A Passion for Violets...

I simply love being a grammie and I am thrilled that I am young and healthy enough to thoroughly enjoy the blessings in my life...including my beautiful grandchildren. The last weekend in August gave reason to celebrate as our Sweet Violet turned one...and we all gathered at a charming park complete with a butterfly garden, swings and a creek. Mommy planned a "Strawberry and Cupcakes" theme complete with a Peanut Butter and Jelly Bar for the children (and big kids!) to enjoy.

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Violet!

Generations...

I am blessed to enjoy each and every day living on the same mountain with my dear mother, daughter and grandaughter. Long summer days mean the four of us have more time to just be together. My daughter Alesha loves to set up tea outside on the porch with lovely linens and flowers she picked from the yard. Sometimes we even discover new places and make new summer memories.



Our most recent adventure took place at Loganberry Heritage Farm in Cleveland, Georgia. Surrounded by grapevines and adjacent to Blackstock Winery, this luscious, sunflower laden property calls you to linger. And linger we did! Abundant and graceful, Loganberry is loved and cared for by Sharon Mauney. Heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers are organically and sustainably grown, while the Italian and Spanish Garlic grown last fall hangs to dry in the barn...and what could be better than a homemade pesto with the basil Sharon harvested for us and other grateful patrons with a desire to connect with the food they consume!

Generations of vegetables grown with mindful hands produce a bounty of healthy food for four generations of women who appreciate the efforts.

We are grateful for people who do what they love in a holistic way. Nadine Wardenga also joins Sharon on Saturdays with samples of sauteed swiss chard, potato salad, and delectable spreads.

Also available for purchase are fresh berry pies, Nadines (famous!) Chicken Salad, and her new Pimento Cheese Spread!

I am especially grateful for the memories of that first trip to the farm, where the women I love most sat under a beautiful pear tree and considered just how blessed they are to have these moments.

Happy Summer!

Ellie

Loganberry Heritage Farm

History~Sustainability~Health

Growing Healthy Foods,Naturally

2660 Adair Mill Road

Cleveland, Georgia 30528

(Located adjacent to Blackstock Winery)

706-878-8938

The Value of Soap

It's been over a decade since I sold my first bar of Moonshine Soap (wholesale) to three seperate stores in North Carolina....I remember the feeling like it was yesterday. I still feel that the same way now when some fine person/business chooses to place Moonshine Soap in their retail establishment....

Along the way I have grown in ways I am certain I never imagined. I hit the ground running each day never questioning where this energy to propel forward comes from. Is this a dream or a purpose? I believe the reasons are beginning to surface...

Recently, I received an e-mail from a very dear friend. I had donated some soap for her to take on a mission trip to Nicaragua and she chose to share her very emotional experience with me upon her return:

"Ellie, I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your donation of Moonshine soap to the mission trip to Nicaragua. With the aftermath of the civil wars, the hurricane, the mudslide and the grinding persistent poverty, soap is one of the most sought after commodities. Their first request is always "aqua". The second is "shampoo" which means soap. And when they discovered how good this soap felt to their skin and to their hair and how the shampoo soap was really shampoo, and how it smelled so delicious, they literally screamed in excitement. I demonstrated the shampoo soap while "bathing" with a village in a bay surrounding by cow patties and with cows with horns trying to get in with us. I wish you could have seen the laughter while people lathered their whole bodies with Moonshine shampoo soap. Very proudly holding up their arms with inches of lather! We all laughed so hard.
In the remote fishing villages, in the inner cities, in the refugee villages, the fragments of Moonshine soap brought joy and hope. I say fragments because I cut the bars in half and then in quarters and then in half again. And on the bare concrete floor where I cut them, the children scraped up the curls left by the knife and carefully put them in an old plastic bag.
There is much more I want to write about soap. How much we take it for granted and what true luxury it is to have water and soap.
I have just begun to process emotionally what I saw and experienced with your soap. The two times I have attempted to speak about it I have not been able to for the tears. I cannot write any more now for the same reason. It really brought me to my knees literally in gratitude.
Thank you again and again. Rosann"
------------------------------------
If you feel compeled to pursue a dream, consider it your purpose. You may never know the reasons, or perhaps by grace, God will choose to share...
Blessings,
Ellie

More Than Just Soap...

A premium bar of soap is a wonderful thing.
If you have never tried handcrafted soap, I would highly reccommend the experience.
At Moonshine Soap, we make soaps that clean gently
without stripping the natural oils from your skin.
But what we do at Moonshine Soap is about so much more than soap.

Villages is Ghana, Africa hand prepare shea butter from the fruit of the nut of the Karite Tree, which grows in Africa. These nuts fall from the trees and are harvested by the women in the Village of Zaare.They travel many miles to collect these nuts, which are brought back to the village to be processed by hand and packed in gourds for their trip to the United States.

These beautiful people are not seeking out the next technilogical gadget for their pleasure. Basic needs are a priority and while these villages provide us with shea butter, various lifestyle improvements and needs are met in the village. Currently, shea butter pays for medical supplies for the tribespeople. Snake bites are a common issue when the nuts are harvested. A place for medical care and neccessary supplies are the current focus.

So each time you choose another bar of Moonshine Soap or a jar of Karite Gold Shea Butter you are making a difference in more than just your skin. You are creating an opportunity for growth and good will with one simple choice. Bravo!

Here's to a Fresh Start!

She's Here!!!

Violet Ray Wallace arrived one day before her Labor Day due date; August 31st! She entered this world at a whopping 8lbs 13 oz (her momma is small!) and 20 3/4 inches. Momma and baby are fantastic...

Preparing for Baby Violet's arrival, my husband renovated the Moonshine Soap offices and production area with the idea I would be able to work more effectively...and have plenty of room for a playpen should I be babysitting...

Now that she is here, I find myself more focused than I have been in a long time. Violet Ray has reminded me of new beginnings and fresh starts and I forgot just how great that can feel!

In a tumultuous economy, new creative thinking is in order and we are rising to the occasion. Out with the old. In with the new. In the next month you will see incredible new ideas crafted specifically for the changing times. The soaps are not changing; We Are. We hope you like whatcha see!

Stay tuned for all that Violet Ray has inspired!

Waiting on the Soap Stork...

As I prepare our new Limited Edition Apple Butter Soap for the fall season, I am completely distracted by the imminent birth of my grandaughter.

Although my daughter, Alesha, is actually due with her first child September 1st, I awake everyday with a sense of anticipation I have never experienced before!

As my beautiful daughter rests as comfortably as possible considering the size of her belly, it is 2am and I find myself organizing soap details for the upcoming Fall Fest in Cleveland because sleep eludes me.

Perhaps a Pumpkin Butter soap is in order as well, since I am up anyway....