Being Thankful

Yesterday I woke up……I am thankful.

Today I was able to tell my granddaughter I loved her….I am Thankful
Tomorrow I will have food on my table and be surrounded by my family….I am Thankful.

Being thankful this season will mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Our economy has been a mess and I think people will focus more on the little things they have to be grateful for. A hug, a smile or maybe even the fact they have a job.

Although I’m not rich in money, I am rich in love and how I can help others. I seem to get a little sad at times during the holidays, even thought I know I am loved by my family. This year has been a very rough road for us, but we are surviving. I take life day to day and am thankful for what I do have.

This holiday season brought to my attention how sad it could be not to be with my family or loved ones. Which led me to our soldiers. There are so many who are overseas and they can not enjoy a meal with their loved ones, or may not get a care package from home. So, to try and spread the love, we are starting a program to send care packages, letters and handmade blankets to the troops. See our website for the details if you want to help. Donations for Soldiers

What are you thankful for this year?

What means the most to you right now?

Count your smiles instead of your tears; Count your courage instead of your fears.~ Unknown

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Free Gift for You

We like to give back when and where we can. For the next month, we are giving you free gifts to say thank you for shopping with us.

Free Journals

Free Powder Containers with Puff

We will be adding new specials and freebe's every week from now until Chriistmas!

Happy Holidays to All!

And Thank you for Shopping with us!

Apple Cider Vinegar Toner

Did you know that apple cider vinegar is a wonderful astringent that will help combat the alkaline residue that soap or other cleansers can leave behind? When your skin maintains the correct pH balance, it has a much better chance of fighting off dryness and infections.

Astringent Ingredients:
2 cups distilled water
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
10 drops favorite essential oil (not fragrance oil): try lemon, lavender or geranium

Mix water, vinegar and essential oils, shake well to blend. Using a cotton cleansing pad or cotton ball, apply approximately 1 teaspoon to the face.

No refrigeration is required, but for maximum freshness and potency, use within 1 year

Enjoy!

Paradox of our Times

Paradox of our times

View more presentations from haileysgarden.

Wordless Wednesday

I Love Turkish Delight Candy

I love Turkish Delight Candy Bars. They are called Big Turk and are made by Nestle ,Canada, who also make Aero Bars, but that’s another yummy story.

Turkish Delight is a candy that originated in Turkey in the 1700's. It has a soft, jelly-like consistancy, and is usually flavored with rosewater, but I have seen it made with orange, mint or lemon flavorings.

Due to the difficulty finding Big Turk, I started searching for suppliers and found aome great recipes.

Recipe One

Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Ingredients:
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 4 1/4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons rosewater
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• Vegetable oil ot shortening

Preparation:
In a 9 inch baking pan, grease the sides and bottom with vegetable oil or shortening. Line with wax paper and grease the wax paper.

In a saucepan, combine lemon juice, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water on medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar dissolves. Allow mixture to boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine cream of tartar, 1 cup corn starch and remaining water in saucepan over medium heat. Stir until all lumps are gone and the mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring when the mixture has a glue like consistency.

Stir in the lemon juice, water and sugar mixture. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, Allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Once the mixture has become a golden color, stir in rosewater. Pour mixture into wax paper lined pan. Spread evenly and allow to cool overnight.

Once it has cooled overnight, sift together confectioners sugar and remaining cornstarch.

Turn over baking pan containing Turkish delight onto clean counter or table and cut with oiled knife into one inch pieces.

Coat with confectioners sugar mixture. Serve or store in airtight container in layers separated with wax or parchment paper.


Recipe Two

24 servings
3 envelopes Knox gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon rose flavoring
Few drops red food coloring
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup cornstarch (or more)

Bring gelatin, sugar and water to boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and add rose flavoring and red food coloring. Strain into buttered pan and chill 24 hours.
Mix confectioners' sugar and cornstarch. Cover a slab with the mixture. Turn candy out onto slab. Cut into 1-inch squares, being careful not to let them touch each other. Roll each in sugar mixture, and pack in an airtight container with remainder of sugar mix.

And if you prefer your sweets in liquid form, here is an adult drink!

1 shot vodka
2 shots lychee liqueur
2 shots Lemon and lime juice
2 dashes syrup of roses
1 dash grenadine syrup
1 mug lychee juice
1/4 mug cranberry juice

Shake the ingredients together in a cocktail shaker with 6 cubes of ice. Serve in a martini glass with a whole wedge of lemon squeezed a little.


But, if you don’t have time to make it like me right now, I found a great candy store, Dan’s Candy Stand in Ontario, who carries them along with a lot of other goodies, and best of all , will ship to the US.
http://www.danscandystand.com

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Just Relax!

Gratitude

We were interviewed recently for a feature spot coming soon on Woman Making Moves, http://www.womenmakingmoves.org/ and one of the questions was :
How do you keep yourself motivated?
My reply was, I read the reviews of my products. My reviews show me I’m on the right track and people do appreciate what I do. Right now there are three active blog reviews about my products.

http://reedwhatmatters.com/2009/09/haileys-dragonfly-garden-of-botanicals/

http://grrlysquirrelheartsgavin.blogspot.com/

http://blog.hand-craftedcreations.com/2009/11/haileys-dragonfly-garden-handmade-and.html


Every week I get letters from customers who tell me how much they love my products or a customer who is on twitter will tell me the wonderful things my soaps did for their skin. Another way I keep motivated is by watching my dreams unfold before me. I have always wanted to create something that would help people and now I’m living that dream.
I also want to leave my granddaughter Hailey a Legacy and I hope besides the journals I leave her, that I can leave her a successful business that was build on trust, need and love of what I do.

Four Thieves Oil

The new strain of flu’s are in the news daily. We had Bird Flu ,Swine Flu and now H1N1. The government is telling everyone to get a flu shot, which is something I’m not comfortable with. So I turned to nature to see what she has to offer and remembered I have a recipe for “Four Thieves Oil".

There are many stories about where it came from and why or who created it. Here is one story: The Four Thieves Vinegar. Perfumers by day, robbers by night. Four men made a concoction of herbs and essential oils in a base of vinegar and would douse their body with this before they went our robbing plague victims. They had a pretty good track record of stealing riches until the King found out and captured them, forcing them to give up their secret weapon against the plague. The herbal ingredients were wormwood, meadowsweet, juniper berries, rosemary, camphor, sage, cinnamon and cloves in a base of white wine vinegar.

Current Thieves Oil Recipe : The essential oils in this blend have been noted for anti-bacterial, anti-viral and antiseptic properties while stimulating the immune system, circulation and the respiratory system. According to research at Weber State University, Thieves Oil was found to have a 99% kill rate against airborne bacteria when diffused.

Recipe :

FOUR THIEVES OIL

1 part eucalyptus
1 part rosemary
1 part cinnamon
1 part clove
1 part lemon
Must be mixed and stored in glass.

Apply 1-2 drops of Four Thieves on the bottoms of the feet and on the nape of the neck.
Apply under the arms and on the chest.
Diffuse for 20 minutes or less at work or at home.
You can also mix with olive oil if you feel too strong. I recommend 1 tablespoon of each in a 2 oz bottle then fill remainder with oil.

To use as a disinfectant spray: Add one tablespoon of blend to a spray bottle with one cup water and one cup apple cider vinegar .Spray on doorknobs, cabinet handle, showers, anything you want disinfected.
To use as a hand sanitizer: In a small bowl mix one drop of Cinnamon, clove, rosemary and eucalyptus oil with five drops of lemon. Mix this with one ounce of distilled water and ½ teaspoon of Aloe Vera gel. Store in a squeeze bottle or travel size container.

As reported by Anahad O'Onnor in the NY Times:
A recent study by a team of surgeons, for example, found that a solution made with cinnamon oil killed a number of common and hospital-acquired infections, like streptococcus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. The study found it was just as effective as several antiseptics widely used in hospitals. Another study by French researchers in 2008 had similar results, showing that at concentrations of 10 percent or less, cinnamon oil was effective against Staphylococcus, E. coli and several antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.

CAUTON: Due to the cinnamon and clove contained, one must be cautious--it may cause irritation if improperly used. Fair skinned, blue-eyed individuals, redheads and those who tend to sunburn easily need to heed and dilute Thieves Oil blend in a carrier oil like olive oil , almond or macadamia nut before applying to the skin. I have used 1-2 drops of Thieves on the bottom of my feet and also at the nape of the neck. Other places could be under the arms, and on the chest. I do not suggest using this in a bath or in a sauna! Diffuse for only short periods of time--20 minutes or less at work or at home.