What soapy thing have you done today?

[KiwiMoose]

Anybody go into their soap curing room and just smell every soap?

I used to in the early days - about three times per day. Now I can go at least three days without entering the room at all.

I haven't made anything recently, but looks like I need to. I realized yesterday that I have DOS forming on soap that's been curing for a meer 5 weeks! I had intended them as holiday gifts and now I don't dare, even with the DOS only being on less than half the bars (it's a 5lb batch.) I didn't know DOS could even happen in soap that has no SF! It's a batch of my tried and true ZNSB that I've been making for over a year now, so I'm in absolute shock.

Got any lavender EO in there? That'll do it!

 

[Zing]

HI Blue! I may be the only one who noticed this but , wow! You get daily loving?? No wonder you had no time to make soap

Bingeing on what now?

 

[dmcgee5034]

Was that the movie where the American buys/inherits an old house in the south island and then falls in love with the builder? Love that movie. Cant remember its name. But nah - i live in the north island so I wasn't called in to appear in that movie.

Actually, it was Love Birds with Rhys Darby (he nurses an injured paradise shelduck back to health, and the soundtrack is all Queen songs) and was filmed in Auckland - so I’m not sure why I didn’t see you @KiwiMoose , unless I missed your cameo
Now I’ll have to find the other movie you mention and watch it!

 

[Servant4Christ]

Got any lavender EO in there? That'll do it!

Nope. No scent, no color.

 

[Savage Daughter]

The only reason I was curious was because you mentioned surfers. West Coast of Van Isle is our fave place to be; just can't stand all the tourists who's fave place it is, too.

Scuba divers and East Coast off of a larger island Uhhhh....you'd be a tourist then yourself in the area you speak of, would you not?

I am not a fan of having out-of-towners here. The bulk of us out here detest tourist season & are not welcoming to them. Even the utilities workers who come out here get told they will find themselves at the end of crossbows or hunting rifles if they continue abusing the peace / the place we live in. Happens often enough that it gets tiresome.

Tourists & various contractors do a lot of stupid things which impact people & the wildlife who live here, as well as the local environment. I am often out there picking up their garbage & cussing people out for bringing drones & other abominations out here....don't in my back yard & I'll be sure not to use your back yard as a public toilet when I visit your place of residence as well. And yes, people literally do this....

Many tourists who are from near-by areas consider themselves 'local' when asked where they're from & why they're out here. If they don't live here, if they put no effort into maintaining the peace & beauty & cleanliness of this place year round, they're not local Even small business owners, who you think might be happy to have the tourist $$, can be overheard saying very loudly - and sometimes in front of tourists THANK GOD! THEY'RE FINALLY ALL GOING HOME! GOOD RIDDANCE!

The look of offense on tourists' faces is priceless LOL Yes, ya heard right mom / dad / 2+ kids - WE CELEBRATE YOU ALL GOING HOME because of how y'all behave while here.

It's so nice to be able to go hiking in peace with no garbage-picking duty right now....no tourists!

 

[Misschief]

Scuba divers and East Coast off of a larger island Uhhhh....you'd be a tourist then yourself in the area you speak of, would you not?

I am not a fan of having out-of-towners here. The bulk of us out here detest tourist season & are not welcoming to them. Even the utilities workers who come out here get told they will find themselves at the end of crossbows or hunting rifles if they continue abusing the peace / the place we live in. Happens often enough that it gets tiresome.

Tourists & various contractors do a lot of stupid things which impact people & the wildlife who live here, as well as the local environment. I am often out there picking up their garbage & cussing people out for bringing drones & other abominations out here....don't in my back yard & I'll be sure not to use your back yard as a public toilet when I visit your place of residence as well. And yes, people literally do this....

Many tourists who are from near-by areas consider themselves 'local' when asked where they're from & why they're out here. If they don't live here, if they put no effort into maintaining the peace & beauty & cleanliness of this place year round, they're not local Even small business owners, who you think might be happy to have the tourist $$, can be overheard saying very loudly - and sometimes in front of tourists THANK GOD! THEY'RE FINALLY ALL GOING HOME! GOOD RIDDANCE!

The look of offense on tourists' faces is priceless LOL Yes, ya heard right mom / dad / 2+ kids - WE CELEBRATE YOU ALL GOING HOME because of how y'all behave while here.

It's so nice to be able to go hiking in peace with no garbage-picking duty right now....no tourists!

To a degree, I am guilty as charged. I, too, live in an area where the population grows and declines with the seasons so I understand the local feeling about tourists, and their "entitlement". We live here, you don't.

When we visit our fave places (Ucluelet being our most favourite place to visit), we keep our visits short and our footprints only on the sand. We appreciate what we see and experience there and, though we would love to live there, we know that, at our age, it will never happen. And that's okay. I wish I could experience more of what life in that area entails but I don't live there.

I will say, though, that if I ever had the opportunity to sit down with and chat, heart to heart, with a local about their day to day life and their experiences of life with the ocean as their neighbour, it would truly be an experience I would treasure. I also know that most tourists only see and experience what THEY want to see and experience. And that is not us (my husband and myself).

 

[Savage Daughter]

I feel like I'm playing Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? Only it's Quasi were trying to find.

You forgot about Waldo!

I will say, though, that if I ever had the opportunity to sit down with and chat, heart to heart, with a local about their day to day life and their experiences of life with the ocean as their neighbour, it would truly be an experience I would treasure.

Make a genuine effort to get to know some of the locals if you truly wish to know more. The locals will know if you are genuine, if you're coming from your heart rather than your wallet. If you are genuine, they may choose to speak with you. People who live in areas like we do are very good at reading / sussing people out. When visiting a place like this for the purpose of rejuvenating & regenerating yourselves, for your personal relaxation, do so with the intent of also benefitting the place & the people from your heart. In that case, you will always be welcome. People will remember you, and not because you were standing at the pointy end of their crossbow They will remember you for the differences between you & other tourists.

Tourist dollars are not the highlight of our year. To be honest, I have never in all of my time here heard anyone speak of looking forward to the $$ which tourists bring in. We are pretty self-sufficient, and we help each other. That kinda goes without saying living in an area like this. Peace, a clean environment, respect for the land & animals, mutual respect for the people, are our every day highlights. I personally wake up every day with a feeling of gratitude in my heart for being surrounded by trees, ocean, wildlife, the cleanest air I have ever breathed, silence & pitch black dark skies which show me all of the stars at night & full moons which light the forest & ocean up like nothing I have ever seen in my life. These are things which most people in the world no longer experience, and will never experience in their lifetimes, sadly.

I tried googling lady hauls kelp out of the sea and got a hit for a lady named “The seaweed lady”. Very educational on bull kelp.

Wow, that's probably the smallest bull kelp I have ever seen!

They are beautiful ....and a whole lot of work to process.

I now have 2 jars full of kelp. 1 full of the dried fronds and 1 full of the rest of the kelp.

The fronds took up a mason jar after being dehydrated. Not much! This stuff really shrinks down!

The rest of it took up even LESS space! Like 1/2 of a pint jar! From a 50 foot bull kelp!

I will be going down to offer some back to the ocean tomorrow & to burn some sage & give thanks for the harvest.

 

[Misschief]

Make a genuine effort to get to know some of the locals if you truly wish to know more. The locals will know if you are genuine, if you're coming from your heart rather than your wallet. If you are genuine, they may choose to speak with you. People who live in areas like we do are very good at reading / sussing people out. When visiting a place like this for the purpose of rejuvenating & regenerating yourselves, for your personal relaxation, do so with the intent of also benefitting the place & the people from your heart. In that case, you will always be welcome. People will remember you, and not because you were standing at the pointy end of their crossbow They will remember you for the differences between you & other tourists.

Tourist dollars are not the highlight of our year. To be honest, I have never in all of my time here heard anyone speak of looking forward to the $$ which tourists bring in. We are pretty self-sufficient, and we help each other. That kinda goes without saying living in an area like this. Peace, a clean environment, respect for the land & animals, mutual respect for the people, are our every day highlights. I personally wake up every day with a feeling of gratitude in my heart for being surrounded by trees, ocean, wildlife, the cleanest air I have ever breathed, silence & pitch black dark skies which show me all of the stars at night & full moons which light the forest & ocean up like nothing I have ever seen in my life. These are things which most people in the world no longer experience, and will never experience in their lifetimes, sadly.

You're speaking my language.

 

[Shelley D]

Wow, that's probably the smallest bull kelp I have ever seen!

They are beautiful ....and a whole lot of work to process.

I now have 2 jars full of kelp. 1 full of the dried fronds and 1 full of the rest of the kelp.

The fronds took up a mason jar after being dehydrated. Not much! This stuff really shrinks down!

The rest of it took up even LESS space! Like 1/2 of a pint jar! From a 50 foot bull kelp!

I will be going down to offer some back to the ocean tomorrow & to burn some sage & give thanks for the harvest.

Is that including the stalk and all the leafy bits?

 

[Servant4Christ]

You forgot about Waldo!

Nah. Finding Waldo was in pictures. Finding Carmen SanDiego was geographical clues. I never watched the cartoon that came out years later. I watched the kids' game show with Rockapella singing "Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego!"

 

[AliOop]

Bad news, good news, great news report:

Bad news: My favorite Austria Mueller SB died a few months ago, after just two years of service. Then one of my last two stickblenders died while making multiple batches of lotion. The other one is likely not far behind. Between making lots of lotion and lots of liquid soap, I've really been pushing both of them pretty hard.

Good news: The timing was great, because the most recent breakdown occurred during the Good Friday sales. My DH and I always Christmas-shop for and with each other during that time. His gift to me was an an electric burner for my soap room, an All-Clad SB, and a KD8000 scale (because my 15yo little battery-operated scale is also starting to go wonky).

Great news: When everything arrived, DH said, "Why don't you open some of those now, since you still need to make a bunch of stuff before Christmas?" OKEY DOKEY ARTICHOKEY. Don't have to ask me twice! So, today I used the scale and the All-Clad SB for the first time. Oh.My.Goodness!! The All-Clad is heavy, yes... but wow!

it is very quiet.
It doesn't vibrate in my hand and irritate my joint issues,
It creates ZERO bubbles.
It made ZERO splashes, even without full submersion of the bell.
It has a low speed that is actually LOW SPEED.

With a 9" shaft, I can do larger batches of lotion - hooray! The bell on the bottom is quite wide, so it doesn't fit into narrow containers (not an issue for me, but might be for some). The inside top of the bell has a flat plate that is held in place with what looks like a silicone gasket. That's the piece I worry about, as I've read some reports of it failing. Although there are DIY hacks to fix it easily, I'm hoping that won't be necessary.

I sure hope this pricey but amazing SB lasts a long time, because even if it doesn't, I can't go back now - I'm ruined!


PS: we will see if I can keep my paws off the electric burner until Christmas Day.

 

[Shelley D]

You forgot about Waldo!

I love Waldo! And so do my kids! That's my youngest dressed as Waldo for Halloween this year ~ along with my DIL and grand daughters

 

[AliensrReal]

Playing with my black light and it’s like a disco show.

Also master batched some lye.

 

[Shelley D]

Playing with my black light and it’s like a disco show.

Also master batched some lye.

Is that micas that glow like that or something special like a glow-in-the-dark additive?

 

[AliensrReal]

Is that micas that glow like that or something special like a glow-in-the-dark additive?

They are all pigments. They are neon pigments and one bar is made with a glow in the dark pigment as well. I did post a picture a few days ago in here. I don’t really use Micas in cp soap. I prefer them in M&P.

 

[Relle]

Oh.My.Goodness!! The All-Clad is heavy, yes... but wow!

it is very quiet.
It doesn't vibrate in my hand and irritate my joint issues,
It creates ZERO bubbles.
It made ZERO splashes, even without full submersion of the bell.
It has a low speed that is actually LOW SPEED.

Don't know how you know all this, seeing it's your Christmas present and you haven't opened it yet

 

[AliensrReal]

Don't know how you know all this, seeing it's your Christmas present and you haven't opened it yet

Maybe it all came to her in a dream.

 

[Jorah]

I may finally be rested enough to start some soaping work. I have a lunch date with a friend, but already this morning I've chopped some soap scraps for a future confetti batch, which is a chore that's much easier to do in smaller bits, like this half-quart, rather than waiting until the day-of. More importantly, I've set up my two lye safes. I am using the Damp Rid tubs now, but eventually I'll get a couple of those 'safe dehydrator' gadgets that you plug in to refresh. Here are photos for folks who may not have heard of them before. They're large buckets with 'gamma lids,' a screw-top that fits on round buckets. You put your lye in them with something to catch humidity, which keeps the lye containers in as low-humidity an environment as possible. I got the idea from this forum, of course.


The chopped soap (duh).



Five jars of lye in the bucket.

Packing paper stuffed in to keep the Damp Rid cup upright. Kludge will be replaced with a dehydrator gadget soon.

 

[AliOop]

@Relle @AliensrReal my post was really long, so I completely forgive anyone who skipped over the part where the DH encouraged me to open a few of them and use them. Who was I to argue with that??

Seriously, he knows how much I still have left to make before our annual Ladies' Christmas luncheon (a week from today). I was up till 1am this morning working on lip balms. I had planned to do bath bombs today, but it has been snowing here since Thursday night (it is now Saturday morning where I am). This same thing happened last year, and my bath bombs were all warty from the extra humidity. I recently learned that our new heating system has a dehumidifier setting, so I'm going to try that. Then it's back to lotions, sugar scrubs, and some mechanic's soap for a January order. Wish me luck!

 

[AliensrReal]

@AliOop I was more focused on you describing the 9” shaft, low speed and vibrations. Good thing I finished reading the whole thing.