Soapmaking and other stuff

I used to make soap. Really, really good soap from scratch using the lye and all. I got started doing that when I came across it in a house I was showing one time. There were bars of soap layed out on a table in the basement of this house and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what it was. There were about 50 of them and at first, I thought it was some kind of candle wax. So I asked the seller what it was and she said she had a little soap making business. So I bought a few bars and I was hooked. If you've never used a bar of handmade soap made with really good oils, you haven't lived! The difference is incredible. So I ended up researching online and buying everything I needed to get started. And I got incredibly hooked. And let's face it, one can only use so much soap. I needed to create and experiment, and the only way I could afford to do it, and not have my house taken over by soap, was to sell it. I mostly only sold it at Christmas time. But I did well with it then. I was one happy soapmaker. Sort of a mad scientist with it if you will. Then my mother got sick. My mother had a job when she got sick. She worked at home for the state. So, initially, I did that job for a long time until my mother finally conceded that she would not be able to go back to it. I stopped making soap during that time because I didn't have time to do it. It takes the better part of a morning or afternoon to make a batch of soap. And I did it in my kitchen so I had to put a lot of time into preparation and clean up. When I finally had the time to do it again, I just didn't have the desire. That's when I started knitting. There is no one hour prep time and one hour clean up time with knitting. But to make a long (very long) story short, I found an old bar of my soap with the Christmas stuff this year. It was still good. So I put it in the shower and it all came back to me why I started making it in the first place. It's fabulous. I looked online to try to buy a bar similar. I found one for $5.50. plus $5.50 shipping and handling. $11.00 for a bar of soap? I think not. So, soapmaking, here I come again. I hope my knitting doesn't suffer. And speaking of knitting..... I'm making good progress on Meghan's sweater and I finished a sock. I'd love to show you photos, but apparently Blogger doesn't want me to.