Soapy

Spent most of the afternoon cutting up soap.  Every once in a while I say I'm going to stop making soap, but I don't stop.  It's so much a part of my life and has been for twenty years or so.   It still challenges and amazes me.  Every batch is slightly different, depending on the alignment of the planets and the essential oils for a particular batch.  I've been using the same basic, simple equipment since the beginning - half gallon wax paper milk cartons, a giant pot, a scale and a knife.  Nothing fancy and I kind of like it that way.  My soap is basic, pure and wonderfully moisturizing and soothing.  Every bar goes into the bath tub for quality control testing.  With so much soap making I've had a nice amount of scraps to make my big blocks which people find fascinating.  They are great for shaving soap, wet-felting soap, or on the sink for every day hand washing.  You get the benefit of many different essential oils with my big blocks, along with the milling - melting and repouring - which makes the dense hand made soap last even longer.