(I'm a writer/story teller so hang in there with me, folks) A few days ago my husband and I went on an adventure to purchase a used Ford F150 pickup truck. I want to start kayaking, and he wants to build a shed in the backyard, which means we will be hauling a lot of wood. Neither of us wanted a car payment and used cars where we live are more than we want to spend. He found a place an hour away that collects and sells government vehicles and discarded office furniture. The place we drove to is in the middle of nowhere and was basically a junk yard. While he managed the paperwork, I walked about the vast junkyard of discarded office furniture from various counties. Feeling a little like a mouse in a maze, I happened upon a collection of stuff is near-perfect shape, including a sizable steel cabinet. It's about 4' high, 2'deep, and almost 6' in length, four huge drawers with dividers.
I went back to the office and casually said, "I found a few interesting items." My husband has learned that when I use the word "interesting," it might be interesting to me, but usually suspect to everyone else, including him. For example, I think tarantulas, which inhabit our neighborhood and make an appearance in autumn to mate, are "interesting." Him? Not interesting. But I digress...
So this cabinet is easily 100 pounds. And seeing as it's been in the 90s lately, the thing was HOT to the touch. He took one look at it and said, "You can use it for your soap stuff!" Actually, he used a different word than "stuff." After we finished the paperwork for the truck, we asked if we could take the cabinet. The woman was thrilled to get rid of it and gave it to us for free. We drove the truck over to where the cabinet was, and, with some effort, got it into the truckbed of our newly acquired vehicle.
This story explains two things: why we've been together for 26 years and that my "soapy stuff" for today will be to clean my new soaping cabinet and move my "stuff" from a mishmash of containers into my new piece of soaping furniture.
... They were my first attempt at a confetti soap! The rebatch came out okay, I obviously will not sell them.
I learned a lot. A gear tie is better than a coat hanger. Also my failed soap was at emulsion and the contrast color ribbons were too narrow. My better soap was at medium trace and wider color ribbons. Next time I'll do thin trace. I'll stir and blend to emulsion, then split and add color/scent and then stir to thin trace.
