That’s what I’ve been doing today–making soap. 🙂 Am I talking about the wonderful artisan type of soap, using lye and herbs and all the rest?
No. This is the kind where one buys the basics at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby and melts them in the microwave, adding scent and color and pouring into beautiful molds bought on eBay and Etsy. 🙂 I have some lovelies–a mama horse and her baby, an angel, a sheep, which always reminds me of my Lael heritage. You see, my grandfather, Jacob Daniel Lael, raised sheep. Yes, sheep. Contrary to Western movies, sheep and cattle CAN co-exist, and quite nicely, thank you very much. 🙂 Grampa employed many during the Great Depression, and I have always taken pride in his strength, his independence, his honesty and his tough determination. His plan? Keep going. Put one foot in front of the other. When others suffered grievous losses, Grampa wrote a check to help out–even to the man who accused my grandfather, quite falsely, of burning his haystack. Grampa was a Christian, in the truest, rubber-meets-the-road way. He always tried to do the right thing, and this is a tradition I cherish, one that makes me proud to be a Lael.
I also worked on the new story–the beginning is always the hardest part–and read your comments with interest. I was fascinated by your hobbies–loving grandchildren, reading. You’re inspiring, every one of you!
My own hobby? Art, mostly artist trading cards, but also journals and the occasional painting. Am I good at it? Definitely not. Do I love it, YES. I love to slop color onto cards, canvases, etc. I make no money on this. Zero. But it truly restores my soul–I so enjoy the sense of discovery, of experimentation. When something works, I am overjoyed. When it doesn’t, I revel in learning something new. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Time to call it a day, my friends. Thanks for being you.
About Linda
The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West.
Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a horse property outside Spokane.
