IN MEMORY OF THOSE STRUCK BY CANCER

Keep the candle burning. A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle.

SHED THE OLD SKIN

Last Friday, I had plans to take things easy as I have been "running around" all week. However, the rascals had a different idea - they were both off school feeling under the weather. After managing to get them off to sleep in the afternoon, I got myself into the kitchen to concoct this African Black soap sugar scrub.

Ingredients:

Lots of patience (about 3 hours)

230g sugar (Whitworths Fairtrade demerara sugar)

132g African Black Soap

66g unrefined sheabutter

66g unrefined cocoabutter

66g fractionated coconut oil

20g veg. glycerin

The scrub makes 2 x 270g and smells wonderful even without any essential oils. The unrefined cocoa butter gives it a different edge to it. When you get to the M stage, your skin plays games with you. I live in a hard water area and managed to use only a tablespoon size of this scrub. My skin was really soft to touch.

Demerara sugar is very soft so this scrub is a bit porous when applied to the skin.

CHOÇOLÃT

My love of chocolates started at a very early age back in Ghana. It could have been due to the fact that my grandmother (bless her soul) was a cocoa farmer till her late 90's or I just could not resist the full flavoured dense Ghanaian chocolates.

Cocoa was first introduced into Ghana by the late Tetteh Quarshie on his return from a trip to Fernando Po (Equitorial Guinea) in the late 19th Century. Ghanaian cocoa beans are widely used in good quality chocolates.

I earned the nickname cioccolatina in Italy thanks to Raffaele for my love of chocolates. The name means little chocolates in Italian and has become a chosen name for one of my businesses. It was really difficult making these latest products as Valentine gifts as I had to restrain myself from eating the products. They smell fab - if I may say so.

THE DAY I MET "JAMES BOND"

After 10 years of staying at home and looking after the kids, I was finally invited to a Christmas ball (albeit in January) to let my hair down. "James Bond" was a cross between a young Sean Connery and Daniel Craig. I was shaken but my hips would not stir when I met "James Bond" as my favourite is Pierce Brosnan. The event was at Mapledurham house near Caversham where I live. I had a ball but gosh - old age is catching up on me.

BACK AT WORK

What a week it has been. I had to resume work earlier than the 9th of January as the orders were piling up only to end up working in the cold with no electricity at the "cottage". Yep, there was a problem with the electrics on the farm. Imagine working with thick jumpers and coats for 5 days trying to decant oils that had solidified along side cold buckets of butter.

At least, something good happened this week as Sheabutter Cottage took delivery of more micronized rhassoul. Sheabutter Cottage is now a UK distributor of this fine natural clay.

After months of waiting, I was also able to take delivery of authentic African black soap from Ghana. As part of Sheabutter Cottage's ethical policy, I am proud to help 1 woman help others through trade by representing a small team of women in Ghana build their business. The women are paid a fair price and empowered to produce and sell. Made to a traditional recipe, this soap contains 30% unrefined shea butter.

I really need to get someone on board to help me out with the workload. I have been working on my own for the last 5 years but need a little help especially as the kids are growing up. I hope to sort things out including planning application for the retail section of the "cottage" before my next surgery.

Off to bed now to get some beauty sleep :))

HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAPPY NEW YOU!!!

Detoxify with rhassoul.

Rhassoul is an exquisite spa quality mineral-rich clay from Morocco. It's quite different from other cleansing clays, being exceptionally gentle and beneficial even for dry hair and sensitive skin and scalp conditions. Lavaerde, is a mineral rich clay which was deposited in the sea millions of years ago. The source of this unique clay is to be found deep beneath the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The word rhassoul or ghassoul derives from an Arabic phrase meaning, 'to become washed'. Lavaerde has Latin and Germanic roots and means 'cleansing earth' - from the Latin lavare, (to cleanse or wash) and the German 'erde' (earth or soil). Used for centuries, rhassoul clay detoxifies from head to toe resulting in glowing soft skin and bouncy hair.

**EDITED: Our simple recipe for hair and face is supplied with our packs of rhassoul clay**.