Chust Soap

The CDC tells us that washing our hands is the best way to stop the spread of diseases. That's for nearly all diseases, not just the Corona virus. Use warm water and soap (and I know where you can find some really nice soap 😉) and wash at least 30 seconds. Get between your fingers and under the nails. Dry your hands well and if you used a paper towel you can use it to open the door when you're done.

The sad truth is the stores are mostly out of hand sanitizer, alcohol, and anything that resembles these. We were asked to not buy masks because our medical professionals may need them. However, they didn't say we couldn't make our own masks.

Here's how...

Take a "fat quarter" of fabric and fold it in half so it's 11 inches wide. Divide it into thirds vertically (about 6 inch wide strips) and cut, maintaining the fold. Find the center of the narrow edge and make a C fold centered on this spot. Be sure the C opens on the same side of the fabric for both edges. (Photo 1)

Sew the short edges with your edging fabric. I used a long strip of regular fabric (from a quilting roll, cut down the long axis), but bias tape may be easier to handle. Roll the edge under and stitch it down. (Photo 2)

Center the remaining fabric on the long edge of the mask. Stitch it down the way we did for the short edges (photo 3). Roll the edge under and stitch the entire length of fabric to form the ties. (Photo 4)

Good luck and stay well.

This spring I was almost in a car crash the day after we changed our clocks. It looked like the other driver fell asleep behind the wheel and panicked when he felt his car start to go into the soft shoulder. I blame the time change.

Can you spare a minute to help Sandra Sodke? Abolish Daylight Savings Time

We have something new that has me pretty excited, but unfortunately it doesn't photograph well so I'll tell you a little story about it instead. We call it the sleep potion. It's a combination of essential oils (lavender, patchouli and frankincense) that encourage a restful sleep. The first day I tried it my FitBit sleep trace showed me going from wide awake to deep sleep in a matter of minutes and staying there for over 2 hours before getting a total of 6 hours of solid sleep (a pretty good trick for a night shift worker trying to sleep past dogs barking at deliveries, lawn mowers and telemarketers). My usual sleep looked like a series of 2-4 hour naps before then.

My test volunteers have reported similar results. A mother of a restless toddler says the toddler is sleeping better, other shift workers report better and more consistent rest, and a friend reports more peaceful dreams.

The 'potion' is available in a roller bottle for skin application ($5) or a dropper bottle for a diffuser ($10).

It looks like winter has finally started to back off a little, at least in our corner of Pennsylvania. Trees are budding, grass is starting to get greener, and - dare I say it? - are those spring peepers I hear in the creek? I love frogs! Let's celebrate their arrival, along with the spring weather, with some hand-decorated "70s Incense Shop" bath fizzies. These cheerful little rascals would just love to hop into a tub full of water and bring you the nostalgic aroma of those once plentiful incense shops we saw in the 1970s. Enjoy!

Winter is upon us and we find ourselves crowded indoors. A harried mom of several athletic teen sons mentioned how their sports altered the air in her house and asked if we had something for odor control. Yes, actually two things. We have rosemary citrus soap as a deodorizing body wash, and rosemary citrus washer bombs for laundry day. The soap is designed to moisturize, as well as address odor control issues using essential oils as fragrance. The washer bombs are designed to use one per load and the same blend of essential oils has been reported (by multiple sources) to remove the odors of sweat, urine, and "sneaker feet". The soap is available in purple or blue at $3 per bar and the washer bombs are $20 for 24 loads.

We were at a recent family event and I started chatting with Judy, our cousin John's girlfriend, and discussed some our soaps with her. "Can you make one that is moisturizing with some really nice bubbles?" We sure can. "And exfoliating?" How do you feel about oats? "Unscented?" That's easy. "And it *must* have yogurt in it." Is Greek yogurt ok? It has more protein.

Challenge accepted. The result is presented here. She liked it so well that she asked to give it her name, with a little wink to our family's German heritage. She initially suggested "Chudy's Wonder Bar" but we reminded her that the German word for wonderful (wunderbar) sounded similar and bordered on being a pun, so she laughed and went with Chudy's Vunderbar (the phonetic spelling for the soap's final name). I hope you like it as well as we do.

$3 per bar

It seemed like a good idea to combine a tutorial with a new product announcement. The tutorial is for how to liquefy a bar of Chust Soap and our new product is a pet shampoo bar. The pet shampoo bar contains saponified vegetable oil, coconut oil, palm oil and olive oil, with the essential oils of lavender, cedar, lemongrass and rosemary. Testing on our two spoiled dogs show that it rinses off quickly and the essential oils appear to reduce the number of bugs that follow them home. Our pit mix, Piper, seems less itchy after her bath and our lab mix, Nellie, struts the curly nature of her coat. The bar is available for $5 and a 1 ounce bottle of the essential oil mix is available for $10.

To liquefy the bar, gather up 4 cups of distilled water, a bar of Chust Soap, a grater, and a steel or enamel pot big enough to hold it all with room to spare. (1) Grate the bar while heating your distilled water in the pot. (2) Bring the water to a boil then turn off heat. Whisk in your grated bar until completely dissolved. (3) Cool overnight. A gel will form in the pot. (4) The next day, whip the gel. Add distilled water as needed until the consistency suits you. Store it in a clean bottle.

Once during a discussion about soap making a question arose about allergies. The other person was concerned about her long list of allergens. After some discussion we found that there were indeed a few ingredients that seldom troubled her. I asked her if she could safely eat a popular candy bar containing coconut, chocolate, and almonds. (I'm not mentioning its name here for trademark reasons.) She said she could, so we came up with a soap recipe that used cocoa butter, coconut oil, almond oil, and a dash of cocoa powder for color. It smells a bit like chocolate and it lathers well, just right for cleaning up after springtime yard work. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

The spring thaw seems to have finally arrived in Pennsylvania. It feels more like spring every day, and this reminded me that Mother's day is just around the corner. Maybe Mom would enjoy something unique for her special day, and it will cost much less than a piece of custom jewelry if you're on a budget. This arrangement features Rosemary Citrus and Rosey soaps, with For The Love Of Flowers and Lavender & Chamomile fizzies, topped off with a jar of For The Love Of Flowers crystals (great for hand and foot soaks). Any of the products in our line can be substituted for what's in the picture at your request. And don't forget to say hello to Mom from us.

Recent Pennsylvania weather has me wishing for spring. We had snow, ice, high winds, and a few days without power. I'm ready for warmth and flowers. As I was considering this I realized that I could easily get this wish by tossing fizzies into the bathtub. The 'lavender and chamomile' and 'for the love of flowers' fizzies bring soothing oils, floral scents, and lavender buds to the warming waters of your bath. If you prefer to shower we have 'rosey' soap with the aroma of fresh roses, and then perhaps follow up with some skin repair oil to chase away that wintery dry skin. Spring may be just around the corner, but one can always get a head start on it with a little determination.