[cyclelops]

I keep buying labor saving devices....this weekend it was a lightweight vacuum...never mind that I am doing some stuff that is hideously labor intensive...like making soap. Maybe I am dumb. (The soap turned out, BTW, and it was I guess, what I would call fun. It beats 'base jumping' for a hobby.) I hope the guys like violet smelling footballs....I ran out of cutesy girly soap molds and had to pour the excess in 'manly' molds. I have several pink footballs that smell real nice, and a boat load of dirty dishes. But hey, I did something.

OK, so the vacuum works, when used. There in lies the problem.... It does nothing when parked (fancy that)....neither do I, and I am parked today, waiting for the next low front to pass...next 4 to 8" to fall, so I can move again. So, I am looking at my nice new, lightweight hand vacuum. Maybe hubby will like it.

I could do a real boring youtube of me, waiting for the storm. I am not sure there is any interest in watching a late middle age lady, succumbing to gravity and low pressure.

Every distal knuckle looks like a bony sausage....I won't say how they feel (but the image of sausage being extruded from a sausge grinder pretty much fits it)....I can not even open a door, and toilet paper is a real challenge. Can't move my wrists...they feel broken. And I can't breathe very well...(this can not be old age, or no one would aspire to this!)

Maybe I can find something good to eat....something some one else cooked.

[Kitt]

I'm glad your soap turned out just fine. This soap sounds like what my sister-in-law has made. All those fancy kind of molds for it. What my Mom made back in the day and the other ladies was just put in a pan and cut into decent size rectangles or squares. That was the old fashioned way.

Hope you get some use out of your little vac

[mrsD]

My current labor saving "device" is my dear husband, who is always willing to help me out, carrying stuff, moving stuff, going up and down the many stairs for me when I burn out, etc.

[cyclelops]

I often tell my husband he is my zombie....I appropriate his physical body when I need something done, like my girly soap made. He is very accomodating, because if he doesn't help, I go ahead, drop things, break things and usually require a trip to the ER, (which is something he truly hates....nothing to do there, and the food sux.)

Kitt, I do have larger soap molds....I have this big wood one that is a bit over 3 feet long and makes bars...you just take the sides off and cut them. Old fashioned soap. I made a small batch (and big mess) yesterday to see if it 'really worked'....lo and behold, it did....I expected it to fail for some reason. Now I can move onto the bigger soap. I don't expect to make many little fancy ones...only when I use more expensive ingredients maybe?

Well, Friday my kitchen gets torn apart, so I set up my soap making stuff in the basement, that should work out for me....then I don't have to immediately clean the mess, not to mention I don't have to worry about ruining the new kitchen counters. I will be without a kitchen for 6 weeks....ugh. I don't know what I got myself into. Hopefully when it is done, I will have room for my large brood and their accessories when they come for the holidays. My house is filling up with baby stuff! I hope I can survive the dust....cough, cough.

If the new kitchen only came with new hands!

[Kitt]

What ingredients are in the soap that you made.

[cyclelops]

I have the basics, olive oil, castor oil, canola oil....I have coconut, and sustainable organic palm oil coming. Some of the other oils are organic...some are not. I have shea butter coming, more essential oils, a few colorants, but I likely won't use much of that, since they are not really natural despite being in mica for a carrier. I used crisco, believe it or not, for this first batch. I have about 30 recipes for all kinds of soap.

This one just had crisco, lye and water. I added castor oil and essential oil, violet fragranced essential oil. That is about it. I thought I would get more soap!?! I guess 3 lbs. crisco and 12 oz. water (by weight) doesn't amount to much soap, lol.

It is kitchen chemistry, really....not very hard.

We will see how this goes. I just had hubby help me set up the basement...and I got all the junk moved down there.

I was going to make another batch today, but my hands are too funky today and I am tooooo poooped.

[cyclelops]

I would like to try to make some tallow soap at some point too....but that won't sell much to the organic folks. They will like the organic oil ones....an I will have 100% organic ones, when I get all the oils. Some you have to buy in big bulk and they are expensive in that amount! I also needed a 100% stainless steel pot, since lye eats thru aluminum. The only scary part is adding the lye to water, and not dumping it....but it isn't THAT bad. All in all, kind of a fun experience.

[Kitt]

I remember my Mom and the other ladies way back then used lard (home rendered in the early days), lye, and water. Nothing else was added. And I do remember how careful they had to be around the lye. Thanks for sharing.

[cyclelops]

I am in awe over what people used to do. The tallow or lard, was from animals they raised, and the lye from the ashes of wood they used to heat their homes and cook....wow. I have trouble turning on a gas stove....

Now they have all these soap recipes for all kinds of fancy oils. Now the issue is getting 'sustainable' oils, lol.

Well, either way, old fashioned or new age, it will be fun.

For the lye, I have a big mask, goggles and gloves...now not to drop anything.

I do think one labor saving device I need is an electric jar opener. Other than that, I can't think of any additional labor saving devices, or adaptive devices to buy....maybe a 'roomba'?

[Kitt]

Yup, I hear you. It certainly was a job way back then. I also remember that we did not use the soap to wash ourselves with. It was used to scrub out stains on clothing, etc. It still works wonders for that.

Have fun with your soap making and I know you are careful