Homemade RX Dog Food, Is It A Good Thing?

Ziggy, after a grooming from Hannah at Animal Trax today!

Our adorable little canine baby, Ziggy!  Isn't he cute?  He is very camera shy, this is the best I could do, he's really much cuter than this!  He just got home from visiting one of his favorite people, Hannah, owner and groomer at Animal Trax.  He loves to look handsome!  He is almost nine years old with some health problems.  You'd never know it tho', he is such a happy and lovable dog, I still think of him as a puppy.  He has bladder stones, calcium oxalate type, and a higher than normal squamous cell count in his urine.  Because of that, I decided to look into the health benefits of making his food and treats as opposed to buying commercial prescription food.  My reasons for going down this road are three-fold:

Check Out These Chicken Butterfly Saddles!

Chicken Butterfly Saddles!

Life on the farm can sometimes be brutal!  I'm not referring to myself but to my poor little hens.  I've been out of commission for quite a long time recently, so my husband took up the slack of doing my chores.  And, I must say he did a wonderful job handling nearly everything by himself, along with the added burden of caring for me.  Around eight weeks ago I finally decided to go under the dreaded knife, and had a total hip replacement.  That was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  Dr. Bruce Cox at Shelby Bone and Joint worked his magic, and I'm pleased to say that I'm more pain free today than I've been for many years.

Homemade Coconut and Turmeric Soap!

Homemade Coconut and Turmeric Soap!

When I look at these soaps, I immediately think of those Creamsicles that I used to love as a child.  I probably still do, but I deny myself the pleasures.  I shouldn't, life is short.  But getting back to this soap, it not only looks delicious, but it smells wonderful, too!  It is colored using Turmeric powder,the benefits of which I noted in my post Homemade Pumpkin Turmeric Aloe Olive Oil Soap.   Blood Orange and Citrus Basil essential oils make taking a bath or shower with these lovely big bars an enjoyable experience.  Sweet Almond Oil will lightly moisturize, leaving your skin feeling soft and smooth to the touch.

Homemade Jasmine and Green Tea Soap!

Homemade Jasmine and Green Tea Soap!

This soap was inspired by a comforting cup of tea.  The generous size makes this honey and green tea soap great for the bath or shower.  The amber tea leaves mix wonderfully with the earthy green color of the wheat grass powder.  Bergamot, jasmine, and blood orange essential oils give a warm, sensual fragrance to the soap.  Olive oil softens the skin for a soft, smooth feel.

I used one pound of honey melt and pour soap.  I didn't have suspension soap base on hand, so I used Honey base instead and as a result, the tea leaves sunk to the bottom.  I steeped the green tea leaves for several minutes, then pressed out the water in a sieve before adding to the melted soap.  Then I mixed in the wheat grass, olive oil, and essential oils.  I made three large, 4.5 oz., bars, with a little left over for tiny sample bars.  I froze the unused tea leaves that had been soaked for later use, and used the tea water on my face as a detoxifying rinse.  Waste not, want not!

Homemade Whipped Pumpkin Body Butter!

Homemade Whipped Pumpkin Body Butter!

This is another wonderful idea to give as gifts for the holidays.  Its fragrance is that of a warm pumpkin pie with a hint of apples and spice.  This butter is very light and fluffy, loaded with wonderful nutrients for your skin.  It is excellent for dry areas like your elbows, knees, and feet.  Apply it just before climbing into bed at night, and let the aroma send you off into a wonderful deep and relaxing sleep.

Homemade Pumpkin Turmeric Soap!

Homemade Pumpkin Turmeric Soap!

I found this recipe in a book that was given to me by a dear friend. It's the beginning of the Fall season, and pumpkin is in the air, so I decided to adapt the recipe to accommodate my Fall musings. The book is called "Soapmaking The Natural Way" by Rebecca Ittner.  I love this book, I find it to be totally inspiring!

Now, on to the formula for this beautiful soap!  I used an Aloe and Olive Oil Melt and Pour soap base.  For the coloring, I used a blend of Red and Gold Mica Powder and Turmeric to get that beautiful spicy deep pumpkin color.  For the scent I used Pumpkin and Apple Pie Spice fragrance oils to get that warm, pumpkin, spicy fragrance.

Homemade Foaming Pumpkin Salt Scrub!

Homemade Foaming Pumpkin Salt Scrub!

Fall is in the air here in beautiful North Carolina!  I love Fall, the crispness in the air, the leaves beginning to fall, the notion that the Holidays are not far off, and warm and fun family times are near again.  What better way to celebrate the coming of Fall than with pumpkin!  When I saw this recipe on my suppliers, Wholesale Supplies Plus news emails, I immediately knew that I had to have this product in my inventory.  Pair this with a pumpkin scented lotion, and a beautiful pumpkin colored soap, and you have a wonderful gift for any occasion!

Homemade Juniper Breeze 3-Butter Soap!

Homemade Juniper Breeze 3-Butter Soap!

This all natural three-butter soap consists of Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, and Mango Seed Butter scented with Juniper Breeze Fragrance Oil.  To this I poured in about a cup of sage powder infused soap which created the two-tone color of the bars.

Homemade Chamomile Spice Soap!

Homemade Camomile Spice Soap

This wonderful spicy warm golden soap is made from Goat Milk and Honey melt and pour soap base.  I've added all the good stuff that's in the previous post, Homemade Citrus Sage Soap, except I exchanged the Sage for the Camomile Powder, and the essential oils in this soap are Vanilla, Cinnamon, and Clove.   I love it, both the fragrance and the color.  I made this one for a friend, but I want to make another batch for myself!  Here's a little information about the stars  of the show in this one:

Homemade Citrus Sage Soap!

Homemade Citrus Sage Soap!

This is one of the nicest soaps I've made!  It's very nice to look at, and it also smells wonderful.  This soap is made with Coconut melt and pour soap base.  To that I added lots of oils that are so very moisturizing for your skin, like Grape Seed Oil, Castor Oil, and Evening Primrose Oil. Then I added Sage Powder, Lemongrass, Lemon, and Grapefruit Essential Oils.

The result is a fragrant, pretty, so good for you moisturizing and beneficial soap bar.  This soap will make not only a wonderful body soap, but will be a terrific face cleansing soap as well.  Here are some of the benefits of these ingredients:

Homemade Neem Cream for problem skin!

Homemade Neem Cream!

So, do you have some problem with your skin?  Anything from eczema, psoriasis, dry skin, acne, you name it, if it's a skin issue, you should try this cream.  Now, I'm not a doctor, dermatologist, or anything like that, so if you have something that looks suspicious, go to the doctor, but this cream truly works for minor skin ailments.  I first saw this on the blog Lovely Greens, and decided to give it a try while tweaking the formula my way.

Homemade Body Scrub w/ Himalayan Pink Salt

Body Scrub with Himalayan Crystal Salt

This is one of my best homemade products.  I desperately needed something for the dry skin on my feet.  I am a Florida raised girl, have gone barefoot all my life.  The only time I put shoes on my feet is when I'm going out, or when I go into the chicken coop.  I wanted something that would really scrub and moisturize as well. So, this is what I came up with, and it made a huge difference after the very first use.  I now use it after every shower, and I've found a new love!

Homemade Chocolate Mint Lip Balm!

Chocolate Mint Lip Balm!

This stuff smells so good I want to put it on all day long!  It's very nourishing for your lips with cocoa butter and mango butter, extra virgin olive oil and sweet almond oil, a little wax to give it body, the delicious fragrance oil of chocolate and the essential oil of peppermint.  How can that be anything but wonderful for your lips?  It's lip-smackin' good, I tell ya!

Homemade Crock Pot Yogurt!

Homemade Crock Pot Yogurt!

I never realized how easy it is to make homemade yogurt until I saw a pin on Pinterest by One Good Thing by Jillee.  She calls it "crock pot yogurt", and it's so easy to make.  Just pick a day that you are planning to be home for the day.  I have a crock pot with a temperature probe, so that makes it just a little bit easier.  I just pour in the milk, add the powdered dry milk, and set the probe to 180 degrees F, and go about my business.  It takes about four hours on the low setting to reach that temperature.  Then I remove the crock pot from the well, set it on my stove top to let it cool down to the temperature of between 95 degrees F and 115 degrees F.  That takes about 1.5 to 2 hours or so.  Then mix in the yogurt tempered with some of the warm milk, stir well to thoroughly mix, and pour into clean mason jars.  Then place them into your oven, pop on the oven light, and wait another eight to twelve hours, I usually just leave them overnight.  Wallah, you have delicious yogurt.  Refrigerate a couple hours to chill for best results.

Here is the recipe:

We Have Eggs!

Yes!  We have eggs, lots of them!  We're getting an average of a dozen a day!  We can't possibly eat all these eggs, so we're trying to sell them.  Please, if you live nearby, and enjoy fresh farm free-range brown eggs, stop by the farm, pick up your eggs and leave your payment in the jar, we're using the honor system. We'll be very happy to sell you some beautiful eggs.  Yes, they're a little more costly than commercially raised and sold eggs, not only is the taste much better, but also the nutritional benefits are well worth the slightly higher cost.