Helping soap and cosmetic handcrafters navigate the rules and regs.
Category: Life & Travels
Most of my personal and life posts are through my Facebook page (facebook.com/mariegale).
For info on our RV travels several years back, see our blog Roaming the Back Roads (www.roamingthebackroads.com).
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It’s harder than you think
Running away from home in our new RV is turning out to be a little more complicated than one would think. So many things to consider and take care of. The biggest issue is getting rid of all our STUFF, since it won’t fit in the RV! The good news is that we’re making progress. […]
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Running Away From Home in an RV
Last month, Jere and I announced to family our intention to get an RV and “run away from home,” living and working on the road as we travel around the US seeing the sights and visiting friends and family. Yesterday it became a lot more REAL. I actually drove our new (to us) RV. Actually, it wasn’t […]
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Wildlife Society Award to Chandler Family Ranch
I was just informed that our ranch, of which I have been the Operations Manager for 12 years, has been awarded the Private Landowner Stewardship Award by the Oregon Chapter of the Wildlife Society! The award is one of two civic recognitions they give out annually. From their website: “Private Landowner Stewardship Award “This civic award […]
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Quest for the Perfect Pickle and GMP
This last week has been shaped by the bounty from our garden. I realized that keeping track of all the canning recipes is just one piece of good manufacturing practices
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Getting Back in the Groove
They say that when you fall off a horse, the best thing is to get right back on. The rationale is that the longer you delay, the harder it is to overcome any fear you have from falling off in the first place. In other words, you lose your groove. Well, I can tell you […]
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ForSoapmakers sold, not closed!
In my last post I mentioned that I would be closing www.forsoapmakers.com. I’m really, really pleased to say that the business was purchased by Kevin Growns, from Star City, Arkansas! The business will continue, and all the existing products will continue to be offered. So far, Kevin is doing a great job filling orders and […]
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ForSoapmakers.com Closing December 31
After much thought and internal debate, I have decided to close down ForSoapmakers.com as of December 31, 2011. It was a hard decision, but having made it, I must admit somewhat of a sense of relief. ForSoapmakers had gotten to the point that it had to grow to the next level (or not). I chose […]
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L. Ron Hubbard 100th Birthday Event
Last week we went to the L. Ron Hubbard 100th birthday event hosted by the Church of Portland. It was attended by several hundred people—it was great to see old friends. Much of the event was dedicated to a retrospective look at the life of L. Ron Hubbard, especially the many endeavors and adventures in […]
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Labeling … of People
Name calling. In grade school it’s a tool of the bullies to make others feel bad. Even though you can SAY “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” truth is, words, be it name calling or labeling, CAN hurt. Maybe not physically, like sticks and stones, but personally, emotionally, and […]
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Ground Burning the Oak Savannah
It’s not often that one gets the opportunity to set fire to 25 acres of grass, brush and slash, but that’s what we got to do yesterday. “Why?” you might ask. Well … An Oak Savannah is an area that typically has about 20 – 30 mature oaks per acre, with grass underneath. Untouched by humans, they […]
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Christmas and Family
I’ve been doing quite a bit of genealogy work recently, gathering up family documents and entering them into my new Family Tree Maker software. Genealogy and documenting my family tree is something I’ve been working on for many years and now I finally feel like I’m getting a handle on it. In doing some research […]
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Traveling by United – Again
Next weekend (the 17th), I fly to Dallas to be the keynote speaker at the Texas Soapmakers Convention. I’ll be speaking about the growth and development of the handcrafted soapmaking industry and soap and cosmetic labeling requirements. I’m excited about going and looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. What I’m NOT […]