Power Outages & Creative Soaping

Well today I got a chance to relive soapmaking the old fashioned way, without any power! After a transformer blew in the neighborhood today and left us all in the dark for a while, I decided to go back to the soapmaking roots today. Luckily I have my sodium hydroxide pre-measured, along with my oils, otherwise the very chemistry that makes handmade soap today a luxury vs the harsh soap our grandmother's used to make, would have been out the window. So with that said, on a dark and dreary day with no power, I lit my candles and started mixing by hand. After a good hours worth of stirring, the raw soap finally began to trace. And in keeping with the 'traditional' theme of going back to old fashioned soap, today's 2 batches of soap were a simple lavender & spearmint blend, and the classic oatmeal, milk & honey. Now in the wee hours of the morning, with my soap insulated and saponifying away, and with the power thankfully back on, I've been able to catch up on email and finish up a few orders, and reflecting a bit on power outages.

It's amazing how dependent we are on electricity. When the power went out today, I had a chance to see neighbors that I haven't seen in months. People who rarely venture out of their homes with the exception of going to and from their cars came out into their front yards to stand around looking perplexed and confused. We all chatted a bit, looking up and down the street at the other neighbors standing out in their yard with the same frustrated expressions on their faces. After the general chit chat went by, catching up on life with each other, people began to wander back into their homes to find something to do in the dark. Candlelights could be seen moving through the houses as people tried to find some way to pass the time until the power came back on.

When mine came back on late tonight, I was thankful for electricity, and my hand and wrist were thankful for my electric blender. But I do think that maybe the power should go out a little more often. It's nice being a neighborhood, even if it is only for the short time while we're in a blackout. :)