Eight Weeks

It is crunch time, dear reader. Our little bubble of bliss has popped, and now chaos ensues. Okay, that's a bit dramatic, but if you are familiar with me, you know I have a flair for the dramatic, usually in a comical sense. When I say chaos ensues, I mean that my bib overall-wearing wonder buns has realized we have a mere eight weeks until the Shaker Woods Festival in Columbiana, Ohio. Eight weeks is not that long, all things considered. After a minor confrontation yesterday afternoon, we seem to be on the same page and have a plan of action for the long list of tasks we need to complete. Sigh.

The Bibbed Wonder has dubbed next week Hell Week. I don't like the sounds of that. My panic attack in bibbed overalls believes we are going to make four to five batches of soap per day, five days next week. That will give us twenty to twenty-five batches of soap. I feel that perhaps this is an unattainable goal. You see, we have a routine when it comes to soap making. We make one day, unmold, cut, stamp, and clean the next day. With our new stamper, the soaps must be cut the same day we unmold and cut them. The stamper doesn't have enough torque to stamp a hardened bar, even if it has just hardened overnight. Cutting and stamping take time. Cleaning molds and cleaning the soap bars takes time. Stacking the soaps on the drying rack takes time. Not to mention, making the soap, pouring it, and cleaning up after takes time.

This is all hinged upon three to four of us working five days a week next week. What Eric fails to consider is that The Bean has an appointment in Monroeville on Thursday, I have an appointment on Wednesday, and Janet can help maybe two or three days. It's a lot, considering the other obligations we have had scheduled for weeks or months ahead of time, which happen to coincide with Hell Week. I will have to sit him down this morning and review our schedule for next week. I am not looking forward to doing that. Not only is he in panic mode over soap making, but he was visiting with a friend until 2:30 this morning, which is almost unheard of for him. So, not only is he tired, but our air conditioner is not blowing cold air. After he milks the goats, he will inspect the air conditioner. Dealing with house issues never makes for a happy Bibbed Wonder. This conversation is not going to be pleasant. Sigh.

Over the next eight weeks, we will focus on our late summer and fall soaps. The late summer and fall soaps have several new scents, and that is making him a bit twitchy as well. He hates that I create new soaps and believes I should stick to what we have always done before. After twenty-three years, he should know how this works. New soaps, soap dough, change, and, well, change in general, were the topics of our heated discussion yesterday. After an exasperated response of, "Maybe we should make everything one color, no decorations, and nothing pretty, would that make you happy?" He settled down, dropped his attitude, and listened to reason. Here's the thing, dear reader. When I am the voice of reason, it's never good.

Although we will welcome the summer solstice this weekend, next week will smell like fall in the soap studio. It's hard to believe we're already concentrating on fall products. However, with the soaps taking at least six weeks to cure, we have to think ahead and plan. On a fun note, I do believe you, my soap family, will be excited for our fall soaps and moisturizers. I have planned to try to meet everyone's preferences this year. I have a few earthy scents that I've never tried before, a few new sweet scents, and a few fruity scents. I'm very excited for our fall line. Not only will they smell incredible, but they will be over the top pretty as well. You have only eight weeks to wait.

On this lovely summer's day, stay safe, be smart, embrace change, plan, and don't forget to wash your hands.