Hello Everyone. This is a late post for me but I decided I had to keep the Blog going to bring the traffic in!! I have noticed that if I don’t write for about three days, our viewing statistics go down. Anyway, we found a whole load of missing Apothecary pictures stuck in a nameless file in the computer. We have downloaded them and I will be sticking them in the appropriate places in our website very soon. Meanwhile, enjoy our picture gallery!
Chocolate Swirl Soap. Hand-made with Toledo cacao and coconut oil.
Chocolate Swirl Soap.
Our Chocolate Mint Body Wash is made from coconut oil castile soap (totally detergent free) which lathers up very nicely. A must for any chocolate lover out there!
Chocolate Mint Body Wash.
The Lemongrass Foot Spa is great for tired, achy feet. It also acts as a natural deodorant and anti-fungal so it can be used for Athlete’s Foot.
Lemongrass Foot Spa.
If you feel like treating yourself, why not go for a 32oz (1 litre) Elixir?
Large 32oz Elixir.
Luxury Cacao Butter Soap is one of our new offerings for 2016. Very indulgent with a creamy lather…lovely!!
Luxury Cacao Butter Soap.
If you want to see all this stuff plus lots more, please have a look at The Apothecary.
Hello Everyone!! Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) will be holding their annual organic fair at PG park today (31st October 2015). We will be there armed with our Casa Mascia Goodies.
This one is always a favourite at fairs: Cheap Sale (or Runaway Sale or Explosive-One-Time-Only Sale or Everything-Must-Go-Sale!!
Casa Mascia Cheap Sale.
Come and rummage through our bargain box: there will be all sorts of exciting things (exclusive once off) like Cacao and Lemongrass Insect Repellent, Lavender balm, Grapefruit Balm, Tooth-powder or Tooth-whitener with lovely essential oils and lots more. You can’t beat a bargain!
We will also be selling fresh Balam (Mayan White Cacao) fruit for all you organic gardeners out there.
Balam Fruit.
We will have our usual favourite stuff including Copal Soap, Medicinal Oils and Ointments. Oh, and two buckets of Chocolate Artisan Soap going at a Run-away Price of $5.00 (Best Price, as they say here in Belize)!!
Copal Medicinal Oil Vial.Chocolate Soap Galore!!
Hope to see y’all there. Otherwise, if you are not in Belize, we’ll have lots of fun photos for laterz.
Hi Everyone, every now and then we have to do the mundane work of website administration. After all, one of the reasons why we took on this Blogging was to try to make some money from the Apothecary. Having done this for almost a year, I can confidently dispel the myth that you can “quit your day job” if you have a website shop. No, people are not flocking to buy our wares on-line. We find that people just enjoy reading our posts especially for the funny stories and the recipes. In turn, we have decided that, despite the lack of monetary return, we will continue Blogging because it is an outlet of expression for both of us, especially in my case. I had aspirations of becoming a writer/ journanlist before I became a medical doctor and I find that I can re-cultivate my writing skills through this form of expression. Besides, it is a really good way of informing family and friends of what we are doing so they need not worry that we are stuck in the middle of nowhere deprived of entertainment and variety.
Apothecary tweaks include:
The Apothecary has been better organised into categories. In the soap section, we are offering soaps in plastic wrap, tin and rolls of 50 to give people more of a choice (and a better price). Also I have added the pictures of the body sprays which have been missing for a whole year. Still more pictures to come…
Also, there is a new Custom Orders page which gives information on special orders. It gives a list of possible products (anything really from hair care to nail care to foot care…you name it..and we will create it) and available Belizean raw materials that can be used to create brand new products. There is a whole list of lovely local stuff; here are some pictures to entice you:
Cacao Butter.Cacao.Fresh Lemongrass.Ylang Ylang.
There is still more administration to come including New Products and a full list of Elixirs.
We have been busy little bees over the last 6 months or so making Chocolate Artisan Soaps for the new tourist season which starts around November. Here are a collection of pictures to show Gnome’s artistic expression…it is the Italian in him!!
Gnome: An Artist.
An Artistic Tumble of Chocolate Artisan Soaps. Sheer Indulgence. What Every Woman Secretly Wants!!
Chocolate Soap Pile.
Soft Midnight Tones for the New Season:
Chocolate Artisan Soap.
Add Panache and Flair To Your Bathroom:
Chocolate Artisan Soap.
Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate and White Chocolate. Delicious and Seductive Warm Colours.
Chocolate Artisan Soaps.
The “Must Have” Chocolate Artisan Soaps. Sets Aside Your Bathroom From The Rest.
Chocolate Artisan Soaps.
Live Life To The Max..Maximal Velocity With Chocolate Soaps.
Welcome to MGNews PrimeTime Sunday, sponsored today by Casa Mascia Apothecary, Belize.
Casa Mascia: Stay Clean For The Elections!
The Magical Rodent is in the running for Mayor of Paradise Pastures. She promises a “New Hope” for the piggies in leading them to a new underground civilisation where they will purposefully breed a “Guinea Pig Super Being” to take over the world. Popular media calls her the “Mad T Mouse”; today, we are giving her a chance to speak in this MGNews exclusive interview.
The Universe’s Super Being. Trust In Me.
MGNews Reporter: Good day Miss or may I call you Magical Rodent?
Magical Rodent: My name is Maddy T but please, call me Magical Rodent.
MGNews Reporter: Are you truly a Magical Rodent?
Magical Rodent: Young man! Don’t you see my magical staff of sorcery which I hold in my hand?
Staff of Sorcery.
I am a mammal of the order Rodentia. (She bares her teeth) See…single pair of incisors in my upper and lower jaw.
MGNews Reporter: Yeeess, Ma’am I do see your teeth! (takes a few steps back). Ok, back to the questions. What are your qualifications?
Magical Rodent: Magical Rodent Level 90, Mage. Certification for “fast-track” on-line course in genetics.
MGNews Reporter: Tell us about how you plan to breed the “Universe’s Super Being” from this guinea pig community.
Magical Rodent: Decades and decades of intensive breeding with emphasis on intelligence, telepathy and telekinetics.
MGNews Reporter: That is quite a mission! Do you think that the domesticated guinea pigs can survive out there in the wild?
Magical Rodent: Grrrrr!! (She bares her teeth again).
MGNews Reporter: Thank-you Magical Rodent for this interview. Good Luck!! (He beats a hasty retreat).
Together, We Can Take Over The World!
What the Experts Say:
Dr. Munchkin (DRCOG), Medical Doctor for Paradise Pastures:
Dr. Munchkin
Differential Diagnosis: Paranoid Schizoid or Schizotypal with delusions. Possibly due to brain damage, genetic or cultural inheritance. Requires psychiatric admission.
Mr. Carlton Speeting, Film Producer:
Great idea for a Hollywood block-buster Summer film: Magical Rodent leads her people to the chosen land, breeds a “Super Rat” to lead the people back to the surface to annihilate the humans. Awesome special effects. It is a Sci Fi Biblical Epic!! Of course, the humans would win out in the end…we can’t have the rats winning. I’m so excited, I’m already thinking about Sequels 2 to 5!
Awesome Epic Across Space and Time.
Mr. Jonathon Doe, ordinary bloke on the street:
It’s worth a try, eh? If it doesn’t work out, they can always come back?
Casa Mascia Soap. The Best Just Gets Better!I Use Casa Mascia Soap…Because I’m Worth It!
Well, the Magical Rodent sure knows how to intimidate the public. Is she the chosen one to lead the piggies or is she just stark raving mad?
Will she lead the piggies to the promised land?
Piggies, is Magical Rodent the Chosen One?
Remember,we are the first to give you the News on MGNews PrimeTime Sunday. 6pm Central/Mountain Piggie Time.
Hello Everyone!! We just got back from the Chocolate Festival in Punta Gorda, Toledo. There were crowds of people, so much activity and chocolate stuff everywhere.
This is a picture of our table:
Cacao Fest 2015.
This is a picture of another booth selling cocoa powder and various assorted chocolate themed stuff:
Cacao Display.
There was a lot of noise with a combination of Garifuna drumming and “Punta” music. Here are some drumming pictures:
Garifuna Drumming.More Drumming.
This is food from the Cotton Tree Lodge Booth; they were serving food in cacao pods:
Food Served In Cacao Pods.
Overall, it was a good event and there was a lot of interest in our products especially with the Chocolate Artisan Soaps. A surprise winner was actually the Clay Artisan Soaps scented with sandalwood; they went like hot-cakes…we did not realise that so many other people shared our passion for this spicy scent. Oh, and I sold my first bottle of “I Can’t Believe It’s Not DB’s.” We are not taking over the world with our products…but we are pleased that some people recognise the time and energy that we put into our stuff.
The Chocolate (Cacao) Festival is taking place this weekend in Toledo, Belize. It is a welcome distraction from farm headaches and issues. For those of you who have been following our water problem, the saga continues as it is literally pouring bucket-loads so we can not pull up our well-pump to fix or replace it. I can’t complain because both our water tanks and numerous 5 gallon buckets have been filled right up to the top. And, the frogs haven’t had the time yet to deposit their spawn everywhere! Better get my washing done before the tadpoles start appearing.
Anyway, Casa Mascia Apothecary will have a booth at the Cacao Festival tomorrow. We will be located at the Chocolate Factory (near Uno Service Station). It will be fun for all the family with plenty of food and chocolate…what more can you ask for!
We will be bringing our Chocolate Artisan Soaps which will be on special for the festival:
Chocolate Artisan Soaps.
And, of course, we will bring our Copal Medicinal Products:
Copal Medicinal Oil.Copal Medicinal Soap.
We would like to launch our new product at the festival tomorrow. It is called “I can’t believe it’s not D.B’s”; this is our coconut castile soap similar to a famous brand named after a doctor. Castile is oil-based liquid soap which is free of chemical detergents. This product is still made by doctors (ie. us) but the only differences are that we are not well-known and we live in the middle of the bush in Belize! This item is available in litre bottles in original and peppermint.
I Can’t Believe it’s Not DB’s!
We hope to see you there. If you can’t make it we will be sure to take lots of pictures. I will make sure that Gnome does not take the pictures because they would be fuzzy and out of focus!
Just in case you can’t find us we have many of our non-chocolate products in Vance Vernon Pharmacy on Front Street, Toledo (next to BTIA). They have all our Copal Products, Massage Oils, Lemongrass Insect Repellents, Bitters Oil and much, much more.
Yes we are still here!! A few people have been wondering what has happened to us so I would to reassure everyone that we are absolutely fine. It is transition time from dry to wet season at the moment and with this change, brings early morning rains. As a few of you will know from our previous posts, this has really messed up our farm routine. So, instead of staying at home and feeling sorry for ourselves, we have rearranged our whole farm routine to fit with the weather change. Changing things around a bit isn’t so bad actually as it makes life a bit less predictable.
From our observation, the rains start around 7am and then by 11am, the sun starts coming out…this is horrible because the atmosphere is heavy with humidity and you can’t sweat to cool down. Anyway, by about 3pm, the ground has nicely dried up again and so we have moved our farm work to late afternoon. Gnome is still able to clean up and continue with the brush-mowing while I keep up with maintenance. This work then runs into animal feeding time and so by the time I get into the house, I don’t feel like writing a chronicle of the day. Just to change the routine a bit, we have been going to bed even earlier…about 7pm because we have both been in the mood for reading before sleeping. I am reading Mark Twain and Gnome is reading C.S. Lewis (the lesser known science fiction novels). We both like to read the Classics though I have caught Gnome on occasion reading trashy novels…he just laughs and calls me a literary snob!
Munchkin and Gnome are still doing their stuff…
We made another batch of Chocolate Artisan Soap:
Mixing Chocolate Soap.
We also prepared Chinese Fermented Black Beans; Needs to get more smelly and fermented…we will give it 12 months to do its thing:
Fermenting Black Beans.
Gnome is making brown rice koji for brewing and miso-making:
Mixing Brown Rice Koji.
And here is a Toledo Firefly…you usually just see a mass of green lights in the dark:
Toledo Firefly.
And the cat is up to his usual tricks again, running after lizards in the house. The is a savvy lizard hiding on Gnome’s foot…this one got away:
Slinky on Gnome’s Foot.
Ok everyone, have a good night and hopefully I can be more organised with writing the daily posts!
Phew…today started off with steaming, stifling heat at 5.30 in the morning and it just got hotter and hotter. In the dry season, strategy is the key and there is a small window of opportunity from 6am to 10am to “get things done” and in our case this means brush-mowing the farm, collecting coconuts and processing them into cream, weeding, watering plants, housework, making soap and packing products. It is indeed a mad rush before the wall of heat gets the better of you and you collapse into a red-faced, sweaty heap. What Fun!!
Here are the Artisan Chocolate Soaps that we made yesterday:
The soaps turned out to be more of an “impressionist” style of art, as you will see from the following Rorscharch examples. For those of you who are not familiar with Rorscharch, it is a test which uses a system of ink-blot pictures as psychological analysis. Being a doctor, I think it is fun to try to perceive impressions from our Artisan chocolate swirl soaps.
Rorscharch Gallery:
A Crab…
A Pig Snout…
A Willow Tree Bending in The Wind…
I do have quite an imagination! Do you see it too? Or am I just getting googly-eyed from the heat?
Last but not least, there have been new additions to The Apothecary which include: Body Salt Scrubs (Lavender, Lemongrass, Passionflower, Ylang-Ylang) and Foot Soaks in the same scents. This completes our Spa range of products.
Hello Everyone! It is really funny weather today; first it was sunny and now its all windy and grey. It can really affect your mood sometimes so we have tried to keep busy today in order to keep out of trouble!
I have a new product called Bitters Oil which is made from Jackass Bitters and Neem. It is an effective treatment for cold sores and wounds of all kinds. Jackass Bitters is used traditionally in this country to aid in the natural healing of ulcers and neem is known for its anti-septic properties.
Bitters Oil.
I have started selling a few bottles in the local pharmacy in Punta Gorda (Vance Vernon Pharmacy). The making of this product originally started with a personal request and since it has been working so effectively for this individual, I have decided to make it available to the public. A big Thank-you to Miss Joyce for using and supporting the Bitters Oil!
Meanwhile, Gnome is keeping busy by bottling Mead:
Bottling Mead.
Out of a 5 gallon bucket, he ended up getting 57 bottles. Yay…we are going to get bubbly Mead!
And, he has been making soap:
Grating Soap.Grated Chocolate Soap.
And with a bit of Gnome Magic, beautiful soap was made:
