Ever been to West Texas?

I've lived in Texas all my life but I'd never been to Big Bend until a few days ago! On Christmas Day we piled 7 family members & friends plus our ferocious but utterly adorable Daisy dog into a big honkin church van and headed west from Austin.

What werrrre we thinking? It was a long drive...and parts of it were isolated and desolate...but we saw some incredible scenery out there, like the prehistoric Indian rock art, 2 majestic canyons on the lazy Rio Grande River, a quirky ghost town called Terlingua (don't miss this!), Lajitas Resort, an explosion of stars at the world renowned McDonald Observatory, historic Fort Davis, and the stunningly beautiful Caverns of Sonora, among other things. Here's Mike and I on the grueling (for me) 3 mile hike we took up into the Chisos Mountains, where I promptly slipped and fell towards the end of the trail. Luckily, I limped away with only a banged up knee. Hey, I never claimed to be much of a hiker (but I OWN that mountain now!)

If I had it to do over again I'd slow the pace down a notch or two. You really need more than 5 days to see the rugged Big Bend area. But all in all, it was our best family vacation ever. I'll try to upload all the photos to an online album later. Right now I'm just trying to recover. Family vacations can be really hard work sometimes.

Happy New Year Y'all from Texas!

Wishing you peace, joy & light.From our family to yours,a wild soap bar

Power of Possessions

During this often stressful time of overconsumption and overspending, I wanted to share with you an article that's hung on my bulletin board for many years, author unknown.

Less is best. The less you have, the less you will have to take care of. Really! Material goods gobble your time and energy. Most people I know are slaves to their possessions and don't know it. Here are some facts to ponder:

* Possessions clutter. Casually placed possessions clutter tabletops, closets, counters and garages. Putting stuff away can take hours.

* Possessions cost more than the original price. You spend additional time storing, repairing, protecting, cleaning, and catering to them, and time is worth money.

* Possessions need cleaning. Do you enjoy washing, dusting, polishing, soaking, scouring and scraping? Even minimal cleaning is time consuming.

* Possessions create errands. How many times a year do you drive to buy, repair and clean your things? How many hours waiting in store lines and looking for parking?

* Possessions are worrisome. Fretting about breakage, loss, theft, fire, repairs and insurance premiums clutters our minds. Every item let go of is one less worry.

* Possessions need organizing. Things need to be alphabetized, color coded, sorted and grouped, for sanity's sake.

* Possessions get lost. The less you have, the less you have to lose.

* Possessions depreciate. Things that spot, rust, crumble, dent, fray and come unglued lose value. Invest in yourself, not things.

* Possessions are climbed over, hidden, apologized for and argued over. How much more do you need to know?

* Possessions encourage greed. Materialistic people tend to compete with their neighbors, brag, hoard and constantly desire more. They're seldom satisfied with what they've got.

Working hard to maintain an over-materialized lifestyle puts stress on your relationships and your finances. It's a major cause of divorce, bankruptcy, job dissatisfaction, and declining mental and physical health. Possessions have the power to own more of you than you own of them. Think about that. Maybe you should return some of that unnecessary "stuff" you get this year and save yourself the headache!

And The Winners Are...

PunkGardener, Cindy Hoyt, and Regina! Punk & Regina, please email me at awildsoapbar@gmail.com with your UPS shipping address so I can send you your free bar of soap! Cindy, I have your address. Thanks to everyone for participating. Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas from the Hanus Family Elves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

what's your fav? win a free bar!

Hi folks. It's Friday, it's almost Christmas, it's warm here in Texas, and I'm feeling especially warm and fuzzy inside! Soooo...I've decided to give away our natural soap! (what else could I do?) Leave a comment here between now and Monday morning, naming your favorite wild soap bar and why you like it so much, and you'll be among one of 3 lucky winners to receive a free bar of your favorite soap! Don't post anonymously though or I won't know who you are. After the drawing on Monday morning, I'll announce the winners here and you'll need to email me with your mailing address. It's pretty simple, so stay tuned. Now...do tell!

Eat Well Guide

Even though I've added this to the sidebar, I wanted to draw your attention to this nifty little tool that will help you eat locally. I found several farms nearby that I didn't even know existed! Give it a try.

Where's Miguel?

A commenter on my last post directed me to this cool video about cork conservation. Check out their beautiful cork flooring here. Thanks Team Wicander!

Is Cork Screwed?

Now about those wine corks that I mentioned in my last post... If you're like me, you've probably never thought too much about all those bottles you've uncorked, but according to WWF's report titled Cork Screwed?, we should have! Unlike those fake petroleum based plastic corks that are gaining popularity, real cork is renewable, biodegradable, and sustainable. Real cork stoppers are made from bark harvested from cork oaks that have existed in the Western Mediterranean for thousands of years. The trees renew their bark after it's harvested. The wine industry plays a huge role in maintaining the economic value of cork and the cork oak forests. According to the WWF report, "Unless the commercial value of cork stoppers is maintained, and especially demand for cork stoppers, there is a risk that the Western Mediterranean cork oak landscapes will face an economic crisis, an increase in poverty, an intensification in forest fires, a loss of irreplaceable biodiversity and an accelerated desertification process." Wow. All that because we didn't pay attention to the corks on our wine bottles?

When shopping for your holiday wines this year, remember to keep an eye out for real cork stoppers. The cork oak tree fairies will thank you.

Green Holly Days

Green is here to stay (finally!), so here are 12 tips for going green this holiday:

* use & give reusable shopping bags, gift bags, and japanese wrapping cloths
* buy a living tree, plant it after the holidays, and create a tradition
* choose locally grown, organic, and seasonal food for your celebrations
* give handmade or "made in the USA" gifts instead of "stuff" from china
* use reusable dinnerware, napkins, and tablecloths
* if you must use disposables, choose recycled paper products
* serve organic or biodynamic wines with real corks
* offset your holiday travel carbon emissions online
* turn your thermostat down and start a fire in the fireplace
* decorate with found items from nature instead of plastic
* burn beeswax candles rather than petroleum based paraffin
* remember that less is always more...relax and keep it simple