Today's May 3rd Sample Sunday blog post is all about Picket Fence Creamery, our fantastic neighbors to the south.

Join us for a 3-Farm Tour and Mother's Day

SAMPLE SUNDAY

May 3 Noon to 5 p.m.

Admission is FREE!

FRESH SPINACH AND LETTUCE! (Grown in Woodward - no chemicals!)

FRESH IOWA RHUBARB CRISPS!

Local food samples: Strawberry ice cream, buffalo ring bologna, Neva's cheese ball, fresh made natural and honey roasted peanut butter, tortellini, creamed honey, salsa, Iowa wines, and more!

Guest vendors: Prairie Moon Winery of Ames, and Taste of the Town Salsa, Waukee. Music provided by HB Productions of Altoona.

Lunch is served! Picket Fence sloppy joe or grilled brat, kettle cooked chips, milk, and ice cream - ONLY $5!

Kid's meal, $3.

Kids! See the bottle calves, cats, Jack, and take a pony ride in the pasture!

Super Deals: Fresh rhubarb or apple crisp and quart of ice cream, $10; Our own ham loaf, $5.99 for 1 1/2 lb. loaf; our own 90% lean ground beef $3.49/lb. with 10 lb. puchase, buy a local salsa and get a bag of fresh tortilla chips for $1. More in-store specials!

Featured Foods: Fresh local spinach and lettuce, deviled local eggs, sweet breads, fresh local black walnuts, fruit crisps, 9" deep dish lard crust pies. breads, Pella Dutch letters, Kalona noodles, wines from 10 Iowa wineries, and more!

Mother's Day All-Iowa Food Baskets - Build your Mom a gift basket she will truly appreciate! The basket itself is FREE!

We have a fantastic Sample Sunday coming up Sunday, May 3rd. FIVE different businesses are participating! (Remember to bookmark our new Central Iowa Small Farm website and check back each month for new details). Each business has their own specials, events, guest vendors and samples, so I though I'd blog about one per today.

Today - Northern Prairie Chevre.

Celebrate Spring with Northern Prairie Chevre

All of the kids have been born, our short respite is over, the girls are back in milk, and we’re in cheese production. So, it must be time to begin open houses once again!

· Cyd from Cyd’s Catering in Johnston will have items she makes with our cheeses for you to sample. She’ll have recipes as well!

· Relax in the front yard while listening to Saturn V, a jazz band from Valley High School. They’re great!

· Visit with Larry and Barry from Quilted Gardens Nursery about your flower garden needs. They’ll have bulbs, plants and many unique items for sale.

· Chris from Snus Hill Winery has samples of their award-winning wines, the newest is made with their own grapes – all for sale in Miss Tillie’s!

· Stevie from Tassel Ridge Winery will sample several of their award winning wines – also available in Miss Tillie’s.

· Louise, our “Chicken Chat” note card creator will be available to show you her note cards with women to women social expression messages. They’re delightful!

· Milton will be selling grilled hamburgers topped with our chevre for just $4!!

· Sheeder Farms meats and eggs are available. Check out the selection.

· Mary Boyvey, Hoopnotica Certified instructor will be offering free classes on the hour, and have hoops available for all ages to try and/or purchase

· Pat from Randol Honey will be sampling her delicious creamed honey.

· Various cuts of elk from Skeeter Creek Elk

· We now have Denison Mustards in several flavors.

· NEW – Café Diem Coffee House coffees and chai

· Kids – enjoy the swings and sand box in the front yard and be sure to visit all the babies!! They’ll amuse you with their sweet personalities and antics!

· Come on in to Miss Tillie’s for samples of our cheese and MUCH MORE!

When: Sunday, May 3 12-5 pm, Rain or shine!!

Where: 1247 310th Street, Woodward

The wild plums are blooming! They smell SO INCREDIBLE.

And our buckeye tree is about to leaf out. This is my favorite tree on farm. It's so beautiful and interesting.

Tammi, from My Organized Chaos, has Prairieland Herbs product review and giveaway on her blog - check it out, and be sure to enter to win a free lotion bar and shea butter balm!!

Welcome to this week's Friday Freebie, sponsored by Marge at Nature's Gift!

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At Nature's Gift we have been pleased and excited about hosting this week's contest. The hard part has been trying to decide what to offer as the prize!



We chose Deluxe Personal Inhalers from our new shipment, filled with the winner's choice of several healing synergies.


We'll ship one of these pretty purse-sized inhalers filled with your choice of our SineEase Synergy, for easing sinus pain and congestion, Happy Morning Synergy, recommended for easing the nausea of morning sickness, but also helpful for motion sickness, etc., or our research based depression fighter "Citrus Smile."

To be entered in the contest, respond to this post, here, and at all the blogs listed below.

To make the contest even more exciting, ONE lucky entrant, drawn from one of the listed blogs, will receive a signed copy of Marge's Book "Essential Oils and Aromatics".

You may check these links for some of the reviews, from the Journal of the Northeast Herbal Association, or from The Massage Therapy Journal.

Remember all of the blogs below are participating, so visit all of them and post to increase your chances of winning.

The Essential Herbal
Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti's Potions
The Rosemary House
Nature's Gift
Torchsong Studio
SunRose Aromatics
Garden Chick

Just a few pictures of our farm as it wakes from winter's slumber.

Our 2009 Farmers' Market dates are posted! A mere 3 weeks and we will be at the Downtown Des Moines Farmer's Market for the first time this year. Chocolate croissants and Java Joes breve, here I come!

Bertha Reppert (1919-1999) was the founder of The Rosemary House and our mum. She was a Renaissance woman ahead of her time when she opened a herb and spice shop in a conservative East coast town in 1968. Convinced that once everyone learned about herbs they would love these plants as much as she did, she became an avid educator about the secrets of herbs. Lecturing, writing and always promoting herbs, Bertha Reppert became a mentor to many. This weeks prize is a copy of her last herbal and one of our very favorites.

Bertha Reppert's TwelveMonth Herbal features 365 herbal essays one for each day of the year. Written like she is speaking to a friend this book is fun, informative and easy to read. Many folks have told us they reread the book every year and make their own daily notes in the margins. Be sure to leave a comment to this post and at the other participating herbal blogs (see the links below) for your chance to win this clever book (an $18.00 value) filled with herbal lore, recipes and crafts (priceless).

Sisters Susanna, the herbalist, and Nancy, the culinary artist, continue to share their Mother's love of all things herbal at The Rosemary House, the herb and spice gift shop, and at Sweet Remembrances tea room.

The following blogs are also participating, so stop over, post a comment on these blogs for additional chances to win this weeks giveaway AND the chance to explore some cool blogs. To be entered to win this fabulous book, simply comment on this blog entry, and PLEASE note you must leave your email address so we can contact you!

Nature's Gift
Torchsong Studio
The Essential Herbal
Garden Chick
SunRose Aromatics
Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti’s Potions

Aquarian Bath

The Rosemary House (where a list of winners will be posted on the 24th)

Check back we have a couple more weeks of give-aways!

The picture above is a pretty accurate visual representation of how Donna and Maggie feel after paying taxes. We though perhaps some of you feel the same. So we thought a little sale might cheer us ALL up!

Everything on our website is 15% off, now through April 22nd. Yes, the discount applies to our in-store customers too! Enjoy!

Victoria's secret "organic natural vegan" bodycare - truth in advertising FAIL. (are we surprised?)

Read the article!

We have a new website specifically to promote our Sample Sundays and other 3 farm events! Please bookmark this site and check back monthly! We will be updating with info about each Sample Sunday as it becomes available.

http://centraliowasmallfarms.com/

(photo of one of last year's Sample Sunday events at Prairieland Herbs)

People in the shop are ALWAYS asking about natural headache relief. Marge Clark from Nature's Gift wrote this great article about using essential oils to help relieve headaches. enjoy!

Aromatherapy for Natural Headache Relief

Check out our friend Tina's blog for some AMAZING pictures of distillation with her gorgeous glass still. (We're going to get one of these pretty glass stills this spring, I think.....)

is it true? could it really be...spring?!?!?!

Week 7 of the Herb Blog Contest Featuring Aquarian Bath

Week 7 of the Herb Blog Contest Featuring Aquarian Bath

Welcome to week 7 of the herbal blog contest! This week we are featuring Aquarian Bath your source for all natural gentle soaps, herbal balms, salves, deodorants, and spa pillows. Aquarian Bath's soaps, balms and salves are either unscented or lightly scented with only pure essential oils. This week, enter to win you choice of a Lavender Spearmint Lip balm in a 0.15 oz tube OR a Lemon Lime Lip Balm in a 0.25 oz slide tin, and 20% off on their next order with Aquarian Bath.

The Lavender Spearmint Balm is made with Extra virgin olive oil, Shea butter, Beeswax, Castor oil, Spearmint and Lavender essential oil.



The Lemon Lime lip balm is made with Coconut oil, Shea Butter, Castor oil, Beeswax, Jojoba, Lime and Lemon Essential oils, and Zinc Oxide, a mineral used in sunscreens.



To win one of these lovely balms, enter by posting a comment in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning! Entrants must include their email address to be eligible to win. US and Canadian residents are eligible. You can receive additional chances to win in the following ways:

* Tweet about this blog contest on twitter.com including @aquarianbath in the tweet. Come back and log your tweet with a comment to receive 1 additional entry.
* Visit and join Aquarian Bath's fan page on Facebook. Leave a comment so we know you joined to receive 1 additional entry.
* Make a comment about your favorite item from Aquarian Bath's etsy or 1000markets stores to receive 1 additional entry.
* Make a purchase with Aquarian bath to on etsy or 1000markets to receive 3 additional entries.

*The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win AND the chance to explore some cool blogs.
Aquarian Bath
Make a purchase from one of these 9 host blog's online stores to receive 2 additional entries and leave a comment at the host's blog's contest:
The Essential Herbal
Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti's Potions
PrairieLand Herbs
The Rosemary House
Nature's Gift
Torchsong Studio
SunRose Aromatics
Garden Chick

One lucky winner from one of the 10 host blogs will be contacted to receive 2 free soaps of their choice along with their lip balm and 20% off coupon, so be sure to visit and enter at all 10 blogs.



The winners will be announced at the Aquarian Bath blog when the results are in from all participating blogs. Enjoy.

Keep coming back and keep entering. We have some great prizes coming up, and we'll be having the contests until the middle of May!

Last Week's Winners:

The Essential Herbal - Linda Grant
Herbs from the Labyrinth - emrosser
Patti's Potions - Amanda Huye
PrairieLand Herbs - Heather Anne
The Rosemary House - Julie Dees
Nature's Gift - - Jody Sullivan
Torchsong Studio Green Womyn
SunRose Aromatics - Julie Dees (lucky girl!)
Garden Chick - Cherry Devereaux
Aquarian Bath - Comfrey Cottages

Our friend Roe at Sun Rose Aromatics is offering the most AMAZING giveaway on her blog.

Here's the info:

This month in honor of Easter, our Give a Way::
which represents 'new beginnings', new growth ..

Our Happy Easter Give-A-Way this month ::

Post and leave a comment on this blog post before April 8th, 2009 for your chance to win.

Our drawing this month will award 1 lucky winner.

Please be sure to include the following:
- your email address (so we may contact you)
- your name

The winner will receive:

- Chakra Balancing Beginner's Guide
& the Chakra Synergies

The drawing will be held on April 7th, 2009, the winners will be announced on April 8th, 2009. Please visit her blog to sign up!

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We have a copy of Roe's Book "Chakra Balancing, a Beginner's Guide" and it's an amazing book - small but packed full of great information. TRULY worth purchasing, if you haven't already. And all of her essential oils are top-notch!

PS. Aquarian Bath is the winner of last week's contest - Just drop us an email at shop at prairielandherbs dot com to let us know your address, and what kind you'd like! :)

Welcome to week 6 of the herbal blog contest! This week, enter to win a .15 oz. Healing Wand! These healing wands contain herbally infused certified organic olive oil, locally produced beeswax, vitamin E, essential oils of tea tree and lavender, and are the perfect size for your pocket, purse, or diaper bag. They work wonders on cuts, scrapes, rashes, burns, dry skin, hangnails, etc.

To win one of these useful and natural healing balms, simply enter by posting a comment in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning!!! Don’t forget to include your email addy so we can contact the winner! The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win AND the chance to explore some cool blogs.


Aquarian Bath
The Rosemary House
Natures Gift
Torchsong Studio
The Essential Herbal
Garden Chick
SunRose Aromatic
Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti's Potions

Keep coming back and keep entering. We have some great prizes coming up, and we'll be having the contests until the middle of May!

Can you believe it's time for another Sample Sunday? And this time we have FIVE local businesses - it's our biggest event yet!

Sunday, April 5th, 12-5


At Picket Fence Creamery:

EASTER EGG HUNT IN THE PASTURE!

Ages 4 and under at 12:30 p.m. Ages 5 and up at 1:00

Pony rides will follow! Also hay maze, live bunnies, 14 bottle calves, & free palm branch for each child (while supply lasts)!

Local food samples: Very berry ice cream, cheese curds, buffalo summer sausage, Neva's cheese ball, fresh made natural peanut butter, strawberry muffins, tortellini, creamed honey, salsa, Iowa wines, and more!

Guest vendors: Prairie Moon Winery of Ames, and Taste of the Town Salsa, Waukee. Music provided by HB Productions of Altoona.

Lunch is served! Picket Fence sloppy joes, kettle cooked chips, milk, and ice cream - ONLY $5!

Super Deals: Our own ham loaf, $5.99 for 1 1/2 lb. loaf, our own 90% lean ground beef $3.49/lb. with 10 lb. puchase, fresh apple crisp and quart ice cream $10, buy local salsa and get a bag of fresh tortilla chips for $1. More in-store specials!

Featured Foods: Easter egg cut out sugar cookies (freeze well), deviled eggs, sweet breads, fresh local spinach, fresh local black walnuts, fruit crisps, 9" deep dish lard crust pies.


At Northern Prairie Chevre:

Celebrate Spring with Northern Prairie Chevre
Meet Chef Cal from Mojo’s on 86th who will sample several items he creates with our chevre!

Snus Hill Winery and Tassel Ridge Winery will sample their award-winning wines.

Louise, our Chicken Chat note card creator, will be available to show you her cards with women to women social expression messages. Delightful sayings!

Beautiful Christmas Gift jewelry from Sun Creek Jewelry!

NEW- Denison Mustards several flavors. Stock up on Sheeder Farms meats and eggs & various cuts of elk from Skeeter Creek Elk. Sample Randol Honey creamed honey.

Kids - enjoy the swings and sand box in the front yard. Meet our babies! 30+ babies to amuse you with their antics and loving personalities. Come in to Miss Tillie’s for samples of our cheese and MUCH MORE!



At Lake Robbins Ballroom:

Sample Sunday at Lake Robbins Ballroom • 1-4pm

Flowers by Donna Jean will have a display here.

FREE Samples - Food • some of our Wedding Choices • Picnic Specials • Banquets,
Sample Wedding Display & Information, FREE sample dance lessons 2-4pm

Regular dance lesson - basic Tango 4-5pm - $5 per person

Dance Big Band 6-10pm $8 cover (Everett Boyer)

We’re open every weekend! Fri. & Sat. varies (dances,weddings, banquets)

BUT every Sunday is a Live Big Band Music 6-10pm
New dance lessons start April 19th 3-4pm Basic 4-5pm Basic II


And our newest Sample Sunday business - Flowers by Donna Jean!

215 South Main • Downtown …Woodward
Not just a full service, flower shop…
Stop in & visit our renovated 1800s, building, complete with restored ceilings and hard wood floors. Browse over 3000 sq. feet of period & Shabby chic furniture. Beautiful garden art, antiques & collectibles.

Featuring local artist…. Michael “White Feather” with his Native American Lakota art work, Moon Dance Jewelry by Kelly Moore, Art Ciccotti, Hand Blown glass. We will also be handing out carnations & Easter Candy for the kids.
Tour Hours: Noon - 5 p.m. • Phone: 515-438-2557


OF COURSE we at Prairieland Herbs will be having a "Spring Sale" - 25% off all salves, balms and buzz off wands. Our infamous sample basket is stuffed to the brim with free samples of bath salts, soaps, and shampoo bars. Kids, visit the mini horses, pet the pooches and kitties! Check out our class schedule - shea butter moisturizers, herb gardening, rust-dyeing, soapmaking 101 and MUCH more!

We've delivered goods to TWO new Iowa locations. A few weeks ago we took a HUGE selection of goods to "Halo" - billed as a Modern Salon, it's a COOL place! Located in the Roosevelt Shopping Center on 42nd St. in Des Moines. Des Moines folks, Halo now carries the WIDEST selection of Prairieland Herbs goods in Des Moines - stop by there to see if they carry your favorite products - if they don't, feel free to ask them to! They are excited about all of our products, and want to provide them to you!

Second, we just shipped a big box of goodies to Once Again Kids Closet in Council Bluffs, Iowa - a kids consignment store (and more). They should be there next week!

Friday Freebie Double Header!

We Friday March 27th to Thursday April 2nd.Featured this week are moisturizing Lip Balms from Patti’s Potions Natural Soaps, Ltd. Did you know that most lip balms contain petroleum products that are NOT eco-friendly? This is your opportunity to experience fine natural oils in your lip care experience. Ingredients: calendula infused olive oil, shea butter, natural beeswax, jojoba, castor, & vitamin E.


To win TWO of these luscious lip balms, simply enter by posting a comment in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning!!! PLEASE - Don’t forget to include your email address so we can contact the winner! The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win AND the chance to explore some cool blogs.


Aquarian Bath
The Rosemary House
Natures Gift
Torchsong Studio
The Essential Herbal
Garden Chick
SunRose Aromatic
Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti's Potions

Happy Freebie Friday everyone!

Congratulations go out to Kelly Lake - you are the winner of your choice of 3 solid perfumes! Drop us an email at shop at prairielandherbs dot com and let us know which 3 you'd like!

This week's Friday Freebie is a tin of our talc-free body powder. These are wonderful for the upcoming summer months. Winner may choose any scent they like from our range!

If you'd like to win a tin of body powder - you must leave a comment on today's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

As a special little spring surprise, we're offering 25% off ALL our salves (5 varieties, 3 sizes of each variety) AND 25% off our healing wands (both sizes) AND Buzz off Wand! Sale prices good through April 1! Stock up Green Thumb Gardeners Salve, Healing Salves and Wands, and Buzz Off Wands for spring and summertime.

I just signed up to win a free advance copy of Susan Wittig Albert's new (and yet-to-be-released) book Wormwood! For those of you not familiar with this author, she writes a fun herbal mystery series set in Texas. Check out her great blog, and you can enter the drawing too!



We've had spectacular weather lately! Sandals and t-shirt weather. LOVE IT! Ollie, however, thiks anything above 60-degrees is hot. See him pant?



We even have green grass!


Which will make the equine gang very happy, they're tired of being cooped up in their boring old pen. Little Delafino here loves to nibble at anything that comes in his reach - fingers included. He's such a cutie!

Here they are telling me quite clearly - "Put that flashy thing away, and make with the hay, food-lady".

Happy Spring!!!

Our friend Tina at the Essential Herbal Magazine has offered a FREE downloadable PDF of her very GREEN issue focusing on a more self-sufficient lifestyle. As she says "In honor of the first day of spring and the White House putting in an herb and vegetable garden, we put up a new
free issue - the one we did last year that focused on green living with a collage of Victory Garden posters on the cover. The Essential Herbal is not an on-line magazine. This one sold out, so we put it up here for you to check out!"

Click here to download this great issue - guaranteed to get you thinking "green" thoughts for spring.

Our Friday Freebie double header continues, with this week's Herb Blog Group contest!

Toronto Girl was last week's lucky winner!
Roe from Sun Rose Aromatics will be contacting you to get your mailing address!)


For the week between Friday, March 20 and Thursday, March 26, you can enter simply by entering a comment in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning a sampler of hand-blended herbal teas from HerbsfromtheLabyrinth.com, including one each of the following: Moontime Tea, Lover's Tea, Spring in My Step, FemininiTea, Dandy Lion Tea, Hush-A-Bye, Strong As Nails, SereniTea, SmarTea, DigestiviTea, Nursing Mother Tea, Endo-Liver Tea, Love Your Liver Tea, and Mid-Summer Tea.

HerbsfromtheLabyrinth.com has a wide range of herbal products to choose from.


The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win AND the chance to explore some cool blogs.

SunRose Aromatics
Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti’s Potions
Aquarian Bath
The Rosemary House
Nature's Gift
Torchsong Studio
The Essential Herbal
Garden Chick

Happy Freebie Friday!

Last week's winner of one 2 oz. jar of Ache Relief Rub is Sara from Claremont, Newhampshire! Sara, drop us an email with your mailing address, and we'll ship it right out!
This week's Friday Freebie is a set of 3 of our solid perfumes (your choice of scents). These are a fun and affordable way to enjoy a variety of scents. I like to mix them, myself.... a bit of patchouli and hint of lavender....ylang-ylang and rose... you can have a different combo every day if you like.

If you'd like to win a set of 3 of these perfumes - you must leave a comment on today's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

And for those of you that don't know - our most excellent buds at Soul-Flower.com carry two custom scents of our perfume - they're the only vendors in the world to have our "Patchouli Soul" and "Patchouli Flower" solid perfumes. If you're a patchouli fan, you must check them out!

I won!! I "follow" my cool friend (and owner of The Soap Dish - an amazing soapmaking supply company) Rebecca on Twitter - she always posts information and interesting info on green packaging and living. And as a bonus, every Friday she does a fun giveaway from people on Twitter. I was lucky enough to win this great book - Smart Soapmaking. It wasn't one I'd read before - but now I'm glad it's on my bookshelf. It's down-to-earth, no-nonsense, and packed with useful and practical info. My favorite part? It's international! measurements are given in both metric and "customary", AND has an interernational list of suppliers. Brilliant, and long-overdue.

So, in short, check out this great book, and follow Rebecca on Twitter...you'll learn alot and have a chance to win some cool stuff too!

Spring 2009 Prairieland Herbs class schedule is announced!

Want to learn to make soap?
Or perhaps do some rust-dyeing?

Make Shea Butter Moisturizers?

Or perhaps enjoy some mother-daughter fun, making bath salts?


Register online for these classes - and more!

It's another Freebie Friday Double Header! Congrats to last week's winner - Linda D!

This week (#3) our herbal blog contest swings over to SunRose Aromatics, where Roe whips up the most delightful of aromatherapy and pampering products. For the week between Friday, March 13 and Thursday, March 19, you can enter simply by posting a comment in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning!!!
Here's the prize:Facial Scrub w/ Organic Liquid Soap Set:
Pamper your face with all natural ~
* apricot kernel meal
* organic liquid castile soap
Mix in the palm of your hand & then apply to your face.
A wonderful exfoliate!

The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win AND the chance to explore some cool blogs.


Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti’s Potions
Aquarian Bath
The Rosemary House
Nature's Gift
Torchsong Studio
The Essential Herbal
Garden Chick - Where the winners from week #2 will be listed :-)
SunRose Aromatics

Keep coming back and keep entering. We have some great prizes coming up, and we'll be having the contests til the middle of May!

It's Freebie Friday (who said Friday the 13th can't be lucky?)! Congratulations to pigbook1 and Gracee - you are the winners of last week's giveaway, our healing wands. Drop us an email (to shop at prairielandherbs dot com) with your address and we'll send them right out!




This week's freebie is a 2 oz. jar of our Ache Relief rub - an soothing blend of arnica-infused oil and a potent essential oil blend of peppermint, rosemary, thyme, ginger and cinnamon. This giveaway is inspired by my recent desire to attain a better level of fitness...and the ensuing soreness (DAMN those one-legged pushups!). So I speak from experience here when I say 1) this stuff works, and 2) it's just one of those things you should have in your herbal medicine chest, because eventually, you WILL need it. Haven't we all had a time when we over-exerted our muscles (moving house, spring gardening, raking leaves, shoveling snow, etc.)?

If you'd like to win a jar of our ache relief rub - you must leave a comment on today's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

Join Prairieland Herbs, Picket Fence Creamery, and Lake Robbins Ballroom for an afternoon of free fun in the country! Picket Fence Creamery is sampling Girl Scout cookie Thin Mint ice cream, tortellini salad, shoo-fly pie, 10-grain bread, Neva's famous cheese ball, cheese curds and chocolate milk, elk sticks, buffalo summer sausage, Taste of the Town salsa, Iowa wines, and more! (Wow, I think I gained weight just typing that. Sounds delicious though doesn't it?)



Prairieland Herbs has a sample basket chock-full of handmade soaps, shampoo bars and milk baths, and will be giving free samples of Peppermint Foot Soak to anyone who heads on down to Lake Robbins Ballroom for their.....


......FREE sample dance lessons! (available from 2 - 4 pm - after that, they will have their regular dance lesson - basic Swing 4-5 PM, for $5 per person). You can make a whole day of it and stay for the Dance Big Band 6-10 pm $8 cover (Cecil Stanley)

Should be a fun afternoon for everyone - bring your friends, bring your family, and discover the delights of rural Dallas County!

Okay, so, just to get this out of the way, I fully blame Jill for getting Prairieland Herbs on Facebook. I resisted, she insisted, and she won - and thank goodness, cuz she is right. Facebook is fun!

See, the best part about our job is - YOU. Our customers, loyal readers, supporters, friends. You allow us to do what we love - play in the dirt, grow herbs, make cool herbal stuff. And besides that - you're all just a great bunch of folks. Interesting, kind, trustworthy, funny, and just plain COOL. Most of you we know only by name or email - if you were nearby we'd love to see you, but you're all over the world! So phone calls and emails are our main forms of contact. Many of you we have known for years, and have been privileged to see your kids grow up, hear about the news and changes in your life, and just generally get to know you.

But with facebook - now we can share pictures! We get to see you ! So, c'mon gang - join up. Here is our Prairieland Herbs Fanpage - Join if you like. (I'm still very, very new at this Facebook thing, so please bear with me while I figure it out.)


I'm also working on some other projects, to give those of you across the world a better visual look at Prairieland Herbs. We've got 10+ years of product, farm, and garden photos, and I'm slowly (10 pics a day) adding them to our flickr account.Then my next goal is to work on a couple of virtual tours, using Smilebox (maybe - anyone have any better ideas let me know, ok?), - of our gardens, workspace, etc.

But for now - time to go to work, orders to pack, stuff to make. See y'all on Facebook!