Saturday, May 14, 2022

Little fun about Soap

 

I know we are trying to work our way out of a pandemic, and about to go stir crazy, but let's have a laugh at what we've had to learn again - simple hand washing.

I know it sounds crazy but it's a skill that never dies.

 

Soap actually was rather an important commodity. Benjamin Franklin's sister had their family recipe and they considered it so important that they buried it when the British occupied their town. So what makes soap??? Making your own soap involves chemicals like Lye, fats (in pioneer times hog fat), and oils for smell.  They are mixed together with good, old water and glycerine. The one thing about homemade soap was the ingredients made it heavy. Soap sinks.

 

Now, keep that in mind when you are out on the trail for weeks, months at a time and find a stream. Gosh, darn your excited. You get your soap run to the water, disrobe behind a bush or go in with your inner wear, there by scrubbing it clean too. But if the soap goes through your fingers it may sure get away - never to be seen again, unless drought dries up the lake.

 

This is where an accident makes soap better.

 

In the year, 1840, a fellow by the name of J.B. Williams decided to make a soap free from a lot of the lye and other ingredients that might be harmful to your skin. Of course, he marketed it for shaving cream and sold it to a company by the name of Proctor and Gamble. It went by the name of Ivorine. The founder of Proctor and Gamble son, Harley Proctor, noted how gentle it was. It reminded him of a bible verse from Psalms 45:8 

"All they garments smell of myth, and aloes, and cassia out of the ivory palaces whereby they have made they glad."

 

I bet you know the name by now? So in 1879, Proctor and Gamble sold it's first Ivory Soap with the slogan "It Floats." 

 

Yep, Ivory couldn't get lost in the water because it floats to the top. Rumor has it, a man mixing the air into the soap left the machine on. They came back later and thought it ruined only to find out, the accident made it better.

 

Now, about that bathwater..... Because taking a bath was labor intensive requiring the wife or servant to bring in the water, heat the water, carry it up to the bathing room or to the brass, tin, or wooden tub that served the purpose and filling to the desired height - it was always the husband ( aka bread winner) who got the first soak. Then, in pecking order the males, females, the wife, finally the baby - all in the same water. As you can imagine when it was the child's turn, it was cold and nasty. If you lost control of the little one because of slippery skin, you had to search for him or her in the water. Hence, never throw out the baby with the bath water.

 

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

New Release from Jenna Jaxon

 I'm always so excited when a dear friend has a release. I hope you'll join me and check out this wonderful historical romance by Jenna Jaxon.

Who is Jenna Jaxon????

Jenna Jaxon is a best-selling author of historical romance, writing in a variety of time periods because she believes that passion is timeless. She has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own stories.

She lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets--including two vocal cats, one almost silent cat, two curious bunnies, and a Shar-pei beagle mix named Frenchie.

 

Her latest release, The Widow wore Plaid,  is wonderful historical romp! 

The Battle of Waterloo made them widows, but each has found new happiness. And Jane, Lady John Tarkington, intends to keep her freedom, even if love—and one particular gentleman—are determined to claim her heart  . . .
 
It is a truth rarely acknowledged—at least in public—that a wealthy widow is free to pursue a great many adventures. For two years, Jane has privately enjoyed her independence. Why should she remarry, even when the gentleman proposing is as wonderful as Gareth, Lord Kinellan? She entreats him never to ask her again. But as her Widows’ Club friends—now all joyfully remarried—gather at Castle Kinellan, Jane begins to wonder if stubbornness has led her to make a terrible mistake . . .
 
Kinellan needs a wife to give him an heir, and he wants that wife to be Jane. They are perfect together in every way, yet she continually refuses him. Just as he is on the point of convincing her, a series of accidents befall Gareth and point to an enemy in their midst. He has promised Jane a passionate future filled with devotion, but can he keep them both alive long enough to secure it?
 


 Read more and find out where to purchase this exciting new book - 

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B091MJ1C8M/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6

BARNES & NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-widow-wore-plaid-jenna-jaxon/1139126668;jsessionid=ACAA269602C75AE8F2EDAAFB8BB10391.prodny_store01-atgap12?ean=9781420149784&st=AFF&2sid=Kensington%20Publishing%20Corp._8067221_NA&sourceId=AFFKensington%20Publishing%20Corp.

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-widow-wore-plaid

APPLE: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-widow-wore-plaid/id1561405266

GOOGLE PLAY: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781420149784

PRINT COPIES AVAILABLE AT:

AMAZON

BOOKS-A-MILLION

BARNES & NOBLE

BOOKSHOP.ORG

HUDSON BOOKSELLERS

INDIEBOUND

TARGET

WALMART

 

To follow Jenna connect with her here:  

Blog:  www.jennajaxon.wordpress.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jenna.jaxon

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Jenna_Jaxon

Instagram: passionistimeless

 

 


Little fun about Soap

  I know we are trying to work our way out of a pandemic, and about to go stir crazy, but let's have a laugh at what we've had to ...