Okay. Prairieland Herbs is officially OPEN! However, you cannot access our road, S. Avenue, from 210, you must approach it from the north. Why, you ask? Well, here's why! (thanks for the pictures John).

If you don't know how to access S. Avenue from the north, just call us at (515)438-4268 and we'll talk you through, it's very easy. :)

Here's the stats. Iowa usually gets about 36 inches of snow per year. Most of that tends to come late in the winter or even early in the spring - February and March. Well as of today, we already have our 36 inches. Something tells us it's going to be a loooooong winter.

Donna sends these pictures from her iphone. She is still WAY snowed in, but everyone is safe and warm and well fed.This picture is taken from Donna's deck. This is her path to the barn, our shop parking lot, and - notice the barn - the snowdrift is OVER THE TOP of the six foot door. I cannot even fathom how much shoveling is in my future.

Maggie's computer is STILL downloading files. I expect it to take another few days at this rate. Continue to enjoy the $5 flat rate shipping and whipped shea butter sale. I can't update the website until my computer is back to normal.

COOL! Juice Magazine interviewed us 2 weeks ago and came out last week to take some photos, and now the article is live! They did a great job :)

Colby, Jack and Ohio are all gorgeous 14 week old male kittens. They've been in fostercare since they were about 4 weeks old, and are an utter delight! They come from a family of six boys. Their three siblings have already gone to wonderful homes and have settled in beautifully, now these handsome boys await their turn! Colby and Jack (also known as "the cheese boys") are especially attached to each other. While they enjoy the company of all the cats (and the bunny!) in the household, they almost always choose to cuddle together for sleep, and bathe each other often! Ohio is especially attached to people and loves to pretend he is a scarf (he enjoys laying on necks and sitting on shoulders). They are all wonderful, perfectly behaved, loving kittens looking for a great home. They also have LOUD loving purrs! Their adoption fee is $65, and they are neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. If you are at all interested in adopting one of these wonderful boys, please let us know!


Colby



Ohio



Jack

We're BAAAAACK! Maggie's computer died. AGAIN. All our website stuff is on there, plus I am usually the one that does all the blogging and facebooking. So I have been quiet lately. But, no worries, we are here and fine. COLD, but fine. It's, I think 5 degrees right now. It's been hovering in the single digits during the day, and going below zero, with windchills down to -30 (and less) at night. Ridiculously cold.

Anyway. I have to reinstall EVERYTHING on my computer (grrrr! arrgh!) and THEN I can update the website. So, until then, enjoy a continuation of our $5 flat rate shipping sale! :)

Okay, so you already have four dogs and you get asked to "foster" another, remember, foster means no keeping. So who forgot to explain that to the dog? And from the dog's point of view, if you do not want to be a foster, what do you do? First, be kind to the elderly, second, crawl on the lap of the "foster" person, third, check out the couch for size, comfort, and fit, and finally, cuddle up on the bed of the elderly person with the smallest and most vocal of the original four. Does it work? Absolutely. Dad renamed him Buckshot, Buck for short, Monk made him his best friend and playmate, and the lap thing is a sure winner.

(yes, folks, it's official! Donna has adopted Bullet - now Buck - short for Buckshot. Also, this is Donna's first-ever blog post! yay Donna! - maggie)

The followup story will be on TV13 news, today at 5 PM. check it out! Also, John blogged the tv crew interviewing Bullet/Buck, check out his blog post!

We will be OPEN today from 1-4(ish) to pack and ship the last of the holiday orders! We are still accepting internet orders for holiday shipping until 3PM CST today! Not sure what to get? I'd suggest the "Best of Prairieland Herbs" set, a little sampling of all of our best-sellers, and only $35, INCLUDING shipping!

So, as you may know, Donna and Maggie help a local organization with some pet foster/rescue. THis lovely fellow is Al/Bullet (we prefer to call him Bullet). He was shot by his owner, lived, and is now, fortunately, recovering and in fostercare at Prairieland Herbs. He spent his first night in a house (Maggie's house) last night, and did remarkably well, considering! Isn't he a sweet fellow? To read his whole story, go here: Bullet's Story. He is needing money to cover his vet care, so if you are looking to make a charitable donation this holiday, consider donating to cover his vet care! Some of our VERY generous friends and customers have already donated (thank you, FACEBOOK friends!) - it is MUCH appreciated!

So this morning I headed to work with my faitful Dobercompanion, Duncan, Bullet, and 3 foster kittens. Welcome to my world. :) Bullet is doing GREAT, working on housetraining, is TOTALLY great with the cats and dogs, utterly confused by the mini horses (what ARE those?, he says) and is perfectly behaved on the farm - no leashes or fences needed. So far, so good. Now he just needs to find his forever home.

Shopping across Iowa - 12 Great Places

Our friend Miss Effie wrote a GREAT article about shopping locally, and mentioned 12 of her favorite local shops. And we are mentioned! We are so honored! Thanks Miss Effie! Great article, check it out everyone!

Speaking of shopping, we are TOTALLY on top of the orders, and there is STILL TIME to place your online order for holiday delivery! We are working every day until Christmas, and will be shipping orders every day!

Not sure what to get? our Best of Prairieland Herbs set and our Treats for Feets set are perennial best-sellers!

Sweet! The Radish Magazine did a great article about natural cleaning products, featuring Prairieland Herbs items and our favorite natural cleaning recipes. Check it out!

If natural cleaning is your gig, check out our natural home cleaning products, including our awesome natural laundry gift set, here.

We will be vending at the Downtown Farmer's Market (It's INDOORS, in Capital Square) this Friday, from 11-2 and Saturday, 9-1. If you'd like us to bring anything in particular, please let us know! We will be located on the 2nd level (skywalk level) across the hall from the sushi market. We look forward to seeing you there!

Tired of snow pics yet? Friday, we had to shovel out the waist-high drift from the sidewalk to the shop...there's now a sort of tunnel to walk through. :)

ANd then, we had to dig out the chest-high drift from in front of the classroom!


There was collateral storm damage....mailbox broken by the county snowplow :(


The drifts were so big, our normal snow removal guy (with a big truck and snowblade) couldn't dig us out. A back hoe was required.

And, while Karla was snowed in, she wrapped a few bars of soap for us. This might hold us until the end of the week. Then again...it might not....

I have LOADS more pics to blog, but, for the moment, we are way too busy getting ready for tomorrow's SAMPLE SUNDAY! The roads are (fairly) clear and the event is ON! Slip on your best snowboots and head out to rural Wodward for an ASTOUNDING lineup of awesome local foods and gifts! You can find something for EVERYONE on your holiday shipping list here, we are quite sure! at Prairieland Herbs we have:

Whipped Shea Buters on sale - now only $10.00 each!
Free 2oz handmade soap with any purchase
FREE giftwrapping - Gift sets in all price ranges available!


Limited Edition Holiday Items: Wonderful "Frankincense and Myrrh" handmade soap, and "Spicy" aromatherapy spray, perfect for creating a holiday mood in your home.

Large selection of handknit and hand-dyed silk scarves:




FREE giftwrapping!

Kittens for Adoption!! (No, we won't giftwrap the kittens...)



Guest Vendors:

Nikki Bado-Fralick will have her handmade silver jewellery for sale.

Sally Kilkenny will be vending her amazing award-winning jams and jellies.

Lynn Marie Parkey of Gauranga Reiki will be doing FREE reiki sessions.

Dawn Torrents-Suarez from Morning Rain Massage will do Ear Candling for $25, or $15 with a receipt from Prairieland Herbs or any Sample Sunday Vendors! Chair Massage available, $15 for 15 minutes. All barters and trades will be considered, so bring something cool/handmade/homemade to trade :)

Henna Tattoos FREE for kids, $5 for adults.

Compassionate Creations - yoga inspired jewelry

Angie Lambert with AKC Collections will have her pillows and crafts made from upcycled and repurposed wool, available for sale.

Pictures Donna took this morning with her iPhone, and emailed to me to blog. Yay technology! The snow guy told her he "might" be able to make it out to her place in a few hours, but...so far there is no sign of the county plow to clear out the road.

big snow = lots of computer work. :) Our December Soap of the Month - Frankincense & Myrrh, is now online! It's SPECTACULAR! Terri used REAL frankincense and myrrh to scent this soap - not a synthetic scent. We have 40 bars of this fantastic soap - when it's gone, it's gone! I think this is a perfect item for stocking stuffers or secret santa gifts. The scent: heady, resinous, clean. Very unisex and quite luxurious.

ALSO! The December sale item - Whipped Shea Butters! By customer demand. Only $10 each! These are made with fair trade shea butter, and scented only with essential oils. That makes them the perfect environmentally friendly, socially conscious gift item. Plus, they smell great and moisturize like crazy. Stock up now!

Last but certainly NOT least, we are offering our holiday gift to you - $5 flat rate shipping from now until 2010! Great for shipping gifts to yourself...or to others! We gift wrap and include gift tags, with message of your choice, for no charge!

Snow update: it's CRAZY out there! Donna couldn't get out her back door, it was totally drifted shut. So she managed to get out the front and dig her way around to the barn. She reported waist high drifts, and it's still snowing and really blowing. She fed the horses extra, as she is doubting she can get back out there until sometime tomorrow. The shop cats are warm and cozy with lots of food and water (we won't be able to get into them until probably Thursday, but made sure when we left yesterday that they were okay for a few days).

The internet seems to be going a little glitchy here, but so far we have power and are safe and warm. Iowa DOT has pulled snow plows from several areas of the state - you know it's bad when not even the snowplows can get around. :( 20,000 people are reported to be without power so far....we are hoping they can all stay warm and safe. Windchills are to be as low as -10 tonight.

I have more pictures to post, but blogger seems to be glitchy, so for now here is one that Donna took from indoors.

So. There is a giant storm happening here right now. An honest to gosh blizzard. I don't watch TV, but I've been told that folks from The Weather Channel, and various people from assorted news stations have been sent here to Iowa to cover this big-ass storm. National Weather Service forecasters have described our first major storm of the season as "epic and extremely dangerous". 8-15 inches of snow are predicted, and up to 50 MPH winds. 8-15 inches of snow is bad enough, but when it snows that much, then blows, we get extremly slick roads, and VERY high snowdrifts. We have at least 6 inces of snow now. it started falling this morning, and is continuing (and expected to intensify) overnight.

Maggie packed as many orders as possible this morning, BUT, Donna had to deal with some family-related health issues, AND the weather got bad enough at about 2 PM that everyone headed home. SO. if you placed an order with Prairieland Herbs on or after Saturday, December 5th, it HAS NOT shipped yet, nor will it until probably Friday.

Epic winds are predicted for tomorrow, and no travel is recommended. Thursday, it should be calmer, BUT, then we have to wait for 1) the county road crews to open up our road, and 2) our snow removal guy to open up our driveway. Given the immensity of the predicted storm, we are not counting on either of those things happening very quickly on Thursday. (Our farm is rural, fairly remote, and VERY prone to drifting). We will keep you posted, but until now, unfortunately, we are predicting to not be able to ship anything until at LEAST Friday.

HOWEVER, we are absolutely willing and able to work overtime to catch up on orders...as soon as we can get back into the shop. :) We will keep you posted! Stay warm and indoors, everyone!

If you like to make your own holiday gifts, here are a few ideas. Tina, from The Essential Herbal, has a GREAT tutorial for making your own spiced pomanders. You just need a few simple ingredients from the grocery store and a bit of time.


Homemade biscotti is one of my favorite gifts to get and to give. We have a few recipes on our website: Lavender Honey Biscotti and Chocolate Orange Biscotti. They age well, travel beautifully, and are delicious dunked in coffee, hot chocolate, or red wine. :)

I made a big batch of Apple Pie Hooch last weekend - it's shelf stable, and, packged in pretty recycled bottles, makes a wonderful gift for your friends and family that enjoy adult beverages.

Along the same theme, I made spiced rum for a gift last weekend. It was ridiculously fast and easy, and looks and smells beautiful! :)

A bit of a personal update. My grandpa is not well. My mom is his main caretaker, and her duties have drastically increased basically overnight. We are doing our absolute best to keep up with everything, however, being one woman short on our busiest time of the year is certainly a challenge. We promise to do absolutely everything to keep the packages shipping out as fast as possible. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

15% off EVERYTHING on the website, now until December 1. PLUS, Free shipping on orders over $75!


2 new gift sets listed - our Lavender Set (above) is a wonderful selection of our bestselling items in our bestselling scent. And our Relax Pack (below) is an affordable, delightful gift for anyone who needs a bit of rest and rejuvination!