This is amazingly cool! A new iPhone app that will help you decipher cosmetic ingredients while you're out shopping, and let you choose ones that are safe and even eco-friendly. For only $1.99. Amazing! Read the article here: http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Products-Markets/iPhone-application-helps-consumer-avoid-dangerous-ingredients?utm_source=RSS_text_news

This is a bit of a belated post, dear blog-readers, and for that, we apologize. Those of you who visit our farm regularly are well aware that we have a motley crew of canines that accompany us everywhere. We refer to them as the "welcoming committee". The leader of the pack was Jake (shown above), Donna's "right hand dog". He showed up on the farm, about 13 years ago...full grown, out of nowhere, and said "Hi. I'm going to live here now." He was the perfect dog, gentle, quiet, never needed a leash or did anything wrong. He was just..there, steadfast, calm, and wonderful. He adored Donna with all his canine heart, and was there for her in great times of need. Time passed, and while his spirit remained valiant and true, his body became old, and simply didn't work anymore. He passed away, peacefully at home, surrounded by his human, canine and feline family, shortly after Christmas. So next time you visit the farm, you won't see the big lovable chocolate lab there....but we know for sure that he is with us in spirit.

I totally meant to post this yesterday. MY BAD!

We have NEW HOURS at Prairieland Herbs. As some of you know, my mom is the full-time caregiver for my grandpa. It's a big job, and she's doing SO well at it! But, we really need to be able to be a bit more flexible with our worktime. So, we are changing our shop hours. Our new hours, effective immediately, are:

Thursday, 12-5
Friday, 12-5
Saturday, 12-5

Internet folks note: This will not affect your order delivery times - we will still be processing and packing orders pretty much as normal. This will just allow us to be more flexible in our working hours.

Thanks everyone, for your understanding.

In other news - I THINK I might have my laptop files restored. We will see tomorrow. I still don't know if I'll be able to update the website right away though. I promise....we're working on it though. But I repeat - Our shopping cart is working just fine, and we are continuing to have our $5 flat-rate shipping AND whipped shea butters on sale until I can get the site updated. So, shop and enjoy! :)

So, John, our ever-faithful Prairieland Herbs order-packer, horse-fence-builder, candle-maker and general all-around handyman and good guy, is doing a "365" on his blog. What that means is, he is going to take a picture, every day, with his iPhone, and blog it. It's really fun to see what he comes up with every day! I suspect alot of the pictures will be of Prairieland Herbs, cats, and drinks. Because those are important things in his (our) life :) Anyway, if you'd like to follow his blog, here is the link: Leprechaun947.blogspot.com.

What fantastic (and honest) customers we have! We were actually closed last Saturday, but didn't advertise that fact very well, so several people stopped by the store. In true honest midwesterner fashion, they both shopped, left detailed notes of what they took, and payment...including tax. WE LOVE OUR CUSTOMERS SO MUCH! You guys rock. :)

Are you tired of snow pictures yet?

Here is the path Donna cleared so she could get into the barn to feed the horses. The drift was over the door. Shoveling snow higher than your head is EXTREMELY difficult. Just in case you were wondering.


Here is the path we cleared to the classroom.

here is the view from inside the classroom. Yes, that is SNOW covering the windows.

Okay, sorry for the late posting, everyone. I was waiting to check on our road conditions before officially posting about Sample Sunday. So, we are having Sample Sunday tomorrow! The sample basket is filled with 1/2 oz jars of our wonderful, moisturizing Spiced Vanilla Berry body butter - stop on by and get one, FREE!


S Avenue off Highway 210 is still closed, but you CAN get to Prairieland Herbs with only a small detour. You can get to PLH from S Avenue approching from the north. Take 210 north, turn left at the Caseys, and take the next left onto S. Avenue. If this confuses you, call (515)438-4268 and we'll be glad to verbally direct you in. (see below post for photos!)

our wonderful neighbors to the north, Picket Fence Creamery, are open as well! We're expecting a veritable heat wave - 20 degrees!! So come on out, oogle the snowdrifts, and have a great time in the country!

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.