In December of 2004, just before Christmas, Ford Motor Company decided to "downsize" me. "Downsize" is the 21st Century euphemism for laid off. Whatever Ford's reason, it was never communicated to me. So, with 9+ years of faithful service to my contracting company, CIBER, I felt assured they would use the vast resources available to them to place me with another client. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice 'n' men... after two WHOLE weeks 'on the bench' I was terminated! AFTER 9 YEARS... JUST LIKE THAT!! Sorry for griping, but it brings us to our soap making venture.

   With 13 weeks of unemployment pay, Cathy having to get a job (her first in over 10 years), and Heather's help we started DLELAND FARMS. Our introductory products are a  line of handmade soaps and shampoos. We have also have planted a sizable garden and hope to have vegetables and seeds along with our fresh brown eggs to sell. When we started out, all I had were several books I bought from Borders Books and a few odd plastic molds. After purchasing some Red Devil (no longer being made) lye we proceeded to turn all of the vegetable oil I had around the house into goop. After stirring the goop for an hour and half by hand, I enlisted the aid of a stick-blender. The goop started to thicken, so we poured it into our prepared mold, wrapped it in a towel and placed the thick goop in a draft free location for 24-hours. Well, the rest is history, I was hooked. It turned out perfect! Our first batch (that's not supposed to happen) because we read the directions and made the calculations, just like it was our 100th batch. 

   We believe that there will be a great demand for our Handmade Soaps. Our bar soaps are 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 7/8" weighing approximately 3.5 oz. and are selling them for $3.95 each (Michigan residents please add 6% sales tax). Shipping will depend on how many bars you want shipped and to where. Purchase 5 bars and I'll ship them for free!