Coming Clean

I got to use some of my soap this morning in the shower. It was the hot process chamomile, oatmeal, lemon soap I made last week. I was a little apprehensive at first thinking I might break out in some horrible rash and have to attend Easter service looking freakish. My ph strips were wildly inaccurate so I was not even sure it was ok to use. Turns out it was great and my skin felt nice and soft and not as dry afterward. Feeling encouraged by my showering experience, I'm contemplating taking some to a friend this afternoon. Are there legal ramifications if you make soap and it causes someones skin to peel off? Now that would be a cleanliness I could live without.

I was daydreaming about soap in the shower so strong is my current obsession. Thinking about all the potential and possibilities. It is like buying a new piece of fabric. It has so much potential and yet could just be a plain solid colored linen. Soap can be a plain solid colored linen too. It can be useful and beautiful even without fragrance and fancy additives. Now I see my friends and think of what soap I could give them that would make them smile. My pastor would definitely appreciate a coffee soap. My friend Jodie would love a savory blend of rosemary and lemon. My husband and my dad would both appreciate some soap with sand to clean off grimy gardening hands. My girls are thrilled with the thoughts of different scents.

Today I am thinking I need to make some cocoa coffee soap in celebration of all those chocolate Easter bunnies. I think I shall make soap today, in celebration of the clean start Jesus gave us all when he died and rose again. Soapmaking has almost become therapeutic for me. Sometimes we are driven to do things and reasons are not so clear. I am not even sure what started this latest obsession but my passion does not seem to be diminishing, only growing. I have a tendency to start things and enjoy them for a few days and then tire of them. The only exception is sewing which I have never stopped enjoying. I don't know where this new hobby will take me, but so far I am enjoying the ride.

Happy Easter! He is risen indeed.