You know the gloom and doom talk nowadays. That our economy is on the verge of collapse, and we will have to survive like they did way back when.
Now, no one says when was, but I figure they are talking about eatin' squirrels, possums, rabbits and (sob) Bambi.
I don't want to eat any of the above. Squirrels are rats with tails, possums are UG-LY, rabbits and deer, are well, precious. Stop making fun of me, I can't help it.
Don't get me wrong, I'll eat them every one, though, if I am hungry. We have a small garden, but nothing that would get us through a winter. Maybe through November. Without Thanksgiving. Hey! We have wild turkeys too....
Anyhow, I've been thinking on one thing that is surely easy to do, and that's make soap.
See, I'm saving all the slivers and chunks and puttin' 'em in a jar. I figure when I get enough, I'll, uh, do something and make a bar of new soap!
Brilliant, huh?
I just gotta figure out how to make the bar...
Also, I'm really thrifty with my clothes. Daughter was looking at a picture of us when she was a newborn, asleep on my chest. She said, "Hey, isn't that the shirt you have on right now?" Sure enough, it was. Daughter is twenty-two years old.
We are in great shape at our house as long as the propane gas and the gasoline last. We have a gas hot water heater, a gas log fireplace in the sun room (which is really just a big old heater) and my cook stove is gas. The gasoline run generator can operate our water pump, refrigerator, two plug-ins, and the overhead lights in the kitchen.
We have a wood burning "real" fireplace in the living room.
And we have some beans in the pantry.
Okay, I admit it: we are unprepared for the collapse of the world as we know it. A few months, no problem. After that, well, folks, bring on the squirrel gravy, dandelion salad and turkey, deer and bunny.
I'll be dressed for the event, and washed up.
As soon as I figure out how to make the soap into an actual bar.
And I bet google can tell me!
Oh, no.
We won't have google anymore. Or facebook. Or blogs.
How will I ever be able to tell you about my life as a pioneer?
I have a feeling you won't have time to ask.
Since you asked...
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine has recently started making his own soap from raw materials. He likes to use it as bait for fish since it mounds well. He makes it with anise oil, so it smells of licorice.
Anyway, he uses an old second-hand crock pot to melt and mix the materials, and then he pours the mixture into one of those thin, plastic, cheapo cookie trays, the kind you'd get, say, chocolate-covered graham crackers in? and cuts it into pieces with a table knife. I don't know how well it would work with commercial soap.
That's interesting, Kelly. I have a friend that makes all kinds of stuff, moisturizers, lotions and soaps to name a few. In fact, we use her soap in the downstairs bathroom because it smells so good, it makes the living room smell pleasant!
DeleteBut, of course, I don't know how she does it. I will say though, her kitchen looks like a mad scientist's laboratory.
I surely do like handmade soap, I just wish his didn't always smell of licorice.
ReplyDeleteOh, Elaine's soaps have all different kinds of fragrances. Right now our soap smells like a piney woods after a rain. (No kidding). My favorite is gardiania mixed with something I can't remember. But it is a best seller, and I hardly ever get it. The ones in my cabinet are: Orange & Spice, Rosewood, Rainforest Rose, and Ginger & Lime. YUM!
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