limited edition Rose Geranium Heart Lotion Bar--these of course make sweet gifts, and are a luxurious way to honor your body (or someone else's)--or just keep your skin from that awful winter dryness and cracking. As always, these can be used for chapped lips, dry feet, you can take them on the airplane, and they will give off their gentle scent wherever they rest.

Visit my lotion bar page at milkandhoneysoap.com (or milkandhoneylotion.com) to order!

Milk and Honey (and Me!) settle in to New Digs

Milk and Honey has moved into Santa Fe proper. We now span two locations--my home where I live with my kids, keep the bees and make my soaps and lotion bars (and blog from), and the beautiful piece of land being shared with my goats about three miles from my home. It seems I am getting the best of city life, while my goats are still living out in the country with the chickens and the mountains.

This move into town has been a HUGE transition, but one that has brought all kinds of wonderful, new people into my life. My goats' home is on the property of an absolutely lovely woman named Louisa, who has an incredible permaculture plan in-process, one which includes goats. She is loving having them there, is eager to learn how to milk them, and helps me to feed them, saving me an extra daily trip. While we will be building them a larger shelter that will include a "milking parlor", in the meantime, I desperately needed a temporary shelter for the girls, and I was able to connect with a gentle and incredibly competent carpenter, Bill, who happened to have a day off just when I needed him. The result is a great temporary straw-bale shelter, that the goats immediately inhabited.

And before the goats arrived there, they spent two weeks less than a mile from my home, with an urban goat, at my friend Larelei's. She has just acquired two milk goats, and lives on a third of an acre right in town. I could see the Railrunner train going by as I milked, her toddler, Sebastian, fell in love with me, and her property is surrounded by artists' studios, one of which was a two storey--the artists would look down on me as I milked remarking about how cute the goats were!

So we've had some adventures, and we're finally starting to quiet down. Although goats are very sensitive to change, I am amazed at just how adaptable they have been; through it all, our milking routine has continued.

Now we gear up for the holiday season! It's even easier for me to ship my goodies out to you all all over the country, so please visit my website and enjoy!

Goats by Simon Lee-Plunket

My eight year old son has written a brilliant essay (his first) on goats. Must share!

"The goat is a ruminant mammal closely related to the sheep. They're used in many parts of the world for their hair, meat, milk, and leather. Those parts include Asia, India and Iran for their wool. Ruminant means cloven-hooved, cud-chewing animals with four legs.

"Usually with our goats, especially Taza, they smile at me when I come to feed them. The milk tastes very good--and I mean good!--after my mom has strained and cleaned the milk.

"Goat's milk is a lot healthier than cow's milk, since, being closer to human milk than the cows, it provides a rich taste.

"With Nubians, you can usually tell that they are that kind of goat because they have floppy ears and short horns.

The End."