Shower me with Calendula

It doesn't take all that much to make me happy.

One day I'll be able to say that without hearing all the jeering behind me. In the meantime I practice on the joyful thing by taking showers because showers my friend...make me happy. Oh they've always amused me or maybe the really good ones, you know...not too hot not too cold, even made me smile slightly but I always saw them as just utilitarian, something one had to do. And often I was too busy thinking about the next step such as,  "I suppose the last person left the towel in a big wad and I'm going to have to dry off with moldy dampness again..." to fully enjoy the shower experience, But then, I began making soap . Now 9 months into the craft, I am also much more into my showers.

Will my soap suds up really well ? Will it be a bubbly or creamy lather or even better, a little of both ? Will the scent still be present ? Will the slight amount of coffee grounds give me the perfect amount of exfoliation on my pony feet or will I emerge from my shower as I did at age 12, the first time after I shaved my legs, jagged bloody gashes streaking up both my legs ?

Recently though, the shower thing has been even more perfect due to my new soap interest, Calendula Gal. I call her Callie. She looks like this

I created her a few weeks ago from a concoction of Olive, Babasu, and  Rice Bran Oils along with Red Wattle Lard, Calendula petals, Titanium Dioxide and an essential oil mix of Orange, Blood Orange, Clary sage and Lavender. The lather is fabulous and wild and crazy and unrelenting. It smells great too, all sweetness and light but not too much so. And the scent over the weeks has not lessened one bit. Is it the TD ? The plant material ? The olfactory faeries in my head ?

Doesn't matter. Some miracles just can't be rationalized with science. There is no rationalizing the horrible cut job on theses babies either. Not too hard to tell these are handmade is it ? I don't own a real mold or a real cutter so I make do with an empty baby wipe container and a knife. Usually I can eyeball it pretty well and sometimes I even use Keith 's miter box for more even cuts, but not with this loaf. Nope. I just hacked at it and then tried to pretty it up with some edge beveling.

The rose is till blooming nicely even though the nights are getting cool and I used it in this shot as it slightly detracts from the bumps, holes and chips of my soap. It is that same theory that causes me to wear earrings whenever I go out in public. Distraction from the bumps, holes and chips is always a good thing. 

When the flaws are especially evident the larger rose (AKA dangling earrings)  is best. So there it is, my far from perfect soap that I am really liking.

Hmmmm. Thats a lot of romantic talk about a bar of soap. I think it might be time to start hanging out with real people again. If I could just get them to take my calls...