Surgery

My surgery went great and the surgeon decided to repair my mitral valve instead of replacing it.  This is great because replacement valves usually have to be replaced after 10-15 years, but the repaired valve should go the distance and I won't have to go through this again.  Started cardiac rehab today and will be going 3 days a week for a few weeks.  Still won't be able to soap since I'm not allowed to lift more than 10 pounds for a few weeks.  The first picture is the day after my surgery and the next one is 3 days later.

Time out

I will be taking time away from making soap to have a little surgery.  On September 1st I will have the mitral valve in my heart replaced at Vanderbilt Hospital.  It's pretty much a routine procedure these days and I will have more energy after I heal and can get back to making soap.

New Soap

I made a new soap last weekend.  It's scented with peppermint essential oil and a little rose mint fragrance oil.  I used olive oil, coconut oil, canola oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter and added a little heavy cream and colloidal oatmeal for a skin-loving bathing experience.   I also dipped my toes into the world of youtube and documented the process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36Fnkw6fsCY

My web site

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm having a sale on my web site.  http://www.nomadhandcraftedsoap.com.  Thanks for stopping by.

Dog days of summer

I've been traveling a lot the past few weeks and haven't had much time to myself.  We did find time to go to Mere Bulles restaurant in Brentwood, TN this morning for a wonderful brunch.  we were celebrating (late) my wife's 66th birthday, Mother's Day (late) and Father's Day (early) with our lovely daughter Anna.

HSCG 2015 Conference

At registration we got this giant goodie bag.  I took it to my room and spread it out and took a picture.  Great stuff!

Busy getting ready to go to Indianapolis next weekend to the annual conference of soapmakers sponsored by the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetics Guild April 17-20.  Going to be lots of information swapped, meeting people I've only known on the internet, and lots of fun and food.  Maybe a drink or two as well.  :-)

Here are some of the soaps I have made since my post last August.  The first is my answer to the Dove Beauty Bar (which is not soap) - it has shea butter, cocoa butter, greek yogurt, heavy cream, and goat milk.  Now that's a beauty bar.  The next one is the tomato soap cut into bars - wonderful for your skin.  The last is a combination of the other two for a really great bar of soap.

I've neglected my blog for too long.  I made some lotion bars and put them in deoderant containers and they were a big hit.