When I was a child, I would sit at my grandmother's feet and ask her about making soap. I found it fascinating for some reason. She had this huge cast iron witches cauldron (or that's what it looked like to me) and she didn't just make soap. First they'd slaughter a hog and she'd render all the fat into lard. Then she would make soap with the lard. All of this was done over an open fire in the yard. She made her lye with ashes too. Then I grew up and forgot all about it. Until a few years ago. First, I read everything I could find about making soap. Then I moved to reading forums (this one I've been reading avidly for a long long time) and learned from a lot of people with a lot of experience. I played with soap calculators. I scribbled recipes in notebooks and listed all the "add ons" I wanted to try. Then I made them. All of them. I made many different recipes. Different scents. I used coconut milk, goats milk, added egg yolk to one batch, honey, sugar, beer...you name it I tried it. I loved it all. Yes. I'm hooked. When I ran out of logical places to store my soap I started making lotions, and scrubs and well, you see where this is going. But I wanted to thank all you good people who I've learned so much from. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you all. Oh, and my grandma's witches cauldron? It sits proudly in my back yard full of flowers and plants. I think she'd approve. 
