Good Morning

I had some good news this morning. My good friend, Henya, has cleared the bureaucratic hurdles necessary to make Aliyah - to move to Israel. Aliyah means "to go up" in Hebrew, to return to ancestral homeland of the Jews. Henya has a fiber business she runs out of her home in Brooklyn - www.chickenstitches.blogspot.com where she makes lovely and unique stitch markers and sells patterns for her own knitting designs. I only see her twice a year at the big shows. Now I fear I won't see her for many years. Email is nice, but I won't hear her cute Russian accent anymore. I'm very happy for her, as Israel is the best place to be Jewish. Now her seven children will grow up in an environment where non-Jews are in the minority, not majority. On the home front, it continues to be cold and snowy here. Matt thinks I will be able to get out of the driveway. Hope so. I have two bags on the machine, and orders to get out - thank you ALL for supporting my farm! I have to buy jars and ingredients for hand creme, as the orders are pouring in. I remember the night that Matt said I can hardly go to sleep my hands hurt so bad. When he was in construction his hands would crack open and make him miserable. I thought to myself, surely I can come up with something. I make soap why can't I make hand creme? Then Shepherd's Friend was born. There's a jar in some stage of consumption everywhere you turn in this home. And the soap...I still like to make soap. I was reminded how wonderful handmade soap is when I was in the hotel with Kim last weekend. I used the little commercial bar and it's lackluster lather. My face and hands were so TIGHT afterward. Yuck! Better get ready to hit the road, as I will be creeping along again today. The forecast is good for traveling to New Hope, Pa., this weekend. More good news - Mia is switching days at work so she can help me at the show on Saturday! Her energy and beautiful smile will get me through the weekend and undoubtedly help with sales, too!